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By William J. Robinson

What is the cumulative rate of recovery of copper from a sulfide leach dump? The technical answers to this frequently asked question may vary from "I don't know" to "quite good" from people of the same company. Management also poses this question because it plays a vital role in planning future production. The answer is difficult because of the many variables between different operations such as physical construction of the dump, topography of the original site, characteristics of dump material, mineralization, and water application. Each of these factors and others have a bearing on the rate of recovery. Anaconda's method of water distribution at Butte is unique in that each dump is drilled to allow physical injection of water into the dump. The injection holes are drilled vertically on 25-ft centers from the surface of the dump [(Figs. 1 and 2)]. Normally, the holes are drilled 40 ft deep and cased with 4-in. PVC perforated pipe. The pipe is perforated at 1-ft intervals with four 1 -in.-diam holes at 90° spacing on the pipe circumference. Formerly, shallow holes (20-40 ft) were alternated with deep holes (80-180 ft) in an effort to cover the entire dump and hasten oxidation. The shallow hole depth varied according to the compaction thickness. The deep hole depth varied according to the height of the dump and the original ground profile. It is preferable to have the deep holes end 20-30 ft above the original ground level. This generally allows penetration of the coarse material at the bottom of the dump. Deep holes had to be discontinued in order to cover more

Jan 1, 1974

By Mark R. Lamb

THE treatment of slime is of special interest to those engaged in cyaniding gold- and silver-ores. The usual practice is to make as small a percentage of slime as possible. In many instances the slime is given no treatment, but is impounded in dams in the hope that the future will develop some method of economically treating this product. The filter-press was the first step upward from ordinary decantation, but, on account of heavy labor-charge and high cost, its use has been limited to high-grade material. The slime at the Combination mill at Goldfield averages perhaps $20 per ton, and although the values are quickly dissolved the filter-press installation was not entirely satisfactory, resulting in the erection of the canvas-cell filter, developed by Chas. Butters and his staff. This filter is a great improvement over the filter-press, and the following description of it will be of interest to those engaged in treating slime produced in crushing ores, especially in view of the fact that, by the use of this filter, slime can be treated at a lesser cost and with a higher percentage of gold- or silver-extraction than in the ordinary treatment of sand; and, moreover, the initial outlay for an all-sliming plant is less than that for the ordinary sand- and slime-plant. The economy of construction of the Butters filter-plant is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which illustrate the 20-frame filter of 40 tons capacity, now being installed by the Nevada Goldfield Reduction Co. In this construction the slime-pump is so connected that it can pump to or from either tank or the filter by changing the valve-settings-a combination which is necessary in this particular installation, since sufficient fall is not available for filling and discharging the filter by gravity. Ordinarily, a slime-plant comprises: a filter-box with frames

Jan 1, 1907

By Arvid E. Nissen, Knox Taylor, John H. Hall

Some months ago one of the authors was asked to write a paper on the heat treatment of steel castings that would be more comprehensive than other matter he had published; this is an attempt to present in condensed form the results of experimental work and actual practice carried out for the most part in 1907, 1908, and 1909. It is not a laboratory research and the work done was carried out for the express purpose of putting in practice the processes discovered as fast as possible. Most of the tests are the result of commercial practice and not of bars annealed in our laboratory; most of the micrographs were made for our own records and not for publication. Certain of the micrographs, therefore, are not as clear as we may wish but they were good enough for our purpose at the time they were made. The tests and micrographs are selected from several thousands in our files. All of these micrographs are magnified 60 diameters. These experiments were conducted almost entirely on steel made in a 3-ton bottom-blown converter, and most of the steel illustrated analyzes about 0.05 in phosphorus and sulfur. Unfortunately, a certain number of specimens are shown of which we do not have the complete analysis, but in most cases in which the phosphorus and sulfur vary much from the figure just given that fact is noted. For purposes of comparison, we have included a certain number of micrographs and tests of steel made in the electric furnace, some of which were from specimens made in other shops and some in our own shop, and some tests of acid open-hearth and tropenas steel. A brief examination of the tests in Table 1 shows that certain treatments of, for instance, 0.30 per cent, carbon steel are not represented by any test data. Had this been a laboratory research, this information would undoubtedly have been furnished, but as this work was done for commercial purposes the omissions are due to the fact that, at the time the work was done, we saw no advantage in trying every composition of steel with each treatment discussed in the paper.

Jan 1, 1920

By R. R. Sayers

THE South African Mining and Engineering Journal recently pointed out that no satisfactory solution of the question of compensation for silicosis can be arrived at by placing further liability of an inequitable nature upon the mines. There are at present 35 scheduled mines liable to contribute to the annual levy of $800,000 and provide for the net outstanding liability of $6,400,000. Several of these mines have, as yet, not been able to set aside sufficient funds against their out- standing liability to the Compensation Fund. The gold producers declare that the gold mining industry today is passing its zenith, and that the production of gold will decline, with a consequent lessening of the spending power of the mines, which in about ten years will be reduced to a great extent unless encouragement is given for the opening of new mines. It is during this period of decline that the mines will be required to meet the large burden already created by miners' phthisis. In England the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1925, was extended to industries involving exposure to asbestos dust.

Jan 1, 1931

By N. H. Emmons

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) AN interesting development of copper blast-furnace construction has been brought about in adapting the blast-furnace to be a "burner" for sulphuric acid making. When the Tennessee Copper Co. first decided to construct an acid-plant, the standard type of brick-top furnace, supported by structural steel, was the only one in use at this plant. All the tests for temperature and strength of gas had been made on these furnaces, and had been satisfactory. When, however, the acid-plant was put on the flue, and the flue had to have a damper put in it to force the gas into that plant, troubles began. The furnaces were fairly tight, and for a few months the work was quite satisfactory., Fig. 1 shows the old type of furnace-top used at the start. It was soon found that this top would not stand the temperatures, particularly when dampered back, as was necessary to force the gas into the Glover towers. The structural steel, of which the furnace skeleton was constructed, warped and twisted so badly that it was not safe to use the furnaces. This effect is shown by Fig. 2, which is a photograph of old No. 4 furnace, after the brick-work had been removed. It became apparent that a new type of top was necessary and the engineering force was started oil the design of a new furnace-top, with the result that a low top, with brick-lined flues at each end below the feed-floor, leading to the main concrete dust-chamber, was constructed. This furnace, No. 7, is shown in Fig. 3. The charging-doors are made of cast-iron sections, three sections to a door, and three doors to a side. A door to the furnace was made of cast copper, but the heat was so great that the copper bent readily, due to the jarring of its * General Manager, Tennessee Copper Co.

Feb 1, 1911

By H. H. Campbell

The following paper deals almost exclusively with the results of practice at the works of the Pennsylvania Steel Company at Steelton, Pa. From the records of the furnaces at this plant, both acid and basic, large and small, are drawn the data for the various demon strations, and on a long and intimate experience with their opera tions are founded many theories and generalizations. It may seem that universal laws should not be built upon a basis so restricted ; but in reality the condition is the strongest guarantee of validity. Each table investigates some- certain variable, and by virtue of the common origin of the factors, we have good ground for assuming the corresponding agents to be equal. The examples may or may not be instances of good practice, and may be open to criticism if regarded solely as exponents of • metallurgical success. But it must be remembered that the lists are not made up of selected specimens, nor are they chosen to show su perior results; they are gathered to investigate, by strict scientific methods, the formula? of the operation. In such work no untoward results should be eliminated, save those which bear upon their face the stamp of experimental error. If the worst members be omitted, then the best must also be omitted. Only by using every available case can an honest attempt be made to deduce a true average. It is recog nized, however, that with the most careful selection it is difficult, if not impossible, to collect data representing universal conditions. In each table the records tell of a special practice, and all conclusions drawn from them are true only within the limits between which the equations have been integrated. Not assuming the prerogative of speaking for American melters in all the opinions herein expressed, nor acting as a camera in por traying an ephemeral state of national metallurgical development,

Jan 1, 1894

Jan 1, 1925

By A. Blake Caldwell

Tyrone-a complete mining and concentrating facility built by Phelps Dodge Corp.-straddles the Continental Divide where surface water on either side flows in opposite directions although all water is taken from and returned on the northwest side of the Divide. At the outset, Tyrone was saddled with a problem of an adequate water supply, and the Gila River some 23 miles distant appeared to be the logical source. This in itself presented a major obstacle to Phelps Dodge because of the distance water had to be pumped and because of an adverse head which had to be overcome between the Gila River and the two 4-million-gal-capacity terminal water supply tanks at the mill. Having acquired water rights on the Gila River and in order to control the seasonal fluctuations in water volume, the company built the Bill Evans, off stream, earth-filled dam. This reservoir will contain 2100 acre-ft of water when full and it was constructed by the Hamilton Construction Co. for Phelps Dodge. The dam impounds fresh water for the Tyrone plant's use and four vertical turbine pumps (4500 gpm each) lift the water 275 ft from the Gila River into the reservoir. Since construction, Phelps Dodge has optioned the lake to the New Mexico State Game Commission for recreational purposes. In addition to the lake, land around the reservoir has been optioned to the State Game Commission for public use. The lake has already been stocked with trout and by next summer some keepers should be available for the taking.

Jan 12, 1969

By E. L. Jr. Spain

THE deposits described in this paper occur over much of Wayne County and in the southeast portion of Hardin County, Tennessee, and in the northeast and northwest portions of Mississippi and Alabama respec-tively. The presence of tripoli in this region has been known for some time and descriptions of various occurrences in Tennessee have been made by Jewell1 and Miser2, while Hilgard3, Lowe4 and Logan5 have treated the deposits that occur in the adjacent portions of Alabama and Mississippi, but there has not been a general survey of the entire field summarizing completely the geology of the deposits with respect to their origin and stratigraphic relationships. During 1934, while engaged in surveys of mineral resources through this region for the Tennessee Valley Authority, the writer collected data with this in mind, and has assembled them in this report. He is indebted to H. S. Rankin and N. A. Rose, of the Tennessee Valley Authority Geology Division, for field assistance.

Jan 1, 1936

By George B. Clark

COMMERCIAL strip mining of coal was first begun in the state of Illinois in 1911.1 The annual tonnage of coal produced from coal strip mines in the state was very small until 1924, when the strip mines shipped 1.68 pet of the total state shipping mine tonnage. Since then, strip mines have gradually come into their own by producing a sizable percentage of the coal produced in the state. Table 1 shows the coal tonnage shipped from both underground and strip coal mines in the state of Illinois for selected years. The table illustrates the major role that strip mines play in the state's coal industry. Today, strip mining is generally conducted in areas where the coal seams lie so close to the surface of earth that a stripping method of mining the coal seam is cheaper than an underground method. Strip mining not only recovers 100 pct of the coal deposit, but may also be used as a method of mining large acreages of coal abandoned by the closing of underground mines.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. B. Knaebel, M. W. Von Bernewitz

OUTSTANDING FACTORS that have largely induced the current great interest in the reopening of old mines and the search for new deposits are the increased relative value of gold, the certainty of a market for it, and the decreased activity and poor profits in other lines of endeavor. It is easy to understand why a miner out of a job and unable to find any other means of livelihood would naturally take to the hills with his pan, pick, and shovel; but never before have inexperienced, would-be prospectors and placer miners materialized from the factories and farms, the haberdasheries, and the oil and gasoline supply stations, in such numbers as the last couple of years have witnessed, except when rich strikes of the proportions of a Klondike have been made. What, may one ask, has occasioned this condition? Unemployment has put these men in a receptive frame of mind, and newspaper and magazine articles have done the rest-- The Gold Miner of Los Angeles (a new weekly), The Mid- Week Pictorial (New York) for Sept. 3, 1932, and Popular Science Monthly for August, 1932, for instance. Even the Saturday Evening Post had an article on a promising part of Colorado. Stories that good wages may be had for the panning in nearly every western state have been featured by daily papers, popular "scientific" magazines, and quasi- technical journals. These tales have been eagerly grasped by thousands of people whose ignorance of mining has only served to increase their enthusiasm.

Jan 1, 1932

By B. Foley

IN THE first report1 disks of steel of known composition and history were exposed, under carefully prescribed conditions, to impacts of explosion products resulting from the explosion of 50-gm. charges of explosives having well-determined rates of detonation, or to impacts of a weight of known mass, falling through measured distances. There were available at the Bureau of Mines Experiment Station five explosives, having rates of detonation of 5716, 4470, 3190, 2296, and 1523 meters per second. It being desired to continue this exposure downward, and no explosives with a lesser rate of detonation being at hand, resort was had to the impact of a falling weight, the differences in the velocity of impact being attained by varying the height from which the weight was allowed to fall. It was expected by this means to demonstrate experimentally that the development of Neumann bands was determined by the suddenness of the deformation of the metal in which they were produced. But while progressive deformations were obtained with the explosive arges, the falling-weight method failed because the tup was ogressively deformed, also the disks were so flattened as to be unfit for metallographic examination. A return, therefore, has been made to the use of explosives as the source of energy, an air-gap being interposed between the charge of explosive and the disk, as the effect diminishes as the function of the distance between the charge and the object on which the products of its explosion, or the shock wave from its detonation, impinge. The details of the arrangement of the tests by the air-gap method were the same as those described by Foley and Howell,2 except that after the system had been set up and the desired apparent specific gravity for the explosive

Jan 2, 1926

By Clinton H. Crane

IN October, 1925, J. R. Finlay delivered an address entitled, "The Future Price of Lead." Lead was then selling at 8.85c. and Mr. Finlay and most of the rest of us were concerned about the shortage. Now, a little more than six years after, lead is selling for 3.55c., and nobody is worrying about the difficulty of getting plenty of it. For 1931 the U. S. G. S. reports United States produc¬tion as 390,000 tons of recoverable lead in ore. Our estimate is slightly higher than this; nearer 400,000 tons. This is the smallest production since 1911 and 1912, but in spite of this, stocks for the year-have increased nearly 50,000 tons. Our estimate for the production outside the United States is 1,120,000 tons, or more than double the production of either 1920 or 1921, and 30 per cent more than in 1913. Stocks abroad probably have not increased more than stocks in the United States. In other words, foreign consumption is double what it was in 1.920-21, whereas domestic consumption is substantially less. It looks as if Mr. Krueger, president of the Swedish match trust, was right when he said that "This country had better stop worrying about Europe and think a little bit more about its own affairs."

Jan 1, 1932

By William R. Barton

It is generally conceded as axiomatic that the aggregate producer and the average urban resident have mutually incompatible goals. The producer wants to be near his mass market and the average resident wants him as far away as possible. The traditional economic decision to mine local material to avoid transportation costs is increasingly challenged by zoning and planning bodies and by citizens' groups. This conflict generated much written and spoken word and offered opportunity for great flights of rhetoric. The pressure on the producer also has forced re¬appraisal of the need for the classic confrontation with indications that much of the conflict is more apparent than substantive. In New England several factors combine to increase complexity of the siting problem. It is a region of high land values and population density. Due to the proximity of metropolitan areas, even rural communities have experienced a prolif¬eration of environmental groups with concomitant enthusiastic regional planning and critical watch over land use. In New England where there is little public understanding of the necessity for, and the realities of, mineral production a sophisticated approach to aggregate production site location is required.

Jan 1, 1975

By Sherwin F. Kelly

NEW trend in geophysics has been uncovered in these depression years, made evident through the thinning cloak of commercial activity, which, in better times, would have completely obscured it. I refer to the increasing use of these methods for geological investigations by federal and state geological surveys. This is a trend that has been gathering momentum not alone in the United States, but abroad as well. Thus, in Poland, the Geological Survey has been playing an increasing role in geophysical work since 1927, and now has- its own geophysical department. The government petroleum producing organization of Argentina has its Geophysical Commission; Brasil boasts a completely equipped geophysical department in its Mineral Production Service; the government of Chile has contracted with commercial companies for geophysical surveys; Peru is planning an intensive program of geophysical prospecting in its petroliferous regions; and Canada has, for several years, cooperated with

Jan 1, 1935

E. A. H. Tays, San Blas, Sinaloa, Mex. (communication to the Secretary*):—The results obtained by Messrs. Hofman and Hayward in their experiments, proving that a low percentage of copper sulphate with a variable percentage of salt, depending on the ore, gives the best results, confirm practical mill-work which I did in 1895. I have none of my notes, taken at the time, to refer to, so have to rely solely on memory, which precludes the conciseness that is alway desirable. In 1894 I took charge of the plant of the San Rafael Company, near Chinipas, Chihuahua, Mex., which at that time was treating a very refractory ore carrying about $15 in gold and from 20 to 25 oz. of silver per ton, the bullion being about 300 fine in gold. The silver in the ore was in the form of a sulphide. Although carrying an average of 0.75 oz. of gold per ton, free gold could rarely be seen by panning, but upon roasting a sample of the ore the gold became visible at once—a result which was discovered by chance and used to advantage later. In order to utilize the old mill to the best advantage, it was decided to use pan-amalgamation after roasting. The roasting, done in a lime-kiln, was similar to the ordinary " burning " operation. The roasted ore was trammed to the mill-bins and crushed by 10 stamps to pass a 30-mesh screen. The pulp was de-watered and fed to four 1-ton pans. My recollection is that upon starting the mill-work, the charge contained 1.5 lb. of copper sulphate and 5 per cent. of salt per ton. From the start the extraction was unsatisfactory and the loss of quicksilver was very large. Experiments were then carried out on a working scale. First, the quantity of copper sulphate was increased 4 oz. at a time; then it was reduced

Jan 1, 1910

By G. F. LOUCHLIN

A FEATURE of the International Geological Congress to be held at Pretoria, South Africa, in the summer of 1929,. will be a symposium on the gold resources of the world. In this connection the U. S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Mines have been asked to prepare a report, showing production in the United States, describing the geology of its principal gold- producing districts, and estimating reserves (a) assuming a continuation of presen6economic conditions, and (b) assuming lower costs. This report will not be completed before April 1, but data thus far assembled are here presented with the hope of profiting by discussion and by information from those well informed on any of the important gold-producing districts. Gold production in the United States rose to a maximum exceeding $100,000,000 in 1915 and then rapidly declined to about $52,000,000 in 1920. Since then it has fluctuated, but on the whole slightly declined. Reviews of the eight leading states afford the following tentative conclusions :

Jan 1, 1929

By Vsevolod Krivobok

THE re-crystallization of metals has been the subject of much scientific investigation, some of which has resulted in a better understanding of this extremely important and interesting phenomenon. Unfortunately, while many have propounded theories of re-crystallization, but a few have presented experimental evidence as to how it takes place. If this can be determined the question, why re-crystallization occurs, may be answered more definitely. Re-crystallization in single phase metals consists of a complete rearrangement and re-sizing of the grains, of which the structure is composed, while the type of structure remains the same. That is to say, if the structure before re-crystallization is composed of a number of polyhedral grains of different shape and size, a particular spot after re-crystallization will be seen to consist of grains in no way different from the original except in size and shape. The re-crystallized grains may be smaller or larger, depending on the treatment received; and, while the re-crystallization may be brought about by means of heat treatment only in passing through a critical range, yet it is common knowledge that single phase metals subjected to cold working are possessed of a tendency toward re-crystallization, even if the heating does not reach critical range. The study of re-crystallization would, of course, be much easier if we had single crystals of any metal as the original material with which to study the phenomenon of re-crystallization, since it would permit the observation of structural changes at what amounts to enormous magnification, by changing the scale of the specimen. In metals of more normal grain size the crystal boundaries introduce complications, but the process, it may be assumed, is essentially the same. Such an opportunity

Jan 2, 1926

Smoky Valley Mining Company, Round Mountain, Nevada, was the pioneer operation designed for large scale heap leaching of crushed gold ores. It is located in the Big Smoky Valley which stretches 160 km (100 miles) through central Nevada west of the Toiyabe Mountain Range. Gold was first-discovered at Round Mountain, 88 km (55 miles) north of Tonopah, in 1905; and mining in the area included placer operations, which ran from 1946 to about 1960. Smoky Valley Mining Company is a partnership of Felmont Oil Co., Case-Pomeroy & Co., and Copper Range Co., with the latter being wholly owned by Louisiana Land and Exploration Co. In 1969, an option on the Round Mountain property was acquired by Copper Range, and during 1974 a decision was reached to proceed with mine development and plant construction. Ore reserves were reported at 10,537,000 mt (1 1,617,000 st) of 2.09 g per mt (0. 061 oz per ton) gold using a cut- off grade of 0.69 g (0.02 oz). Silver content was approximately 2.4 g per mt (0.07 oz per ton) and the waste to ore ratio was about 1: 1. By the end of 1976 heap leaching was in operation. The ore is a rhyolite tuff, sometimes described as a gold porphyry with highly abrasive qualities but which does not break down into slimes upon contact .with cyanide solutions. Gold is unevenly distributed through the ore but as a whole it is in a very finely divided state. Climatic conditions are extreme in central Nevada. Summers are hot and dry while winters are windy and cold with subfreezing temperatures. Elevation of the property is about 1,920 m (6,300 ft). Precipitation averages 203 mm (8 in.) per year. Until February of 1980, leaching was continued until the temperature reached minus 2ºC (28º F), and about 10 months leaching was the average. Water for the operation is drawn from the Toiyabe Mountains through a 13. 7 km (8. 5 mile) pipeline, originally installed in 1915, or from wells in the valley bottom. The plant requires make-up water at the rate of about 1,500 liters per min (400 gpm). On a schedule of three shifts, seven days per week, the daily output at Round Mountain amounts ,to 12, 700 mt (14, 000 st) consisting of 6,350 mt (7,000 st) each of ore and waste. Ore is hauled with a fleet of 45 mt (50 st) trucks and dumped into the 1,0.70 by 1,650 mm (42 by 65 in. ) gyratory primary crusher located near the pit. The primary

Jan 1, 1981

By Culver, Richard S.

In spite of the widespread interest in rock bolt research, relatively little is known about the critical region surrounding the bolt anchor. In analyzing the stress distribution around an opening resulting from rock bolt support, it is commonly assumed that the bolt is fixed at a point far enough from the surface so that the anchor does not influence the performance of the bolt. Furthermore, a bolt anchor is assumed to per- form satisfactorily if it will hold the design load with a minimum amount of load relaxation, commonly called bleedoff. From the standpoint of the design engineer both of these assumptions are reasonable, but they ignore the fact that the extremely high stresses in the region of the anchor are capable of generating fractures in the rock. Lang estimated the bearing stresses for a slot and wedge anchor on a one-inch-diameter bolt to be as high as 125,000 psi. This paper describes a more thorough analysis of the magnitude of the stresses around the anchor and the nature of the potential fractures that might result.

Jan 1, 1968