# 273: The Only Podcast Ever Recorded in an Open-Pit Mine featuring Imerys' Ken Rasmussen

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour-854319/273-the-only-podcast-ever-recorded-in-an-open-pit-mine-featuring-imerys-ken-rasmussen
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour-854319/273-the-only-podcast-ever-recorded-in-an-open-pit-mine-featuring-imerys-ken-rasmussen.md
Podcast: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://stenobird.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour-854319)
Published: 2026-02-03T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/867bfc0a-7008-407b-820f-47db10957ccf.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/manufacturing-happy-hour-854319/episodes/273-the-only-podcast-ever-recorded-in-an-open-pit-mine-featuring-imerys-ken-rasmussen
Duration seconds: 1796

## Resource

Loud, dusty and far removed from innovation. We often think of mining as separate from modern manufacturing, but our visit to Imerys West Hub in this episode challenges that idea. The conversation was recorded on site at the largest diatomaceous earth mine in the world, in Lompoc, California. During the recording, a sonic boom from a nearby SpaceX launch cuts across the background, a reminder of how closely materials, regulation, and advanced manufacturing often overlap. Chris is joined by Ken Rasmussen, Operations Director at the site, who shares a practical perspective on what modern mining looks like when it’s done right. Ken walks us through how diatomaceous earth is mined, processed, and shipped as a finished product from a single site, and why that matters. The material is used in industries most people don’t associate with mining, including water filtration, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. In this episode, we look at how mining fits directly into modern manufacturing, and what it takes to run an end-to-end operation on a global scale. In this episode, find out: Why “if you can’t grow it, you have to mine it” still applies to modern manufacturing What diatomaceous earth is and why it’s critical for filtration, pharma, and medical applications How a mining operation runs start to finish, from raw material to finished product Why mining in California forces higher standards for safety, automation, and environmental control How automation improves recovery, efficiency, and process visibility across the operation What mining really looks like today versus common perceptions How and why mining should coexist with communities instead of being pushed outside them Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback f…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/manufacturing-happy-hour-854319/episodes/273-the-only-podcast-ever-recorded-in-an-open-pit-mine-featuring-imerys-ken-rasmussen/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour-854319/273-the-only-podcast-ever-recorded-in-an-open-pit-mine-featuring-imerys-ken-rasmussen.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.