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By K. Robert Dorman, F. Michael Jenkins

The occurrence of rock bursts in deep metal/nonmetal mines presents a major hazard to their safe and economical operation. As part of a Bureau of Mines program to reduce rock bursts in deep vein mining, a project was conducted in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District of Idaho to evaluate and demonstrate the mining of a destressed sill pillar using undercut-and-fill methods. A 50-ft sill pillar in a burst-prone area was preconditioned by drilling and blasting vertical holes in the ore. After raises were driven through the destressed pillar to the level above, it was mined by the undercut-and-fill method. The conclusion from this demonstration is that the combination of ore preconditioning and underhand mining resulted in greatly improved rock burst and ground control, allowing safe and efficient mining of a potentially hazardous, burst-prone pillar.

Jan 1, 1984

By J. A. Herbst, J. L. Sepulveda, J. D. Miller

Lead cake, a zinc smelter flue dust residue, consists primarily of lead sulfate. Characteristic properties of lead cake were determined in order to aid the understanding of reaction mechanisms involved in bismuth removal from lead cake by sulfuric acid digestion. Sp gr (specific gravity) measurements, surface area measurements, and photomicrographs revealed that the particles of lead cake are quite porous and seem to consist of an agglomeration of submicron grains (0.4 pm) fused together in a manner similar to cement clinker. Analysis of experimental rate data, which was independent of particle size, indicates that the dissolution reaction involves two distinct, rate limiting steps. The initial stage of reaction appears to be limited mainly by intergranular diffusion of the reactant, hydrogen ion, while the latter stage of reaction appears to be controlled by diffusion of soluble reaction products through the reaction product layer of the individual grains.

Jan 1, 1979

As desirable as it may be to a geologist to have maximum detail in any geological report, the task of doing so for an area as vast as British Columbia within six average size magazine pages is clearly impossible. As a result, it has been necessary to draw a fairly broad picture of the geology on the following pages, but it is one which should be adequate to give the reader a concept of what rock is where in the Province. In preparing this horseback ride over the strata of the Province, much reliance has been placed on various reports appearing in trade and Canadian Government journals. Of these, one in particular stands out. Entitled "The Cordilleran Region", this report has been authored in three parts by H. S. Bostock, R. Mulligan and R. J. W. Douglas, respectively, and is included as a major chapter of the book Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada. Published in 1957 by the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, the book has provided the extensive quotes, taken from each of the three authors, which appear on the following pages.

Jan 12, 1963

By Reger, B. David

FOR many years, the belief that the so-called "Clinton" sand of Ohio might produce. oil and gas, if it could be reached, has been prevalent in West Virginia. To test this theory, many hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent and several extremely deep wells, including the deepest boring of the world, have been sunk at various points. With the exception of one well now completed through the sand and the possible exception of another still in progress, all of these wells failed to reach the goal, either through failure of funds or through drilling accidents. REVIEW OF DEEP DRILLING The subject of deep-sand oil and gas in West Virginia has already been discussed by the author1 and by White.2 In these papers, it was shown that the Upper and. Middle Devonian shales, lying between the Berea oil sand (basal Mississippian) and the Oriskany sandstone (Lower Devonian), thicken steadily from eastern Ohio across northern West Virginia and Pennsylvania; but it was stated that the same rate of thickening did not occur in that part of West Virginia south of the Great Kanawha River and in the adjoining portion of Kentucky. In spite of this great eastward thickening, the fact that both the Oriskany and "Clinton" sands, the latter of which is equivalent to the White Medina of New York, exist in great thickness all along the Appalachian Mountains farther east, was held as proof of their probable presence in the deep Appalachian basin.

Jan 3, 1925

By John M. Warde, Eileen P. Burke

ORES of manganese and chrome have a high order of strategic importance, both metals are basic to the metallurgy and usefulness of steel, the fabric on which our economy rests. Looking beyond the current recession and short range picture of oversupply in these ores, this review attempts to answer the following questions regarding the longterm outlook for these key commodities: By 1970, what will be the probable demand here and abroad, what are future supply prospects, and what effect is the USSR likely to have on the world market? (See summary forecast on facing page.)

Jan 8, 1958

By H. L. James

THIS paper presents the results and analysis of field trials of various magnetic instruments over anomalies ranging from 20 to 5000 gammas of vertical intensity. The following instruments were used: Askania vertical magnetometer, Wolfson vertical magnetometer (model M-I), Hotchkiss Superdips (used both parallel to and normal to the magnetic meridian, with several settings of the "sigma" angle), Lake Superior dip needle, and the dipping circle for measurements of inclination. The change in inclination over the measured anomalies ranged up to 4°; this caused pronounced changes in sensitivity of the Hotchkiss Superdip oriented parallel to the magnetic meridian. The variable sensitivity not only gives apparent displacement of crests of anomalies, particularly at high sensitivities, but also makes the data difficult or impossible to use in preparation of iso-anomaly maps. This weakness in field performance of the Superdip is shown to be eliminated by orienting the instrument normal to the magnetic meridian and measuring vertical intensity only, which in the latitude of upper Michigan is equal to 97 pct of the total intensity. The dip needle is seen to be relatively ineffectual for location of anomalies of less than 400 gammas.

Jan 1, 1947

By David R. Mitchell, Ernest M. Spokes

INFORMATION on magnetic properties of minerals other than magnetite is scanty and some- times erroneous. Often there is no information at all. W. R. Crane's table of tractive forces published in 1901 is still the best guide in the field, but Crane's data can be used as a guide only, since he ignored such important factors as impurities in the minerals, size, and packing effect. During the 1930's work by the U. S. Bureau of Mines added greatly to knowledge of the behavior of certain minerals in a magnetic field. The USBM bulletin gave for the first time complete magnetic characteristics for magnetite and fragmentary data for a few other minerals. The work reported here covers a study of the magnetic-susceptibility relationships of the wolf-ramite series of minerals and sphalerites as related to their chemical compositions. Theories are proposed to explain divergences found from commonly accepted beliefs.

Jan 3, 1958

By Richard Rothwell

At the last meeting of the Institute, Mr. Per Larsson read a very interesting paper on the Chapin mine of Michigan, in which he described the systems of mining that had, at different times, been tried in that great ore-body, and especially the system now in use, which consists in working the ore out from the bottom upward in lifts. Shortly after that paper was written, but before it had been published, or that I had had an opportunity of reading it, I bad the pleasure of visiting the mine. At that time I was making a profes sional examination of a nnmber of the mines on theGogebic Range, and others in the Menominee region, Michigan and Wisconsin, and had occasion then, as during several previous visits, to study closely the methods and cost of mining in these districts. As the outcome of these investigations, it appeared evident to me that the system of working on the chamber-and-pillar plan, which up to that time had been the only method of underground work adopted in the Gogebic

Jan 1, 1888

By R. H. Lynn, T. C. Craig

During the year 1933, in the Texas Panhandle, 113 oil wells were completed, adding 33,337 bbl. to the daily potential of the field. The field potential on Jan. 1, 1933, as determined by the Texas Railroad Commission, was 149,260 bbl., with a daily allowable production of 41,000 bbl. The potential was raised gradually, until on July 16, 1933, it reached 155,344 bbl. with a daily allowable of 55,000 bbl. This potential and allowable was maintained over a period from July 16, 1933, to Sept. 8, 1933, when the potential was reduced to 136,893, with a daily allowable of 43,727 bbl. Since Sept. 8, 1933, there has been a gradual increase, until on Jan. 1, 1934, the field potential reached 159,740 bbl. with a daily allowable of 42,000 bbl. Of this amount 26,429 bbl. arc "marginal oil" and 2682 bbl. are exempt on account of water. Deepening of Wells During the year 64 wells were deepened, increasing their total oil production 9631 bbl. per day. Of this amount the Gray County granite wash contributed 9256 bbl. from 57 wells. It has been found in many places that the granite wash carries an additional oil pay from 50 to 75 ft. below sea level. The majority of the wells that were .drilled during the early development in Gray County encountered their oil above sea level. When the wells producing from the upper horizon have become unprofit-

Jan 1, 1934

By John R. Reynolds

Mercury has long been neglected in American mining industry. The plights of domestic producers have been many and their compensations few. The mercury market has been dominated in the past, as it will be in the future, by the Spanish and Italian producers. Other major producing countries are Yugoslavia and Mexico. Probably no other mineral commodity has fluctuated so much in price. A 76-lb flask of mercury sold for $195 in 1943, $76 in 1948, and $325 in 1954. This wide fluctuation has resulted in spasmodic domestic production. U. S. mines produced 51,929 flasks in 1943, and only 4535 flasks in 1950. In 1955 the estimated production was 18,400 flasks. Domestic consumption in 1955 was 57,200 flasks.

Nov 1, 1956

By Thomas MacFarlane

DURING the last fifteen years the progress made in the science of lithology has been of a very marked character. From being a miscellaneous collection of facts and observations regarding certain mineral aggregates seemingly incapable of systematic arrangement, it has become a most interesting and orderly department of science. The investigators who have brought about this great change have recorded the results of their labors, and placed at our service an extensive and varied literature on the subject. To this I have paid some attention, and partly from .studying it, partly from my own observations, I have wrought out a classification of original or crystalline rocks, which I venture to bring under the notice of the members of this Institute. The practical importance of the subject will be acknowledged when it is considered that rock species are not without their influence on the contents of the mineral veins which intersect them. Besides, the Institute has been doing good service in defining terms in metallurgy, and no doubt in mining and geology we might

Jan 1, 1880

By R. S. Dean

True careful work of Gross and Zimmerley1 has established the fact that the energy actually used in grinding is proportional to the new sur-face produced. This confirmation of Rittinger's law was made by crush-ing quartz in a frictionless drop-weight machine and determining the surface of the quartz by its rate of solution in hydrofluoric acid. The details of this procedure have been described adequately elsewhere and need not be repeated here. The resultant data furnish the only available basis for comparing accurately the efficiency of grinding machines. This method is so cumbersome experimentally that it has been little used. As an alternative all sorts of approximations have been proposed. The best of these is complete size analysis by sieving and elutria-tion. Such procedure is very lengthy and difficult to carry out accurately. Furthermore, any sizing method becomes very inaccurate for determining surface with very fine sizes where the ratio of surface to volume becomes very large. To avoid the lengthy and difficult technique of elutriation it has been proposed to estimate the size distribution below 200 mesh from various probability formulas. Such a procedure is at best an engi-neering approximation; at worst it is a mere guess. Some time ago Dr. V. H. Gottschalk2 found that the coercive forces of magnetite powders were directly proportional to the surface area, regard-less of size distribution. It was at once apparent that this furnished a method for determining grinding efficiency quickly and accurately. The only requirement was a single determination of the relation between the work input of the Gross-Zimmerley drop-weight machine and the coercive force of the resultant crushed magnetite.

Jan 1, 1936

By E. L. Swarts

In the course of a program on high-temperature processing and electrowinning of uranium at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory,'' it became necessary to give attention to the interaction of molten uranium with graphite. Although it is known3 that a protective interface layer may form, details of this reaction have not been reported. Unfortunately it was impossible to complete the planned experimental program. However, the general problem is considered of sufficient interest to warrant reporting those preliminary results actually obtained. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Interface carbide layers were formed by melting samples of cleaned uranium metal in small closed graphite crucibles. Equilibrations were conducted in vacuo or in an atmosphere of dry helium at temperatures ranging from 1150" to 1400°C and for periods of from 24 to 240 hr.

Jan 1, 1960

By D. G. Brubaker

IN the history of geophysical exploration by the electromagnetic method many procedures and types of equipment have been used. Source arrangements for surveying on the ground have included long wires grounded at both ends, large loops laid on the ground, small horizontal loops, and vertical loops of moderate to small sizes. Receivers have ranged from simple direction-finding coils to combinations of coils and a bridge circuit to measure quantities related to both amplitude and phase of the received signal. Primary considerations in choosing a survey method are effectiveness, speed, and economy. In work on the ground in which locating and out- lining conducting bodies is the objective, methods using a vertical coil and a simple direction-finder have been found the most satisfactory. Mason1 and his associates applied such a method by setting up a vertical source loop, fed with low frequency alternating current by an engine-generator set. With a direction-finding receiver they surveyed lines along the ground in the plane of the loop, taking measurements at each station of the azimuth and inclination of the magnetic field direction. Deviations of this direction from the normal direction, that is, from horizontal and perpendicular to the traverse line, indicated a conducting body. Recent advances in design of light-weight generating equipment have encouraged using this and similar methods.

Jan 7, 1957

By Walter C. Labys

INTRODUCTION Interest in multicommodity stabilization schemes has increased recently for several reasons, a most important one being the experienced wide swings in primary commodity prices. These prices rose sharply between mid - 1972 and end - 1974 giving commodity exporting countries an opportunity to gain sizeable increases in export earnings. But since then, prices have tumbled and these countries are searching for a means to stabilize if not to increase their earnings. While this problem is particularly serious for developing countries, the developed countries are concerned about the impending upward price swing, which would increase inflation before recovery from the world recession is assured. As a direct consequence of the emergency meeting of the U.N. General Assembly devoted to commodity problems in April of 1974, interest has been renewed in the Keynesian (4) plan for an international multicommodity buffer stock program. In particular, UNCTAD (8) is designing an integrated commodity scheme to be discussed within that body. In terms of approaches that have appeared in designing such a program, none exist which relate to the interpretation of the independence and interdependence of prices of the commodities of interest. Typical criteria for selecting commodities for the scheme have included their importance in world trade, their particular origin from developing countries, and their feasibility for storage. But the financial management of a multicommodity buffer stock requires a consideration of commodity prices, yields, and risks as does as any portfolio of assets. The approach which we take in this study is that of application

Jan 1, 1977

By I. L. Box

IN planning retreatment of tailings, the material to be retreated should be thoroughly investigated, tak- ing into consideration the total tonnage, the blende content, the specific gravity of the different particles, and the grinding necessary to liberate the mineral. The tailing pile is surveyed by making a closed trav-erse around the outer edges, locating the stations at points from which a considerable portion of the pile is visible. From each of these points the pile is sur-veyed by stadia and a contour map made. The yardage is then calculated from the contour interval and the area inclosed by the contours obtained with a planim-eter. A party of three men can survey an average tailing pile in one and one-half, days. In calculating tonnage it is assumed that 22 cu. ft. of tailing in place equal one ton. Sampling is done by the use of an auger with casing to prevent the hole from caving. These holes may be bored 12 to 15 ft. deep by hand, but to penetrate the entire pile some kind of power is applied to drive the casing and raise or lower the auger. The latter method is more expensive but the increased cost is more than compensated for by the value of the information obtained.

Jan 7, 1928

By Granville S. Borden

This brief is a reconnaissance report on some prospects in the field of taxation which can safeguard our Mineral Resources. The brief is a prospectus soliciting help and enthusiastic cooperation in the common task of developing these prospects in a manner which will be most beneficial to all parties-the owners, operators, employees, tradesmen, the federal and state governments, and the people of this nation.

Jan 4, 1950

By H. A. Schwartz

By analyzing cementite separated electrolytically from white cast iron of known composition and history, the distribution of silicon between austenite and cementite during and after freezing has been followed. The results constitute a contribution to our knowledge of equilibria in the ternary (metastable) system iron-carbon-silicon. Incidental information was obtained, also, with respect to the distribution of manganese, silicon, and phosphorus, when only relatively small amounts of each are present. The major conclusion of the paper is that during solidification, equilibrium is attained when the silicon is all rejected to the liquid phase, permitting silicon-free austenite to separate. OF THE outstanding investigators of the system iron-carbon-silicon, Gontermann,1 Charpy and Cornu-Thenard,2 and Honda,3 only the first touched on the chemical composition of the solid and liquid phases in equilibrium with one another. He concluded that his data did not permit a decision as to which of an indefinitely large number of pairs of compositions of liquid and solid would be found in any given case. If through the three dimensional equilibrium diagram of the iron-carbon-silicon system an isothermal plane is passed in the region of partial solidification, two lines of intersection with the liquidus and solidus, respectively, are obtained, also a point marking the alloys' composition. If, in this, plane, a straight line is drawn through the point, and intersecting both the liquidus and solidus isothermals, the two intersections mark a liquid and a solid alloy that may be chemically in equilibrium at the chosen temperature. From thermal data alone, Gontermann could not assign any particular direction to the line and, hence, could not determine which pair of conjugate points to choose.

Jan 7, 1924

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period of May 10, 1918, to June 10, 1918. ABEEL, GEORGE H., JR., Cons. Min. Engr., .4111 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis, Mo. ALLEN, CARL A Metal Min. Engr., U. S. Bureau of Mines, Butte, Mont. BECKER P. FRANK Engr., Lightner Min. Co., 35 Nassau St., New York, N. Y. BOCK, JAMES H., Steam Shovel Foreman, Chino Copper Co., Santa Rita, N. M. CARRON, FRANK X., Civ. and Min. Engr Rock Springs, Wyo. CROWE, THOMAS B., Mill Supt., Portland Mill, Portland Gold Min. Co., Victor, Colo. DOBSON, PERCY GRENSIDE, Min. Engr. and Geol., Crow's Nest Pass Coal Co., Fernie B. C., Canada. ESTABROOK, W. H., Capt., 3d Bat. 20th Engineers, A. E. F., Care postmaster, N.Y. FRASER, 0. B. J., Engr., International Nickel Co. of Canada, Ltd., Port Colborne, Ont., Canada. GARRIDO,. MANUEL F., Min. Engr 109 W. Myrtle St., San Antonio, Tex. GRODSKY, VLADIMIR ALEXANDROVITCH, Cons. Engr., Motor Products Corpn., Detroit, Mich.

Jan 7, 1918

By Robert Davis Longyear

In diamond-drill work, a true sample consists of all the material cut by the bit—both core and cuttings. As the recovery of this sample is the object of diamond drilling, the utmost care should be taken to secure it. Speed of drilling and low costs are of little value if an inaccurate sample is obtained. The engineer in charge must study his material and lay out the plan of sampling, and then see that the drill runner follows his instructions; for the runner may be more interested in obtaining a large footage than in developing accurate methods of sampling. When the core has been removed from the core barrel, it should be placed in a core box in the exact order in which it is taken from the ground. This box, Fig. 1, is usually a shallow tray 4 or 5 ft. (1.2 or 1.5 m.) long, with partitions running lengthwise between which the core

Jan 1, 1923