Search Documents

By C. David Mann

Metal prices continued to improve in 1964, resulting in the opening of new mines and re- activation of old ones. Larger and deeper shafts are being bored. At the AEC's Nevada Test Site, a 72-in. diam shaft is being bored to 3200 ft. In New Mexico a 1650-ft shaft was bored with a 48-in. bit, then reamed to 124 in. to 935 ft, and 102 in. to 1650 ft. Deviation was only 26 in. In California a shaft sinking machine has been developed which combines drilling and mucking equipment into one mobile, integral unit.

Jan 2, 1965

Jan 1, 1967

By GEO M. FOWLER

AN appraisal of the activities of the mining geologists during 1936 clearly indicates the ever in- creasing utilization of geology in the search for ore. Few men with geo- logic training are idle at present; this is particularly true regarding recent graduates. Many have accepted employment in distant fields, such as the Philippines and South America, and greatly increased mineral production from these places reflects their activities. In North America, regions of intense mineralization formerly important are being restudied in greater de- tail and with better understanding; as a result, new mineral wealth is being found in many such districts. Much is being done by private companies and individuals, and it is to be hoped that mining companies will increasingly make available the purely scientific results of such studies by permitting their geologists to publish. On such generosity to a large extent will future advances in ore finding depend.

Jan 1, 1937

Jan 1, 1961

By James F. Kemp

Jan 1, 1914

Jan 1, 1966

By William E. Greenawalt

IN these days of special legislation for the benefit of various industries one might well consider one branch of human endeavor intimately associated with engineering-that of patents and patent litigation. It is estimated that 85 per cent of all industries in the United States are based directly or indirectly on patents. Most inventors are engineers, and most patent litigation pertains to the engineering industries. It is fitting, therefore, that engineers should be vitally interested in discussing patent affairs, particularly as inventors are not a professional group, and invention is mostly a transitory phase incident to the development of specific industrial problems.

Jan 1, 1937

By Alicia O&apos, Overbeck, Reardon

DIFFIDENTLY, because don'ts are rarely greeted with cheers; humbly, because I, myself, have never lined up with the irreproachables, I venture on the subject of manners for the mining camp matron. Mining camps can be divided roughly into two types-the large, opulent settlement that blooms like the rose about a strong mine in full operation; and the puny group of adobe huts, or calamina shacks, or even canvas tents flung down in the wilderness to shelter the gay pioneers of a shining prospect or the shattered survivors of a lost hope. Of the first, I know nothing; but in the second, I have spent some of my best years, and from its curious code of morals and manners, its comic hates and its unreasoning loves, its high impatience and its engulfing kindness, I have charted the narrow .and pitted path which must be trod by the woman who would success¬fully live therein.

Jan 1, 1936

Who's Who in Mineral Engineering - The 1978 Membership Directory of the Society of Mining Engineers of AIME

Jan 7, 1978

By W. M. Peirce

COAL'S importance in the metallurgy of zinc may be gauged by the fact that approximately a million and a half tons is so employed annually in the United States. This brief paper will show in what way the various steps in the treatment of zinc ores utilize this fuel, either in its primary form or as coke or gas, and to what extent. The first step in zinc metallurgy that requires the use of fuel is roasting the sulphide ore, which is the type of ore in which zinc commonly occurs. Since the roasting is nearly or completely autogenous, however, this use of fuel is too minor to warrant further attention. Concentration of zinc ores is usually carried out by conventional milling methods, but a pyrometallurgical method, the Waelz process, is used to concentrate certain low-grade ores, and to recover the zinc content of certain residues in concentrate form. The Waelz process uses a continuous rotary kiln in which a mixture of coal and zinc-bearing material is heated to a

Jan 1, 1948

By D. H. NETLAND

DURING the year 1907 an investigation of the Clinton formation in New York has been carried out under the direction of the State Geologist, and a full account of the results has been prepared for publication.1 The more important economic features of the report are summarized in the present paper. Previous knowledge of this, the type, section of the Clinton has been contributed mostly by Hall and Vanuxem in their reports for the Natural History Survey of New York, which were issued in their final form in 1842-43. Brief accounts of the ore-occurrences have been given by B. T. Putnam,2 J. C. Smock,3 A. H. Chester,4 and E. C. Eckel.5 Prof. C. H. Smyth, Jr.,6has discussed the origin of the Clinton ores in two papers, which, so far as the local occurrences are concerned, have removed all doubt that may have existed on that subject. Distribution of the Clinton Formation. The Clinton strata in New York State are restricted to a single belt, Which extends from the eastern central part to the Niagara river, which it crosses, and thence continues for some distance into the province of Ontario. The New York

Mar 1, 1909

Jan 1, 1969

US 4,190,434 - In the thermal production of magnesium metal, a mixture of calcined dolomite, an iron- silicon-aluminum alloy as a reductant, and residual slag from the production of ferrochromium is smelted to evolve magnesium vapor, which is then condensed. The use of bauxite is lessened or eliminated because of the relatively high alumina content of the residual slag. R. Bonfils, A. Mena, C. Payn, and L. Septier, assigned to Ste. Francaise d’Electrometallurgie (SOFREM). Feb. 26, 1980. 6 pp. (75-10R). Filed: 6-14-78 (915,387). Priority: France, 6-24-77 (77/20,227).

Jan 1, 1982

By R. J. Colony

MINING geology does not lend itself - very readily to a review embracing "improvements in methods," as perhaps do shop practices or laboratory procedures. The "methods" used in mining geology are simply the application of geology to mining; winning the ore, the handling of material, mechanical appliances, all belong strictly to mining proper, and have no place in a review of geology as applied to mining. A comprehensive review would necessarily cover a .very broad field, which could be subdivided into many -parts. Only a few of these can be discussed here. .Those that have been suggested to the chairman indude :

Jan 1, 1930

MR. Woo's succinct description of the mining and smelting of silver-lead in Mongolia, with the roasting-and-reduction process and cupellation, has much interest as a picture of methods that not only may have been in use, as he suggests, a thousand years ago, long before the existence of mining schools or chemical laboratories, but probably vary little, if at all, from the practice of prehistoric times, when King Priam's handsome silver vases, cups and bowls were formed. For it is highly improbable that such large objects were made from comparatively rare native silver, and the metal must have been smelted from ore, and most likely in great part from galena,, with cupellation of the lead. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, in his excellent book on the Lore of Cathay, points out that Chinese alchemy is over 2000 years old, antedating the European by at least six centuries; and he infers that the Chinese skill in metallurgy and many branches of practical chemistry owes its origin to " those early devotees of the experimental philosophy who passed their lives among the fumes of the alembic." Those alchemists, however, may have more likely derived some of their leading ideas from the mys terious, and at that time wholly unexplainable results observed in already very ancient metallurgical processes; in which, for example, certain stones were transmuted, as it were, into metals widely divergent in character from their ores, and even silver and gold were obtained from the most unlikely-looking mate rials. It is therefore, in any case, not improbable that the Chinese may have preceded western nations in the discovery of metallurgical methods. At all events, it is now evident that the Japanese acquired these arts from China, the former source of all their higher civilization. My own observation of old-fashioned silver-smelt ing at Hosokura, on the main island of Japan, and about 220

Jan 1, 1903

By M. J. R. Morris

THE year 1939 has seen the iron and steel industry driving for efficiency with unabated zeal. "Efficiency" is here used in the sense of enabling the customer to do more with less, either supplying him with more economically priced steels or with higher priced steels that will do a job more economically. The plain carbon steels have been improved tremendously in quality be- cause of recent control tests. All steel companies have been urged to hold to .closer chemical control, closer standards, soundness, and more control on grain size, and now attention is being directed to closer control of hardening properties. Better control of open- hearth operations undoubtedly will result in an increase in the application of special carbon steel. Further, with a better understanding of quenching, the present trend to study the quenching of this class of steels will be ex- tended. These steels will then be used for purposes to which they are best suited. Utilization of special carbon bars and large shapes seems to be developing less slowly than special car- bon in the form of strip. There are many reasons for this and the future development of this trend will be important. Continued development of the manufacture of parts from strip and sheet to replace forgings, and of formed; structural members such as channels or welded pipe, is notable. Special carbon sheets with nonaging properties have been produced during the year; they maintain a higher degree of ductility over a longer time and are less sensitive to the changes which took place in the former product when stocked.

Jan 1, 1940

By AIME AIME

FEW mining schools possess an art gallery and certainly none can equal the collection of paintings depicting the mineral industries now hanging in the comparatively new building of the School of Mineral Industries at The Pennsylvania State College. Dean Steidle, who conceived the idea, early this spring boasted of 55 paintings in the collection, by 24 different artists, the gallery being appraised at $18,000. Since then, eleven additional paintings have been added. Opportunity will he presented for an inspection at the meeting of the Industrial Minerals Division, to be held at the College, Sept. 24-26.

Jan 1, 1936

THE twelfth annual meeting of the American Asso-ciation of Petroleum Geologists will be held in Tulsa, Okla., on March 24 to 26, at the Mayo Hotel. The per-sonnel of the committee on arrangements for this meet-ing is as follows : Chairman, M. M. Valerius ; finance, J. H. Gardner; program, Sidney Powers,; publicity, Luther H. White; reception, L. G. Welsh; registration, Frank A. Herald; exhibits, Frank C. Greene; entertain¬ment, Harry H. Nowlan ; ladies' entertainment, T. E. Weirich; golf tournament, A. L. Beekly; hotels, G. C. Potter; transportation, A. W. Duston; banquet, R. Hughes; decoration, V. H. Hughes.

Jan 2, 1927

[ ]

Jan 1, 1907

By W. L. Dumoulin

A RATHER detailed description of the entire plant and leaching process was given in a paper recently presented to the Institute,1 so this paper will cover briefly only the crushing practice of the New Cornelia Copper Co. for the year, 1918. The ore, which is mined by steam shovels and loaded in side-dump cars, passes through two crushing plants. These crushing plants were constructed to crush the ore required by a leaching plant of 5000 tons daily, capacity, during a crushing period of 16 hours. The primary plant reduces to less than 3 in. (76 mm.) and the secondary plant, to ¼ in. (6.35 mm.), which is sufficiently fine for satisfactory percolation of solution through the ore in the leaching tanks, and to give good extraction. The ore is then conveyed to the leaching tanks by a system of 28-in.. (71-cm.) belt conveyors. On the way to the leaching tanks, it passes through an automatic sampling plant, where a 1-per cent. sample is taken. From the primary crushing plant, the ore is conveyed by two 36-in. (91-cm.) belt conveyors to a 10,000-ton steel storage bin, with a reinforced-concrete flat bottom. The ore discharges from the bottom of this bin onto four 20-in. belt conveyors, which deliver it to the four units of crushers in the secondary crushing plant. There is no storage bin between the mine and the primary crushing plant. The ore breaks very coarse, is very hard, and contains a great many boulders, some as large as 4 ½ by 4 1/2 by 10 ft. (1.3 by 1.3 by 3 m.). Jams form in the bowl of the coarse crusher in the primary crushing plant, as a consequence, and are freed by means of an immense steel hook operated from a 40-ton electric traveling crane.

Jan 8, 1919