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By Howland Bancroft

The writer has observed that some confusion is experienced by many mining engineers in making vertical sections of ore deposits in mining properties which they have examined. Having much examination work calling for the correct interpretation of vein structure and the subsequent platting of the same on sections, it has occurred to the writer that the accompanying diagram may be of use to others who at times may be called upon to prepare numerous sections. For example, a great mass of data on strike and dip of ore bodies is collected underground in separate

Jan 1, 1915

By C. K. Leith, W. J. Mead

One of the most significant developments in the iron industry in recent years has been the discovery and opening of enormous reserves of low-grade ore in eastern and northeastern Cuba. The two principal fields are the Mayari and the Moa, situated on Nipe bag, in the Province of Oriente. A less well-known district of the same type is that of Baracoa, at the east of the island, and another is in Csmaguey Province in central Cuba. In the comprehensive estimates of the iron-ore reserves of the world, published during the summer of 1910 by the International Geological Congress in Sweden,' these Cuban deposits are estimated at about 2,000,000,000 tons. Certain it is that the reserve is a large one. The Spanish-American Iron Co., the Juragua Iron Co. (Bethlehem Steel Co.), the U. S. Steel Corporation, and others have been active in this exploration. The Spanish-American Iron Co. has established a port for the handling of these ores at Felton, has built a railway 16 miles to the ore-fields, and has operied up deposits for steam-shovel mining. Its expenditures have reached an aggregate of about $6,000,000 in preparation for the handling of these ores. Shipment of the ore to Sparrow's Point, Md., has begun and may be expected to rise to a considerable amount in the near future.

Jan 1, 1912

By Eugene E. Ayres

The centrifuge has come into general use in the oil fields and in the establishments where lubricating and fuel oils are used. Probably centrifugal machinery will be found more useful in the refinery when the operators are more familiar with'the principles of modern centrifuga-tion and when centrifugal engineers better understand the refinery emulsion problems. It is not generally realized that centrifugal force and gravity have two distinct functions: First, subsidence wherein the suspended globules are brought into contact; second, coalescence (when this is possible) by rupturing the films around the globules. In the case of a water-in-oil emulsion, an exercise of the former function alone would yield: (1) oil, free, or as free as desired, from water; and (2) a concentrated water-in-oil emulsion—concentrated in the sense that it contains a relatively large percentage of the internal phase. An exercise of both functions will yield: (1) water-free oil and (2) oil-free water. Centrifugal force is much better than gravity for subsidence because, in the case of industrial emulsions where the suspended globules are visible under a microscope, subsidence is directly proportional to the force applied. Centrifugal force is only slightly better than gravity for coalescence. A minute trace of a proper reagent will immediately do more to nullify the interfacial surface tension opposing coalescence than an indefinite application of the highest attainable centrifugal force. No mathematical analysis has been made to explain the failure of high centrifugal force to induce a decidedly more rapid and more complete coalescence than is obtained by gravity. The adjustment of the centrifuge rotor depends more on the extent of coalescence that is desired or is possible than on any other factor. One reason for this dependence is to be found in the curious relation between the specific gravity and the hydrostatic pressure of emulsions. The continuous centrifuge works on the U-tube or Florentine flask prin-

Jan 1, 1924

By James P. Kimball

The object of the present memoir is to pot on record some practical experiments by the writer in smelting a silicions native magnetite with no other flux than the silicates of its own gangue.' This work was undertaken in the spring of 1878 for Messrs. Naylor & Co., of' Boston, to whom I am indebted for the privilege of here communicating its results, these having hitherto only been simply announced.* So far as I am aware these are the first instances of the kind ill this country that non-calcareous; or rather non-carbonatbed, magnetite have successfully been used strictly alone as self-fluxing ores in the blast furnace; that is, without the addition of' calcareous flux in the form either of limestone, quicklime, calcareous ore, or basic (calcareous) slag. Previous to the spring of 1878, when the Chateaugay magnetic ore was first brought to illy notice. its use had been limited to Catalan forges, after " separation " at the ore bed. The blooms and billets made from it in the several forges of Messrs. Weed $ Williams, and of Mr. Williams, were well known in the trade as among the best in the market. Tile Chateaugay ore beds proving of great magnitude, and the ore exceptionally low in phosphoric acid, it commended itself for blast-furnace purposes to Messrs. Naylor & Co., who employed me to blow-in the charcoal furnace at Pittsford, Vt., on this ore in the spring of 1878, a previous trial of this ore in the same furnace in the fall of 1877 having proved abortive. This was therefore the first time that Chateaugay ore was successfully smelted in a blast furnace, although since well known as a blast-furnace ore possessing superior and exceptional qualities. The Pittsford furnace, although rebuilt in 1844, and subsequently improved by the former owner, the late J. Prichard, is one of the few furnaces of the old type with open breast (Sumpfofen) still active in this country, Its improvements 011 furnaces of the period,

Jan 1, 1881

By J. S. Jacobi

Treating copper ores by heap-leaching and similar hydrometallurgical means is a time-honored practice, which was well known even in the 19th century. Later the method lost ground to better ore dressing processes, particularly selective. flotation. More recently there has been a distinct reversion to leaching techniques, particularly for scavenging operations in old mining stopes, in connection with LPF systems, irrigation of tailings dumps and similar situations. These hydrometallurgical techniques will gain further ground because processing is simple and permits better extraction of copper, particularly from low-grade or partly oxidized ores. In the lixiviation of primary ores at some major operations, copper-bearing liquors may undergo re-circulation in heap-leaching arrangements or the ores may be subjected to systematic percolation treatment. The liquors resulting from this source usually are quite strong (above 10 gpl copper) and copper would normally be reclaimed by electrowinning or cementation. These processes fall out- side the scope of this paper which is concerned with recovery of copper from weak 1iquor.s containing from 0.1 to about 3 gpl copper.

Jan 9, 1963

By Henry Otto

THE anthracite industry can be divided into two parts-the underground, or mining, and the outside, or preparation or manufacture. To understand recoveries in the two branches, some of the history of the industry and the changes that have taken place in the past century should be considered. It is a long step from 1807, when 55 tons were produced in the Wyoming field, to 1917, the peak year, when 80,841,223 tons were shipped to market from all the fields. In 1820, the Lehigh Coal Co., the predecessor of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., shipped 365 tons in arks down the canal of the Lehigh Navigation Co. The Schuylkill field was not opened until 1822, when 1480 tons were shipped. The Wyoming field really became a producer in 1829, when 7000 tons were mined and shipped. It is well to note, at this time, the passing of the Coleraine colliery after a life of 88 years; in collieries of this age will be found the. romance of the region, as well as the history of the changes to date.

Jan 1, 1925

By A. M. Gaudin, Olav Mellgren, P. L. De Bruyn

In commonly used to prepare the surface of the mineral to be floated so that attachment to air takes place. The quantity of agent required to make the mineral hydrophobic is usually very small, of the order of 0.1 to 0.25 lb per ton of mineral. Details of the mechanism of pyrite collection are for the most part unsettled. Adsorption of collector has long been believed to involve an ion exchange mechanism as demonstrated for galena' and for chalcocite. In the work on chalcocite it was also demonstrated that a film of xanthate radicals unleachable in solvents that dissolve alkali xanthates, copper xanthate, or dixanthogen was formed at the surface of the mineral. The unleachable product increased with increasing addition of xanthate up to a maximum corresponding to an oriented monolayer of xanthate radicals. Pyrite is extremely floatable with xanthate if its surface is fresh,,' but the floatability decreases rapidly as oxide coatings increase in abundance. Pyrite shows zero contact angle when in contact with ethyl xanthate solution at pH higher than about 10.5; at neutrality. a contact angle of 60° is obtained at a reagent concentration of 25 mg per liter. Alkali sulfides and cyanides are pyrite depressants.

Jan 1, 1956

By James Lee Hibbard, Doraiswami Ramkrishna

A population balance model accounting for the transient variations in drop size distributions in a stirred liquid-liquid system is analyzed for its effect on chemical reaction conversion in a stirred, batch reactor. The analysis is applied specifically for phase transfer catalytic reactions, which indicates that transient effects of evolution of drop size distributions may be important in such systems.

Jan 1, 1981

By K. V. S. Sastry

This paper summarizes recent research on the kinetic aspects and process behavior of agglomeration in balling circuits. The physical concepts underlying agglomeration, the mechanisms responsible for size changes during agglomeration, and a generalized population balance model for agglomeration systems are summarized. Experimental techniques for investigating the batch balling behavior and for simulating the balling- circuit operations are reviewed. Further, the effect of such operating variables as feed moisture, bentonite content, and the rate of feed addition are discussed. An approach to the computer simulation of the agglomerating circuits is shown and the importance of such models in process engineering is discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By Jack D. Webber

The successful use of oil well packers requires, in part: an understanding of the pressures which exist at the packer in various applications and an understanding of the characteristics of the various types of packers. It is with these pressures, the resultant forces, and the characteristics of packers. that this paper is primarily concerned. An oil well packer may be defined as a mechanical device for blocking the passage of fluids in an annular space. In the more usual case, the annular space is that between the tubing or drill pipe in a well and the casing, and packers which block such an annular space are broadly referred to as casing packers. In the other case. the annular space is that between the tubing or drill pipe and the walls of an open hole, and packers for blocking this space are generally called formation packers. While the hydraulics involved are essentially the same for casing and formation packers. a greater variety of conditions are encountered in the use of casing packers and only casing packers will be discussed. After a packer has been set and a pressure seal effected between tubing and casing, the packer is comparable to a piston in a cylinder. Pressures acting upon a piston result in forces which will move the piston unless some means is provided to prevent such movement. In the same manner, pressures acting upon a packer will move the packer unless there is present a sufficiently great restraining force. PACKER CLASSIFICATIONS Packers may be classified according to the pressure conditions under which they are capable of blocking the annular space between tubing and casing. Fig. 1 shows schematically two types of packers in common use. These packers are capable of blocking the annular space against the passage of fluids under a differential pressure of significant magnitude only when the pressure in the annular space above the packing element is greater than the pressure below. It may be seen that in Fig. l-a. slips with teeth which bite into the casing and prevent downward movement are provided. In Fig. 1-h. an anchor prevents downward movement. In each case, there i-only the tubing to prevent upward movement when differential pressures act to move the packers upwardly. Packers which hold only a significant differential pressure acting downwardly have been in use since the early days of the oil industry and will hereafter be referred to as conventional type packers. In many packer applications operating conditions will 1.crult in differential pressures across the packer which will at times act to move the packer upwardly, and at other times, act to move the packer downwardly. For these applications, designs are available which will block the annular space and resist movement in either direction. Fig. 2-a shows schematically a packer of this type which is designed to be run into a well and set, and removed when desired by merely pulling the tubing. It will be noted that two sets of slips are provided-— one set above the packing element to prevent upward movement, and another set below the packing element to prevent downward movement. This packer is built around a mandrel which is essentially a part of the tubing. and which is free to move longitudinally within certain limits through the set packer. Fig. 2-b shows schematically a permanent type packer which is capable of holding pressures from either direction. Here again, two sets of slips are provided to prevenl movement of the packer. This packer is designed to become virtuallv a part of the casing when set and it is made of drillable material so that it may be drilled out when its removal is desired. The seal nipple shown effects a pressure seal between the tubing and the packer. This seal nipple is a part of the the tubing, and the nipple and tubing may be withdrawn from the well without disturbing the packer. It should be noted that these figures are not representative of all available packers which are designed to hold pressures from both above and below. Packers which resist movement in either direction will hereafter be referred to as universal type packers. There is a third type of packer in general use and this type is designed to block the passage of fluids when the pressure below the packing element ii greater than that above. This type is provided with slips which prevent upward movement of the packer and is somewhat similar to a conventional type packer run upside-down. Packers designed to hold pressure only from below are made in a variety of designs and are usually owned and operated by service companies.

Jan 1, 1949

By Jack D. Webber

The successful use of oil well packers requires, in part: an understanding of the pressures which exist at the packer in various applications and an understanding of the characteristics of the various types of packers. It is with these pressures, the resultant forces, and the characteristics of packers. that this paper is primarily concerned. An oil well packer may be defined as a mechanical device for blocking the passage of fluids in an annular space. In the more usual case, the annular space is that between the tubing or drill pipe in a well and the casing, and packers which block such an annular space are broadly referred to as casing packers. In the other case. the annular space is that between the tubing or drill pipe and the walls of an open hole, and packers for blocking this space are generally called formation packers. While the hydraulics involved are essentially the same for casing and formation packers. a greater variety of conditions are encountered in the use of casing packers and only casing packers will be discussed. After a packer has been set and a pressure seal effected between tubing and casing, the packer is comparable to a piston in a cylinder. Pressures acting upon a piston result in forces which will move the piston unless some means is provided to prevent such movement. In the same manner, pressures acting upon a packer will move the packer unless there is present a sufficiently great restraining force. PACKER CLASSIFICATIONS Packers may be classified according to the pressure conditions under which they are capable of blocking the annular space between tubing and casing. Fig. 1 shows schematically two types of packers in common use. These packers are capable of blocking the annular space against the passage of fluids under a differential pressure of significant magnitude only when the pressure in the annular space above the packing element is greater than the pressure below. It may be seen that in Fig. l-a. slips with teeth which bite into the casing and prevent downward movement are provided. In Fig. 1-h. an anchor prevents downward movement. In each case, there i-only the tubing to prevent upward movement when differential pressures act to move the packers upwardly. Packers which hold only a significant differential pressure acting downwardly have been in use since the early days of the oil industry and will hereafter be referred to as conventional type packers. In many packer applications operating conditions will 1.crult in differential pressures across the packer which will at times act to move the packer upwardly, and at other times, act to move the packer downwardly. For these applications, designs are available which will block the annular space and resist movement in either direction. Fig. 2-a shows schematically a packer of this type which is designed to be run into a well and set, and removed when desired by merely pulling the tubing. It will be noted that two sets of slips are provided-— one set above the packing element to prevent upward movement, and another set below the packing element to prevent downward movement. This packer is built around a mandrel which is essentially a part of the tubing. and which is free to move longitudinally within certain limits through the set packer. Fig. 2-b shows schematically a permanent type packer which is capable of holding pressures from either direction. Here again, two sets of slips are provided to prevenl movement of the packer. This packer is designed to become virtuallv a part of the casing when set and it is made of drillable material so that it may be drilled out when its removal is desired. The seal nipple shown effects a pressure seal between the tubing and the packer. This seal nipple is a part of the the tubing, and the nipple and tubing may be withdrawn from the well without disturbing the packer. It should be noted that these figures are not representative of all available packers which are designed to hold pressures from both above and below. Packers which resist movement in either direction will hereafter be referred to as universal type packers. There is a third type of packer in general use and this type is designed to block the passage of fluids when the pressure below the packing element ii greater than that above. This type is provided with slips which prevent upward movement of the packer and is somewhat similar to a conventional type packer run upside-down. Packers designed to hold pressure only from below are made in a variety of designs and are usually owned and operated by service companies.

Jan 1, 1949

By E. R. Palowitch, P. H. Broussard

The United States aims to achieve some modicum of energy self-sufficiency through means such as conservation, increased domestic oil and gas production, substitution by the electric utilities of coal or coaloil mixtures for oil and gas, and development of a viable synthetic liquid fuels industry. Coal's role in attaining this goal will necessitate doubling coal production by the end of the 1980's. And if the United States does in fact become the World's Saudi Arabia of coal, the total annual production to meet these domestic needs and export markets could double again by the year 2,000. As only a small portion of our Nation's reserves are recoverable by state-of-the-art surface mining methods, most of the coal produced in the future will have to be mined underground (Averitt, 1975). But this projected increase in coal demand is occurring in the face of a decade of radically decreasing productivity. Specifically, average worker productivity in underground coal mines has decreased from 14.2 tonnes (metric tons) per workershift in 1969 to 7.2 tonnes per worker-shift in 1979; and 95 percent of coal produced underground during this period was produced by room-and-pillar methods (U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1980). Although there is no complete agreement on the impact of recent Federal legislation, there is strong correlation between the dramatic decrease in productivity in underground coal mining and the implementation of the recent Federal mine health and safety regulations (U.S. Congress, 1969). A review of the wide range of coal mining research, development, and demonstration projects currently being funded by the federal government and by industry gives little encouragement for increasing worker productivity on room-and-pillar sections underground in the immediate future (Palowitch, 1978). Conversely, the opportunities for increasing production/productivity underground with longwall methods appear somewhat more encouraging. Although at least one longwall face in the U.S. did produce more than one million tonnes of coal in a single year, the national two-shift average production from one hundred or so longwall faces is about 1,000 tonnes per day (Huwood-Irwin Co., 1978 and Consolidation Coal Company, 1976). Clearly, there exists some real opportunities for improvement. One of these opportunities is to automate the cutter-loader.

Jan 1, 1981

By M. Katzer, R. Klimpel, J. Sewell

The effect of using selective dispersants as wet grinding aids for ores is demonstrated on laboratory scale batch and continuous grinding equipment. A complete characterization of behavior is performed on a given ore to demonstrate correlations involving torque, % solids, net production rate, and slurry weight and volume loading. The relationship between such laboratory data and industrial scale testing results is very consistent.

Jan 1, 1982

TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS: Gentlemen.-I have the honor to present the following report of the President for the year 1919. In order that this report may be printed and distributed to the members in advance of the February meeting, it is necessary that it end with the calendar year 1919. Any activities during the first six weeks of 1920 will be covered in the Secretary's report for the year 1920. VISITS TO MEMBERS Your President has visited each of the Local Sections of the Institute, with the exception of the ones at Washington, D. C., Tulsa, Okla., and the Nevada Section. These three sections have not arranged meetings at which the President could be present. In addition, your President, accompanied by President Jennings and Secretary Stoughton, in the year 1918, attended meetings of members in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minn., and Houghton, Mich. A dinner and meeting of the members in Pitts-burgh, Pa., was also attended, in company with the Secretary and your President also attended the meeting of Canadian Mining Institute in Montreal, in March, 1919.

Jan 2, 1920

Man: A purely detached consideration of nature and the place of man in it may easily result in somewhat pessimistic conclusions as to man and his destiny. However, when we come to the evaluation of man's role in the development of natural resources and his achievements in this field, a more optimistic tone may be justified. Hence the possible contradictions between Man and Nature, Perfection, and the present chapter are more apparent than real. After all, progress must have a foundation of optimism, and we cannot challenge either the faculty or the students to better work and to a progressive and constructive outlook without an underlying tone of optimism and basic faith in the future. Geology is the basic science of Mother Earth; the science of the natural forces that have produced and modified the structure of our globe; the science of minerals and rocks; of landscapes and soils; of water supply and mineral resources, including mineral fuels; and of the history of life, both plant and animal, as revealed by fossils in rocks. It is difficult to reduce man and his historical significance to their proper relationship with regard to the earth and its history. Processes of rock formation have continued for at least two billion years; man's activities have been in evidence only a few thousand years. As a means of comparison, if the height of the Empire State building were to represent geologic time, the thickness of a nickel placed on the tower would just about repre-

Jan 1, 1950

By Colin G. Wilson

This paper considers the heavy liquid laboratory tests used to determine the amenability of a potential ore to the heavy media process. The results of the laboratory testing are correlated to actual plant performance and establish design parameters for the heavy media process. These parameters are used in the development of the metallurgical flow sheet and in the sizing of equipment in the metallurgical plant design.

Jan 1, 1978

By E. L. Bruce

GOLD occurs ill many mineral deposits in the rocks of the Canadian Shield. It is present in the ores of many base metals and a considerable quantity is recovered as a by-product from the production of copper at Noranda, of nickel and copper at Sudbury and of copper and zinc at Flinflon. But the greater part of the gold production of Canada is from deposits in which gold is the only metal of value. No gold is obtained from placer deposits within the borders of the Canadian Shield. A brief review of the geological relations of some of the gold deposits of the Canadian Shield will be presented in an attempt to explain certain associations. Only those which are being worked for their gold content will be considered and descriptions will be confined to representative types of deposits, chiefly those of major importance; a few others, differing in certain features from those of the older and larger mines, will be included in order to illustrate the general conditions in which gold occurs in these ancient rocks. Brief summaries will be given of the geological relations of the Beattie and Siscoe mines of northern Quebec, of the mines of the Porcupine and Kirkland Lake areas of northeastern Ontario and of the Howey, Central Patricia and Little Long Lac mines of northwestern Ontario. Genetic relations to igneous rocks of granitic composition, outcropping in the vicinity, have been assumed for many of these deposits. Undoubtedly the ore minerals have been derived from igneous sources and, for some occurrences, there is evidence suggestive of genetic relationship between the ore bodies and neighbouring intrusive rocks. During the past few years, however, many investigators have expressed doubt of the genetic relationship of certain ore bodies to igneous masses near which they occur. As will be seen from references in the following descriptions the importance of the structural conditions in localizing deposition has been realized. This is pointed out for Canadian pre-Cambrian gold deposits by E. T. Dougherty, who also refers to the

Jan 1, 1937

By G. B. Clark

Dynamic rock mechanic as it pertains to blasting has involved several areas of active research effort. Among the important problems which have been the subject of research are wave mechanics in rocks, mechanisms of rock breakage, cratering, applications of similitude, energy partitioning of explosives, coupling, and other related factors. In some of these areas many problems have received fairly complete answers, while in others, investigations have raised new questions while attempting to answer existing ones. The slabbing mechanism explains many of the phenomena observed in blasting, but is hot the complete answer to observed breakage and fragmentation phenomena. There is currently a gap between coupling experimental results and theory. Applications of similitude to open pit blasting have been made unnecessarily complicated. Basic scaling laws for large true and apparent craters have not been derived for either chemical or nuclear explosives. There are few useful data and little developed theory on the partitioning of energy of explosives in all types of blasting. No suitable mathematical model has been developed which will describe the stress waves in rock which are responsible for rock breakage: Significant progress has been and is being made in these areas of research, however. ELASTIC AND NONELASTIC WAVES Complete solutions for spherical wave equations in viscoelastic media are not available in the literature. Equations for certain viscoelastic models do show limited promise, however, of being applicable to rock masses, particularly for pulse type phenomena. Seismic investigations, blasting operations, the design of protective underground structures, and the evaluation of other explosive effects in solids would be greatly bene-

Jan 1, 1967

By S. D. Michaelson

Open pits and quarries are the major sources of all "hard rock" tonnage mined today. Normally, ore is fractured from the pit face by blasting and then truck-hauled to a primary crusher where pro- cessing begins; overburden (or waste) is generally truck-hauled from the pit to dump areas. Truck haulage of blasted ore and overburden accounts for some 25 to 50% of total mining costs in a typical open pit and commonly is the largest single cost factor. Obviously then, cost reduction efforts should properly focus on improving existing haulage systems and developing new breakthrough techniques for material transport. Continuous flow systems for large tonnages ordinarily will result in a lower cost than batch systems such as truck or rail haulage. Continuous flow with pipelines for liquids and slurries, or conveyors for medium to coarse dry materials (in the -8-in. range) are the economic answers for bulk materials handling over reasonable distances.

Jan 11, 1968

By John D. Kalasky, Stephen Krickovic

Adequate ventilation in coal mines depends upon good face control, as well as upon a well designed and properly controlled overall ventilation system. The fundamentals of effective bleeding for provision of good ventilation and control and removal of methane are described. The various mine pillaring systems for which it is both easy and difficult to provide effective bleeder systems are detailed. Bleeders in conjunction with longwall mining are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1974