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By P. Oyanader

"In 2001, the Catholic University of Chile undertook a maintenance benchmarking study of six open pit copper mines having mill capacities varying between 18,000 t/d and 156,000 t/d, and collectively responsible for 58% of Chilean copper production. This paper describes the methodology used to conduct the study, as well as the overall results. Key performance indices were selected to measure the effectiveness, efficiency, and development of the maintenance process. Using a balanced scorecard philosophy, these indicators were divided into client satisfaction, financial, internal process, and learning and growth indices.Maintenance was found, on average, to be responsible for 44% of mine production costs. Percentage planned maintenance of equipment fleets was found to be low by world standards, averaging 35%, 56%, and 44%, respectively, for blasthole drill, shovel, and haul truck fleets. Fleet availabilities were found to be significantly influenced by the percentage of planned maintenance achieved, while maintenance cost per equipment was found to decrease non-linearly with increases in percentage planned maintenance. Investment in technical training (including planned maintenance practice) was found to be low by global standards. The paper concludes that fleet availability and maintenance costs in Chilean open pit operations could be considerably improved by improving and/or developing maintenance planning standards, and investing in training personnel in planned maintenance techniques"

Jan 1, 2005

By M. Somppi, Z. Yamak

"Gold producers invest significant effort in mining, processing, and creating an intermediate gold doré product. Nonetheless, equal effort should be extended to the final handling and processing of the doré bar, and managing the high-purity gold produced at the fine-gold toll refiner. This detailed attention to bullion handling and refining provides rigor and confidence that the mine site is achieving, through fair and controlled methodology, the most appropriate value for the final product. With the above in mind, the following study explores the importance of preparing a set of site best-practices for bullion handling and specifically, detailing the peculiarities of sampling methodologies and the impact on assays.INTRODUCTION Gold and silver handling practices are common place at mine sites and refineries. The practices include but are not limited to smelting, ingot casting, weighing practices, and secure transportation. Proper handling and processing of the bullion material ensures that the mine site is achieving the true value of the final product. Various handling aspects can critically impact the perceived value of the bullion. A few of these particulars include weight tracking, scale recertification and calibration, refining and melting practices, melt temperature measurement, sampling, pouring, bar cleaning, furnace technology and crucible selection, and assaying. Nevertheless, this report discusses and focuses on the importance of proper sampling and molten-metal temperature measurement and their potential impact on the final doré bar value. Refining or re-melting operations achieve a proper measure of the precious metal content of its bullion when the sample accurately represents the whole bar. At first this task appears seemly straightforward, however, taking a representative sample can be challenging and is also one of the most important tasks for valuing gold during the settlement stage at the precious metal refinery. Various bullion sampling methodologies exist; including: dip sampling, granulation, drilling, cutting, and vacuum pin sampling. The Royal Canadian Mint (2009) indicated in their technical review of refinery operations that pin sampling is one of the best methods for cases where representative sampling and accuracy are required, e.g. to determine the payable metal content. Pin sampling consists of inserting a sealed glass vacuum tube (Figure 1) into the molten metal; when the molten metal contacts a purposely-designed weak portion of the glass, the seal breaks and the metal is suctioned into the hollow centre (Figure 2)."

Jan 1, 2018

By H. S. Drinker

THE first discovery of zinc 011 the property now worked by this company was made by the celebrated mineralogist, Prof. William Theodore Rapper, in 1845. Different claimants kept the property in continual litigation till 1861, when everything was satisfactorily settled by the purchase of the land by the company, who have worked it ever since. The mines are situated in a valley, four miles south of Bethlehem, Pa., in Lehigh County. The valley is from two to three miles broad, and is bounded 011 the north and south by syenitic hills. Syenite underlies the valley, and upon this is deposited the Potsdam sandstone, then a layer of slate, and, finally, a dolomitic limestone, belonging to the Chazy or Black River formation, in which the zinc deposits are inclosed. The rocks occur in folds, and have evidently been subjected to tremendous pressure from below, the zinc deposit being found in an anticlinal axis, in nearly vertical veins. I t is supposed that the zinc was originally disseminated through the

By Francis L. Vinton

THE eccentric theodolite I exhibit is one constructed by the Stack poles of New York, from drawings, considerably modified, of Combes's theodolite. The telescope is on one side of the horizontal limb, and the vertical circle is opposite to the telescope ; thus they nearly balance each other, making already the construction lighter than in the instrument of Combes, where the telescope and vertical circle are together on the same side, and are both balanced by a considerable weight. The instrument stands upon three levelling screws or feet, an improvement upon the old or general style of mounting a transit on four feet for indeed the instrument is easier levelled, and, moreover, stands more stable on three than on four points of support. The general advantage of an eccentric theodolite is evident, namely, that it can measure Any and all vertical angles, from 0 to 360, without being interfered with by the horizontal limb as is the transit; besides this advantage, it needs no preparatory adjustment or correction for eccentricity; on the other hand, however, that correction

By H. O. Olsen

"GeneralTHE IRON ORE at Marmora is a replacement deposit of Precambrian limestone and is overlain with Palaeozoic limestone. It is a low-grade magnetite deposit and the ore will require concentration be-fore it can be used economically for the production of iron and steel.Present plans estimate an annual production of 500,000 tons of concentrate in the form of pellets. This will require mining approximately two million tons of ore and\ waste annually. Shipment of pellets from Marmora to a ship-loading dock at Picton will be made by rail on a year-'round basis. Shipments from Picton to the Lackawanna plant of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Buffalo, N.Y., will be carried on during the Lake shipping season.LocationThe mine, located a mile southeast of Marmora village in Hastings county, Ontario, is 31 miles north of Belleville and 3•7 miles east of Peterborough. Marmora is 130 miles from Toronto and 150 miles from Ottawa. Highway No. 7 passes half a mile north of the mine and Highway No. 14 half a mile west of the mine. The Canadian National railways' branch line between Trenton and Bancroft passes through the property just east of the open pit.HistoryThe Ontario Department of Mines conducted an airborne magnetic survey of the district during 1948 and 1949. Maps of this survey were released to the public early in 1950. Bethlehem representatives carried out ground surveys in the Marmora area shortly thereafter and in June, 1950, commenced diamond drilling."

Jan 1, 1955

By Roberts H. Richards

It is nearly twenty years since Dr. Raymond, then U. S. Commissioner of Mining Statistics, wrote the first paper (so far as I have been informed) upon the education of tile mining engineer, as a distinct profession for American youth. At that time nearly all the prominent mining engineers in the country had studied in one or more of the foreign schools, or had reached their high standing through years of experience in the school of life. The paper mentioned five schools in the United States in which some attention was paid to the teaching of mining engineering, but as four of them had barely graduated their first classes, their influence had not begun to make itself widely felt. Two years later the American Institute of Mining Engineers was formed, and it has been a most potent factor in the problem of "disseminating information on mining and metallurgical subjects," so potent that the need of a national school of mines as headquarters for information as well as for instruction is no longer urged. The number of schools also increased, and in 1876 Abram S. Hewitt, in his Presidential address on "A Century of Mining and Metallurgy in the United States,'' gave a list of fourteen. In 1876 the series of discussions, led by Holley's admirable paper, brought the whole subject of technical education before the country. These discussions, while mostly devoted to the engineering professions in general, touched upon the question of mining and metallurgicel training to some extent. Since that time several papers, inspired by the publication of that series of discussions, have appeared in our Transactions, and several notable addresses have been delivered at the opening or at the commencement exercises of various schools. But nothing directly bearing upon the curriculum of the mining and metallurgical schools has ever appeared in our annual volumes. As education is one of the many-sided subjects which cannot be discussed too often, I have ventured to bring it up again. There have been so many good things said upon the subject that one would only need to use the scissors and paste-brush judici

Jan 1, 1887

By R. W. Raymond

Edward Cooper was born in New York City, Oct. 26, 1824. His father, Peter Cooper, to say nothing of manifold reasoils for fame as an inventor and philanthropist, deserves to be remembered as a pioneer in the establishment .of public schools ; and it is not surprising that. he sent his son to one of the democratic institutions in which he was himself so ardently interested. From the public school Edward Cooper went to Columbia College, where he made the acquaintance of Abram S. Hewitt, who was first his tutor, afterwards his traveling companion, brother-in-law, business partner and life-long friend.' For twenty years I was the consulting engineer of the firm of Cooper & Hewitt, and also connected with the work of the Cooper Union, in which they were both deeply interested and faithfully active. On the basis of the intimate knowledge thus gained, I venture an estimate of Edward Cooper's character and career which, if not fully comprehensive, may facilitate a juster estimate than would be reached by the student of those data which the modesty of the man permitted to be placed upon public record.

Jan 1, 1907

By Thomas H. Sheldon

In the zeal for opening up new ore-bodies, or for extracting the ore from attractive bodies already opened up, we very often lose sight of the fact, that, after all, the operation of a mine is a business proposition, pure and simple, and, for the best working-results, should be treated upon a strict business basis. Of course, in every mine of consequence, a record is kept of expenditures and receipts, and such glittering generalities as " gross receipts," " net receipts," " mining expenses," and a per cent. profit," can be told to the cent; but does this record show economy of management, as compared either with the same record of other months, or with the record of other mines of the same class ? Moreover, if such a record shows that the cost of mining is high, does it in any way enable the manager to put his finger on the leakage ? Does it necessarily follow that a mine which makes a profit of, say, 40 per cent. on 25-dollar ore, is doing less economical mining than one which saves 60 per cent. on 80-dollar ore ? Of course the figures in the latter case look the more attractive; yet when it comes to the point of saving everything which can be saved, and of cutting down expenses to the lowest possible cost of operation, the former mine is doubtless on the firmer and more economical financial basis. But as to the relative merits of the system of mining in the two cases, nothing could be decided without a basis of detailed comparison ; if one system is more economical than the other, why is it so, and wherein does the advantage lie ? This can be shown only by keeping accurately the cost of each mining operation. And no matter how dissimilar two mines may be in character and operation, yet there are a few general heads common to all mining operations. In the first place, it is necessary to break the ore from the solid ground;

Jan 1, 1907

By G. Caetani, E. Burt

Jan 1, 1907

By R. W. Raymond

In my former paper (Bans., xii., 410) I quoted the ruling of Judge Hallett, of Colorado, in the "Iron-Smuggler" case, tried before him in June, 1882. Under his charge, the jury in that case found for the defendants, practically declaring that the deposit on the outcrop of which the Iron Silver Mining Company's claim was located was not a " lode," or else that the portion of it within that claim was not the apex. The case was appealed, and the decision of the Supreme Court, given in February, 1886, is reported in 116 U. S. Reports, p. 529. It simply declares that there is nothing in the charge of Judge Hallett to warrant the setting aside the verdict. The definition of a legal lode given in that case, and quoted in my paper at the page above-named, is perhaps the best of several which Judge Hallet has pronounced. That is to say, his earlier definition, that " a lode or vein is a body of mineral, or mineral-bearing rock, within defined boundaries in the general mass of the mountain," is here accompanied with further explanations, which relieve it from the requirement on one hand, that the body shall be continuously ore-bearing if it he only well-defined, and, on the other hand, that the boundaries shall be well-defined if the ore-bearing body be proved to exist. So far as this particular case is concerned, the approval of this ruling by the Supreme Court merely prevents any re-hearing as to the face. Undoubtedly, the evidence was conflicting; and the jury chose to believe, for the purpose of that occasion, the " experts " who

Jan 1, 1887

By Charles E. Wait

The old laboratory at the School of Mines was among the notoriously bad ones, being situated in apartments of the main collegebuildings not originally intended, and conspicuously unfit, for the use to which they were put; while, as in many of our schools and colleges, the assaying was done in the basement of the college. Prominent among the disadvantages of such an arrangement are insufficient light, poor ventilation, and little or no provision to carry off offensive gases. It is not my intention now to present a complete description of this building. I wish merely to call attention to a few points in its construction and equipment, which may prove of interest to those who contemplate erecting buildings for snch work, and who may be, as we were in this instance, limited as to funds. In this laboratory every room is well lighted; all rooms used by students are well ventilated, and are provided with closed hoods for

Jan 1, 1887

By H. M. Chance

Jan 1, 1887

By Charles P. Berkey, John B. Hastings

The reconnaissance of the Goldfield mining-district, describecl in this paper, was made in May and June, 1905, and, though this time was too short for a complete report, the work accomplished may serve as a basis for more thorough future research. Dr. Berkey has examined the rocks collected by me, and I am using his classifications. As a result of further field-work, and Dr. Berkey's examination of the rocks, this paper is an elaboration and correction of my views expressed in the Gold-$elm Sun, May 12, 1905. The sketch-map, Fig. 1, illustrates the geology of the Goldfield mining-district. Goldfield is an eruptive complex, consisting of alaskite (hinary granite), hornblende-andesite, hornblende-dacite, rhyolite, pyroxene-andesite, pyroxene-dacite (sometimes containing a small quantity of olivine), quartz-felsite, olivine-pyroxene-ande-site, and basalt. Considering this list to be arranged in the order of eruption, the age-sequence of the rocks conforms to Richthofen's law, formulated in 1868. From his observations in Europe and America, propylite, andesite, trachyte, rhyolite and basalt, occurring together, succeed one another. In a general way, the medium and the more acidic rocks precede the most basic—a result supposed by some to hare arisen from their position beneath the. surface, and due to a rude stratification by gravity in the original cooling magma during the older history of the earth, or to the same differentiation occurring during a quiescent (molten ?) period preceding eruption, being aided by the ease with which acidic rocks, mixed with water vapors, become fusible. In effect, the more basic and less re-

Jan 1, 1907

By Theodore B. Comstock

a. Boundaries of the District.—The district here considered comprises that portion of Colorado commonly known as " the San Juan Country." In order to bring the principal geological features of this region within the scope of a map of convenient dimensions upon a suitable scale, I have found it desirable to mark off boundaries near the parallels of 37O and 38O 10', and the meridiaus of 106' 30' and 108' 30' (West Longitude from Greenwich). This area of (approximately) 9400 square miles includes all the formations which we should have to discuss if our territory were greatly enlarged, excepting such as are distinctly characteristic of adjoining areas with independent orographic genesis. By limiting this review to these confines we miss very little of the geology of the eight counties of the San Juan region, viz.: Dolores, San Miguel, Ouray, Hinsdale,

Jan 1, 1887

By Frederick T. Williams

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relative merits of the large 31/8-in. machine and the small 2 1/4-in. tappet machine in driving development-headings; and although the data here presented were obtained from cross-cut headings alone, experience has shown that the results are equally true in drifting, raising and winzing. Recently we drove two parallel cross-cuts through the same formation, using a 3 1/8-in. machine at the breast of one crosscut, and a 2 1/4-in. machine of the same make at the breast of the other. The results of this work afforded an ideal comparison, since in both cases the headings were advanced through rock practically of the same hardness and breaking-properties, the amount of sludging was equal, and there was no difference in the condition of the steel or the machines, the air-pressure or the experience of the operating crews. Some operators in the Cripple Creek district contend that there is ground which cannot be handled with the small machine, the holes being too small to contain enough powder to "pull " the ground, etc. The results obtained in working the property of the Portland Gold Mining Co., however, show that the ground worked by them does not fall in this class. During a period of two years there have been driven, with the small machine, 4 miles and 308 ft. of development-headings, through a diversity of ground, including Pike's Peak granite (a coarsely porphyritic type of granite), highly indurated andesitic or pho-nolytic breccia, true massive andesite, trachytic phonolyte, tuffs, and along dikes of decomposed basalt and hard phonolyte. In every instance a satisfactory record was made. The headings here describe? mere driven through highly indurated andesitic breccia, having a hardness of from 5.2 to 7.2 and a sp. gr. of from 2.2 to 2.8. The action of the breccia under the drill was not materially different from that of ordi-

Jan 1, 1907

By H. T. Morris

ONE of the chief concerns of the Bethlehem Steel Co. naturally is the proper functioning of its organization. This involves the training of a continuous supply of younger men to fill the vacancies caused not only by the inevitable departure of older men, but also by the growth of existing establishment, and by expansion in new directions. It does not oper-ate a student training course with a fixed time schedule or with definite periods of rotation through the differ-ent divisions. To state the case positively, the gradu-ate's training course must operate continuously from the beginning of his employment through a long term of years. No period of weeks or months nor pair of years suffice to bring him into contact with all the com-binations needed to qualify him for the larger destiny toward which we hope he is headed. Our first step in selecting a college man is to require that he have a degree. We thus approximate the assur-ance that at least four annual siftings have reduced the chance that a non-worker may find himself in a job where work is necessary. The next step is to try to ascertain facts, from the graduate and from others who have known him at his home and in 'his college, to indi-cate whether our opportunities offer him a career that will challenge his continuing interest, and hold him to tenacious effort against all happenings. We aim to avoid knowingly bringing into our organization a man who will not develop in it enough enthusiasm to keep him happily striving. Having made our selections, we assemble the gradu-ates into a probationary observation circuit. We-put ourselves under their observation by taking them in small groups, usually of two to four men, on a circuit of every part of the Bethlehem plant, in which every manufacturing principle of our steel business is ex-emplified. The probationers work at something from day to day, with their hands if it can be arranged; otherwise in questioning, examining, and note-taking. Their observations include talks with superintendents, foremen, and workmen, the conditions under which workmen labor, apparatus, machinery, methods, design and operation of plant.

Jan 7, 1928

By F. G. Miller, E. B. Wilson

In 1972, coal mine productivity was in steady decline and labor and maintenance costs were spiralling upward. Yet, despite this sad state of affairs, nowhere in the US at that time was there a comprehensive and coordinated coal research and development plan in the offing. The Bureau of Mines had not yet been charged with such a responsibility, and industry was content to rely on machinery manufacturers for innovations. It was during this period that Bethlehem Steel Corp. determined that a new approach to coal mining research was needed for the industry as well as for the company itself. After studying Bethlehem's own mining practices, the state-of-the-art of mining research elsewhere, and development work by manufacturers, a comprehensive research package was presented to company management in late 1972. The ideas and experience of many operating and management personnel in the company contributed to the formulation of the final plan as approved.

Jan 10, 1976

By F. G. Miller

In mid-1972 we determined that a fresh approach to coal mining research was needed for the industry as well as for Bethlehem. The reasons to us were obvious: Productivity was in the throes of a steady decline, and labor and maintenance costs were spiraling upward. Yet, despite this predicament, nowhere in the U.S. at that time was there a comprehensive and coordinated research and development plan in the offing. The Bureau of Mines had not yet been charged with such a responsibility, and industry was content to rely on machinery manufacturers for innovations. After studying our own mining practices, the state-of-the-art of mining research elsewhere, and development work by manufacturers, we presented a comprehensive research package to our management at the end of 1972. The ideas and experience of many operating and management personnel in our Corporation contributed to the formulation of the final plan as approved.

Jan 1, 1976

By William Benzon

Bethlehem Steel's Cambria Division coal cleaning and preparation plant, operated by Bethlehem Mines Corp., is located in Cambria County, Pa., about 2 ½ miles southeast of Ebensburg. Here, above ground, is the most modern coal preparation plant in the world. Below the surface is a new coal mine also referred to as "the most modern that could be built today." The preparation plant has a capacity of 1370 tons of clean coal per hr. It serves three Bethlehem mines, Heisley No. 31, Revloc No. 32, and the new Cambria Slope No. 33.

Jan 12, 1965

By Graham Walker

A new Code of Practice for the brake performance of off -highway vehicles was established in Alberta in 1976. Vehicles loaded to gross vehicle weight must be capable of stopping with mechanical brakes five times in quick succession on a grade of 10 per cent from a speed of 28 miles per hour. Comparative trials of various brake systems have been carried out and some combinations capable of meeting the Code are identified. Some problem areas in truck braking are reviewed and potential developments indicated.

Jan 1, 1977