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By Augustus Locke

MY conclusions apply to the engineer in California ore hunting; and, because the product has been overwhelmingly gold, that means gold-ore hunting. But, I wish to think of ore hunting, not as employment for engineers, but as engineering. I wish, moreover, to think of it as productive of ore in significant quantity. The small mine, even if good, means little. Only new districts, or large extensions of old districts can engage our attention here. The conclusions are summarized as follows: (1) The bright color of California mining history comes from the suddenness and intensity of its outburst of gold. Had the mining been averaged from the start, it would soon have become dimmed among greater industries. For fifty years, California has proceeded as an agricultural, timber and oil, but not a mining region. 1

Jan 1, 1931

By John Chipman, Karl L. Fetters

Tax relationship between the composition of the slag and that of the underlying metal during the refining of a heat of liquid steel may best be studied in the light of the two broad physicochemical concepts of equilibrium and reaction rate. Actual steelmaking processes, typified by basic open-hearth practice, involve such complexities of operating variables that it is impossible to distinguish with any degree of certainty between the general limiting conditions imposed by chemical equilibrium and the effects associated with rates of diffusion or of chemical reaction. Further advances in the physical chemistry of steelmaking will depend upon our ability to distinguish clearly between these two kinds of effects, and the experimental work that must be done falls naturally into two classifications. The first is the study of chemical equilibrium that cannot be carried out with assurance under operating conditions but must be done in the laboratory. The second is the subject of rates of reaction and diffusion and the mechanism of the process as a whole, which can best be studied under operating conditions. The latter is not entirely independent of the former, since its interpretation often requires a knowledge of the equilibrium state. It is the purpose of this and of several papers that will follow to present the results of laboratory investigations of equilibria involving liquid steel and slag. Open-hearth slag is a complex mixture containing at least eight major components and perhaps twice as many whose influence may be classified as probably minor. It is not surprising that progress toward a complete understanding of such a material at high temperatures has been slow. Attempts to apply the established principles of physical chemistry to the behavior of the individual components of this mixture have been beset by an almost complete lack of data on its chemical properties in the liquid state. This has necessitated the adoption of various methods of approximation based upon such assumptions as, for example, that for a given component the ratio of its mol fraction in the slag to that in the metal is a constant, or that the molecular composition of the liquid slag is the same as its crystalline constitution after solidification. From the thermodynamic viewpoint, such assumptions are merely useful dodges, which enable one to hazard a guess as to the magnitude of the more fundamental quantities, the chemical potentials and activities of the components of slag. The problem of determining the activity of each substance in an eight-component system seems too complex to be undertaken without the aid of generalizations derived from experimental data on similar systems containing a smaller number of components. Accordingly, it was planned in the present investigation to study the equilibrium of molten iron with the simplest

Jan 1, 1941

By J. B. Ackerman, J. D. Miller

Alunite [KA13(S04)2(OH)6] is a promising non-bauxitic aluminum resource, the domestic reserves of which are estimated to be 800 x 106 tons at 35 percent alunite. The major gangue mineral associated with alunite is quartz. The thermochemical process that has been developed for treatment of this ore does not provide for the initial removal of gangue prior to processing. In this regard, it may be desirable to concentrate the ore to gain significant technical and economic advantages. Experimental results indicate the effectiveness of an oleic acid flotation technique and exemplify the problems encountered in fine particles processing. These results show that the quality of separation studied as a function of temperature, collector addition, and depressant addition is dependent on the degree of liberation achieved during size reduction. At coarse grinds the quality of separation was limited by the presence of locked particles while for finer grinds where more extensive liberation is achieved, better separations were obtained. The degree of liberation for each size interval was determined by an SEM/energy dispersive x-ray technique and found to be independent of the extent of size reduction, suggesting that liberation occurs by indiscriminate fracture and not by detachment. Up to 89 percent liberation was realized for a minus 400 mesh grind. Under these circumstances, the quality of separation appears not only to be limited by the remaining locked particles, but, also, by contamination of the alunite concentrate with fine quartz gangue (< 2µm). The best separation for the minus 400 mesh grind was a rougher recovery of 88 percent with a grade of 65% alunite at 50°C.

Jan 1, 1980

DESPITE the very small number of engineers who can get away from their tasks to New York, a point so far from the Mid-Continent and Cali-fornia oil fields, where the real important, engineering progress in the industry is being made, the attendance was remarkably good, and it was generally remarked that all the sessions were "snappy," and there was no drag. This was largely because, under instructions from the chairman, very few papers were permitted to be read, and the "high lights" of each paper were pre-sented orally as an introduction to the large and varied discussions, many of which were prepared in advance. The round table discussion on petroleum engineering research problems, conducted by W. E. Wrather, proved a greater success than was anticipated, considering the difficulty in getting many of the men to discuss such problems. There has been no crystallization of opinion heretofore of what are important engineering research problems, as distinguished from pure science problems, and a digest of the discussion will be made available so as to present the results obtained. It is hoped that further round table discussions, as well as committee work, in the meantime summarizing problems appear-ing in papers published the last two to three years, will enable the oil industry to determine intelligently which of the problems are most important for immediate attack. The roundtable discussion on petroleum engineering educational problems, conducted by H. C. George of the University of Oklahoma, was equally fruitful, and since managers of companies, consulting engineers, and pro-fessors cooperated in these sessions, a cross-section of their opinions on improving the curricula for training the large number of petroleum engineers, which the industry can absorb in-the next few years, was obtained.

Jan 3, 1927

By Ernest R. Darby

If the correct balance between fuel and air is maintained in an open-flame furnace,&apos; little chemical action may be expected between the products of combustion and the metal being melted. Physical&apos; changes in the metal are the object of the melting operation, and indirectly, under certain conditions, may be the cause of subsequent chemical actions. If sufficient heat has been introduced into the metal to bring about the change from the solid phase to the liquid phase, and still further from the liquid to the vapor phase, the metal vapor in all probability will be carried from the furnace by the exhaust and rapidly combined with the oxygen of the outside air. The charge being melted in the furnace may contain elements which are chemically inactive at normal temperatures but which will form compounds at the elevated temperatures of the metal bath, or even at a lower degree. Such indirect chemical actions are very confusing and often lead to incorrect conclusions regarding furnace atmospheres. In the open-flame furnaces used in the melting of bronze, the furnace atmosphere is spoken of as being either neutral, oxidizing or reducing in its effect upon the metal. A neutral atmosphere, as mentioned, is generally considered as the atmosphere of the furnace that will produce melted bronze, neither oxidized nor gassed. It is in effect an atmosphere which is not directly the cause of any chemical action. In such an atmosphere absolutely pure metals may be melted and poured without the absorption of gases or the formation of metallic oxide. The metal has undergone a simple, physical change. An oxidizing atmosphere is one in which the air introduced to the furnace is in excess of that required to complete combustion of the fuel used. The oxygen of the excess air may combine with the metal being melted to form metallic oxide, which may or may not be dissolved by the metal. If an absolutely pure metal is melted in a furnace operating with such an atmosphere, a portion of the metal charged may be converted into metallic oxide, the amount depending upon the duration of the

Jan 1, 1930

By P. Somasundaran

INTRODUCTION Large amounts of mineral values are discarded today as fines and ultrafines, because of inadequate technology to process them economically. Most conventional mineral processing techniques fail in the sub-sieve range. Fines respond poorly to processes such as flotation either due to change in mineralogy and surface composition or even simply due to the direct effect of their smallness in size on collision and adhesion rates between them and air bubbles. Indeed if the poor flotation is due to the smallness in size, a solution must rest in aggregating the fines. Inorganic electrolytes as well as polymers have been successfully used as flocculants in the past for obtaining increased flotation of colloidal material from waste water effluents. In mineral beneficiation, this technique can be profitably used if the process of flocculation can be made to take place selectively. The power of the selective flocculation technique has already been proven, with the successful application of it in the case of beneficiation of low grade iron ore by the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Ore Company and potash ore by Cominco. The process holds tremendous potential when it is followed by flotation, elutriation, etc. Today its application is, however, limited to the above two cases and it has become clear that a full understanding of the process will prove helpful for developing solutions to various problems that exist both at the basic and applied levels. In this paper, principles that are known to govern selective aggregation processes such as selective flocculation, carrier flotation and spherical agglomeration will be examined and areas of uncertainties will be identified.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. C. Smock

The primitive mode of mining clay by open workings, in which the overlying beds of earth (commonly termed the " bearing ") were removed, and the clay then dug out by sinking shallow pits, is still the prevalent and almost universal mode of extraction. This is particularly true of our cretaceous and tertiary clays, which are generally earthy in character, and but slightly covered by drift and alluvium. The most accessible beds in many of our clay districts have been worked out, and clay miners are compelled to search for new outcrops, or to remove thicker beds of top dirt or bearing. Under this stimulus subterranean working, or mining proper, has been suggested. A brief notice of this new mode, as employed by Mr. Otto Ernst, near the head of Chesquake&apos;s Creek, three miles south of South Amboy, New Jersey, is here presented for your consideration. Previous to mining, the old mode of extraction, digging pits, was found to be too expensive, in&apos; consequence of the heavy amount of top dirt and the excessively large amount of water in these overly

By J. C. Smock

THE primitive mode of mining clay by open workings, in which the overlying beds of earth (commonly termed the "bearing") were removed, and the clay then dug out by sinking shallow pits, is still the prevalent and almost universal mode of extraction. This is particularly true of our cretaceous and tertiary clays, which are generally earthy in character, and but slightly covered by drift and alluvium. The most accessible beds in many of our clay districts have been worked out, and clay miners are compelled to search for new outcrops, or to remove thicker beds of top dirt or bearing. Under this stimulus subterranean working, or mining proper, has been suggested. A brief notice of this new mode, as employed by Mr. Otto Ernst, near the head of Chesquake&apos;s Creek, three miles south of South Amboy, New Jersey, is here presented for your consideration. Previous to mining, the old mode of extraction, digging pits, was found to be too expensive, in&apos; consequence of the heavy amount of top dirt and the excessively large amount of water in these overly-

Jan 1, 1875

By Henry Louis

Henry Louis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England (communication to the Secretary*).—In this paper Mr. Simons derives the various forms of revolving slime tables, of which the Harz and the Linkenbach tables are typical examples, from the old rectangular or box buddle. This I believe to be an error, at any rate if Mr. Simons attaches the same meaning as I do to the ((evolution" of a dressing appliance. By the &apos;(evolution" of such an appliance I understand the progressive development and improvement of an appliance acting on a definite principle, such improvements having usually for their object the economy of labor in working the same, or the increase of its capacity; when an entirely new principle is introduced, I no longer look upon this as evolution from the old type, but as the origination of an independent type of appliance. The box buddle was no doubt the predecessor of the old Cornish round buddle, which was evolved from it with the object of saving the labor required to work the box buddle; both machines are horizontal-current separators, in which the separation of sands of different densities is effected by their differential rates of fall in a horizontal current of water of considerable depth. These appliances, though well suited to sands, are for obvious reasons not adapted to the treatment of slimes. The revolving tables of the Harz and similar types, on the other hand, act on the principle which I have called separation in thin films of water, and which Mr. Simons calls the film sizing principle, in which the resistance of the surface over which the pulp flows plays an essential part in determining the separation of the particles, and which is well suited to the treatment of slimes. Unlike the last principle, it will not work in deep bodies of water and cannot be used where considerable depth of material accumulates in the appliance, as in the box buddle and round buddle. As I have shown in my book, The Dressing of Minerals, p. 326, these revolving tables are a development of the appliance known variously as the flat buddle, flat table, or frame, the last name, which is the old Cornish one, being the one that I personally prefer. These primitive appliances, as well as the continuous-acting round tables described by Mr. Simons (his Figs. 10 et seq.) all work on the principle of separation in thin films, and are all adapted for the treatment of slimes; his buddles and round tables (Figs. 1 to 9) do not work upon this principle, and should therefore be sharply differentiated from the former. The evolution in each case of the continuous acting, more or less automatic, circular appliance from the primitive, intermittent, hand-worked, rectangular appliance has proceeded upon strictly parallel lines. The question of the evolution of the respective types involves a point of some importance as regards the principles of ore dressing.

Jan 1, 1915

By H. J. LONGMORE

MORE improvements have probably been made in the diamond-drill field in the past decade than were accomplished in the entire prior period since diamond drilling was discovered in 1864 by a French engineer named Leschot. True, machines were improved, and new accessories were adopted from time to time up to 1929, but no radical changes were made. The basic principle instituted during the early years of the industry were still in use in 1929. At that time, practically the only diamonds used were "black diamonds" or "carbon." These came from Brazil through a rather round- about route, and by the time they got to the drilling trade their cost was excessive-$175 per carat and even higher at the peak. Perhaps because of this. or perhaps because of increased competition, the industry sought ways to reduce expenses even in the face of constantly increased labor costs due to higher wages and reduction in hours worked. The solution seemed to rest in two things-use of a cheaper cutting medium to replace the carbon diamond and the development of new machines to drill faster and thus produce more hole per shift of operation.

Jan 1, 1940

By C. L. Siebenthal

C. E. SIEBENTHAL, ? Washington, D. C.-From being one of the most maligned of metals-a veritable bugaboo-cadmium has almost overnight become respectable, though its slender claim to respectability rests almost wholly on the possibility of its substitution for tin. Preliminary to any campaign for such substitution, particularly for enforced substitution, the possible supply of cadmium should he determined as closely as possible; for that reason the statistical inquiry of which this paper embodies the results was undertaken. Production Cadmium is marketed in two forms, as metallic cadmium, in sticks or bars, and as cadmium sulfide, the pigment. The metal has found its greatest field of use in this country as a component of an easily fusible alloy that is used in automatic fire extinguishers. The sulfide is .used to some extent in paints but chiefly to give color and luster to glass and porcelain. The metal was first made in this country by the Grasselli Chemical

Jan 12, 1918

By G. J. Heuer, J. N. Dew, G. C. Clark

The effect on well behavior of partial permeability barriers, changes in producing rates and well spacings have been calculated through use of a radial, unsteady-state, two-phase-flow mathematical model. This model allows for variations in permeabilities and porosities with distance from the wellbore. The numerical methods necessary to solve the problem require use of a highspeed digital computer, in this case an IBM 704. In each instance, pressure and saturation gradients, gas-oil ratios and recoveries around a well producing by solution-gas drive have been calculated as a function of time and distance from the wellbore. Comparisons are made to show the effect of changes in producing rate and of varying permeability near the wellbore and out in the formation on the production and pressure history of the well. The effect of different well spacings on producing rate and ultimate recovery is considered. Although the mathematical description of the reservoir is simplified in comparison to an actual reservoir, the results do give some insight into the difficult problem of spacing and proration in a heterogeneous solution-gas-drive reservoir. Results show that for the cases considered spacing has little effect on ultimate recovery and that permeability barriers removed from the well decrease producing rate for a period of time but have only a small effect on ultimate production. INTRODUCTION The effect of spacing and producing rate on the production characteristics and ultimate recovery of a well producing by the solution-gas-drive mechanism have been topics of interest to the oil industry for many years and the subject of many hearings before state regulatory bodies. The problem is very complicated because of the difficulty of simulating in the laboratory a reservoir producing by the solution-gas-drive mechanism under anything like normal field conditions. This paper gives the initial results of a study aimed at determining the effect of these factors on production from reservoirs simulated by a mathematical model. Two-phase, unsteady-state equations are used to calculate pressures, saturations, and rates of oil and gas flow as a function of time and distance from the wellbore. The model is radial, and reservoir properties may be varied with distance from the wellbore. A decrease in permeability at a given distance results in a low-permeability ring concentric with the wellbore through which all the fluids from more distant portions of the reservoir must flow. The current mathematical model allows for variation of permeability, porosity and saturations as a function of distance from the well. Any desired drainage radius for the well may be selected. Drainage radii of 745 and 1,053 ft, which correspond to 40- and 80-acre spacing, were chosen for the calculations which follow. A large amount of the input data has been held constant. No investigation was made into the effect of changes in fluid properties and relative permeability characteristics on oil and gas production behavior. Fluid properties and relative permeabilities are essentially those of the White Mesa portion of the Greater Aneth area in southeastern Utah. A recently concluded hearing before the Utah Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to determine spacing for the field aroused interest in the possible effect of permeability constrictions located some distance from the well on production and recovery. This interest stimulated the present study. In this paper, no attempt has been made to simulate any field production characteristics exactly. Only the solution-gas-drive mechanism has been investigated, and production by liquid expansion has not been considered. This investigation is exploratory in nature but does give some insight into the problems of spacing and proration in a solution-gas-drive field having permeability variations. THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL The mathematical model is similar to that proposed by West, Garvin and Sheldon.&apos; Approximately the same techniques have been used in arriving at a solution. The equations are nonlinear, partial differential equations which have been known for some time. The particular equations used for this study neglect the effects of capillary pressure and gravitational forces. The advent of modern digital computing equipment has made their solution practical. Basically, the method solves for pressure, saturations, and oil and gas flow rates as a function of distance and time. In our model, distance to the

By H. M. FRENCH

ARC welding can be defined as a process whereby two A pieces of metal are brought together, heated to a molten state by the heat of an electric arc, and fused into one piece. There are several kinds of arc welding: the metallic arc, the carbon arc, the atomic hydrogen arc and the shielded arc methods. A short description of each, together with its major applications, will serve to distinguish between them. Metallic arc welding involves an arc drawn between a metal electrode and the material to be welded, called the work or the "parent metal." It may be further subdivided into hand and automatic welding, depending on whether the electrode is fed to the arc by hand or by motor drive. This form of arc welding can be applied to most welding operations. Exceptions to its use consist of applications where very thin metals are to be welded; where it is desired to join the work with- out adding metal; or where extreme ductility may be required:

Jan 1, 1930

By C. K. Leith

1 apologize for attempting to talk in a field in which 1 am by no means a specialist, but some of the problems brought up have much in common with other minerals. It touches the field in which we are all interested and it is a field in which our Mineral Inquiry has been giving special attention during the last two years. While it is the primary business, of course, of this Institute to consider the physical facts and technology of minerals, we now face the necessity of considering the minerd industry in its broader economic, social, and political relationships. We have run into a traffic jam—as though a load of hay had been spilled on the road. It makes no difference whether we are drivers or passengers, technical or nontechnical men, we have to get the load off the road before we can go farther. We are conscious of very many difficulties which are outside of the ordinary range of cost accounting or methods of mining or the usual thing with which we concern ourselves. We have extensive readjustments to make in our social and economic and political contacts. It is up to us to find out what is the matter. As a matter of fact, we do not know what is the matter in any comprehensive way. We have many suggestions as to difficulties here and there. Many people are working on the problem, but when the mineral industry as a whole is asked what is a reasonable course of procedure, what is its program, what would be a reasonable state or national policy, I think you will agree with me that we have no spokesman able to outline even a semblance of such a general policy. We sit back and criticize when somebody else steps in, as Governor Murray stepped in, and as many others of our state governors and legislators are stepping in, to do things which we do not think are reasonable. When they say, "What is a reasonable program? " we find ourselves caught napping. We have not agreed on a program. The other day in talking with one of the leaders of the western radical movement, I was twitting him on having no sound and comprehensive conservation program. He said, "What is yours, and what is the program of the mineral

Jan 1, 1932

By W. S. Landis

WHEN dealing with a new reagent, one is concerned with three principal factors: available supply, cost, and results. The atmosphere contains an inexhaustible supply of oxygen mechanically mixed with nitrogen (omitting rare gases and minor impurities) in the proportions of one volume of oxygen to four volumes of nitrogen. (All figures are based on slide-rule precision and minor impurities are neglected.) Expressed in terms of weight, 1 ton of oxygen represents a volume of 22,500 cu. ft. and is contained in a volume of 112,000 cu. ft. of air. Water, also an inexhaustible supply, is a chemical compound containing 89 per cent. oxygen and, 11 per cent. hydrogen. Of the hundreds of schemes proposed for the enriching of air or separation of oxygen, nothing of value has yet appeared. From the standpoint of mechanical separation, liquefaction followed by rectification is the only process that has been developed to a really commercial stage. Theoretically, it should be a .simple matter to separate the mechanical mixture of nitrogen and oxygen; but fractionation can be performed only by converting to the liquid phase and this phase can be obtained only at lower than critical temperatures. The problem, therefore, is not so simple and the cost of the actual operation bears no relationship to the theoretical simplicity of the process. The largest single unit of the required apparatus so far placed in commercial use will handle only 60,000 cu. ft. of air per hour through a compressor which operates at a little over 250 lb. per sq. in. After this apparatus has operated continuously for 14 to 18 days it must be shut down for 6 to 8 hr. to be thawed out, have accumulated impurities removed and again cooled down for production. The cost of such a unit erected in batteries, with necessary spares for maintaining production, and including prime movers, hoisting and all auxiliary equipment, will be about $125,000. To produce one ton of oxygen per hour requires two operating machines of this size; and if the production is to be absolutely continuous a spare unit must be provided. To operate a plant of two units requires 10 or 11 men, excluding boiler attendants, if steam is generated in the plant.

Jan 11, 1924

By Ralph Arnold

THE American oil &apos;industry has reached the critical stage where the demand exceeds the supply with no hope of permanently bettering the situation through the development of new fields in the United States. Remedies may be sought along three lines: 1. Securing a foreign source of supply. 2. Curtailment of the use of oil and its derivatives. 3. Improvement in methods of recovery (including the recovery of shale oil), refining, and utilization. The oil companies with proper government support will push the acquiring of foreign territory; the price of oil and oil products will enforce a curtailment in use; it remains for the producers and refiners to brings about improvements and economy in recovery, transportation and refining; the general public must be instructed in utilization. The solution of the problem, therefore, rests largely in the hands of the technologists of the industry -the drillers, engineers, geologists, chemists, etc. Only through an exchange of the ideas of the individuals who are conducting the industry will its technology be advanced. , Among the agencies at work to bring about this result are the United States Bureau of Mines, the American Petroleum Institute, and the A. I. M. E. The Bureau of Mines has a trained staff of experts, maintains experiment stations and a field force of technologists, and issues many technical papers helpful to the industry. The Petroleum Institute is a clearing house for useful statistics and is now. organizing a research division under the able direction of Doctor Manning, but its principal field of activities is in the realm of co¬ordinating ?the financial and commercial activities of the` oil&apos; companies.&apos; It remains for the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers to organize the individual technologists of the industry and provide them with means of exchanging and disseminating ideas through meetings and publications. It is the aim of the Petroleum Committee of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers to foster this exchange of ideas among oil men by enlarging the membership of the Institute among the field and office technical forces of the oil companies and thus arouse their interest in the vital problems of the oil business.

Jan 1, 1920

By G. W. Garside

In order to render my descriptions more intelligible, I have compiled a general map of this section of Alaska, showing accurately the relative positions of the most important districts where valuable deposits of minerals have been discovered (page 819). Upon inspection of this map, it will be observed that the chief metalliferous belt in this mineral field is in close proximity to the mainland shore, the trend of which it follows for more than a hundred miles in a northwest and southeast course, while the mineral croppings on the adjoining islands are much shorter in extent, and more irregular with respect to their strike and continuity. This principal metalliferous zone, which I will call the main-land system of lodes, contains gold, silver and lead, besides traces of copper, zinc and iron, gold being found extensively in a free state and also associated with sulphur, and with many of the sulphides of iron, lead and other substances. On the line of this belt, as shown on the map, there are a number of distinct mineral districts. Beginning at the southerly extremity, they are named as follows: Sumdum, Snettishham, Grindstone Creek, Sheep Creek, Gold Creek, Lemon Creek, Montana Creek and Berners Bay districts, each deriving its name from the hay or creek on which it is situated. Harris mining district, as legally organized under the local customs, rules and regulations adopted by the miners of Juneau, embraces, within its exterior boundaries, Grindstone, Sheep, Gold and Lemon Creeks, and all of Douglas Island. The limits of this immense metalliferous horizon are becoming definitely known through the exposures made by prospectors. The belt, as now recognized, varies in width from one to several miles, the lateral measurement being greatest at Juneau in Harris district, where the famous Treadwell mine, with its slate foot-wall, marks the westerly boundary of the zone, while the eastern side of Silver Bow Basin, with a granite hanging-wall, defines its easterly border.

Jan 1, 1893

By Sam F. Harrison

Most hydraulic system malfunctions make their presence known by sending out warnings that are loud and clear to the initiated mechanic, according to Aeroquip Corp. service engineers. To detect problems in many systems, they suggest that the use of four senses-sight, smell, hearing and touch-and a knowledge of how to interpret the information gathered are all that&apos;s needed to identify hydraulic malfunctions.

Jan 3, 1978

By Philip Wilson

THE genesis of some orebodies has been explained by the mingling and chemical interaction of water solutions of different compositions and the consequent precipitation of the mineral load of one or both solutions at their confluence. While this process can be proved in the laboratory, rarely can a positive demonstration be found in nature, for the conditions at the time an ore deposit is being worked are usually entirely different from those that existed when the orebody was formed. For this reason, the present deposition of copper carbonate in the southern end of the Briggs Mine of the Calumet and Arizona Mining Co. near Bisbee, Ariz., is of great interest. The developed orebodies in the Calumet and Arizona mines are roughly confined to two broad parallel zones separated at the north by a wedge of. Copper Queen ground and at the south by an undeveloped block of Calumet and Arizona ground about 2000 ft. (610 m.) wide. The more westerly zone includes the Irish Mag, Oliver, P. and D., and Cole mines, none of which have been operated since 1919. Much of the water from this division is carried from the 1400-ft., or bottom, level at the southern end of the Cole mine in a long water drift through the undeveloped block to the 1300-ft. level of the Briggs mine at the southern end of the more easterly zone.. Most of this water comes originally from outlying areas in the P. and D., mine, passing through parts of the lower levels of the Cole mine, which are heavily mineralized with iron and copper sulfides. This sulfide zone has been opened up and slowly oxidizing for years. Originally a pure, potable water, the analyses of which are shown under A in Tables 1 and 2, on its way through the mineralized area in the Cole mine it gathers copper, calcium, magnesium, iron, and aluminum sulfates, a load of dissolved mineral salts almost four times as great as that which it formerly carried; analyses B

Jan 7, 1922

By Niles E. Grosvenor

Complex underground mining problems are increasing as mining depths increase. Many of these problems have been solved mainly by unsystematized trial-and-error methods based on individual experiences. This system of solving mining problems has resulted in over-cautiousness whereby a large quantity of our mineral resources are left in the ground, or not enough caution with a resultant failure of the underground opening. From studies made of physical properties of rocks, large volumes of data have been collected as a source of finding correlation among the different physical tests or among certain rock types. Most of these studies have not produced satisfactory results because the investigator usually arrives at the conclusion that the results are too scattered to be reliable. The reasons usually given as the cause of this scatter are that rocks are nonhomogenous and non-isotropic. Similar types of poor correlation that were being obtained from compression tests in the Colorado School of Mines Mining Research Laboratory led to an investigation of a good method of making a simple unidirectional compressive strength test.

Jan 1, 1963