Search Documents

By J. Kinkead, R. M. Sherman, E. M. Frizzel

A recent research study performed under US Bureau of Mines Contract No. J0199088 "Modular Irrigation Equipment for Reclaimed Strip Mined Lands" investigated the feasibility of irrigation as a reclamation tool in the arid and semi-arid regions of the Western United States. Review of mined land characteristics, evaluation of irrigation systems, and assistance from the mining industry resulted in the design of two strategies for the implementation of reclamation irrigation using solid set systems. It is not the intent of this paper to suggest the generalizations made on the basis of a six state area can extend to the design of an irrigation system for a specific mine site. The purpose is to present two irrigation strategies that may be implemented with solid set irrigation in this six state area. The reader should note that the following is the result of research and, therefore, original concepts were presented. The ultimate validity of these concepts will be determined by future field tests.

Jan 1, 1983

By George E. Aiken

Subzero temperatures of the Arctic pose some critical engineering problems for the developer and operator of open pit mines. Undoubtedly, the single most troublesome manifestation of this climate is permafrost. Underlying about 20% of the world's land area and 85% of the state of Alaska, permafrost has not only made its impact on building construction and mine excavation, but has created a legitimate threat to the delicate balance of nature existing within the Arctic environment. The recognition of permafrost areas by geomorphology and an understanding of its other complex developmental factors are the basis for two major concepts in building construction. The active method involves the eventual thawing of the complete permafrost section and is only useful in shallow areas. However, in some areas of coarse, well-drained material, vegetation may be stripped well ahead of construction and shallow permafrost allowed to method, leaves the perenially frozen ground undisturbed and is to be preferred. In selecting construction sites aerial photos may clearly reveal typical permafrost features.

Jan 5, 1972

By B. M. O Harra, George M. Fowler, R.E. Illidge

The Tri-State district comprises an area of about 2000 square miles in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and north- eastern Oklahoma. The part that is in and contiguous to Missouri is still sometimes designated as the Joplin district (Fig. I). Early Operations Mining operations in what is now the Tri-State district date from about 1848 and have been continuous to the present. Apparently the first discoveries of ore were made about the same time near the present sites of Joplin, Oronogo, and Granby. Lead minerals were found at grass roots, probably in shattered rock in shallow excavations, then these minerals were followed in shear zones to deeper horizons. The mining of zinc followed. Before 1874, zinc ore was worthless and discarded as waste. According to published records, the total production of lead to that date was 49,000 tons of metal from 70,000 tons of concentrates. Production The a.ggregate ore production from the Tri-State district was recorded at intervals

Jan 1, 1943

By George M. Fowler, B. M. O Harra, R. E. Illidge

The Tri-State district comprises an area of about 2000 square miles in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and north- eastern Oklahoma. The part that is in and contiguous to Missouri is still sometimes designated as the Joplin district (Fig. I). Early Operations Mining operations in what is now the Tri-State district date from about 1848 and have been continuous to the present. Apparently the first discoveries of ore were made about the same time near the present sites of Joplin, Oronogo, and Granby. Lead minerals were found at grass roots, probably in shattered rock in shallow excavations, then these minerals were followed in shear zones to deeper horizons. The mining of zinc followed. Before 1874, zinc ore was worthless and discarded as waste. According to published records, the total production of lead to that date was 49,000 tons of metal from 70,000 tons of concentrates. Production The a.ggregate ore production from the Tri-State district was recorded at intervals

Jan 1, 1943

By John W. King, S. Ralph Austin

Spurred by recent forecasts of greatly increased demands for uranium by 1980 and beyond, interest is once again focusing on America's western uranium deposits. One of the principal producers in this area is the Gas Hills district in Wyoming, the site of approximately 12% of the known uranium in the U.S., including past production and current reserves. Located on the south flank of the Wind River Basin, the Gas Hills deposits have been recently studied by the Atomic Energy commission for clues to and guides for discovering similar-occurring ores. The ore deposits are confined to a permeable sandstone unit, up to 350 ft thick, at or near the base of the upper Wind River formation of early Eocene age. The uranium occurs in three principal north- south "ore trends," each of which is about six miles long, one mile wide, and separated from each other by approximately three miles (Fig. 1).

Jan 5, 1966

By Richard Addison, Ronald O. Cranor

Tailings dam construction and operation of Rosario Dominicana's gold/silver mine in the Dominican Republic is described. Impoundment of 8.5 kt/d of cyanide-process tailings is required in an intensive agricultural area which is also an earthquake and high rainfall zone. The earthfill embankment dam, incorporating internal gravel drains, is described together with methods of construction used. Methods of tailings transport, solution reclaim, and runoff water diversion that have evolved are discussed.

Jan 1, 1982

By E. A. G. Colls

IN all branches of the chemical industry, corrosion plays a very costly part unless it is suitably com-batted, and as a result it is probably correct that chemical and design engineers are more corrosion conscious in the field of chemical industry than in others. Most metals occur in nature in combination with other elements. The refined or reduced state to which man converts them for his use, by removing the combining elements, leaves them in an unstable condition. Therefore in most of the media to which the metals are exposed they are constantly combining with the constituents of their environment, or in other words they are continually being corroded. Similarly, nonmetallic materials are corroded by undergoing chemical change. The rate at which corrosion takes place varies widely from metal to metal and medium to medium. In practically all cases the corrosion of metals in solutions (electrolytes) is electrolytic in nature and the rate of corrosion is dependent on many factors such as temperature, pressure, internal stresses, galvanic action, metal-ion concentration, and so on. In the chemical industry substances must be handled which are particularly corrosive to materials of construction. At the chemical plants of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd. (otherwise known as Cominco), situated at Trail, B. C., Canada, the following are some of the materials that have to be handled: Gases. Sulphur dioxide, sulphur trioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen, hydrogen fluoride, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, and oxides of nitrogen. Liquids. Solutions of ammonium sulphate, ammonium sulphite, ammonium nitrate, caustic soda and potash, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrofluo-silicic acid, hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, aqua ammonia, and formic acid. Solids. Gypsum (containing phosphoric acid), ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, phosphate rock, caustic soda, potash, and phosphate fertilizers.

Jan 1, 1951

By E. A. G. Colls

IN all branches of the chemical industry, corrosion plays a very costly part unless it is suitably com-batted, and as a result it is probably correct that chemical and design engineers are more corrosion conscious in the field of chemical industry than in others. Most metals occur in nature in combination with other elements. The refined or reduced state to which man converts them for his use, by removing the combining elements, leaves them in an unstable condition. Therefore in most of the media to which the metals are exposed they are constantly combining with the constituents of their environment, or in other words they are continually being corroded. Similarly, nonmetallic materials are corroded by undergoing chemical change. The rate at which corrosion takes place varies widely from metal to metal and medium to medium. In practically all cases the corrosion of metals in solutions (electrolytes) is electrolytic in nature and the rate of corrosion is dependent on many factors such as temperature, pressure, internal stresses, galvanic action, metal-ion concentration, and so on. In the chemical industry substances must be handled which are particularly corrosive to materials of construction. At the chemical plants of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd. (otherwise known as Cominco), situated at Trail, B. C., Canada, the following are some of the materials that have to be handled: Gases. Sulphur dioxide, sulphur trioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen, hydrogen fluoride, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, and oxides of nitrogen. Liquids. Solutions of ammonium sulphate, ammonium sulphite, ammonium nitrate, caustic soda and potash, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrofluo-silicic acid, hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, aqua ammonia, and formic acid. Solids. Gypsum (containing phosphoric acid), ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, phosphate rock, caustic soda, potash, and phosphate fertilizers.

Jan 1, 1951

By H. C. Heard

The review by Professor J. C. Jaeger (Chapter 1) briefly summarizes and discusses a select group of papers by various workers dealing primarily with aspects of fracture in brittle rock materials. Professor Jaeger's treatment is primarily concerned with the correlation of phenomenological and theoretical failure criteria with empirical results from short duration tests at ambient temperatures and generally at low lithostatic and interstitial fluid pressures. As engineering rock mechanics becomes more concerned with new techniques of mineral exploration and production at increasingly greater depths in the crust, it is well to be aware of the effect of the environment -that of the superposed stress field upon the lithostatic and interstitial fluid pressure, the temperature and the duration of the loading upon the failure of rocks either by fracture or flow. All results to be discussed here are from laboratory tests on small homogeneous samples, thus caution should be used in the direct extrapolation of these results to large inhomogeneous rock masses having quite different boundary conditions in the earth. The purpose of this supplement is to briefly point out the major effects of these parameters as examined singly, with all others held constant, and to cite some recent results which apply to the main theme on the brittle failure of rocks. The total stress field imposed upon a small volume of porous and permeable rock in the earth's crust may be thought of as the sum of an applied differential stress, plus a lithostatic pressure, plus an interstitial fluid pressure. The differential stress portion may be completely specified by nine components, six shear and three normal. If the small volume element is in rotational equilibrium, by suitably choosing our coordinate axes we may resolve these nine components into the three principal com-

Jan 1, 1967

By A. A. Berk

LAGGING technology and the slow spread of information have been the chief obstacles to widespread participation in minimizing the industrial pollution load. These obstacles can be conquered by fact finding and applied research. There are three aspects to the problem of water-borne mineral waste: to minimize the amount being thrown away, to select a predisposal treatment, and to use the products or dispose of them. It is often possible to minimize the waste by making very minor changes in the process that produces it. For example, a manufacturer of automobile bumpers greatly reduced the dragout 'from a plating bath by modifying the design and position of two boltholes.' A plater of automobile hubcaps installed a drainage bar and decreased the loss of chrome-plating solution to the rinse water by about 80 pct.' The mill at a western mine found it possible to discard 60 to 70 pct of an ore with minimum treatment," so that the processing effort could be concentrated on a high-graded slime, with significant reduction in costs and improvement in recovery. The possibilities for waste reduction through process changes are limited only by the imagination. A recent patent points out the advantages of using No. 1 fuel oil instead of water in wet-process cement making;& the fuel oil presumably has better properties than water for this purpose and is said to be almost com'pletely recovered or utilized, so that there is no waterborne waste. Recycling to reduce wastes and improve process economy is very well illustrated in vanadium and uranium recoveries from relatively low grade ore. Ores containing 6 pct calcium carbonate were found to give poor vanadium recovery by the salt-roasting process because the vanadium was converted to water-insoluble calcium vanadate. Following the salt-roasting process, sulfuric acid was used to leach the uranium. Enough calcium sulfate was formed

Jan 1, 1958

By John Garcia

THE presence of carbon de terre along the banks of the Illinois river was noted by the members of the Joliet and Marquette expeditions in 1673, and that may be referred to as the birthday of coal in the Middle West. The march of progress in the majority of indus-tries radiating from Chicago-one of the phenomena of history-is due in no small measure to this same carbon de terre and to the development and exploita-tion of the vast coal resources, which nature in a generous mood spread so lavishly over almost the en-tire state. The geological records indicate that coal-bearing rocks underlie three-quarters of Illinois, in-cluding 85 of the 102 counties and the entire area is estimated at from 36,000 to 42,000 square miles. Not all of the coal in this great area may be mined under the conditions existing today; producers are now taking the "cream" since industry demands the best quality and the lowest cost, thereby forcing competition among operators, which, in turn, com-pels the development of mines in those areas where the coal may be most readily .won, leaving the coal that is more difficult and expensive to mine to pos-terity. This is not such a bad arrangement, since the engineers of succeeding generations will enjoy the advantage of the experience of their ancestors, where-by they should profit and know how to mine a 2-ft. seam with as much economy and dispatch as we today work coal of thrice that thickness. During the period between 1830 and 1850, Illinois coal-mining progressed from the art of scratching along the outcrop to the development of small mines, mostly slopes, drifts and shallow shafts, but the real progress in the industry was coincident with the con-struction of railroads.

Jan 2, 1927

The mountains of Utah contain one of the largest deposits of high grade bituminous coal in the world. According to the United States Geological Survey, there are 13,130 square miles of land known to contain workable coal, and these extensive fields contain 196,000,000,000 tons of coal. More remarkable than the extent of the coal fields is the thickness of the coal beds. Over three-fourths of the output of coal in Utah is recovered from beds ranging from 8 to 17 feet in thickness, as com- pared to one-eighth of the output of the entire country from such beds. In 1917, Utah mined one-third of its coal from seams at least 16 feet thick, compared to one-half of one per cent of the total bituminous output of the country from like seams. Coal at Wales, in Sanpete county, and in the vicinity of Coalville, Utah, was, it is reported, the first discovered by white men in the state. Wales claims the distinction of having produced the first coal mined in Utah. Two men, who had been coal miners in Wales, learned of the coal from an old Indian chief who called it "rock that would burn." In 1857, the town of Wales was founded and coal mined, and in 1858 some coke was manufactured and hauled by ox team to Salt Lake City. South of Wales is Castle Valley, in Wasatch Plateau field. From 50 to 60 miles of the old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe. New Mexico, to Monterey, California, lies in Castle Valley. The coal in this field may or may not have been known at the time the trail was used extensively. The first published reference to this coal, however, was made by a party of the Corps of Topographic Engineers in their journal for October 11, 1853.

Jan 1, 1925

By Albert Ladd Colby

PAGE I. Introduction,...........577 11. PRocess of Manufacture. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications, . ......... 580 III. Chemical Properties. I. Chemical Composition: (a) American Specifications ; (b) Foreign Specifications. 2. Chemical Analysis: (a) American Specifications ; (b) Foreign Specifications ; (c) Number of Analyses Required ; (d) Sample for Analysis ; (e) Check-Analyses Impracticable ; (f) Rejection Solely on Variation in Com-' position,............581 IV. Physical Properties. 1. Drop-Test and Drop-Testing Hachine: (a) American Specifications ; (b) Foreign Specifications ; (c) Limits in Deflection. 2. Tensile Test: (a) American Specifications; (b) Foreign Specifications ; (c) Test-Pieces are not Representative ; (d) Specified Tensile Strength is Affected by the Section ; (e) BpeciBed Tensile Strength is Often Inconsistent with Specified Chemistry ; (f) Specified Tensile Strength is Often Inconsistent with Specified Elongation ; (g) Amount of Tensile Testing Required is Excessive ; (11) Conclusions. 3. Dead-Weight Test: (a) American Specifications; (b) Foreign Specifications; (c) Number of Tests Specified. 4. Bending-Test: ((1) American Specifications ; (b) Foreign Specifications,..........589 V. Section. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications: (a) Templets ; (b) Sample Piece of Rail; (c) Allowable Variation from Templet,...........601 VI. Weight. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications,. . 603 VII. Length. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications, . . 604 VIII. Drilling. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications, . 604 IX. Finish. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications, . . 50.5 X. Branding. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications : (a) Data to be Rolled in Raised Letters on Web of Rail ; (b) Marking of the Blow-Number on Each Rail; (c) Additional Marking and Painting of Rails,........605 XI. Inspection. 1. American Specifications. 2. Foreign Specifications: (a) Prior Notice of Rolling; (b) Free Access to the Works ; (c) Cost of Inspection, Analyses and Tests to be Borne by the Manufacturer ; (d) Rails after Inspection by Manufacturer to be Sorted into Lots Prior to Inspection by the Engineer ; (e) Disposition of Rejected

Jan 1, 1907

For the year ending February, 1919 PRESIDENT SIDNEY J. JENNINGS NEW YORK, N. Y. PAST PRESIDENTS L. D. RICKETTS NEW YORK, N. Y. PHILIP N. MOORE ST. Louis, Mo. FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT C. W. GOODALE BUTTE, MONT. TREASURER GEORGE D. BARRON NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY EMERITUS ROSSITER W. RAYMOND, NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY BRADLEY STOUGHTON NEW YORK, N. Y.

Jan 1, 1919

[Officers and Committees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers 1 Officers and Staff of the AIME 2 Officers of AIME Sections Predominantly Petroleum in Membership 3 Society of Petroleum Engineers By-Laws 5 Alphabetical List of Members 9 Geographical List of Members 110 List of Members by Companies 127 Advertisers' Index 137]

Jan 1, 1961

By C. A. Heiland

FOR the past three years, the senior writer has carried out, with inter-ruptions, a series of investigations into the characteristics of prospecting seismographs of a wide variety of construction. Early in 1932, a com-plete equipment was developed for both refraction and reflection observa-tions; its first function being, however, the application in reflection shooting. The performance of the equipment proved to be highly satis-factory in a series of field tests' which were carried out by the junior writer, whose services were loaned to the Colorado School of Mines by courtesy of the Plains Exploration Co. in Denver. The various problems that were encountered in the construction of the equipment, in its application in the field, and in the interpretation of the results, are fully treated in Publication 47 of the Department of Geophysics of the Colorado School of Mines. Its first part deals with the various problems encountered in the design of the instruments, and presents a discussion of such topics as the free and forced oscillations of damped and undamped mechanical seismographs, the action of oscil-lographic recording instruments and amplifiers, the characteristics of electromagnetic seismographs, and the requirements of damping, natural frequencies and static magnification for the pickups, amplifiers and oscillographs used in refraction and reflection seismographs. Further-more, a detailed discussion of the various methods of static and dynamic tests of seismic receivers, and a description of the reflection equipment developed at the School of Mines is presented. Unfortunately, a delay has occurred in the publication of the first part of this investigation concerning the instrument problems. There-fore, the second part, dealing with the field problems, is herewith pre-sented first.

Jan 1, 1933

By D. Roberts

SUMMARY In order to accommodate a new plant in a limestone quarry in the Mendip Hills, it became necessary to excavate a potentially unstable disused face of the quarry. A simple two-dimensional graphical method was used to analyse a failure, which occurred during a period of exceptionally heavy rain in 1968, and the results of this analysis were used in estimating the stability of the proposed excavation. The presence of water in vertical fissures and tension cracks was found to be a dominant factor in determining the stability of these faces. The results of this approximate analysis were used as a guide in deciding upon the final slope design and the purpose of presenting this example is to illustrate how the various factors involved in arriving at this design were weighed to arrive at a compromise between theoretical recommendations and practical considerations. INTRODUCTION The successful outcome of a geological and geochemical survey to prove adequate re- serves of high quality limestone, suitable for producing burnt lime, led to planning for the installation of the necessary plant at Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation's Batts Combe Quarry at Cheddar in Somerset. Topographic and property boundary limits added to restrictions which were likely to be imposed by any forthcoming planning consents and restricted the choice of plant location to one site. The particular site is, in fact, the main floor area of the original quarry which, like many hillside quarries, had been worked with just one face. Before a benching scheme had been introduced on higher ground, the original face had attained a height of 230 ft. and sloped at angles of 58º to 64º. Fig. I shows the present configuration of the disused quarry face and the present working area above. The floor area below the disused face accommodates the existing crushing, conveying, and screening plant. The new facilities for lime burning are to be in addition to the existing main line business of producing roadstone and concrete aggregates and, although a new aggregate production plant would be included in the new installation, no disturbance of current production was to be contemplated.

Jan 1, 1972

By T. A. Rickard

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

Jan 1, 1897

By E. D. Gardner

When the National Forests were created, all lands embraced in their boundaries were exempted from all forms of entry, except mineral claims. Later, by Act of June 11, 1906, and as amended by Act of Aug. 10, 1912, provision was made allowing homesteads on areas chiefly valuable for agriculture and not necessary for the public use. Patents to mining claims in the Forests are granted the same as on land not in the Forests, irrespective of timber or other values. It is the policy to encourage the highest use of the Forests. As a business proposition, it is a good policy to have mines developed in the Forests. Their development in remote or inaccessible regions causes the country to be opened up and, in addition to the local market which the mines create, means of transportation are afforded to outside markets. No examination of mining claims is made until patent has been applied for, unless they are actively interfering with the administration of the Forest. In this case, an examination is made, and if there is evidence that the claims are being held in good faith they are in no way interfered with. Timber is never sold from a mining claim except with the consent of the claimant, or unless it is clearly shown, after an examination, that the claim is abandoned. In the case of fire-killed timber, which rapidly deteriorates by standing, a contract bond arrangement can be made for the sale of the timber which protects the interests of both the mining claimant and the government. The promiscuous locating of mining claims has in the past caused considerable trouble. It has been, and still is, the custom in some parts of the West to locate a mining claim when the surface rights of any particular area are desired, irrespective of the mineral character of the ground. This has been done to hold power sites, town sites, summer residences, springs, etc. When the ground is desired for any of these purposes, what is known as a Special Use Permit will be issued at a nominal sum, to legalize the occupancy. In most instances, it is far cheaper to take out one of these permits than to do the annual assessment work on a mining claim, but, of course, patent to the ground cannot be obtained in this manner. If mineral were discovered on the land covered by a Special Use Permit, it would ordinarily be the policy to cancel the permit if it were clearly

Jan 1, 1915

By Lewis T. Wright

(Pittsburg Meeting, March, 1910.) I HAVE long been aware that ferruginous copper furnace slags if fused in the electric arc will yield metallic iron containing copper, and in order to confirm this knowledge, and to obtain further information of the behavior of such slags in the high temperature and reducing conditions of the electric furnace, a number of samples of slag were fused in an experimental electric furnace. The results obtained, given in Table I., show that a very large amount of metallic iron was produced, and that this iron carried with it practically all the copper, gold, and silver, and more than 50 per cent. of the sulphur, of the original slag. The metallic buttons formed in the electric furnace were clean, hard, but not brittle.

Mar 1, 1910