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By William B. Plank

AGAIN the records show an unprecedented enrollment of students in the mineral technology schools of the United States and Canada. In the current year, 1938-'39, 9619 students were resident in the 53 schools of the United States arid 1014 in the six schools of Canada. These data are from my fifth study of the mineral technology schools of the United States and Canada. the last previous study having been made for the year 1936-'37. The undertaking as previously was made under the auspices of the Mineral Industry Education Division of the A. I. M. E. The data or, the various schools were collected in the same way as for former studies.

Jan 1, 1939

By HOWARND N. EAVENSON

THE year 1930 resembled the preceding one in the coal industry in continuing the era of falling prices and 'of the abandonment of unprofitable mines. Practically all coal prices fell, and in the steam sizes during the last half of the year this was particularly true, due to the small industrial demand. No new mines of any size were opened in the bituminous coal industry, but there was a steady increase in the number of cleaning plants of all kinds built in all fields. It is estimated that at least nine million tons per year were added to the previous total of washed coal. The largest washing plant started during the year was that of the Buckeye Coal Co., at Nemacolin, Pa., with a capacity of 650 tons per hour. Fig. 1 shows - the mixing-bin, conveyor galleries, washing-plant and skip hoist, and Fig. 2 the 120-ft. Dorr thickener for collecting the 48-mesh material from the wash water. Dryers are used for drying the steam coal product. The following statement by J. R. Campbell shows the effect of cleaning on Pittsburgh coal in Greene County: "With the advent of the 650-t.p.h. efficient washing plant in Greene County at the Nemacolin mine of the Buckeye Coal Co., it has undoubtedly been demonstrated that the potential coking-metallurgical coals of the county can be brought within the pale of the highest grade high-volatile coals for steel manufacture. A few months' operation indicates that 9% per cent ash in the raw coal can be easily reduced to under 7 per cent ash in the washed coal and the sulfur from 1.60 per cent in the run of mine to 1.20 per cent sulfur in the washed coal.

Jan 1, 1931

By Royal Jackman

Two comprehensive papers have appeared regarding the forms of copper that occur in smelter slags, one by Frank E. Lathe1 and the other by C. G. Maier and G. D. Van Arsdale.2 These authors comment on other published results and draw conclusions from their own investiga-tions. The development of X-ray examination of minerals and improve-ment in high-power microscopic methods make it possible today to get additional evidence by means that were not available to earlier investi-gators. The present work was confined to reverberatory slags obtained from five different plants. Some definite conclusions were reached regarding the forms of copper present in these slags. In most cases these agree with some of the findings of Maier and Van Arsdale but new methods of attack were used in the investigation.

Jan 1, 1933

By Milton T. Pana

Computer techniques now have been applied to the solution of a wide variety of scientific and engineering problems in the mining industry, but generally not in great depth in any one area. In mining, the area covered in greatest depth and with the greatest success has probably been mine planning and to a lesser degree production scheduling. A rather comprehensive review of the literature related to mine planning and production scheduling indicates that contributions in these areas have been geographically, as well as organizationally, widespread. Of twenty-six papers reviewed, eleven were from industry, eight from educational institutions, four from computer vendors, two from the Bureau of Mines, and one from a private consultant. The conclusions that can be derived from the literature are: First, the-state-of-the art has advanced to the point that computing ore reserves and developing mining plans with the aid of the computer is now a routine practice; second, the application of the computer to mine planning problems has markedly improved our ability to estimate ore reserves, more accurately define pit limits, and determine an optimum mining sequence. MINE PLANNING The papers in this section deal essentially with the problem of determining the final pit limits of an orebody and the ore reserves associated with a given pit limit. The problem is probably best described by Soderberg25 and more recently by Reibell. 23. There are two techniques currently being applied to this problem by several mining companies: 1) the multiple-cone technique and 2) the Lerch-Grossman algorithm. The multiple-cone technique is the older of the two techniques and has the advantage of being more flexible, allowing an engineer to easily vary pit slopes in different sectors of the design. The technique can also be used to define intermediate pit contours. The Lerch-Grossman algorithm is appealing in that the final solution is given in the form of a true mathematical optimum. The technique is limited, however, in that the size of the blocks in the orebody model are a function of the desired

Jan 1, 1969

By George J. Young

(San Francisco meeting, October, 1911.) THE nature of slimes handled in the treatment of gold- and silver-ores has been discussed in technical literature to a considerable extent. The subject of slime-filtration from the practical worker's stand-point has also received much comment, and scattered through the literature of the subject are descriptions of many slime-filtration installations. Articles of this nature serve a valuable purpose and assist materially in the design of new and the improvement of old plants. The subject of the physics of slime-filtration has been touched upon to only a slight extent. The underlying principles are worthy of more intensive study and experimentation than they have received, and the main purpose of this paper is to present the results of such study and experimental work as will serve to make clear in part at least many of the principles which control the filtration of slime. Nature of Slime. Much has bean written concerning an accurate definition of the term ? slime," but no comprehensive definition seems to be generally accepted. The reason for this is clear. A slime consists of at least three different substances, each, when separated, possessing distinctly different physical and to a certain extent chemical properties. These substances are extremely fine sand, a colloidal material which may be and generally is in a coagulated condition, and a colloidal material which is in a non-coagulated condition. Suspending a slime in a relatively large volume of water by shaking and allowing sedimentation to take place, results in the fine sand settling out with comparative rapidity, followed by the coagulated material, which settles much more slowly and finally a certain portion remains

Nov 1, 1911

By J. J. Pelley

NOT being a scientist, an engineer or a metallurgist, I consider it a very great honor indeed to be asked to address the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. Your program indicates that any lack of intricate and technical knowledge on my part in the field of metals will be well taken care of by others. Therefore, I believe any remarks that I have to make might well be devoted to the practical side of metals in railroad service and to the general railroad situation as I view it today. The experiments now being conducted on the railroads with so-called streamlined, light-weight trains and cars would not have been possible had it not been for scientific and engineering research in the past that made these lighter weight metals available. The railroads now have approximately forty units of these new trains in operation. Experi-ence with them will no doubt be a guidepost for future construction in that direction. While the best known experiments are in the passenger service, they are being extended into the freight service. Within the past three years there was constructed for the Association of American Railroads a new standard box car of ordinary carbon steel, in which, by reason of superior design, weight was reduced by 3500 to 4500 lb. under that of existing cars of like capacity. The Association is now testing a box car that weighs approximately six or seven tons less than practically all of the box cars of like capacity in service today. If these tests are successful a very large field for the use of lighter weight metals will immediately be opened, provided the costs of such metals are not too high. The fact that various experiments are being carried on with other classes of equipment constructed with so-called light-weight and non-corrosive metals no doubt will have a considerable effect upon the rebuild-ing of old equipment. The question then will be: How much can we afford to spend on the rebuilding of an old car weighing six to seven tons more than a new car constructed with the latest available materials?

Jan 1, 1936

This brief resume of the events transpiring in Mexico, culled from the daily New York newspapers since the last Bulletin went to press, does not show any degree of improvement in the situation. U. S. WITHDRAWS ARMY FROM MEXICO The American invasion of Mexico lasted less than 24 hours. The troops which crossed the Rio Grande June 15 to put a stop to the firing that was causing death and injury in El Paso were back in their billets on the American side of the border the next night. They had broken up the battle between Villa rebels and the Carranza garrison and driven the rebel forces headlong out of Juarez and into the hills. The Carranza Consul, Garcia, and Gen. Francisco Gonzales are reported by American officials to be pessimistic, if not indignant, at the swift reprisals made by the Americans against the stray shots which were falling in El Paso during the Villa attack on Juarez. In announcing his action in ordering Americans into Mexico Brigadier General Erwin in a formal statement said he had done-so to prevent the indiscriminate firing into El Paso by rebel soldiers, endangering the lives of Americans. "But on no account were they to undertake an invasion into Mexico," continued the statement. Americans with interests in the vicinity of Chihuahua are alarmed lest Villa, smarting under the defeat administered his troops by the American forces, should make a campaign of destruction. General Candido Aguilar, President Carranza's confidential ambassador to the United States, issued to the press, on June 17, a formal statement that "the government and people of Mexico consider as a violation of Mexican sovereignty the crossing of United States soldiers into Mexican territory" and expressing the hope ?that the situation created by the latest occurrences in Juarez will be satisfactorily adjusted between the two countries." Discussion of Mexican affairs was evoked in both houses of Congress by the crossing of the Rio Grande by American troops.

Jan 8, 1919

By AIME AIME

AT A meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute held in London on May 6, Dr. J. E. Stead was formally inducted into the chair by Dr. Eugene Schneider, the retiring president. After presenting the Bessemer gold medal to Harry Brearley, of Sheffield, England, for his distinguished services to the British steel industry, Doctor Stead delivered his presidential address, a masterly review of iron and steel making progress during the past 50 years, emphasizing economy in production, and pointing out suggestions for future improvement. A considerable portion of the address was devoted to blast-furnace operation.

Jan 1, 1920

By Archiblad MacMartin

The Kunigin-Marien-Hiitte is the only works in Germany where the Bessemer process is carried on by the direct method. The Besserner plant there, is arranged after the true English type, and the only resemblance to the Swedish mode of 'procedure is the dispensing with the use of spiegeleisen at the end of the "blow." In a new department of the establishment, started within three years, each of the converters is turned by means of a very neat and compact reversible engine, the steel shaft of which is an endless screw, which turns against the oblique cogs of a large wheel attached to the shaft of the vessel. An advantage which this arrangement possesses over the ordinary English hydraulic arrangement, is the fact that the endless screw suffices to turn the vessel, in either direction, any number of complete revolutions; while even the latest American improvements, so clearly explained to us by Mr. Holley at the opening session of this meeting, do not secure even one complete revolution without changing the angle of inclination of the hydraulic piston. In the endless screw arrangement, there being no limit to the working of the motor in either direction (no return-stroke necessary), the vessel can always, unless outside reasons demand the contrary, be turned around to any desired position by the shortest cut, whether backwards or forwards. Also, the diameter of the cogwheel attached to the vessel can be made sufficiently great to avoid all unevenness of motion. In the old department the motive-power still continues to be hydraulic. If reports be true, the new department produces spiegelized steel, for the manufacture of all-steel rails. But the old department is still, as from the beginning, devoted to the production by the direct method of steel for steel-headed rails. The most remarkable fact connected with this direct steel is the ease with which it welds to the iron 'of the rail-packets, although no borax or other fluxing agent is used to facilitate the welding. It is very rarely that an exception occurs, and an ingot or a charge is discarded by the rail-mill. The mixture of pig-iron used for the production of this steel is melted in cupolas of very interesting construction (not to be de-

By G. G. Oberfell

THOUGH the largest volume use of natural gas has been, is. and in all probability will continue to be as a fuel for domestic and industrial heating, it has various market outlets, both as a fuel and as a raw material for the chemical industry. Natural gas is a preferred type of fuel where ease of control, fuel uniformity, and freedom from ash are of primary importance. Other industrially important uses are as a source of carbon black and as a fuel in various low-cost heating operations. Many other uses are of varying importance and new potential uses are continually being uncovered, some being of economic importance to the gas indus¬try as a whole, but most of them involve such small volumes of gas that they are only of passing interest. Since various products extracted from natural gas and recovered as by-products from petroleum refining, such as liquefied petroleum gas and fuel oil, are being utilized in many industrial and domestic heating applications, some consideration will have to be given such materials in order to present a reasonably complete story of the importance of natural gas. Some of these materials may prove to be transient competitors and will not be available when more profitable uses are found for them. Meanwhile, however, the potential volumes of such materials available, the current volumes being marketed, and the nature of the utilization are considered as constituting an essential part of the over-all fuel picture.

Jan 1, 1946

By Robert F. Mehl

THE mechanical behavior of metals and alloys is presumably conditioned by two factors; namely, the crystalline symmetry and the interatomic forces. Considerable attention has been given to the first of these factors through the recent advances in X-ray technique. It is the purpose of the present paper to call attention to the importance of the second of these factors, to point out promising methods of investigation, and to present some pertinent data. Plastic deformation takes place by slip along atomic planes.1 This slip may be inhibited in a number of ways: by the interatomic forces of cohesion which bind the atoms rigidly in a lattice structure, which in pure metals is usually of high symmetry; by lattice distortion caused by solid solution formation or by mechanical strain; by the intercrystalline boundaries where slip is restrained, probably by the non-registration of the atom planes in adjacent crystallites;2 and by the presence of small hard particles which serve to "key" the slip along the atom planes.3 In pure metals, and perhaps also in solid solutions, the atom planes of easiest slip are those exhibiting the greatest density of atomic population and the greatest interplanar distance4 and apparently can now be predicted from the analysis of the lattices. Concerning the interatomic forces, which resist this slip by holding the atoms firmly together, little is known. Most textbooks on physical metallurgy, following the work of Bottone,5 correlate the hardness of the pure metals with the atomic volume,

Jan 1, 1928

By Donald H. McLaughlin

ZEST in the search for new supplies of metallic ores and petroleum is difficult to maintain with stocks of raw materials accumulating and with over- production rightly or wrongly blamed for most of our industrial troubles. Enthusiasm over new methods of prospecting has consequently diminished and exploration programs in many fields have been drastically cur- tailed. Very naturally the effects have been felt with particular keeness in highly specialized phases of the work, such as geophysical prospecting, for the feverish scramble for new areas in which to drill beneath magnetic or electrical anomalies has abated, and there is even a lull in the firing in the battle over salt domes on the Gulf Coast. It is unquestionably an unhappy time for many of the organizations dependent on this work, but in certain respects the situation may be beneficial in correcting unsound practices that .have grown up through the necessity for haste and for quick decisions. With the restriction of the field to the more competent workers by the harsh rule of survival of the fittest, a general improvement, not only in technique but in business methods, can be expected which may go far in restoring public confidence. Geophysical prospecting in the short period that it has been utilized in North America, has suffered severely both from over-popularity and from excessive abuse. The former evil now

Jan 1, 1931

By Robert Glass Cleland

BECAUSE of the country's vast mineral resources, Alexander Von Humboldt, the great German scientist who visited Mexico, or the Kingdom of New Spain, a hundred and fifty years ago, very aptly called that country the "Treasure Chest of the World." During the three centuries of Spanish rule, mining was the principal industry of the kingdom, the largest contributor to the country's prosperity, the chief common denominator in Mexican economic life. Public revenues and private fortunes, employment and markets, agriculture and trade, charities and churches, the incentive for frontier settlement and exploration, and the funds for outfitting the expedition of colonizer and conquistador-all were dependent upon the streams of precious metals that flowed century after century from the mines of Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Real del Monte, San Luis Potosi, and scores of other minería that lay scattered everywhere throughout the land. Sonora, one of the oldest and most renowned of the frontier provinces of New Spain, had been the scene of a hundred rich strikes, sudden stampedes, and widely heralded bonanzas long before the famous and frenzied Gold Rush

Jan 1, 1952

By Russell G. Haworth

Three companies, United States Potash Company, Potash Company of America, and International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, are now operating potash mines and refineries in the Carlsbad, New Mexico, area. The three mines are located approximately twenty miles east of Carlsbad. The deposits have been found ideal for mechanized mining methods. This summary has been compiled from information made available by the three operating companies.

Jan 1, 1949

By I. R. Kramer, L. J. Demer

Aluminum single crystals were pulled in an electrolytic cell allowing surface removal during the deformation. The extent of Stages I and 11 of the stress-st-aitz curve was increased and the slope decreased as the rate of metal removed from the surface was increased. An increase of the strain rate caused a decrease in the effectiveness of the metal removal. The data indicate that the work-hardening coefficient in Stage I is determined primarily by the conditions which exist on the surface of the crystal. In Stages 11 and 111, both surface effects and internal barriers are important. ALTHOUGH numerous investigations have been conducted on the plastic flow characteristics of metals in an attempt to explain the mechanism of work-hardening, relatively few studies have taken into account the influence of the surface. In all current theories of work-hardening it is assumed that the impediments to the movement of dislocations are within the crystal. The barriers due to the surface and the existence of solid and liquid films have been neglected even though it has been demonstrated that the surface exerts a large effect. A number of investigators1-l8 have shown that solid films on the surface of single crystals markedly affect their mechanical behavior. In general, the presence of a solid film tends to increase the yield stress and increase the work-hardening rate. Often, on single crystals, Stage I and, at times, Stage II regions are completely suppressed. Various mechanisms have been offered for the effects of oxide and metal films as well as the influence of electrolytes. Of these, concepts concerned with the locking of surface dislocation sources and the blocking of dislocations at the surface resulting in pileups appear to be actively considered at present. Barrett,11 Takamura,6 Gilman,19 Lipsett and King,20 Shapiro and Read,10 and Weiner and Gensamer21 are among those who have interpreted their results in terms of piled-up dislocations at the surface, while Adams.22 and Chalmers and Davis23 have explained their experimental observations in terms of locking of surface dislocation sources. In general, the change in plastic flow properties due to electrolytes has been explained in terms of the unblocking or unlocking of dislocations by the removal of the oxide films. In considering the two proposed mechanisms, it appears that the locking of sources of surface dislocations by a solid film should exert a primary influence only on the critical resolved shear stress for flow and not on the slopes of Stages I and 11. However, the blocking at the surface of dislocations from internal sources may also affect the critical resolved stress and furthermore exert an influence throughout the whole plastic range. In certain cases it does not seem feasible to explain the results of experimental observations in terms of locking of surface dislocation sources. The abnormal aftereffects found by Barrettll,12 by removing the oxide by an acid treatment are excellent evidence of the blocking of dislocations at the surface. Additional evidence in favor of a blocking due to a pileup of dislocations at the surface may be found from the observations that the critical resolved shear strength continues to increase with the thickness of the oxide layer until very heavy oxide layers are formed. If the locking of surface dislocations sources were the dominant factor, the critical resolved shear stress would not be expected to increase after all of the surface sources were locked by the formation of the oxide. This may be expected to happen after a few atomic layers of the oxide are formed. In spite of the above evidence on the strong influence of the surface on the plastic flow characteristic, this has been ignored in current theories of work-hardening. Seeger24,25 suggested that most of the dislocations may slip out of the crystal only when the specimen axis is within certain areas of the orientation triangle. In other areas the resolved shear stress in other glide systems is large enough to generate dislocations which can form Lomer-Cottrell locks, thereby decreasing the average slip distance in some directions and causing a larger hardening rate. Friede126 assumed that at the beginning of Stage 11, a large number of Lomer-Cottrell dislocations are formed by a catastrophic process which used up all the Frank-Read sources on the secondary slip-planes. In this manner a fixed number of Lomer-Cottrell locks is formed which act as barriers against which the dislocations can pile up. In Stage 111, Seeger24 and Diehl, Mader, and Seeger25 proposed that Lomer-Cottrell barriers are circumvented by the cross slip of extended screw dislocations. Cottrell and Stokes,27 Friedel,26 Cottrell,26 and stroh29 suggest that the Lomer-Cottrell dislocations collapse under the stress field of the dislocation pileup. It is the purpose of this paper to report the changes in Stages I, II,and III of the deformation process in

Jan 1, 1962

Lieut. Maxwell E. Erdory, now with the Army of Occupation in France, writes as follows: "The 602d Engrs., many of whose officers are members of the Institute, started its active service in France at Avocourt, where we built a road across `No Man's Land.' This road from Avocourt to Montfaucon started us on a career of road building which lasted from Sept. 26 to Nov. 9. The engineer in war has no working hours. Our first job meant 50 hr. continuous work, a layoff of 4 hr. and 18 hr. more. That was our initiation in this war game. "Back in the States we practised building trenches, dugouts, and underground shelters of all sorts. In France we were unfortunate enough to come upon the scene when the so-called open warfare started. That made all the above unnecessary. Roads was the cry and our job was to see that all the artillery got their roads and got over them. "I might mention here that the roads of France, which were in excellent condition except for numerous shell holes, w re one of the leading factors in the rapid termination of the war. "We built a narrow-gage railroad from Romagne to Landre St. George which cost us a few men. At Stenay we did our first bridge building. We built nine bridges across the Meuse, capable of carrying tanks, in 18 hr. The next day the American army crossed these bridges on their way to Virton, Belgium, and the Rhine. " Our course from Virton, Belgium, took us through Longwy, Musson, and Athus, in which towns I inspected the steel plants. In Musson as well as Longwy the Germans had destroyed most of the blast furnaces. This destruction began in August, 1917. In Athus the furnaces were in good condition, the Germans having removed all motors land electrical apparatus, rendering the plant inoperative. I have taken several photos of interest of these plants. "It is but fitting that I say that the engineer in this war has contributed much toward its success but the "Doughboy" is its hero and we engineers one and all say "All hail the Doughboy."

Jan 2, 1919

By F. G. Miller, E. B. Wilson

In 1972, coal mine productivity was in steady decline and labor and maintenance costs were spiralling upward. Yet, despite this sad state of affairs, nowhere in the US at that time was there a comprehensive and coordinated coal research and development plan in the offing. The Bureau of Mines had not yet been charged with such a responsibility, and industry was content to rely on machinery manufacturers for innovations. It was during this period that Bethlehem Steel Corp. determined that a new approach to coal mining research was needed for the industry as well as for the company itself. After studying Bethlehem's own mining practices, the state-of-the-art of mining research elsewhere, and development work by manufacturers, a comprehensive research package was presented to company management in late 1972. The ideas and experience of many operating and management personnel in the company contributed to the formulation of the final plan as approved.

Jan 10, 1976

By O. B. Bennett

WHEN diamond drilling was introduced in the Rhokana mines in 1939 it was used principally for pillar removal and for completion of the upper portions of shrinkage stopes which were being affected by increasing pressure. This method of drilling long blastholes proved so successful that it was extended gradually to cover stoping, pillar recovery, and hanging cave work. BY 1949 virtually all the ~roduction of Mindola and Nkana was being obtained by this method. At the present time 87,500 ft are drilled each month by the 80 diamond drills in daily operation. Responsibility for control and issue of diamond drilling equipment and crowns, as well as tabulation of all performance figures, was taken over by a sPecially formed Roto drill department, which also investigated the problems encountered with this new method. To assist this department a fully equipped test chamber, Fig. 1, was established underground where performances of various types of machines and equipment could be studied under conditions as nearly uniform as possible. Since the establishment of this department, which was eventually taken over and incorporated into the study department, considerable experimental work has been done on every aspect of the subject. The problems can be classified broadly under four headings: improvement of drilling equipment, crown design, machines, and stoping layouts. One of the major problems with drilling equipment has been to eliminate vibration. Owing to flexing of rods in the hole, severe friction is set up on the back end of the 'Ore barrel and On any high spots in the rods, inducing harmonic vibration in the string of rods and causing the crown to chatter against the face. This not only causes premature crown failure but also reduces penetration speeds and increases wear on the machines and rods used. In the early days, when only holes of EX size were drilled, vibration was largely overcome by periodic greasing of rods and core barrel during each run, but with the change-over to the larger BX hole it became obvious that application of grease by hand was inefficient and time-consuming, and attempts were made to perfect a self-lubricating core barrel. A series of these core barrels was made up and tested and a number of the latest type were used under normal operating conditions, but although footages up to 120 ft were drilled without refilling the overall performance was inconsistent, and the idea was shelved in view of the success of the stabilizer rods referred to later in this paper. At the same time tests were made with barrels 5 ft and later 6 ft long instead of the normal 2 ft. Although a slight improvement was noticed, greasing was still necessary. It was found that rod vibration increased as the core barrel became worn, and in an early test chamber experiment crowns drilled with a worn core barrel averaged 95 ft with a diamond loss of 4.76 carats, whereas the same type of crowns with a new barrel averaged 228 ft with a diamond loss of 3.13 carats. until then all BX drilling had been done with B-sized rods, but during a test on a string of BX-sized rods it was noticed that vibration was negligible. Because of the larger surface area of metal bearing on the sides of the hole, however, the friction and resistance of rods of this size rendered them impracticable on any but the most powerful of the machines, The use of stabilizers spaced evenly along the rods was the next logical step, and for this B couplings, see Fig. 2, were set with three tungsten carbide inserts 1 in. long placed around the periphery equidistantly and at an angle of 45" with a right hand lead. These were placed immediately behind the core barrel and then at 12-ft intervals, as it was found that vibration still occurred when the stabilizers were more than 15 ft apart. The effect of these stabilizers was immediately noticeable; holes were drilled with a minimum of vibration, penetration speeds were improved, and as it was no longer necessary to grease the rods there was a marked decrease in the overall drilling time for each hole. While tests were being made with the stabilizer comeb periodic were taking place with a set of tapered threaded rods, and because there was marked improvement in efficiency it was decided to incorporate the stabilizers and tapered threading in all new rods ordered for Rhokana. The feature of these rods is that only four full turns are required to tighten the coupling as against nine for the present type of B rods. Also, as they are self-centering it is virtually impossible to crossthread them. Each rod has a male 5" tapered Acme thread, Fig, 3, on one end and a female at the other, so that separate couplings are unnecessary, and every fifth rod has an

Jan 1, 1955

By Roger L. Beals, George A. Tweedy

I. INTRODUCTION. THE results of the cyanide-operations, given in detail in the following paper, show the progress that is being made at the Minas del Tajo. The old pan-amalgamation process, in operation up to and including 1905, while paying a profit on high-grade ores, was no longer able to treat profitably the ores in sight at that time, hence an alteration in the process was imperative. The success of this alteration is eloquently expressed by the following data Pan- Amalgamation. Cyanidation. 1905. 1907. 1903. Tons treated, . . 51,387 53,983 69,300 Value per ton (U. S. currency),. $10.75 $8.39 $8.28 Extraction, per cent., 65.00 88.50 S7.45 Extraction, per ton. .- $7.00 $7.4.; $7.24 Total cost, per ton treated, 6.50 4.311 4.01 Profit, per ton treated, . . 0.50 3.07 3.23.;

Feb 1, 1910

Pumping coal to market may help Appalachian coal operators increase their share of the eastern seaboard fuel business. Transporting it by pipeline is already an accomplished fact, but until recently it had to be dewatered to be used in boiler furnaces. The campaign for these eastern markets was begun in earnest last November by the widely publicized announcement of successful plant-scale firing of a central station boiler with coal slurry pumped to the burners. This latest advance makes coal similar to oil and gas in convenience in handling and controlling at the consumption end of the pipeline. Slurry could be considered a new commodity for the fuel market. HUGE POTENTIAL MARKET The heaviest concentration of power plants in the U.S. is along the line Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston which makes this region the best hunting ground for selling pipelined coal brought from western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Furthermore, if this region is assumed to consume 125 million tons of coal annually, on a comparable basis, the consumption of oil and gas would be about 180 million tons. Even if all of this fuel is not consumed in central stations, it is still a very big market for coal at the right price. Consolidation Coal Co. and Texas Eastern Transmission Co. are trying to line up customers in this area so that a pipeline can be built. This is not to say that there are not many other areas in the U.S. that could not be supplied advantageously by a mine-to-market pipeline.

Jan 1, 1962