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By Theodore Simons

The rapid and comparatively recent development of flotation has opened so fascinating a field for study and research that the older processes of gravity concentration no longer receive the attention they deserve. The early work of Munroe1 and Richards,2 and the more recent contributions by Clevenger and Coe,3 Laist and Wiggin,4 Ammon,5 Bardwell,6 Crowfoot,7 and Hayden8 to mention only some which have appeared in our own Transactions-and by Schulz,9 have furnished so much data that to offer something new seems a difficult task. It is still possible, however, to present known facts from a different point of view, and, with this in mind, the writer has undertaken to express basic principles of gravity concentration in terms of simple mathematics and mechanics; the conclusions thus reached will be found to correspond, in general, with those obtained by experimental methods. Rittinger, in his classic Aufbereitungskunde (1867), reached analogous conclusions by way of intricate higher mathematics, for which reason his interesting investigations have remained a sealed book to most of us. The writer hopes that a more elementary treatment of the subject, based in part on Rittinger's methods, may, arouse new interest in the study of basic principles.

Jan 7, 1922

By James P. Graham

In this paper the authors present the background information to preheating and its development and describe the facilities available at the British Carbonization Research Association. The results obtained at BCRA including those collected during commissioning of the new plant at BCRA are summarized and reference is made to the research work planned for the next stage. The enlarged test-plant facilities at the British Carbonization Research Association embrace both 10-t (4.2 m high) and 17-t (6.5 m high) test ovens and two types of preheater, the preheated coal being charged by either gravity or pipeline. During the commissioning of the new equipment, an extensive programme on preheating was initiated and the paper includes the results obtained so far. These cover tests on wet and preheated coals and commercial blends, the use of Rosin- and Cerchar-type preheaters and charging by both gravity and pipeline systems to the 10-t and 17-t ovens. Accordingly, for the first time a direct comparison is possible of both the performances of the plants and the qualities of the respective products. The paper also outlines the findings from a study of the carryover of solids during the charging of preheated coal and of the treatment of those solids.

Jan 1, 1977

By Marvin P. Barnes

The Sacaton open pit copper mine has recently been placed into production. Some problems have been encountered in maintaining grade control due to differences between early block estimates and actual production grade. A study was made using three methods for computing grade for 50' x 50' x 40' size blocks from exploration and development drill holes; 1) The polygonal method, 2) The inverse distance squared method, and 3) The geostatistical kriging method. The results of each were compared against a control block file created by using the assay results of all blast holes drilled in the ore over three benches of the new pit. Results indicate that the kriging technique gave better estimates for grade of individual blocks than did the other two methods for this particular deposit.

Jan 1, 1977

By D. M. McFarland

IN mining, quarrying, and construction, drilling and blasting have an important influence on the operations that follow. If the fragmentation of material being disrupted is inadequate, loading and transportation equipment will not operate at or near full capacity. Any operator faced with this difficulty should not be satisfied until he is convinced by a careful study of his methods of drilling and blasting that no improvement can be made. Rock in a certain quarry in Ohio seemed to defy any grade of explosive or means of detonation that the explosives industry had to offer. The average result of a blast was that a great part of the burden would be pushed out from the face in a number of large sections that would jokingly be referred to as "boxcars." These were no credit to the explosives man and a costly problem for the quarry company. Such blocks retard shovel operation as they have to be uncovered and subjected to secondary drilling and blasting which, if extensive, is an expensive operation. It was an attempt to improve the fragmentation obtained in primary blasts that led to the development of milli-second-delay electric blasting caps. The reasoning that prompted the trial was that even with wide spacing of the drill holes it seemed that the burden was separated too quickly from the face by the cutting action of the explosives from hole to hole. If the time of firing of the holes could be regulated so that

Jan 1, 1948

By W. G. Oldham

By monitoring the capacitance of abrupt p-n junctions it is possible to follow the motion of substitu-tional impurities. A p-n junction is formed by growth of silicon from an Al-Si alloy on an n-type silicon sutstrate at a temperature in the range 650" to 750°C. The diodes are etched and sorted for consistent V-I and capacitance behavior and separated into groups. After irradiation, each set with an unirradiated control set is annealed to various temperatltres for 10 mm and the capacitance remeasnred. For very heavily doped diodes (-1019 per cm3) observable capacitance changes occur at neutron fluences of >1015 per cm 3. The results may be interpreted in seceral ways, the simplest of which is to assume simple vacancy diffiision with small impurity -racancy interaction (at the diffiision, i.e. annealing temperature of 700°C). In this interpretation it is found that a typical vacancy makes about 1024 jumps and travels about 10-5 cm before disappearing. The required effective annihilation center density is about 1016per cm3 . Estimates of the vacancy-impurity interaction can be made and the above numbers correctecl, but for arty reasonable assumptions the number of vacancy sinks connot be much reduced. ThE complete annealing of radiation induced defects requires that the vacancies and interstitials either recombine, travel to the surface of the crystal, or travel to an annihilation center, e.g., a dislocation or a precipitate. If the interstitial is ignored except as a possible vacancy annihilation center at low temperatures,* the motion of vacancies may be followed by monitoring the corresponding motion of substitutional impurities. pfister2 has measured the enhanced diffusion of impurities in an asymmetric shallow diffused silicon structure by optically monitoring the junction movement. In these experiments we monitor instead the capacitance of a heavily-doped deep symmetric p-n junction. The sensitivity for this method is several orders of magnitude higher than in Pfister's technique, mainly for two reasons: 1) the junction capacitance of a heavily-doped junction is sensitive to impurity movements in the Angstrom range* com- and 2) the junction may be far from the surface which is a major annihilation center for vacancies. THE EXPERIMENT A p-n junction is formed by the epitaxial growth of silicon from an A1-Si alloy on a silicon substrate at a temperature in the range 650° to 750°C. The technique used is the transport of an aluminum melt through a temperature gradient.4 A 10-mil thick aluminum disc is sandwiched between two silicon wafers and the assembly raised to about 650° C with a temperature gradient normal to the sandwich. After about 8 hr the upper (hotter) wafer has been entirely transported and deposited epitaxially on the substrate wafer. The substrate and overgrowth resistivity are measured with a 4-point probe. The as-grown structure is lapped until the wafer is about 1/2 mm thick with the junction in the center. Contacts consisting of electroless nickel covered by electroplated rhodium are applied to both the p and n sides. The wafer is diced into square dice 1/2 to 1 mm on a side and the dice are etched sufficiently to remove approximately 1 mil of silicon. The following results are all for aluminum (p-side) and antimony (n-side) doped specimens with NA =3x 1018 per cm3, ND = 2-8 x 101A per cm3. The diodes are sorted for consistent V-I and capacitance behavior and separated into groups. After irradiation, each set with an unirradiated control set is annealed and the capacitance remeasured. A special capacitance measurement method is used to insure a low sensitivity to shunt resistance. The diode is voltage driven and the current monitored by a phase lock amplifier. It is possible to adjust the detector phase to a point where shunt resistances as low as 100 O have no effect on the reading. The diodes in this study have a capacitance in the range 1000 to 5000 picofarads and a shunt resistance in the range 100 to l06 O depending on the stage of the anneal. THEORY The theoretical problem is twofold: 1) The computation of the amount of impurity diffusion and hence the impurity profile resulting from a given amount of vacancy motion, and 2) the computation of the capacitance from the impurity profile. A comparison of the theoretical and experimental capacitance (in particular the changes) yields the amount of vacancy motion. Vacancy Motion. A convenient parameter to measure the total amount of vacancy motion is Jv the total number of vacancy jumps per unit volume. Although this parameter varies with position in the crystal, owing to vacancy annihilation at the surfaces, it is approximately independent of position far from the surfaces, i.e. in the junction region. In terms of the number of vacancies per unit volume Nv and the vacancy diffusivity given by

Jan 1, 1970

By A. C. Butterworth

M OST operators of open-pit mines in the Lake Superior iron ore district are quite familiar with the use of fuel oil in the heavy-duty Diesel engines commonly used in truck-haulage service but some operators, including my own company, Pickands Mather, have had butane-engine trucks in service for several years, and less is known of their operation. One of the first installations of trucks for iron-ore haulage was in 1939 at a deep open-pit mine on the Cuyuna Range. These superseded standard-gauge steam haulage. Trucks then obtainable were equipped with 150-hp Diesel engines, and the speed of these units on an 8 % grade would have been so slow, considering the depth of the pit, that plans for an all-truck haul out of the pit were rejected. About this time one of the engine manufacturers brought out an auto-

Jan 1, 1948

By Rustum Roy, E. F. Osborn

THE investigation discussed in this paper concerns phase equilibria in the alumina-silica-water system. Studies in this system are part of a re¬search project sponsored by the Geophysics Branch of the Office of Naval Research2 directed toward increasing knowledge of the stability relations of metamorphic mineral assemblages. Inasmuch as metamorphic rocks consist largely of aluminosilicate struc¬tures, many of them hydrated, the system alumina-silica-water is a logical starting point for the systematic laboratory study of metamorphic mineral systems. Although logical, this is not, however, an easy approach to the problem because of the very great difficulty of obtaining transformations among structures in response to changes in temperature, pressure, and con¬centration. Commonly equilibrium among the phases in this system is exceed¬ingly difficult to attain. New laboratory techniques are required to produce certain structural rearrangements, such as inversion of diaspore to boehmite or the transformation of alumina-silica mixtures to andalusite or kyanite. Phase equilibrium data for the alumina-silica-water system are consequently only partly complete, and only a summary progress report is presented here. Crystalline phases in the alumina-silica-water system are numerous and many are common minerals. The oxide components exist as: quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, corundum, water, and ice. Binary compounds occurring naturally are: sillimanite, andalusite, kyanite, and mullite in the alumina-silica system and gibbsite, boehmite, and diaspore in the alumina-water system. The most abundant among the ternary compounds is the composition A12O3.2SiO2.¬2H2O, existing in the four structural modifications, kaolinite, nacrite, dickite, and halloysite. The hydrated form of halloysite, A12O3.2SiO2.4H2O, is here called endellite. Pyrophyllite, A12O3.4SiO2.H2O, is the third ternary compound of natural occurrence. In addition to these minerals, two other ternary crystalline phases have been encountered in this study. The first is a structure resembling montmorillonite and corresponding perhaps to the pure aluminian end member of the beidellite series. The other has a composition approximating A12O3.2SiO2.H2O but its composition and structure are still in doubt. LABORATORY PROCEDURE In these laboratory studies, a starting material such as an alumina-silica gel or one or more of the crystalline phases is wrapped in platinum foil,

Jan 1, 1952

By C. Schlumberger, M. Schlumberger

In order to explore electrically a terrain composed of a succession of horizontal beds, a current of known intensity i is caused to flow between two grounds A and B, and the resultant drop of potential , caused by the resistance of the earth, is measured between two given points in the soil, M and N. In practice it is convenient to choose the two points M and N so that they lie on the line AB and their midpoint coincides with the middle 0, of that line, although this is not imperative. When the lengths L and I of the two lines AB and MN are varied, equations are obtained which may be solved for the resistivity p of the subsoil at various depths. Recall briefly that the formula 4 x l gives the average resistivity, in the horizontal direction, of a layer of earth which extends to a depth1 about equal to L/4. This elementary concept is adequate for numerous practical applications. Nevertheless, it must be said that, in many cases, a rigorous mathematical analysis may be made, provided it is always a question of homogeneous, superposed horizontal beds. The authors expect to publish, later on, appropriate methods of calculation for some specific cases.

Jan 1, 1932

By Scott Turner

OUR Institute, in its annual Directory, states the following: The purpose of each Technical Committee is to further the development of the special mineral industries in its field, chiefly through obtaining and discussing papers suitable for publication by the Institute. The proper field of the new Health and Safety in Mines Committee is judged to include the entire mining industry, and involves the multitude of health and safety problems arising in all kinds of mining operations. The mining industry in the United States has made much progress during recent years in reducing accidents. This advance has been widespread, and has been especially notable in the mining of iron ore. Yet the statistics of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, when compared with figures of the National Safety Council for other industries, show that mining still has a higher personal mishap rate than any other major industry in this country. In addition, studies of dollars-and-cents cost of casualty occurrences indicate that an important part of our mining cost, held by various authorities to be as much as 10 per cent of the total, is due to accidents.

Jan 1, 1933

By G. C. Trevorrow

STRIP mining during 1943 increased considerably with further extension of mechanical loading in mines already partly mechanized; with the considerable introduction of mechanical loading into hand-loading mines; and with improvements in the use of loading equipment. Extension of the use of machinery both in strip mining and underground is due to reduction in labor supply and increased cost of labor, together with the increased demand for coal during the period of labor shortage.

Jan 1, 1944

By J. E. Tobey

UNDER war conditions coal immediately assumes a position of highest importance for coal must carry the basic load for industry. The upward trend in production continued through 1941. Bituminous coal production alone about equaled the total output of bituminous and anthracite in 1940. The figures for 1941 approximated 500,000,000 tons for bituminous, and 54,000,000 tons for anthracite, and production of by-product and beehive coke exceeded that of the previous year. The coal industry, under the National Bituminous Coal Act, is going through a period of readjustment, and is beginning to stabilize itself under the statute. The Federal Mine Inspection Nill became law during the year.

Jan 1, 1942

By Frank J. Tolonen

BENEFICIATION of iron-bearing formations is one of the major problems of research at the Michigan College of Mining arid Technology. Funds for this purpose hate been supplied by the State of Michigan supplemented by contributions of labor and some supplies from the Federal Government during the depression. The iron-mining companies have cooperated in securing samples and have also furnished much valuable information relative to the various formations.

Jan 1, 1937

By John J. Croston

The year 1935 witnessed one of the world's oldest industries—gold mining—attain the stature of a billion dollar business. Preliminary estimates indicate that somewhat over 30,000,000 oz. of gold was produced, the largest output ever recorded and exceeding the previous year by more than 11 per cent. Of this huge total the Witwatersrand field produced about 10,800,000 oz., compared with 10,480,000 oz. in 1934. Russia was apparently the stellar performer, and from incomplete data it appears that between five and five and a half million ounces were produced by the Soviets compared with 4,200,000 last year and 2,814,000 in 1933. The United States nosed Canada out of third place with a production of 3,546,000 oz. against 2,916,000 in 1934, while Canada increased her total from 2,965,000 to 3,291,000 oz. Similarly, gains of lesser magnitude were made in Australia, the Gold Coast and other countries. As a result of great activity in developing outlying areas on the Rand, and the great number of new companies building mills in Canada, Australia, the Gold Coast and the United States, the years 1936 and 1937 should see new high records, as these new producers will more than offset any decline in the older properties. The whole world has become "gold conscious" during the past three years. It has been the subject of innumerable articles by economists and others, but, unfortunately, because of their lack of actual mining knowledge, they have treated the production of gold as a static affair, ignoring geological and technical factors. It is hardly necessary to draw attention to the fact that the world's gold-mining industry was slowly but steadily shrinking in importance, owing to the gradual depletion of known deposits that were profitable to work at costs existing prior to 1929. The International Geological Congress at Pretoria and the League of Nations Committee drew attention to the estimates of the mining experts of the various governments predicting a steady falling off in world production. On the Rand there

Jan 1, 1937

By John J. Croston

THE year 1935 witnessed one of the world's oldest industries-gold mining-attain the stature of a billion dollar business. Preliminary estimates indicate that somewhat over 30,000,000 oz. of gold was pro-duced, the largest output ever recorded and exceeding the previous year by more than 11 per cent. Of this huge total the Witwatersrand field produced about 10,800,000 oz., compared with 10,480,000 oz. in 1934. Russia was apparently the stellar performer, and from incomplete data it appears that between five and five and a half million ounces were produced by the Soviets compared with 4,200,000 last year and 2,814,000 in 1933. The United States nosed Canada out of third place with a production of 3,546,000 oz. against 2,916,000 in 1934, while Canada increased her total from 2,965,000 to 3,291,000 oz. Similarly, gains of lesser magnitude were made in Australia, the Gold Coast and other countries. As a result of great activity in developing outlying areas on the Rand, and the great number of new companies building mills in Canada, Australia, the Gold Coast and the United States, the years 1936 and 1937 should see new high records, as these new producers will more than offset any decline in the older properties. The whole world has become "gold conscious" during the past three years. It has been the subject of innumerable articles by economists and others, but, unfortunately, because of their lack of actual mining knowl-edge, they have treated the production of gold as a static affair, ignoring geological and technical factors. It is hardly necessary to draw attention to the fact that the world's gold-mining industry was slowly but steadily shrinking in importance, owing to the gradual depletion of known deposits that were profitable to work at costs existing prior to 1929. The International Geological Congress at Pretoria and the League of Nations Committee drew atten-tion to the estimates of the mining experts of the various governments predicting a steady falling off in world production. On the Rand there

Jan 1, 1936

One-half fare return rate again available to members of the Institute and dependent members of their families. DON'T FORGET YOUR RAILROAD CERTIFICATE Over 300 members of the A. I. M. E. and dependent mem-bers of their families attending the last annual meeting se-cured return railroad tickets at half price by means of the railroad certificate, thereby saving several thousand dollars. DIRECTIONS 1. Be sure to obtain your railroad certificate when pur-chasing your railroad tickets for the meeting or you will lose money. 2. Purchase your tickets at regular one-way adult tariff fare between the dates specified for your territory in the accom-panying table. 3. Present your certificate for valida-tion at Institute headquarters in New York immediately after registration. Certificates will be validated on Feb. 21 and 22 between 9 a. m. and 5.30 p. in. 4. You must use your return half-rate tickets not later than Feb. 27. 5. Use the same route for both going and return trip. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS 1. Unless-250 certificates are validated at headquarters it will be impossible for anyone to secure the reduced rate. 2. Unless you secure a certificate you cannot take advantage. of the half-rate return fare, even if the necessary 250 certificates are validated.

Jan 2, 1928

By F. C. Bond

Since the Third Theory of Comminution was presented eight years ago (I) it has found increasing use in crushing and grinding problems. The practical utility of its wok index equation is quite generally acknowledged (2). However, its theoretical basis has been questioned in at least three technical articles (3) (4) ('). The purpose of this paper is to present experimental proof that it is scientifically correct. Particles under compressive stress are strained and deformed. They absorb strain energy, and when this locally exceeds the breaking strength, a crack tip forms. The surrounding strain energy flows to the crack tip, which rapidly extends and splits the rock, releasing the strain energy as heat. The initial energy flow causes additional crack tips in highly strained areas. If the compression is rapidly applied by impact, crack tips may form before the strain energy has reached equilibrium in the particle, thus decreasing the total work input required for breakage. The energy necessary to break is essentially the energy necessary to produce crack tips, since the energy necessary to extend the cracks to breakage is already present as strain energy in the deformed particles. After breakage nearly all of this energy appears as heat. The crack length cannot be measured directly. However, in particles of regular and similar shape the crack tip length is considered as equal to the crack depth, or crack extension necessary to break, so that the crack length equals the square root of one-half of the surface area. The Third Theory states that the useful work done in crushing and grinding is directly proportional to the total length of the new cracks formed. It can be confirmed by showing that a constant work input produces a constant length of new cracks when reducing the same material to different product sizes. This is done in the present paper on a wide variety of material. The constant work input was supplied by one revolution of the 12" x 12" laboratory ball mill used in making grindability tests by the Allis-Chalmers method (12) (13) The new crack lengths produced per mill revolution were measured from all available grindability test results at 28, 35, 48, 65, and 100 mesh on fifteen different ores, and were found to remain substantially constant for each ore at all mesh sizes. A new technique is used for the measurement of crack lengths. Size distribution plots of the mill feed and product are made by the Third Theory method (9) and the crack lengths are obtained from these plots by the procedure described in the present paper. The energy input required to produce a unit length is of fundamental importance in the size reduction of brittle solids. The crack length Cr is expressed in centimeters per cubic centimeter of solid material. It bears a definite relationship to the external surface area of the crushed or ground solid. A uniform particle shape must be assumed before the surface area and crack length can be evaluated. In this paper it is assumed that the relationship between the surface area and the particle volume of a particle d microns in diameter is the same as that of cube d microns on a side. The external surface areas of particles with a cubical breakage probably agree approximately with this rule, and correction factors can be applied when physical measurements of the surface areas are available for comparison. However, the assumption of equivalent cubes has been found satisfactory for most calculation purposes. Assuming equivalent cubes, one cubic centimeter of particles d microns in diameter will have a crack length Cr of v30.000/d centimeters, and a surface area of 60,000/d square centimeters. The specific crack length is thus equal to the square root of one-half the specific surface area. Where Sa is the surface area in square centimeters per gram and Sg is the specific gravity of the ground solid, then Cr = vSg . Sa/2 = 173.2/ vd (1)

Jan 1, 1961

By R. W. Raymond

THE death of Privy Councilor Bruno Kerl, on March 25, 1905, terminated a distinguished and useful career. Bruno Kerl was born March 24, 1824, at St. Andreasberg in the Harz, and entered in 1840 the mining school of Clausthal, where he studied for three years, working at the same time in the mines and stamp-mills. After an additional year of practice in the silver-reduction and iron-works of the Upper Harz, he passed his examination as a metallurgical graduate, and studied for a year at Göttingen under WV filer in chemistry, Hausmann in mineralogy, and eminent teachers in other branches. In 1846 he was employed at the Oker works, but very soon left this post, to become a tutor in chemistry, metallurgy, etc., at Clausthal, where he continued to labor until 1867. During this period the Clausthal school became a completely equipped Mining Academy, and Kerl was made in 1862 a full professor. Meanwhile, in addition to the work of instruction, he discharged, simultaneously or successively, the duties of many responsible official positions in the Royal Hanoverian administration of mines and smelting-works, and also published many valuable books and treatises. Among these were professional guide-books to the Upper and Lower Harz, and their characteristic metallurgical processes; a manual of qualitative and quantitative blow-pipe analysis; another of metallurgical assaying ; and, most important of all, a Handbook of Metallurgy in four volumes, the second edition of which was issued in Leipzig, 1861-1865. This book was speedily recognized as the leading authority in its field. In this country, the English translation and revision, by Crookes and Röhrig, published about 1869, had a large circulation. In addition to these literary labors, Prof. Kerl became in

Jul 1, 1905

By E. T. Dumble

THE development in the Gulf Coastal Plain for the year 1923 was entirely devoid of any spectacular feature and was considerably less than that of 1922. No large fields were discovered and the principal advances lay in the extension of the old fields and the finding of a new dome and other possible producing structures, which, however, so far, have given only small wells. While the production of some fields, such as those at Hull and Orange, was materially increased at times by comparatively large wells, the output as a whole shows a marked decrease over that of the preceding year. TABLE 1.-Production by Fields in Gulf Coastal Plain in 1923 FIELD BARRELS FIELD BARRELS Anse La Butte 16,942 Jennings 212,376 Barber's Hill 172,660 Markham 39,290 Batson 391,857 North D ayton 74,983 Big Hill (Jefferson County) 13,853 Orange 5,311,995 Blue Ridge 332,445 Pierce Junction 332,565 Damon Mound 822,355 Richmond (Big Creek) 17,545 Edgerley 176,964 Saratoga 700,661 Goose Creek 6,251,761 Sour Lake 2,091,961 High Island 19,018 Spindletop 309,315 Hull... 7,732,139 Vinton 2,134,430 Humble 2,449,744 West Columbia 6,598,589 36,203,448

Jan 3, 1924

By E. T. Dumble

THE development in the Gulf Coastal Plain for the year 1923 was entirely devoid of any spectacular feature and was considerably less than that of 1922. No large fields were discovered and the principal advances lay in the extension of the old fields and the finding of a new dome and other possible producing structures, which, however, so far, have given only small wells. While the production of some fields, such as those at Hull and Orange, was materially increased at times by comparatively large wells, the output as a whole shows a marked decrease over that of the preceding year. TABLE 1.-Production by Fields in Gulf Coastal Plain in 1923 FIELD BARRELS FIELD BARRELS Anse La Butte 16,942 Jennings 212,376 Barber's Bill 172,660 Markham 39,290 Batson 391,857 North D ayton 74,983 Big Hill (Jefferson County) 13,853 Orange 5,311,995 Blue Ridge 332,445 Pierce Junction 332,565 Damon Mound 822,355 Richmond (Big Creek) 17,545 Edgerley 176,964 Saratoga 700,661 Goose Creek 6,251,761 Sour Lake 2,091,961 High Island 19,018 Spindletop 309,315 Hull 7,732,139 Vinton 2,134,430 Humble 2,449,744 West Columbia 6,598,589 36,203,448

Jan 3, 1924

By E. Motica

Ores containing uranium and vanadium minerals have been mined from the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation from many localities in the Colorado Plateau region since about 1900. The most productive deposits are in a relatively small area in Southwestern Colorado referred to as the Uravan mineral belt. The mineral belt is a narrow elongate area in which uranium-vanadium deposits in the Salt Wash have a closer spacing, larger size, and higher grade than those in adjoining areas. Pre- 1948 ore production from the mineral belt was 655,000 tons averaging 1.91 per cent V2O5 and 0.28 per cent U3O8. Production during the 1948 to 1964 period was 7,900,000 tons of ore averaging 1.46 per cent V2O5 and 0.27 per cent U3O8. The ore deposits occur principally in the uppermost sandstone unit of the Salt Wash. This unit consists of sandstone lenses formed by a system of aggrading braided streams flowing in an easterly direction generally normal to the mineral belt. These lenses, referred to as channels, are as much as one mile in width and average about 50 feet in thickness and can be traced for several miles along their courses. Areas favorable for one deposits are recognized principally by the following criteria: ( 1) a host sandstone thickness of over 30 feet, (2) the presence of carbonaceous material in the host sandstone, and ( 3) gray mudstones and clays associated with the ore-bearing sandstone. The ore minerals are believed to have been precipitated from laterally migrating solutions; there is no apparent genetic relationship between ore deposits and tectonic structural features. Exploratory and development drilling from the surface is conducted in three phases: first, wide-spaced drilling to find and outline favorable channels; second, moderate-spaced drilling in favorable ground to locate ore deposits; and third, close-spaced drilling to block-out ore. Long-hole drilling from underground stations is used to find and delineate extensions of ore bodies being mined. Due to intense production since 1948 from shallow deposits, best potential for new deposits exists in areas where the ore-bearing unit is 600 to 800 feet deep.

Jan 1, 1968