ODO: 01256.3
Date: 20 November 1997
After 600 km of nothing; endless scrubland and rising temperatures; we stumbled onto the town of Newman. As in, "Hello, Newman" with that sneer that only Seinfeld has perfected. We passed up stopping in such choice locations as Noondie, Poona, Madoonga, Mooloogool, Doolgunna, and Wonyulgunna Hill. Had we seen a Waddyagunnadonauw, we probably would have stopped. Newman is a mining town; in fact, if there wasn't any more mining there, it would be a ghost town, like just about everything else we passed. Newman's pretty cool, though; did you know that it is the site of the largest open-face iron ore mine in the world? It also has some pretty speccy gear: check out the size of that truck!
Alan was freaking out about all the stuff, much to Michelle's amusement. We took a tour of the mining operation, and learned all sorts of neat stuff about iron ore mining. Here's a little quiz for you to see how much you guys know:
1. One of those big ol' trucks in the picture is worth:
A. $250,000
B. $1,000,000
C. $1.5 Mil
D. $2.5 Mil
2. Each truck can carry:
A. about 200 tonnes
B. about 400 tonnes
C. about 600 tonnes
D. why am I taking this quiz?
3. Some trucks have 10 tires, like the one behind Alan, but the newer ones only have six. Why? (The rear tires are all two across, BTW)
A. Different conditions, ie wet, sandy, etc.
B. Expense
C. Improved technology
D. Fashion
4. How much does one tire cost?
A. $500
B. $1 000
C. $2 500
D. $30 000
5. BHP, the company running the mine, sells one tonne of iron ore for:
A. $5
B. $30
C. $100
D. $250
Those little dots are trucks. 6. How deep do you think they've dug into the ground?
A. 100 metres
B. 300 metres
C. 1 km
D. 2.4 km
7. How boring a job is it driving one of those trucks?
A. pretty fun, for about a week
B. jam-pencils-in-my-eyes-I'm-so-bored boring
C. huh?
D. all of the above
8. The iron ore is shipped north to Port Hedland on the world's longest privately-owned track. How long are the ore trains, on average?
A. 750 m
B. 1.4 km
C. 2 km
D. 2.4 km
9. What is the longest iron ore train ever run? (guess where!)
A. about 2.4 km
B. about 4 km
C. about 7 km
D. about 10 km
10. Did Alan steal one of those hats?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Yes, but he didn't mean to
D. Yes, but he got caught
Well, how'd ya do? We didn't know any of that stuff either. But then, why would you.
The Answers. I know you're all atingle:
1. D What a rip!
2. A Don't get carried away
3. C Yeah, real tough. Tell me you didn't guess fashion
4. D I'm in the wrong business. Wait, I'm not in any business
5. B I didn't bother filling my pockets.
6. B Settle down!
7. B No points for this one
8. D No points for this one either
9. C No points for this one either; in fact, you could even say there's no point in taking this quiz....
10. B Shame on you all!
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