With the Beirut explosion there's now concerns over the ammonium nitrate storage at Newcastle. Beirut had 2,750 tonnes, Kooragang Island, at Newcastle, regularly stores between 6,000 and 12,000 tonnes, and has been doing so for the past 50 years. Is it time to stop trusting Orica? Or have we developed a COVID inspired knee jerk reaction?

Something seems to have happened to our collective psyche, which appears to have become more pronounced in the last few decades....maybe too much Twitter and Facebook has finally cooked the collective brain?

There have been other ammonium nitrate blasts at plants around the world. Would cause a hell of a mess for Stockton, Carrington, Kooragang, the CBD and associated industry such as all the coal loaders on Kooragang and Port Waratah.

Was working at Ulan, coal mining area north of Mudgee NSW, earlier this year when a lightning strike IIRC started a bushfire that was blowing towards the Orica explosives facility there, just south of town, was big air tanker and smaller crop duster size tankers there quick smart.

Yes, it sure would, but as I understand it, there have to be quite a number of things go wrong before it goes bang.

I do wonder though, why Lebanon needed thousands of tons of the stuff. Do they have a mining industry?



One of the mines there is on a place I used to hunt, back when it was stocked with beef cattle. It was a great place for rabbits, foxes, goats, pigs and the odd deer before it became a massive hole in the ground. We used to find coal in the creek beds, and the coal trains went right through the place, so it was inevitable really I guess. Made me sad when I went back there to do some work for one of the contractors though.

The stuff in Beirut apparently wasn't stored properly (ie safely). Ammonium nitrate is also used as a fertiliser so maybe that was the purpose of this stockpile. I know that we have quite strict safety regulations and standards here - I trust adherence to the requirements and any mandatory inspections are being followed.

Heard this morning that a guy was tested positive for COVID in Newcastle, so we now have ammonium nitrate and COVID in Newcastle - this can't end well

Pinched this from here on the hunters campfire:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopoliti...ous-businessman-center-beirut-blast-saga

Maybe originally going to Mozambique to be sold to the coal mines on the other side of the Zambezi from Tete, Benga and Moatize?

To tell the truth fellas I am more puzzled by the whole mess, there is either a lot more happening than .gov is letting on or there are nefarious designs in motion.

...or aliens really have landed.

I feel strongly the same way mate.

Our preparedness towards unforeseen circumstances has been really [bleep] as humans. We panic too much that we are the primary cause of this panic we later see today.

We forgot our primary role as human and why we are here on this planet, our primary role as a human collectively is to preserve life and be fruitful. But look at us today, life is crazy and fear is the new normal.

Do I make sense to anyone at all?

Thanks,

Rory.

Pretty soon we'll be too frightened to leave home for any length of time.

I don't know about frightened. I just don't want to leave the house to see the American public in general. I would enjoy at least meeting and getting to know the Aussies. My son spent time there as a SOC Marine on some kind of maneuvers and then on leave. He thinks highly of the folks in general. But I won't go hunting or fishing in a country where they restrict my bringing of my own firearms and that means my daily concealed carry items as well. The communists, er, I mean liberals running Canada have ruined their country for me as well. Sad for me as I am retired and would spend some time in both places if possible. Hunting, fishing, and gardening and related things are my hobbies today. I wish you all to get freedom back and Be Well, RZ.