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By D. C. Seidel, M. C. Fuerstenau, R. J. Roman

The existence of a surface charge on the alkali halide salts is shown, and a flotation mechanism involving surface charge and collector solubility is developed. Data suggest that KC1 is positively charged and that NaCl is negatively charged in saturated brines, and that the neutral molecule RNH,Cl is the collector in the amine-KC1 system, RSO, is the collector in the sulfonate-KC1 system, and RCOONa) is the collector in the fatty acid-NaCl system. A number of hypotheses have been advanced to explain the mechanism of soluble salt flotation; one of these involves exchange between collector ions and surface cations. With this mechanism Gaudin1 suggested that the differences in flotability of halite and sylvite with primary amines are due to the ionic size of the RNH;, Kt, and Na t ions. Fuerstenau and Fuerstenau expanded this hypothesis to include many other alkali halide salts. Several exceptions to this hypothesis are known. That is, this model does not explain why salts containing the same cation, or why salts of different degrees of hydration, respond differently to flotation. For example, why NaI is floated with an amine whereas NaI .2H,O is not. Further, no correlation between ionic size and flotation response can be made with sulfonate or car-boxylate as collectors. In addition, this hypothesis does not explain the effect of magnesium or lead activation, nor does it offer any explanation of the role of temperature in salt flotation. Rogers and Schulman3 realized some of the inadequacies of the ion exchange mechanism and proposed another mechanism based on the heat of solution of the salts. They concluded that weakly hydrated salts can be floated with alkyl amines and sulfonates, that strongly hydrated salts can be floated with fatty acids, and that excessively hydrated salts cannot be floated at all. Their work was not limited to the al-

Jan 1, 1969

By Gerald J. Anderson

The Marquette District of Central Northern Michigan is the oldest of the Lake Superior iron districts with a mining history dating from 1852 up to the present. The total production of all types of ore through 1965 was 338,120, 146 long tons. Emphasis up to the 1950's was on mining the direct shipping ores; however, demands for higher-grade and better-structured ores in the last decade has resulted in a complete shift in emphasis to beneficiating the lowgrade Negaunee Iron-formation to produce high-grade iron ore pellets. The Precambrian sediments of the Marquette Range have been correlated with the Animikie Series of the Thunder Bay District, Ontario, and are contained in a westward plunging synclinorium that is approximately 3 3 miles in length and 3 to 6 miles in width. -The rock unit of major economic importance is the Negaunee Iron-formation that reaches a thickness of 2500 feet near the City of Negaunee. The primary iron content of the Negaunee Iron-formation averages 26 per cent, whereas the altered iron-formation approximates 31 per cent. The Negaunee Iron-formation has been divided into three principal types: diagenetic, oxidized, and metamorphic. The ores produced to date fall into four categories: high-grade soft ores, high-grade hard ores, siliceous ores, and concentrates and agglomerates (pellets). The soft ores generally are found in synclines and in fault-trough structures, bounded by mafic dikes along at least one side, and are mainly found in the basal portion of the Negaunee. In contrast, the hard ores occur in the uppermost portion of the Negaunee and are controlled by structural features such as folds, faults, and dikes. Iron-formation that has undergone diagenetic and metamorphic alteration makes up the main beneficiating ore types. Studies on the Negaunee Iron-formation have played an important role in the formulation of many of the theories on the origin of the Precambrian iron-formations.

Jan 1, 1968

By L. D. Frink

Those actively interested in mining are fully aware of the ever-increasing difficulty of making conditions such that efficient work can be done in underground openings, especially as higher rock temperatures are encountered in depth. This is also true where an effort is being made to cut down the burden of overhead expense by working headings 24 hr. in a day if blasting is done as often as is possible in that time. That the conditions resulting from both these causes have driven the native-born Americans from the mines and that their places have been taken by less efficient foreigners is a fact that we must all admit. The great war now being fought in Europe and the educational qualification clause written into our immigration law by the last Congress will probably limit very materially the supply of labor, such as we are now using in our mines, and will force upon mine operators the necessity of making this work appeal again to Americans. Metal tubing, with blower or exhaust fans, has long been used in supplying air to dead ends where natural ventilation is impossible, or in driving the smoke from such places, or in doing both, as the need might be. Here in Butte we have now come to use canvas tubing very extensively and find that it has many advantages not possessed by the metal. The use of flexible tubing is not new, but it has not been generally used in mining operations. Recent improvements, however, in the canvas itself and in the jointing of sections and manner of suspension have so increased its usefulness that it promises to add much to the efficiency of mining. There is now on the market a product that is impervious to air, is fireproof, and has a system of jointing which permits it to be put up or taken down in a few seconds. In this article an effort will be made to explain the manner in which canvas tubing is being used in the North Butte company's operations at Butte, Mont. The accompanying photographs will, I hope, help make clear what may be done with this material.

Jan 1, 1918

By J. L. Workman

The Putnam Coal Mine, at design capacity, will be the third largest underground bituminous coal mine in the world and will feature the world's longest single flight belt conveyor. Construction is now in process; initial mining will commence in early 1969 and design capacity will be reached in 1971. The Putman Coal Mine reserves are located in south-central West Virginia and contain approximately 27,000 acres of prime Pittsburgh No. 8 coal; reserves are sufficient to support a 3.5 million tpy operation for over 30 years. The mine portal area is located some six miles inland from the Kanawha River. The river loading facility is located approximately 156 miles by way of river from the market.

Jan 1, 1969

By Walter S. White

The Michigan native-copper district has produced about 5,400,000 tons of copper since mining began in 1845. The copper occurs primarily as open-space fillings and replacements in amygdaloidal flow tops and conglomerate beds of the Portage Lake Lava Series, of middle Keweenawan age. Secondary minerals with which the copper is associated include microcline, chlorite, epidote, pumpellyite, prehnite, quartz, and calcite; zeolites, other than laumontite, are not abundant. A zonal pattern of the secondary minerals transects bedding and suggests regional metamorphism mainly to the grade of the prehnite-pumpellyite graywacke facies of Coombs. Most of the major copper deposits are near the upper limit of abundant quartz in this zonal pattern. The distribution of copper in both amygdaloid and conglomerate deposits is controlled partly by primary permeability of the rocks and partly by later tectonic fracturing that was concentrated in the mechanically weak flow tops and sedimentary beds. Ore shoots and deposits are therefore controlled partly by primary structural features, such as areas of thick and thin fragmental amygdaloid or the boundaries of conglomerate lenses, and partly by regional structure: a number of ore deposits are in synclinal downwarps. The copper-bearing solutions that formed the deposits were ascending. They may have come from a large concealed intrusive, or may have been driven out of the porous tops of lava flows when the rocks were compacted and metamorphosed at great depth in the central part of the Lake Superior syncline. The second hypothesis seems more consistent with the widespread distribution of the copper, its relation to mineral zoning that represents truly regional metamorphism, its native state, and the likelihood that copper deposition was later than most or all of Keweenawan volcanism.

Jan 1, 1968

By F. L. Wolf

The catenary system of line construction possesses so many desirable characteristics from the operating standpoint that it has wide application for all types of electric traction. Many steam roads are electrifying sections of their lines, and in most cases are operating both steam and electric locomotives over the same track. This means that the overhead catenary system is subjected to the severe corrosive action of locomotive smoke, and data concerning the resistance of various alloys to this form of corrosion are very desirable from every point of view. Reliable and specific information and data on the subject of corrosion due to steam and smoke from locomotives are extremely meager and, on this account, extensive service tests, together with accelerated tests, have been made on a number of commercial metals and alloys. The observations and data recorded in this paper are the result of a preliminary test which was started in 1923 and which has been carried on to the present time. The recognition of the need for even more detailed and accurate data has resulted in the undertaking of another test which has been in progress for about a year. The result of this test will be published in due course. Some years ago The Ohio Brass Co. was asked by one of the large steam railroad companies to furnish data on construction details for a catenary system which it was considering for one of its divisions. The selection of materials which would give the necessary physical characteristics as well as withstand the severe corrosive action of locomotive gases caused electrical railroad engineers considerable concern. At that time, there were available no specific or authentic data on these important questions: no systematic investigation of the problem appeared to have been made, even though it's importance was generally recognized. Such observations as had been made were crude in that they had been limited largely to visual inspection which too frequently is most misleading. However, the scattered information which was collected gave important clues as to how best to start an investigation. Technical literature was studied, metallurgical experts were consulted, and the problem was discussed with engineers who were in close contact

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

AS one of his friends asserted at the Galveston meeting last fall, T. V. Moore is one of the "thinkers" in his field. He is head of production research for the Humble Oil & Refining Co., with headquarters in Houston. He is also known in the Institute as a "doer" for his active participation in the affairs of the Petroleum Division and for his leadership in the formation of the present Gulf Coast Section, A.I.M.E.

Jan 1, 1940

State College of Washington, Engineering Experiment Station, Pullman, Wash. H. V. Carpenter, Director. A selected list of available bulletins which may be had upon request, is as follows: Bulletin 28, Importance of preliminary ore analysis by means of the stereoscopic binocular microscope (1929), 35, Electro-hydrometallurgical process for copper flotation concentrate (first progress report) (1930), 37, A method of compiling approximate mining cost data (1931), 38, Electro-hydrometallurgical process for copper flotation concentrate (second progress report) (1932)

Jan 1, 1933

President and Director GROVER J HOLT, '59, Ishpeming, Michigan Past President and Director CARL E REISTLE, JR, '58, Houston, Texas President-elect and Director AUGUSTUS B KINZEL '60, New York City Vice-Presidents and Directors W A DEAN, '58, Cleveland Ohio W W MEIN, JR, '58, San Francisco, Calif L E ELKINS, '59, Tulsa, Okla J L GILLSON,'59, Wilmington, Delaware E C BABSON, '60, Calgary, Alberta, Canada R V PIERCE, '60, Salt Lake City, Utah

Jan 1, 1957

By E. N. Harshman

Uranium mining and milling are rather new industries in Wyoming and South Dakota, but, in the past 15 years, ore valued at more than $400,000,000 has been mined and milled in the region. The major uranium deposits are in structural and/ or erosional basins or on the flanks of uplifts. The principal host rocks are medium- to coarse-grained sandstones that were deposited in continental or brackish-water environments and were derived in large part from the granitic cores of the uplifts and the sedimentary rocks that flank the cores. The ages of the host rocks range from Cretaceous to Miocene, but more than 95 per cent of the known reserves in the region are in rocks of early Eocene age. The bulk of the ore in the region is unoxidized and lies below the water table; some oxidized ore has been mined in the Powder River Basin and Black Hills districts. The unoxidized ore comprises pyrite, uraninite and/ or coffinite, marcasite, hematite, jordisite(?), and selenium. Minerals in the oxidized ore include hydrous uranium carbonates, phosphates, and sulfates and hydrous uranium and/ or vanadium silicates. The deposits are in the form of ore rolls that contain from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand tons of ore, ranging in grade from 0.1 per cent to 1.0 per cent U3O8. The rolls are at the margins of large tabular bodies of sandstone that has been altered by the orebearing solutions. The deposits are believed to have resulted from the interaction of an alkaline; oxidizing, ore-bearing ground water and a reducing environment. Exploration guides include the spatial relations of ore to altered sandstone, favorable lithology in the host rock, the content of certain elements and/ or compounds in ground water, and the relation of deposits to major paleodrainages.

Jan 1, 1968

By S. F. Shaw

IN 1913, the Tiro General mine, at Charcas, S.L.P., Mexico, which had been making from 125 to 150 gal. of water per min., was allowed to become flooded, after all the pumps had been removed, and in 1918 the problem of unwatering it came up for solution. There are two vertical shafts, the Tiro General, 1390 ft., and the San Fernando, 1225 ft. in depth, with five connecting levels between them. The San Fernando shaft had been partly retimbered, while the Tiro General had been newly timbered from the collar to, 1090 ft. in depth. It had been possible to place guides in only one compartment of the Tiro General, from the collar to the seventh or 850-ft. level, to which it was necessary to lower the water before station pumps could be installed. Soundings indicated that compartments in the Tiro General were open to 1082 and 428 ft., and in the San Fernando shaft to 471, 488, and 586 ft. The water had risen to a point 140 ft. below the collar of the Tiro General shaft. PUMPING EQUIPMENT The steam plant at the Tiro General shaft includes one 300-hp., one 150-hp. and one 100-hp. Erie City water-tube boiler, and two 160-hp. Heine water-tube boilers. All but one of these boilers were supposed to be in good shape, but it was soon discovered that six years of idleness in a climate that is foggy for several months of the year had left them in poor condition. The compressed-air plant comprises one Nordberg cross-compound compressor with piston displacement of approximately 2500 cu. ft. of free air compressed to 96 lb. per sq. in.; and another Nordberg cross-compound with piston displacement of 1235 cu. ft. of free air, to the same pressure.

Jan 2, 1920

By W. A. Barrows, Carl Zapffe

Jan 1, 1913

By E. D. Gardner

IN 1947 the metal-mining industry . passed through a year of readjustment; catching up on development work has caused production to suffer. Skilled labor has been short in most mining districts, notwithstanding the highest wage rate paid in the history of the industry. The trend has continued toward increased mechanization and refinements in practices and methods to increase the tons produced per man-shift. Improvements in procedures, however, have not kept pace with rising labor rates; and, in general, labor costs per ton mined have steadily increased since the war years. Prices of base metals have been the highest in a generation, but most producing companies can afford to pay the high wages. Capital expenditures have been approved for improvements to increase the output per man, both to reduce unit labor costs and to increase output. Surveys indicate a continuing

Jan 1, 1948

James GayleY, New Pork City (communication to the Secretary*) :—The main thing that is sought after in this matter is that all purcliases shall be made by analysis. This is done already in special lines, as in the manufacture of various grades of steel in which phosphorus, silicon and sulphur are specified within narrow limits, and I quite agree with Mr. Cook that specifications, which are over-rigid in unessential particulars, should be avoided, as they defeat their own purpose because unreasonable requirements permitting no variation are practically not fulfilled, and it is impossible to specify grade

Jan 1, 1905

By R. W. Raymond

The immense commercial value of the Gayley dry-blast process has been established beyond controversy. The testimony of practical blast-furnace managers, on both sides of the Atlantic, agrees that it reduces the cost of pig-iron about $1 per ton; but from the same testimony it appears that this direct economy does not by any means cover its commercial advantages—in fact, that under conditions frequently encountered in practice, it presents other benefits of even greater immediate financial importance. To this point I shall recur in a later part of the present paper. The history of the reception given to this invention, especially on the other side of the Atlantic, has repeated an experience familiar to American engineers. First, the reports of our practice were rejected as theoretically impossible, according to generally accepted notions and formulas; then the figures were reluctantly accepted; and finally the attempt has been made to explain how they could have been obtained. As to the Gayley dry blast, me Americans have been for several years in the last stage of the discussion, and the rest of the professional world is rapidly coming to it. Meanwhile, the remark has been repeatedly made that, whatever Mr. Gayley's process may turn out to be worth, it was not an invention on his part, but simply the energetic and persevering execution of a procedure already proposed by others. This question I wish to discuss first in the present paper. I. What Did Mr. Gayley Invent? Realizing that this is not the place for detailed argument on an issue of patent law, I shall not undertake to quote and criticise the publications prior to Mr. Gayley'a first patents. It may be admitted, without such critical analysis, that the possible advantages of removing moisture from the air forced into an iron blast-furnace were recognized and talked about a hun-

Jan 1, 1909

By R. Van A. Norris

Although mechanical appliances for the ventilation of mines have been known siuce very early times (one being mentioned in Agricola's De Re Metnllica, 1657), it is only within the last forty years that such appliances have been generally used. A great number of different ventilators have been invented and used, but the varions forms of centrifugal machines having proved their efficiency, have now almost conlpletely replaced all others. Most if not all of the machines in use in this country are of this class, being either open-periphery fans, or closed, with chimney and spiral casing, of a more or less modified Guibal type. The theory of such machines has been demonstrated by Mr. Daniel Murgue in Theories and Practice of Centrifugal Ventilating Machines, translated by A. L. Steavenson. His statement may be condensed thus : Let a = orifice in a thin plate, of such area that its resistance to the passage of a given quantity of air equals the resist ance of the mine. I o = orifice in a thin plate of such area that its resistance to the passage of' a given quantity of air equals that of the machine. Q = quantity of air passing in cubic feet per minute. V = velocity of air passing through a. Vo = velocity of air passing through o. h = head iu feet air-column to produce velocity IT h, = head in feet air-column to produce velocity V,.

Jan 1, 1892

By J. D. Hanawalt, W. H. Gross

Magnesium has long been known as the lightest of our engineering metals. This metal, silvery white in color, has a specific gravity of only 1.74. Aluminum, the next lightest structural metal, is 1 ½ times heavier; zinc is 4 times heavier; iron and steel are 4 ½ times heavier; and copper and nickel are 5 times heavier. Magnesium does not occur in the free state but is very abundant in nature, constituting 2.5 pct of the earth's crust in the form of various ores. It is the third most abundant structural metal, being exceeded only by iron and aluminum. Magnesium is unique, however, in that in the form of magnesium chloride it also exists in the oceans. Sea water is the source most widely used for production in the United States but magnesium is also commercially produced from magnesite, dolomite, and other ores as well as from certain inland brines. The vast quantity of magnesium existing in the waters of the oceans can be visualized when it is realized that the removal of one hundred million tons per year (the approximate annual steel production in the United States) for a million years would reduce the magnesium content of sea water only from 0.13 to 0.12 pct, providing no more magnesium had washed into the sea in the meantime. Not only is magnesium potentially very abundant but it is in addition a very versatile metal and can be shaped and worked by practically all methods known to the art of metal working. It can be cast by sand, die, and the various permanent-mold methods;

Jan 1, 1953

By Richard H. Rein, John Chipman

The activity of SiO2, in the entire liquid system SiO2-CaO-Mg0-A12O3 at 1600°C is calculated from the distribution of silicon between these slags and Fe-Si-C alloys saturated with either graphite or silicon carbide, the activity coefficient of silicon in these alloys, and the requisite thermodynamic data. The activities of the other components in the ternary systems SiO2-CaO-A12O3, SiO2-MgO-CaO, SiO2-MgO -A12O3 are computed from these data by the IrON blast-furnace slags can be regarded as consisting of the four major oxide components, SO2, CaO, MgO, and A12O3 along with minor proportions of other oxides and of sulfur. The purpose of this study is to measure the activity of silica in the liquid solutions of these four oxides at iron-making Gibbs-Duhem equation with the aid of the known free energies of several of the interoxide compounds and the accepted phase diagrams. Based on these activities, new data are Presented for the free energy of formation of a number of the interoxide compounds. The free energy of mixing the liquid metasilicates of CaO and MgO shows slight positive deviations from the ideal. temperatures and to obtain activities of the other components by application of the Gibbs-Duhem equation and the properties of several interoxide compounds. Recent investigations on the activity of silica in the SiO2-CaO-A12O3 system1-3 and recogntion of a serious error in older data for the free energy of formation of SiO2 (Ref. 4) have succeeded in bringing a fair degree of concordance into the results of different investigators. In the present study, the activity of silica is obtained from the silicon-distribution experiments described in a previous paper,' the revised activity coefficient of silicon

Jan 1, 1965

By Henry Mulryan

Diatoms are microscopic aquatic plants of the order Bacillariaceae. They are unicellular plants with skelctons made up of amorphous opaline silica. The skeletons show highly ornate, complicated geometrical designs. Diatoms live in water virtually everywhere. They are found in clean sea water, brackish water, and fresh-water lakes and ponds. When conditions are right, diatoms propagate by subdivision in huge numbers. Alkalinity, temperature, and the presence of high concentrations of silica in the water largely control diatom life. When the diatoms die the skeletons drop to the bottom of their habitat to form oozes of varying thicknesses. Diatomites Diatomite, or diatomaceous earth, is composed essentially of the siliceous remains of the diatoms, although other organic skeletons are also present, especially in sea-water deposits where radiolaria, sponges and silico-flagellates are common. Impurities are generally carbonaceous material, fine-grained silt, volcanic ash and dust, and occasional coarse grains of sand. Diatomites are marine, brackish, or fresh-water, depending upon types of diatoms and their method of deposition. Diatoms More than 8000 species of diatoms have been named and classified. Some are definitely classified as to their habitat; some are so well recognized as to their living conditions that they can be stated to be diagnostic types, and when encountered in a deposit determine the origin of the deposit. Some of the commoner types of diatoms found in the freshwater diatomites on the Pacific Coast are: Cymbella lanceolata Agardh Fragilaria virescens Ralfs Encyonema prostratum Ralfs Diatoma vulgare Dory Surirella biseriata Brebison Eunotia major Ehrenberg Amphipleura pellucida Kützing Stictodiscus niagarac Ehrenberg Gomphonema geminatum Lynberg Melosira granulata Ehrenberg Epithemia turgida Kützing

Jan 1, 1942

By Henry Mulryan

Diatoms are microscopic aquatic plants of the order Bacillariaceae. They are unicellular plants with skelctons made up of amorphous opaline silica. The skeletons show highly ornate, complicated geometrical designs. Diatoms live in water virtually everywhere. They are found in clean sea water, brackish water, and fresh-water lakes and ponds. When conditions are right, diatoms propagate by subdivision in huge numbers. Alkalinity, temperature, and the presence of high concentrations of silica in the water largely control diatom life. When the diatoms die the skeletons drop to the bottom of their habitat to form oozes of varying thicknesses. Diatomites Diatomite, or diatomaceous earth, is composed essentially of the siliceous remains of the diatoms, although other organic skeletons are also present, especially in sea-water deposits where radiolaria, sponges and silico-flagellates are common. Impurities are generally carbonaceous material, fine-grained silt, volcanic ash and dust, and occasional coarse grains of sand. Diatomites are marine, brackish, or fresh-water, depending upon types of diatoms and their method of deposition. Diatoms More than 8000 species of diatoms have been named and classified. Some are definitely classified as to their habitat; some are so well recognized as to their living conditions that they can be stated to be diagnostic types, and when encountered in a deposit determine the origin of the deposit. Some of the commoner types of diatoms found in the freshwater diatomites on the Pacific Coast are: Cymbella lanceolata Agardh Fragilaria virescens Ralfs Encyonema prostratum Ralfs Diatoma vulgare Dory Surirella biseriata Brebison Eunotia major Ehrenberg Amphipleura pellucida Kützing Stictodiscus niagarac Ehrenberg Gomphonema geminatum Lynberg Melosira granulata Ehrenberg Epithemia turgida Kützing

Jan 1, 1942