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By C. W. Washburne

Recently, Messrs, Mills and Wells1 published a thorough chemical study of the waters associated with oil in parts of the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia region. Many of their conclusions are of general application and the writer wishes to discuss some of these. Messrs. Mills and Wells show that the composition of the deep brines oi the Appalachian fields is such as would be produced by the evaporation of sea water and the precipitation of sodium chloride, combined with reactions with hydrocarbons and other substances. The brines are altered, also, by considerable mixing with meteoric water. They give good reasons for believing that the concentration of the brines was produced by evaporation in the rock pores induced by migrating gas, much of which probably escaped to the surface of the ground. This hypothesis was considered by the writer in a former paperJ2 in which main stress was laid on a second hypothesis, that the excess of chlorine in the deep brines may have been due to the entrance of solutions rich in magnesium and calcium chloride which ascended from a deep, possibly intratellurie, source. Messrs. Mills and Wells present good arguments for the first hypothesis. Underground evaporation by ascending gases probably will be accepted as the best available explanation of the concentration and composition of deep well waters. They have not considered the possibility that salt waters in deep sands may be concentrated by the diffusion of water vapor through gas into shale. The writer has given reasons3 for believing that capillary forces concentrate gas and oil in the larger openings of rock, such as the pores of sandstones embedded in shale. The gas underground must be nearly saturated with water vapor at all times, because it always is in contact with the interstitial water of enclosing shales and of the sandstone. Experimental studies of soil moisture have shown that approxi-

Jan 1, 1921

By Homer W. Riley

ANTHRACITE SMALL power-driven, toothed, cast-iron rolls were used first to break anthracite in 1844. Prior to that time, men with hammers, who stood on perforated cast-iron plates, broke the large lumps into commercial sizes. In order to convert run-of-mine into the various sizes required by the anthracite industry, about 20 million tons must be broken, annually, into smaller sizes. This phase of anthracite preparation is of major importance, because the degradation accompanying reduction in coal sizes should be kept at a minimum. The exclusive use of toothed rolls for that purpose indicates that comminution by rolls is the best solution of the problem. Many improvements have been made in tooth design, but the most important was a reduction of the peripheral speed of the rolls from 1000 to 300 ft. per minute. The higher speed was based upon and approximated the velocity of a falling piece of coal when it entered the rolls, Exhaustive roll tests at the slower speed showed that the same size reduction could be affected with less degradation. The adoption, therefore, of slow-speed, compound geared rolls, especially for breaking the larger sizes, became quite general after 1912. A high-speed roll is shown in Fig. 1 and a slow-speed roll in Fig. 2. Anthracite Crushing Problems.-Crushing anthracite presents the problem of selecting a series of rolls that will produce the greatest percentage of the prepared sizes of nut and over. The size distributions to be expected are shown in Table 1. Coal breaking and crushing practices in anthracite breakers involve the use of equipment for comminuting the following classes of material: 1. Run-of-mine-plus 6 ½ -in. coal. 2. Sized coal-steamboat, broken, egg, stove, nut, and pea. 3. Flat coal--coal that is flat and hence not suitable for the market. 4. Bone--a piece of laminated coal and slate, crushed for the purpose of reclaiming the coal. 5. Breaker refuse, reduced to a size suitable for flushing into a mine for back-filling purposes.

Jan 1, 1950

By S. V. Krusiewski, J. W. Gabelman

Regional metallogenic zones and areas of equal paragenetic range have been interpreted from a compiled metallogenic map. of Mexico. Mineralization gradients of the pattern subsequently identified extend inland from coastal zones of high-temperature mineralization, and join in a central longitudinal zone of relatively low-temperature mineralization, apparently leaving no zonal room for lowest temperature deposits. The striking regional zoning pattern can be correlated with regional deformation gradients of similar position and orientation. The gradients represent at least three major orogenic cycles in two structural belts. Paleozoic structural belts existed along each coast with deformation gradients diminishing inland toward a narrow, central peninsular craton. The Mesozoic-Tertiary Mexican (Cordilleran) belt covered the entire country with a gradient oriented toward the Gulf of Mexico. Most ore deposits in this belt are of Tertiary age, although Tertiary mineralization gradients seem to have "inherited" the pattern left by Paleozoic tectonic gradients. Mineralization gradients can be used to identify the regions most favorable for the occurrence of selected metals. A metallogenic province is characterized by particular proportions of various metals, and the relative proportions can vary from province to province; but within any province the same intensity of mineralization would produce similar deposits in different places. Declining intensity of minetalization produces different kinds and sizes of deposits in zones that are concentrically arranged around sites of strongest rock alteration. On a regional basis, districts of similar average intensity of mineralization occur in zones that generally parallel some tectonic grain with the result that tectonic deformation has been designated a principal cause of mineralization. Variations in the type and intensity of deformation would determine the type as well as size of metal deposits. Mexico is especially favorable for such a study be- cause of its great abundance and variety of epi-genetic mineral deposits in various lithologic, structural and tectonic environments. The concept is also useful in recognizing portions of Mexico favorable for the occurrence of specific metals. METALLOTECTONIC ZONING IN MEXICO Theory: In studies of individual districts and groups of districts throughout North and South America, areal zoning of metal deposits generally seemed to respond to the paragenetic sequence of iron, gold, copper, zinc, lead, silver, antimony and arsenic, gold and fluorite. However, the definition of district zones is greatly obscured by contemporaneous or rhythmic deposition of metals, especially in the middle of the paragenetic range, and by the common superimposi-tions of different generations of metals. Zones could usually be distinguished only for groups of metals, such as early precious metals, base-metal sulfides, sulfosalts and late precious metals. The best defined zoning in a district is normally the spatial separation of the greatest volumes of altered and metallized rocks.' Exceptions are districts representing the high- and low-temperature extremes of the mineralization range where the former creates a matrix for the latter. In most districts the total quantity of alteration products is greatly in excess of, and appears to be roughly proportional to, the total quantity of metallization products. Subsequent to the bicomponent nature of each district, the most important mineralogical feature is the great excess of one to several metals or minerals which results in a district identifiable as one of predominantly gold, copper, lead-zinc, fluorite, etc., although a great variety of other elements may be present. The para-genetic range for the abundant elements in any district is only a portion of the entire possible range for all the elements representing the complete process throughout the region. Early during investigations of this type, it became apparent that the consistent bicomponent character of districts allows two methods for studying epi-genetic mineralization patterns. One is to identify and plot altered rock "pipes,"* which are easily recognizable in the landscape by their anomalous

Jan 1, 1969

By Arthur Taggart

Recent jig practice has shown such marked departures from the pronouncements of the textbooks, particularly as to particle size recovered and size range of feed, as to make it desirable to reexamine the mechanism of jig action. This paper presents the results of such a study. The general conclusions of the Paper are: I. A jig bed is a bi-functioned as well as bi-parted body. The upper layer comprises a plastic stream moving slowly in a substantially horizontal direction from feed lip to tail board. It serves to rough out tailing and light middling and to pick up heavy middling and lift it out 01 the jig box. The lower layer acts as the ultimate separating means by absorbing concentrate and rejecting heavy middling. 2. The separating function of the lower layer is performed in three definitely diflerent ways, depending upon the relative sizes of the grains presented to it and those composing it. Experimental The experimental work consisted of close and long-continued visual observations of operating beds in a plunger jig, eccentric driven, and in determinations of the settling rates of various metal spheres through a quartz bed under various conditions of operation. Falling velocities were measured by an ingenious method devised by A. 6. Dorenfeld, a student in the Mining Department at Colum- bia. Spheres of different metallic alloys, 3/8-in. diameter, were cast with a short piece of fine copper wire frozen in to Serve for suspension-A short piece of black cotton thread was looped to the top of the wire to serve as an indicator. The set-up for a test is shown in Fig. I. The thread should be boiled, if necessary, to make it freely water absorbent. The piece of clean plate glass D is supported rigidly at the proper height in a vertical position. The white scale E is similarly supported behind the glass. At the beginning of a test, D is filmed with water by holding it (best with clean rubber finger cots) under running tap water. It is then clamped in approximate position and C, already wet, is laid across it and drawn straight and vertical with the upper end at or near the top of D, and the ball A slightly above the top of the expanded bed. The water film holds the string to the glass. For a test the string is released, its upper end position noted just after the top of the ball becomes submerged, when the corresponding time is read, and thereafter simultaneous readings of position and time are taken as desired. Results of the visual studies of the bed are given at the pertinent places in the following discussion. Results of the settling tests are summarized in Figs- 2 and 3. Definitions The name bed as used herein refers to the entire mixture of solids and water filling the jig box. A layer is a stratum of a bed composed of particles of substantially the same specific gravities. A granular product is long-range when it approximates a crushed or ground product limited as to upper size only; a short-rafzge product is one closely sized. A bed is loaded when operating with continuous feed and discharge of products; it is unloaded when pulsating norma11y but neither being fed nor

Jan 1, 1943

By Arthur Taggart

Recent jig practice has shown such marked departures from the pronouncements of the textbooks, particularly as to particle size recovered and size range of feed, as to make it desirable to reexamine the mechanism of jig action. This paper presents the results of such a study. The general conclusions of the Paper are: I. A jig bed is a bi-functioned as well as bi-parted body. The upper layer comprises a plastic stream moving slowly in a substantially horizontal direction from feed lip to tail board. It serves to rough out tailing and light middling and to pick up heavy middling and lift it out 01 the jig box. The lower layer acts as the ultimate separating means by absorbing concentrate and rejecting heavy middling. 2. The separating function of the lower layer is performed in three definitely diflerent ways, depending upon the relative sizes of the grains presented to it and those composing it. Experimental The experimental work consisted of close and long-continued visual observations of operating beds in a plunger jig, eccentric driven, and in determinations of the settling rates of various metal spheres through a quartz bed under various conditions of operation. Falling velocities were measured by an ingenious method devised by A. 6. Dorenfeld, a student in the Mining Department at Colum- bia. Spheres of different metallic alloys, 3/8-in. diameter, were cast with a short piece of fine copper wire frozen in to Serve for suspension-A short piece of black cotton thread was looped to the top of the wire to serve as an indicator. The set-up for a test is shown in Fig. I. The thread should be boiled, if necessary, to make it freely water absorbent. The piece of clean plate glass D is supported rigidly at the proper height in a vertical position. The white scale E is similarly supported behind the glass. At the beginning of a test, D is filmed with water by holding it (best with clean rubber finger cots) under running tap water. It is then clamped in approximate position and C, already wet, is laid across it and drawn straight and vertical with the upper end at or near the top of D, and the ball A slightly above the top of the expanded bed. The water film holds the string to the glass. For a test the string is released, its upper end position noted just after the top of the ball becomes submerged, when the corresponding time is read, and thereafter simultaneous readings of position and time are taken as desired. Results of the visual studies of the bed are given at the pertinent places in the following discussion. Results of the settling tests are summarized in Figs- 2 and 3. Definitions The name bed as used herein refers to the entire mixture of solids and water filling the jig box. A layer is a stratum of a bed composed of particles of substantially the same specific gravities. A granular product is long-range when it approximates a crushed or ground product limited as to upper size only; a short-rafzge product is one closely sized. A bed is loaded when operating with continuous feed and discharge of products; it is unloaded when pulsating norma11y but neither being fed nor

Jan 1, 1943

By H. A. Hoffman

Competition from an all-flotation plant, with demonstrated economies and efficiencies, plus a change in smelting contract and introduction of improved cyclones lead to conversion from gravity-flotation. Detailed descriptions are given of equipment installed and procedures used at St. Joseph Lead's Federal mill. Future plans include further quality control by instrumentation in all aspects of the mill operation. Also planned are improvements in materials handling systems. Competitive conditions will continue to dictate improvements and changes in the mill flowsheet. The advent of all-flotation mills in the Lead Belt was introduced by the Indian Creek mill in late 1953. This modern and efficient plant then became a pattern for the other mills in this area to re-evaluate their circuits in an effort to develop flowsheets that would improve operating conditions and metallurgy. The Indian Creek mill demonstrated that all-flotation would require considerably less operating and maintenance labor than the combination of tabling and flotation that was common in the Lead Belt at that time. Two significant changes occurred in recent years to allow all-flotation to be seriously considered in other Lead Belt mills. One was a change in the smelting contract which did not require gravity concentrate. Another was the development of cyclones which provided classification of the flotation feed in a very small space. Since the Federal mill was the largest concentrating plant in the Lead Belt it was felt that the greatest savings could be made by investigating the all-flotation possibilities at this mill. Interest was stimulated by the milling and ore dressing Depts. to determine if this mill would be converted without undue cost, provided the metallurgy could be improved. Accordingly, laboratory tests were initiated to learn what metallurgical benefit could be derived. Numerous tests were run which indicated that grinding to all-flotation would improve the tailing by as much as 0.02 pct Pb. This was quite significant when multiplied by the tonnage of ore treated. Projecting the added cost of power for extra grinding and flotation, and the additional flotation reagents required, plus additional new equipment that would have to be purchased, it would still add up to a considerable saving. The all-flotation mill would reduce man power by some 30 pct, and make a metallurgical improvement. Operating costs could be reduced bv 2$ per ton. The metallurgical improvement would amount to 4$ per ton, for a total of 6$ per ton of ore milled. An estimate of the cost of the conversion was set at $250,000. With the savings as estimated this could be paid off in about two years. On paper it therefore seemed attractive enough to justify a mill test. MILL TESTING One section of the Federal mill was made available for use as a separate test circuit. Cyclones and density controllers were borrowed from the Viburnum and Indian Creek mills. Denver flotation cells were obtained from the Desloge mill that was then shut down. Two 10-cell groups of Fagergren flotation machines, consisting of eight roughers and two cleaners in each bank, were segregated from the remainder of the plant. The 9x12-ft rod mill was continued as a primary grinding mill. The two 6%x12-ft mills on this section were converted from rods to balls, and the speed increased to 22.0 rpm. Cyclones were installed to close the circuit of these ball mills. The ground pulp from each of the ball mills was fed separately to its own bank of flotation cells so that two completely separated test circuits could be run in parallel. This test circuit operated on a three-shift basis from Dec. 22, 1959 to Mar. 21, 1960. The first few weeks were occupied in developing conditions for proper metallurgy and trouble-free operations. Results were rather erratic but as the ore dressing laboratory and the mill operators became more familiar with conditions they were able to obtain expected results, which could be duplicated day after day. The last five weeks of testing indicated the best results and are tabulated in Table I. During the first two weeks a Denver unit cell was used on No. 1 flotation circuit. Even though it recovered almost one half of

Jan 1, 1962

By Hugh D. Pallister, Richard W. Smith

The Alabama flake-graphite industry has flourished only in times of war when importations of foreign graphite for crucible use have been greatly curtailed or cut off. World War I was a boom period and in 1918 some 30 plants produced 7,795,475 Ib. of flake graphite. The industry languished following the war and no graphite was produced from 1929 to 1939. The Federal Bureau of Mines began investigating the Alabama graphite deposits in 1940 and worked out modern recovery methods that were applied to production during part of World War 11. A prospecting program disclosed reserves of over 25 million tons of graphtic schists. In 1942 the War Production Board authorized the enlargement of the only plant then producing flake graphite and the construction of two new plants. Production of flake graphite from these three plants in 1943 is estimated at 8,100,000 lb. Increased imports from Madagascar late in 1943 shut down one of the new plants and curtailed production at the other. Alabama flake graphite has not yet been able to compete with Madagascar graphite for use in the manufacture of any but small graphite crucibles. The future of the industry must depend on meeting the higher carbon content demanded for other uses. Introduction The flake-graphite deposits of Alabama are confined to a narrow belt extending for about 60 miles southwest from the northeast corner of Clay County across Coosa County to the edge of the Coastal Plain in Chilton County (Fig. I). The continuity of the beds is broken by a 10-mile gap between Millerville in Clay County and Goodwater in Coosa County. The Clay County beds extend about 27 miles northwest of this gap, with a width of 3 to 4 miles near Millerville and of less than a mile at the northeast end. The Coosa-Chilton are? is about 33 miles long with a fairly consistent width of 2 to 3 miles. Geologically the graphite belt lies near the northeast boundary of the outcrop of metamorphic rocks of the Ashland series, a complex group of intensely folded and faulted beds of pre-Cambrian age composed mostly of quartz-mica schist, in which the mica is predominantly muscovite; garnet-mica schist, in which biotite is more common; and hornblende schist. Flake graphite is found in commercial quantities only in the quartz-mica schist. The best graphite, both in quantity and quality, is found in schist cut by numerous small pegmatite stringers along the planes of the schistosity. The pegmatites themselves contain little graphite, but the adjacent country rock is normally rich. . The schist was derived through the recrystallization of shale during the intrusion of the pegmatites, the graphite being derived from amorphous carbon in the shale. The intrusion of the pegmatites, and therefore the size and quantity .of the graphite flakes, seems to have a structural control.

Jan 1, 1948

By V. C. Allison

Large-scale testing of the explosibility of coal dust as conducted by the Bureau of Mines in its Experimental Mine involves a large initial investment, and a high charge for maintenance and conduct of the test; in addition the work is necessarily slow because of the time required for the preparntion of the tests and the cleaning and repairing of the mine after each test. These tests have been made along practical mining lines that admit of a range of mixtures of dust varying from 5 to 10 per cent. and with gas as low as 0.5 per cent. increments. Because of the time and expense involved, efforts have been made to devise a type of gallery for laboratory use in which the results obtained in the Experimental Mine may be correlated as an aid in a study of dusts, the explosibility of which might be approximately determined quickly and at a minimum of expense. The explosibility of coal dust has been studied by a number of European investors, using small laboratory devices; among these may be mentioned the experiments conducted by Galloway, Vital, Hall and Clark, Abel, Mallard and Chatelier, Thorpe, Bedson and Widdas, Engler, Holwartz and Meyer, and Taffanel, results of whose experiments have becn reviewed by the Bureau of Mines.' The Bureau has conducted many tests with the Frazer-Cle1ncnt5 apparattus, which gives the pressures set up when the dust cloud within is ignited with a platinum coil or tube, heated to different temperatures, but for these tests the sample must be especially prepared as to size (200 mesh) and must be dry. Need for a Dust-testing Apparatus An attempt has been made to design an apparatus that may be used for checking and correlating the expcrimental tests. The first design was a wooden gallery, 8 by 10 in., inside cross section, and 12 ft. long, and having a number of strips along each side for creation of turbulence. The wooden gallery did not get beyond its period of calibration; it mas difficult to make the gallery sufficiently tight, for it was necessary that the top be removable in order that the gallery could be cleaned. In the use of the wooden gallery, however, sufficient operating data were obtained to be a guide in the design of a steel gallery having a circular cross-section. One of the features was a flap valve, at the closed end of the gallery, that would open inwardly thus preventing a reduced pressure within, caused by the cooling of the gases of combustion, and the explosions propagated much better than when the valve was not used; another feature was the determining of the best method for getting a cloud of dust simultaneously in all parts of the gallery, which was accomplished by the use of the concussion wave of a small quantity of powder or by the use of compressed air.

Jan 1, 1927

By Hugh D. Pallister, Richard W. Smith

The Alabama flake-graphite industry has flourished only in times of war when importations of foreign graphite for crucible use have been greatly curtailed or cut off. World War I was a boom period and in 1918 some 30 plants produced 7,795,475 Ib. of flake graphite. The industry languished following the war and no graphite was produced from 1929 to 1939. The Federal Bureau of Mines began investigating the Alabama graphite deposits in 1940 and worked out modern recovery methods that were applied to production during part of World War 11. A prospecting program disclosed reserves of over 25 million tons of graphtic schists. In 1942 the War Production Board authorized the enlargement of the only plant then producing flake graphite and the construction of two new plants. Production of flake graphite from these three plants in 1943 is estimated at 8,100,000 lb. Increased imports from Madagascar late in 1943 shut down one of the new plants and curtailed production at the other. Alabama flake graphite has not yet been able to compete with Madagascar graphite for use in the manufacture of any but small graphite crucibles. The future of the industry must depend on meeting the higher carbon content demanded for other uses. Introduction The flake-graphite deposits of Alabama are confined to a narrow belt extending for about 60 miles southwest from the northeast corner of Clay County across Coosa County to the edge of the Coastal Plain in Chilton County (Fig. I). The continuity of the beds is broken by a 10-mile gap between Millerville in Clay County and Goodwater in Coosa County. The Clay County beds extend about 27 miles northwest of this gap, with a width of 3 to 4 miles near Millerville and of less than a mile at the northeast end. The Coosa-Chilton are? is about 33 miles long with a fairly consistent width of 2 to 3 miles. Geologically the graphite belt lies near the northeast boundary of the outcrop of metamorphic rocks of the Ashland series, a complex group of intensely folded and faulted beds of pre-Cambrian age composed mostly of quartz-mica schist, in which the mica is predominantly muscovite; garnet-mica schist, in which biotite is more common; and hornblende schist. Flake graphite is found in commercial quantities only in the quartz-mica schist. The best graphite, both in quantity and quality, is found in schist cut by numerous small pegmatite stringers along the planes of the schistosity. The pegmatites themselves contain little graphite, but the adjacent country rock is normally rich. . The schist was derived through the recrystallization of shale during the intrusion of the pegmatites, the graphite being derived from amorphous carbon in the shale. The intrusion of the pegmatites, and therefore the size and quantity .of the graphite flakes, seems to have a structural control.

Jan 1, 1948

By R. L. Schmidt, J. D. Verhoeven

The diffusion coefficients and electrotralzsport mobilities of aluminum, gallium, and arsenic have been determined in molten germanium with the capillary reservoir technique. The diffusion coefficients are slightly higher than those determined by the solidification technique of Brirton et a1.1 It was found that aluminium and gallium migrate to the cathode in molten germanium) whereas arsenic migrates to the anode under an electric field. A possible technique for producing p-n junctions by means of electric field freezing is discussed in view of the experimental data. In the past decade or so the literature has abounded with articles concerning the solid-state properties of the semiconducting elements germanium and silicon. It is surprising by comparison how little has been published concerning the liquid-state properties of these materials. In the production of doped germanium or silicon the diffusion coefficient of the dopant in liquid germanium or silicon is an important quantity. Yet, to the best of our knowledge, no one has ever made a direct measurement of the diffusion coefficient of solutes in either molten germanium or silicon. A number of authors'-4 have determined some diffusion coefficients by the indirect technique developed by Burton et al.1 This technique appears to give numbers of the correct order of magnitude but it does depend upon a number of assumptions in the analysis and also requires prior knowledge of the viscosity of the melt. In the present work a more direct measure of the diffusion coefficients of arsenic, gallium: and aluminum in molten germanium has been made. It has been shown independently by two groups of authors5, 6 that, when an electric current is passed through the interface of a solidifying metal containing an impurity, the resulting electrotransport in the liquid boundary layer at the interface offers a mechanism for control over the redistribution of the impurity accompanying the solidification. These authors show that the degree of control is proportional to the mobility, U of the impurity atoms in the liquid boundary layer, where the mobility is defined as the drift velocity relative to the solvent per unit electric field. In principle the results apply to the solidification of a doped semiconductor and offer an interesting technique for control of the doping of a semiconductor. In the present work the mobilities of aluminum, gallium, and arsenic were determined in molten germanium in order to evaluate the potential usefulness of electro-transport as a technique for solute control when applied to the solidification of doped germanium. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Both the diffusion coefficients and the mobilities were measured using high-purity alumina capillaries and a resistivity technique for analysis. A schematic diagram of the electrotransport apparatus is shown in Fig. 1 and the details of the cell design are shown in Fig. 2. For the mobility experiments electrical contact with the bottom of the capillary was made with graphite, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to prevent electrical contact with the melt the graphite was coated with a thin layer of alumina using a plasma spray torch. The cell assembly, a graphite electrode, and another assembly containing two blank capillaries were fastened to the lavite disk shown in Fig. 1. To make a run the system was evacuated and the doped germanium was outgassed at the operating temperature of 1030°C. The cell and blank capillaries were then submerged beneath the melt and a slightly positive pressure of helium was introduced to fill them. After passing current through the cell for a given time the cell and blank capillaries were raised from the melt and the furnace was shut off. The temperature of the cells dropped below the freezing point of germanium within 1 to 2 min after the furnace was shut off.

Jan 1, 1968

By John L. Boardman

BECAUSE of the attention that has recently been given to the health and safety of miners by various organizations such as the A.I.M.E., The American Congress, Mining Section, National Safety Council, as well as the Bureau of Mines and various state mining departments, your committee on health and safety deemed it best to call attention this year to the mine-accident cause that is by far the most important; namely, injuries due to falls of ground, rock, roof and coal. Each of several members of the committee contributed a brief outline of the importance of this accident cause in his district. While these papers were brief, it would require too much time and space to give them in full, therefore we present an outline of each and summation of all. REPORT OF M. D. COOPER, HILLMAN COAL AND COKE CO. M. D. Cooper, Division superintendent, Hillman Coal and Coke Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., contributed the following: During the period from 1930 to 1939. accidents from falls of roof in bituminous mines average 54.3 per cent of all accidents. In mechanized mining, there is a tendency toward reduction in this class of accidents because the operator of the machine is usually at a distance of 10 to 20 ft. from the face, whereas in hand loading the miner is close to the face during most of the shift. No doubt the use of aluminum and light steel beams supported at regular intervals by jacks, a common practice in mechanical mining, has contributed to the favorable record so far developed. REPORT OF M. H. FIES, DE BARDELEBEN COAL CORPORATION Milton H. Fies, Vice-President, DeBardeleben Coal Corporation, Birmingham, Ala., says: With reference to the types of mining, it is suggested that a clear understanding be had as to the character and thickness of the directly overlying strata, with especial consideration to the strength and in some cases an analysis of it. In coal mining, generally speaking, overlying strata higher in silica than others is stronger. In changing from narrow to wide places, the procedure should be experimental, both as to the width and depth of places and as to the nature of the necessary timbering. Since most of the accidents in coal mining particularly are due to falls of roof and coal, this phase of mining should be attacked with vigor There is no substitute for discipline and, in this connection, under present conditions it is important that cooperation by the labor organizations be sought and that a spirit of fairness prevail. Frequent and thorough inspection of all active working places should be made.

Jan 1, 1941

By E. A. Breitenbach

A computer program has been developed to afford rapid and complete quantitative log analysis for exploration and production decisions. The computation consists of automatic selection of tops and bottoms of porous intervals from the digitized data, and then point-by-point calculations within each selected interval. Nearly all log types can be analyzed. This paper presents the calculation techniques found to be appticable to machine evaluation and gives examples of their use. INTRODUCTION As the quantitative interpretation of well logs entails repetitive use of charts and equations, it is natural that digital computer programs would be written. A Universal Log Interpretation Computer Program (ULICP) has been developed to afiord rapid and complete analysis for exploration and production decisions. Application of this program enables the log analyst to: (I) apply rapid quantitative log analysis for exploration and production decisions on either a field, a well or on a single zone basis; (2) apply concepts of interpretation requiring detailed numerical analysis; (3) analyze all porous intervals on each log, rather than a few selected zones, and complete the analysis in less time than previously required. Computations are reported for every digitized point in each zone; (4) use empirical techniques applicable to a given area as an integral part of the computation; (5) experiment with the empirical coefficients and exponents in the interpretation equations to find the best possible solution; and (6) automatically plot both the original and computed data to scales analogous to the field prints. The primary utility of a log interpretation program stems from its ability to do an overwhelming amount of work with very little man-power. If a calculation procedure or thought process can be formalized to the extent that step-by-step logic can be written, a computer program can be developed that follows this logic. The major question is one of economics. A feasibility study of the costs for such a program indicates that digital processing is economical primarily as a means of increasing the productivity of the log analyst. In effect, the probability of missing productive intervals in any well, because of a lack of time to do detailed calculations, is greatly reduced. The nucleus of ULICP is programmed to compute large sections of a suite of logs by selecting zones automatically and then performing all pertinent computations on a data point by data point basis within each zone.'.' An entire suite of logs can be processed in this manner with very little manual intervention. Sufficient programming logic is available so that each log analyst can request computations pertinent to his area. These requests are made by simple additions or deletions of information on the input header cards. Hence, the log analyst is always in complete control of the computation process. The evaluation of a suite of logs requires pre-editing, digitization, computation, presentation of results and interpretation. Work by the log analyst is reqilired only in pre-editing and interpretation. Thus, he is allowed more time for comprehensive interpretation, rather than calculation. For continuity, the discussion of ULICP is organized sequentially: pre-editing, digitization, computation and presentation of results. DISCUSSION PRE-EDITING The extent of pre-editing prior to computation is dependent on the format of the original data. For analog prints, it requires inspection, correlation and editing of the logs, plus the entering of required data an special forms. For digitized data such as magnetic tape field recordings, only the special forms are necessary. The process for analog prints will be given here. The inspection and correlation process involves the selection of sections for digitization and the correlation of the traces to a common depth. To decrease the cost of digitization, traces that exhibit large variations in shale formations can be redrawn to a non-zero baseline. The next step is to enter all pertinent data on the input header cards. The header cards presently used for ULICP are presented as Figs. 1 through 6. Cards 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Fig. 1) are defined as the Main Header Cards. They describe the particular well for output identification and give basic information. Cards 5 through 15 (Figs. 2 through 6) are defined as the Block Header Cards. As such, they define the log types and the interpretation parameters for the block of data immediately following. Cards 1 through 10 are required for every computer run. Cards 11 through 14 pertain only to nuclear logs. Card 11 is required if any nuclear log is supplied, and cards 12 through 14 are required only when gamma-ray, density or neutron log data, respectively, are supplied. Card 15 (Fig. 6) must be supplied when cross-plot calculations are required. Either two- or three-component

Jan 1, 1967

By R. S. Shoemaker, D. L. Harris

Past investigations into the possibility of concentrating the low-grade iron ores of the Gogebic Range in Wisconsin have been hampered by the complex association of the constituent minerals. In part the problem arises from the fact that the iron occurs essentially as two minerals, hematite and goethite, having nearly the same chemical composition but exhibiting different physical properties. Individual grains of these minerals are usually so small that the ore must be ground to a size finer than 325 mesh if substantial liberation of the minerals is to be secured. Appraisal of beneficiation tests on this iron ore requires, therefore, some method of determining quantitatively the contents of constituent minerals in the various products of the beneficiation. Because of the chemical similarity of the two iron minerals, chemical analyses do not provide a means of differentiation. Although the minerals are different physically, they are both opaque and friable, and as the ore must be ground to a very fine size for liberation to be secured, quantitative microscopic methods of analysis are extremely difficult at best. In an effort to overcome these analytical problems, a quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis method has been developed at the University of Wisconsin for the research program on iron ore beneficiation.

Jan 5, 1955

By D. D. Bolstad, S. M. Dar, T. W. Smelser, H. C. Pettibone

The use of roof bolt supports has reduced the number of fatal and nonfatal roof fall accidents in coal mines. Roof fall accidents, however, still occur far too frequently. Roof bolting plans are based almost entirely on trial and error, which inevitably leads to underdesign or overdesign with regard to bolt length, spacing, tension, and bolt type for the specific conditions. Underdesign poses safety problems, and overdesign leads to unnecessary costs. Guidelines are needed to select and design optimum roof-bolt plans that will maximize safety and minimize cost. Despite the use of 100 million roof bolts per year, the theory of roof bolting remains underdeveloped. Underground tests designed to provide this knowledge have been only partially successful owing to the many uncontrollable geologic variables present in underground mining situations. The Bureau of Mines believes that the best approach is to conduct a laboratory model study in correlation with finite-element analysis (FEA) and field verification, where these variables can be tightly controlled and measured. A physical model allows precise performance measurement of different bolt types as a function of a wide range of precisely measured parameters. Although the model being used is idealized and limited in size, it serves as a reliable basis for confirming the mechanism of rock reinforcement by bolting and the accuracy of the computer FEA approach to modeling mining problems.

Jan 1, 1984

By S. B. Patterson, A.R. Amos

Log washers have been used for many years in the washing of clay iron ores, phosphate rock and manganese ores, but not until the past 15 years have they been employed to any extent in the preparation of aggregate materials and fluxing stone. For a machine of such importance where tenacious clay or soft rock must be eliminated, there are few data generally available. The purpose of this paper is to set forth the results obtained from several operations, together with a few suggestions for planning a specific installation. Where the material to be washed out consists of loose surface soil, silt, or small amounts of quickly soluble clay, there is little competition with other forms of washers, because greater power and maintenance are required for the operation of log washers, but where the foreign matter is a stiff clay, such as occurs with high-calcium limestones and in marginal gravel deposits, the ability of other kinds of washers to eliminate completely the hard clay balls is at least uncertain. Then the log washer comes into its own field, for with the breaking and churning action of the logs it will clean out the toughest clay. Even with material from the hydraulic dredge, if it contains tough clay, the log washer is desirable unless the gravel is subjected to a costly soaking and rehandling process. Recently there has been a considerable development in other types of machines to accomplish these results but it is not within the scope of this paper to make comparisons between competitive types, but to present the best obtainable data on log washers only. From the primitive design that gave it its name, a long log hewn from a tree, with paddles forged to shape from strap iron and attached by lag screws, the log washer has gradually been developed to the present all-steel type. As now manufactured, the log washer consists essentially of two built-up logs on which are mounted a series of paddles, carried by shafts fitted at the ends of the logs on bearings fastened outside the enclosing steel box, or trough, which is set at an angle of about 5" to 10" and into which the material is fed. Stuffing boxes at the places where the shafts pass through the box at the lower end are equipped with water-

Jan 1, 1938

By A. R. Amos, S. B. Patterson

Log washers have been used for many years in the washing of clay iron ores, phosphate rock and manganese ores, but not until the past 15 years have they been employed to any extent in the preparation of aggregate materials and fluxing stone. For a machine of such importance where tenacious clay or soft rock must be eliminated, there are few data generally available. The purpose of this paper is to set forth the results obtained from several operations, together with a few suggestions for planning a specific installation. Where the material to be washed out consists of loose surface soil, silt, or small amounts of quickly soluble clay, there is little competition with other forms of washers, because greater power and maintenance are required for the operation of log washers, but where the foreign matter is a stiff clay, such as occurs with high-calcium limestones and in marginal gravel deposits, the ability of other kinds of washers to eliminate completely the hard clay balls is at least uncertain. Then the log washer comes into its own field, for with the breaking and churning action of the logs it will clean out the toughest clay. Even with material from the hydraulic dredge, if it contains tough clay, the log washer is desirable unless the gravel is subjected to a costly soaking and rehandling process. Recently there has been a considerable development in other types of machines to accomplish these results but it is not within the scope of this paper to make comparisons between competitive types, but to present the best obtainable data on log washers only. From the primitive design that gave it its name, a long log hewn from a tree, with paddles forged to shape from strap iron and attached by lag screws, the log washer has gradually been developed to the present all-steel type. As now manufactured, the log washer consists essentially of two built-up logs on which are mounted a series of paddles, carried by shafts fitted at the ends of the logs on bearings fastened outside the enclosing steel box, or trough, which is set at an angle of about 5" to 10" and into which the material is fed. Stuffing boxes at the places where the shafts pass through the box at the lower end are equipped with water-

Jan 1, 1938

By Benj. F. Tillson

To most mine operators, it seems evident that there is a drill-steel problem, although under certain conditions the amount of drill-steel breakage does not appear serious. What is at fault? It may be one or a combination of circumstances. The development of rock drills to the hammer-drill type in place of the old reciprocating piston drill, probably is one important cause for the greater steel breakage. Perhaps the manufacturers of drill steel have failed to realize what alloys are needed for this new service or have overlooked the changes in the art of rock drilling. Although suitable alloys are provided, they may not be SO handled in the manufacturing process as to be in the best condition to withstand the demands of rock drilling. The mine operator may be at fault in desiring to use the smallest possible drill-steel section in order that the gage of the drill bits may be correspondingly small and the amount of footage drilled per unit of labor may be greater; or the black-smithshop practice at the mines may need improvement. The miner who uses the drill steel may also require more intensive supervision and education. Again, the manufacturer of rock drills may have failed to study the types of blows the steel alloys will withstand satisfactorily and which their tools are delivering and so he may not know whether or not a different design of rock drill would equal or excel their present drilling speeds without treating the drill steel so severely. All of these hypotheses probably have their supporters. On the other hand, perhaps we are seeking too much service from drill steel and we need a fuller realization of the fatigue strains developed and should prepare to relieve these by a periodic heat treatment of the steels. However, we do not find any proof that any of these suppositions may be held responsible for the drill-steel breakage attendant to mining. The proposed investigation of this matter by the U. S. Bureau of Mines is fully warranted in the promotion of the conservation of labor and material, and the safety of the workmen. The great range of field conditions, as well as the scope of the research, requires the energetic cooperative support of many interests. Various manufacturers of steel,

Jan 1, 1922

By John W. Weeton, Max Quatinetz, Robert J. Schafer

Nickel powders of 1-, 0.4-, and 0.2- average particle size were combined with 0.05- p MgO powder. Oxide was added in quantities of 4, 12, and 20 vol pct. The mixtures were vacuum hot pressed and extruded at 2100°F. In spite of a general tendency to growth of oxide particles during processing, dispersions of fineness comparable to those of Sintered Aluminum Powder, SAP, were achieved. A small amount of oxide considerably improved 1800°F stress-rupture strength, but further oxide addition resulted in a decrease of strength. RECENTLY there has been much speculation concerning the requisites for strong and stable dispersion-strengthened alloys. The nature of the dispersed phase, the stability of the alloys, and variables influencing the mechanical properties of alloys have been given consideration. Such topics have been reviewed by Bunshah and Goetzel. Of the many parameters related to the mechanical properties of dispersion alloys, mean free path between dispersed particles (a measure of the fineness of the dispersion), particle size, and vol pct of the dispersed phase have been shown to be very important. Generally, strength increases with decreasing mean free path, and there is an optimum vol pct of dispersed phase. Just how fine a dispersion ought to be is somewhat open to debate, but Irmann, Lenel, Backensto, and Rose, Gregory and Grant,4 and others have shown in the original SAP-type alloys, aluminum plus aluminum oxide alloys, that better strength is generally obtained with finer dispersions and the best strengths were obtained when the mean free path was less than . Further, Cremens, and rant' showed that in nickel plus aluminum oxide alloys, stress-rupture strength at 1500°F was definitely increasing with decreasing mean free path. In their investigation, however, the finest dispersions that were produced were about 2.0 mean free path. To determine the potential of the nickel plus oxide type of product, it would be neces- sary to obtain dispersions analogous to those of SAP alloys; namely, ones where the mean free path between oxides is less than . Unfortunately, however, it is very difficult to produce extremely fine dispersions of oxides in metals other than those which naturally form refractory oxide skins. There are several approaches to this problem including such procedures as mechanical mixing, internal oxidation, reduction of mixed oxides, and metal deposition from solution. Work at the Lewis Research Center has shown that metal powders 0.1p or finer could be produced by ball milling, when selected grinding aids were utilized.' Because these unusually fine powders were available, it was an initial objective of this study to determine if by mixing of these fine Ni powders with various amounts of MgO (0.05) a fine dispersion of MgO in Ni comparable to those in Al-Al203 might be achieved. A second objective was then to attempt to relate the parameters of structure to 1800°F stress-rupture strength of the alloys. Nickel powders of 1-, 0.4-, and 0.2-p average particle size were combined with 0.05- average particle size MgO powder. This oxide was added in quantities of 4, 12, and 20 vol pct. The mixtures were hot pressed and extruded at 2100°F.

Jan 1, 1962

By V.K. Zworykin

Throughout its development the science of electronics, like so many other branches of science and industry, has been indebted to the metallurgist. Metallurgy has provided the electronic engineer with conductors to furnish passage for electrons outside of his evacuated tubes: it has developed tungsten and tantalum wires for emitting electrons and various refractory metals and alloys suitable for electrodes, which receive them and guide them within the tube; finally it has supplied ferromagnetic materials both for shielding electronic apparatus from magnetic fields and for forming highly concentrated fields for deflecting electron . Today I hope to show you that electronics has not been altogether ungrateful for this assistance. More specifically, I wish to indicate the role that the electron microscope, a relatively recent product of electronic engineering, is playing even now in the study of metals. Every metallographer is aware that his standard metallographic microscope will not reveal structural detail involving separations smaller than a certain fraction —at the very best a tenth—of a micron. This limitation, he knows, is a consequence of the fact that the wave length of the light employed for forming the image has this order of magnitude. It is, thus, a property of all light microscopes. TO overcome it, a different imaging medium must be employed, The existence of such a medium became evident when it was demonstrated1 that electrons were affected by magnetic and electric fields with axial symmetry just as light is affected by glass lenses; these fields, or "electron lenses," curve the paths of electrons reaching them from an object located on the axis of symmetry in such a manner that, at some distance from the lens, a true image of the object is formed. Furthermore, although a wave length may . be ascribed to electron beams just as to light, this wave length is much shorter; for electrons accelerated through a difference of potential of 50 kilovolts, the wave length is only about one hundred-thousandth of that of visible light. Actually, the elcctron microscopes of today resolve detail one hundred times as fine as light microscopes; if the maximum useful magnification of the latter is taken to be a thousand, that of electron microscopes is one hundred thousand. The Electron Microscope Since electrons are readily scattered and absorbed by matter, specimens to be observed in the electron microscope must be prepared to be less than one micron in thickness; furthermore, the interior of the microscope must be carefully evacuated to prevent collisions between the clectrons and the molecules of the air. Finally, as already mentioned, the lenses are formed by axially symmetric magnetic or electric fields, and not by any material medium such as glass. Apart from these basic differences, the electron microscope closely

Jan 1, 1943

By V. K. Zworykin

Throughout its development the science of electronics, like so many other branches of science and industry, has been indebted to the metallurgist. Metallurgy has provided the electronic engineer with conductors to furnish passage for electrons outside of his evacuated tubes: it has developed tungsten and tantalum wires for emitting electrons and various refractory metals and alloys suitable for electrodes, which receive them and guide them within the tube; finally it has supplied ferromagnetic materials both for shielding electronic apparatus from magnetic fields and for forming highly concentrated fields for deflecting electron . Today I hope to show you that electronics has not been altogether ungrateful for this assistance. More specifically, I wish to indicate the role that the electron microscope, a relatively recent product of electronic engineering, is playing even now in the study of metals. Every metallographer is aware that his standard metallographic microscope will not reveal structural detail involving separations smaller than a certain fraction —at the very best a tenth—of a micron. This limitation, he knows, is a consequence of the fact that the wave length of the light employed for forming the image has this order of magnitude. It is, thus, a property of all light microscopes. TO overcome it, a different imaging medium must be employed, The existence of such a medium became evident when it was demonstrated1 that electrons were affected by magnetic and electric fields with axial symmetry just as light is affected by glass lenses; these fields, or "electron lenses," curve the paths of electrons reaching them from an object located on the axis of symmetry in such a manner that, at some distance from the lens, a true image of the object is formed. Furthermore, although a wave length may . be ascribed to electron beams just as to light, this wave length is much shorter; for electrons accelerated through a difference of potential of 50 kilovolts, the wave length is only about one hundred-thousandth of that of visible light. Actually, the elcctron microscopes of today resolve detail one hundred times as fine as light microscopes; if the maximum useful magnification of the latter is taken to be a thousand, that of electron microscopes is one hundred thousand. The Electron Microscope Since electrons are readily scattered and absorbed by matter, specimens to be observed in the electron microscope must be prepared to be less than one micron in thickness; furthermore, the interior of the microscope must be carefully evacuated to prevent collisions between the clectrons and the molecules of the air. Finally, as already mentioned, the lenses are formed by axially symmetric magnetic or electric fields, and not by any material medium such as glass. Apart from these basic differences, the electron microscope closely

Jan 1, 1943