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By J. A. Eisele, D. J. Bauer, L. E. Schultze

Approximately 100 million mt of magnetic reject tailings, which contain apatite and about 1% yttrium and rare-earth elements, exist in the eastern U.S. as a result of iron ore mining operations. At the present time, no economic process is available for recovering yttrium from this material. The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) studied the problem to determine if an effective low-cost method could be found, thereby increasing our domestic yttrium reserves. [Fig. 1] is a line drawing of a photograph taken during microprobe analysis of a sample of the tailings, and shows the distribution of yttrium. Typical analysis of this material is 0.14% yttrium and 1.1% rare-earth elements (mainly lanthanum through neodymium). Over half of the yttrium is present as a hydrated Ca-Y silicate deposited along interfaces in the grain structure; whereas, the remainder of the rare-earth elements occur as Ca-Fe-RE silicates. The remaining yttrium and rare-earth elements are in solid solution with the

Jan 1, 1977

By Ernest N. Patty

Placer gold-bearing gravels of interior Alaska and the Yukon are, for the most part, permanently frozen, and are described as permafrost. The first step in preparing these gravels for dredging is to strip by bulldozer the surface layer of tundra, brush, and scrub timber, and to expose the ebony colored surface of the frozen mud at the grass roots. This mud varies from a frozen, muddy ooze to a sandy silt and locally may contain layers of peat. The whole mass is intercalated with ice dikes and lenses. The thickness will vary from a few feet up to 100 ft, depending upon local conditions. A freshly exposed surface will thaw to a depth of 4 in. per day during the summer season. Common practice is to expose a large surface of this mud to the sun and each day's thaw is then swept off by water and carried away in suspension.

Jan 1, 1951

By Thomas Connolly

The Homestake Mine is situated in the northern portion of the Black Hills of South Dakota in a series of steeply dipping and highly folded Precambrian Rocks. The ore bodies are localized along plunging anticlinal and synclinal folds which are locally called "ledges." The gold bearing ore is confined mainly in the Homestake formation which is an iron-magnesium carbonate series of rocks. The individual ore bodies are pipe or lense-shaped zones which plunge 30º to 75º from the horizontal. These ore bodies range from 10 to 100 feet wide and 50 to 400 feet along the strike. Gold values are erratically distributed in a gangue consisting of cummingtonite schist, sideroplesite schist, quartz, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, chlorite schist and ankerite. Usually the ore bodies dip at 70° to 80º and often have folded shapes like "fish hooks" or "troughs." Ore grades must be determined by extensive sampling and all mining is based on assay control.

Jan 3, 1974

By Paul C. Merritt

For more than 100 years, British Columbia has been considered a mountainous mining province, rich with potential but relatively poor in actual production. Times have changed. Today, Japanese interests and money have altered the difficult, if not once impossible, economic conditions and market factors which until recently precluded any great growth of the British Columbia mineral industry. The mining boom now underway in British Columbia has carried the total value of mineral production in the Province to a record height in 1962 as it rang up a 27% increase over that of 1961. Breaking the $200 million barrier for the first time, total value of British Columbia's mineral output reached $229- 276,385. Of this amount, metals accounted for 70%; industrial minerals, 6 %; structural materials, 9 %; and fuels, 15%. The substantial increase is attributed to the record production of copper, iron, asbestos, natural gas and petroleum, in addition to the continuing high production rate and favorable prices of other mineral commodities.

Jan 12, 1963

The State School of Mines, University of Utah, is this year giving-a four weeks' course for prospectors-Jan. 8 to Feb. 3, 1917-covering the fundamentals of geology, mineralogy, mining and the metallurgical treatment of ores. There will be 36 lectures of 1 hr. each and about 20 laboratory periods, each 3 hr. in length. It is the purpose of the School of Mines to make the course entirely a practical one, and purely theoretical considerations will be omitted. The laboratory work is designed to supplement the lectures and-to give those taking the course a working knowledge of the principles involved. In order to bring the course within the reach of all, no laboratory fees will be charged, and the only fee will be a nominal one for registration in the University, of $1.00, but it is expected that those who attend will be genuinely interested in the work.

Jan 2, 1917

By F. R. Morral

In 1964, mining education in the United States will celebrate a 100th anniversary-that of the founding of our first school of mines at Columbia University. Prior to that, curricula leading to degrees in mining and metallurgical engineering were offered in 1853 by the Polytechnic College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. But the New World's earliest achievements in mining and metallurgical education were those of the Spanish in what is now Mexico. American metallurgy probably goes back to Father Jose de Acosta, who in 1590 described the metallurgy of silver and mercury in the New World.' The Spanish priest and metallurgist Don Alvaro Alonso Barba Toscano (1569-1662), in his hook The Art of Metals, published in 1640, stated a need for a school of mining and metallurgical education in the New World. (The latest translation of this book was made by R. E. Douglas and E. P. Mathewson and published by J. Wiley & Sons, New York, in 1923.)

Jan 1, 1963

By H. W. McCue, Henry Rogatz

Oil.—In the Texas Panhandle, during the year of 1941, 647 oil wells were drilled with a total daily initial production of 133,435 bb1.—that is, 145 more oil wells than in the previous year, with a decrease in total daily production of 5752 bbl. On Dec. 31, 1941, a daily allowable of 116,766 bbl., which was an increase of 27 per cent over 1940, was assigned to the field to be produced from 5182 wells. The total amount of oil produced for the year was 27,904,846 bbl., making a cumulative total of 404,657,324 bbl. during the past 20 years. Gas.—During the year, 52 gas wells were drilled, having a combined open flow of 2.62 billion cu. ft. per day—that is, 40 less than the number of wells drilled in 1940, with an increase in the open flow of 217,100,000 cu. ft. per day. The gas

Jan 1, 1942

By Henry Rogatz, H. W. McCue

Oil.—In the Texas Panhandle, during the year of 1941, 647 oil wells were drilled with a total daily initial production of 133,435 bb1.—that is, 145 more oil wells than in the previous year, with a decrease in total daily production of 5752 bbl. On Dec. 31, 1941, a daily allowable of 116,766 bbl., which was an increase of 27 per cent over 1940, was assigned to the field to be produced from 5182 wells. The total amount of oil produced for the year was 27,904,846 bbl., making a cumulative total of 404,657,324 bbl. during the past 20 years. Gas.—During the year, 52 gas wells were drilled, having a combined open flow of 2.62 billion cu. ft. per day—that is, 40 less than the number of wells drilled in 1940, with an increase in the open flow of 217,100,000 cu. ft. per day. The gas

Jan 1, 1942

During the past 20 years the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. and the General Electric Co. have collected a valuable library of some 9000 volumes on electricity. The collection was intended especially for use in patent searches and is particularly rich in patent material. Files of all the principal patents relating to electric light acid power issued by America, England, France and Germany, are present, together with copies of the patents owned or controlled by the two companies. Another feature, and one of unusual value, is a series of volumes containing the records of the important adjudicated patent cases of these companies and their predecessors during the past 25 years, and forming a storehouse of electrical history. There are also files of about 100 electrical periodicals. It is a pleasure to announce that this collection has now been presented by the owners to the Engineering Societies Library. This gift, which was arranged through Mr. Charles A. Terry, Vice-president, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., and Mr. Charles Neave, Counsel,

Jan 7, 1918

The paper by Professors Sun and Mitchell illustrates the value of ultrasonics as a tool for the mineral engineer. In particular, it opens up a number of possibilities to those interested in the field of comminution. The provision of desliming technique, which is thorough as well as rapid, is a distinct contribution, but the data of the paper suggest applications beyond desliming, in that the same treatments may be useful for size determination purposes. Fig. 1 shows that a marked dependence exists between particle size and the height to which it can be elevated by ultrasonic vibrations. While the curves are only extended down to a size of about 100 p, the fact that they appear to be increasing in slope in this range suggests that the separation may be even more marked here. This, we feel, is very strong evidence that a method for fine sizing could be developed to use ultra- sonic waves as the separating force.

Jan 1, 1957

By Whitmell J. Smithwick, Charles E. Dandois

The first operating unit of the ring or annular shaft kiln as developed by Mr. Karl Beckenbach of West Germany was rated 185 tpd and was installed in 1962. Today, there are approximately 84 units in operation in Western Europe and Japan. Twenty-one additional units are under construction or on order. Sizes range from approximately 100-330 tpd, however, units of over 500 tons are in the design stage. The ring shaft kiln is a single vertical cylinder to which are attached the required service platforms, combustion chambers, injectors and distribution piping (Fig. 1). Auxiliaries such as recuperator, exhaust fan and dust collector are mounted on the appropriate service platform. The charging pan, feed conveyor, etc., are mounted at the kiln top and at the bottom of the kiln is the silo with a vibrator type discharger. Mounted separately is the required blower for injector air and fan for internal cooling.

Jan 4, 1973

By A. F. Beasley

FROM the initial Bunker Hill smelter operations in 1917, to March, 1930, only 50 per cent of the ore production of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Co. was handled at this plant. Since the date last mentioned, the total mine production has been received. The old lead refinery was equipped with four 105-ton drossing kettles, three 110-ton softening furnaces, four 105-ton desilverizing kettles, three 100-ton refining furnaces, one 150-ton round refined lead-storage furnace, one 75-ton residue furnace and one hand-operated casting wheel. This equipment, with the exception of the residue furnace, could not adequately handle the increased tonnage in addition to the regular supply of custom ore. It became necessary either to install additional furnaces and kettles or to rebuild the entire plant, installing equipment of greater capacity.. The latter course was chosen, partly because of lack of space for additional equipment but mainly because of the more economical operation of larger units.

Jan 1, 1932

By Samuel G. Bonasso

The article by Benavides and Schuster provides an in-depth study of this transportation alternatives for a four-mine complex in western Kentucky. The examination of aerial tramways was not undertaken as an alternative solution. We feel this is an oversight since industrial ropeways are competitive with both belt conveyance and overland truck hauling. In fact, there are aerial tramway system, operational today, which are 100 years old and operating with some original components. Maybe unfortunately, there are no fixed rules or guidelines whereby the most cost-effective means of transporting and handling material for a given situation may be selected. Each situation must be evaluated m the variables that influence the selection of the desired alternative can be clearly defined. However, there are in-place industrial ropeway system that have proven economically feasible over a range of 1.6-50 km (1-31 miles). The more difficult the terrain, the greater the cost efficiency.

Jan 1, 1984

By R. H. Migliaccio, M. B. Kahle

The railroad haulage system was started at Kennecott's Bingham Mine in 1906 and has remained a prime mover of ore and waste for the succeeding sixty years. As the stripping ratios increased contract stripping on the upper levels of the mine was introduced employing truck and shovel methods. The ore production then was 90,000 tpd. Analysis of expanding the ore production to 108,000 tpd revealed that the increased ore production and continually rising stripping ratio would result in waste production requirements that exceeded the capacity of the rail haulage system above 6290 level. The advent of larger haulage trucks (65-100 tons) in the early 1960's made available to the Bing- ham Mine economic and operating factors which showed truck haul- age to be the best replacement for rail haulage on the upper levels of the mine. As part of that analysis it was concluded that company stripping would replace the contractor stripping in the top area of the mine.

Jan 7, 1973

By L. D. Lash, J. R. Ross

Scandium is a pseudo-rare earth which is truly rare and expensive. It has special properties which may make it desirable even at the present price of $2750 per lb. Recently the price was lowered from $5000 per lb which had prevailed since 1952, and it is anticipated that usage will be stimulated because of the lowered price. This metallic element is distributed widely in trace amounts in the rocks of the earth's crust. In addition to micro-amounts found in most uranium ores, concentrations of 50 to 100 ppm have been found in Colorado ferberite ore, lateritic nickel ore, heavy sandstone from Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico, and various zircon sands and monazites from the western part of the US. Scandium has been found as an essential constituent of very few minerals, the most important being thortveitite, a scandium silicate. At the present time, this mineral commands a price more than twice that of gold.

Jan 8, 1961

By Edmund E. Getzin

Of all the developments in the post-war history of Western Europe, none has been more remarkable in its aims and in the progress it has achieved than the movement toward European integration. It is not an exaggeration to say that this movement marks a virtual revolution, an about-face, in the long and complicated history of European states over the past three centuries. Although sporadic efforts to achieve European integration can be traced back for at least a 100 years, it remained for the breakdown of the European economies as a result of World War II and the subsequent Russian threat to give new impetus to the concept of broader economic and political integration. In fact, the economic integration of Europe following the end of the war was considered so essential that, in 1949, the administrator of the European Cooperation Administration, Paul Hoffman, spoke of the economic integration of Western Europe as an objective of American policy embodied in the Marshall Plan.

Jan 6, 1963

By B. K. Parekh, W. M. Goldberger

Silicon carbide (Sic), produced by heating rice hulls to elevated temperatures, contains a mixture of beta crystalline silicon carbide whiskers, particles, and unreacted carbon. The silicon carbide whiskers are 0.5 micron in diameter and 50 to 100 microns in length and have been found useful for reinforcing metal and other composite materials. The carbon can be removed by combustion, but this makes separation of the silicon carbide whiskers from particles difficult and a high grade whisker product cannot be made. However, a clean, high grade SiC whisker product can be obtained from the pre-burned converted rice hulls using physical separation processes that are based on differential wetting. Recovery of Sic whiskers from the pre-burned material was found to exceed 90%. A modification of the froth flotation process developed during this study is now being used commercially to separate silicon carbide whiskers and particles and to recover a high grade whisker product.

Jan 1, 1986

By Chi-Yuen Wang, Chaw-Long Chu

The time-dependent volumetric constitutive relation for a San Andreas fault gouge and a consolidated kaolinite are experimentally determined at confining pressures to 200 Mpa, under creep condition and at ultrasonic frequency. At any given pressure, the bulk modulus determined at 1 Mhz frequency is identical to the "elastic" modulus determined at a stepwise change of pressure. After the pressure change, there occur a time-dependent change of volume and thus the effective bulk modulus. The constitutive relations may be modeled by a standard linear viscoelastic medium with pressure-dependent moduli and viscosity. For the San Andreas fault gouge, viscosity increases from 2x10 13 poise, at 17 Mpa, and 10 14 poise, at 100 Mpa. For kaolinite sample, the corresponding values are 3x10 12 poise and 10 13 poise. These results imply that both stress and pore pressure in fault zones may show time-dependent variations in response to a change of state of stress, such as that occurring after an earthquake.

Jan 1, 1982

By P. H. Thornton

MaNY intermediate phases are solid solutions which have a solute-solubility range greater than 3 at. pct. These phases, which are generally very strong and often have simple crystal structures, are usually extremely brittle so that specimens of simple shape cannot be produced by the usual mechanical-deformation techniques. Furthermore, single crystals of reasonably uniform composition are difficult to grow by the Bridgman technique because the phases generally form by a peritectic reaction, which causes pronounced segregation. In this note, a technique is described for the preparation of thin-rod specimens of brittle intermediate phases, which may be used for physical-property studies such as resistivity changes' and for the conversion of such rods into single crystals. The method has been used for the preparation of rod single crystals of the phases and Ingots, of about 100 g weight and 11 mm diam, were made by melting together the appropriate amounts of high-purity materials (usually 99.999 pct) in sealed

Jan 1, 1967

By R. M. Wilhelm

HIGH-TEMPERATURE thermometry,, as treated in this paper, deals with the measurement of temperature in the range 100° to 550° C. The lower limit corresponds to the temperature of boiling water at normal atmospheric pressure, the upper limit is approximately the highest temperature to which mercury in a glass thermometer may be safely subjected.1 In this range., the domains of pyrometry and thermometry overlap somewhat, for high-temperature resistance thermometers and thermocouples generally classed as pyrometers are often used below 550° C. This paper will be confined to high-temperature mercurial thermometers, and indicating and recording thermometers of the vapor pressure, liquid or gas filled, and bimetallic or graphite-metal expansion types, a classification of which is as follows: CLASSIFICATION OF THERMOMETERS GENERAL CLASSIFICATION SUBDIVISIONS Mercury in glass Laboratory- Etched or engraved stems (mercurial) Enclosed scale (Einschlus) Industrial Vapor pressure Indicating and Pressure Liquid filled recording Gas filled Bimetallic Graphite-metal expansion

Jan 9, 1919