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By R. M. Zimmerman

INTRODUCTION Tuff is being considered as a possible geologic median for the underground storage of commercial high level radioactive wastes by the Department of Energy (DOE). DOE has the responsibility for developing or improving the technology fir safely and permanently isolating these wastes. DOE programs must satisfy requirements established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the licensing and regulating of these storage facilities (NRC 1981). Pertinent draft NRC requirements are: 1) releases of radioactivity to the environment must be within prescribed limits and 2) emplaced canisters containing wastes must be retrievable up to 50 years following emplacement. High level radioactive wastes produce heat in storage and it is essential that the thermal/mechanical/hydrological response of the host rock will not significantly degrade either the structural performance o£ the repository or the ability of the natural or engineered barriers to retard radionuclide migration. The Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) was established by DOE to evaluate the suitability of disposing of high level nuclear wastes on or near the Nevada Test Site (NTS) (NNWSI 1980). NNWSI has focused exploration and site evaluation on the tuffs of Yucca Mountain. Field testing is essential to support site characterization and repository design efforts. Preliminary studies have been conducted indicating that tuffs in G-tunnel on the NIS contain welded and nonwelded tuffs that have similar properties to those in Yucca Mountain. Thus, field testing can be accelerated. This paper discusses the issues supporting the planned field experiments in G-tunnel. Issues not related to rock mechanics are not included.

Jan 1, 1982

ALABAMA Altoona.-Cain, J. America.-Foreman, J. T. Anniston.-Cowie, L. K. Foster, R. N. Rogers, R. F. White, H. E. Ashland.-Sturdevant, J. C. Bessemer. Ball, E. M. McKenzie. W. C., Jr. Morgan, C. Birmingham.-Abbott, C. E. Adler, J. E. Aldrich, T. H. Aldrich, T. H., Jr. Ashton, J. J. Burgin, G. E.

Jan 1, 1923

By Robert Anderson

DURING the past 5 years no subject has aroused more interest or received more attention among mill operators than flotation. One reason for this is, undoubtedly, the remarkable success of the process in Australia where that country has risen to the position of furnishing one-fifth of the world's Supply of zinc. The plant of the Butte & Superior Copper Co., designed by James M. Hyde in 1912, was the first important large flotation plant in this country; other installations have been made since then with considerable frequency, particularly so in the last 2 years. Without going into complete detail, it may be safely said that although flotation is a highly successful commercial process, it is more or less on an empirical basis. Upon scanning the literature, it is found that the flotation investigations have, in the main, dealt with a solution of the problems which accrue to practise; until recently no attempt was made to remove the difficulties in the way of the formulation of a consistent and harmonious theory. Of late this phase of the work has been receiving considerable attention, particularly by the United States Bureau of Mines at its Salt Lake City station, by the Mellon Institute at Pittsburgh, by the General Engineering Co. at Salt Lake City, by many of the mining schools, and private individuals almost ad infinitum. There is, at present, an enormous amount of laboratory work being carried on in flotation research, and probably the time is not far away when a generally acceptable explanation of flotation phenomena can be Set forth. However, at this time, it seems as though the current technology is befogged with a super-abundance of contradictory evidence; this confusion can only be dispelled as time proceeds and the knowledge of the subject becomes more complete.

Jan 7, 1916

By AIME AIME

SIR HENRY CORT HAROLD CARPENTER, F. R. S. professor of metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines, was presented with his Honorary Membership certificate in the A.I.M.E. on Oct. 18, at a luncheon in his honor in the Abraham Lincoln room of the Savoy Hotel in London. The presentation luncheon was attended by some thirty distinguished representatives of the academic and industrial British metallurgical world, all friends and acquaintances of Sir Harold. Frank W. Harbord and

Jan 1, 1938

By J. R. Campbell

IN order to discuss the subject intelligently, it will be necessary to touch briefly on the forms in which sulphur is supposed to exist in coking coal to be carbonized in beehive or byproduct ovens. Sulphur is known to exist in coal as sulphides and sulphates, as can be determined experimentally. Then there is the so-called organic sulphur, i.e., sulphur in combination with the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen of the coal, about which much has been written, but nothing definitely proven in an experimental way. In fact, so far as we know, there never has been developed a satisfactory and conclusive method in the laboratory for the direct determination of organic sulphur. For most coking coals, it can be safely assumed that the preponderance of sulphur is in the form of pyrite (FeS2). When exposed to comparatively low temperatures during the coking process, it loses its sulphur according to the following chemical reaction: 7FeS2 = Fe7S8 + 6S. It will be seen, therefore, that six out of the 14 atoms of sulphur (or 42.8 per cent.) are expelled, or volatilized. Fe7S8 remains in the coke as pyrrhotite, or magnetic sulphide of iron; this accounts for the highly magnetic properties of the powdered coke. A more commonly accepted reaction is FeS2 = FeS + S, in which the straight sulphide of iron is produced with 50 per cent. volatilization of sulphur. In the beehive methods of coke making, air is introduced in sufficient amounts to carry on the distilling and the coking processes, and the sulphur is oxidized along with the other volatile products: First, into sulphur dioxide (SO2), known by the pungent and suffocating odoremitted from the trunnel head; second, into sulphuric anhydride (SO3); and, finally, into sulphuric acid, as it comes into contact with the air and moisture. In a properly regulated draft on a beehive oven, there is never complete combustion of the gases. In other words, the coking process should be carried on in a reducing atmosphere, and a low-grade producer gas kept issuing from the trunnel head. For coals of about 30 per cent. volatile matter, the ratio of air to gas is 3 ½ to 1. In complete combustion, the ratio is 6 to 1, producing an extremely high temperature

Jan 1, 1916

By Henry N. McCarl, John J. Dran

The academic community and the larger and more sophisticated mining companies have largely rejected the older mineral valuation methods such as the Hoskold and Morkill concepts and replaced them with "discounted cash flow" (DCF) techniques. The relevancy and usefulness of the older methods have been questioned primarily on the basis of their underlying assumptions that mining companies do not have numerous alternative investments and must use sinking funds deposited at market or "safe" rates of return to recover the purchase price of mineral reserves. The ability to reinvest in numerous (often nonmining) alternative business ventures, the changing purchasing power of the dollar, corporate income and other taxes, depreciation and depletion allowances, and modern financial management practice all militate against the continued use of the older valuation methods, especially for the larger mining companies. Small mining companies and individuals still use these methods largely out of habit and familiarity. The Hoskold Mineral Reserve Valuation Method The Hoskold method was developed prior to the evolution of modern accounting practices and before the days of the corporate income tax. At the time of its development, annual earnings of the firm were represented by the difference between cash revenues and cash expenses and were not subject to taxation by the government. Thus, earnings at that time were equivalent to what is today known as cash flow.

Jan 7, 1974

By D. L. Ward

This paper is the result of a study, in 1919, to determine how much surplus power could be produced through the proper utilization of the entire gas flow from the two furnace stacks at the Federal Furnace Plant, South Chicago, Ill. Obviously, the problem was to measure the flow of gas through the main beyond the point where the amount necessary for stove operation was removed. In all probability, blast-furnace gas is the most difficult gas to measure, because of the high moisture and dust content, and the widely fluctuating flow from the furnaces. This wide fluctuation of flow forbids the acceptance of any one group of flow readings as indicative of normal operating conditions. A study of the conditions showed that a recording device on gas flow was necessary. As the gas at the point of measurement had passed through wet washers, and accordingly was saturated with water and contained considerable dust carried past the scrubbers in the form of sludge, no form of Pitot tube could be used, for this sludge would quickly plug the dynamic and static holes, spoiling the gage readings. An even more serious objection to the use of Pitot tubes was the impossibility of accurately measuring the cross-sectional area of the gas main on the plane of Pitot-tube installation. Given an absolutely clean gas and a perfectly circular pipe, it would be safe to assume, through measurements of the pipe diameter, that the gas main was of a certain cross-sectional area. But the continual depositing of sludge and the fact that the main was fabricated from riveted sheets led us to discard the idea of using Pitot tubes for this service. The Venturi tube was then considered, and had there been a sufficiently long straight run of gas main to accommodate a tube of the required size (72 by 28 in.) such an installation would very likely have been made.

Jan 2, 1921

It has been established that molybdenum sesquisulphide, not molybdenite, is in equilibrium with molybdenum metal and sulphur vapor in the vicinity of 1100°C. The S2 pressure for this system has been obtained using the Knudsen orifice method and the standard free energy for the dissociation of S2. THIS work was undertaken to help in determining the thermodynamic properties of the molybdenum sulphide which is in equilibrium with metallic molybdenum and sulphur vapor in the temperature range 1025" to 1150°C. From the results of MontoroL and of Parravano and Malquori' molybdenite would be expected to be in equilibrium with molybdenum metal, while the results of Guichard indicate that a lower sulphide must be in equilibrium with the metal. Thus it was concluded that the problem warranted reconsideration, especially in view of the suspiciously low temperature independent term for the standard free-energy function for the reaction MoS² Mo + S,. The reaction was calculated and duly noted as being low by Richardson and Jeffes,' using the data of Parravano and Malquori.' Experimental Method The general method used in this investigation is that of the Knudsen orifice method for the determination of equilibrium pressure. The apparatus and technique are similar to those described for the determination of the vapor pressure of silver.% owever, a closed-end McDanel tube instead of fused silica was used to maintain the vacuum, a molybdenum effusion cell with a replaceable lid was employed instead of a silica cell, and a titanium getter maintained at run temperature was used to assure that no oxidation of the molybdenum or molybdenum sulphide was taking place. All runs were made at a residual pressure less than 10-5 mm Hg. The data are given in Table I. Runs 1 through 13 were obtained using molybdenite, analyzed 98.5 pct, from the Molybdenum Corp. of America. The remaining runs were done with a sample from the Climax Molybdenum Corp. which was their grade No. 3 and analyzed 59.87 pct Mo. The weight loss of the cell during heating up and cooling down was subtracted from the total weight loss of the cell during the run. Also, when the tem- perature was changed, the Knudsen cell was placed in the vacuum chamber and heated at temperature for several hours in order to allow the sulphide and the metal to adjust their compositions to the equilibrium values, to desorb or adsorb gases into or from the molybdenum cell itself, and to desorb any water from the molybdenum sulphide or molybdenum powder inside the cell. Water may have been adsorbed inside the cell because, after each run, the top of the cell was removed and the material in the cell was stirred to insure that a layer of molybdenum metal would not build up and obstruct the passage of sulphur vapor into the gas phase. It was established that the molybdenum cell alone decreased in weight an inappreciable amount when heated at the highest run temperature for long periods of time. There are two questions to be answered before the data in Table I can be used to calculate thermodynamic functions: 1—Which molybdenum sulphide is in equilibrium with molybdenum metal and sulphur vapor? 2—What sulphur species are present in the vapor phase? It can be assumed safely that no molybdenum is vaporized, since its vapor pressure is almost negligible at these temperatures. It will be shown subsequently that no sulphide of molybdenum is volatile. Question 1 was answered in the following way: The especially purified molybdenite, obtained from the suppliers mentioned previously, was charged

Jan 1, 1956

By A. S. Richardson

Ventilation of the Butte mines has long been a rather difficult problem because of the natural high temperature of the rock. With increase* in mining depth, higher rock temperatures have been encountered, and this has caused a constantly growing demand for more effective ventilation measures. During recent years the hazards of dust in mine air have been more clearly recognized, and have necessitated the adoption of dust-prevention methods. To meet these ventilation problems in the mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., a mines ventilation department was organized in 1918, to act under the direction of the general superintendent of mines. At the present time, under normal operating conditions, the force employed includes the ventilation engineer, two chief assistant ventilation engineers and eight assistant ventilation engineers. The activities of the department are, briefly: (1) planning and supervising operation of the general ventilation system; (2) planning and supervising the operation of dust-prevention measures, together with dust sampling and related microscopic work for the quantitation of the dust samples and determination of particle-size distribution; (3) the design and development of air-conditioning methods to meet present exceptionally severe temperature conditions and in anticipation of future requirements. To a large extent the technical features of the ventilation methods have been described in earlier papers by the author. This paper is written mainly to summarize past accomplishments bearing most closely on health and safety, with a somewhat more detailed account of the dust-prevention measures that have been developed comparatively recently. Facilitating Flow of Am As a basic requirement for the safety of the mcn, all ventilation plans are subject to a ruling that the main operating shafts must be maintained as inlet air courses. Under this condition, a safe, fresh-air escapeway is assured if a fire occurs within the mine, and the shaft; is available as a base

Jan 1, 1940

By A. S. Richardson

Ventilation of the Butte mines has long been a rather difficult problem because of the natural high temperature of the rock. With increase* in mining depth, higher rock temperatures have been encountered, and this has caused a constantly growing demand for more effective ventilation measures. During recent years the hazards of dust in mine air have been more clearly recognized, and have necessitated the adoption of dust-prevention methods. To meet these ventilation problems in the mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., a mines ventilation department was organized in 1918, to act under the direction of the general superintendent of mines. At the present time, under normal operating conditions, the force employed includes the ventilation engineer, two chief assistant ventilation engineers and eight assistant ventilation engineers. The activities of the department are, briefly: (1) planning and supervising operation of the general ventilation system; (2) planning and supervising the operation of dust-prevention measures, together with dust sampling and related microscopic work for the quantitation of the dust samples and determination of particle-size distribution; (3) the design and development of air-conditioning methods to meet present exceptionally severe temperature conditions and in anticipation of future requirements. To a large extent the technical features of the ventilation methods have been described in earlier papers by the author. This paper is written mainly to summarize past accomplishments bearing most closely on health and safety, with a somewhat more detailed account of the dust-prevention measures that have been developed comparatively recently. Facilitating Flow of Am As a basic requirement for the safety of the mcn, all ventilation plans are subject to a ruling that the main operating shafts must be maintained as inlet air courses. Under this condition, a safe, fresh-air escapeway is assured if a fire occurs within the mine, and the shaft; is available as a base

Jan 1, 1940

By John M. Lovejoy

FEDERAL regulation of the petroleum resources of the nation has long been an interesting topic for discussion. A plan to accomplish Federal control has now taken definite form. At the request of the President of the United States, a bill to be known as the Petroleum Conservation Act of 1939 has been presented to Congress-H. R. 7372, offered by Representative Wm. P. Cole, Jr., and more usually known as the Cole bill. It is an act ostensibly designed to conserve our petroleum resources, through regulation of production practices. Hearings are being held currently by a subcommittee of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, in compliance with the request of the President to report the bill early in the next session of Congress.

Jan 1, 1939

By Evert Hoek

Summarising a conference is never an easy task, but I will try to keep my comments brief and to the point. There are a number of lessons which we have learned from our deliberations together during these past three days, and I will try to give you my impressions of these lessons and of their practical implications in open pit mining. The first thing that has become increasingly obvious during these discussions is that it is no longer acceptable to offer an 'Act of God' as an excuse for a major slope or tailings dam failure. Disasters such as that at Aberfan in the United Kingdom have focussed the world's attention on the activities of the mining industry and the report of the commission set up to investigate the Aberfan disaster clearly showed that adequate knowledge was available and that failure to apply this knowledge did not qualify as an 'Act of God'. The courts and the world's press are certain to impose increasingly harsher penalties and criticism on those held responsible for major failures, particularly of tailings dams, in the future. One of the major problems in applying available knowledge to slope problems is that attempts to apply this knowledge are frequently left too late. To provide an engineering solution in the case of a slope in an advanced state of failure is an almost impossible task, and it is essential that those responsible for the stability of a slope must learn to recognise signs of distress at an early enough stage for effective remedial measures to be taken. As our ability to solve slope problems improves, the time at which slope stability problems are considered in a mining project must move forward to a stage at which these problems can be anticipated and dealt with before they arise. Conferences such as this are important in that they enable us to exchange ideas and advance our knowledge to a level at which such predictive engineering will be possible. It has been encouraging to hear of mining projects such as the Bougainville Copper operation where slope stability studies were carried out as part of the overall evaluation programme and it is hoped that this will become a more common procedure in the future. Providing a safe slope in an opencast mine obviously costs money, either in terms of the reduced ore to waste ratio given by flat slopes or because of the cost of stabilization techniques such as drainage or the use of rock anchors. An optimum slope design will provide maximum safety at minimum cost but achieving this optimum is not an easy task. Any one of us could design a slope which would be stable to the end of time, but it is probable that that slope would be so flat as to be totally uneconomic in most open pit mining situations. On the other hand, if the overall economics of a mining project are so critical as to require slope angles which the engineer responsible for these slopes considers to be unsafe, it is his duty to make us could design a slope which would be stable to the end of time, but it is probable that that slope would be so flat as to be totally uneconomic in most open pit mining situations. On the other hand, if the overall economics of a mining project are so critical as to require slope angles which the engineer responsible for these slopes considers to be unsafe, it is his duty to make

Jan 1, 1971

By E. D. Gardner

INTRODUCTION OIL shale deposits have been exploited in various countries throughout the world, but generally with government aid. The oil-shale industry of Scotland perhaps is the oldest and best-known; the largest was conducted in Manchuria by the Japanese during World War II as a source of liquid fuels for military uses. In general, foreign oil-shale deposits that have been exploited are much lower grade than those in the western United States. Considerable interest began to be shown in western oil shales in 1916; the peak of activities was in 1923. The Catlin operation, near Elko, Nevada, perhaps was the nearest approach in this country to an oil-shale enterprise on a commercial scale. Over 100 companies were formed, ostensibly for exploiting the oil shale; a large number of them, however, proved to be stock promotions only, which gave the embryo industry a black eye. The Bureau of Mines operated an experimental oil-shale retort plant near Rifle, Colorado, from September 1926 to June 1927 and again from April 1928 to July 1929, after which the plant was dismantled. By this time the East Texas oil fields had come in and the country lost interest in substitute liquid fuels. During World War II the Nation again became concerned about the magnitude of its petroleum reserves. Congress (April1944) directed the Bureau of Mines to build and operate demonstration plants to produce synthetic liquid fuels from coal, oil shales, and agricultural and other products; a five-year program was authorized. As a part of this program the Bureau of Mines has built, at Anvil Points near Rifle, Colorado, a retort plant and developed an experimental mine to supply the plant with oil shale. An important part of the mining work at Rifle is to devise methods and select practices for mining the oil shale on a commercial scale at the lowest practicable cost. The product to be mined has a relatively low value, a fact that must be kept continuously in mind. The combined aim of those in charge of the mining and those in charge of retorting is to demonstrate that the shale oil can be produced at a cost per barrel corresponding to the current quotation for crude petroleum -or at least very close to it. Plans call for an uninterrupted flow of broken oil shale from the face in the mine, through crushers, through the retorts and thence to the disposal dump. The disposal of the spent shale in the Rifle area should present no unusual problem. Mining research has consisted so far of paper studies of the general phases of the problem, determination of the widest span that the roof stone will stand safely unsupported, and drilling problems. Underground development has not proceeded far

Jan 1, 1947

By Oliver S. North

Reserves of perlite rock in the western section of the United States are immense. A geological report prepared for the Union Pacific RR showed proved tonnage of over 400 million tons in southern Nevada alone. Yet the perlite industry is not large, and most of the mines are relatively small. There are indications that perlite processing, thus far largely in the hands of relatively small com¬panies, is becoming concentrated in a few large companies. For economic reasons the bulk of perlite sold in crude form has come from three or four pro¬ducers, although many individual operators have sold small quantities to limited lists of purchasers. Perlite is one of ultra-lightweight aggregates. Owing to its outstanding qualities as an aggregate, variety of uses, and ultimate economy of use, it has enjoyed considerable popularity in this country in recent years. Marked foreign interest also has been evinced in this material.

Jan 2, 1955

By John F. Kendrick, Paul D. Cornelius

This paper is a progress report of a study the authors are making of the sucker-rod pump, considered as a vibrating system with one degree of freedom, with forced vibrations and with viscous damping. Dr. S. Timoshenko's formula is given, defining such a system. Each factor is considered in respect to the problem of operating sucker rods, and the zone is pointed out in which the mathematics do not apply to the sucker-rod pump, because of its variable mass. This general theory is interpreted in the light of nearly two years of testing wells in the field, and correlating the results of other tests. The motion of the pumping mechanism is a vibration. The string of sucker rods vibrates with a natural frequency. The motion of the plunger is the result of adding together these two vibrations, and is modified by a damping or friction factor. The controlling factor appears to be the ratio of the period of the natural vibration of the rod string to the period of the vibration of the pump. The first conclusion is that a definite value of this ratio, which is below resonance and is probably not greater than 0.5, should not be exceeded in order to assure satisfactory performance from the sucker rods. The second conclusion is that the component parts of the pumping equipment should be selected to give the smallest practical period of the natural vibration, and when this does not permit operation at a safe speed and give the required plunger displacement, a longer polished-rod stroke should be used. While the quantitative results are but rough approximations, the qualitative analysis of pumping problems on this basis promises to be of considerable value in diagnosing the cause of poor performance and prescribing suitable remedies. The trouble that results, whenever it becomes necessary to crowd the sucker-rod pump, to take potentials or to handle increasing volumes of water, is responsible for the belief that this type of pump is not equal to present day needs, and that it is only a question of time before some other pumping device will take its place. Of the troubles experienced, it is not surprising that the frequency of sucker-rod failures should

Jan 1, 1937

By C. B. Auel

THE subject of this paper involves the crux of the industrial safety problem. It is not overstating the fact to say that "a plant can be made as safe as the management and the workers want it to be;" if such desire is not in evidence and it is not possible to maintain interest in the work of safety, there can be practically no headway beyond the first few steps. These first steps may be said to embrace simply the mechanical or equivalent guarding of tools and equipment and may be taken in a more or less perfunctory manner; but, it has been estimated, they will not effect a reduction of more than 25 to 35 per cent. in the accidents likely to occur in an unguarded plant. The question therefore may be pertinently asked, "Whose interest is meant in the title of this paper, employers', employees?, or both?" It has been repeatedly stated that no safety work of any importance can be carried on: in a plant unless the employer believes in the value of such work. Such statements are true, but have become threadbare with constant repetition and the public is led to believe, that employers differ from ordinary human beings, that their sympathy for their fellowmen has become dulled, and they can be awakened to a sense of the fitness of things with respect to safety, health, sanitation, working hours, etc. only by legislation. There will undoubtedly be found an employer, now and again, who measures down to such specification; but the speaker, in a number of years of close contact with large employers (and his experience has been duplicated by many others) has found that the employers are usually far in advance of the general public in matters affecting the welfare of their employees, including their safety, and not from a selfish viewpoint, but from the humanitarian, economic, etc. If, at times, there is an apparent lack of headway in the solution of some problem connected with employees' welfare, it is not so much due to indifference or a failure to be awake, on the part of the employer, as it is to a lack of knowledge of the way in which to proceed to its successful accomplishment. Further, employers are, only human and cannot follow. every one of the innumerable matters connected with an industry down to their minutest details; they must delegate certain individuals as their representatives, clothing them with the necessary authority to act. These representatives should be looked upon as the Management in their respective fields and the

Jan 6, 1925

By J. J. Luchessa

HAULAGE was one of the many problems to be solved in the successful handling of the Miami Copper Company's low-grade orebody. The ore extracted had to be increased from 1000 to 18,000 tons per 24 hours over the existing track-age and haulage way. This called for increased speed, longer trains, in¬creased car capacity, and a block signal system so as to maintain a fixed schedule and headway. The motive power in service at the time of this transition consisted of Baldwin-Westinghouse 6-ton trolley locomotives. (See Fig. 3.) These locomotives were purchased to handle twenty inverted-V-bottom side-dump cars of 60 cu. ft. capacity. Dimensions were limited as to height on account of ore chutes, width on account of short radius curves, and length of 12 ft. from bumper to bumper- so that the locomotives could be handled on the man and material hoist which has a cage length of 121/ ft. The limited length made it possible to bring the locomotives to the surface for periodic overhauling and major repairs such as changing wheel tires, gears, and

Jan 1, 1934

By Charles C. Upham

Not long ago a few acres of coal-land in the Connellsville region of Pennsylvania were sold at the rate of $1500 per acre. While this was doubtless a " fancy " price, affected by some consideration other than that of the simple value of the coal in the tract. it may fairly be taken as an indication of a progressive and already perceptible diminution in the economically available coal-resources of that famous region. This piesent and prospective development emphasizes the cominercial importance of producing, from the inferior coals of other districts, coke suitable for use in the blast-furnace. Many of the bituminous coals of the United States would meet this requirement if sufficiently freed, before coking, from slate and sulphur, and, so far as the removal of slate is concerned, the problem is not specially difficult. There are many forms of trough-, jig- and gravity-washers which easily and cheaply reduce the slate from as much as 20 per cent. in the coal to as little as 8 per cent. in the coke. But to reduce the sulphur from 4 per cent. in the coal (a proportion sometimes encountered) to 1 per cent. or less in the coke (the proportion demanded by the furnace-manager) is not so easy. It may be safely assumed as familiarly known to members of the Institute interested in this subject that, of the three forms in which sulphur usually exists in coal (hydrogen sulphide, calcium sulphate and pyrite), the pyrite is the one to be removed, RS far as possible, by mechanical treatment before coking. Hydrogen sulphide, being volatile, is expelled in

Jan 1, 1899

By Harold A. Linke

The following article presents notes and data compiled and computed by the writer for use in the determination of: size and slope of mill launders, details of junction boxes and downspouts, and distribution of pulp. It also includes pulp formulas, volume of discharge through bushings, paths of discharging streams, banking of turns and curves. In the design of a concentrating mill, the draftsman usually considers launders to the extent of providing ample "head" for transmission of pulp from one department of the mill to another. The superintendent of construction aims to build his launders wide and deep, and on a slope steep enough to ensure positive flow. So launders are laid generally on too steep a slope, with the result that the repair gang works to maintain launder bottoms and sides against the erosive action of the conveyed pulp. To this end many kinds of liners have been devised: concrete, mastic, white iron, glass, rubber. True, the reduction of slope to the point where a pulp will flow with minimum wear, will minimize labor and expense; but when the desired slope is not predetermined, the millman hesitates to readjust his launder slopes by cut-and-try methods. To the end that the desired size and slope may be found readily, the writer has: (1) conducted experiments with pulps of different specific gravity, screen analysis and dilution; (2) gathered a few graphic data from standard reference works (such as Peele's Mining Engineer's Handbook and Taggart's Handbook of Ore Dressing); (3) computed several tables; and compiled results that have proved dependable for Utah Copper ore. It is quite possible that the following tables and graphs may not be applicable to all ores, but it is hoped that they may prove helpful, even in slight degree, in alleviating a portion of the trouble and migraine of some other millman. Launder Slopes The main object in the study of launder slopes is to provide grade steep enough to prevent "sanding" by a safe margin, and to avoid

Jan 1, 1943

By Harold A. Linke

The following article presents notes and data compiled and computed by the writer for use in the determination of: size and slope of mill launders, details of junction boxes and downspouts, and distribution of pulp. It also includes pulp formulas, volume of discharge through bushings, paths of discharging streams, banking of turns and curves. In the design of a concentrating mill, the draftsman usually considers launders to the extent of providing ample "head" for transmission of pulp from one department of the mill to another. The superintendent of construction aims to build his launders wide and deep, and on a slope steep enough to ensure positive flow. So launders are laid generally on too steep a slope, with the result that the repair gang works to maintain launder bottoms and sides against the erosive action of the conveyed pulp. To this end many kinds of liners have been devised: concrete, mastic, white iron, glass, rubber. True, the reduction of slope to the point where a pulp will flow with minimum wear, will minimize labor and expense; but when the desired slope is not predetermined, the millman hesitates to readjust his launder slopes by cut-and-try methods. To the end that the desired size and slope may be found readily, the writer has: (1) conducted experiments with pulps of different specific gravity, screen analysis and dilution; (2) gathered a few graphic data from standard reference works (such as Peele's Mining Engineer's Handbook and Taggart's Handbook of Ore Dressing); (3) computed several tables; and compiled results that have proved dependable for Utah Copper ore. It is quite possible that the following tables and graphs may not be applicable to all ores, but it is hoped that they may prove helpful, even in slight degree, in alleviating a portion of the trouble and migraine of some other millman. Launder Slopes The main object in the study of launder slopes is to provide grade steep enough to prevent "sanding" by a safe margin, and to avoid

Jan 1, 1943