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JamEs F. Kemp, New York, N. Y.:—Mr. Hewett's paper is one of exceptional interest, because it not only adds an important contribution regarding one of the rarer, valuable elements, but also because it introduces compounds hitherto unknown and in associations no less novel. While we have occasionally discovered and recorded asphaltite in metalliferous deposits, for example in the Joplin and Granby districts, we have not seen a metallic ore in a deposit eesentially asphaltite. The source and method of introduction afford a subject well worth serious reflection.

Jan 1, 1910

By PHILIP N. MOORE

PHILIP NORTH MOORE was born on July 8, 1849, at Connersville, Ind. His father, a civil engineer, was descended from Henry Moore who came from Ireland in 1773 to live in Washington, Pa. Through his mother, Philip Moore was descended from John North, who came to America in 1635 and settled in Connecticut. The story of Mr. Moore's life as told by himself is given on pages 373-386 of T. A. Rickard's "Interviews with Mining Engineers." He studied at Miami University, where he gained the degree of A.B. in 1870, and A.M. in 1873. In 1920 his alma muter conferred on him the honorary degree of LL.D. He, as a special student, was a member of the class of 1872 at the School of Mines of Columbia University.

Jan 1, 1930

By A. E. Lillstrom

IN the development of iron mines and production of iron ore from the Marquette range, drilling blast-holes is an important phase of the mining cycle. The ground drilled in ore production can be classified into two main categories, soft hematite and hard hematite or magnetite. Within these categories the material exhibits a wide range of penetrability by percussion drills. Development work encounters various types of rock. Slate and altered basic intrusives constitute the softer types commonly encountered. Harder materials are represented mainly by greywacke, quartzite, iron formation, and diorite. Prior to the first tungsten carbide trials in late 1947 and early 1948, hard-rock and ore drilling was done with steel jackbits starting at 21/4-in. diam. These were reconditioned by hot milling. Automatic or handcrank 31/2-in. drifters were employed, mounted on Jumbos, posts and arms, or tripods, depending upon the working place. With the exception of shaft sinking jobs where 55-lb sinker machines were and still are used with 1-in. quarter octagon steel, the other production and development mining utilized 11/4-in. round and Leyner-lugged steel. The following properties have been selected as typical examples wherein carbide bit applications have proved economical. The Mather mine "A" and "B" shafts and Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. mines are soft ore mines where insert bits are used in rock development only. The Greenwood mine, Inland Steel Co., Champion mine, North Range Mining Co., and Cliffs shaft mine, Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co., are hard ore mines where all drilling is done with tungsten carbide bits. Mother Mine "A" Shaft In the Mather mine "A" shaft and other soft ore properties where only rock development work is done with the tungsten carbide bits, several types and makes of bits have been tried since early 1948. The greatest proportion of failures have been at the connection end, although the early trials with the 13 Series Carset 11/2-in. bit used in conjunction with 31/2 -in. automatic-feed drifters, showed an equal amount of shattered inserts. To combat this shattering, the 31/2 -in. drifters were replaced by 3-in. drifters, thus eliminating, for the most part, insert failures. However, the attachment end of the rod continued to be the main source of trouble. The greatest amount of failure was in the stud or at the upset section approximately 2 in. behind the drive shoulder of the rod. Heat treatment was changed several times as well as the composition of the alloy studs. Since this failed to correct the trouble, a decision was made to change to a heavier attachment section. Timken 11/2-in., type M, bits were then employed and showed an exceptional improvement. The rods are discarded when the thread contour shows sharpening or wear on the shoulder. It was also learned that the Timken insert did not show as rapid gage and cutting edge wear as did competitive makes, and footage per use increased by approximately 50 pct. Prior to the Timken trials the average life per bit at the Mather mine "A" shaft on 6-ft change chain-feed drifters was 500 ft, and the rod life at the connection end was 50 ft. The Timken bit with chrome-plated thread averaged 1200 ft, and rod life increased to as much as 500 ft. However, the life of the connection end was much better on shorter length drill rods or in places where machines with 34-in. change were used. The bit thread continued to be the point of ultimate failure with thread strippage, constituting the cause for discard of bits. In one of the new development headings, harder rock was encountered for approximately 800 ft, dropping the life per bit to a low of 90 ft with shank and thread life of rods dropping to approximately 125 ft average. The stripped bits were then welded to the rods, increasing the life per bit by 75 to 100 pct. The rod transportation for main level development was not a problem so intraset rods were tried. Intraset rods have tungsten carbide inserts set into the rods proper by the manufacturer and can be obtained with chisel or four point bits. This type of rod eliminates the need for any connection and the steel being a special alloy will show more feet drilled per rod. The first trial was made with eight rods, and final results averaged 350 ft per rod, six of the rods worked the life of the bit end, and two broke shanks at less than 50 ft. The preceding example showed a considerable improvement, so additional steel of the same type was purchased, but its use has been limited to main level drifting only, because of the handling problem involved in transportation of the complete rod to mine shops for resharpening. Further trials are being made on improving the life per detachable bit by chrome plating. To date, the chrome plating shows an improvement of approximately 100 pct. However, final results will not be known until the present long term trials have been completed. Mother Mine "B" Shaft In November 1947, tungsten carbide bits were first tried at the Mather mine "B" shaft. The use of 1%-in. Carset 13 Series bits, for drilling the 72-hole, 7-ft shaft round, decreased the drilling time from an average of 41/2 hr per round required with steel bits, to 2 hr with insert bits. The best drilling time for

Jan 1, 1952

By J. B. Cheatham, J. W. McEver

A laboratory investigation of the behavior of casing subjected to salt loading indicates that it is not economically feasible to design casing for the most severe situations of nonuniform loading. When the annulus is completely filled with cement, casing is subjected to a nearly uniform loading approximately equal to the overburden pressure, and, although the modes of failure may be different, the design of casing to withstand uniform salt pressure can be computed on the same basis as the design of casing to withstand fluid pressure. Failure of casing by nonuniform loading in inadequately cemented washed-out salt sections should be considered a cementing problem rather than a casing design problem. INTRODUCTION Casing failures in salt zones have created an interest in understanding the behavior of casing subjected to salt loading. The designer must know the magnitudes and types of loading to be expected from salt flow and he must be able to calculate the reaction of the casing to these loads. In the laboratory study reported in this paper, short-time experimental measurements of the load required to force steel cylinders into rock salt are used as a basis for computing the salt loading on casing. These results must be considered to be qualitative only since rock salt behaves differently under down-hole and atmospheric conditions and also may vary in strength at different locations. The beneficial effects of (1) cement around casing, (2) a liner cemented inside of casing, and (3) fluid pressure inside of casing in resisting casing failure are considered. ROCK SALT BEHAVIOR UNDER STRESS The effects of such factors as overburden loading, internal fluid pressure, and temperature on the flow of salt around cavities have been studied extensively at The U. of Texas. Brown, et al.1 have concluded that an opening in rock salt can reach a stable equilibrium if the formation stress is less than 3,000 psi and the temperature is less than 300°F. At higher temperatures and pressures an opening in salt can close completely. These results indicate that calculations based upon elastic and plastic equilibrium for an open hole in salt should be applied only at depths less than 3,000 ft. In most oil wells the tem- perature will be less than 300F in the salt sections, therefore no appreciable temperature effects are anticipated. Serata and Gloyna2 have reported an investigation of the structural stability of salt. .They assume that the major principal stress is due to the overburden. Other stresses can be superimposed if additional lateral pressures are known to be acting in a particular region. In the present analysis an isotropic state of stress is assumed to exist in the salt before the hole is drilled, since salt regions are generally at rest. This assumption is partially verified from formation breakdown pressure data taken during squeeze-cementing operations in salt. Experimental measurements of the elastic properties of rock salt indicate a value of 150,000 psi for Young's modulus and a value of approximately 0.5 for Poisson's ratio. A value of % for Poison's ratio with finite Young's modulus would indicate that the material was incompressible. Values ranging from 2,300 to 5,000 psi have been reporteda for the unconfined compressive strength of salt. These variations may be due to differences in the properties of the salt from different locations or at least partially to differences in testing techniques. Salt is very ductile, even under relatively low confining pressures. For example, in triaxial tests reported by Handin3 strains in excess of 20 to 30 per cent were obtained without fracture. When casing is cemented in a hole through a salt section, the casing must withstand a load from the formation if plastic flow of the salt is prevented. To determine the forces which salt can impose on casing, circular steel rods were forced into Hockley rocksalt with the longitudinal axis of the rods parallel to the surface of the salt. The force required to embed rods 0.2 to I in. in diameter and 1/2 to 1 in. long to a depth equal to the radius of the rods was found to be F/DL =28,700 psi (± 3,700 psi) , .... (1) where D is the diameter, and L is the length of the rod. CASING STRESSES Since an open borehole through salt at depths greater than 3,000 ft will tend to close, cemented casing which prevents closure of the hole will be subjected to a pressure approximately equal to the horizontal formation stress after a sufficiently long time. As a first approximation the horizontal stress can be assumed to be equal to the overburden pressure. This is in agreement with the suggestion by Texter4 that an adequate cement job can prevent plastic flow of salt and result in a pressure on the casing approximately equal to the overburden pressure. He also advocated drilling with fully saturated salt mud

Jan 1, 1965

By Luis Toron, Salvador Cortes-Obregon

John D. Price (Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp., Pueblo, Colo)—The paper on the coal fields of the Oaxaca district as prepared by engineers Toron and Cortes-Obregon of the staff of the Bank of Mexico bears witness to the thorough and careful way in which the men associated with this organization perform their work. There is little to be added to their paper in way of discussion other than to confirm and amplify some of their statements. Since the only extensive and well-developed field of coking coal lies in the northeastern section of the country adjacent to Sabinas in the state of Coahuila, it follows that blast furnace plants would be located in that same region. Two such plants are now operating at Monterrey and Monclova, using coke produced at the Sabinas district mines. But the nearer of these two plants is 600 miles from Mexico City and even farther from the center of population. Transportation of products from these mills to the market area is therefore expensive, both because of the distance and the difficulty of the terrain over which it must be carried. The development of an integrated steel industry closer to the center of population has therefore long been a goal toward which the Mexican technicians have been striving. While the presence of coal of some grade has been reported in many of the states, and many ideas have been advanced regarding its possible uses in iron and steel production, deposits of anthracite in Sonora and the various coals of the Oaxaca district as reported on in this paper are the only ones that have been explored in a serious manner. The coking coal from the Mix-tepec zone appears to offer promise of producing a coke which could be used in a standard blast furnace. Several problems are indicated, however: 1—The ash in the coal is high as mined, but indications are that it can be washed to an ash content of 15 pct with a recovery of 70 pct of washed coal. 2—Such washing would increase the volatile content from 17.4 pct to about 20 pct, and in a byproduct oven this should give a coke yield of close to 80 pct with an ash content of coke under 20 pct. 3—A free swelling index of 5 appears low for a good coking coal, and below that of the coals from the Sabinas district, which show between 6 and 9. But washing of the coal should result in an improvement in this regard; in the United States coals from Utah with an index even lower than 5 have made a usable coke. 4—A coal with volatile as low as 17.4 in raw coal and 20 in washed coal would come close to being classed as a low-volatile rather than medium-volatile coal, and low-volatile coals are notorious for their high expansion properties. Several plants in the United States are making coke from straight medium-volatile coal of 26 to 28 volatile content, and one at Rosita,, Mexico, from coal of 25 volatile. But no plants to my knowledge are using coal as low as 20 volatile. Since the Rosita coal appears to be a borderline coal from the angle of its expansion properties the coking of one of the straight lower volatile must be approached with caution. 5—There are few coals possessing any degree of coking properties which cannot be used in coke production by careful attention to its preparation and blending. The fact that coals of other types are available in this same region make improvement through blending very possible. 6—There are other workable methods of reducing iron ore other than the conventional coke-blast-furnace method. These will not be discussed here but it is known that their use has been considered. The technicians of not only Mexico but also of the other Latin American countries are keenly aware of their natural resources and their national needs. This paper emphasizes the fact that the Mexican technicians are working on their problem and attempting to speed the day of self-sufficiency for their country. Salvatore Cortes-Obregon (author's reply)—I wish to thank Mr. Price for his kind remarks. The Mixtepec coal as shown in Table II has 30 pct ash and a free swelling index of 5, but when the same coal is washed to 15 pct ash it has a free swelling index of 8 to 9 and the volatiles increased from 17.4 to 20.7 pct. A satisfactory coke has been produced from blends made in the Mexican laboratory using at least 40 pct of the Mixtepec coking coals with the other Oaxaca non-coking coals. Koppers in Germany report good coke obtained from the Oaxaca coal with a blend of 80 pct Mixtepec coal. Consideration is being given the possibility of using methods other than the conventional blast furnace for the reduction of iron ore near the Oaxaca area; electric furnaces appear promising. The non-coking coals could be used to produce cheap electric energy and the coking coals to make metallurgical coke.

Jan 1, 1955

By Henry Phelps Howland

During the last decade no topic has created more interest or received more thought among blast-furnace men than coke. One reason for this is, undoubtedly, the remarkable increase in the use of byproduct coke. Formerly our coke was made at a distance from the furnaces and by a distinct organization. There was little cooperation or development possible under these conditions. Today the situation is greatly changed. Much of our coke is made by the organization operating the furnaces and the coke oven is operated with the primary object of obtaining the best results in the blast furnace. The effect of changing the method of coke manufacture, even in some minor detail, is often felt almost immediately at the blast furnace. There naturally results one of the most valuable assets of the byproduct coke oven, i.e., the possibility of increased blast-furnace efficiency due to close observance and correct operation of the ovens. The results are evident, but often it is difficult correctly to account for them. In attacking the solution of a problem of as much importance as why one coke is better than another, there are facts which should be kept clearly in mind. The author hopes, in this paper, to bring out some points relative to the use of carbon in the blast furnace which will be of value in solving this question. GeÜner's Ideal Working Years ago GrÜner made a statement regarding the use of carbon in the blast furnace, which has been very generally accepted by metallurgical and blast-furnace men. I quote this theory as given by Prof. Richards on p. 248 of Metallurgical Calculations: "From the standpoint of the generation of the maximum quantity of heat in the furnace, GrÜner was right in formulating his dietum of the ideal working of a blast furnace, vie.: All the carbon burnt in the furnaee should be first oxidized at the tuyères to CO and all reduction of oxides above the tuyères should be caused by CO, which thus beeomes Co2."

Jan 1, 1917

By Paul A. Bailly

2.1-1. The Exploration Function in the Mineral Industry. With regard to a new mine, exploration can be technologically defined as all the activities and evaluations necessary before an intelligent decision can be made establishing size, initial flowsheet, and annual output of the new extractive operation based on a certain mineral deposit. The activities that follow such a decision are called first development, then operation (90). Thus, in the U.S.A., exploration may continue in the technological sense after a mineral property has entered the "development stage" as defined for tax purposes. Regulations under Sections 1.615.1 and 1.616.1 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code state that the "development stage" has been reached when "deposits of ore or other minerals are shown to exist in sufficient quantity and quality to reasonably justify commercial exploitation by the taxpayer" (95). There are, of course, many instances where additional later exploration discloses additional reserves which justify a plant much larger, more efficient and more profitable than the minimum feasible commercial operation. After a surface mine is put into operation, additional search generally will increase the reserves and thus warrant expansion of the rate of output and/or extend the life of the operation. The methods and techniques in such search are similar to those used in predevelopment exploration. This activity has produced a major part of new reserves for all mineral commodities but is not considered as exploration in the context of this chapter. The objective of exploration is, briefly stated, to find and acquire a maximum number of new economic mineral deposits with a minimum cost and in minimum time. The search must be so organized as to maximize the overall probability of discovering commercial mineral concentrations within a minimum time with the funds available. As shown by Celasun (27) these statements are neither adequate nor complete from a pragmatic point of view. Each actual exploration venture must define its objectives in terms of a minimum rate of return on investment for any deposit found

Jan 1, 1968

By E. Houdremont, H. Schrader, H. Bennek

The different influences exerted by the various alloying elements in iron and iron-carbon alloys give rise to a great number of complexities, which are difficult to grasp. It is important therefore to study any systematic relations that may exist between the effects exerted by the various alloying elements, in order to obtain a general classification and thus a clearer conception of the nature of alloy steels. A systematic survey of the alloys of iron, based on an investigation of the binary equilibrium diagrams, was recently published by Wever. Although his work deals little with properties of importance in works practice, its purpose being rather to point out the theoretical agreement among the types of binary equilibrium diagrams and the position of the alloying elements in the periodic system (atomic radii, etc.), the classification proposed nevertheless also suggests relationships among the properties of the alloys in question, even though the alloys may contain carbon in addition to iron and the alloying element. Wever divided the alloys of iron into one group exhibiting an open or enlarged gamma field and another exhibiting a closed or restricted gamma field, with both groups capable of further subdivision depending upon whether a continuous series of solid solutions is formed, or, owing to the separation of compounds, etc., only a limited series. Thus all alloying elements which with iron form a closed gamma field, a "gamma loop," produce alloys that beyond the composition corresponding to the greatest extent of the gamma loop are composed of ferrite alone at all temperatures. Alloys of this composition accordingly are not susceptible to ordinary heat treatment because of the lack of transformations. Steels of this class may thus be divided into steels that contain less than the critical amount of alloying element, and are subject to heat treatment, and those that contain more than the critical amount of alloying element and are not subject to heat treatment. Thus chro-

Jan 1, 1935

By H. Schrader, E. Houdremont, H. Bennek

The different influences exerted by the various alloying elements in iron and iron-carbon alloys give rise to a great number of complexities, which are difficult to grasp. It is important therefore to study any systematic relations that may exist between the effects exerted by the various alloying elements, in order to obtain a general classification and thus a clearer conception of the nature of alloy steels. A systematic survey of the alloys of iron, based on an investigation of the binary equilibrium diagrams, was recently published by Wever. Although his work deals little with properties of importance in works practice, its purpose being rather to point out the theoretical agreement among the types of binary equilibrium diagrams and the position of the alloying elements in the periodic system (atomic radii, etc.), the classification proposed nevertheless also suggests relationships among the properties of the alloys in question, even though the alloys may contain carbon in addition to iron and the alloying element. Wever divided the alloys of iron into one group exhibiting an open or enlarged gamma field and another exhibiting a closed or restricted gamma field, with both groups capable of further subdivision depending upon whether a continuous series of solid solutions is formed, or, owing to the separation of compounds, etc., only a limited series. Thus all alloying elements which with iron form a closed gamma field, a "gamma loop," produce alloys that beyond the composition corresponding to the greatest extent of the gamma loop are composed of ferrite alone at all temperatures. Alloys of this composition accordingly are not susceptible to ordinary heat treatment because of the lack of transformations. Steels of this class may thus be divided into steels that contain less than the critical amount of alloying element, and are subject to heat treatment, and those that contain more than the critical amount of alloying element and are not subject to heat treatment. Thus chro-

Jan 1, 1935

By Lancaster Jones

The gravity magnitudes obtained by means of observations with the Eötvös balance in the field are necessarily resultant or total effects due to all abnormalities of mass distribution, including even the effects due to the ellipticity and rotational motion of the whole earth. Since the object of the survey is to isolate the effects which arise solely from some particular subterranean feature, and to deduce therefrom the configuration and extent of this feature, the first step is to eliminate from the observed effects all those due to "disturbing" (i. e., unwanted) features, whether above or below the surface of the ground. The disturbing features have different characteristics, according to their situation relative to the center of the balance and to the horizontal plane through the foot of the balance, or station point; this diversity was recognized by Eotvos, who divided the total effects into so-called Normal, Terrain, Topographical, Cartographical and Subterranean effects. This classification has been adhered to by most subsequent investigators, but the writer prefers to employ the term "three-dimensional," which really indicates the essential character of the class of effect known as "Subterranean," at any rate from the standpoint of the computer of effects. Before disturbing effects can be eliminated, the features must be measured up or surveyed, whether by topographical, mining, or boring methods, and then the effects of each feature calculated and subtracted from the total observed effects. After this the problem of interpreting the residual effects will itself necessitate the computation of the assumed feature, or even a series of trial features. The task of computing gravity effects is therefore of great importance. In the early work, by Eötvös himself, the computation practically ceased when the terrain and topographical effects had been calculated, but later surveys have demanded an ever-increasing extension in the technique of computation. Certainly in surveys designed to locate minerals, particularly ores, the calculations have to be extended far beyond those of Eötvös, while his methods of computing both terrain

Jan 1, 1929

By O. George Specht, Carl A. Zapffe

In recent print, some remarkably contradictory statements have appeared regarding the importance to be attached to sponge Iron,1-6 a metallurgical commodity whose history goes back at least to the time of Diodorus Siculus in the fourth century B.C. This disagreement, however, expresses the lack of a satisfactory method for producing sponge iron rather than defection in the commodity. The blast furnace is admitted to have certain inherent disadvantages, such as a general unsuitability for magnetite and the heating and blowing of vast quantities of undesirable nitrogen, so that a workable sponge-iron process remains attractive. In this respect, low-temperature gaseous reduction shows especial promise; but confusion persists regarding the factors involved. The present paper, therefore, has three principal divisions: (I) an exhaustive examination of all previous work on low-temperature gaseous reduction, (2) experi- mentation on the reduction of a magnetite with hydrogen, and (3) development of certain thermodynamic relationships in reduction, with a summarized depiction of the factors in the general process. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS Gaseous media used in the reduction processes under discussion can be classified in three types: (I) H2, (2) CO, and (3) other gases. In the second, the CO is often admixed with H2. The third principally comprises hydrogeniferous gases, such as natural gas and producer gas, and in addition includes chlorine. Because hydrogen therefore features in all three, a study of hydrogen reduction based on investigations using pure hydrogen alone may be incomplete. The present paper reviews the three groups of investigations in the listed order, paying particular attention to hydrogen reduction. For the benefit of future workers, an exhaustive bibliography has been prepared and similarly classified. Group I: Reduction with Hydrogen Equilibria Although the present problem is specifically one of kinetics, a first consideration is the equilibrium of the system, since the reactions to be studied comprise that equilibrium, and their direction and end points are defined by it. The historic development of these researches is interesting and informative.

Jan 1, 1947

By O. George Specht, Carl A. Zapffe

In recent print, some remarkably contradictory statements have appeared regarding the importance to be attached to sponge Iron,1-6 a metallurgical commodity whose history goes back at least to the time of Diodorus Siculus in the fourth century B.C. This disagreement, however, expresses the lack of a satisfactory method for producing sponge iron rather than defection in the commodity. The blast furnace is admitted to have certain inherent disadvantages, such as a general unsuitability for magnetite and the heating and blowing of vast quantities of undesirable nitrogen, so that a workable sponge-iron process remains attractive. In this respect, low-temperature gaseous reduction shows especial promise; but confusion persists regarding the factors involved. The present paper, therefore, has three principal divisions: (I) an exhaustive examination of all previous work on low-temperature gaseous reduction, (2) experi- mentation on the reduction of a magnetite with hydrogen, and (3) development of certain thermodynamic relationships in reduction, with a summarized depiction of the factors in the general process. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS Gaseous media used in the reduction processes under discussion can be classified in three types: (I) H2, (2) CO, and (3) other gases. In the second, the CO is often admixed with H2. The third principally comprises hydrogeniferous gases, such as natural gas and producer gas, and in addition includes chlorine. Because hydrogen therefore features in all three, a study of hydrogen reduction based on investigations using pure hydrogen alone may be incomplete. The present paper reviews the three groups of investigations in the listed order, paying particular attention to hydrogen reduction. For the benefit of future workers, an exhaustive bibliography has been prepared and similarly classified. Group I: Reduction with Hydrogen Equilibria Although the present problem is specifically one of kinetics, a first consideration is the equilibrium of the system, since the reactions to be studied comprise that equilibrium, and their direction and end points are defined by it. The historic development of these researches is interesting and informative.

Jan 1, 1947

By Donald D. Carr, Lawrence F. Rooney

Perhaps no other mineral commodity in this volume has as many uses as limestone and dolomite. These carbonate rocks are the basic building blocks of the construction industry, the material from which aggregate, cement, lime, and building stone are made. Carbonate rocks, and their derived products, are used as fluxes, glass raw material, refractories, fillers, abrasives, soil conditioners, ingredients in a host of chemical processes, and much more. Although the use of limestone and dolomite goes back before recorded history, new uses and products are continually being found. Carbonate rocks form about 15% of the earth's sedimentary crust and are widely available for exploitation. Found extensively on all continents, they are quarried and mined from formations that range in age from Precambrian to Recent. Reserves of carbonate rock are large and will last indefinitely, although high-purity deposits may be absent or have limited avail- ability in certain areas. Limestone and dolomite are so useful and so abundant that in 1972 more than 690 million tons were produced in the United States. In fact, about 75% of all stone quarried or mined in the United States was carbonate rock. Sand and gravel was the only mineral commodity produced in greater quantity. In this chapter we have sought to provide the general reader an overview of carbonate rocks, their composition, distribution, production, and uses, with emphasis on developments since 1960. In doing so we borrowed extensively from our recent report on the applied geology of limestone and dolomite (Rooney and Carr, 1971). The literature on the limestone and dolomite resources of the United States and Canada is so vast and diverse that one can easily become mired down in print. We tried to list those references that are easily accessible and that provide the economic geologist with a starting point for more intensive study. The table listing selected references on limestone and dolomite resources in Canada and the United States reflects our attempt to be selective rather than exhaustive and to direct the reader to the best sources of detailed information.

Jan 1, 1975

By Sydney H. Loram

The following notes have been compiled more for the reason that the district is little known to the outside world for its gold production, than for the hope of giving valuable information. The district of Canutillo lies about 15 miles south of the city of Freirina (1at. 28' 50' S. long. 70" 75' W.), and contains nine principal veins, all within a radius of a mile; 50 or more claims have been located on these veins, and this paper refers chiefly to those belonging to the Anglo-Chilean Exploration Go., Ltd., on which the greater part of the development work has been done. In all probability the mines were first worked by the Incas, who, under Tupac Yupangui, captured the country as far south as the Mauli river, between the years 1430 and 1470, and imposed a yearly tribut,e of gold and copper, which was forwarded by carriers on foot to Cuzco, the Inca capital in Peru. In the year 1535, soon after the time of the Spanish conquest, the stories of these consignments, together with those of supposed precious stones, led Diego de Almargro with a band of 400 soldiers to explore as far south as the Incas had gone, in the hope of finding the source of the precious metal, which he believed to have come from some definite point instead of being, as was afterwards proved, the collection of innumerable districts scattered over the entire length of the country. The method of winning the gold used by the Incas or by the natives whom they forced to work seems to have consisted in removing the ore by hard-wood wedges driven by stone-hammers, while a human shoulder-blade worn along its rounded edge, found in one of the mines, had evidently done duty to its second owner as a scraper or shovel. The mining was done by steep inclined workings sunk on the lodes at about 40" from the horizontal, the direction being reversed every 10 or

Jan 1, 1905

By J. M. Donkers, R. de Groot

The various objectives of dredging at sea require different methods and radically different equipment for their optimum fulfillment. In the majority of cases, sea dredging is done by means of dredging equipment connected to a pontoon or ship floating at the surface. As the supporting hull is subject to the influence of waves, swells, currents and wind, the connecting point of the dredging equipment to the hull will generally move relative to the sea bottom with 6° of freedom. The more important hull motions are surge, heave, pitch and roll. Depending on the actual sea and weather conditions and the size of the hull, some of these motions can be so large that dredging equipment of rigid construction (normal or inland dredges) cannot be used. In those cases where mechanical disintegration of the bottom is necessary and where accurate dredging is required, the designer must find a solution for this problem. For cases where the bottom consists of soils that can be handled by plain suction, highly sophisticated dredging equipment such as the trailing suction hopper dredge permit dredging under all but the most severe sea state conditions. This type of dredge picks up the soil from the sea bottom while slowly underway. The drag suction head is fitted on a suction pipe of such flexibility that the supporting ship can carry out all six movements in relation to the draghead (heave, pitch, roll, sway, yaw and surge), while the draghead remains in firm contact with the bottom. The suction pipe is fitted with flexible hoses, a universal hinge, a horizontal hinge, axial turning gland and sliding turning gland with horizontal axis and is suspended flexibly from the ship incorporating swell compensating buffer gear, keeping the wires taut and the draghead bottom contact pressure fairly constant while the dredge moves up and down. Due to the fact that the draghead has a low bottom contact pressure and has little tendency to sink into the bottom, this compensation is not difficult to realize.

Jan 4, 1974

By W. S. Weeks

In coursing the ventilating air through a mine it is often necessary to restrict a comparatively open split in order that it may carry exactly the desired quantity of air. Such a restriction is known as a regulator, and usually takes the form of a partition with a hole in it. The quantity of air circulating is controlled by the size of the hole or orifice. For example, it is desired to force a quantity q I cu. ft, per min. through split a (Fig. 1) and the quantity q2 through split b. It requires a pressure of 2 in. water to force the desired quantity through a, and a pressure of 1 in. to force the desired amount through b. The pressure drop between points A and B must be 2 in and a pressure of 1 in. must be destroyed in split b. This is done by inserting a regulator in b, which causes the velocity to increase in the orifice and results in a change from pressure-head to velocity-head. If the air, after passing the orifice, is slowed down in a turbulent manner, all of the velocity-head does not change back into pressure-head, so a permanent loss of static pressure results. A classic formula for computing the area of an orifice to destroy a certain amount of static pressure has been handed down from early days: 0.0004Q a =2 This formula is based on the assumption that all velocity-head in the orifice is "destroyed;" that is, does not reappear again as either velocity-pressure or static pressure. The derivation of the formula is as follows: h = head lost in regulator in fect of air. v = velocity in regulator in fect per second. q = quantity circulating in cubic feet per second. Q = quantity circulating in cubic feet pcr minute. a = area of orifice in square feet.

Jan 1, 1928

By E. R. Hoskins

Results of a primary stress measurement investigation conducted on the 1100 copper ore body of the Mt. Isa mine, Mt. Isa, Queens., Australia, are presented in this chapter. The investigation started in September 1965, after discussion with the engineering staff at Mt. Isa, and consisted of both underground or in-situ tests at Mt. Isa and laboratory tests on Mt. Isa rocks and stress measurement techniques at the Australian National University in Canberra. Underground stress measurements were made in and adjacent to the 1100 copper ore body. The primary stress measurement site was in J 32 west crosscut on 14 Level. Approximate coordinates on the mine grid are 3000 north, 1650 east. The vertical depth below ground surface at this point is approximately 2180 ft. Some preliminary measurements were made in M 30 west crosscut on 13 Level, coordinates 3000 north, 2000 east, depth beneath the surface approximately 1990 ft. Additional flatjacks were installed on 11 Level in L 30 west crosscut, coordinates 3000 north, 2200 east, and depth beneath the surface approximately 1580 ft. All of the sites were in rock that from a mining engineering viewpoint must be considered extremely sound. The 13 and 14 Level crosscuts were approximately 14 ft on a side and nearly square and the 11 Level crosscut was approximately 10 ft on a side. All of the crosscuts had been standing open for several years and no artificial support of any type was necessary. Extraction openings hundreds of feet on a side have been made in this mine in similar rock and these have remained open also without additional support (see Davies 1 for a recent summary of mining techniques and conditions). The geology of the Mt. Isa mine has been most recently described by Bennett.2 Briefly, Mt. Isa is a silver-lead-zinc and copper mine in a series of Precambrian siltstones, shales, and bedded carbonates that strike north-

Jan 1, 1972

By Thomas H. Sheldon

In the zeal for opening up new ore-bodies, or for extracting the ore from attractive bodies already opened up, we very often lose sight of the fact, that, after all, the operation of a mine is a business proposition, pure and simple, and, for the best working-results, should be treated upon a strict business basis. Of course, in every mine of consequence, a record is kept of expenditures and receipts, and such glittering generalities as " gross receipts," " net receipts," " mining expenses," and a per cent. profit," can be told to the cent; but does this record show economy of management, as compared either with the same record of other months, or with the record of other mines of the same class ? Moreover, if such a record shows that the cost of mining is high, does it in any way enable the manager to put his finger on the leakage ? Does it necessarily follow that a mine which makes a profit of, say, 40 per cent. on 25-dollar ore, is doing less economical mining than one which saves 60 per cent. on 80-dollar ore ? Of course the figures in the latter case look the more attractive; yet when it comes to the point of saving everything which can be saved, and of cutting down expenses to the lowest possible cost of operation, the former mine is doubtless on the firmer and more economical financial basis. But as to the relative merits of the system of mining in the two cases, nothing could be decided without a basis of detailed comparison ; if one system is more economical than the other, why is it so, and wherein does the advantage lie ? This can be shown only by keeping accurately the cost of each mining operation. And no matter how dissimilar two mines may be in character and operation, yet there are a few general heads common to all mining operations. In the first place, it is necessary to break the ore from the solid ground;

Jan 1, 1907

By W. T. Thom

In previous classifications of coal, it has been customary to regard moisture eliminated from coal samples between 20 and 100 C. as extraneous matter, rather than as a constituent part of the coal. It seems, however, that the physical character and use properties of the low-rank coals are directly related to the amount of such moisture present, and recent chemical work has shown' that such coals contain unstable groupings which decompose between 20 C. and temperatures somewhat above 100" C., with the splitting off of moisture. According to this view, the moisture eliminated from air-dried coal below boiling point is similar in all essential respects to moisture eliminated above 100" C., and is produced by analogous reactions; and inasmuch as the moisture given off above 100" C. has always been treated as a constituent of the volatile matter of coal, it would seem that consistent usage would include as a part of the volatile matter all moisture present as an essential component of the coal as it occurs in nature. As a matter of experience, it seems clear that the general physical and chemical characteristics of the low-rank coals are largely determined by or related to the moisture, whether chemically or physically combined, present in air-dried coal; it is also demonstrable by trial that the low-rank coals cannot be satisfactorily classified on a purely chemical basis by using the moisture free form of analysis. The low-rank coals of the western United States include numerous well-defined types, many of which were referred to in a classification proposed by Ashley,2 in which the physical and use properties of the coals were made the primary basis for their systematic grouping. When testing this classification by replotting analyses of these type coals according to the Seyler scheme of classification,3 a satisfactory parallelism between use properties and chemical constitution of the dry coal was found among

Jan 1, 1925

By Dorsey Hager

DORSEY HAGER, Tulsa, Okla.-I have been asked why the Dexter region is dry. I would like to know myself. I drilled two dry wells on that same anticline which has production to, the east and west and south and north. That same anticline has seven domes that have been drilled and only three have proven productive out of the seven. In other words, you have one well-defined anticline with seven domes along its length, all mappable, all checked carefully, and only three of those seven have produced. Now why the others did not produce, I do not know. L. L. HUTCHISON, Tulsa, Okla.-There is no appreciable difference in the character or structure of the sands? DORSEY HAGER.-NO, I have never .been able to see any appreciable difference in the sands where we got production and Where we did not get it. I will say that the deepest wells we drilled, in the vicinity of Dexter, had no sands at the point where they got the production farther north. I. N. -KNAPP, Ardmore, Pa.-I first went to the Kansas-Oklahoma field in 1895 and occasionally thereafter until 1899, when I began drilling; for oil. I started close to wells that were producing gas and which, when drilling, lead made good oil showings in a sand above the gas. I thought these showings were good enough evidence of an oil pool for me without looking for any anticline and I made a paying development in what' I was afterward told by geologists was probably a synclinal trough. If I remember correctly Dr. Orton's report on the lola gas pool (about 1898) he distinctly said that he found no evidence of anticlinal structure and concluded from the records of a large number of wells that there, was a terraced structure of the productive gas sands, of which there were no surface indications.

Jan 4, 1917