Search Documents

By R. T. Gallagher

FOLLOWING recent precedent, the Mineral Industry Education Division opened its first session on Sunday afternoon at the Columbia University Men's Faculty Club with an unexpectedly large attendance. The first session was presided over by the Division Chairman, A. F. Greaves-Walker. The first paper, a preliminary report on college enrollments in mineral technology curricula, by W. B. Plank, though incomplete, pointed to a general over-all reduction of 38 per cent in enrollment in mineral industry curricula. Following that, A. C. Callen's paper elicited many comments. It presented the results of a survey (no direct questions asked) addressed to officials in the mining industry. J. L. Bray spoke on war production drive methods and results and his slides gave visible evidence (and much laughter) of the success of the drive. C. L. Wilson's able presentation covered not so much present status but the future status of accelerated mineral technology programs after the war. The last paper of the first session by Edward Steidle, was handed out in mimeographed form.

Jan 1, 1943

By J. B. Newsorn

VERTICAL SHAFTS in the United States have heretofore been sunk by blasting and mucking. The blasting leaves uneven, shattered walls which usually must be supported. Even though the walls will stand, shaft lining is needed to furnish supports for the cage guides, pipes, and power conduits. The lining is generally timber, and as timber can be most easily framed into rectangles, rectangular shaft openings are the rule. The timber reduces the size of the cage floor. For example, if the Idaho Maryland company had put down No. 2 shaft by blasting and mucking, the cage area would have been about thirty per cent of the total shaft area. Besides a low percentage of useful area, an ordinary shaft is subject to fire hazard and to timber maintenance charges. It is also poor for ventilation because the timber ribs cause eddies which greatly reduce the speed of the air currents. A bored shaft does not have these disadvantages. The walls are smooth, circular, and not shattered by blasting, so lining is not required in most

Jan 1, 1936

By J. S. Marsh

TUESDAY, Feb. 16, was no day for strolling along the cold sidewalks of New York, and a large number of metallurgists sat down with pleasure to the warming task of wiping a few soldered joints. Presented by a joint-wiper of the modern school, G. M. Bouton, of the well-known team of Schumacher, Bouton, and Phipps, the initial paper brought into focus the theme of conservation of strategic metals and described the technique of making the fillet-type joint now employed by the Bell System. Using an over-all average of only 40 per cent of the solder formerly used by the conventional method. this important development bids fair to stick when the war is over. D. L. Martin and E. R. Parker then described the embrittling effect of hydrogen on silver previously heated in oxygen and the less serious but troublesome result obtained under the converse conditions. An interesting example of grain growth restriction created additional material for the lively discussion that ensued among those who have encountered one or another of these phenomena in silver and copper.

Jan 1, 1943

Beverley S. Randolph, Frostburg, Md. (communication to the Secretary): It has always appeared to me that each coalseam has its peculiar character or habit, due to the conditions of its formation, by virtue of which it is either persistent or variable in its section over extended areas. One seam will hold its thickness, chemical character, number and position of partings, beds of slate, etc., over a large area, while another will be found to vary in some of these characteristics every few feet. As the position of the outcrop is an accident of the topography, depending on folding and erosion which have taken place since the bed was formed, no one opening in the outcrop, or, in fact, anywhere else, can supply reliable evidence as to the general character of the seam. To determine the character of an untried seam, a number of sections are necessary from widely separated points, in order to show such variations as may exist. Should material variations be developed, more numerous sections are necessary, in

Jan 1, 1901

By Roger A. Harris

INTRODUCTION The Kidd Creek Mine produces a total of 3.6 million tons annually. Geologically the orebody is complex, containing rich values of zinc, copper, silver and lead which are mined and milled as two separate "ore types". Production is mainly from highly mechanized sub-level open stopes of approximately 300,000 tons each. The Mine Engineering Department has developed, and now operates, a computer system that is the subject of this report. It was created specifically to aid the daily work of the mining engineer and has features that are new and possibly unique in the industry. DESIGN OBJECTIVES In 1971 a task force, set up to investigate the subject of computer assistance to mine engineering, specified four design requirements which it felt a successful application had to satisfy. They were:- 1) The computer had to offer a TOTAL SYSTEM that was fully integrated into the routine mine engineering function. 2) The computer had to be directly usable by the current engineering staff, the majority of which had received no formal training in computing.

Jan 1, 1977

By Gill Montgomery

The strong upward curve of fluorspar consumption continued through 1968, with domestic producers unable to furnish more than 30% of U.S. requirements. Stocks of all grades were quite short at all points during most of 1968. This resulted in price increases as both domestic and foreign producers sought to cover spiralling labor costs. Further increases are probable for 1969. All Illinois mines were closed by strikes in January and February. The strong trend in metallurgical imports reflects the increased use of fluorspar in steelmaking, as new oxygen process steel plants come into production. The growth of use of all fluorocarbon chemicals continues to require additional acid grade fluorspar, with military uses a major factor. Several new aluminum smelting facilities coming into production are adding to the aluminum fluoride needs, bringing further pressure upon the world supply of acid grade fluorspar. The world-wide consumption pressure on all grades of fluorspar is pushing prices up, and no end to the tight supply is in sight, even assuming that all the new projects cited here are finished on schedule.

Jan 3, 1969

By W. G. Moffatt, J. Wulff

BRAZED joints and their strength have for some time been of great practical as well as theoretical interest. A good summary of the previous work in this field may be found in the reports of the Armour Research Foundation. In spite of excessive scatter in test data, the fact that the strength of a brazed joint may exceed the ultimate strength of the brazing material itself by many times continues to be of interest and of value in engineering. That this is qualitatively due to plastic constraint of the brazing material by the faying surfaces of the base metal is not in dispute, yet no complete interpretation of the data exists. The purpose of the present work is not to provide such a new interpretation, but to report new experimental data which we hope may lead to a better understanding of the important variables concerned. The work of Bredz' definitely shows that the thinner a brazed joint is, the greater is its strength. Dianeter of a joint has seldom been taken into

Jan 1, 1958

By Francis T. Havard

A Reply to the Discussion by Mr. Francis T. Havard of the Paper by Mr. Henry W. Edwards, which was read at the Atlantic City Meeting, February, 1.904. (Annual Meeting, February, 1905.) MR. HENRY W. EDWARDS, Grand Junction, Colo. (communication to the Secretary) :* Effect of Heat. It should be remembered that the coefficient of expansion of concrete is nearly that of iron; therefore in constructing flues the design must take account of this important detail. The cracking of flues, mentioned by Mr. Havard as having occurred at a temperature of 100° C. and above, . were possibly caused by neglecting to appreciate the extent of the expansion and contraction of the concrete. Effect of Atmospheric Moisture.-The moisture present in the atmosphere is exceedingly injurious to flues of any material, and those made of concrete are no more susceptible than of brick. My experience with flues of the Monier construction, having walls from 1.5 to 2.5 in. thick plastered upon a net-work of iron rods, was unsatisfactory from the standpoint of dura¬bility.

Mar 1, 1905

Discussion of the paper of E.. C. LEE, presented at the St. Louis meeting, October, 1917, and printed in Bulletin-No. 130, October, 1917, pp. 1825 to 1832. H. M. WILSON, Pittsburgh, Pa.-The statement ill the paper of T. T. Read, "Increasing Dividends Through Personnel Work;" that the offering of substantial money rewards for avoidance of accidents is much more effective than mere propaganda or education respecting accident prevention, is a, point fully substantiated in the experience of insurance inspection under workmen's compensation acts. The first year under the Workmen's Compensation Law in Pennsylvania, during which over 2000 mines were tinder the observation and protection of the inspectors of the insurance companies, has resulted in several inspections of each mine, a splendid cooperation .between the operators, the State mine inspectors and the insurance inspectors, and an average reduction in premium rate for insurance from $3.83 to $2.77, a reduction of more than $1 per $100 of payroll, on an average payroll of nearly $100,000,000, In other words, the insurance companies have

Jan 1, 1918

The greatest mining center in the state of Utah is the incorporated town of Bingham about twenty-five miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The principal industry of this vicinity, prior to the early fall of 1863, was lumbering and the first saw-mill in the state was built near the mouth of Bingham Canyon. Early in the fall of that year. George B. Ogilvie discovered gold and shortly afterward the first mining district in the state was organized. Some writers place the discovery of gold in the canyon in the late fifties. If this be so, however, the matter was kept extremely quiet because no mining was engaged in until after Ogilvie's discovery. Bingham was a placer mining camp, producing about one million dollars' worth of dust and nuggets from placers up and down the canyon and in Bear Gulch until early in the seventies, or about ten years after the discovery of gold, when a large body of argentiferous lead ore was discovered and soon after heavy shipments were made from a half dozen or more properties.

Jan 1, 1925

By Robert F. Calman

OUTLINE FIVE EXAMPLES OF GOLD-LINKED FINANCINGS 1. Financing the Lupin Mine • Sale of Cdn $40.0 million of 12% preferred shares and Cdn $40.0 million of Gold Purchase Warrants @ $595 per ounce. 2. Financing the Copper Range acquisition • Borrowing 100,000 ounces from a Canadian chartered bank @ US$307 for five years. 3. Financing the Round Mountain expansion • Borrowing up to US $80.0 million in dollars, convertible into gold, repayable over five years from a group of North American banks. 4. Financing the Tenneco Precious Metals Division acquisition •Sale of SFr 110.0 million of ten year 3-718% bonds with warrants to buy 132,000 ounces of gold at US $560. 5. On Forward Sales, Puts and Calls • Gold, Silver, Canadian Dollars, Swiss Francs THE FINANCIAL RULES AT ECHO BAY 1. Never bet the company 2. Equity is the primary form of capital for a gold mining company 3. On debt 4. The Yardsticks for Corporate Decisions 5. Financial Community Relationships 6. Dividend Policy No Text Available Tables Follow

Jan 1, 1990

By CHARLES M. SCHWAB

THE ENGINEERS have placed this great country of ours in a preeminent position with everything pertaining to manufacture, metallurgy, and the kindred arts. We are second to none in the world. We have a country which, another speaker has said, God has endowed with such riches in coal and natural resources as no other country in the world. But rich as these are, there is one thing greater; the sturdy character, energy, and integrity of its people, which will make these great resources an influence in the world's developments. Great as are these resources and the energy and integrity of our people, there is one problem of our .engineering, which I term human engineering, that is of far more importance than the creation of machines and methods, with which you have been so successful in the past. Of what value is the skillfully devised machinery, the complex process, unless manned and operated by people whose heart and soul are in sympathy with the work they are doing and who have before them the giving of a complete day's work for a day's pay?

Jan 1, 1920

By Edward Nichols

As far as known to the writer, no discovery has heretofore been made in the United States of deposits of beauxite, or the hydrated oxide of alumina. The deposit which forms the subject of this note was discovered in Floyd County, Georgia. Numerous "float" specimens, covering an area of about half an acre, indicate the location of the main deposit, which has thus far been opened to an inconsiderable extent only. The excavations show the beauxite to exist apparently as large masses in clay. The formation is Lower Silurian, as determined by the Geological Survey of Georgia. The surface in the immediate vicinity is covered with numerous angular fragments of chert, which is a characteristic rock throughout this formation in Georgia. An examination of the mineral shows it to have the oolitic structure common to several beauxites. It. varies in color from a light salmon to dark red, depending upon its contents of iron oxide. The light-colored specimens are comparatively soft, while the dark mineral is much harder, spots in the latter being

Jan 1, 1888

By E. H. Jr. Crabtree

THE productive area of asphalt-bearing sandstone in Missouri is near the Missouri-Kansas state line near Nevada, the county seat of Vernon County about 100 miles south of Kansas City. While produc-tion thus far has been confined to Vernon and Barton counties, there are known deposits in adjacent counties. The area is served by four rail-roads: the Missouri Pacific, the Kansas City Southern, the Missouri-Kansas & Texas, and the St. Louis & San Francisco. The plant of the Reliance Rock Asphalt Corporation is in Vernon County, about 5 miles west of Nevada, at Ellis, a flag station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. A siding has been built to the plant so that the finished product can be loaded directly into railroad cars. The property consists of a lease of 240 acres in one block. All portions of the property not required for quarrying or processing the asphalt-bearing sandstone are used for farming by the fee owner. The entire tract is very flat so that there are no transportation difficulties from quarry to plant.

Jan 1, 1935

By H. De. Cizancourt

There is no new outstanding fact to be noted concerning the development of petroleum production and research in France and her possessions during 1935. France.—Pechelbronn remains the only important producing field in France. The total output has reached 538,921 bbl., showing a small decrease on last year's figures. Out of this, 302,737 bbl. was extracted by drilling and 236,184 bbl. (44 per cent) was obtained by means of shafts and galleries. Exploration of deeper formations was still in progress, and resulted in the discovery of a new Middle Triassic (Muschel-Kalk) producing horizon. In the vicinity of Hirtzbach (South Alsace) shallow exploration tests (500 ft.) were drilled by the Société de Pechelbronn, oil indications being found in the Tertiary. Two more important wells are now drilling in deeper horizons. The Chantenay well (Niévre) was finished in August, 1935, at a depth of 3544 ft.1 A test is under progress in Savoie. South of Gabian, at Pezenas, the erection of a rig is nearly completed.

Jan 1, 1936

S. F. EMMONS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP. The movement was started by a number of the friends and admirers of the late S. F. Emmons, Economic Geologist of the United States Geological Survey, to perpetuate his name through a fellowship to be known as the " S. F. Emmons Research Fellowship," and they have succeeded in raising some $13,000 for the purpose of carrying on research work in economic geology. The Committee in charge of this Memorial Fund has succeeded in obtaining the co-operation of Professors Kemp, of Columbia, Irving, of Yale, and Lindgren, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the administration of this fellowship. These three gentlemen are respectively geologists of the institutions mentioned and are exceptionally qualified to determine in what direction the fund can be best administered. It is hoped that additional contributions will be forthcoming from many who have heard of this movement. Subscriptions are invited and may be sent to any one of these gentlemen, or to Benjamin B. Lawrence, Treasurer, No. 60 Wall Street, New York City.

Jan 11, 1913

There is no new outstanding fact to be noted concerning the development of petroleum production and research in France and her possessions during 1935. France.—Pechelbronn remains the only important producing field in France. The total output has reached 538,921 bbl., showing a small decrease on last year's figures. Out of this, 302,737 bbl. was extracted by drilling and 236,184 bbl. (44 per cent) was obtained by means of shafts and galleries. Exploration of deeper formations was still in progress, and resulted in the discovery of a new Middle Triassic (Muschel-Kalk) producing horizon. In the vicinity of Hirtzbach (South Alsace) shallow exploration tests (500 ft.) were drilled by the Société de Pechelbronn, oil indications being found in the Tertiary. Two more important wells are now drilling in deeper horizons. The Chantenay well (Niévre) was finished in August, 1935, at a depth of 3544 ft.1 A test is under progress in Savoie. South of Gabian, at Pezenas, the erection of a rig is nearly completed.

Jan 1, 1936

By Linn Bradley

R. J. WYSOR, So. Bethlehem, Pa. (communication to the Secretary*). At our plant (Bethlehem Steel Co.), we have had several Bradshaw burners under course of construction and erection for some time, but up to the present we have not had opportunity to put them in service. I regret that I can not take part in the discussion with some actual results from these, burners. Mr. Huessener properly emphasizes the importance of obtaining the highest combustion temperature practicable in boiler practice, which demands a near approach to perfect combustion conditions. The ideal burner is the one which, while meeting the various mechanical, requirements, fulfills the above condition under a wide range of gas pressure. The question as to the relative value of hot raw gas and cold washed gas for boiler use is a very interesting one. I think that in the past the importance of low temperature of washed gas sometimes has been over-emphasized. Mr. Huessener has pointed out that so far as temperature is concerned, no advantage accrues in washing gas below 100° F. In

Jan 3, 1917

Looking forward to growing demand for the output of the coal mines over the next decade, producers face serious problems in meeting the market. Among the difficulties are the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, wildcat strikes, growing shortage of skilled and supervisory labor, pollution control and rising costs. The two-day program, planned by R. L. Frantz, covered all of these subjects and presented a few remarks on such wholesomely noncontroversial matters as ground support. A prediction of coal for electricity generation in 1980 was made by Philips amounting to 550 million tons, an amount equal to total output now, With respect to competition in this market, he said: "For the foreseeable future there is enough energy demand for all participating fuels." Banana oil conies not from bananas but from coal and science may just convert coal to meat loaf or some other surprising application may come out of research for product markets. Philips sees no revolution in mining methods although longwall mining will be expanded.

Jan 1, 1970

Discussion of the paper of Leonard Waldo, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1911, and printed in Bulletin No. 76, April, 1913, pp. 555 to 559. HERBERT HAAS, San Francisco, Cal. (communication to the Secretary*):-Referring to Leonard Waldo's paper on Temperature Conversion Tables, I believe the following formulas can be easily remembered, and by reference to the thermomter scales of Fahrenheit (F.), Celsius (C.), and Réaumur (R.), their derivation and relation are at once understood n° F. = 4/9 (n°-32) R. = (n°-32) C. n° C.=(9/5 n° + 32) F. = 4/5 n° R. n° R.=(9/4 n° + 32) F. = 5/4 n° C. As the freezing point of water is at 32° F., corresponding to 0° C. and 0° R., 32 must be deducted from the Fahrenheit degrees when these are converted into C. or R. degrees. Likewise, to C. or R. degrees converted into F. degrees 32 must be added. The fractions 4/9 and 5/9 and their reciprocals are obtained thus:

Jan 5, 1913