Search Documents

By W. F. NETZZEBAND

THE long-hole drill has been used for prospecting underground in the tri-State district for several years, and its value has been pretty thoroughly proved. An attempt was made to get a statement of their experience with the machine from all the operators who were known to have used the machine. The majority of them replied to the questionnaire so that this paper is practically a summary of the experience of the district, together with some practical details taken from the experience of the Eagle-Picher Lead Company. When the drill was first used by the Eagle-Picher Lead Co., it was put in low headings and was mounted on a cross-arm supported by two drill columns. This was found to be a rather awkward method of mounting, because fairly long moves were made and the same drill columns could not be used on any two successive set-ups. The machine was later moved to a mine with high headings so that this type of mounting was found to be impractical. A heavy tripod was tried and found satisfactory, provided care was taken to see that the set-up was solid. The Evans-Wallower Lead Co. and the Century Zinc Co. report using the double post set-up, but the headings are low in these mines. The Commerce Mining St Royalty Co. first used the double-post mounting in high headings by cutting a niche in the wall and setting the post in it. This proved to be a slow and expensive method and was later abandoned for the tripod. The Federal Mining & Smelting Co. has used a tripod throughout its operations. Great care must be taken in using the tripod to see that the set-up is solid. Wherever possible it is advisable to sludge in the legs and let them set a short time before the machine is put into use. Where high bottom is encountered the Eagle-Picher operator found it advisable to drill jack- hammer holes in the bottom and drive the legs into them.

Jan 1, 1930

By A. B. Kinzel

ALTHOUGH calcium carbide and other compounds of calcium, as well as a number of calcium alloys, are well known and are the basis of important industries in the of United States, calcium metal has been thought of as something of a rarity and has received comparatively little attention from industrial metallurgists. The metal may he made in a number of ways, but the electrolytic deposition of calcium from a molten calcium chloride bath was the first process to be used for its commercial production and is still the standard procedure. Calcium metal has elicited little interest among nonferrous metal producers, as the demand has been relatively small and its production restricted to only a few plants, exclusively in France and Germany.

Jan 1, 1941

By Robert E. Tally

A recorded in the account of the Annual Meeting, on another page, the report of the tellers showed that all men nominated by the committee, which included Messrs. Wilber Judson, E. DeGolyer, W. A. Weldin, J. A. Norden, J. D. MacKenzie, Wilfred Sykes and S. Skowronski, were duly elected to the offices for which they were nominated. Robert Tally, who was elected to the presidency for 1931-2, is well known to all our members not only because he has served on the Board of Directors since 1928, but through a brief outline of his great achieve¬ments in his chosen profession pub¬lished in our issue of December last. The vice-presidents, Howard N. Eavenson and H. A. Guess, are also well known to our members. Mr. Eavenson has not only been chairman of the Coal Division since its organization, but was also a Director during 1917, 1918 and 1919., Mr. Guess was Director in 1926, was elected a vice-president by the Board last year to fill the vacancy created by the election of Mr. Bassett to the presidency, and is now elected to the usual three-year term.

Jan 1, 1931

By Frederick M. Becket

SHORTLY after the Armistice there appeared a few references to numerous attempts that had been made to produce steel without the aid of manganese, or at least with manganese in abnormally low percentage. Some years later, during two consecutive days of train travel, I had excellent opportunity to read Sir Robert Hadfield's book, entitled "Metallurgy-Its Influence on Modern Progress," and also his paper, "The Metal Manganese and Its Properties : Also the Production of Ferro-Manganese and Its History," presented at the spring meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1927. Both the book and the paper are most interesting historically to makers of alloy steels and

Jan 1, 1931

By George C. Bravner

WITH the great expansion currently being made in the aluminum output of the United States, not only by the company that has heretofore been the sole producer but by a now organization in the field it is only natural to wonder to what degree the; ore reserves of the United States can contribute to the growing consumption. For the three-year period 1937-'39 the U.S. Bureau of Mine's figures indicate that the annual domestic production of bauxite averaged about 370,000 long tons, compared with average, annual import of about 194,000 long tons. About 85 per cent of the imports came from Surinam, nearly all of which went into aluminum manufacture. Not all of the or -kipped from mines in the United States is used to make alumimun however as Bureau figures indicate that in these three years an average of only 48 per cent of the domestic ore shipment were so used the abrasive chemical and other industries taking respectively 27, 21, and 4 per cent of the output. The recent increase in the demand for bauxite has been of course in it use for aluminum manufacture. This as is well known is largely attributable to the world race for supremacy in

Jan 1, 1941

By R. E. Boni, G. Derge

Application of surface tension measurements has been made to molten silicates in order to determine the effect of sulphur upon the surface tensions of synthetic blast furnace slags. In melts with the same molar ratios of AI2O3 + SiO2 to the basic oxides BaO, CaO, and MgO, the surface tensions increase in the order of oxides listed. Sulphur lowers the surface tensions of the basic BaO, basic CaO, acid BaO, acid CaO, and acid MgO slags in that order; and the concentration of excess sulphur at the slag surface increases in this same order of slags. The rate and amount of desulphurization of iron by these slags is favored by a low excess surface sulphur in the slag. IN a previous paper,1 the authors discussed the applications of surface tension measurements of molten silicates to problems of metallurgical interest. Of major importance is the aid that such studies lend to forming a working concept of slag structure. Since the ability of a slag to desulphurize metal depends strongly upon its composition,2"4 fundamental information about the structural differences between various slags which contain sulphur should aid the development of better desulphurizing media. For that reason, the present investigation concerns the effect of sulphur upon the surface tensions of synthetic blast furnace slags. Experimental Procedure , The maximum bubble-pressure method was used to measure the surface tensions of synthetic blast furnace slags in the temperature range 1300° to 1600°C. The method is based upon the equation which was developed by Schrödinger5 from a consideration of the forces of hydrostatic pressure and surface tension of a liquid which oppose bubble formation when a gas is forced through a tube immersed in the liquid. where y is the surface tension between argon and slag in dynes per centimeter; g is the gravitational constant, centimeters per second2; H is the manometer reading in centimeters; s2 is the density of manometer fluid in grams per cubic centimeter; S1 is the density of the medium in grams per cubic

Jan 1, 1957

By J. P. Kerr, W. N. Logan

Lack of reliable and detailed information on many of the older fields in Indiana has necessitated the use of x and y in many instances. Even in the younger fields many data were lacking. It was thought that even though much was to be desired regarding the amount and accuracy of the information on the old Trenton field, it was too important to be left out. We trust that we are not perpetuating any of the inaccuracies that are to be found in the data for Indiana.

Jan 1, 1935

By Robert L. Haffner

When mining operations of The Eagle-Picher Co. began in the Illinois-Wisconsin zinc mining field in 1949, all underground loading of broken ore and waste was by caterpillar-tracked machines. Beginning in 1956 rubber-tired end-loaders were brought in; ultimately they completely supplanted the tracked units. End-loaders proved to have the mobility needed for the mining conditions and additional merit in auxiliary capacities. Eagle-Picher operates five mines in this area; two are entered by shafts and three by inclined adits. Several ore zones, some of which are attenuated over a considerable distance, are worked from the same entry. Consequently underground haulage roads connecting or following these orebodies have attained great length. In addition, working places are often widely separated because of the character of the mining operations which include pillar recovery and extending haulage connections into old workings. At one mine, the haulage distance is 5000 ft on either side of the shaft, at another the maximum one-way distance is 8400 ft, and at another the present road system of 6800 ft is expected to reach 10,000 to 12,000 ft.

Jan 6, 1962

By FREDERICK C. BROWN

THE practice of fine-grinding is now being so successfully - carried on in some fields, notably in West Australia, and its advisability has been so frequently pointed out' that the matter in this paper is not put forward as being new ; its chief object being to call attention to the importance of fine-grinding in the treatment of comparatively low-grade ores. I have been engaged during the last five years in the cyanide-treatment of ores in the Ohinemuri district (North Island), New Zealand, and I consider that, in the near future, extremely fine-grinding (almost sliming) will become a very important feature of the milling-methods in this field, since it seems absolutely necessary to reduce the most of ores to a very fine state of division if a high extraction is to be obtained; and, in most cases, the extra percentage of saving will leave a good margin above the increased cost of treatment due both to the fine-grinding and to the interest on the capital spent for the grinding-machinery. The average ore of the Ohinemuri field is composed of a quartz-gangue with some calcite, carrying the gold-value in the form of an alloy of gold and silver in about equal proportions, and the silver-value in the form of mixed sulphides of silver, usually associated with a considerable amount of iron pyrites. In the upper levels, the ores are decomposed and carry large quantities of black manganese oxide and some iron oxide, but, as. depth is reached, the decomposed ore gives place to sulphides and, in some mines, rhodonite, manganese silicate, is present in fairly large quantities. The average value of the

Jan 1, 1906

By James E. Harding

AT just about the geographical center of the peninsula of Lower California is the El Arco gold mine. It is small and spotty, and three separate attempts to operate it in the past have failed. The only reason the present operation is possible is because of the higher price of gold and because the previous operators had spent about $300,000 developing the property with shafts, four levels, machinery, and a complete mill, all of which was acquired at a bargain price. All the known ore in the mine, to say nothing of the cost of recovering it, is

Jan 1, 1937

The annual meeting of the Woman's Auxiliary was held on February 19, at 10 a. m. The president, Mrs. Sidney Jennings, said in her greeting "it is a matter of congratulation that during the past year when the demands upon women for work of all kinds has been so large our membership has grown from the 50 enrolled at the first meeting a year ago to over 300 today. Some women, when. asked to join the organization, say that they are doing so much work in other ways that they have no time for work in a new organization, but the director for Canada struck the right note in her report when she told us of the splendid work the wives of mining engineers are doing in Canada, as individuals and as leaders and members of various organizations doing patriotic work. We do not want to divert such women from the work they are now doing, but we do want them to enroll as members of the Woman's Auxiliary and let us know what they are doing, that they play give inspiration to others." Reports were made by the directors of the following sections: Canada, Chicago, Colorado, Columbia, New York, Puget Sound and St. Louis, in some of which sections excellent progress has been made in food conservation, foreign war relief, including the adoption of fatherless French children, and in work for our own engineering regiments. These reports were read, accepted, and placed on file. The reports of the corresponding secretary, of the recording secretary, and of the treasurer, were read, accepted, and placed on file. Various amendments to the Constitution were proposed and accepted, and copies of the Constitution, as amended, will be mailed to all the members of the Woman's Auxiliary.

Jan 4, 1918

By Odmund Ljone

FAR north of the Arctic Circle is a totally industrial community which until 1945 could not boast a single specimen of the rat family, and where today you will be awarded a bottle of fine cognac for every rat-dead or alive. Amazing but true, the spot is Longyear City, the Norwegian mining town on the arctic island of Spitzbergen. Perhaps you have also heard of the town built on soil that never thaws, where huge blocks of ice must be melted to fill the city's fresh water reservoirs, and where the Far North dictates a way of life all its own. Here, coal is king and men must work hard for their "black gold." Spitzbergen is a rough, tough piece of Norway, made up of a half dozen isolated islands between 74 and 81 degrees north latitude. Covering twice the area of Belgium, they are home to

Jan 1, 1948

By T. D. Jones

MUCH the same story can be told for the lead industry for the year 1945 as for the three previous years. In response to inquiries as to new developments, invariably the answer has been, "No new developments-our men either too busy with the man-power problem or trying to get production out." Time and efforts of industry have been concentrated for the most part on war or readjustment problems. Now that V-E and V-1 day have passed, the lead industry can justly be proud of its record in World War II. As in previous wars, lead played an important role and one of its most spectacular uses was in the production of the atomic bomb. We read that the part lead played was rather obscure, but as a protective agent, lead played a most significant role. "Since the materials in the Pile Plant are intensely radioactive, all storage and handling must be done behind thick concrete walls or lead shields. The material is never seen and all operations are auto matically controlled by a foolproof remote control system especially designed for this purpose." (Chews. & Met., Sept. 1945.) When our armies invaded the European theater of war and made a landing on Normandy beach, gasoline and oil for the motive power were furnished through miles of armored lead pipe. This amaz-

Jan 1, 1946

By John G. Hall

The unstable metal market during 1949, with resulting lower metal prices, has focused every mine operator's attention on the problem of reducing operating costs. Improvement in mining, methods, use of modern mechanical mining equipment, and increasing the efficiency of the labor force are the tools with which we will have to work. Careful planning is necessary to coordinate all phases so that no one phase is overdone. A mine may become over-mechanized if, for instance, capital charges against new equipment exceed the savings in labor costs, or where a large enough tonnage is not produced. The cooperation, of labor is essential to any mechanization program. There have been too many instances where mechanization and improvements have done nothing more than make up for a decrease in labor efficiency, thus bringing the production of labor back to its old standard. The operator has gained little and labor has gained only a "softer job." In any mechanization program there are gains to be had by both the operator and labor. By the efficient application of modern equipment and improved mining methods the operator should gain by decreased costs, and labor may profit by receiving a share of these decreased costs.

Jan 1, 1950

By Joseph Jensen

CURTAILMENT of oil production in California began in 1922 and 1923 when certain of the major companies completely shut down some pumping properties. Efforts of this kind were generally carried on without coordination by individual companies until 1923. From May to August of 1923, oil production in the Los Angeles Basin was curtailed because of lack of pipe-line outlets. This work was handled by a small committee of executives and engineers of some of the pipeline companies without any established. Method such as obtains at present. Not all of the major companies participated in ibis curtailment and the effort was not well organized. The problem then was principally to move the oil. The crisis passed in September of 1923 from then on the major companies each on it own initiative, shut in additional production. At Domiuguez, in 1921, Shell, Union and Associated agreed to limit drilling to a 100-ft. zone for one Near. In the summer of 1925, operators at Ingde-wood agreed to limit developments to a 1300-ft. zone during the 1925 drilling campaign. In the summer of 1927, the Ventura operators cut back their production one-third and deft it thus for 90 day. Drilling in this field has always been at a slow and conservative rate.

Jan 1, 1932

By PERCY E. BARBOUR

TWO YEARS after its organization, the Institute issued its first volume of TRANSACTIONS, covering activities that began in May, 1871, and continued through February, 1873. The preface of this first volume reads: The present volume contains the rules of the Institute, a list of members and associates, an abstract of the proceedings of the-first two years, and a number of papers selected from those proceedings. There is, therefore, nothing new in it. The papers have all been published, according to the custom of the Institute, in the Engineering and Mining Journal, and many of them have been copied into other periodicals. They are republished here, solely to enable members and associates to preserve them in convenient form. Various considerations have determined the selection of papers for this purpose. Some have been omitted at the request of the authors who, having modified the views expressed in them, naturally deprecated a republication of those views. Others have been omitted, in order not to devote too large a proportion of space to single topics, or single branches of mining or metal¬lurgy, in view of the fact that the membership of the Institute extends throughout the whole country, and represents numerous departments of these industries. Some, on the other hand, have been chosen, although not laying claim to special originality, because they contained information of importance, not easily accessible elsewhere, the presentation of which, in a form convenient for reference, was generally desired.

Jan 1, 1921

By E. DeGolyer

USE of geophysical methods as an aid to prospecting for new oil pools and in the exploration of already discovered pools continued to increase and reached a new high during 1934. As in previous years, the scene of greatest activity was the Gulf coastal plain of Texas and Louisiana. Seismic crews working by the reflection method increased from some thirty crews at the first of the year to forty crews at the end. An increased demand for torsion balance work at the beginning of the year occurred and practically all available instruments were put into service. Some thirty crews with approximately eighty balances continued throughout the year. Both the pendulum and gravimeter methods of gravity surveys registered their initial successes and equipment was increased from five to seven pendulums and from one to three gravimeters during the year. Approximately five magnetometer parties continued to work throughout the year. No surface surveys by the electrical method are known to have been made. Outside of coastal Texas and Louisiana the chief geophysical work

Jan 1, 1935

By C. EDWARD STAFFORD

A Discussion of the paper by Mr. James P. Roe which was read at the Washington meeting, May, 1905. MR. C. EDWARD STAFFORD, Chester, Pa.:-During all my business life, I have been engaged in the manufacture of Bessemer and open-hearth steels, but, during my long connection with the Shoenberger Steel Co. of Pittsburg, I had some experience in the manufacture of high-grade puddled iron for horse-shoes and in the making by Dr. Otto Wuth's process extremely pure low phosphorus puddled blooms (analyzing from 0.005 to 0.01 per cent. of phosphorus and sulphur), which were melted with low-phosphorus pig-iron in acid open-hearth furnaces to make extra locomotive fire-box steel. I have also seen the Dank's puddlers in operation at different times and places, notably where they were most successful, at the Otis Steel Works, Cleveland, Ohio; then under the management of our friend, Mr. S. T. Wellman. These Dank's blooms were made solely for open-hearth melting-stock to which they were well adapted ; the unavoidable presence of bits of ore-fix imbedded in the mass of the, metal always prevents the profitable manufacture of merchant iron from Dank's blooms. With the experience just described, I was to some degree in position to value fairly the means, methods and results of Mr. Roe's mechanical puddling from the metallurgical or technical and economic points of view, when given an opportunity by Mr. Roe to see his puddling furnace or machine in operation in Pottstown, Pa. Briefly, the furnace, with water-cooled bottom, is rectangular in plan, about 20 by 8 ft. in the clear, suspended by trunnions at the middle of the long sides, at a. height of 17 or 18 ft. above the general level; the oscillation (65° each way from the vertical) is accomplished by geared segments (attached to the downward-projecting side or trunnion-plates) with which engage pinions driven by a reversing engine. The whole section

Sep 1, 1905

By AIME AIME

WITH a brilliance undimmed by hard times, the annual dinner on Wednesday evening, Feb. 17, was a complete success. More than 600 members, friends and ladies gathered early and filled the anterooms of the grand ballroom of the Commodore Hotel, while the president's reception was in progress, and then at the sound of the gong and with the music of the orchestra, rising above the happy din of conversation thronged to their seats at the tables. Following the "potage Ambassadeur"-probably to eliminate a very real hazard-the usual toy balloons appeared and a gay and lively scene, punctuated by multitudinous explosions, ensued, as the hundreds, of variously colored spheres bounced yon and hither until their gaseous existence was ended on the glowing end of a cigar or cigarette. On the speakers' dais sat C. E. Beecher, Chairman Petroleum Division; J. Vipond Davies, representative of A. I. M. E. on the Alfred Noble Prize Committee; Corbin T. Eddy, Alfred Noble Prize recipient; A.' S. Tuttle, Vice-president American Society of Civil Engineers; W. C. Mendenhall, Director U. S. Geological Survey; George C. Bateman, representing the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy; Paul D. Merica, Institute of Metals lecturer and Chairman James Douglas Medal Committee; Champion Herbert Mathewson, James Douglas Medalist; Robert E. Tally; retiring President; G. Temple Bridgman, toast-master; Scott Turner, incoming President; F. W. Bradley, William Lawrence Saunders Medalist; Fred Searls, Jr., Chairman William Lawrence Saunders Gold Medal Committee; Arthur Notman, President Mining and Metallurgical Society of. America; Robert J. Grant, Director U. S. Mint; Landon F. Strobel, Chairman New York Section; Howard Scott, recipient of Robert W. Hunt Prize; George. B. Waterhouse, Chairman Robert W. Hunt Prize Committee; F. M. Becket, Chairman Iron and Steel Division; Ora E. Clark, recipient of the J. E. Johnson, Jr., Award; Richard Peters, Jr., Chairman J. E. Johnson, Jr., Award Committee; E. C. Bain, Howe Lecturer; Sam Tour, Chairman Institute of Metals Division; and H. Foster Bain, Chairman. Charles F. 'Band Foundation Committee. ' Each was heartily applauded when introduced by Mr. Bridgman, as was Mrs. Tally, who also made a bow. The toastmaster made graceful reference in introducing Mr. Strobel, to the large part the latter had taken in planning the meeting.

Jan 1, 1932

By Paul Weir

PRODUCTION METHODS in the bituminous coal mines in the United States are undergoing many changes. Although the primary object of these changes is the production of a better product at a cheaper cost there are other considerations such as the improvement of conditions under which miners live and work. The almost complete unionization of the manual workers in the industry during the past four years has 'brought with it a stabilization of wages on a relatively high basis and of hours of work per day and per week on a relatively low basis. With differentials in wages between producing districts firmly established, and with a nation- wide and uniform application of in-

Jan 1, 1937