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By A. Aly Selim, Bruce D. Hanson

A computer model capable of simulating the basic production system in a variety of underground mining methods has been developed at the U.S. Bureau of Mines Twin Cities Mining Research Center. The simulation of the basic production system at the working face, which includes drilling, blasting, mucking, and roof bolting, is described in this paper. The model is event-oriented; that is, the status of the system is updated at the occurrence of an event. All event or activity times, including failure and repair of equipment, are treated as stochastic variables. A location dimension, in addition to the time dimension, is used, allowing the simulation of systems with a number of stopes or faces. To aid the user in determining the efficiency of his system, the model provides several reports. An event or activity report gives the frequency of occurrence, total active time, and cumulative delay statistics for each event. An equipment report delineates the availability and utilization of all equipment. A production report provides information on various performance measures such as tons produced and holes drilled. The cost report gives the cost of various elements in the system. Operating data from an actual mining situation were used in validating the model. In addition to the description of the model, examples of simulation experiments which were performed on a room-and-pillar mine system are given. Use of the model to determine methods for improving the efficiency of the system is discussed.

Jan 1, 1976

Report of President The important fact of the year 1916 is that on July 25 contracts were executed by which the American Society of Civil Engineers because an additional Founder Society and arranged to make its permanent home in our building. The contracts provide for the construction of three additional stories to the building, the American Society to pay the cost tip to $250,000, this being considered equivalent to what each other Founder Society had contributed, the American Society to participate in the original Carnegie gift and have an equal share in the property with each other Founder society. The construction of the addition to the building is under way, $62,525.04 having been expended thereon in 1916. It has been found that, clue to war conditions and the advanced price of materials, the cost of the addition will be $300,000. The founder societies have been requested to assume the extra $50,000, one quarter each. This work is in charge of a Building Committee consisting of H. H. Barnes, Jr., Chairman, E. G. Spilsbury, Charles Warren Hunt and Charles F. Rand. At the request of the Founder Societies, important alterations were made in the lecture halls on the fifth floor of the building to make the same suitable for social functions of the societies. The cost, $6,642.08, was advanced by the United Engineering Society but is to be paid eventually by the Founders. The Library of the civil Engineers is being merged with the Library of the United Engineering. Society and the other founder societies. At the present time the membership of the four founder societies is 29,000 and of associate societies 23,000, so that a total of 52,000 engineers now have their headquarters in our building. The value of the real estate now owned by this Society is $1,647,171.16. This sum will be increased at the end of 1917 by the amount of the cost of the addition to the building.

Jan 3, 1917

Establishment of a Bureau of Mineral Research at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology, initiated by the State of Michigan with legislation in 1951, is moving toward realization. The Michigan Legislature appropriated $24,000 to cover preliminary costs of plans and specifications for "engaging in a broad, widespread study of the beneficiation of lowgrade ores, of ore dressing, and all the problems of metallurgy that enter into such a program." Ralph C. Calder, of Detroit, who designed Michigan Tech's campus buildings, is preparing plans for the proposed Ores Research Building. Members of the college staff, Professors F. J. Tolonen, W. E. Keck, and Research Engineer Paul Jasberg are assisting in preliminary planning. C. Harry Benedict, retired chief metallurgist of Calumet and Hecla and a member of Michigan Tech's Board of Control, is assisting with technical details. Professor Nicholas Manderfield, head of the department of Mineral Dressing, was assigned to visit other research installations and suggest plans for the Bureau.

Jan 1, 1952

By Edward L. Wilson, Keshavan Nair, Ranbir S. Sandhu

In planning and designing of underground excavations and construction, it is of considerable importance that the stresses and displacements in the rock mass subjected to arbitrary sequences of unloading and loading be within allowable limits. For determination of the stress and displacement fields, the usual approach is to treat the rock as an elastic material and to apply the principles of the theory of elasticity. However, analytic solutions are available only for a limited class of problems of simple geometry and idealized material properties. Nonhomogeneity and anisotropy of material coupled with complex geometrical configuration and initial stress fields that are almost always preexistent in rock masses at great depths, render the problem intractable by analytical methods. Approximate solution techniques using numerical procedures have, therefore, to be resorted to. The finite element method as applied to plane stress analysis was introduced by Clough.1 It has developed into a powerful tool for the analysis of various field problems in structural and continuum mechanics. The method is well documented in the literature2-6 and, therefore, its historical development will not be discussed here. Wilson's analysis of the plane stress/strain problem has found extensive use in the area of soil and rock mechanics including stresses around underground openings; stresses and displacements in dams, foundations, etc.7-11 In his analysis of the axisymmetric solid,3 Wilson proposed a procedure to allow for certain cases of nonlinear material properties. In this chapter, the develop-

Jan 1, 1972

By C. L. Kinney

The rapid increase in the amount of steel produced by the basic open-hearth process is an index of its ability to produce high-grade steel from raw materials of the most, varied physical character and chemical analysis. This inherent adaptability of the process has resulted in a lack of care in the selection of raw materials, so that in far too many cases charges are used of a chemical and physical character not justified by local economic conditions. A practice, or series of practices, should be used that will result in the greatest economy for the plant as a whole; therefore, the operations of blast furnace and open hearth must be considered together. In this paper, an effort has been made to show those variations in both open-hearth practice and cost that follow changes in the analysis of the pig iron arid it may be said that the theoretical costs shown are worthy of careful study and consideration. Carbon, manganese, silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur constitute the principal metalloids in basic pig iron and play the leading role in the production of steel by the basic open-hearth process. The percentages of each of these metalloids, with the exception of carbon, is a variable that has its genesis in the economic relation of the blast-furnace plant to its ore and fuel supplies. As the amount of carbon in the iron is a saturation function of the temperature at which it is produced, the variation in the amount carried is, for any given locality and grade of iron, practically negligible and is so considered in the eight heats discussed in this paper. The melting and refining reactions in an open-hearth furnace, either acid or basic, are essentially oxidizing and vary greatly with the type and age of the furnace, as well as the character of the fuel employed. The outstanding characteristic of the basic process, and the one that explains its predominance over the acid, is its ability to form out of the lime charged and the phosphorus oxidized from the charge a stable

Jan 1, 1924

By Heinrich A. Kortmann

Specifications on the chemical, physical and metallurgical properties of the blast furnace burden are steadily becoming more stringent, especially in those countries where higher raw material and energy costs can be overcome only by improved technology. This paper describes the test methods for the relative predetermination of the criteria where the effects of temperature, gas composition and physical load in the blast furnace are duly considered. Data are presented to show the correlations between burden material tests and blast furnace results. Possible test methods for the direct reduction process are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By D. M. Spratt, O. R. Bell

In Australia's remote northwest are located the operations of Cliffs Robe River, one of the world’s largest iron ore projects. initial project cost was $US300 million and required the construction of a deepwater port, two towns for 3000 people, a 105 MW power station, and 170 km of railroad, all in harsh, arid country over 1300 km from the nearest industrial center. The ore occurs as goethite cappings on scattered mesas and averages 57% iron. All aspects of the project are reviewed from pre-operational research, through project construction to current operation.

Jan 1, 1982

By Lester A. Blackner

The Ray Consolidated Copper Co.'s mining property is located on Mineral Creek, 6 miles north of Kelvin, at Ray, Pinal County, Ariz. (Fig. 1). The mining claims now owned by the company consist of 126 lode claims, comprising 2,144.9 acres, containing at the beginning of operations 82,904,368 tons of 2.19 per cent. copper ore. General Characteristics of the Orebody The main orebody is a disseminated deposit in schist and porphyry formed by secondary enrichment. Its existence was proved by churn drilling, and it is at present one of the largest proved copper deposits in the world. The orebody itself covers 205 acres with an average thickness of 121 ft., and occupies a definite belt which has a northwest direction. Its length is approximately 5,000 ft. The width varies, being about 2,000 ft. at the west end and 2,500 ft. at the east, narrowing down irregularly from both ends to a few feet in the center. The thickness of the body varies greatly along the line of lode, ranging from a few feet up to 470 ft. thick. The ore horizon is not constant, but varies, following in a broad sense the topography. The body in general dips slightly to the northeast, and is broken up by numerous small faults and fractures. The ore-bearing formations, consisting of mineralized schist and mineralized granite porphyry, stand fairly well and offer no difficulty in mining operations. The bulk of the ore is chalcocite disseminated in schist. In places cupriferous pyrite is closely associated with the chalcocite. The mineralized gr'anite-porphyry forhations are contiguous to the ore-bearing schist. • Overlying the orebody is an oxidized zone of leached iron-stained schist, averaging 252 ft. in thickness, termed "capping." The Line of

Jan 1, 1916

By R. S. Handy

DOES hand-sorting of mill feed pay? The fact that the practice is so general would seem to indicate that there must be good reasons for following it; yet, to my mind, the advantage in many cases is doubtful enough to invite a thorough discussion of the subject, in an effort to determine under what conditions hand-sorting does pay. A typical sorting plant in the Coeur d'Alene district handles about 800 tons of mine-run ore per day. The material is run over a grizzly with about 4-in. opening; the oversize is crushed to about 4-in. size and joins the undersize, and the whole product is washed and screened on trommels with about 1 ½ -in. openings. The oversize from these trommels is spread on a belt and the waste and first-class ore are sorted out by hand, the residue being further crushed, and passes, together with the trommel undersize, into the mill feed bins. About 50 tons of shipping ore and 150 tons of waste are sorted out per day, leaving about 600 tons of mill feed. To sort out this material requires 20 ore sorters and five bosses and repairmen. The normal cost of hand-sorting is about 16 c. per ton of run-of-mine ore, or 65 c. per ton of material sorted out. I believe that straight crushing and milling of the run-of-mine ore, in this case, is not only cheaper, but is metallurgically moree canonical and efficient than hand-sorting followed by milling of the residue. At one of the Bunker Hill rock-houses, 1250 tons of run-of-mine ore are reduced to pass 30-mm., or about 1 ¼ -in. opening in six hours, requiring five men. The equipment and the power consumed are not greatly different from that required in a sorting plant of the same capacity, and the normal cost of thus preparing the feed for milling is under 3 c. per ton of mine product. The relative cheapness of this method as against hand-sorting is thus clearly established, the saving being about 13 c. per ton. If there is any virtue in hand-sorting, then, it must lie in the metallurgical results achieved.

Jan 4, 1918

By ALFRED KAUFFMAN

NO matter what position we hold, workman, foreman, superintendent, manager, president, or what not, let us fail to give or to make good products, then see how quickly we'll be called to account for- our work by the buying public. The waves of progress taught us that millions were wasted in unnecessary strikes-we also learned that many losses were due to neglect on the part of manufacturers to give the same consideration and attention to the human element of their factory as they gave to their machinery. The employees learned also that the employer was their agent who found purchasers for the product of their labor. So between the two we learned that many years of labor were needed in order for a worker to recover his wasted savings, or for the manu¬facturer to replenish his loss. Treat 'em rough, and tell 'em nothing, was not very far from the true relationship between management and employees in manufacturing plants in the early days. Today just exactly the opposite views are held by executives whose function is the handling of employees. Men today want to know what it is all about. They are intelligent enough to comprehend the facts, and to use them constructively, and it is good business to give them the information.

Jan 1, 1929

By E. N. Silverman

Mixtures of' MnS, ZFeO-SiO,, ZMnO.SiO, FeO, and MnO were prepared synthetically and used to study the planes ZFeO. Si0,-ZMnO.SiO,-MnS, FeO-MnO-MnS, and Fe0-MnO.Si0,-MnS in the quaternary system. Because the oxides and silicates studied flux MnS, inclusions in this system are partly liquid during rolling. Also, oxygen can modify subsurface inclusions through the reaction MnS + FeO—FeS + MnO during the soaking of ingots and the reheating of blooms and billets. NONMETALLIC inclusions in steel have long been a subject of study and conjecture because the properties of many steels are known to be affected by the the kind and amount of inclusions present. In free-machining steels, the type of inclusion present has a direct bearing on their machinability; in other steels, cleanliness is important and metallurgists direct their efforts at reducing the amount of non-metallic inclusions. Thus, the accumulation of knowledge about the formation and behavior of inclusions during all stages of steelmaking and processing should aid in improving the quality of steels and decreasing the production costs resulting from rejections. Previous studies of inclusions have contributed greatly to our understanding. The investigators have generally examined inclusions in finished steel. Boulger, Moorehead, and Garvey1 found that in Bessemer steels, low silicon contents results in globular sulfide inclusions with attendant high machin- ability ratings. Van vlack2 also found that low silicon contents favor inclusion morphology that contributes to high machinability ratings. Boquist and Stoll* found that silicon content affected sulfide inclusions and machinability of blooms, billets and bars more than did the finishing temperature in the range between 1775° and 2075°F. Carney and Rudolphy3 studied the distribution of sulfur, manganese, silicon, and carbon in a commercial ingot of resulfur-ized steel and found that silicon was concentrated near the bottom. This helped to explain why bottom cuts had poorer machinability. Klinger and Koch4 developed techniques for extracting inclusions from steel, and the technique devised by Gurry, Chris-takos, and stricker5 for extracting carbides can also be adapted to the study of inclusions. A different approach to the study of inclusions in steel consists of synthesizing the constituents that form inclusions and determining the phase eauilibria in the system that contains the constituents. The resulting phase diagrams can then be used to determine the effect of the various constituents upon each other. In this way, it becomes possible to under-

Jan 1, 1962

By Nicholas J. Grant, Irmgard Rump, Bill C. Giessen

The system W-Hf was determined by use of metal -lographic and X-ray methods. The only interrnetal-lie phase W2Hf melts peritectically at 2650° ± 50°C. A eutectic between W2Hf and ß-Hf solid solution exists at 78 at. pct Hf arul 1930º ± 10°C. The addition of tungsten loulers the hafnium transfornzation; there is a eutectoid at 93 at. pct Hf and 1560°C. The solubility limits of the terminal solid solutions were determined. At the beginning of this investigation, the system had not been elaborated; only crystallographic work had been done to determine the structure of the occurring intermetallic compound W2Hf, and a certain analogy to the system W-Zr was to be expected. Special emphasis was placed in this program on the Hf-rich part of the diagram. Following the completion of our experiments, a phase diagram was suggested by Braun and RUdY.1 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS The investigation utilized tungsten powder supplied by the General Electric Co. with a purity of about 99.9 pct and hafnium crystal bar of about 97.7 pct purity, 2.3 pct Zr, supplied by Foote Mineral Co. Typical analyses are given in Table I. The procedures followed were identical with the ones described for the Re-Nb diagram.' Tungsten powder was compacted at 16,000 psi and the necessary amount of hafnium was added in the form of small pieces cut from the crystal bar, with a reasonable excess of tungsten powder to make up for powder losses on melting. High hafnium or tungsten melts were prepared from premelted tungsten and hafnium or by employing master alloys. The melting was done in a Heraeus arc-furnace under argon. Melting and remelting up to 8 times resulted in fairly homogeneous alloys. No weight

Jan 1, 1962

By F. Clerf

Blast-furnace practice in France is determined more or less by the character of the ores used. Some French ores are siliceous and others are calcareous, therefore by proper burdening a self-fluxing mix can be used. This is not always done, as, for instance, at the Caen furnaces of the Société Métallurgique de Normandie, where the Soumont ore of Normandy is used, which is a carbonate. This ore is crushed and calcined at the mines, yielding a product that is porous and well sized for blast-furnace consumption. The lines of the Caen furnaces are given in Fig. 1. Originally these furnaces had 16 tuyeres; six are plucked and these tuyeres are set in the lower part of the bosh. Operating data on these furnaces are given in Table 1. Table 1.—Operating Data, Caen Furnaces Kg. Lb. Blast-furnace burden per ton of iron: Soumont ore....................................... 200&2100 (44004650) Limestone...................................... 900-1000 (2000-2200) Basic Bessemer slag (bearing phosphorus).............. 100 (220) Scale.............................................. 35 (77) Manganese ores.................................... Coke.............................................. 1100-1200 (2420-2640) Coke analysis: Ash, per cent............. 9.5 H2O, per cent............. 4.0-10.0 Flue dust (approx.), kg. per metric ton.... 200 (440 lb.) Blast volume, cu. m. per hr.............. 83,000 (49,000 cu. ft. per min.) Preesure, lb............................ 12 Blast heat, deg. C....................... 650 (1200" F.) Top temperature, deg. C................ 250 (445O F.) Top-gas analysis, per cent............... CO2 9.3 CO 30.3 O2 0.3 H2 3.0 Production per 24 hr. about 510 tons. MINETTE ORES The most important ore deposits in France are in the west of Lorraine. They are called the "minette" ores and are of two classes-—siliceous and

Jan 1, 1937

By G. F. Loughlin

MORE than 20 years have passed since the publication of Lindgren and Ransome's report on the Cripple Creek District,1 which was made when the district was much more active and prosperous than in recent years. They concluded that the output of the district, which had reached its maximum of about $18,200,000 in 1900, would gradually decline, and their conclusion has been confirmed by records of subsequent production. Between 1905 and 1915 annual declines were partly compensated by encouraging increases, especially in 1908, 1914, and 1915; but a rapid continuous decline followed, due largely to the war and its after effects, until in 1922 the value of output was only slightly more than $4,000,000. It rose to nearly $5,000,000 in 1924, but declined again in 1925 and in 1926, when it was about $4,400,000, and represented ores mainly from deep levels in the Cresson and Portland mines. The profitable operations of these two mines were the principal factors leading to a study of ore at deep levels in the district by the U. S. Geological Survey in coopera-tion with the Colorado Metal Mining Fund. The principal reasons for Lindgren and Ransome's conclusion were three: (1) the greater cost and difficulty of deep exploration; (2) the decrease in the number of veins with increasing depth, and (3) the probability that the telluride ore, believed to have formed at comparatively low temperature, would not persist indefinitely -in depth. Operations since they made these statements have verified the first two, but call for some modification of the third. Rich telluride, ore is being mined at a profit in the Portland mine 3000 ft. below the present surface, or 5000 ft. below the original surface of the Cripple Creek volcano, as interpreted by Lindgren and Ransome. The question arises, therefore, as to the number and extent of such deep deposits, and the answer, so far as it can now be given, must be based mainly on structural data, supplemented by data on the processes of ore deposition. Presentation of these data based on a study of deep mines in the southeast quarter of the district, the only

Jan 1, 1927

By Dorsey Hager, G. W. McPherson

The rapid increase of water troubles in the Mid-Continent oil fields is causing much alarm. Troubles occur at Towanda, Eldorado, Augusta, Cushing, Blackwell, and Healdton, although they had not been acute in the Mid-Continent field until about two years ago, when the unusual conditions in the deeper oil fields were first encountered. California faced the same situation, but, thanks to aggressive measures, has largely overcome the dangers. The following analysis of water trouble may throw some light on the subject and be of assistance in solving the problems involved. Water Troutles Classified The presence of water in large quantities in oil sands has the following results: 1. Diminishes oil production. 2. Diminishes casing-head gasoline production: (a) By curtailing the gas flow. (b) By making the use of vacuum pumps unsuccessful. 3. Increases lifting costs: (a) By making it necessary to pump large quantities of water, which requires a fast motion and long stroke (third hole). (b) By requiring the use of compressors for air lift. (c) By causing break-downs and delays due to the high speed necessary to pump water. (d) By making it necessary to treat "cut" or emulsified oil. Oil production is seriously curtailed by the presence of large quantities of water. Lease records show that wells are shut down 40 to 60 per cent, of the pumping time where serious water trouble occurs. While a small quantity of salt water may cut the paraffine and keep the oil moving, several hundred feet, or a hole full of water, effectually "kills" the oil and gas. The quick return of wells to production, once the water is shut off, shows how wells have been affected. The killing of gas sands

Jan 1, 1920

By P. Barnes

(Read at the Wilkes-Barre Meeting, May, 1877.) THESE furnaces are of the ordinary Siemens type, and present no special peculiarities of construction. The bed of each is 8 feet by 20 feet clear inside of the walls and ports. The producers are placed at a distance of about 200 feet from the furnaces, and the gas is collected in an iron tube and led across the yard overhead. It then drops underground into the gas flue, and is distributed to the furnaces. A considerable weight of floor-plates over the valve-pits is included in account 39, but none of the general stock of floor-plates for the mill were charged to the furnaces. In Table No. 1 is shown the money cost of the furnaces as distributed to the several accounts named. In Table 2 is shown the proportion of each account due to each of the several items or classes of expenditure named.

Jan 1, 1878

By J. P. Denny

The constitution of the Ga-In system was determined by thermal methods. An experimentally determined metastable equilibrium line (an extension of the indium-rich liquidus) was obtained. The various alloys were studied metallographically using polished samples obtained by a casting method. These low melting alloys required a special dry-ice assembly to maintain a suitable temperature. RECENT interest in alloys that are liquid at room temperature has led to rather extensive investigation of gallium-base alloys. Widely distributed over the earth, gallium could be produced in substantially larger quantities than at present, if a significant demand existed.' One study' has established its presence in 12 out of 14 zinc blends, in all of 15 aluminum ores, in 4 out of 12 manganese ores, in 35 out of 91 iron ores, and in all of 7 magnetite ores. It occurs as a rule in minute amounts, however, leading to high extraction costs. Recent quotations run from $2.50 to $7.50 per g. During the course of the present investigation, portions of the system Ga-In have been redeter-mined, and the results of this study are presented herein. Thermal and metallographic methods have been employed. Lecoq de Boisbaudran, the discoverer of gallium, conducted the first investigation" on Ga-In alloys in 1885. The temperatures of incipient melting, and of completion of melting, were determined at four alloy compositions. In 1936, Hansen' constructed a eutec-tic-type phase diagram for the system Ga-In, based on . work. The existence of a Ga-In compound was regarded as improbable by Hansen, and subsequent investigations are in agreement. French, Saunders, and Ingle3 conducted a more complete study of the system in 1938, using thermal methods. Their phase diagram is a eutectic type, containing a unique concave-upward liquidus. The solid-solution range of gallium in indium was reported as 9.5 pct by weight, and that of indium as less than 1 pct, at the eutectic temperature. The eutectic composition, determined as being bracketed by the compositions showing a true horizontal at the eutectic temperature (16°C), was reported as 76 5-0.5 pct Ga and 24 i 0.5 pct In. Experimental Procedure The preparation of Ga-In alloys is simplified by the low melting points involved. Various compositions were prepared by melting in pyrex tubes, using a cover of distilled water or parafin to prevent the alloys from wetting the glass wall. In all cases, the melts were homogenized. by stirring. Where possible, both cooling and melting curves were determined. The extensive undercooling of gallium was found to prohibit a satisfactory cooling-curve analysis of gallium-rich alloys, however, and transition points on the gallium side of the eutectic could be determined only by melting curves. The inverse rate method of thermal analysis proved to be most satisfactory and was used to a great extent. Various heating and cooling rates were used, ranging from 0.2" to 5.0°C per min. Low temperature melting analyses were conducted within a constant temperature bath, maintained at about 70 °C. The alloys were solidified (under water or paraffin) within a pyrex tube, using dry ice; the tube was then sealed within a cold Dewar flask, the unit transferred into the constant temperature bath, and periodic temperature readings taken. The high temperature melting-curve determinations and all cooling-curve determinations were made in a vertical tube furnace. At near-eutectic compositions, the furnace was placed within a refrigerated room held at —20°C. Accordingly, the furnace on cooling approached —20°C asymptotically and permitted the determination of those phase transitions occurring below room temperatures. Temperatures were measured with a 30-gage iron-constantan thermocouple, immersed directly in the alloy. To prevent contamination of the melt, the leads and junction were coated with Lucite, applied by painting with a solution of Lucite in ethylene dichloride. Electromotive force measurements were made with a Leeds and Northrup precision potentiometer, type 8662. The couples were calibrated against the boiling point. of water and, at lower temperatures, against a calorimeter thermometer having a Bureau of Standards certificate. The melting points of gallium and indium used in the present investigation were determined as 29.-77° and 156.1°C, in good agreement with previously reported values of 29.78°C° and 156.4"C.' The spec-

Jan 1, 1953

By J. A. MacLellan, John C. Bowling, J. R. Davenport, G. M. Ellis

Six months out of the year the cold is always there, and it seems to be waiting for someone to make a mistake. The simplest things can shut down a multi-million dollar plant besieged with -40°F temperatures and a 40 mph wind. It takes only one man-door improperly latched to feeze up all the pumps on the bottom floor. Someone can poke a one inch hole in an outside wall in July and six months later, the whole plant is flooded because the main water line just froze up and burst. Some important things must be remembered in plant design for cold and remote areas. For one thing, everything in these areas is more expensive due to long and difficult supply lines. Fuel is expensive and would be a major cost item even if it were not expensive, due to the extended periods of low temperatures. Building volumes should therefore be kept to an acceptable minimum. Service areas, on the other hand, must be adequate, because maintenance generally has to be conducted inside in a heated area. Supply vehicles, for instance, have to get completely inside the building to unload. If you try to unload a supply vehicle with the door open at -50°F, you won't be able to find the vehicle for fog and if you take more than 5 minutes half the water lines in the plant will freeze UP.

Jan 1, 1972

By D. B Kibler

The Florida hard-rock field extends from Suwanee and Columbia Counties in northwest Florida to south of Croom, Florida, in Hernando County. This area is approximately 100 miles long and varies from 2 to 30 miles in width. Florida hard-rock phosphate was discovered at Hale Springs, about one mile northwest of the town of Dunnellon, Marion County, in the year 1888, by Alber-tus Voight, who lived within a few hundred yards of the spring. Soon after this discovery there was a great influx of land speculators and wildcat operators into the vicinity of Dunnellon. A few years later phosphate was found in Alachua, Levy, Citrus and Hernando Counties, and a great number of small crude plants were built from Newberry, Alachua County, all the way to Croom, Hernando County. Phosphate was found in many places as "outcrops." Looking for outcrops was the first method used by the early prospectors in searching for deposits. Several years passed before any systematic method of prospecting was used. Early Mining The early method of mining hard-rock phosphate was with picks and shovels, wheelbarrows, mules and wagons. The pick-and-shovel method was used altogether until about 1900, when some of the larger operators began to use railroad-type steam shovels of from ½ to I-yd. capacity Picks and shovels, with negro labor loading the phosphate ore (called "matrix") into wooden side-dump skip-cars, was continued until about 1907. From the discovery of hard-rock phosphate until approximately 1905, overburden was removed with mules and scrapers. At some places, the overburden was loaded into side-dump skip-cars by negro laborers and the cars were then pulled up an incline with a steam hoisting engine. The maximum depth of overburden that could be economically removed by hand labor, mules and scrapers was approximately 15 feet. About 1905 one of the companies erected a producer-gas power- I house near Dunnellon and generated its own electricity and about the same time the larger companies began using hydraulic methods for the removal of overburden. From the year 1888 through the year 1939 approximately 75 companies were operating at one time or another in the hard-rock territory, on approximately 500 locations. The hard-rock deposits are more irregular and have higher mining costs than the pebble-rock deposits, therefore 1 they have not been competitive in the domestic market, but because of the higher grade of the hard rock it is in demand for I the export trade. Discovery of phosphate outside of the United States has made it increasingly difficult in recent years for the hard-rock companies to survive, so today i only three companies are operating. These

Jan 1, 1942

By D. B. Kibler

The Florida hard-rock field extends from Suwanee and Columbia Counties in northwest Florida to south of Croom, Florida, in Hernando County. This area is approximately 100 miles long and varies from 2 to 30 miles in width. Florida hard-rock phosphate was discovered at Hale Springs, about one mile northwest of the town of Dunnellon, Marion County, in the year 1888, by Alber-tus Voight, who lived within a few hundred yards of the spring. Soon after this discovery there was a great influx of land speculators and wildcat operators into the vicinity of Dunnellon. A few years later phosphate was found in Alachua, Levy, Citrus and Hernando Counties, and a great number of small crude plants were built from Newberry, Alachua County, all the way to Croom, Hernando County. Phosphate was found in many places as "outcrops." Looking for outcrops was the first method used by the early prospectors in searching for deposits. Several years passed before any systematic method of prospecting was used. Early Mining The early method of mining hard-rock phosphate was with picks and shovels, wheelbarrows, mules and wagons. The pick-and-shovel method was used altogether until about 1900, when some of the larger operators began to use railroad-type steam shovels of from ½ to I-yd. capacity Picks and shovels, with negro labor loading the phosphate ore (called "matrix") into wooden side-dump skip-cars, was continued until about 1907. From the discovery of hard-rock phosphate until approximately 1905, overburden was removed with mules and scrapers. At some places, the overburden was loaded into side-dump skip-cars by negro laborers and the cars were then pulled up an incline with a steam hoisting engine. The maximum depth of overburden that could be economically removed by hand labor, mules and scrapers was approximately 15 feet. About 1905 one of the companies erected a producer-gas power- I house near Dunnellon and generated its own electricity and about the same time the larger companies began using hydraulic methods for the removal of overburden. From the year 1888 through the year 1939 approximately 75 companies were operating at one time or another in the hard-rock territory, on approximately 500 locations. The hard-rock deposits are more irregular and have higher mining costs than the pebble-rock deposits, therefore 1 they have not been competitive in the domestic market, but because of the higher grade of the hard rock it is in demand for I the export trade. Discovery of phosphate outside of the United States has made it increasingly difficult in recent years for the hard-rock companies to survive, so today i only three companies are operating. These

Jan 1, 1942