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By Frank L. Gaddy

Falls of roof account for over 50% of the fatalities that occur in coal mines in the US. Thus, roof control is one of the more important phases of underground mining. In reality, the control of roof influences the system of mining and is a major determinant of the width and spacing of working places, operations at the mining face, ventilation control, and surface subsidence. Frequently, the control of roof is the largest single cost item. Roof control is a never-ending task, not only at the working face and throughout sections where men are working, but along haulways and air- ways that must be maintained for the life of the mine. This is because roof, even the best of roof, slowly deteriorates, so it must be frequently examined, with corrective support applied when needed. As coal is excavated, stresses are set up in the roof because the previous equilibrium is upset, resulting in pressures that cause fractures and slight movements that are frequently hard to detect. Unless the immediate roof, in the excavated area, is given support by artificial means, it might fall or there might be a succession of falls, varying from a thin scale to several feet, depending on the nature of the top. Exceptions to this are those rare mines, or sections of mines, with hard, strong, nonweathering roof that requires no support. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ROOF There are two broad types of roof as far as support is concerned: the immediate roof above the coal and the main roof. Artificial support for mining purposes is only concerned with the immediate roof as nothing except large blocks of solid coal, or massive concrete, will support the main roof. The immediate roof is generally a few feet thick but can vary from inches to 6.1 m (20 ft) or more. There are examples of where there is no immediate roof as the massive main roof lies directly on the coal

Jan 1, 1981

By A. S. Richardson

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

Jan 1, 1941

Jan 1, 1969

By D. J. Schmatz, H. I. Aaronson, H. A. Domian

Diffusion kinetics in disordered hcp Cd-Mg alloys have been investigated by means of the Kirkendall effect and concentration-penetration curves determined with an electron-microprobe analyzer. Self-diffusion coefficients of both species were determined at the three marker compositions obtained, averaging 27.6, 46. 7, and 78.1 at. pct Mg, by means of the Darken analysis. These coefficients were then corrected for the unequal and concentration-dependent partial molar volumes of the two elements with the Balluffi analysis, and for the vacancy flux effect by the Manning analysis. The latter correction reduced the Balluffi correction produced larger changes in the self-diffusiv-ities; neither, however, produced statistically significant changes in the Do's or the H'S. The most striking result of this investigation is that at all three compositions and at all temperatures studied both the uncorrected and corrected self-difjusivities of magnesium are higher than those of cadmium. The Cd-Mg system is the first one found in which the higher melting, lower vapor pressure element diffuses more rapidly. Both an empirical correlation due to Toth and Searcy and considerations of the atomic mechanism of diffusion indicate that this anomaly is probably due to a comparatively low value of the activation energy required for a magnesium atom and a vacancy to exchange sites, perhaps occasioned by the higher compressibility of magnesium atoms. KIRKENDALL effect studies have been previously reported for only two hcp solid solutions: the E phase of the Zn-Cu system1 and the a phase of the Cd-Hg system.' In neither investigation were the marker-movement studies supplemented with the concentration-penetration curve determinations necessary to evaluate self-diffusivities by means of the atano and the Darken analyses. The present program was undertaken to obtain both types of data on a hexagonal solid solution in order to provide more detailed information relevant to the mechanism of diffusion in this type of lattice. The Cd-Mg system was chosen for this study because the disordered solid solution extends across the entire phase diagram at temperatures above 253"c5 and the substantial difference in the melting points of the component pure metals promised that marker movements would occur at reasonably rapid rates should the diffusivities of the two species be as unequal as might be anticipated. The experimental convenience of the relatively low melting points of cad-miun and magnesium and the availability of extensive and accurate activity data6 (required for application of the Darken analysis) were additional reasons for selecting this alloy system. Since the anisotropy of diffusion is not large in either pure cadmium7 or pure magnesium,' the diffusion couples were prepared from polycrystalline components. The presence of a well-defined texture in the couples—the c axis of individual crystals tended to be normal to the diffusion direction— however, provides a fair degree of crystallographic definition to the data obtained. The principal (and entirely unexpected) finding of this investigation, that magnesium, the high-melting low-vapor pressure element, diffuses more rapidly than cadmium, in contradiction to a broad range of results in fcc and bcc alloys, as well as in the previously studied hcp alloys,172 makes the self-diffusivity determinations of immediate interest in understanding the origin of this anomalous result. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The cadmium (Belmont Smelting and Refining Co.) and magnesium (Dow Chemical Co.) used in this study were both of 99.99 pct purity. Alloys containing 51.0 and 65.6 at. pct Mg were prepared from these materials by melting under a MgC12-base flux in a high-purity graphite crucible. These alloys were subsequently hot-worked and then homogenized in a helium atmosphere at temperatures close to their solidus points. Sandwich-type diffusion couples of the type g/d/g were prepared from the pure metals by solid-state diffusion. Two-piece alloy couples of Mg/65.5 at. pct Mg (Mg/gCd) and Cd/51.0 at. pct Mg (Cd/CdMg) were welded by a liquation technique. The individual components of both types of couple were initially cylinders 1.27 cm in diam and in length; the ends of these cylinders were machined accurately flat and parallel. For both welding techniques, the pure cadmium cylinders and the alloys were chemically polished in a mixture of 40 pct ethyl alcohol, 40 pct hydrogen peroxide (30 pct conc), and 20 pct nitric acid,g while those of pure magnesium were polished in a solution of 10 pct nitric acid in ethyl alcohol.' Immediately afterwards, both metals were rinsed in freshly distilled acetone, and then in similarly purified methanol.' The Mg/Cd/g couples were assembled in a carefully cleaned stainless-steel welding fixture, in which a screw operating through a self-centering arrangement permitted a controlled pressure to be exerted upon a couple prior to welding.'' Tungsten marker wires 0.005 cm in diam were placed at the d:g interfaces of some of these couples, and imbedded in the couples during the application of pressure. As soon as a couple had been assembled, the welding fixture was inserted into a Pyrex capsule containing a packet of zirconium chips at each end. The capsule

Jan 1, 1967

By S. W. Miller

DURING the examination of welds made in steel by the oxy-acetylene and electric-arc processes, the writer has met with some unusual structures, which he has not encountered elsewhere. They seem to be quite closely associated with the welding methods used, and characteristic of them, and would seem to be worth noting, especially as the references to them in the literature are few, and their explanation not clear or complete. An introductory word or two about fusion welding may not he out of place. The oxy-acetylene process is based on the great and very local heat generated by the burning of acetylene in the presence of commercially pure oxygen, the two gases being thoroughly mixed before combustion. The theoretical temperature is somewhat under 4000° C., but on account of various losses, the actual maximum temperature is probably about 3000° C. 1 The electric-arc process, using a metal electrode, which is also the filling rod, generates a still higher and more local temperature. The actual temperature of the positive crater of the carbon arc is given as 3500° C.2 No figures have been found for the temperature of the arc using a metal electrode, but it would probably not be very different from that of the carbon arc, and probably higher than that of the oxy-acetylene flame. The greater localization of the electric arc is due to the fact that it is not surrounded by a large envelope flame as well as to its higher temperature; while the oxy-acetylene white cone, or welding flame, in which the carbon of the acetylene is burned to CO, is surrounded and preceded by -a long envelope flame, itself of quite high temperature, in which the CO is burned to C02, and the hydrogen of the acetylene to

Jan 2, 1918

By Samuel L. Hoyt

Cemented tungsten carbide, a product of a branch of metallurgy which has never possessed more than a relatively minor interest and importance, has recently commanded the attention of engineers, industrialists, financiers and men of business. New methods, new opportunities, new goals, never before considered, have suddenly been brought within the scope of practical realization. It is these results that attract the interest of the world, but we, as engineers and metallurgists, will have equal interest in the product itself and in that branch of metallurgy from which it comes. It seems appropriate, therefore, to speak today on Hard Metal Carbides and Cemented Tungsten Carbide, as the latter represents one of the outstanding developments of recent date in non-ferrous metallurgy. We are interested in the hard metal carbides as a group of related metallic substances and in cemented tungsten carbide as the leading representative of the metallurgy of this group. The literature of this general field is limited, and, bearing this in mind, it seems advisable to attempt to cover the field broadly and to correlate the subject matter, rather than to present a detailed account of any one of its phases. Our annual lecture lends itself admirably to this plan. The quickened interest in cemented tungsten carbide, once its potentialities were recognized, the many sides to the problem of developing the manufacture and use of this new product, and the desire to economize as much as possible in the time of development, have brought many into this work, both in this country and abroad, notably the Osram Lamp Co. and Friedrich Krupp in Germany and the General Electric Co. in this country. It would be presuming too much to attempt to speak too broadly of the present state of the art and science of the hard metal carbides and my remarks arc guided largely by the work done in the General Electric Co., and by our associates in the Carboloy Co. Even here the activities of many in these two groups have centered around the utilization of cemented tungsten carbide, which is outside the scope of this talk. To those whose work is represented in this lecture, it is my pleasant duty to acknowledge their assistance and advice. To Dr. Zay

Jan 1, 1930

By Frederick Laist

ABOUT six years ago the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. decided to investigate the possibility of extracting zinc from the ores of certain mines in the Butte district. These ores are of a complex character and contain so much iron and lead that the concentrate contains only 33 to 35 per cent. zinc. Investigations showed that while a high-grade concentrate could not be obtained by ordinary methods, such as tabling and magnetic treatment, a fair grade could be made by the Horwood process. In this method, the concentrate resulting from the flotation of all of the sulfides is given a light roast and this calcine is subjected to flotation in the presence of a large amount of sulfuric acid; the resulting concentrate contains most of the zinc and a residue contains most of the iron. The fact that the lead, copper, and silver are divided approximately equally between the zinc concentrate and the iron residue and the large consumption of acid, which ranged from 50 to 100 lb. (22 to 45 kg.) per ton of concentrates, were serious objections to this plan. The zinc recovery, moreover, was low, as a considerable percentage invariably accompanied the iron. While a profit might be made on the ores by the use of this process, it was thought that other and more promising methods might be devised. After carefully studying the field and doing some laboratory work on various processes that had been suggested, it was decided that the electrolysis of sulfate solutions was the most promising. We soon found, as have other investigators, that the only way to obtain a good zinc deposit is to have the electrolyte free from all metals more electro-negative than zinc, such as copper, cadmium, lead, arsenic, antimony, etc. Arsenic and antimony are particularly injurious, causing very poor current efficiency and small yield per horsepower when present in amounts so small as almost to defy detection-1 mg. or less per liter.

Jan 10, 1920

By W. R. Crane

The support of roof in mines is dependent largely on the character of the top rock and its occurrence. The formations overlying the orebed in the Birmingham district are sandstone and slate. The sandstone occurs in beds of sufficient thickness to constitute important elements in the system of support; the slate is relatively strong but is thinly stratified. The alternating beds of sandstone and slate furnish an excellent combination in that the former are strong and the latter are impervious; however, their continuity is broken by jointing or slip planes. The thickness, and consequent weight of the overlying formations, is important in so far as the size and arrangement of pillars are concerned but may be relatively unimportant, temporarily at least, as a factor in the support of the roof. The position of the respective beds of sandstone and slate, their relative thickness, and their inherent weakness because of the occurrence of faults and folds, may exert a predominating influence on their support in place, which is affected only in part by the weight of the cover. The only mine in this district that operates under a cover of approximately 2000 ft. (1900 ft.) is the Shannon so-called "twin slope," situated 14,000 ft. southeast of the portal of the No. 7 mine of the Tennessee Coal, Iron, & Railroad Co. The conditions in this mine indicate what may be expected in other mines when the same depth is attained; in fact, the effect of pressure is shown in several mines that have not reached two-thirds of that depth. It is evident, then, that conditions affecting the support of roof will not improve but rather will become more difficult with the extension of the mines into the valley under a constantly increasing weight of cover. Further, the difficulties will probably be augmented by the occurrence of faults and other disturbed ground, the presence and position of which at present are largely unknown.

Jan 1, 1925

Jan 1, 1918

So commonplace that they are seldom noticed, mining-machine bits have a defi-nite and important bearing on the cost of coal production. At the average mine many thousands of bits are used during the year. The actual cost represented by the pur-chase of the bits used, as well as that of sharpening and handling them, represents a considerable sum of money. From the point of view of indirect costs they are im-portant, as the lack of good bits at a mining machine can seriously impair production. Good bits tend to ensure an adequate supply of coal.

Jan 1, 1940

By Arthur F. Wendt

The earliest knowledge of copper-ores in the Southwest was derived from the Mexicans, who, in the latter part of the last century, discovered and worked the Santa Rita copper mines, now situated

Jan 1, 1887

By S. F. Emmons

This mine is situated upon the western slope of the Meadow Valley mountains, about 70 miles by road from the present end of the railroad-track, which is at Uvada, on the UtahNevada boundary. This boundary-line marks fairly well a certain change in type of scenery from western Utah to eastern Nevada,—from a region in which the desert valleys predominate over the mountain ranges to one in which they are in about equal proportion. The railroad from Salt Lake City runs somewhat W. of S., for the most part along the bottom of the ancient Lake Bonneville. The latter part of its present course follows the axis of the southern arm or bay of that lake, now known as the Escalante desert. Along this bay, its line is a mathematically straight one, with no perceptible change of level for two " tangents " of more than 30 miles each, varying but a few degrees in direction. In the four or five hours re-

Jan 1, 1902

DISCUSSION, G. Derge and D. J. Girardi presiding N. A. Gokcen (Michigan College of Mining and Technology, Houghton, Mich.)—While the authors present very interesting results on the effect of sulphur upon the solubility of oxygen, they have not established convincingly the lines of two-fold saturation (the valleys in Fig. 2) and the ternary eutectic point. Their contention that sample S-7, upon melting at

Jan 1, 1954

By Charles S. Barrett, Hermann F. Kaiser, Robert F. Mehl

THE copper-silver system presents several points of special interest in the study of segregate structures. The system is simple eutectic, with limited solid solutions terminal with the pure component metals. The extent of solid solubility decreases with decreasing temperature for both the copper-rich and the silver-rich alloys, thus offering a possibility for the formation of Widmanstätten figures and also a possibility for aging after quenching. In contrast to the structures studied previously the structures in this system are unique in their origin, for one terminal solid solution will precipitate the other, and vice versa. In most of the other systems for which crystallographic data on the precipitation (or transformation) process are available, either intermetallic compounds or intermediate phases partake in the decomposition process; the absence of such phases thus distinguishes this system. The lattice structures of the two solid solutions are identical in type, differing in lattice spacing by approximately 10 per cent; because of this it seems difficult if not impossible to predict on the basis of present theory either the outward form of the precipitate or the lattice orientation relationships between matrix and precipitate. The eutectic temperature in the copper-silver system1 is 779° C. At this temperature copper dissolves 4.3 atomic per cent (7.0 weight per

Jan 1, 1935

Jan 1, 1967

By D. T. Novick, M. B. Bever, B. Roessler

Ordered and disordered specimens of the alloy CusAu were cold worked and then annealed at 2880, 310°, and 340°C, together with disordered unworked specimens. me resistivity decreased during annealing mainly as a result of ordering; the resistivity measurements suggest that in cold-worked specimens the growth of antiphase domains is impeded. The strength properties increased during annealing at 288 "C; in cold-worked specimens this increase was lo a level above that for cold-worked specimens which had not been annealed. X-ray diffraction showed that after annealing for a few hours at 288ºC, the long-range order increased to a constant value; additional annealing at 288ºC resulted in the growth of antiphase domains in which the degree of order was constant. Changes in peak breadth and particle size confirmed that in cold-worked specimens the major effects of cold work were not eliminated during annealing at 288 "C, although a slight recovery process occurred. When a specimen of the alloy Cu3Au is heated to a temperature below the critical temperature (388ºC), long-range ordering tends to occur in a specimen containing less than the equilibrium amount of order characteristic of that temperature Ideally, a specimen of Cu3Au contains no long-range order if it has been quenched from above the critical temperature. Long-range order is reduced by cold work. If cold-worked specimens are heated, restoration processes such as recovery and recrystallization may occur,

Jan 1, 1963

By G. Donald Emigh

Nothing is more important to life-plant and animal-than phosphate. Its compounds are essential to the energy functions of all living systems and for the formation of bones and teeth. Animals get their phosphate from eating plants and other animals, or domestically from feed supplements. Plants get their phosphate from the soil. Man's most important use of phosphate is for fertilizer; however, he is also a heavy user of many industrial phosphate chemicals. Phosphate occurs in all igneous and sedimentary rocks, and in all fresh and saltwater. The average content in rocks is 0.1 to 0.2% P2O5, as documented recently by McKelvey (1973). About 200 minerals contain more than 1 % P,O,. However, the important one in igneous rocks is fluorapatite, (Ca,(PO,) ,F) containing about 42% P,O, and 3.8% F,; in sedimentary rocks the one important mineral is francolite, a carbonate fluorapatite containing up to 2% molecular CO,. Both are in the apatite family of minerals. The mineralogy of phosphate minerals was reviewed recently by Altschuler (1973). Although phosphate occurs in nearly all rocks, economic recovery is limited to deposits where natural concentration of the phosphate mineral has occurred. Occasionally natural concentration is great enough that the material can be used as mined; generally, however, the ore is low grade and must be concentrated.

Jan 1, 1975

By John W. Chandler

INTRODUCTION Where and how to spend the exploration dollar to net the greatest economic return, has always been a major problem for mining companies. Minerals are being consumed in ever increasing quantitie: throughout the world and the mining industry is being called on to meet this demand. In view of the present world-wide nationalistic trend, it is becoming more difficult to determine where exploration money can be spent most profitably. An exploration project should be evaluated continually--in the beginning, to define economic targets and later to determine, as early as possible, whether a project has a chance of developing into a venture that will make a profit acceptable to top management. At this point, a decision can be made whether or not to proceed with plans to bring in a new mine. Exploration, evaluation, and development, therefore, must be fully integrated in transforming an exploration project into a profitable mining venture. DEMAND FOR LEAD AND ZINC Lead and zinc are metals basic to our economy and the demand for them will continue to rise as the population in the world increases. If the population continues to grow at the present rate, it will about double by the year 2000. The accelerating demand for these metals is shown by statistics. Nearly half as much lead (48%) and more than half as much zinc (55%) have been mined between the two world wars as in all pre- ceding history. (1)

Jan 1, 1970

By Irwin Roman

IT has been known for many years that when a wire is moved in a magnetic field, an electromotive force is developed which is proportional to the rate at which the wire is moved in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic intensity and to the magnetic intensity itself. If the ends of the wire are connected to a current indicator, the current behaves exactly as though the source of electromotive force were a galvanic cell. If a wire is wound circularly and rotated uniformly around a diameter not parallel to the intensity, the current flowing through the wire will be alternating of sinusoidal shape. If, instead of a single loop, there are several turns wound in a short helix, the electromotive force developed will be approximately proportional to the number of turns, the area of the helix and to the speed of rotation. The maxi-mum electromotive force will be devel-oped when the axis of rotation is perpen- dicular to the field; if this is not so, only the component of the intensity that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation is effective. This is the principle of the usual earth inductor. With a few turns of wire and comparatively slow rotation, FIG. 1.-MAGNETIC GRADIOMETER. it is possible to produce a considerable deflection of a galvanometer. If two similar coils are rotated together at two different points for which the magnetic field intensities perpendicular to the axes of rotation are different, the electromotive forces developed will each depend on its corresponding intensity and be a measure of that intensity. If the inten-sities are sufficiently different so that the electromotive forces may be compared, the two intensities may be compared. This is the principle

Jan 1, 1934

By William H. Shockley

Though China has been widely explored by mining engineers during the past dozen years, comparatively little has been published concerning its mineral resources. The few moilographs scattered through the transactions of various societies contain far less information than the private reports made to the numerous syndicates which have sent out engineers. The best general account of the geolopy and mineral resources of China is to be found in the works of von Richthofen,' a remarkably gifted observer. The observations recorded here in this paper were made in the service of the Pekin Syndicate (which has kindly given me permission to publish them), during the first months of 1898, among the coal- and iron-fields of southeastern Shansi. This is one of the largest anthracite-regions known, the area being

Jan 1, 1904