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By Albert E. Wiggin, Frederick Laist

Early ill 1914 it was decided to test, on a fairly large scale, the treatment by flotation of Anaconda slime and mill tailing. For this purpose a standard-type Minerals Separation machine was installed at the Washoe Reduction Works during May and June, 1914. This was followed by the installation of a full-size Callow pneumatic machine plant. Experiments were also made, on a smaller scale, with the Froment, the Towne, the Fields, and the Anaconda flotation machines. The last-named machine was developed at this plant. In addition to the tests made in the standard-type Minerals Separation machine some tests were made using a Minerals Separation machine of the sub-aeration type. During the series of experiments a large variety of oils was tested. Experiments were also conducted using both round-table feed and tailing to determine whether it would be better to displace the round tables by flotation for the treatment of the slime, or to supplement the round tables by flotation of the round-table tailing. A series of tests was also made on the treatment of the mill tailing by grinding followed by flotation to determine the relative merits of flotation and leaching for the treatment of this product. In addition, flotation tests were made on mixtures of mill tailing and slime. The round-table feed referred to above is the total slime from the mill. It contains about 35 per cent. colloidal solids and approximately 90 to 95 per cent. of the total solids will pass through 200 mesh (0.067 mm.). It assays from 2.3 to 2.6 per cent. Cu. The mill tailing referred to above is the total discard from the mill, exclusive of the slime. It is all finer than 2 mm. and about 90 to 95 per cent. will remain on 0.25 mm. It assays about 0.60 per cent. Cu. A brief summary of the experimental flotation results follows:

Jan 1, 1917

By C. R. Keyes

Discussion of the paper of C. R. Keyes, presented at the Chattanooga meeting, October, 190S, Bulletin No. 26, February, 1909, pp. 119 to 166. E. R. BUCKLEY, Flat River, Mo. (communication to the Secretary*) :-Some statements in the paper of Mr. Keyes relative to the nature and formation of the Ozark lead- and zinc-deposits seem to me erroneous and misleading, and I respectfully present the following criticisms, placing Mr. Keyes's original statements in quotations. Referring to the Ozark dome: (P. 127.) "It is a region that has been repeatedly upraised and planed off, until in the middle portion the oldest known' rocks only are exposed." Does he mean that the St. Francois mountains, which have always been considered as lying on the eastern flank of the Ozark dome, are the middle of the dome? Or does he mean that the Cambrian rocks of the generally-accepted middle are the oldest known rocks ? Certainly not the latter, and if the former, his idea of the middle of the dome is not in accord with that of others who are familiar with the region. (P. 138.) " . . . the ore-deposits are definitely associated with, or localized by, geologic structures of some kind that .produce in effect basins in which' the underground waters are impounded, or their flow retarded." This statement does not appear to be altogether consistent with the facts, since the ore- bodies of the Joplin district, as the rule, occur in those parts of the Mississippian formation which have a tendency to accel¬erate the flow of ground-water rather than retard it. I might name the open, breeciated ground near Joplin, Webb City, and Oronogo as especially noteworthy illustrations. The ore-bodies, everywhere, occur in positions where there must have been a free and copious circulation of dilute lead- and zinc-solutions in the presence of reducing constituents. The inequalities in the distribution of the ore-deposits are

Oct 1, 1909

By A. J. Williams

THE province of Saskatchewan, situated in the center of the Great Plains region of Canada, has, like most prairie areas, an essentially agricultural economy. Most of its population of about 860,000 is located in the southern half of the province in the farming and ranching areas. To the north of the prairie is a broad forested belt supporting a considerable timbering industry, and the northern one third of the province is glaciated pre-Cambrian rock formation. This latter area is relatively barren of vegetation, but the presence within it of a considerable variety of radioactive, noble and base metals, and industrial minerals has been shown by prospecting in recent years.' Glacial Geology The Keewatin ice sheet, considered to have accumulated in the country to the west of Hudson Bay in Pleistocene time, covered at its maximum advancement almost all of Saskatchewan and extended south of the international boundary. Only in the Cypress Hills in the southwest and around Wood Mountain in the south central portion of the province did the preglacial formations escape the action for this glacial period. The bedrock of the plains and forest areas therefore is overlain by moraines and modified glacial drift, which vary in thickness from a few feet to 400 or 500 ft.' Glacial action in the pre-Cambrian area of the province was largely erosional, most of the more recent formations and some of the pre-Cambrian rock being transported out of the area to the south and west. It has been estimated that about 13 pct of this area is composed of lakes and rivers not too adaptable to rail or water transportation, so that until the use of aviation for exploration purposes became general, development of the area was slow. To the south, the heavy mantle of glacial drift has to some extent deterred the discovery of industrial minerals in the bedrock underlying the forest and prairie regions3 At the same time, this drift contains numerous deposits of those most elementary and necessary industrial minerals, sand and gravel. Sedimentary Basin The major feature of the sedimentary deposits underlying the plains regions is the basinal structure known as the Moose Jaw syncline, which runs from the southeast corner of the province in a northwesterly direction. To the west of this syncline the formations curve upward, then have been faulted and further upthrust to appear at the surface in the foothills of the Rockies in Alberta; to the east and north they curve upward into Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan, but the surface contacts are covered mostly with glacial drift.238 The axis of the syncline dips to the southeast, so that there is also an upward trend of the formations along the axis to the northwest. In illustration of the regional structure underlying the province, the pre-Cambrian basement has been logged in drillholes at the following depths in several locations: Ogema (south central), 9390 ft; Gronlid (northeast), 2599 ft; Vera (northwest), 4422 ft; Big River (north northwest), 2348 ft. Fig. 1 indicates the general surface geology of the province, ignoring such glacial overburden as may overlie many of the bedrock formations. Also indicated is the approximate location of the axis of the Moose Jaw syncline.' Industrial Minerals Clays: The province is fortunate in possessing a widespread distribution of clays of ceramic value, ranging from those used for heavy structural products to the high grade pottery and china clays. Shales suitable for brick and tile production are found in the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary formations across the south of the province where the glacial drift is thin or nonexistent. Many deposits of glacial lake clays suitable for such wares are found scattered over the rest of the province south of the pre-Cambrian area. The Whitemud formation of the Upper Cretaceous is a narrow sedimentary band of secondary clays found intermittently at points across the south of the province where glacial action did not disturb or remove them.' In the southwest corner of the province, around Eastend in the Frenchman River valley, the refractory clays of this formation are contaminated somewhat with iron compounds or other alteration products of basaltic rocks. This eliminates the use of those clays in true whitewares, as they fire to creamy buff shades at the lower temperatures and to a blue-specked grey at cone 8 to 12, (2280°F to 2390°F), the range commonly used in firing whiteware. However, for use in the production of colored artware, caneware, stoneware or crockery, and sewerpipe, this type of clay makes an excellent body that requires little or no addition of flint, feldspar, or other fluxing materials such as are required in the higher class of ware.' It is not a grade of clay that can be shipped great distances to the manufacturing centers, but a market for considerable tonnages has developed at nearby Medicine Hat, where cheap natural gas is available for the firing of the ware. Farther east in the south central portion of the province, the clays of the Whitemud formation are generally more refractory and white burning. The formation is divided into three zones, consisting of white clays, brown shale, and white sandy clays.

Jan 1, 1953

By J. V. Vogel

Jan 1, 1969

By Bieniawski, Z. T.

The importance of understanding the phenomena associated with rock fracture has long been fully appreciated in rock mechanics. This is clearly apparent from the special attention paid to rock fracture in the comprehensive papers published within the past four years. These papers present a picture of how the knowledge of brittle fracture of rock was gradually enriched and also show that what was often taken for granted three or four years ago is no longer considered as valid today.

Jan 1, 1972

By N. O. Taylor

THE failure, by swelling, of several cast aluminum-zinc, spiral, pump rods, used to circulate water in a constant-temperature bath, brought up the question as to whether the presence of tin in varying quantities would have any appreciable influence in controlling this action. Previous workers had found the same difficulty with aluminum-zinc alloys, due to their swelling in water or solutions of electrolyte^.^ It was known that pure aluminum was practically insoluble in concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids, presumably due to the formation of an oxidized film on the surface. Concentrated sulfuric acid had little or no effect on pure zinc and tin and concentrated hydrochloric acid would attack all three metals. These facts aroused curiosity as to the probable reaction of the ternary alloys of these metals, and tests were made to determine their resistivity to the action of common laboratory reagents. Samples, covering the entire range of the ternary series of aluminum, zinc and tin alloys, were made up from good grades of the commercial metals.2 The materials were melted, at as low temperatures as possible, in graphite crucibles in a gas-fired crucible furnace. Graphite crucibles were used in preference to clay, to prevent the absorption of silicon by the aluminum, as found by previous workers. The melted materials were stirred thoroughly with pine sticks in order to ensure complete mixing and the greatest possible freedom from oxidation, and were cast in sectional, iron molds giving bars % in. in diameter and 5 in. long.

Jan 1, 1927

By R. A., Pallanch

THOUGH the flotation of gold ores has come into the lime- light largely in recent years, it is not a product of recent economic conditions but rather as old as flotation itself. It could hardly be other- wise, since gold, when in the right state of comminution and surface condition, is one of the more readily floated of minerals. In early practice it was not generally recognized that gold was floated as well; it was - thought that the gold was bound up with sulphide minerals that floated, but now we know that free gold must have been floated as well.

Jan 1, 1935

By AIME AIME

T HE Mining Methods Committee held its initial meeting* on Tuesday afternoon, with F. W. Bradley in the chair and W. Y. Westervelt as vice- chairman. The first paper to be presented was "A Plea for a U. S. Court of Patent Appeals," for which Kenneth W. Greenawalt ably pleaded. The paper (which was published in full in last month's issue) is so carefully prepared that no synopsis can do it justice. It discusses the opposed views of some patent lawyers and other lawyers and members of the judiciary as, for example, Chief Justice Taft who is quoted as saying in 1921: "I think it is a great deal better to take a first class lawyer and a first-class judge and make him a good patent expert than it is to take a patent expert and try to make him a first-class lawyer and a good judge." Mr. Greenawalt argued the need for specialized scientific and engineering interest and understanding to enable a lawyer or judge to prepare or interpret patent specifications and decide the originality necessary for a valid invention. He proposed the special U. S. Court of Patent Appeals to also counteract the costly confusion and injustice now ruling where a patent may be declared valid in the courts of certain States and invalid by the courts of other States.

Jan 1, 1930

By Robert D. Longyear

IN MOST diamond core drilling the primary objective is the recovery of samples to be used for chemical analysis, physical tests, or visual inspection. Unless these samples are reliable and the information systematically recorded, the time and money spent in securing them are largely wasted. A properly taken diamond-drill sample is similar to a properly moiled channel sample but more accurate. No channel sample can be moiled in as even a groove as the smooth cylinder of material normally removed in diamond drilling. More important still, sampling by the diamond drill practically eliminates that personal equation which Jora1emon4 reference numbers apply to publications listed in the bibliography at the end of this article) has aptly termed "the almost magnetic attraction of the most conscientious hand toward rich pieces of ore."

Jan 1, 1937

By W. F. Wheeler

IN the study of the coals of Illinois now being carried on by the State Geological Survey, an attempt is being made to determine the most satisfactory basis of comparison between different coals. The following discussion is based upon work done for the survey in the laboratories of the State University and under the general direction of Prof. S. W. Parr. " Pure coal " has been defined by Mr. A. Bement1 as ash- and moisture-free coal, and the use of this " pure coal " as a basis for comparing different bituminous coals has lately been much discussed among engineers in the middle West. By some the B.t.u. of the pure coal is being used to check calorimetric results, and to calculate the calorific value of different coal-samples from the same seam, for which purposes it is necessary to assume-first, that the composition and calorific value of pure coal from different parts of the same coal-seam are uniform, and, second, that these values remain constant after the coal is mined, both of which assumptions there are reasons to believe are inconsistent with the facts. Certain variables are included in pure coal, as ordinarily defined, and disregard of them may lead to serious error. In any event, where delicate shades of difference are involved, no sure interpretation of results can be made, unless these variables be eliminated. As a basis of comparison between coals, ash- and moisture-free coal is much to be preferred to " dry coal," and still more is it to be preferred to " moist coal," as ordinarily reported in analyses. There are, however, two constituents other than ash and moisture which are similar in effect to them, and which

Jan 1, 1908

By E. D. Gardner

The Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act (58 Stat., 190; 30 U.S.C. Sup., Secs. 321- 325) was approved by Congress April 5, 1944; it directed the Bureau of Mines to build demonstration plants to produce synthetic liquid fuels from coal, oil shale, and agricultural products. The most important oil-shale de- posits in the United States are in the Green River formation of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The oil shale of western Colorado generally is more amenable to exploitation, more persistent, and apparently richer than elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region. It occurs at the top of a high plateau surrounded by bold, nearly vertical escarpments 500 to 600 ft in height. The top 400 to 500 ft of these escarpments comprises an oil-shale measure that averages 15 gal of shale oil per ton; the bottom 70 to 100 ft of the measure, called the Mahogany Ledge, averages over 30 gal per ton. The full measure in a 1000-square-mile area is estimated to contain 300 billion barrels of shale oil;' the Mahogany Ledge is estimated to contain 100 billion barrels of oil. These estimates are based on numerous surface samples and on core-drill holes drilled by the Government and by private enterprise. The oil-shale beds are undisturbed and lie nearly horizontal. The name

Jan 1, 1949

By V. E. Christensen

AT most smelting plants, forced draft, induced by high stacks or fans, is used to carry the gases away from the furnaces, roasters, or sintering plants. Gases moving under forced draft carry varying amounts of solids in the form of dust and fume. Where the weight of the solids is material, and the metal content high, it is usually profitable to treat the gases to recover these solids. Baghouses, Cottrell treaters, and settling chambers are the common forms of plants used to recover solids from gases. To check on the efficiency of these plants it is necessary to know the volume of gas leaving the plant and the amount of solids carried by the gas. As the volume of gas is equal to the product of the velocity of that gas and the cross-sectional area of the flue, the determination of the volume includes the measurement of the area of the cross section and the determination of the velocity. The velocity is generally measured by means of the Pitot tube and Ellison differential pressure gage, although low velocities are best determined by means of an anemometer. The dust concentration is determined by passing a measured volume of sample through a filter and weighing the dust caught. From this the dust concentration per unit of volume may be calculated. It is necessary to assume that the gas is homogeneous or that each cubic foot of the gas contains the same weight of dust as every other cubic foot. Having the volume of gas passing through a flue per unit of time, and the dust concentration of the gas per unit of volume, the amount of solids may easily be calculated.

Jan 1, 1935

By H. A. MEGRAW

THE meeting of the A. I. M. E. at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Sept. 12 to 15, inclusive, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Institute. It was at Wilkes-Barre, in 1871, that the foundation was laid for the great institution that now includes in its roster the greatest names. in mining engineering in every civilized country of the world. The founders of the Institute, with rare prescience, established a common ground upon which all mining engineers, whatever particular branch they might consider most pertinent, could stand securely, assured of a deep-seated interest from their brethren similarly minded in other localities. So wise and clear was the vision of the founders that every engineer connected with mining has found it beneficial, not to say indispensable, to maintain his connection with the Institute and to increase his technical enthusiasm through the medium of the valuable technical publications. The little coterie of 1871 has grown to a strong body of more than 10,000 members in 1921, reflecting the glory of the founders in the record of the accomplishments written on the pages of the fifty years of the

Jan 1, 1921

The United States Civil Service Commission announces open competitive examinations for the positions of valuation engineer, assistant valuation engineer, and valuation aid for the Income-tax Unit of the Internal Revenue Bureau. The duties of these positions will involve the estimating of: (1) The quantity of mineral, oil, and gas or timber; (2) the theoretical and market values of mineral, or oil and gas in place, standing timber, and their products; (3) the value of equipment ordinarily used in discovery, exploitation, and utilization of such natural resources; (4) the cost of development, exploitation, and utilization of such natural resources. The entrance salary for each grade, within the range stated, depending on the qualifications of the appointee, is: Valuation engineer, $3600 to $4800 a year, though in exceptional cases higher salaries may be paid; assistant valuation engineer, $2500 to $3600 a year; valuation aid, $1200 to $2500 a year. Applications for valuation aid must have had a bachelor's degree from a college of recognized standing, graduation from a four years' high-school course, or education equivalent to that required for such graduation, and at least four years' experience in the technical branches of one of the industries mentioned in positions tending to qualify them for the duties outlined above.

Jan 6, 1919

[ ] TUNNELS TO BINS. Originally designed for tunnel work, the strong lightweight liner plates used to construct this 30-ft diameter, 31-ft high, aggregate storage bin have several advantages. Bins and conveyor to tunnels can be quickly erected in any season, for permanent service, or to be salvaged and reused. Armco Steel Corp. (16) ROLLER CHAIN: Engineering Data Book No. 2457 published by Link-Belt Co. is a comprehensive 148-page volume on roller chain and its application. Detailed engineering information covers installation, maintenance and lubrication of chains for drives, conveyors, and sprocket wheels. The book covers selection of drives to meet both standard and special installations. (17) LABORATORIES: The Fisher Scientific Co's. line of 21 basic units of standardized steel laboratory furniture is described in catalog no. 25. The Unitized line was designed to combine the advantages of custom installation with the convenience of selection, delivery and continued flexibility that goes with ready-made units. (18) PUMPS: Two similar, but functionally different types of vertical centrifugal wet-pit pumps; a heavy duty bilge pump for handling solids-free liquids and drainage; and a screenless sewage ejector, constructed to handle sewage and solids carrying liquid; are illustrated in a bulletin from Yeomans Bros. Co.

Jan 1, 1952

Today there is unparalleled opportunity for constructive effort in the national mineral economy on the part of the Land-Grant colleges and universities. The matter is too important to be pushed aside. It is inevitable that in the aftermath of World War II, conscientious Americans the country over should want to take stock of national resources. Attention is now centered, as never before, on our mineral potentialities. Opportunities and responsibilities are unparalleled and a condition exists which will not occur for another generation. Mineral industries educators cannot pro- vide the answer without taking stock of its component parts, organizing, planning, and taking action in a real dynamic sense. The services encompassed by the various fields of mineral industries must be utilized to help in the solution of problems provided by the international emergency, the country's needs, the people's needs. Mineral industries colleges have a vital role in technical aid to backward countries through foreign student programs, especially in the Latin Americas.1 By helping them to help themselves develop and utilize their resources to the fullest, we will be helping ourselves. One day they may be a Godsend in a solution of the American demographic problem. They may be prepared to

Jan 1, 1950

All branches of our profession may look back 'with pride upon the patriotic service rendered by engineers during the war. That war has been won. The mortal danger which it threatened has been averted. But the effects of the torture inflicted by it still remain, a fever in the blood of the body politic. Fever begets delirium and, unless its course be checked, has a tendency to produce convulsions. The only safe course is to take immediate steps to allay the fever. The seat of the present trouble is industrialism; as production is at the foundation of civilization, a diseased condition there carries pain and consequent unrest into every member of the organism. Who shall supply the cure? Quack doctors, nostrums in hand, rush forward from all directions promising to perform miracles. But sane men know that no miracles, though invoked by star gazers of purest intention, will prevent or accelerate the orderly operations of the laws of nature and of human life. Delirium must be controlled by the firm, gentle hand of intelligent, sympathetic authority. Fever must be allayed first by removal of all poisons from the system, then by consistent ministration of cooling, quieting restoratives, then by simple, wholesome nourishment. Nature will, under such treatment, supply the permanent cure.

Jan 12, 1919

GEOLOGY is of service to man in two general ways according to Heinrich Ries in The Scientific Month-ly. The first of these is in exploring and evaluating the mineral resources on which industry and civiliza-tion are built, and the second is the application of geo-logic principles to various lines of human activity, such as engineering, agriculture, chemistry, etc. Both of these are phases of economic or applied geology, but neither could be developed before geology as a pure science was more or less firmly established, and in this process it freely acknowledges its indebted-ness to some of its older sister sciences such as chem-istry, physics, botany and zoology. Chemistry and geology are mutually helpful. Various chemical industries consume large quantities of raw mineral products, but since these vary in their purity and composition, it is important for the chemist to be familiar with the irregularities of composition which the different types may show, because he is often called upon to pass judgment on new sources of supply. Here geology helps the chemist. On the other hand, the laws of physical chemistry which the chemist has worked. out are of great assistance to the geologist in explaining many geologic processes.

Jan 7, 1927

The useful minerals can be subdivided into two large groups. One comprises those which are mined because of their chemical composition. They represent the natural resources of certain materials or of energy (coal). The second group is used not because of their chemical composition but because of certain physical properties or combinations of physical properties. A large number of minerals are mined because of their hardness, their electrical and thermal properties, their color or plasticity. There has been increasing recognition of the value of mineral synthesis during the past 30 years. This is illustrated by the development of improved aircraft spark plugs and chemical porcelain about the time of the first World War. During World War II the impact of crystal chemistry upon ceramics became most pronounced. New ceramic bodies were tailor-made, such as those designed with a high dielectric constant and low power loss, for use in high-voltage, high-frequency communication. In the field of refractories special materials were needed for unusual heat-resisting service in jet and rocket engines, and in the processing of fissionable materials. The synthesis of natural minerals in the laboratory has long been of aid to geologists and mineralogists in their study of the origin of minerals and physico-chemical conditions under which certain minerals were

Jan 1, 1950

WILLIAM YOUNG WESTERVELT, Chairman, Representing A. T. M. E. and M. and M. Soc. of Am. ALFRED G. WHITE, Secretary, Representing U. S. Bureau of Mines. W. 0. HOTCHKISS, Representing Association of American State Geologists. DAVID WHITE, Representing U. S. Geological Survey. The organization and purpose of the War Minerals Committee was explained in a special war notice in the-August Bulletin. The first work of this Committee is to secure and condense information as to the relative importance of different properties from the standpoint of domestic mineral production. When the possibilities of ore deposits are known, involving, in some cases, further examination through the voluntary services of, Engineers and Geologists, then the necessary policy required to stimulate such development can be determined. Proper recommendation has been and will be made to .the various agencies controlling the situation during the war. This will insure a complete presentation of the needs of the situation. Every legitimate effort will be made to stimulate the production of domestic minerals and to put the industries on a permanent basis. The following information forms indicate the type of information required by the Committee. Engineers and Geologists can assist in one of several ways in furnishing information to the War Minerals Committee:

Jan 10, 1917