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By Theodore B. Comstock

The existing topographical features of the United States present many points of interest to the student of dynamical geology, but there is, perhaps, no subject which offers a more promising field for investigation than the relations between the geological structure and the mineralogical characteristics of the principal mining districts. There are seven prominent culminating points in the relief of North America, each one of which can be used as a type of the physical features of all the others. Again, if we divide these seven elevated districts into two sets, we shall discover a still more striking parallelism between the individual members of each group. But the most remarkable revelation is the fact that each one of these points is more or less closely the centre of an area of economically important mineral resources. It is interesting to note in this connection that six of these mineral tracts lie mainly within the borders of the United States, three of them being almost wholly in our territory. For

Jan 1, 1883

By W. E. Newberry

The Aspen Mining District is situated at the eastern edge of the system of stratified rocks of western Colorado, where this edge meets the ridge of metamorphic granite which divides the State into two unequal parts. In following the valley of the Roaring Fork westward from the continental divide towards Aspen, one passes through a country of granite and gneiss, with no sedimentary rocks until the town is nearly reached. At this point the Cambrian quartzites first make their appearance, lying on the granites, with a dip of from 30' to 45 to the northwest. Beyond these quartzites and conformably upon them lie dolomites, limestones, shales, porphyries and sandstones, gradually flattening in general dip as one proceeds westward, but much disturbed by local foldings and faultings.

Jan 1, 1890

By S. Skowronski

The melting of cathode copper, ususally containing 95.98+ per cent. • Cu, would appear to be a simple matter. Owing to the well known affinity of copper for sulfur, however, so much sulfur is absorbed by the copper during the operation that a long and expensive refining process is required to remove it, and the final product is inferior in purity and lower in electrical conductivity than the original cathode copper. The furnace operation, as now conducted, includes the following stages: 1. Charging the cathodes into the furnace. 2. Melting the cathodes. 3. Oxidizing period—saturating the copper with cuprous sub-oxide and bringing the metal to the condition known as "set copper;'' this is now done by blowing air into the molten bath of metal. 4. Reduction period, otherwise known as "poling," whereby the oxygen previously added is removed by covering the molten bath completely with coke or charcoal and introducing large poles of green wood; this reduces the cuprous sub-oxide, bringing the copper to the "tough pitch" stage ready for casting. 5. Casting Period. Many experiments have been made to obviate the long periods of oxidation and subsequent reduction, with no success. While the copper first cast will be good, as indicated by the set surface of the bars, it is impossible to hold it to the "tough pitch" condition, and long before the whole charge has been poured the copper will become "overpoled," entailing numerous difficulties. Sulfur has always been blamed by the furnace men as the reason why this refining process is necessary, yet the literature on the subject does not sufficiently emphasize how small a proportion of sulfur will ruin copper for practical purposes. The sulfur absorbed by copper during the melting period comes from two sources: (1) the sulfate left on the cathode sheets in the tank houses; (2) the fuel. The percentage of sulfates on the cathodes is variable, and depends on the care taken in washing the cathodes after removing

Jan 1, 1919

By A. F. Lucas

The discovery of oil in 1901 on the Spindletop dome, Texas, inaugurated a new industry on the Gulf Coast, an industry which has gran with the discovery of successive fields, until today it engages the services of thousands of workers and employs enormous capital. New fields are being discovered from time to time and doubtless some still remain to be found, though of late years discoveries have become more infrequent. Nowadays several hundred dry holes are drilled each year in a fruitless and blind effort to discover new fields, for as yet geologic science has developed no effectual method of locating the coastal oil deposits in advance of drilling. Moreover despite the occasional discovery of new fields, the total production of the Gulf Coast is today no greater than it was in 1906, for the added production of the new fields has been offset by the rapid decline and more or less complete exhaustion of some of the older ones. Careful geologic work within the fields has in some cases increased the production temporarily, but has developed no really new supplies. The Gulf Coast oil industry seems to have passed its period of greatest expansion and to be declining at a fairly steady rate, and this condition is naturally viewed with alarm by the more farsighted operators. In my opinion, the time has come for the adoption of radical and aggressive methods of prospecting; and a fraction of the money wasted yearly in drilling shallow wells in hopeless locations might well be devoted to this purpose. Many facts lead me to believe that all the salt-dome oil has had a common origin; that it has migrated up from considerable depth along lines of structural weakness; and that a deep well, properly located, stands an excellent chance of discovering the parent reservoir and thus of developing new and probably great supplies. This paper is presented as a discussion—necessarily hypothetical and based largely on personal opinion—of the possibility of encountering deep-seated oil deposits beneath the salt domes. Salt-dome Structure All of the oil produced in the coastal region of Texas and Louisiana is probably associated with salt domes, though in Goose Creek, Edgerly, and one or two other fields no salt has yet been actually penetrated. As

Jan 1, 1920

By R. B. Moore

Page History................................ 708 What is Radioactivity?........................ 710 Disintegration Series.......................... 711 Radium Ore Deposits......................... 713 Metallurgical Treatment........................ 717 Methods of Ore Concentration..................... 722 Future Supply of Ore......................... 723 Uses of Radium............................ 723 Mesothorium as a Substitute for Radium................. 724 Discussion.............................. 725 Probably no other metal excites as much interest, among both scientific men and the general public, as radium. This is due partly to the high cost of radium salts and partly to the peculiar properties of the element. Since radium-bearing ores were discovered in the United States, the interest of American scientific men has been stimulated and, at the present time, more radium is extracted and refined in this country than in all the rest of the world together. HISTORY The property of radioactivity was discovered, partly by accident, by Henri Becquerel, the French physicist, in 1896. He was experimenting with certain fluorescent substances in order to find, if possible, a connection between fluorescence and the recently discovered X-rays. Among other chemicals which possess the property of fluorescence, he was using salts of uranium. His custom was to expose the fluorescent substance to the action of sunlight and then register the effect of possible penetrating radiation on a photographic plate protected from ordinary light. Bec-querel's experiments gave positive results at once, and he at first believed that he had discovered a relation between fluorescence and X-rays. Later he exposed a plate to a uranium salt which had not been previously exposed to sunlight. To his surprise, on developing this plate, he found that he had obtained the same effect as he had previously secured when

Jan 1, 1919

By Marius R. Campbell

Every mining engineer who has engaged in prospecting for coal in flat-lying rocks understands the importance of constructing geological sections across the territory which he has to prospect. If the area is small and the time and means at his command are unlimited, he can construct such sections with the transit and level; but if the area is great and the examination hurried, as it frequently is, he will doubtless be puzzled how to proceed. Under this pressure of time and means, his work will probably be, to a great extent, devoid of any system, being simply a hap-hazard opening of such seams as show in outcrop at some point on the territory, without any determination of geologic structure or stratigraphic succession. Prospecting carried on in this manner is never satisfactory to the intelligent mining engineer, for he must realize that the information which he is able to furnish to his employer is totally inadequate to determine the economic value of the property. To the owner of the land such a report is no more satisfactory than to the engineer. Unless the latter can show both

Jan 1, 1897

By A. L. Blomfield, M. J. Trott

ThE Golden Cycle Mining and Reduction Co. operates its custom mill at Colorado Springs on Cripple Creek ores exclusively. These ores are straight sulfo-tellurides, with practically no base metals such as Pb, CU, Zn, As, or Sb. Upon entering the mill, the ore all passes through the sampler to storage bins, where beds of 5000 tons each are made to insure uniformity in roasting. Classification of ORes For efficiency, it has been found advisable to separate the ores into two classes according to their lime content. Other constituents have their effect, such as alumina and magnesia, but, speaking generally, these are roughly proportional to the lime, which, as CaO, is used as the indicator. Class A contains not more than 2 per cent. CaO and comprises about 66 per cent. of the ore treated. Class B contains over 2 per cent. CaO, and comprises 34 per cent. of the ore treated. Typical analyses of both classes are as follows: Class A a B Insol.......................... 86.70 75.90 Al2O3........................:.. 2.30 3.40 Fe.............................. 3.26 3.48 CaO............................. 1.57 5.12 S............................... 1.79 1.80 MgO........................... 0.21 1.08 Ignition loss..................... 3.20 6.50 99.03 97.28 The beds of each class of ore are made as large as possible with the available ore as it comes in, to avoid changing from one bed to the other any oftener than necessary. Each roaster will handle 50 per cent. more of class A ore than of class B, with practically the same results. This necessitates changing the rate of feed for each new bed and tends toward a poor roast and loss of tonnage at each change.

Jan 1, 1919

By W. Lawrence Austin

It has been suggested to me that some data, bearing on the treatment of silver ores in Southern Arizona, would be in accord with the objects of the present meeting. I have, therefore, made a few notes, gathered from practical experience at some of the best known works of that district. Presuming the general arrangement of a silver mill to be familiar to members, the subject having been repeatedly brought to the notice of the Institute, it is my aim in the following description of the modus operandi at the different mills to which I would invite your attention, to give simply such salient points of the apparatus as have a direct bearing upon results, together with the cost of materials, labor, etc. I have gone somewhat deeply into detail in my descriptions of machinery, thinking that possibly some of our members engaged in this branch of the profession might find something of interest among them. In an industry such as silver milling, where the various works are scattered over a vast extent of territory, and the conditions under which results are obtained are subject to the greatest variations, it is essential to go into rather minute details in describing plants, processes, etc., in order to afford a clear idea of the operations. Not only should results be given, but also the means by which such are attained. The milleralogical and chemical constituents of the ore, and its physical properties, throw a flood of light upon the success or failure of a process Figures representing totals I have subdivided as much as possible, so that the cost per ton for labor, castings, chemicals, etc., are apparent. Unless all these Factors are known, no accurate comparison can be drawn, since in this branch of metallurgy, more perhaps than in others, the weakness of any one link in the chain of operations demoralizes the remainder. That it costs $10 to mill in one

Jan 1, 1883

By L. D. Godshall

A great deal has been written of late regarding the loss of silver in assaying; very discordant results have been published by different writers, and much uncertainty exists concerning even approximate losses in a careful determination of silver, as represented by a fire-assay. In the present paper it has been the aim of the writer to determine as accurately as possible the losses sustained by silver, under certain specified conditions, during the process of cupellation. Such losses are well known to be due to absorption by the cupel and volatilization. The conditions, however, which govern these losses are not believed by the writer to be so well understood. The most important of these are : 1. The effect of variable quantities of silver used. 2. The temperature of cupellation. 3. The character and quantity of impurities in the lead button. 4. The weight of the lead button. 5. The nature of the cupel. The following experiments were made for the purpose of demonstrating, as nearly as possible, the total loss of silver in cupellation under the most favorable conditions to be obtained in commercial assaying. Chemically pure silver and pure lead were taken. The latter was obtained from test-lead, first melted into a bar, from which pieces of the desired weight were cut and accurately weighed. The experiments recorded in this paper were planned by the writer, but executed throughout by Mr. J. N. Walker, whose ability as an accurate, careful and painstaking assayer is too well known and recognized throughout the West to require any further endorsement from me.

Jan 1, 1897

By S. F. Emmons

The history of the mining region of Custer county has been somewhat peculiar. Although, in the broader features of geological structure, it bears a strong resemblance to its newer and now more famous neighbor, 40 miles to the northward, the Cripple Creek mining district, it has been noted for failures rather than for successful mining ventures. Yet it has a number of mines that have proved themselves to be remarkably rich, and many others that have well-defined veins and very rich ore, though they never have been worked to any great depth. A few of the deposits seemed to the early miner so anomalous in form and manner of occurrence that they were popularly described as " contrary to all geological laws." The region has had several " booms," succeeded by more than usually violent reactions, the latter having proved more permanent than the former. It was, for a long time, the favorite resort of patent-process mongers, and the ground is now strewn with relics of various unsuccessful reduction-plants. Mismanagement, ignorance and disagreements among mine-owners seem to have been quite as responsible for the want of success in the region as the quality of the ores or the form of the deposits. In the early eighties, when the booms had not entirely died out, a division, then under my charge, of the U. S. Geological Survey, undertook an examination of the region for the purpose of making a study of its ore-deposits. The areal survey was carried to completion by Mr. Whitman Cross, but the study of the mines could never be completed for the reason that most of them were closed, for one reason or another, before we had time to visit them. From time to time, one or another of the important mines has been started up again, but it was not

Jan 1, 1897

By R. G. Johnson

The prevailing system of locating wells on a rectangular basis, as shown in Fig. 1-A, has developed because of the exigencies of offsetting at boundary lines. When, however, a very large tract is being drilled, it is often possible to abandon this inferior method for the superior arrange- ment known as "staggering," which is illustrated in Fig. 1, B and C. The advantages of the triangular over the rectangular method are evident from Fig. 2, computed on the basis of one well to 10 acres (4 ha.). With the triangular system, no land is more than 409.4 ft. (124.8 m.) from a

Jan 1, 1920

By Franklin Moeller

Considering the really short time that has elapsed since hydro-metallurgical processes of extracting copper from ores have been extensively developed, and the large scale on which this method is practised at Ajo, the successful operation of the plant must excite the admiration of every visitor. The application of the mechanical unloader to the purpose for which it is employed at Ajo is but an extension of the use for which it was originally designed, some 20 years ago, for unloading iron-ore vessels at the lower lake ports. At a time when the maximum output of a single machine, with men shoveling the ore into buckets, did not exceed 40 tons per hour, G. H. Hulett invented and constructed a mechanical unloader with a bucket of 10-ton capacity. This machine was of the steam hydrauIic type, and it is still in operation after nearly 20 years of service. Several more machines of the same type were built, but the difficulties of power transmission, and the rapid development of electrical machinery, soon led to the adoption of electrically operated machines, and practically all of the later installations have been thus equipped. This electrically operated unloader has proved so well fitted for the work that the design of the lake boats has been practically revolutionized, with special view to the ease and rapidity of unloading. It is now possible to unload a 12,000-ton vessel with four machines in a little over 2 hr. This has necessitated an increase in the capacity of the machine, and the largest yet built handles an average load of 17 tons, with a possible maximum of 20 to 21 tons. The Ajo excavator is somewhat simpler in design than the iron-ore unloader, in that it is not provided with a larry. In the unloader, the iron ore, picked up by the bucket, is delivered to a larry or transfer car which runs in the lower chord of the bridge; the larry then delivers the ore either into railroad cars, standing on several parallel tracks, or into the stock pile, thereby saving the time that would be required for the bucket to make the trip. At Ajo, the bucket delivers the tailing

Jan 1, 1920

By F. P. Dewey

The subject of this paper does not embrace the consideration of ways and means for the increase of analytical accuracy, or the question what could or should be attained in that direction. I desire simply to call attention to the degree of accuracy exhibited in actual every-day practice. In estimating this, little weight will be given to the evidence afforded by the agreement of duplicate or multiple determinations by the same chemist; for I am convinced that such agreement is a delusion and a snare. Nor will special importance be attached to the agreement of two or even three analyses in special cases, or to the agreement between two methods practiced by the same analyst. I propose to compare the results obtained by several chemists, working upon the same sample and by various methods, in order to exhibit, as I have said, the actual condition of practice. The available material for illustrating this phase of the question is unfortunately scanty; but something has been done; and I hope, by calling attention to some of the work in this line, to stimulate further work in the same direction by inducing others to prepare suitable samples and submit them to various chemists who are competent and willing to make the necessary determinations, and fully describe the methods they employ. I draw most of my illustrations from the Transactions of the Institute, the Proceedings of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, and from personal experience. Manganese in Steel.—In May, 1881, Mr. William Kent presented a paper to the Institute entitled " Manganese Deter-

Jan 1, 1897

By Charles A. Ashburner

At the Philadelphia meeting of the Institute, held in February, 1881,I had the honor of reading a paper on "A New Method of Mapping the Anthracite Coal Fields of Pennsylvania."* At that time the State appropriation for the Second Geological Survey had just expired, and, as a new appropriation was not assured, no detailed plan had been adopted by Professor Lesley, State Geologist, for the practical examination of the mines, and the solution of the geological structure of special localities, or the representation in sections, vertical and columnar, of the general structure of the coal basins and coal beds. I had merely proposed a plan of mapping, as the material for the construction of maps was most available, and it was at that time uncertain what money the Survey would have to enable it to extend the surface and underground explorations, in order to make the examinations complete. After a continuation of the Survey was authorized until January, 1884, by the legislature, in May, 1881, the Anthracite Survey was regularly organized, and a plan adopted for a systematic and exhaustive geological and mine examination of the region. This plan provided for such work, other than that of mapping, as was necessary for a complete and practical geological and mining survey of a coal field. To do any geological work, of however general a character, it was absolutely. necessary that the members of the Survey Corps should obtain unrestricted access to all the mining records of the operators, which have been made with great care and accuracy and at an enormous expense during the past thirty years and more. The unanimous and generous support of the individual and corporate coal operators, of the plan of carrying on the Survey, was promptly assured, on condition that the results should be of such a character as to render them of practical utility to the property-owners and those directly interested. It was hoped

Jan 1, 1883

By Joseph Hartshorne

For something over two years past a new development of the open-hearth process has been in operation at the works of the Prager Eisenindustrie-Gesellschuft at Eladno, in Bohemia. It was devised and perfected by Mr. Ernst Bertrand, general superintendent,, and Mr. Otto Thiel, steel-works superintendent. The results which the inventors wished to obtain were to increase the product per furnace, to reduce the amount of refractories and additions used, to enable a poorer and more varied quality of stock to be employed, to improve the quality of the material produced and to render the control of the operations and product more certain. In all of these objects they have been successful, and have thereby considerably reduced the cost of manufacture and increased the value of the finished material. The Plant. The plant at Kladno consists of one 12-ton and one 20-ton furnace. Through an incident of construction the smaller furnace stands some distance behind and to one side of the larger furnace, and at a height of about 10 feet above it. The furnaces are in the same building as the Bessemer converters, and the metal is handled in the same casting-house by means of a locomobile ladle-crane. The relative position of the furnaces suggested the experiments by which the process was developed, and also enabled it to be thoroughly tested. Much valuable and practical work has been done in this plant, although it is not as convenient and suitable as one especially designed for the process would be. Nevertheless, the pecuniary and technical results have warranted its continuous operation. The Process. The process, as at present carried out at Kladno, consists

Jan 1, 1897

By T. A. Rickard

The history of this State is that of one generation. Thirtysix years only have elapsed since the birth of that beneficent industry whose footsteps were the first to traverse the wilderness of the prairies and penetrate the solitude of the mountains. So soon is history made. The men who halted on the rolling plain where Denver now stands and gazed westward at the snow-clad ranges in eager questioning of their possibilities of golden wealth, have lived to see a noble city built where once their camp-fires burned, and have participated in the discovery of a magnificent series of productive mines amid the mountains which seemed at that time the Ultima Thule of their pilgrimage. To those who investigate the workings of our complicated mining and metallurgical industries, the story of their evolution from humble beginnings will appear an instructive romance. The record that tells it presents features common to the growth of modern mining regions, but also bears aspects peculiar to

Jan 1, 1897

By H. O. Hofman

Jan 1, 1890

By T. A. Rickard

RICO, in the southwestern corner of Colorado, is one of the productive mining centers of the San Juan region, so-called because its waters drain into the river of that name, which is tributary to the Colorado. The San Juan region includes the counties of Ouray, Hinsdale, San Miguel, Dolores, San Juan and Montezuma. It is traversed by a network of picturesque mountain ranges on whose lofty summits there rests perpetual snow. The region is peculiarly rugged, and, in the early days of its development, tested to the full the hardihood of the adventurers who first explored its can ions 111 search for gold and silver. A prospecting party, guided by Jim Baker, scout and trapper, penetrated in 1861 this part of the territory of Kansas. At that time the country was in the possession of the Ute Indians. In October, 1873, by the Brunot treaty, they ceded to the United States Government the richest mineral-bearing portion of their

Jan 1, 1897

By A. A. Blow

The productive area of the Leadville mining district immediately adjoining the city of Leadville, which, by its wonderful richness, has attracted the attention of the mining world for the past twelve years, may, with a few exceptions, he considered as divided into seven local mining centers, separated one from another by the topographical features of the country, and designated by common consent as Fryer Hill, Yankee Hill, Breece Hill, Rock Mill, Printer-Boy Hill, Iron Hill, and Carbonate Hill. Of these seven distinot mining localities, or groups of mines, the central one, Iron Hill, is the one of greatest importance and interest. It was the scene of the earliest discovery of carbonates, as far back as 1875, and since that time has always maintained its position

Jan 1, 1890

By Persifor Frazer

At a time when all those interested in the iron trade are carefully scanning the horizon for new sources of the raw material, a few words concerning a field, which though not new, has not been hitherto fruitful of statistical information, may be deemed appropriate at this meeting. The district alluded to is the belt of the Middle James River, or in other words, that portion of the ferriferous belts of Virginia lying between Josua Falls and the little settlement of Norwood, in the counties of Amherst and Nelson, and on the left bank of the James River. This region shows unmistakable signs of developing a very considerable market for iron ores and for iron in the future, as well as a tempting appearance of possible productiveness in the former. It, is extremely hazardous to deal in generalizations as to the productiveness or non-productiveness of these measures without a more thorough development than has yet been attained. It is true that they probably constitute an horizon whence comes a part of the marvellous mineral wealth of the northern peninsula of Michigan. But

Jan 1, 1883