Dragline Bucket from Phosphate Mines near Lakeland, FL
Posted by: 
NCDaywalker
N 27° 53.624 W 081° 58.392
17R E 404216 N 3085811
This a dragline bucket formerly used in the phosphate mining industry in the Lakeland, Florida area.
Waymark Code: WMKZMN
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 06/22/2014
Views: 10
Draglines were first used in the 1920s, and are still in use today. These enormous machines strip off the top layers of earth to reveal the phosphate. The phosphate is processed to separate the valuable ore from sand and clay. The most visible by-products of phosphate mining are gigantic phosphogypsum stacks, some reaching 500 feet tall. Several stacks are visible along State Road 60 between Mulberry and Bartow.
This bucket holds 44 cubic yards of earth. It weighs 48.500 pounds as it sits. When fully rigged for service, it weighs in at 72,000 pounds. Fully loaded it weighs a staggering 118,000 pounds. I was built in 1965 for a cost in 1994 dollars for $190,000. It was retired in 1987. It estimated that is moved 396,000,0000 of material in its service period,
Type of Machine: Dragline bucket
Year the machine was built: 1965
Year the machine was put on display: approx 1994
Is there online documentation for this machine: Not listed
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