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By Christopher Haycocks, J. Richard Lucas

The growth of computer and ground control technology in recent years, combined with an urgent demand for low-cost fossil fuels and mineral resources, has set the stage for full-scale utilization of computers in mine planning. Steeply rising production costs and the need to preserve the environment are placing great demands on engineers to improve their mining efficiencies, which can best be accomplished by applying the full capabilities of the computer. Pressure to develop and perfect programs with an immediate potential for improving mine design, reducing mining costs and extending the viable coal reserves of the country has already come to bear in the form of exploding energy requirements, environmental considerations and the visible limitations of other energy sources.

Jan 4, 1973

By Donald Cummings

MEASURES appropriate for the control of the silicosis hazard in mining cannot be formulated precisely, but sufficient knowledge1-19 has accumu-lated during the past quarter century to permit the suggestion of useful, though partly empirical, rules for its alleviation. The industrial hygienist today recognizes that the peril incurred by the inhalation of harmful dust is a function of two variable factors-the degree of harmful exposure and the specific susceptibility of the exposed individual to pulmonary injury. Con-trol of the danger arising out of prolonged contact with pernicious air-borne particulate matter is consequently best exercised by influencing both of these recognized variables. Obviously the problem has two broad aspects-one, medical; the other within the province of the engineer.

Jan 1, 1938

By H. J. Booss

THERE is a considerable lack of data on thermody-namic properties of hard-metal alloys. Only two papers 1,2 give mean values of specific heat in an unknown temperature range; more recently the author3 gave more detailed information on the mean specific heat in the temperature range from 20" to -190° C.. EXPERIMENTAL 1) Method—Experimental procedure followed a method suggested by Oelsen and coworkers.4 It requires samples of some 100 g of weight. The time of measurement is prolonged (30 min) but one run allows the measurement of a lot of positions on the heat-content curve. Results4 were found to be in good agreement with "best values" given by kelley,5 Kubaschewsky and Evans,6 etal.

Jan 1, 1960

Book Review MAN-TO-MAN: THE STORY OF INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY. By John Leitch, Phila¬delphia, Pa. The B. C. Forbes Publishing Co., New York, 1919, 2.19 pp., 7 1/2 X 5 in. $2.00. "Man to Man" is a short, well-written, well-printed, easy to read and very interesting hook. It is an account of a method introduced into more than twenty industrial plants to give the workers a share in managing their own troubles. It is not a panacea for labor troubles and strikes, but neither have existed where the new method has been tried. The scheme is, in a word, to organize the working force like the government, having a cabinet composed of the executives, a senate composed of foremen, and a house composed of men elected by fellow workers from all departments. This governing machinery takes up all complaints of workers, investigates, reports, and settles. The increased profits due to economy and increased production from this cooperation are divided 50-50 between the company and the men. Experience has shown that, since inattention, tardiness, irregularity, and inefficiency tend to reduce their profits, all men very quickly, after once convinced of the sincerity of the management in their scheme of cooperation, eliminate them because it is for their personal profit. Astonishing results have been attained, including higher wages, greater output, lower unit costs, great reduction in labor turnover, elimination of waste, an increased loyalty and a waiting list of employees even in periods of labor shortage. Profit sharing as such and stock ownership as a benefit to industrial relations are discussed briefly and illuminatingly, although they are not believed by the author to he the best way to bring about the human relation between those who work,for and those who work with money. The author is not against unions but does not believe the union is the best medium for improving industrial relationship. The look is nowhere dogmatic but is always forceful and convincing and, being well written, is very entertaining. It is doubtful if "Industrial Democracy" is the right expression for the solution of the problem but certainly anything that will place on the shoulders of labor some of the responsibility of industry and will increase production is tine much-to-be-desired desideratum. It is a. contribution to the solution of our biggest problem and should be read by everyone who employs men and who has been worried by the labor turnover. P. E. B.

Jan 7, 1919

By Howard C. Dunkle

Various factors can affect the quality of B1112 and B1113 steel as produced in a bessemer plant; among them: vessel-charging practice, blowing practice, ingot-pouring practice, ingot delivery-time practice, pit-heating practices, and ingot-rolling practice. Evaluation of the influence of ingot delivery time on quality has been chosen as the subject for this paper because this time is completely within the control of the operator, and on this particular factor there is a tremendous amount of information in the dusty archives of the average steel plant. In order to know how much improvement can be made and when attention should be directed to other factors that influence quality, in the continual struggle for improvement, the effect of ingot delivery time must be accurately evaluated. Once this is done, the importance of other variables can be accurately obtained, thus eliminating the necessity of resorting to opinions that are of doubtful value at best. In the study described herein, extensive use was made of the statistical card system as a method of determining the effect of ingot delivery time as a quality factor in bessemer screw-stock grades by simple direct correlation. The value of this statistical method as a means of accurately determining the influence of various factors has been amply demonstrated by Work1 for the bessemer process and by Hand and Gould2 and Fetters and Chipman3 for the open-hearth process. The quality records of 300,000 tons of bessemer screw-stock billets were used in this study of the effect of ingot delivery time on the rejections for breaks, pipe, check and seams. The reduction in the number of rejections for poor quality reduces the costs and increases the productivity per man-hour. The operator today, more than ever before, must know how to keep costs down, how to do it most quickly and in the best way, and how to obtain the highest quality in line with the ever increasing demands of the customer. It is necessary for him to know the individual relations and interrelations between various factors affecting the quality of the manufactured product if he is to produce material that will meet competitively the cost, performance, and quality demands of the trade. SIGNIFICANCE OF STEEL MANGANESE, MIXER SILICON AND STEEL SULPHUR AS QUALITY FACTORS In order to obtain the highest grade of material it is necessary to control many factors-not just one or two, as operators

Jan 1, 1945

By Martin F. Milligan

THIS short discussion of the effects of deoxidation on the mechanical properties of cast steels is intended to serve as general introduction to the subject of this afternoon's session. The subject is covered in detail in Mr. Carter's excellent paper. My material has been collected from the works of various investigators, several of whom are present today. For a definition of deoxidation, as applied to steel-furnace melting practice, we can best go to Briggs' book, "The Metallurgy of Steel Castings." Briggs says that deoxidation "includes all the phenomena in the final preparation of steel that would permit it to solidify free from gas cavities and from dissolved oxygen of all kinds." Various practices are used by welters to produce these end results.

Jan 1, 1947

By I. J. Corrans

Wet high-intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS) has been successfully applied to the recovery of gold and uranium from the residues of Witwatersrand ores. Good overall recoveries have been achieved for particles as small as 12µ, and finer particles of uranium minerals are recovered when present as inclusions. The best results were obtained with a matrix of soft-iron balls 6 mm in diameter. However, pilot-plant tests drew attention to a major defect of the machine: the matrix could be blocked by wood chips and ferromagnetic particles. This problem was overcome by the incorporation of a modification that allows the balls to be discharged from the rotating annulus. Two full-scale units that incorporate the modification have been installed.

Jan 1, 1980

By Howard M. Wells

The investment worth of a mineral deposit can only be realistically evaluated in relation to specified engineering design criteria which fully detail the proposed method of exploitation. The operational design of a mine falls essentially within the technical discipline of the mining engineer, under the constraint that the technical design should be aimed at optimizing the financial attractiveness of the project. In the case of a marginally viable proposition it becomes vitally necessary to identify the best set of design parameters which together will add up to an optimum investment proposal. This paper examines some fundamental logic of optimization for a "wasting asset" type of investment such as a mine, with special reference to the rate of annual production and the strategy of selective mining.

Jan 12, 1978

By H. B. Pulsifer

ABOUT 15 varieties, or modifications, of the best magnesium available were prepared and subjected to etching tests, then examined for microstructure. Of the 30-odd etching reagents that were tried, nearly half, mostly ammonium salts, etched the metal satisfactorily. The surfacing and etching of magnesium is shown to be a very simple and quick operation. The density and hardness of magnesium were determined. The most interesting new observations relate to the finding of the hexagonal etch figures, the crystal laminations, and the fact that the metal is plastic, cold, when restrained or quickly deformed. Under slowly applied pressure cold metal deforms slightly, then shears to fracture without plastic flow: The chief structural features of magnesium are presented in two reduced photographs and 30 photomicrographs.

Jan 1, 1927

The primary purpose of the Institute is to advance the technologic and engineering arts embraced by it through interchange of knowledge This can best be done by the presentation and discussion of technical papers by its members Short practical papers are especially welcome An author should always satisfy himself that his material is of a quality that will be a credit to him and to the Institute The preparation of a good paper frequently leads to a reorientation of the author's thoughts, and publication contributes much to the professional standing of the author Members are urged to submit papers presenting the results of their work Attention to the following suggestions will greatly further the prompt and efficient handling of manuscripts

Jan 1, 1952

The primary purpose of the Institute is to advance the technologic and engineering arts embraced by it through inter- change of knowledge. This can best be done by the presentation and discussion of technical papers by its members. Short practical papers are especially welcome. An author should always satisfy himself that his material is of a quality that will be a credit to him and to the Institute. The preparation of a good paper frequently leads to a reorientation of the author's thoughts, and publication contributes much to the professional standing of the author. Members are urged to submit papers presenting the results of their work. Attention to the following suggestions will greatly further the prompt and efficient handling of manuscripts.

Jan 1, 1946

By M. S. Klima, P. T. Luckie

An evaluation of the operating performance of a recently designed pneumatic centrifugal classifier is presented. This classifier has been modified from a separate air and feed input design to an entrained solids in air feed input. The evaluation first required determining the size distributions for the three streams (feed, fine, and coarse). Using size distribution data and mass flow rates, a size selectivity curve was calculated for each operating condition tested. This curve, in turn, was characterized by appropriate selectivity parameters (i.e., the equiprobable or cut size, the sharpness index, and the apparent bypass values). The variation of these parameters with classifier operating conditions was examined. From these evaluations, the "best" operating conditions for the classifier were then determined.

Jan 1, 1985

By John V. Beall

As Mother Nature arranged it, the hottest potential mineral target in the country today, the Stillwater complex had to occur in a spectacular natural setting-the north margin of the Bear Tooth Mountains of Montana. What more appropriate backdrop for the August 17-18 field hearings of Senator Frank E. Moss (D-Utah). His subcommittee, on Minerals. Materials and Fuels, heard 37 witnesses ponder the value of minerals vs esthetics or other uses of federal lands. On August 17, four Army Hueys swept the senatorial party, the press, Forest Service Officers and such distinguished witnesses as Montana Governor Forrest H. Anderson over the Custer-Gallatin National Forests, besting the thin air of 10,000 ft p1us, they set down on Iron Plateau.

Jan 1, 1971

By Cyril Stanley Smith

Although alloys of copper and silicon were examined several years ago,' and their excellent mechanical properties were shown, it was not until C. B. Jacobs 2 introduced manganese in small quantities to the alloys that they became of commercial importance. A few years ago The American Brass Company took over the patents and commenced to manufacture the alloy under the name "Everdur." The present study of the constitution of the ternary system was undertaken in order to reach a fuller understanding of the behavior of the alloy. Review of Previous WORK on the BinaRy Systems There have been no papers published dealing with the constitution of the ternary system, although some tests of the mechanical properties have been described," which indicate that there is a change in solubility with temperature. Copper-silicon System The copper-silicon system has been studied in detail by the author and is described in two papers published in 1928.V he portion of the diagram up to 8 per cent. silicon, as determined by this research, is reproduced in Fig. 1. The author's previous papers include a complete review of the work of other investigators and it is not necessary to deal further with this system here. Copper-manganese System The copper-manganese system has been investigated by several workers, notably Lewis,5 Wologdine,6 Sahmen7 and Schemtschuschny,

Jan 1, 1930

By Howard M. Wells

The investment worth of a mineral deposit can only be realistically evaluated in relation to specified engineering design criteria which fully detail the proposed method of exploitation. The operational design of a mine falls essentially within the technical discipline of the mining engineer, under the constraint that the technical design should be aimed at optimizing the financial attractiveness of the project. In the case of a marginally viable proposition it becomes vitally necessary to identify the best set of design parameters which together will add up to an optimum investment proposal. This paper examines some fundamental logic of optimization for a "wasting asset" type of investment such as a mine, with special reference to the rate of annual production and the strategy of selective mining.

Jan 1, 1979

By Willis T. Burns

I. Introduction.......................................... 703 II. History................................................ 703 III. General Description of Plant......................... 704 IV. AnoDes................................................. 711 V. Cathodes............................................... 714 VI. Electrolyte............................................ 718 VII. Electrolytic Slime..................................... 727 VIII. Power................................................. 728 IX. Operating Details..................................... 732 X. Furnace Refining...................................... 736 XI. Physical Testing oF Products.......................... 739 I. Introduction. These notes are submitted, not as a discussion of the modern practice of electrolytic-copper refining, but as the record of a refinery that was among the pioneers in the field and that is to-day, and has been for 17 years, operating under conditions not to be found in any similar plant in the country. I refer to the current density, which is at least 60 per cent. higher than that regularly employed elsewhere, and to the fact that the anodes treated are the direct product of the converter rather than of the reverberatory furnace. The writer has no knowledge of any other refinery treating anodes of this character. II. History. This refinery, now one of the oldest plants of its kind operating in this country, was built in 1892 by the Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining CO. to refine the product of its Great Falls reduction works. The estimated capacity of the plant as designed was 65,000 lb. of cathodes per day at a current density of 16 amperes per square foot.

Jan 1, 1914

By Jack Haptonstall

INTRODUCTION The mines of western central Mexico historically contributed a profusion of gold and silver for the treasury of Spain and later provided sources for financing the Mexican War for Independence and the Mexican Revolution. The western coastal and barranca (cliff) tribes were hunters and extremely hostile, and the Spaniards were not able to penetrate many of the rich districts of their rugged homeland until the mid-1700's. This was more than 200 years after Cortez began the Inquisition by defeating the Aztecs and their allies in a decisive battle in the great city of Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City). The Spaniards had a voracious appetite for silver and gold, and it was inevitable that they would finally subdue the natives and commence mining activities. Described in this paper are some of the precious metal mining activities in the southern half of the State of Sinaloa and the western half of the State of Durango (Figure l), and specifically those mining activities in the area controlled by the company with which the author was associated for 14 years, Minas de San Luis, S. A. de C. V., the parent company of which is now Industrias Luis Min, S. A. GENERAL DESCRIPTION Geography, Logistics and Climate The most spectacular of the physiographic provinces, the western Sierra Madre Occidental is the cliff or "barranca" province, the

Jan 1, 1983

By George J. Bancroft

It is unnecessary to repeat here the contents of many valuable contributions to this subject which have appeared in the Dansactions and in the publications of the U. S. Geological Survey. As a basis for the further suggestions of this paper, the following are the most important: 1. The investigation of J. R. Don,' showing the gold of certain Australasian veins to have been deposited by ascending solutions, and not by lateral secretion. 2. The theory of Prof. Posepny? distinguishing the vadose from the deep circulation, and ascribing the origin of certain classes of ore-deposits to ascending solutions of the latter class. 3. The theory of Prof. Van Hise,3 as to the underground circulation and the primary enrichment of veins thereby. 4. The paper of Prof. J. F. Kemp,4 showing that ore-deposits are largely the products of " expiring vulcanism." Many. of Prof. Kemp's ideas have been widely adopted by mining men. 5. The theory of secondary enrichment, so lucidly expounded by Mr. S. F. Emmons.V his theory, dealing with the rearrangement of ore-bodies after primary mineralization, has been generally adopted, and seems to me to have been as completely proved as the nature of the case permits. There are two facts which I think should be constantly borne in mind in formulating a theory of the genesis of ore-

Jan 1, 1908

By P. Shahinian, J. Weertman

Minimum creep rates of nickel samples were measured in the stress region of 2.5x107 to 2.8xl0 dyne per sq cm and the temperature region of 400° to 1100°C. The creep rate seems to be proportional to (stress) at stresses below 7x10H dyne per sq cm. The activation energy of creep is approximately 65,000 cal per mol. IN a recent theory' of steady-state creep which is based on Mott's dislocation climb mechanism, the following creep equation was derived for creep in polycrystalline metals (if where K is creep rate, Q the activation energy of self-diffusion, S the entropy of activation of self-diffusion, L' the grain size, L the subgrain size, b the length of the Burgers' vector of a dislocation, u the shear modulus, u the stress, a the critical shear stress, M the density of active Frank-Read sources, v the vibrational frequency of a vacancy, and kT has its usual meaning. This equation predicts a creep rate which depends on the stress through a power law at low stresses. At high stresses the creep rate increases much more rapidly with stress. The theory breaks down for stresses great enough that the inequality holds true. It was the purpose of the present in-

Jan 1, 1957

By B. Silliman

THE remarkable outflow of natural gas recently developed in Western Pennsylvania, and along the valley of the Ohio and its tributaries, has called attention to an important series of patents for improvements in glass-fnrnaces and the manufacture of glass, which the brothers Siemens have made since 1872. The basement-patent of this series, is No. 127,806 of the U. S. Patent office, and is of date June 11th, 1872. This has been followed by eleven other patents (including one re-issue), all for improvements in glass-furnaces, or methods of manufacture, of which the latest is of date July 11th, 1882. Nine of these patents were issued in 1880-82. The following is the list of these patents, in order of dates, viz.: 1872. June 11th. No. 127,806 (U. S. office), Improvement in glass-furnaces; 17 sheets drawings, 5 pages text. This is the basement-patent. 1877. April 17th. No. 139,800. Improvement in the manufacture of glass; 3 sheets drawings, 2 pages text. Boats and floating vessels swimming in the liquid glass of the tank-furnace. Re-issued in 1880. q. v. 1880. April 27th. No. 226,931. Furnace for annealing and tem pering glass. " July 13th. No. 220,846. Glass-melting-furnace. " August 3d. No. 230,668. Glass-melting-furnace; 4 sheets drawings, 2 pages text.

Jan 1, 1885