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By Richard E. Chism

SAN DIMAS, in the State of Durango, Mexico, on the frontier of the State of Sinaloa, is the centre of an extensive and rich mining region, which has been exploited for over a hundred years; and the patio process for working silver ores has there attained the highest perfection of which it is capable. Local modifications have been engrafted upon the underlying principles of the process, but, as a whole, the San Dimas practice so fully illustrates its typical capabilities, that I have undertaken to describe its workings in the hope of lightening, to some degree, the labors of my professional brethren who may have occasion to visit Mexico." As is tolerably well known, the patio process, like all other systems of free amalgamation, is not successful with ores containing more than a trace of zinc or lead, the presence of zincblende being especially obnoxious. Iron and copper in small quantities are not particularly disadvantageous. The process succeeds very well with all sulphide ores which do not contain much more than a trace of arsenic and antimony, provided the tailings are concentrated, although, of course, it is best adapted for free milling ores. For suitable silver ores that contain small amounts of free gold the process is still a good one, but where the gold is combined with sulphurets, a considerable and even an excessive loss is inevitable. Hitherto the Mexicans have submitted to this loss, but, since the introduction of American mills, they are gradually abandoning the patio process in favor of the other. The San Dimas ores have a gangue of quartz and feldspar. They are composed principally of silver sulphides, with some chloride and

Jan 1, 1883

By J. Chupak, D. J. Salley, G. L. Simard

Radiotracers were demonstrated to be of considerable value in a study of the interaction of dithiophosphate with galena. The interaction had characteristics of both chemisorption and chemical reaction, being complex because of the nature of the galena surface. Sorption was rapid and markedly reversible, and flotation occurred at relatively small amounts of dithiophosphate sorbed.

Jan 1, 1950

By KENNETH CITTISGHAM

During the year 1945, the total number of wells drilled in Ohio, including the. non¬productive wells, was 1034. For the 10-year period ending with 1945, the average completions per year were 1125, the least number being 910 in 1938, and the maximum 1561 in 1941. The proportion of dry holes in 1945 was 37 per cent?about the same as for the year 1944 but exceeding the 10-year average, which was 34 per cent. The number of oil wells completed exceeded the number drilled in 1944 by about 30 per cent, the average initial per well being the same in both years. Gas-well completions were approximately 10 per Cent less than in 1944, with the average initial per well about 5 per cent greater. The difference in number of oil and gas wells in the two years was in Berea and Clinton completions, as the number of oil wells increased about 30 per cent, owing to greater activity in the two sands named, while the number of gas wells decreased because of fewer completions therein.

Jan 1, 1946

By DR. RICHARD RATHBUN

(Washington Meeting, May, 1965.) THE remarks of Dr. Rathbun in his address of welcome render it unnecessary that I dwell either upon the history or aims of the National Museum, and enable me to proceed at once with a brief descriptive outline of the Department for which I am responsible, and this with particular reference to that division devoted to applied geology. The amount of geological material brought together prior to 1876, under the various Congressional acts quoted, was, though valuable, comparatively small. It consisted mainly of the collections made by Professor J. D. Dana and his assistants during the Wilkes Exploring Expedition; by the various geologists accompanying the surveys of the Pacific railroads in 1854-55; the Surveys West of the 100th Meridian under the direction of the Engineering Corps of the Army; the United States geological surveys under direction of Dr. F. V. Hayden ; and the various Land Office surveys. Prior to 1873 there were no paid assistants to care for these collections. They were studied, if studied at all, by " collabrators," so-called, several of whom had offices and even sleeping apartments in the Smithsonian Institution. In the list of these collaborators are found such names as Conrad, Cope, Gabb, Leidy, Lesquereux, Meek, and Newberry. The building now occupied by the National Museum was designed primarily to make room for the great mass of material secured in 1876 at the close of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. As completed in 1880, it afforded opportunity for expansion and incidental organization on much more practical basis than had previously existed. This found expression in the creation of numerous departments with salaried officials to take charge of the various collections. With the appointment of Dr. George W. Hawes to the position of Curator of Geology and Mineralogy, in 1881, and Dr.

Jul 1, 1905

By Ralph Nichols

The mines are near the town of Gilmore, in the Texas mining district. This district was organized in 1880. The present producing mines are near the terminus of the Gilmore & Pittsburg railroad. This railroad connects with the main line of the Oregon Short Line at Armstead, Mont. The distance from Gilmore to Armstead is 70 miles. The town of Gilmore is near the head of the Lemhi river at an elevation of 7,000 ft., while the mines are from 400 to 1,300 ft. higher. The range of mountains upon which the mines are situated forms the water shed for the Little Lost river on the west and the Lemhi river on the east. The winters are severe and the snow fall is heavy, but the mines ship right through the year. There is an abundance of timber suitable for all mining purposes in the immediate vicinity. Water is piped into the camp from a lake about 2.5 miles distant. This lake is about 1,400 ft. above the town of Gilmore. The water is exceptionally good for boiler and domestic purposes. The mining companies now producing are the Pittsburg Idaho Co., Ltd.; the Latest Out Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.; and the Oilmore Mining Co., Ltd. Besides the above propertiea, there are a number of prospects in different stages of development. The producing mines of the district are fissures in limestone, with a general northeast-southwest course and a dip to the west of from 40' to 70°. These fissures are at about right angles to the bedding of the limestones. The veins are regular and the ore shoots strong, both laterally and in depth, so far as developed. The ore shoots have a rake or pitch to the south. The character of the formation is shown in Fig. 1, a section of the Latest Out mine. Character of Ore. The ores of the district are oxidized, carrying an excess of iron over the silica (insoluble matter). The vein filling is a mixture of limonite and hematite, which is replaced by shoots of lead-silver ores. The lead minerals consist of carbonate of lead principally, but with small quantities of sulphide, sulphate, and other lead minerals.

Jan 1, 1914

By J. A. Richardson

J. A. RICHARDSON[t]-Mr. Stuckey's account of the geology of the kaolins of North Carolina suggests that they exhibit some features similar to those of the Malay Peninsula. About one half of British Malaya (some 26,000 square miles) is occupied at the surface by igneous rocks, of which granite and its associated derivatives constitute fully 90 pct. The average granite is a biotic variety. It is predominantly potassic but carries, in addition, notable amounts of soda and lime so that albite and albiteoligoclase are generally common constituents of the rock. The minor derivatives from granite "magma" likewise include potassic and sodi-potassic members. Decomposition of the granitic rocks has led to the formation of kaolin in many localities, but, in general, the deposits are rather small and, at present, none is exploited commercially. True primary or residual kaolins (as defined by Stuckey; p. 48 Vol. 173, p. 2 TP 2219) have been developed from feldspar veins, pegmatites and from other granitic differentiates which cut through the larger masses of granite; they are usually small and narrow. Kaolin has been derived from aplite, quartz porphyry, quartz micro-porphyry, felsites and microgranites belonging to a complex known as the Chegar Perah-Pulai intrusion in northwest Pahang and southwest Kelantan. The bulk of the component rocks has been more or less strongly sheared. Kaolin-like end products have been formed from both sheared and nonsheared varieties. Kaolin has been formed also by the complete breakdown of trondjemite flanking the northwestern and western margins of the complex Bukit Ranjut syenite intrusion in northwest Pahang. These trondjemites range in composition from essentially quartz-free albiteplagioclasites to quartz-free microcline rocks; they are, in effect, the syenitic homologues of white sodic and potassic granite-aplites. The granites in Malaya have generally undergone more or less severe surficial weathering leading to the production of a spongy and rather cellular or a soft "mealy" material (sandy clay) down to depths of about 100 ft; in places the granite is strongly decomposed down to 150 ft. There has occurred, therefore, widespread partial kaolinization, but, in general, no extensive deposits of good quality kaolin seem to have been formed by these processes of decay. Frequently, the katamorphic processes of desilicification have advanced beyond the production of kaolin towards the formation of lateritic end products. The more important Malayan kaoiins seem to be confined to the western alluvial plains, particularly in areas either where granite crops out at surface, or where it forms the bedrock of the alluvium. There are numerous excellent examples around Gopeng and elsewhere in the Kinta Valley of Perak. Such kaolins belong to Stuckey's groups of secondary deposits, and, like them, these also may be bedded. Field observations have established the existence of what for want of a better name is referred to by the Malayan Geological Survey as "granite wash." It is believed that granite, undergoing extensive deeply penetrative and probably rather rapid destruction under humid tropical weathering (temperature around 90°F; rainfall about 100 in. per annum; high humidity) "flowed," was moved by "creep" and, in addition, probably slumped in large waterlogged masses of sandy clay from topographic salients onto the adjacent flats. Either during this period of transmigration or later when the sludged granite detritus, after having more or less come to rest, was attacked by flowing water, differential sorting and erosion took place with the result that the resorted debris was moved and later deposited as bedded alluvium. In this way, banded "granite wash" was produced comprising alternating bands of clayey sand (resorted granite sludge) and white

Jan 1, 1947

By B. S. Butler

Introduction. THE New London copper mine, about 81, miles east of Frederick, Md., was visited by the Writers for a few hours in the spring of 1909 and the following brief notes on ore specimens collected are presented as a contribution to studies in chalcocite ores. For certain data on the structural and areal geology of this portion of Maryland the writers are under obligation to the unpublished notes and maps of Arthur Keith. The detailed study of the ores is the work of B. S. Butler. The deposit here discussed has many similarities to those of the Virginia district of Virginia and North Carolina, which have been described y Graton1 and Laney2, except that in the deposits of the New London mine chalcocite is by far the most important ore mineral, while in the Virginia deposits bornite is commonly-the most important sulphide. In the New London occurrence calcite is the most important gangue mineral.

Jan 7, 1914

By Ulick Evans

I SHOULD like to commence by saying how much I appreciate the honor which the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers has done me in inviting me to visit your country, and to deliver this lecture before you. In choosing a subject, and in deciding what to include and what to omit, I have endeavored to discuss as far as possible work carried out recently in Europe with which you may not be unduly familiar. It would be poor return for your hospitality, and a mistaken sort of compliment indeed, if I were to load the lecture with accounts of researches carried out in your own country-researches with which you are probably better acquainted than I. Not that I have in any way excluded work done on this side of the Atlantic from my survey; one would indeed find it difficult to write on this, or on any other branch of science, without mentioning American work. But I have endeavored as far as possible to concentrate on aspects of the case which will, I hope, be comparatively fresh to you, and I feel fairly certain that this will be in accordance with your own wishes. If a strip of iron is heated strongly at one end, the other end remaining cold, there is produced over the heated portion a layer of oxide scale, the thickness of which diminishes steadily with the distance from the hot end. Somewhere in the middle of the strip, the thickness of the oxidized layer will become comparable to the wave length of light, and over this region the thin films give rise to a series of beautiful interference tints, commonly known as "temper colors." The colors are caused by the fact that two trains of light waves are reflected respectively from the outer and inner surfaces of the oxide film, and the possibility arises that the "crests" of one series of waves may coincide with the "troughs" of the other, thus diminishing the intensity of the light of some particular wave length. The state of affairs in this part of the strip is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, in which the film thickness is enormously exaggerated, of course, in comparison with the length of the strip; the

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

THE ninth International Petroleum Exposition held at Tulsa, May 16-23, broke all size, sales, and attendance records of previous shows. More than $12,500,000 worth of equipment was on the grounds. There were 546 companies exhibiting and every available inch of the fifteen acres allotted to exhibit was taken. Drake Drive, the main street of the exposition, was literally "supply row" with National Supply, Frick-Reid, Continental Supply, Oil Well, Bridgeport, International Derrick and Equipment, and Parkersburg Rig and Reel companies occupying the entire space. The exhibitors were a cross section of American industry, with such firms, besides the strictly oil equipment firms, as the United States Steel Corp. and others allied to the oil industry, exhibiting. Between $10,000,000 and $15,000,000 of equipment is estimated to have been sold on the grounds during the exposition. Valuable contacts were made by the exhibitors with key oil men. Attendance passed the 175,000 mark for paid admissions in contrast with 154,000 for the eighth exposition in 1934. Visitors registered from Venezuela, Soviet Russia, India, Germany, Spain, Mexico, England, Canada, France, Colombia, Greece, West Indies, and Rumania. Hotels were overflowed and a housing bureau found rooms in private homes for thousands. Oil companies set up a schedule of shifts in order that as many of their field men might attend as possible. It is said that the companies want a two-weeks' show in 1938 so that more time will be avail-

Jan 1, 1936

By J. C. Branner

DuriKg the past two or three years I have seen statements regarding the first discovery of fullers' earth in this country that seem to require correction or modification. One appears again in the Mineral Resources of the United States for 1909, part II., p. 738, where it is said that 'fullers' earth was firat discovered in the United States at Quincy, Fla., in 1893." In this connection the following bit of unpublished history concerning fullers' earth in the State of Arkansas is worthy of attention. In April, 1891, when I was State Geologist of Arkansas, a Swede named John Olsen, formerly a copper-miner in Michigan, but then living south of Little Rock, brought me a sample of what he thought mas fullers' earth. He reported that it was from near the town of Alexander, the locality being 1 S. 13 W., section 8, SW. quarter of the SE. quarter. My chemist, Dr. R. N. Brackett, analyzed the material, and reported: Per Cent. Silica,.....SiO2 .... 63.19 Alumina,.... A12O3 .... 18.76 Iron,.....Fe2O3 .... 7.05 Lime,.,...CaO .... 0.78 Magnesia,.... MgO .... 1.68 Potash,.... K2O ,... 0.21 Soda,.....Na2O .... 1.50 Loss on ignition,........7.57 100.74 Water at 110° to 115° C. = 7.84. Another sample from about the same locality, also brought by John Olsen, on analysis by Dr. Brackett gave :

Jan 1, 1913

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

By L. R., McLeod

NO important changes in metallurgical practice are exhibited in the smelter that has been erected for treating the Morenci concentrate: the material is charged to reverberatory furnaces without roasting, and the matte subsequently blown in Peirce-Smith converters to separate the iron and sulphur from the copper. In fact the process is essentially the same, except for preliminary roasting of the concentrate, that was adopted in the new smelter that was built for the Arizona Copper Co. at Clifton, a few miles away, to treat Morenci concentrate just before the start of the first World War, and which went into service in October, 1913.

Jan 1, 1942

By Harlowe Hardinge, R. C. Ferguson

Laboratory and plant data covering 12 different operations show that lower than "standard" ball mill speeds increase grinding efficiency. In the case of high pulp-level mills, the gain is so great that the increase in capital cost of the larger lower speed mill will pay for itself in less than a year's time.

Jan 1, 1950

By V. F. Parry, J. B. Goodman

The low-rank coals containing 10 to 50 pet natural bed moisture represent over half of the tonnage reserve of the available solid fuels of the United States, but only about 2 pet of United States coal production is derived from these fuels. Increased utilization of these large reserves will result if the bed moisture can be removed at the mine in high-speed low-cost processes. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study of the factors affecting high-speed drying of coal dusts. The time required to heat particles of coal is proportional to the square of their diameter, and it is calculated that the probable time in minutes is equal to 6D2. In other words, a 11 a in. coal particle should be heated to drying temperature in 1.5 to 2.0 sec. Likewise, 1/8 in. particles should be heated in about 6 sec. The net heat required to dry subbituminous coal and lignite varies from 240 to 375 Btu per pound, depending upon the moisture removed, and this heat can be obtained from 42 to 61 cu ft of hot gases at 600°F.

Jan 1, 1949

By Ernest R. Lilley

While American scientific literature contains much information upon geologic conditions controlling the production of oil in Rumania, copper in Chile, and other fuel and metallic resources in many foreign countries, it is singularly lacking in data about the nonmetallics outside of the United States. Thus, though the United States is the outstanding market for European high-quality refined kaolin, and for the chinaware, porcelain, and other products of the European ceramics industries, American literature contains only the briefest references to the deposits from which the raw kaolin utilized is obtained. To the writer, to whom has come in the past year the opportunity of visiting a number of these deposits personally, they have proved of extreme interest both commercially and geologically. It is the latter phase that is discussed in this paper. The older and now largely crystalline rock areas of France, Germany, and other parts of western Europe contain numerous pegmatite dikes of which the upper portions have been subjected to surface weathering and kaolinization in much the same way as those of the eastern portion of the United States. Like the latter, the European pegmatite kaolins have long been known for their freedom from iron and other impurities offensive to the china and porcelain manufacturer. Unfortunately, they are also, like the American deposits, individually of small size and noted for their high costs of production. Deposits of sedimentary clay similar in many respects to the high-quality sedimentary kaolins of Georgia and South Carolina are known and worked, notably in southern Germany and in the Newton Abbott district of Devon and Dorset in England. In general, their relationship to the parent rock from which they were derived is more evident than in the United States and the individual deposits are of smaller areal extent and less regular in outline. While these deposits are of considerable economic importance they did not, because of their similarity to deposits in America, attract and hold the interest of the writer to the extent that several other types of deposits did. It is to the latter, which are so different from the kaolin

Jan 1, 1932

By E. H. Mohr

AT the McGill concentrator of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co., all flotation operations have been carried out in Forrester cells since November, 1926. In respect to cost of operation, the new cell has proved to be superior to the Callow, which it supplanted, and its incorporation in the flow sheet has resulted in a marked improvement in the metallurgy. Before citing the advantages of the new machine over the old, it should be explained that the Forrester has not only replaced the Callow, but it has made possible the elimination of a number of tables as well. When Callow cells were in use, table concentration preceded flotation. The ball mill pulp was elevated, by means of air lifts, to roughing Wilfley tables situated two floors directly above the flotation floor. On an intermediate floor were additional tables which cleaned the concentrate from those above. The finished table concentrate constituted approximately 60 per cent. of the total mill production, and contained about 40 per cent. of the recovered copper. The table tailings were returned to the classifiers, the overflow from which went to the flotation cells and the oversize to the ball mills. As soon as the Forrester cells were installed, this tabling operation was discontinued. The ball mill pulp now discharges into the classifiers direct, without the intermediate tabling. It was impracticable to employ the present flow sheet when Callow cells were in use, for the reason that unless the greater part of the heavy mineral was first removed, it accumulated on the mats and adversely affected the flotation operation. By tabling ahead of flotation, it was practicable to maintain the concentrator at 10 to 20 per cent. greater capacity (depending up on the pyrite content of the ore) than was possible by flotation alone. This was due to the necessity for finer grinding in the latter case. Even though the table concentrates contained only 6 to 8 per cent. copper con- tent, the low smelting costs made it advantageous to operate at high mill capacity, at the cost of low grade of product. STANDARD SECTION EQUIPMENT With the old-flow sheet, a standard section consisted of four ball mills and classifiers, one air lift, 20 roughing tables, 10 cleaner tables, 12 primary

Jan 1, 1928

By Arthur F. Taggart

This paper proposes two units (believed to be new) for designating, respectively, capacity and efficiency for primary and intermediate crushers. Capacity Operators know that the tonnage of rock that can be put through a particular crusher in a given time depends primarily upon the crusher setting (open setting for jaw and primary gyratory types; closed setting for cones and rolls), and secondarily on the lithological character of the feed, its maximum size, the amount of fines that it carries, its moisture content, and the method of feeding. The proposed capacity formula states a relationship between all of these factors in one empirical equation, as follows: Tr = TR80K'K" [I] in which Tr, called "reduction tons per hour" is the new capacity unit; T = tons of feed per hour requiring crushing; R80 = "80-per cent reduction ratio"; and K, K', and K" are constants that approximate quantitatively lithological character, moisture content and method of feeding, respectively. T is the hourly weight of material in the feed that is coarser than the coarsest discharge of the crusher. (For marked departures from the normal specific-gravity range—2.5 to 2.7—T should be adjusted to corresponding volumes.) In the crushers under consideration, discharge from the crushing zone is limited by the minimum dimension of a particle. Passage of the particle through a square-mesh screen is limited by its intermediate dimension. Sheppardl has shown that the ratio of maximum: intermediate: minimum average dimensions of broken rock fragments may be taken as about 1.5:=:0,6 for nonslabby rocks such as are normally crushed, while for slabby rocks, such as thin-bedded sedimentaries, foliated schists and gneisses, and the blocky metamorphics, the ratio is of the average order I.3:I:o.3, with the possibility of an even smaller relative value for the thickness. Gaudin2 finds the corresponding ratio for —I50 + 200-mesh pyrite to be I.4: I:0.6. The hourly tonnage of crusher-plant feed, therefore, should be diminished by the amount thereof that would pass a square-mesh screen of which the aperture is S times the crusher setting, where S is a shape factor with the value 1.7 for rocks that break exceptionally cubic; 2 for ores and rocks that exhibit no appreciabie tendency to slabbiness; and 2.5 to 3, or, in exceptional cases, even larger, when the tendency to slabbiness is marked. R80 is the quotient of the theoretical square-mesh aperture that would pass 80 per cent of the feed, divided by the aperture that would pass 80 per cent of the product. It is best determined from screen tests. If, as is usual with primary crushers, a sizing test of feed is not available, the

Jan 1, 1943

By Arthur F. Taggart

This paper proposes two units (believed to be new) for designating, respectively, capacity and efficiency for primary and intermediate crushers. Capacity Operators know that the tonnage of rock that can be put through a particular crusher in a given time depends primarily upon the crusher setting (open setting for jaw and primary gyratory types; closed setting for cones and rolls), and secondarily on the lithological character of the feed, its maximum size, the amount of fines that it carries, its moisture content, and the method of feeding. The proposed capacity formula states a relationship between all of these factors in one empirical equation, as follows: Tr = TR80K'K" [I] in which Tr, called "reduction tons per hour" is the new capacity unit; T = tons of feed per hour requiring crushing; R80 = "80-per cent reduction ratio"; and K, K', and K" are constants that approximate quantitatively lithological character, moisture content and method of feeding, respectively. T is the hourly weight of material in the feed that is coarser than the coarsest discharge of the crusher. (For marked departures from the normal specific-gravity range—2.5 to 2.7—T should be adjusted to corresponding volumes.) In the crushers under consideration, discharge from the crushing zone is limited by the minimum dimension of a particle. Passage of the particle through a square-mesh screen is limited by its intermediate dimension. Sheppardl has shown that the ratio of maximum: intermediate: minimum average dimensions of broken rock fragments may be taken as about 1.5:=:0,6 for nonslabby rocks such as are normally crushed, while for slabby rocks, such as thin-bedded sedimentaries, foliated schists and gneisses, and the blocky metamorphics, the ratio is of the average order I.3:I:o.3, with the possibility of an even smaller relative value for the thickness. Gaudin2 finds the corresponding ratio for —I50 + 200-mesh pyrite to be I.4: I:0.6. The hourly tonnage of crusher-plant feed, therefore, should be diminished by the amount thereof that would pass a square-mesh screen of which the aperture is S times the crusher setting, where S is a shape factor with the value 1.7 for rocks that break exceptionally cubic; 2 for ores and rocks that exhibit no appreciabie tendency to slabbiness; and 2.5 to 3, or, in exceptional cases, even larger, when the tendency to slabbiness is marked. R80 is the quotient of the theoretical square-mesh aperture that would pass 80 per cent of the feed, divided by the aperture that would pass 80 per cent of the product. It is best determined from screen tests. If, as is usual with primary crushers, a sizing test of feed is not available, the

Jan 1, 1943

By Richard P. Rothwell

IN the pear 1881, I visited San Domingo, in the interest of French capitalists, to examine and report upon certain "concessions" of gold-bearing gravel and quartz veins, on the Isabella and Jaina rivers and their tributaries. This district is periodically reported to he extraordinarily rich, and there is oast around it the glamour of the mysterious shipments of gold, credited, in romance and in more or less romantic history, to Columbus and the Spaniards of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Since considerable sums of money and several valuable lives have been lost in the unsuccessful search for its profitable mines, it seems desirable to place on record Borne of the information collected concerning the value of these famous gold fields, with the hope of facilitating the work of those who may hereafter be called on to investigate these claims, and of preventing the unnecessary waste of capital. It is needless to add that the capitalists for whom my investigations were made abandoned the enterprise they had in view,although no doubt similar schemes will be brought forward many times in the future, as they have been in the past, under the fervent advocacy of too sanguine enthusiasts. Since the time of the Spanish occupation of the Island of San Domingo, in 1497, when Columbus Found the natives wearing ornaments of gold, more or less of the precious metal has been obtained annually by washing the gold-bearing sands of several of its streams. It is said that during the Spanish domination, when the native Indians were held in the most abject servitude, a certain amount of gold was required of each one as the rault of his labor. Uuder this

Jan 1, 1882

By Orville R. Lyons

DISCUSSION Judson S. Hubbard (The Humphreys Investment Co., Denver)—In this very interesting paper several brief references are made to the Humphreys spiral, a device used for cleaning fine coal. In Table I, Plants 76 and 77, data are given on spiral performance treating Raton and Trinidad coal. The fine coal, as fed to the spiral in these instances, is actually a table middling, hence the more easily treated material was previously removed and a large number of particles were present which were difficult to clean. Mr. W. M. Bertholf of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Co. presented a paper in February, 1946, Cleaning Table Middlings from a Coal Washery with the Humphreys Spiral Concentrator, from which I quote: "In considering the results of our tests it should be noted that the feed was our table middling, and that any real separation is a 'moral victory' as there is little material that could properly be called coal and practically no heavy rock, the consequences being that previous attempts to clean the middling have not at all been successful." Referring again to Table I, Plants 72, 73, 74, and 75, these data were obtained by Yancey and Geer and others and presented at the February 1950 Meeting, AIME, in a paper entitled Laboratory Performance Tests of the Humphreys Spiral as a Cleaner of Fine Coal. Results shown for those tests involve all particles from 8 mesh through the colloids, which admittedly is not an ideal situation for spiral feed if much refuse is contained in the —80 mesh or —100 mesh size range. As an illustration of the effect of treating too broad a size range, let us consider Plant No. 75, Kentucky No. 9 seam. Spiral feed was 8 mesh x 0. Now had this been 8x100 mesh the percentage of misplaced material would have been 8.0 pct instead of the reported 15.26 pct. Similar comparisons can be made on the other data presented with respect to the spiral. Other types of equipment show a similar trend in that whenever too fine a size is treated in a given unit process the percentage of misplaced material increases. Since the spiral is working near the finer end of the size range, it will sometimes be advantageous to treat the entire range of —8 mesh material rather than to deslime and make a fair showing on, say, the +80 or + I00 mesh. Desliming is subsequently done in any case in the dewatering or thickening operation. Results obtained by spiraling any given coal depend on factors too numerous and complex to discuss here, but there are strong indications that proper preparation of feed to the spiral can improve results obtained on some of the raw coals tested. This is clearly pointed out at the end of the aforementioned paper by Yancey and Geer. "The spiral is an extremely simple device which involves no moving parts and is constructed almost entirely of unmachined castings. Since it is such an uncomplicated mechanism, operation is simple and virtually foolproof. These characteristics, which go far toward insuring low cost operation, are attractive attributes in any coal cleaning unit." Certain equipment used in conjunction with the spiral has resulted in a decrease in the percentage of misplaced material, notably in actual practice the launder screen which is used to remove objectionable high ash fines from a spiral-washed coal product. Private correspondence with the U. S. Bureau of Mines has intimated that an additional yield of coal is possible by flotation of the spiral middling. Possible future improvements and developments may result from other methods now under consideration. Finally, some compromise must be made between the best metallurgical performance and the best practical or economical results. Mr. Lyons emphasizes in his summary this objective of overall economy in selection of equipment. G. B. Walker (American Cyanamid Co., Stamford, Conn.)—I had the pleasure of reviewing the draft of this paper and my curiosity was aroused by the data given for Tromp plants, in that all of the examples shown appeared to be 2-product separations, whereas all the Tromp plants with which I am familiar have been 3-product units. The data given for plants No. 101 and 102 appear to be taken from Tromp's brochure on his process and represent the results obtained at the Dominale plant in Holland which was operated for many years by Mr. Tromp. The plant, which was designed to treat 58 tons per hr, was sampled while treating 35 tons per hr of 3Y4x-in. coal. Example 101 appears to conform to what would result if the middling product were calculated into the refuse product, while Example 102 represents the calculation of the middling into the coal product. It is believed that Examples 103 and 104 represent the operation of the Willem-Sophie Mine in Holland recalculated on the same basis. In checking the English examples given by numbers 14, 15, 16, and 17, the same procedure seems to have been followed. These results have, apparently, been taken from an article in Colliery Engineering in August 1941, describing the initial operation of the Williamthorpe Colliery of the Hardwick Colliery Co. Two vessels are employed in this plant, one to treat soft coal and one to treat hard coal. Example No. 14 presents the results that could be obtained from the soft coal bath if the middling were calculated into the refuse, and Example 15 the results when the middling is calculated into the coal. Examples 16 and 17 represent the same expedient in the case of the hard coal bath. Of interest to this discussion is the fact that during the past year the Simon-Carves Engineering Co. in England has installed in the Williamthorpe plant their new "Sim-Car" medium cleaning system which is based on magnetic extraction and control and which is licensed under the Heavy-Media Separation Processes patents by the American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Co. This system has been described in the December 1951, issue of Colliery Engineering. It is reported that since the Williamthorpe Colliery was changed from the Tromp system of medium cleaning to the Magneto-Motive method of medium control the opera-

Jan 1, 1953