Horses, Mining, and Park City In-person Lecture given by Mike Nelson and Amy Richins

Park City Museum and Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History will a host an IN-PERSON lecture on Wednesday, November 17th from 5-6 p.m. called Horses, Mining, and Park City given by Mike Nelson and Amy Richins. The lecture will be given at the Park City Museum Education and Collections Center Building located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive.

Before steam, compressed air, and electricity, humans had only four sources of power—themselves (or their slaves), animals, wind, and water. Each of these was used in mining, but ponies, mules, and horses were especially popular because of their strength, intelligence, and mobility. It’s not surprising that James Watt chose to market his modified steam engine in terms of its equivalent “horsepower.”

This presentation will look at a few historic examples of horses in mining and then discuss the use of horses in Park City and its mines. Much of the presentation is based on family and personal knowledge: Mike’s uncle, James N. Berry, is the son of Lol Berry, who was the ostler at the Ontario mine from 1903 to 1949. Amy’s family members were among the first homesteaders in Henefer, and have operated a cattle ranch there for almost 150 years.

Amy J. Richins received B.S. and M.S. degrees in mining engineering at the University of Utah. In 2019 she received the Robert S. Shoemaker Ph.D. Fellowship Grant, from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, and she is now completing a Ph.D. at the University of Utah. Amy’s family members are long-time residents of Summit County. They operate Circle R Livestock LLC, a producer of grass-fed beef cattle in Henefer. Amy was with FLSmidth Minerals for seven years in various roles, including project manager and flotation engineer, and is presently Property Manager for Circle R. She has authored three book chapters, three refereed conference papers, and eight conference presentations. She is a co-founder of the University of Utah’s prize-winning mine rescue team, and is particularly interested in health and safety management, leadership and communication, and innovative teaching and training methods.

Michael G. (Mike) Nelson is a professor of mining engineering at the University of Utah. He was Chair of the Department of Mining Engineering from 2008 to 2019. He was previously professor of mining engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He holds a B.S. degree in metallurgical engineering and an M.S. in applied physics, both from the University of Utah, and a Ph.D. in mining engineering from West Virginia University. Mike has worked for Kennecott Copper, Westinghouse Electric, Consolidation Coal, and EIMCO Process Equipment. Mike has holds nine patents in mining in mineral processing, He is co-author of the book, History of Flotation, and has contributed to many other technical books. He has given invited short courses in the U.S., Australia, Ecuador, and India, and has been an expert witness in the U.S. and Australia. Mike’s dad, Tom Nelson, grew up in grew up in Wasatch and Summit County, and graduated from Park City High School in 1946. Tom’s dad, Carl, worked top car at the Silver King, and Tom worked weekends, holidays, and vacations at the Silver King while he was studying at B.Y.U. to become a high school band teacher.

Register for this lecture