Search Documents

By W. L., Yerkes

AN interesting study of the application of air-, conditioning to the problem of mine ventilation and cooling can be found on the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Here there are a large number of deep mines in a relatively small area. Due to the nature of the reef, many mines are working at a depth of 6000 ft. and some have gone down to 8000 and 9000 ft. below the surface. At such depths, even in a country geologically as old as Africa, the virgin rock temperature approaches 110°F. The flow of heat from the- rock to the ventilation air is tremendous though the shaft or drift may have been open to ventilation for some years. In addition, there is the heat produced by machinery, lights, and men at work and the heat of adiabatic compression of air introduced into the mine. The difference in atmosphere pressure between the collar of a shaft and a level 6000 ft. below is nearly 3lb. per sq. in., resulting in an increase in heat content of nearly four B.T.U. per pound of air delivered to the mine at surface. Further the exclusive use of wet mining to reduce the incidence of miner?s phthisis increases the latent- heat content of the air.

Jan 1, 1941

By T. H. Aldrich

(Chattanooga Meeting, October, 1908.) Tars paper is intended only to give a preliminary account of experiments made, and conclusions reached, concerning the treatment of certain refractory low-grade gold-ores, the profitable reduction of which may furnish a useful guide to the solution of similar mining and metallurgical problems, not only in the gold-bearing belt of the Southern United States, but perhaps in other regions also. It must be regarded as simply a ?report of progress," preceding a more elaborate and conclusive report of regular practice. The mines of the Hillabee Gold Mining Co. are located upon what is generally known locally as Hog Mountain, on the northern edge of Tallapoosa county, Ala., about 15 miles from Goodwater and 14 miles from Alexander City, stations on the Central of Georgia Railway. Gold has been known since 1839 to exist on this property, where it was discovered in that year by a man named Johnston. The property was worked for placer-gold by the old miners, and there are now the remains of four attempts to operate it by stamp-mill and plate-amalgamation. The present owners purchased it in 1896, and since that time they have experimented at frequent intervals, in order to devise a process that would satisfactorily recover the gold. In 1903 regular operations were begun. Geologically, the mountain consists of an intrusion of what has been pronounced true granite in altered sedimentary slates. The cooling of the granite produced shrinkage-cracks, which have become veins. There is considerable question as to the period of the slate formation; but it is undoubtedly, in my opinion, of Carboniferous age. The veins, about 50 in number, strike N. 60° to 80° E.; dip approximately 65° from the horizontal; vary from a few inches to 25 ft. (being in gen-

Nov 1, 1908

By Thomas A. Steven

Most mineralized areas in the central San Juan Mountains, Colorado, are associated with the youngest subsidence structures in a large volcanic cauldron complex that formed concurrently with eruption of the surrounding ash-flow field. Two local types have been recognized: (1) fissure-vein deposits along faults characterized by relatively late movement, and (2) hydrothermally altered and mineralized areas associated with postsubsidence Fisher Quartz Latite centers. The first type has provided most production in the past; the potential of the second type has yet to be adequately tested.

Jan 1, 1968

The Role of the Drilling Contractor BY FERRIS E. SAINSBURY Ron Haxby, Occidental Minerals What is the best method for drilling a 12-in. diam hole to a depth of 1200 ft and maintaining the deflection within 25ft from vertical? Ferris Sainsbury: In order to drill a 12-111. hole down to 1200 ft, In most places you would have to employ a rotary tricone bit With a down-the-hole hammer, I expect by that depth significant Inflows of water would be experienced Even with foams, we would not be able to get the water out of a hole of that diameter So the down-the-hole tricone method of drilling would be best. To keep it straight, we would probably employ the largest square drill stem compatible with the diameter of the hole. Ron Haxby: Is it common in drilling contracts to put in a vertical hole clause? Ferris Sainsbury: You can put in the vertical hole clause Ron Haxby: Does it cost more? Ferris Sainsbury: Normally, if the hole deviates, the driller can correct it with deflection wedges and will charge it back to you at cost, plus 10% or somewhere along that range Any drill hole has a tendency to go perpendicular to the dip, and there are times when stabilization systems are not successful in preventing the hole from turning into the dip of the formation. The only solution, in this situation, is to go in with an oriented wedge and kick the hole back out.

Jan 1, 1979

By Charles F. Park

Mining in the Pacific Coastal Region has passed through three stages of development. First came the gold rush days, a period when gold and silver were the objects of intensive search. Second was the development of the high-grade base-metal deposits and of the smaller and more refractory precious metal deposits. And third was the modern period that covers the discovery and development of the rarer metals, of large low-grade deposits, and of the industrial and nonmetallic minerals. Brief discussions of the salient geologic features of the region and of a few of the better known mineral deposits are given. The regional geology is favorable for continued exploration and discovery of new deposits and districts.

Jan 1, 1968

By John A. THOMPSON, Pazcl D. Torrey, Frank Breayster

DISCOVERY of natural gas in the Dundee field of New York in February, 1930, and the subsequent discovery in Tioga in September of that year, focused the attention of the natural-gas industry on the enormous possibilities of production and distribution in - the most populous area of the United States-New York and New England. Prior to 1926 the natural-gas industry in New York State had settled into a definite and limited policy, with the distributing companies controlling the output from its discovery to the ultimate consumer. Production amounted to between G and 7 thousand mil- lion cubic feet a year, with another 10,000 million feet imported from Pennsylvania for distribution in New York State. This gas was primarily from the Medina sand stone in. the western part of the state.

Jan 1, 1932

THE Boston meeting, August 29-31, was in many ways one of the pleasantest the Institute has enjoyed in years. Much hard work had been done by the committee, and with excellent results. The program had been purposely restricted with the idea that a smaller, more homogeneous audience formed the best basis for a regional meeting, and the event fully justified the plan. The one hundred and sixty-three members and guests attending were dominantly interested in geophysical methods or their application, and, despite the highly technical character of the papers and the unusual heat, attendance and interest in the technical sessions were well sustained. The exhibition of geophysical instruments and aerial maps added greatly to the meeting.

Jan 1, 1928

By Michael S. Koleda

Less than two years ago, the, Congress, with broad bipartisan support, passed the Energy Security Act of 1980. A decade marked by ten- fold increases in world oil prices and two major interruptions in oil flows from the Middle East had ended. An all-out national commitment to transform America's vast tar sands, oil shale and coal resources into conventional fuels had begun. The national synfuels effort was to be public-private cooperation at a scale unmatched in peace time. Private industry would own and operate the synthetic fuels facilities. Government would reduce market uncertainties to acceptable levels. The potential government commitment was substantial. Up to $88 billion would be available through the Synthetic Fuels Corporation, principally in the form of contingent financing. Billions more would be spent through Department of Energy programs. Additional incentives for alternate energy development were contained in the Energy Tax Act of 1978. The Energy Security Act clearly specified national synthetic fuels production objectives: 500,000 barrels per day by 1987 -- 2 million barrels per day by 1992. Finally, said Congress, Uncle Sam was going to do something about rapidly rising oil prices, uncertainties of energy supply, and the resulting disruption to the U. S. economy. Simply put, the purpose of the Energy Security Act of 1980 was to provide government guarantees sufficient to get synthetic fuels projects off the private sector drawing boards and into commercial production. Because of their huge cost, technological uncertainty, and lengthy pay-out period, these projects were always second place to projects of smaller size, known technology and more rapid pay-out. The Energy Security Act was the legal expression of public policy to bring the free-market synfuels timetable into line with the faster paced political timetable in the interest of national energy security.

Jan 1, 1982

By Norberto Dominguez

In the year 1820 a commission, assisted by Sr. C. Fernando de Ainada, was appointed by Sr. Jose Ramon Mila de la Roca to report on the condition of the mining region of Parral, in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, where in recent years the mines of Batopilas have reached an important development under American management. The object of the inquiry was to provide Sr. De la Roca with facts to support a project for reopening mines that two centuries before had produced a large amount of silver. Although this plan failed, many facts of interest in the history of the mines were presented.. Much of the report dealt with questions that had only local application or were restricted to the conditions of labor and equipment in the opening of the nineteenth century. The historical part is presented in the following paragraphs: Abstract of the Report. Notwithstanding the difficulty of forming a just estimate of the system of mines in this mineral group in the valley of Senor Sail Jose del Parral without an examination of each of them, that which we shall say in a general way will suffice to convey an idea of their value and of the urgent necessity of reopening them. If this is undertaken, we believe the results will be of the highest consequence to the Republic, as well as to this immediate locality. The group of the Villa del Parral covers the mineral territory in which the village of that name was located. Its moantains contain large metallic veins, from which, as from the trunk of a tree, depend others much more slender, locally called ,fibras, crossing and interlacing each other in many directions. The first and oldest of these very rich deposits of gold

Jan 1, 1902

By David W. Brunton

Mine-drainage and the ever-increasing demand for water on the plains have within the past few years necessitated the driving of a great number of adits and tunnels, including many of considerable size and great length. In most instances, existing conditions have called for extreme rapidity of execution; and this necessity, coupled with the high altitudes at which most of the work has been carried on, excessive freight-rates, and difficulty of access, has involved many complex and interesting problems. One of the most rapidly executed undertakings of this class is the Laramie tunnel, recently completed for the Laramie-Poudre Reservoirs & Irrigation Co. This tunnel is driven through Green ridge, a spur of the Continental Divide, which separates the Laramie river from the Cache-la-Poudre in Laramie county, Colo. Green ridge is extremely persistent, and further northward in Wyoming is known as Sherman hill, the highest point on the Union Pacific railway. At the point where the tunnel is driven, two opposing bends bring these streams within 2.5 miles of each other, with a difference in elevation of 500 ft. The rock exposed on the banks of the two rivers does not differ materially in hardness; and, without a geological study of the conditions involved, it would appear that the difference in the depth of erosion of the two streams is due principally to the greater volume of water at this point in the Cache-la-Poudre, which has a drainage-area above the tunnel-portal of 110 sq. miles, as against 30 sq. miles of natural drainage for the Laramie. To increase the water-supply at the tunnel, however, this latter amount has been augmented by two side collection-canals, which bring the available drainage-area up to 84 square miles. The nearest railroad shipping-point to the eastern portal is

Jan 1, 1913

By Walter Harvey Weed

The notes given in this paper, the result of observations made during recent brief professional trips to the northern States of Mexico, are offered as a slight contribution to the geological knowledge of a region little known, but long famous for its rich gold- and silver-mines. They are not detailed geological studies, but they contain, I believe, the salient facts. The following districts were visited: 1. Santa Eulalia (silverlead) ; 2. Parral (silver-lead); 3. Las Vigas (copper); 4. Jimenez (copper); 5. Guadalupe y Calvo (gold); 6. La Cumbre (gold); 7. Palmarito (silver); 8. Cananea (copper); 9. Sierra Pinitos (gold); 10. Sierra Azul (gold). 1. The Santa Eulalia Silver-Lead Deposits. Seventeen miles SE. of Chihuahua is the mining district of Santa Eulalia, to which that city owes its origin and long prosperity. Discovered in 1703, this district has been, and still is, one of the great silver-lead producers of the world. For 86 years after its discovery, the total output upon which the crown tax was paid amounted to $112,000,000. Worked until within the last 20 years by the most primitive methods, without machinery of any kind, the deposits continued to yield a vast treasure of silver; at present the yearly tonnage far exceeds that of former times. A broad-gauge road runs from Chihuahua up the valley of a small creek to the village of Santa Eulalia, which is situated within the borders of the mountains of that name. A few miles out of Chihuahua a narrow-gauge railway, owned by the Chihuahua Mining Co., branches off to the mines. This road ascends a smooth but steeply-rising plain to the base of the mountains, and winds about the slopes until the mines are

Jan 1, 1902

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members) Members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Feb. 10, 1917 to Mar. 10, 1917: F. H. Armstrong, Vulcan, Mich. G. Komar, Staten Island, N. Y. Franklin Bache, Philadelphia, Pa. H. M. LaFollette, LaFollette, Tenn. R. A. Bingham, W. Orange, N. J. H. Mortimer-Lamb, Montreal, Canada. G. S. Blair, Pittsburgh, Pa. J. S. Lane, New York, N. Y. Graham Bright, Pittsburgh, Pa. D. H. McLaughlin, Cambridge, Mass. C. A. Burdick, New York, N. Y. F. J. McMahon, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Frederick P. Burrall, Dawson, Y. T. F. Oskar Martin, San Francisco, Cal. William Campbell, New York, N. Y. C. Mentzel, New York, N. Y. G. L. Carlisle, Jr., New York, N. Y. T. C. Merriman, New Haven, Conn. J. Murray Clark, Toronto, Canada. K. -A. Pauly, Schenectady, N. Y. Wayne Darlington, Philadelphia, Pa. , Francis R. Pyne, Elizabeth, N. J. Ralph W. Deacon, Elizabeth, N. J. C. S. Robinson, Youngstown, O. P. St. Jon Dixon; So. Porcupine, Canada. W. A. Scheuch, New York, N. Y. A. E. Drucker, New York, N. Y. Jesse Scobey, New York, N. Y. Lucien Eaton, Ishpeming, Mich. Dunbar D. Scott, Rochester, N. Y. W. E. Goldsborough, New York, N. Y. W. C. Smith, Elizabeth, N. J. C. Marshall Gravatt, Port Royal, Va. Charles Spearman, Mt. St. Patrick, Can. C. N. Hickok, Cleveland, O. . - Harold C: E. Spence, Duncan, Ariz. C. Vey Holman, Rockland, Me. M. M. Thompson, Morsemere, N. J. W. F. Jahn, Kirkland Lake, Canada. Benjamin F. Tibby, Salt Lake City, Utah. F. E. Johnesse, Boise, Ida. J. S. Unger, Pittsburgh, Pa. E. C. Johnson, Chicago, Ill.

Jan 4, 1917

By Edward Halse

The tin-deposits of Durango, Mexico, have been ably described by Mr. W. R. Ingalls in a paper published in our Transactions in 1895.* While the occurrellces of tin-ore in other parts of the Republic are similar in many resperts to those in Durango, there are noteworthy local differences which, it is hoped, ma? lend interest to the present paper. The deposits examined by me in May, 1895, are found in the Serrania de Chacuaco, Municipality of Sain Alto, District of Sombrerete. The workings are situated in a range of mountains having a general northwest to southeast trend between Sombrerete and Fresnillo; the most northerly claim (La Desparranlada) being about six leagues southeast of the former town. El Refugio lies about four leagues to the southwest, and El Calabrote eight leagues to the west, of Fresnillo. The claims are from about 8425 to 8775 feet above sea-level, and from 1500 to 1800 feet above Sain Alto, the position of which town is marked in the map printed in Mr. Ingalls's paper. In order to reach the claims, one uses the carriage-road from Sain Alto to the small tin-colony of Las Cuevas; from the latter place to the mines there is only a rough mule-track. The mountain range consists of a rugged, weathered, gray granite rock, remarkable for large grains of quartz, and is flanked by masses of rhyolite and rhyolite-tuff of upper Tertiary age. The whole formation is broken up by narrow and steep willding arroyos and deep barrancas, mainly the result of denudation, and it appears to be a southeasterlj extension of the tin-bearing belt of rocks north of Durango City. Here and

Jan 1, 1900

By Frank V. Hicks

THE following paper-in no sense a technical paper-is a summary of a safety campaign instituted by a coal-mining company to improve an unfortunate safety record. The experience should be suggestive equally to coal and metal-mining companies. With few precedents to follow in the beginning, the course was charted by trial and error. The endeavor, often disheartening, finally resulted in the capture of the most coveted safety trophy in the mining industry, "The Sentinels of Safety," awarded by the Hercules Powder Co. of Wilmington, Del., through the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The period described covers the 10-year interval, 1924 to 1933, the year 1933 being that for which the award was made. The coal company considered has produced annually for a number of years an average of 2,750,000 tons of coal, employing at various times from 1.800 to 3000 men. Prior to 1924, the

Jan 1, 1935

By AIME AIME

FOUR separate groups of conveyors are installed in the Morenci Reduction Works as follows: (1) Ore-handling conveyors from the primary crushing plant to the coarse ore bin, from the coarse-ore bin to the secondary crushing plant, and from the secondary crushing plant to the ore bin in the concentrator plant. (2) Conveyors in the mill section of the concentrator plant. (3) Conveyors handling concentrate from the filter plant to the bedding plant, and from this plant to the smelter. (4) Conveyors handling flux and custom ore in the smelter crushing plant and to the bin at the bedding plant.

Jan 1, 1942

By FORTUNATO PEREIRA

(San Francisco Meeting, October, 1911.) I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. The Department of Narino (formerly included in the Department of Cauca) is a narrow band about 170 km. (100 miles) wide in the southern part of the Republic of Colombia, FIG. 1.-SKETCH-MAP OF THE SOUTHWESTERN PART OF COLOMBIA. near the boundary of Ecuador, as shown in the sketch-map, Fig. 1. Its capital is Pasto, a small city of 25,000 inhabitants; the principal towns are Túquerres, Cumbal, Ypiales, Barbacoas, and Tumaco. The port on the Pacific ocean is Tumaco, and traffic in the interior is carried partly on the Patia river (steam navigation to the fluvial port of Barbacoas), and afterwards overland over poor roads by human bearers or on mule-back.

Aug 1, 1912

By C. P. Proctor

WESTERN Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and Illinois are carrying out experiments wherein much more slate and other impurities are loaded with the coal in the mine and hauled to the surface preparation plant for removal. In general everything is sent to the cleaning plant although there may be some gobbing in the mine. No conclusions have been announced as to the effect of such a mining system on clean coal costs. Such factors as ability of the surface plant to handle the impurities, land and facilities for disposing of the impurities, and the transportation facilities underground should be considered.

Jan 1, 1942

By R. S. Handy

THE properties of the Patiño Mines and Enterprises Consolidated, Inc., a New York corporation, are near Llallagua in the department of Chayanta in the west central part of Bolivia, South America, about 80 miles southeast of Oruro and 250 miles southeast of La Paz, the largest city in Bolivia and its virtual capital. The properties are accessible by railroad from three points on the west coast-from Mollendo, Peru, across Lake Titicaca, from Arica by way of La Paz, and from Antofagasta, Chile. The latter route, although the longest, is recommended by the companies as affording a more gradual introduction to the high altitudes; the mine being 13,000 ft. above sea level. The company operates its own railroad from its properties at Uncia to Machacamarca on the Chile & Bolivia R. R., a distance of 60 miles. This railroad is well equipped and well operated, and its location among the mountains surrounding Uncia represents excellent engineering skill. In fact all of the railroads, although they are of only a meter gage, are remarkable for the excellence of their construction, the arrangement of their dining and sleeping cars and the precision of their operation. There is only one drawback to rail- road and hotel accommodations and that is the absence of heating facilities, which does not seem to affect the natives but keeps a tenderfoot's teeth chattering continually. The company is a consolidation of the Patiño company, owning properties at Uncia, with the Compafiia Estanfera de Llallagua, a' Chilean corporation owning contiguous properties at Llallagua. Before the consolidation these companies were deadly enemies, and there still remain at the surface plant at Uncia the fortifications and underground defences provided during the warfare between the two factions. Also, in the Azul, or "Blue" tunnel at the junction line between the two properties is a strong steel barricade still bearing marks of the bullets fired during the various armed tilts between the workmen of the two companies. The headquarters for the mining operations and the milling plant have been moved since the consolidation from the original location at Uncia to the Llallagua side of the mountain, where the Chilean company's operations were carried on. The historic old town of Uncia, with its massive stone buildings of Spanish design, is a wreck, while the Llallagua side is being rapidly built up with modern structures.

Jan 1, 1929

By W. D. B. Motter

DURING the early development of blasting with liquid oxygen explosives the trend of experimentation was towards increasing the effectiveness of the explosive. Its characteristic of becoming inert after evaporation of the oxygen content made a strong appeal from the standpoint of safety, especially with missed holes. It later became apparent, however, with practical use of this explosive, that LOX lacked certain other safety characteristics. As its effectiveness was increased, it became more subject to detonation by impact. The object of this paper is to show the steps taken by one operating company to achieve greater safety in the large-scale handling of liquid oxygen explosives.

Jan 1, 1933

By J. F. Tavernelli, L. F. Coffin

The deformation and fracture characteristics of eight metals subjected to fully reversed cyclic strain ranging from 0.2 to 50 pct were investigated at room temperature. Strain-hardening characteristics unique to the interna1 structure of a particular metal were found. Complete removal of the strain-hardening effects resulting from prior deformation was brought about by subsequent cyclic strain. Further support for the validity of the inverse relationship between the plastic strain range and the square root of the number of cycles for failure is given. THE resistance of materials to cyclic plastic strain is of interest both from a fundamental and practical point of view. It is now a well-accepted fact that fatigue failure in metals is a consequence of the localized slip deformation which occurs within the individual crystals of metal.'-' Hence the failure process should be strongly dependent upon the magnitude of the gross cyclic plastic deformation of the metal under conditions where this is a measurable quantity. Therefore, an experimental investigation of metals in which the cyclic plastic strain is the independent variable should shed new light on some of the basic aspects of the problem. From the practical point of view, there are many uses for information relating to the cyclic strain resistance of metals. One is the case of thermal stress fatigue where fatigue failure can occur as a consequence of a com- paratively few cycles of thermally induced mechanical deformation. Another is the mechanical working of metals where large cyclic strains are employed. In recent years several publications have appeared relating to the cyclic-strain resistance of metals,8-11 dealing mostly with the fracture aspects where the temperature is cycled simultaneously with the mechanical strain. Some work has been reported on the cyclic-strain resistance of metals at constant temperature, again oriented more toward the fracture aspects of the problem than the deformation aspects. 12-16 The present research investigation was undertaken to obtain information regarding the deformation characteristics of several metals whose structure-property relationships were simple and straightforward under conditions of both cyclic and monotonic strain. It has been shown for example that under cyclic-strain conditions some materials will strain harden, while other materials, particularly cold-worked structures, strain soften and these effects required further clarification.8,17-19 It was also de-

Jan 1, 1960