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By C. H. Bowen

NDUSTRY needs a generally applicable means of defining average grain size and grain size distribution. Students of sediments hade explored this field, employing methods that might also prove useful in engineering problems. Before attempting to solve specific problems it is well to review the derivation of commonly used grade scales and the reasons for their selection. This aspect of the problem seems largely to have been lost, and a review of basic factors may suggest causes for failures in using size analysis data. Three facts are implicit in selection of a grade scale: 1) Most particulate mixtures are continuous distributions of sizes, and any grade scale that may be employed is an arbitrary means of visualizing that distribution. 2) For purely descriptive purposes, any grade scale, regardless of the rationality of the class intervals, will be satisfactory if it is accepted by a sufficient number of workers. 3) For analytical purposes, class intervals must be small enough to define the continuous distribution accurately. Further, where statistical studies are involved, a fixed relationship should exist between classes or grades. An argument in favor of geometrically related size grades lies in the fact that most particulate mixtures contain such a wide range of sizes that use of an arithmetic diameter scale is practically impossible. Udden, who recognized this fact in 1898,' proposed one of the first grade scales based on a regular geometrical interval. Udden used 1 mm as his basic diameter and a ratio of 2 (or 1/2) between classes. In 1922 Wentworth2 re-examined Udden's grade scale, retaining the same class interval and basic diameter, but extending the scale in both directions and renaming the classes. In 1930 (Ref. 3, p. 82) the American Society of Testing Materials proposed what is now known as the U.S. Standard fine sieve series, also based on the 1 mm diam, with a v2 ratio between sieves. This, then, is a one fourth Udden-Wentworth series in the sizes below the 4 mesh sieve. The U.S. Standard coarse sieve departs from the 1 mm base and uses inches; hence it is not a direct continuation of the fine series. The U.S. Standard series would thus seem to possess all the attributes of a good grade scale, which it is. It has a large number of classes (sieves). in fact too many for practical use in its entirety. This v2 subdivision of the Wentworth grades has led to the common use of two v2 sieve series, the half-Wentworth and the engineers' series. Geologists and sedimentologists favor the half Wentworth, or 18, 25, 35, 45 sieves, etc., whereas the engineers, preferring round numbers, utilize the other half of the U.S. Standard grade scale in the 16, 20, 30, 40 sieves, etc. The fixed geometrical ratio between classes is an advantage in statistical analysis, but the unequal classes cause some complications in calculations. This is especially true when moment measures are used. It was to simplify these calculations that Krumbein in 1934 devised the phi scale. Phi is defined as being equal to —log2 of the diameter in millimeters. Selection of logarithms to the base 2 relate the phi scale directly to the Wentworth grade scale in such a manner that the whole or fractional diameter values 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4 mm, etc., become rational whole numbers, —1, 0,1, 2, etc. Since this is an arithmetic rather than geometric series, calculations are facilitated. When the logarithm is multiplied by —1 the phi values below 1 mm become positive, those coarser than 1 mm negative. Because of its relationship to the Wentworth grade scale (and in turn to the U.S. Standard fine sieve series) it is not necessary to use the transformation equation to calculate the phi value for each individual sieve; this can be done graphically as shown in Fig. 1. It should be noted that this graph may be extended in either direction to include the range of sizes most commonly used by the individual worker. Application to Statistical Analysis Any attempt at systematically relating size analysis data to properties involves a statistical study whether it is recognized as such or not. Since this is true it would seem more logical to use measures and devices related to the general body of statistical theory. Several methods are available for studying particulate mixtures. One of the most commonly employed, and also the most often misused, is the histogram or block diagram. If its limitations are recognized and provided for, the histogram is a very useful tool. According to conventional practice, the bars of equal width are plotted and the values noted in terms of diameters, when in point of fact, log diameter is implied by such notation. Further, the histogram is sensitive to choice of grade scale and size of class interval, either of which may color the result. Grade scales whose classes are not related by fixed intervals are particularly difficult. Another basic weakness of the histogram is that it pictures a continuous distribution as a series of discrete grades.

Jan 1, 1957

By Stanley D. Michaelson, Norman Weiss

This was a year of realization. Some years are for planning and development, some for designing and building, others for fulfillment. With greater hopes and plans for the future than ever before, the year 1954, nevertheless, will be remembered principally because of project completion. Among copper mines, for example, there were Silver Bell, Copper Cities, Bisbee, Yerington, and White Pine. In iron, there were the Humboldt, Coleraine, Cerro Bolivar, and Eagle Mountain. In asbestos, Johns-Manville's new mill at Asbestos, Que. In uranium, completion of the ninth mill on the Colorado Plateau-Kerr-McGee's at Shiprock, N. M. In research, 1954 marked the completion of Kennecott's Research Center in Salt Lake City, one of the historic forward strides in the science of minerals beneficiation. The year was fruitful in other directions as well. Investigations of a fundamental nature were on the upswing, and pilot plant projects have also increased in size and number. Progress in new reagents and equipment was greater than normal. It can already be conservatively predicted-from the technological point of view-that 1955 and 1956 will be tremendous years.

Jan 3, 1955

THOSE NOT MARKED ARE MEMBERS; MARKED THUS t ARE ASSOCIATES. HEAVY-FACED TYPE SIGNIFIES HONORARY MEMBERSHIP. JUNIOR MEMBERS ARE MARKED II. THE FIGURES AT THE END OF THE ADDRESS INDICATE THE YEAR OF ELECTION. AARONS, J. BOYD, Genl. Mgr., Chaffers G. M. Co., Boulder City, West. Australia. '05 ABADIE, EMILE R., Min. Engr Box 291, Porterville, Tulare Co., Cal. '76 ABBOTT, CLARENCE E., Genl. Supt., Iron Mines Div., 1405 Minnesota Ave., Bessemer, Ala. '04 ABBOTT, J. W., Min. Engr., "St. Omer," 123 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Cal. '94 ABBOTT, Louis BENJAMIN, Chief Engr., Consolidation Coal Co., Elkhorn Div., Jenkins, Ky. '15 ABBOTT, ROBERT R., Met. Engr., Peerless Motor Car Co., Cleveland, Ohio. '12 ABE, ASAKA Yamagano G. M., Satsuma-Gori, Satsuma, Japan. '14 || ABRAHAMS, A. I., Student 1391 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. '14 tACKER, E. O'C., Met Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa. '86 ACKER, Louis K., JR., Min. Engr 565 Highland Place, Bellevue, Pa. '08

Jan 1, 1917

By Robert Mehl

THE purpose of this investigation was to prepare high-purity iron-carbon alloys, to determine as precisely as possible the A3(GOS), the Acm(SE), and the A1(PSK) transformation temperatures in the meta-stable iron-iron carbide system (up to 1.4 per cent C), and to study the influence of carefully controlled and constant rates of heating and cooling (1/8 to 2° C. per minute) upon the transformation temperature and upon the resulting microstructure. Apart from the general metallurgical importance attending the completion of such a task, it will be noted that highly precise transformation temperatures are of interest and importance in the thermodynamic study of this system1. Several determinations of the iron-iron carbide diagram have been made. These suffer generally from the low purity of the alloys used, and from the application of methods of investigation of low sensitivity. Attempts to compare and weight the many data available in an effort to construct as accurate a diagram as possible have, in the main, been unsuccessful. In general, the wide differences in the results of different workers, the lack of complete analytical data, the omission of important details relating to the heat-treatment of the alloys, and the meager description of the methods of investigation applied, render such a process of averaging nearly meaningless. It may be seen from the summaries by Epstein2 and Körber and Oelsen1 that variations as great as 30° C. exist in the reported data on the A3 temperatures in iron-carbon alloys. For-tunately, the A3 temperature in pure iron is now known to be 910° C. ± 1° C.3 The best recent work on iron-carbon alloys is that of Esser4 on hypoeutectoid steels and that of Sato' on both hypoeutectoid and hyper-eutectoid steels.

Jan 1, 1937

By F. L. Bosqui

The history of the development of gold metallurgy in South Africa is divisible into two periods: That preceding the introduction of the cyanide process on a commercial scale in 1890; and the 24 years intervening between that important event and the present time. The period between the discovery of the banket reefs of the Witwaters-rand and the year 1890 was one of phenomenally rapid progress in mining development, but of no special interest to the metallurgist, There were no strikingly original or distinctly local advances in the treatment of gold ores. Californian practice in stamp milling and amalgamation prevailed, in mills ranging in equipment between 5 and 50 stamps, operating within a wide range of efficiency, and under the trying conditions usually encountered in a new and isolated field. The somewhat incomplete records of gold output of that period show that in December, 1887, there were 20 producing companies in the Witwatersrand district, of which 10 had mills, the largest being of 20 stamps. The only official record of returns for May, 1887, was that of the Wemmer mine, whose modest achievement with a 5-stamp mill was 100 tons crushed, producing 887 oz. 3 dwt. of gold. This is interesting in view of the present-day output of this field, which in 1913 reached 8,430,998 oz. The rapid increase of production during this first period (May, 1887, to January 1891) is shown by the following summary for the year 1890:1 Total tone crushed.................................. 702,828 Number of stamps in operation....................... 1,046 Average number of tons crushed per stamp per day..... 2.36 Yield of gold, ounces................................ 494,817 Yield per ton, pennyweights.......................... 13.36 The stamp duty ranged between 11/2 and 4 tons per day, according to weight of stamp, fineness of screen, and operating skill available. The prevailing weight of stamp was about 900 lb., and the screen, 900 meshes to the square inch.

Jan 1, 1916

By Frederic E. Carter

THERE have been many attempts to prove that platinum was known to the ancients, but since no traces of the metal have been found in the relics of early times, it must be concluded that it was not known to them. As far as records go, it was actually first discovered in the 16th century in a Spanish mine on the Pinto River in South America; from which source it received its name of Platina del Pinto (little silver from the Pinto). It was more or less of a rarity and was a subject of interest to a few chemists only, until the year 1822 when the metal was first discovered in Russia. In 1819 there were noticed in the washings of the gold sands of the southern part of the Ural Mountains, grains of a heavy white substance, but it was not until three years later that this substance was found to contain platinum. While at first the amounts of platinum brought from the Urals were meager, prospecting soon disclosed rich deposits extending over a considerable area, and nuggets from 10 to 20 lb. were by no means rare. This discovery assured to chemists an ample supply of platinum for their crucibles, etc. The ore is now found in various parts of the world but the richest deposits are still found in the Ural Mountains. The platinum of commerce is obtained entirely from alluvial deposits at depths varying from 6 to 40 ft. The sand and gravel of former river beds are subjected to a series of screenings and washings to effect the separation of the ore. Actually, probably all gold-bearing gravel beds of the world contain platinum, and it is more than likely that large quantities of platinum ore have been thrown away with the black sand washings from gold placer deposits. This is especially true of the alluvial deposits of the Pacific Coast in California and Oregon. Platinum ore is usually found in the form of rounded or flattened grains of "sand," and occasionally in irregular lumps of the size of peas. Large nuggets are very rare. The ore has a metallic luster and is distinguished by its steel gray color, but shows light gray streak when rubbed on a hard white surface; it has a high specific gravity, 16 to 19; is infusible in the hottest blast furnaces, and insoluble in any single acid. Platinum ore is a complex body consisting of the metal in combination with varying proportions of the other members of the platinum group; iridium,

Jan 1, 1928

By I. C. White, G. H. Ashley, J. A. Bownocker

Among the rich mineral deposits of the great Appalachian field, the Pittsburgh coal bed stands pre-eminent. Other coal beds may cover a wider area, or extend with greater persistence, but none surpasses the Pittsburgh seam in economic importance and value. It was well named by Rogers, and his able assistants of the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, in honor of the city to whose industrial growth and supremacy it has contributed so much. Whether or not the prophetic eye of that able geologist ever comprehended fully the part which this coal bed was to play in the future history of the city that gave it a name we do not know; but certain it is that the 7 ft. of fossil fuel, which, in Rogers' time, circled in a long black band around the hills and, overlooking the site of Pittsburgh from an elevation of 400 ft. above the water of the Allegheny and Monongahela, extended up the latter stream in an unbroken sheet for a distance of 200 miles, has been the most potent factor in that wonderful modern growth that has made the Pittsburgh district the manufacturing center of America, and that bids fair to continue until it shall surpass every other district in the world, even if it does not now hold such primacy.' The Pittsburgh coal bed stands today as probably the largest contributor of wealth of any single mineral deposit in the world. If it is not, what other deposit is? It has contributed to Pennsylvania alone more than 2,500,000,000 tons of high-grade coal worth nearly $4,000,000,000; since 1910, it has added more than $2,500,000,000 to the value of Pennsylvania's mineral output. In 1920, this bed2 contributed 127,227,000 tons of coal as follows: Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh district........................ 38,245,000 Connellsville district................................. 34,095,000 Weatmoreland-Ligonier district........................ 16,107,000 88,447,000 West Virginia, Fairmont district........................ 15,571,000 West Virginia-Ohio, Panhandle No. 8 district............. 21,128,000 Maryland-Potomac (Est. one-third of production)......... 2,081,000 38,780,000 Total........................................... 127,227,000

Jan 1, 1927

By Richard E. Chism

If internal commotion can be called life, the Mexicans have certainly lived more in the last seventy-five years than any other people. To the oppression of the Spanish viceroys succeeded the sanguinary tumults of the Revolution of Independence, after which the Supreme Congress bequeathed its heritage of uncertain power to the empire of Iturbide, the only one ever established by Americans upon American soil, with an American at its head. That shortlived reign mas followed by years of ceaseless, bloody, and, to the superficial observer, meaningless revolutions—the deeper political and ecclesiastical significance of which it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss. Then came foreign intervention, the ill-fated Austrian's brief supremacy, and the final triumph of the patriot cause under rugged old Benito Juarez, who crowned the victory of arms by a series of reforms breaking forever the temporal power of the Church and ushering in the calmer era which has lasted from the first accession of Diaz to the present day. During all those troublous times, the revolutionary ocean, that rolled so deeply over all other relics of Spanish dominion, had left almost unaltered the ancient laws of Spain, still lifting themselves above the tide, like landmarks of a flooded world. Many of these laws were obsolete ; some were absurdly inadequate to the demands

Jan 1, 1886

By B. H. Caudle, L. G. Davies, I. H. Silberberg

This paper presents a method of predicting the recovery and performance of a five-spot steam injection project, in which a realistic approach to pattern sweepout efficiencies is made. Published methods for radial systems were modified for the five-spot pattern by approximating the stream lines with straight lines radiating from the injection well and then converging to the producing well. In each radial segment, the position of the steam front and the temperature profile ahead of the steam front were determined by heat balance equations, which included an estimation of heat losses to surrounding formations. The location of the saturations behind the cold water front was determined from a Buckley-Leverett solution to the material balance equation. Results from this program show steamflood recovery in a five-spot pattern to be considerably less than that predicted for true linear or radial flow systems. For a specific reservoir containing 900-cp oil, a steamflood in a purely radial flow system was predicted to recover more than 75 percent of the original oil in place when 2 PV of water had been injected as steam. A five-spot steamflood with otherwise identical properties was predicted to recover 10 percent of the original oil in place when 0.15 PV of water had been injected as steam and to recover almost no oil thereafter. A cold water five-spot flood in this system was predicted to recover approximately W percent of the oil in place with I PV of water injected. For a five-spot pattern in an example reservoir with 10-cp oil, steam injection similarly showed lower ultimate recovery than water injection but no improvement in recovery rule. Introduction The thermal recovery method considered in this study is steam injection in a five-spot pattern. Pattern steam injection has been given little attention in the past, possibly because of some rather obvious disadvantages. Unless steam temperature is maintained throughout the entire swept area, the process will revert to simple waterflood with all heat being lost prior to reaching the oil bank. Also, the oil viscosity reduction takes place near the steam front and not around the producing wellbore, so that low producing rates must still be endured. This is the reason for the success of the steam stimulation, or cyclic injection, in which the fluids are produced from the same well used for injection. On the other hand, steamflooding can offer some advantages. Oil displacement is by four methods: (1) mechanical displacement by the condensed water, (2) viscosity reduction of the crude oil, (3) swelling of the crude oil, and (4) distillation of the crude oil in the steam zone. Although dependent upon the crude, laboratory experiments have shown displacements up to 80 percent by steamflooding. In addition, steam is a good heat transport medium, since it is cheap and has a high heat content. Previous Investigations Previous publications have reported methods for predicting recovery in a steamflood for linear and radial systems. Since no pattern sweep efficiency is taken into consideration, the recovery even from a radial system must be greater than from more realistic geometries such as the very common five-spot patterns. Probably the broadest coverage is given by Willman who reported experimental results and offered a method of predicting recovery for a radial flow system. They concluded that both hot water and steam injection recover more oil than an ordinary waterflood, and that steam injection could yield recoveries "as much as 100 percent greater than by water flood." They also concluded that both the heat requirements for a reservoir and the residual oil remaining in the reservoir after steam injection were independent of the amount of oil originally in place, that short exploitation times were desirable, and that a high percentage of net sand in the reservoir with a high initial oil saturation was desirable. The method assumes that the flood occurs in three concentric cylindrical zones: (1) an inner steam zone, (2) a central hot water zone, and (3) an outer cold waterflood zone. Displacement in the steam zone is based on laboratory-determined residual oil saturations while the hot water and cold water zones use the conventional Buckley-Leverett equations. Although the results shown by Willman et al. are for a radial system flowing out from the well to an assumed external circular boundary, their equations did

Jan 1, 1969

By W. Gundaker, F. C. Schwerer

Natural chromium-bearing spinels (chromites), which are used as refractory materials in basic steelmaking, are the only commercially important chromium ore and are also encountered as difficult-to-separate contaminants in ore deposits of potential economic value. Techniques for characterization and separation of ore materials frequently are dependent on the magnetic properties of the constituent minerals. An experimental program was initiated to explore the effects of temperature and of simple mechanical and thermal treatments on the static magnetic properties of several ore-grade natural chromites. Studies of the temperature dependence of the magnetic properties showed that the natural chromites, which are dilute in the magnetic ions Fe and Cr, order magnetically only at cryogenic temperatures. However, mechanical treatment in the form of crushing produces a magnetic component that is ordered at room temperature and that is of sufficient strength to alter magnetic-separation characteristics. The additional magnetic component apparently is associated with surface structures which develop during crushing and disappear after heating to above about 500°C. Preliminary studies indicate that this surface structure enhances the susceptibility of the chromite grain surfaces to gas reactions at moderate temperatures.

Jan 1, 1976

By A. W. Schlechten, R. F. Doelling

Parkes' process crusts were vacuum distilled using a shortened Pidgeon retort. Zinc was effectively removed below 800°C and recovered as a zinc sheet easily stripped from the furnace liner. Lead dasdistillationazinc required about 950°C and the resulting lead condensate tillationtended to stick to the thin metal liner. Final purity of residue is limited only by nonvolatile metals such as copper. THE successful commercial application of vacuum distillation for the removal of zinc from lead, as described by W. T. Isbell,' raises the question of whether or not a similar method can be used for other metal separations. Preliminary laboratory experiments on the vacuum distillation of Parkes' crusts by one of the authors' gave such encouraging results that it was decided to make a series of tests with large scale equipment to determine the results that might be expected in plant operation. The pilot-plant test results are reported in this paper. The great advantages of vacuum dezincing are its simplicity, the relatively low temperature of operation, and the fact that the zinc is recovered in the metallic state ready for use again in the desilveriza-tion of lead bullion. These same advantages and others would be realized from the vacuum distillation of the zinc-lead-silver crusts made in the Parkes' process. Zinc readily will distill over at temperatures of 800" to 900 °C as contrasted with the 1200°C or more used in the Faber du Faur furnace. Furthermore, the recovery of zinc as metal is practically perfect since there is no loss by oxidation or fuming. If the vacuum distillation is continued and hastened by raising the temperature to around 1000°C, the lead will distill over at an appreciable rate and deposit in a warmer zone of the condenser. This lead will contain a small amount of silver, but it can be returned to the desilverizing kettles and there is not the chance of loss that there is in disposing of the rich litharge from cupelling. The lower temperatures required will mean a saving of fuel and less wear on the equipment. One further point is that the vacuum distillation could be run on a small scale practically continuously, so as to avoid the accumulation of large amounts of silver-rich material and the need of assembling a large crew for special cupellation runs. It should be pointed out here that the final purity of the silver residue will depend on the copper or iron content of the crusts, as these and other metals with low vapor pressure will not be eliminated. The idea of treating the silver-zinc-lead crusts from the desilverization of lead bullion by vacuum distillation is not a new one, but such experiments have not been reported, as far as can be determined. In 1912, T. Turner presented a paper3 before the Institute of Metals on the vacuum distillation of brass, and a member of the audience suggested that he try his method on Parkes' crusts. In 1935, W. J. Kroll, noted for his discovery of debismuthiz-ing lead by calcium additions, published a paper' on vacuum distillation of metals and pointed out possible applications in the lead industry. Principles of Separation The successful separation of two or more metals by distillation depends upon an appreciable difference in the effective vapor pressures of the metals in the alloy to be treated. The vapor pressures of the common metals have been determined with considerable accuracy; for example, at 800°C the vapor pressures of the individual metals which are of particular interest in this paper are about .as follows: Zn, 241 mm; Pb, 0.0553 mm; and Ag, 0.0000276 mm. Unfortunately,, data are not available on the activities of the components in the ternary system Zn-Pb-Ag, but it can be estimated that on the basis of the vapor pressures of the individual metals a good separation can be made by distillation. The preliminary laboratory tests previously mentioned' supported this assumption. The pilot-plant size vacuum distilling furnace is shown in Fig. 1. It consisted of an abbreviated Pidgeon retort, 5 ft long with an ID of 8 in., heated by six silicon carbide elements placed symmetrically

Jan 1, 1952

By A. S. Richardson

AIR conditioning, or air cooling, for the improvement of ventilation in the Butte mines has come into increasing use during the past 10 years. In part, the methods practiced have been described in previous publications of the Institute, but some improvements on earlier methods have been made and a number of new features have been developed. This paper is presented as a record of progress made, and for the sake of completeness describes all general features of the work. The need for air conditioning in the ventilation of mines in the district arises from the fact that the temperature of the ground and mine water has shown a very great increase with increase in mining depth, and has now reached a maximum of slightly over 130°F. The most difficult part of the ventilation problem is the maintenance of temperature and humidity of a satisfactory standard in the working places, especially on the lower levels. Although ordinary ventilation is adequate to maintain good conditions in most of the working places it is subject to a number of limitations at great depth. Most important among these limitations is that with increase in depth the air becomes heated before it reaches the working places, both by compression from increase in atmospheric pressure and by heat transferred to it from rock at high temperature, so that its capacity for lowering temperatures is greatly reduced before it reaches the operating zone. Increasing depth of mining also increases the distance traveled by the air in its passage through the mine, and this causes a corresponding increase in resistance to air flow, so that there is greater difficulty in maintaining even the same volume in circulation. Thus, in the face of a demand that the ventilating system have a very much greater capacity to remove heat from the mine, the tendency is for that capacity to diminish. The only evident alternatives were (I) the opening of additional air shafts to increase the volume of air in circulation, (2) an extension of the existing system that would be subject to the same limitations, or (3) the adoption of an entirely different method such as air cooling. Fortunately for an economic solution of the problem, the mean annual temperature of the surface atmosphere at Butte is about 40°F., with very low relative humidity in summer, so that there is unlimited natural cooling power at a temperature range adaptable to air-conditioning methods. METHODS Two similar methods of air conditioning are used, as necessitated by service requirements and dependent upon the equipment available. In one, which is the more important and has the greater cooling capacity, water is circulated in a closed circuit, and, alternately, first absorbs heat from warm mine air and then dissipates it in the surface atmosphere by cooling at a cooling tower. The second

Jan 1, 1941

By A. Aly Selim

A computer model was developed to calculate the fragmentation cost for in situ leaching operations as a function of the blast design and deposit parameters. The model is based on blasting an ore zone only or an ore zone plus overburden by either a coyote blast or a vertical blasthole system. The model calculates the blast design parameters and the fragmentation cost based either on a user input powder factor value or on a powder factor calculated by the model as a function of the overburden height and the ore zone thickness. Examples of blast design parameters calculated by the model are the number and spacing of blastholes for a vertical blasthole system and the number and spacing of crosscuts for a coyote system. The model also calculates the total amount of explosives, the detonating cord length, and the number of primers. The cost of blasthole drilling can be calculated by the model based either on purchasing and operating a drill or on a user input value of the contracted cost of drilling. Application of the model to an example ore deposit showed that the vertical blasthole systems were more economical than the coyote system when there was no overburden and the deposit had an average ore thickness less than 45 meters. With no overburden and ore thickness greater than 45 meters, the vertical blasthole system was either more or less expensive than the coyote system depending on the number of levels used in the coyote system. With overburden, the coyote system was less expensive than the vertical blasthole system for blasting either the ore only or the ore plus the overburden. A coyote blast will usually produce larger particle sizes than a vertical blasthole system. Larger particle sizes can result in lower copper recoveries so that a less expensive coyote blast may not improve the overall economics of an in situ leaching operation. Blasting the ore zone only was generally less expensive than blasting the ore plus the overburden by either blasting system. Also, for the example considered, the coyote system costs were less sensitive to changes in overburden thickness and powder factor while the vertical blasthole system costs were less sensitive to changes in ore thickness.

Jan 1, 1977

By Homer W. Riley

ANTHRACITE SMALL power-driven, toothed, cast-iron rolls were used first to break anthracite in 1844. Prior to that time, men with hammers, who stood on perforated cast-iron plates, broke the large lumps into commercial sizes. In order to convert run-of-mine into the various sizes required by the anthracite industry, about 20 million tons must be broken, annually, into smaller sizes. This phase of anthracite preparation is of major importance, because the degradation accompanying reduction in coal sizes should be kept at a minimum. The exclusive use of toothed rolls for that purpose indicates that comminution by rolls is the best solution of the problem. Many improvements have been made in tooth design, but the most important was a reduction of the peripheral speed of the rolls from 1000 to 300 ft. per minute. The higher speed was based upon and approximated the velocity of a falling piece of coal when it entered the rolls, Exhaustive roll tests at the slower speed showed that the same size reduction could be affected with less degradation. The adoption, therefore, of slow-speed, compound geared rolls, especially for breaking the larger sizes, became quite general after 1912. A high-speed roll is shown in Fig. 1 and a slow-speed roll in Fig. 2. Anthracite Crushing Problems.-Crushing anthracite presents the problem of selecting a series of rolls that will produce the greatest percentage of the prepared sizes of nut and over. The size distributions to be expected are shown in Table 1. Coal breaking and crushing practices in anthracite breakers involve the use of equipment for comminuting the following classes of material: 1. Run-of-mine-plus 6 ½ -in. coal. 2. Sized coal-steamboat, broken, egg, stove, nut, and pea. 3. Flat coal--coal that is flat and hence not suitable for the market. 4. Bone--a piece of laminated coal and slate, crushed for the purpose of reclaiming the coal. 5. Breaker refuse, reduced to a size suitable for flushing into a mine for back-filling purposes.

Jan 1, 1950

[Abad. Leopoldo F., Min. Engr., Div. of Mines, Bureau of Science Manila, P. 1. '28 Abadilla, Quirico A., Geol., Lago Pet. Corp Box 172, Maracaibo, Venezuela. '20 Abarquez, Ramon F., Met., Bureau of Science Manila, P. I. '24 Abbey, Robert Graham, Student, Case School of Applied Science Cleveland, Ohio. '21 Abbott, A. N., Mines Supt.. Mazapil Copper Co,, Ltd Concepcion del Oro, Zac,, Mexico. '28 Abbott, Clarence E., Mgr,, Mines & Quarries, Tenn, Coal, Iron & R. R. Co., 1242 Brown Marx Bldg,, Birmingham, Ala. '04]

Jan 1, 1928

By A. F. Daily

Free World consumption of diamonds of all types closely follows the fluctuations of the business cycles in the large industrialized countries, particularly the U.S. Sustained purchasing by this country for stockpiling purposes has been a major factor in Free World demand for crushing bort and industrial diamonds, and it has been for this reason that investments in larger plants have been made by all major diamond mining companies during the past few years. For the purposes of this study, the diamonds produced in the Congo and elsewhere in the Free World are divided into three types:

Jan 5, 1961

By John C. Smock

While I was engaged in the preparation of a catalogue or list of mineral localities of the United States, east of the one hundredth meridian, for the U. S. Geological Survey, the thought occurred to me that an arrangement or classification of the iron-ore districts of the eastern part of our country according to their geological horizons would be an interesting topic for a paper, and would furnish a basis upon which to arrange many facts brought out by the constant development of our iron-mining districts. Our text-books of mineralogy, geology, and ore-deposits describe the iron-ores and the

Jan 1, 1884

By David A. Martin

Resource based companies have been inundated with changes in government tax legislation during the past few years. To cope, capital investment planning analysts have turned almost completely to computer simulation modeling to react quickly enough to determine the effect on their companies' major investment projects and on the projected financial picture of the companies. This paper will examine various royalty and tax structures as applied to coal, oil and gas, and minerals in the U.S. and Canada with particular emphasis on recent changes in the Canadian tax scene and their implications to capital project economic evaluation in other parts of the world.

Jan 1, 1977

By H. R. Deeth

NEPHELINE syenite is a sodium, potassium, aluminum silicate rock occurring in many countries. Large deposits have been investigated in Russia, India, and Norway and in the U. S., where it is known to occur in Arkansas, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. There are extensive areas containing nepheline syenite in south-central Ontario, a region surveyed in 1905 by Adams and Barlow. By 1925 considerable interest had developed in searching for aluminous raw materials that could be used by the glass industry. This finally focused attention on the nepheline syenite described by Adams and Barlow in 1910.1

Jan 11, 1957

By H. W. McQuaid

IT IS usually assumed that chemical specifications are sufficient for steel to be used for case carburizing, and if the steel analyzes within the ordinary limits specified for steel for this purpose, no difficulty traceable to the steel used should be encountered in obtaining satisfactory results in the case carburizing and hardening. Much work has been done to determine the effect of various alloying elements on the rate of carbon penetration, etc. but, to our knowledge, little if anything has been published in regard to the effect of the quality of the steel on the final results in the hardening of case-carburized steel parts. The writers believe that the structure of the case both before and after quenching is greatly affected by the actual condition of the steel itself as made, and that for good results in the case-carburizing and hardening departments, the steel should be of the best possible quality as regards non-metallic impurities. It is the purpose of this paper to prove that the presence of excess dissolved oxides in the steel, as made in the melting furnace, affects permanently the results obtained in carburizing and hardening and that it is possible that the presence of dissolved oxide can result in total unfitness of low-carbon steel for, case hardening purposes. When races and rolls for roller bearings are made from a low-carbon steel, case carburized and hardened, it is of primary importance that the results of this treatment be of the highest quality. It is necessary, therefore, that in the case-carburizing work each detail be rigorously checked to avoid any defects which would cause the loss of much time and material. The case carburizing with which this paper deals was done in under-fired oil furnaces. The temperature of each furnace is controlled by means of a platinum platinum-rhodium thermocouple, in connection with a potentiometer indicator and potentiometer recorder. The temperature of each furnace is registered every 15 min. by an operator, who is continually checked by the automatic recorders.

Jan 2, 1922