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Objective: Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases worldwide. Transmission to humans usually occurs by mucosal inoculation of the bacteria or exposure of non-intact skin via contact with water or soil contaminated with urine or feces of rodents. Occupational groups such as farmers, rice plant workers, sewer workers, miners, hunters, military personnel, mariners, shepherds, milkers, slaughterhouse workers, veterinarians and laboratory personnel are under risk for leptospirosis. In this study, we aimed to determine the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in coal miners in Zonguldak region. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from total 185 volunteer coal miners, who worked in 5 coal mines of Turkish Hard Coal Authority in Zonguldak and Bartın provinces, during June and July 2013. Serum samples were stored at -80°C. Additionally, we conducted an interview with each miner about demographical and epidemiological data such as age, location, duration of mining, other occupations, observing rodent or rodent excreta in the mine, noticing rodent contact with personal belongings or drinks or food in mine and hand hygiene compliance. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT), the reference diagnostic test for seroepidemiological studies of leptospirosis, was conducted in Spirochetal Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory, Veterinary Control Central Research Institute, Etlik, Ankara in June 2014. Anti-Leptospira antibody levels for 8 serotypes (Leptospira grippotyphosa Moskva V, L. australis Bratislava Jez Bratislava, L. canicola Hund Utrech IV, L. hardjo Hardjoprajitno, L. pomona Pomona, L. icterohaemorrhagiae Ictero 1, L. hebdomadis Hebdomadis ve L. patoc Patoc 1) was investigated with MAT. Results: All the miners were male and the mean age was 36±6. The mean duration of working in underground part of the mine was 11±6 years, the mean working hours was 44±6 hours a week on average. Distribution of the miners according to inhabiting location was 18.5% village, 50.3% county and 30.8% city. In addition to mining, some of the miners were also occupied with farming (7%), hunting (2.7%), seafaring (0.5%) and livestock raising (0.5%). 82.7% of the miners confirmed seeing rodents in the mine every day and 35.7% of the miners confirmed seeing rodent excreta in the mine. 68.1% reported observing sign of rodent bite on their clothes or food saving box. 91.9% of the miners reported that they saved their food in plastic or paper bags up to meal time. Hand washing rate in the mine was 76.2% among the miners and 94.3% of those were washing their hands without soap. Although, a risky environment for leptospirosis was defined, no seropositivity was detected in any of the serum samples of the miners. Conclusions: Miners reported risky environmental conditions and risky behavioral models for transmission of leptospirosis. However, no seropositivity was detected in any of the serum samples obtained from 185 miners in Zonguldak region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As technology develops and production amounts increase, work health and safety is getting more important in order to prevent accidents before happening and to prevent production line from stopping. Proactive measures are quite important in order to prevent accidents. In order to define proactive measures, threats in the work area should be classified and risk analysis should be made. In this study, one of the modern risk analysis methods, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is integrated with fuzzy logic. By this way, FMEA would provide more realistic results. In the methodology developed, the three criteria defined in FMEA which are probability, severity and detection are handled with fuzzy prioritization method which is one of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) techniques. Risks defined are evaluated according to all three criteria and importance coefficients of risks are obtained. Then these coefficients are turned into degrees defined in FMEA and risk priority numbers (RPN) are calculated. By integrating FAHP and FMEA, RPN calculation becomes more objective and independent from the analyst. The methodology developed is applied to mining sector which is one of the most risky sectors both in Turkey and in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miners were the subject of countless tragedies and still are continuing have one of the most difficult jobs in the world in thousands of feet below the earth, which have been processed as a branch of literature in literary works. The works describing miners and their relatives are the echo of their despair, pain, screams. In the title of "Miners' Stories" competition in 2007 and "Miner's Literary Award" competition in 2011 were held as to announce these echoes to the wider society by the Chamber of Mining Engineers. As a result of the competitions the stories which were selected by the selection committee were published in the title of "Miners' Stories The Scream" and " Miner's Literature Nails of Horror ". In this article, the total thirty-two miners story in two works mentioned by assaying is intended both to contribute miner of literature to the development and to draw attention to problems and inadequacies in this area. This study has been stressed literature of workers as a general, miners as a specific meaning were insufficient both qualitatively and quantitatively and implied the existence of the fundamental issues in Turkey and then has made identify and attract the attention by analyzing the stories in the books in terms of subject, theme, heroes, narrator and point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Chrome mining which has an important place in the Turkish mining industry, analyzed and determined features that can provide a competitive advantage, and also aimed to identifing the existing problems.İn this study qualititive study has done.İn this context, literatüre review was done and descriptive method is used.The first section reviews recent discussions about strategic management approach and its features. The second section includes competetion and competitiveness.İn the context, swot analysis technique, the most preferred method, was utilized for assesing the competetion.And then, swot analysis is done chrome mining lastly, strategic evaluation is done in the context of assesments and analysis for chrome mining and various suppestions have been made about the strategic sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After decades of continuous ows of mineral exports to rich Western countries and a failed development, Africa welcomed the arrival of China on the African resource market over the last deacade, with its strategy of swapping large infrastructure projects for access to mineral resources. The Sino-African trade under this so-called "Angola mode" trade arrangements has created completely new growth dynamics in African economies and has resulted in the stronger growth performances that Africa enjoys today. Concurrently, African oil and minerals have come to be seen by the US administration as being of "vital interest" for the national security in the post-9/11 context and have caused a surge in US military involvement on the continent. This Sino-American rivalry has implied an enhanced demand for African oil and mineral exports, which created new development opportunities for resource-rich countries, but also raised serious concerns about the appropriation of their benefits. This article examines the role played by these Sino-African swap arrangements in Africa's new development dynamics and their long-run implications for Africa's development in the context of this geostrategic rivalry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study; companies that are operating in the mining industry their expenditures emerging in preproduction, production and closure stages and revenue recognition topics are examined. In this context, Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources (IFRS-6) that is issued for preproduction research and evaluation assets has been taken. Results in this research, in a mining company revenue recognation is production point and this point is more critical than the sales point. Besides there exists a market where produced mine can be sold at a known price and sales & distribution costs can be forecasted easily. For this reason, in a mining company, revenue will be recorded as "net realizable value" after the production circle is completed but before the sales is made. Therefore, recognition of the expenses emerged in production stage is made directly in the income statement and it is matched with the net fair value of the produced mine. The estimating expenditures occuring in the closure stage is reported with their discounted net present value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of modern mechanized operations in mining industry has been considerably decreasing the physical burden of work. But the most undesired and unavoidable by-product of these operations is the generation of high levels of noise. Occupational noise exposure of mine workers is a potentially serious health problem. High-level of noise not only hinders communication between workers, but, depending upon the level, quality, and exposure duration of the noise, it may also result in different type of physical, physiological and psychological effects on the workers, especially Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Occupational exposure limits specify the maximum sound pressure levels and exposure times to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed without adverse effect on their ability to hear and understand normal speech. The European Union has reached agreement on new directives dealing with noise in the working environment - Noise at Work Directive 2003/10/EC. The Member States and candidate countries like Turkey are to comply with this Directive before 15 February 2006. The limit and action values are given in this directive. The specific objectives of this study were to estimate occupational noise exposure levels of mine workers employed in Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise and compare them with the exposure limit values. The method of Homogeneous Exposure Groups (HEG) was used for the estimation of occupational noise exposure levels of mine workers. The noise survey consisted of measuring and noting two variables: the noise levels to which the worker was exposed and his exposure time to those levels per work shift. After completion the survey, the daily noise exposure levels of groups were calculated. The homogeneity of the groups was tested statistically using one way analysis of variance. The normality of noise levels obtained for HEG's was investigated using Skewness and Kurtosis Coefficient of distributions and One Sample Kolmogorov – Simirnov Test were used to determine the normality of the data. In this study, the zonal method was selected as measuring technique due to the most cost-effective method. Noise measurements were carried out using a Type 1 integrated sound level meter (model NL-31) manufactured by RION Co. Ltd., Japan. The equipment was operated on the A-weighted network, slow response and was acoustically calibrated before, during, and after each shift. Calibration was done using the RION NC-74 sound level calibrator which emits a 94 dB, 1 kHz tone. It is necessary to define an average noise level characterizing the mean exposure of the person to check compliance of noise exposure with regulations or to estimate the individual risk of hearing loss of an exposed person. Two parameters are defined by the ISO 1999 (1990) standard. These are daily and weekly noise exposure levels. The daily noise exposure level (LEX,8h = LAeq,8h = LEP,d) is time weighted average of the noise exposure levels, in dBA, for a nominal eight-hour working day. … [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]