Search Documents

By Mann V. I

The Mount Isa property has been in operation since June, 1931; during this period operations have changed from the production and treatment of carbonate ores to the mining, milling, and smelting of sulphide ores. This change involved revision of ore-extraction methods.Stoping methods have been designed to apply to parallel lodes ranging from 10 ft. to over 100 ft. in width and dipping at 50° to 60°. The hardness and strength of the ore and enclosing wall rocks, together with the strength and thickness of the country rock between lodes, have permitted the selection of a sub-level stoping method for mining the sulphide ores.

Jan 1, 1938

By Paul M. Tyler

A great variety of substance that differ widely in chemical, mineralogical, and physical properties are loosely linked under the generic term "clay", but for the average man all that matters is whether a given material can be sold or used profitably. So-called "clays" range in texture from true clays and allied minerals that are typically "fat" or sticky to fine sand. Sand and other strictly silicious materials, such as tripoli and diatomite, are not clays in any sense; but many commercial clays are strictly loams, for they are intermediate in texture and always contain a mixture of minerals, though the term "loam" has little commercial usage except in foundry work. Even pure kaolinite, ordinarily considered the typical "clay substance", recently was found to exist as three distinct minerals; and each of these, in turn, exhibits variations in particle size and other physical attributes. Probing with the X-ray and employing other modern tools and techniques, scientists are tracing the patterns of molecules and finding chemical and physical phenomena that seem to disclose the causes for the markedly different behavior of the various aluminum silicates with varying proportions of combined and adsorbed water that are the essential ingredients of commercial clays; but rule-of-thumb definitions and enforced reliance upon empirical tests of actual samples still hold sway. In addition to the hydrated simple silicates of aluminum, almost all clays contain quartz, feldspar, and mica with varying amounts of organic matter and, in addition, other impurities - such as iron, manganese, and titanium oxides - that may discolor them sufficiently to render them unfit for certain important uses. The white clays are generally the purest, but no two clays are really alike, and great care must be exercised to maintain a reasonable uniformity in successive shipments even from the same deposit.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. M. Cummings

CONSIPERABLE information on the industrial or non-metallic mineral resources of British Columbia has been published. For a general resume of the subject, reference may be made to a paper presented by A. M. Richmond before the Annual General Meeting of the Institute in 1935 (1). To avoid duplication, the present paper is confined to a discussion of the existing industrial mineral industry of the Province and of the factors governing its present and future development. British Columbia's mineral production in 1936 had a value approximately 15 per cent of that for the whole of Canada. Preliminary estimates for 1937 indicate that this proportion has been maintained, although the totals have increased about 25 per cent. The following table presents comparative figures, for the year 1936, illustrating the relative importance of the major divisions of the mineral industry in British Columbia and in Canada as a whole.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. R. Thoenen

In June 1929 the Bureau of Mines issued a 13-page Information Circular entitled "Mineral wool." This was one of the first publications to present to the public some technical aspects of the mineral-wool industry. Since that time several articles have appeared on the subject in the technical press as well as publications by State organizations. Inquiries for information on mineral wool have continued to be received by the Bureau of Mines in large numbers, and in 1935 it was decided, with the cooperation of the is industry, to make a field survey of the plants then producing and to collect therefrom technical data to be compiled in a paper for public distribution. As a first step, a brief questionnaire was mailed to the known producers asking if they would cooperate for publication. Favorable replies were received from of percent of the manufacturers, and the field work was started. As the study progressed and tie number of plants visited grew, it became more and more apparent that the industry had made rapid strides in technical operation and control of their product, as well as in increasing production during the mast decade.

Jan 1, 1938

By L. B. Berger

The Haldane gas-analysis apparatus used by the Bureau of Mines is patterned after the device developed by Haldane 4/ and differs from it only in structural modifications that have been added to facilitate operation and simplify construction. The apparatus was developed to permit determination of carbon dioxide, combustible gases, and oxygen with a degree of accuracy not attainable with apparatus of the types ordinarily used for the analysis of fuel gases, flue gases, and similar mixtures. The Haldane apparatus is used by the Bureau of Mines chiefly in the analysis of air samples collected in coal and metal mines and other underground workings and is applied also in the analysis of many other types of gas mixtures when accurate determination of certain constituents is desired.

Jan 1, 1938

By L. C. IlsLey

Many accidents rightly classifiable as electrically caused are not so classified for the reason that in numerous accidents the part that electricity played in causing the fatality is only suspected. For instance, a workman might receive a shock that would cause him to lose his balance and fall beneath a trip of cars; if no one saw the first part of the accident, the cause undoubtedly would be charged to "haulage." This paper covers a brief study of fatal and nonfatal electrical accidents. The first usually result from direct contact with the electrical circuit or electrical apparatus; the second more often are the result of arcing or flashing due to handling defective apparatus or making repairs on "live" equipment or circuits. It is hoped that helpful suggestions may be offered for minimizing accidents of these two classes.

Jan 1, 1938

By Oliver C. Ralston

[This paper is an expanded revision of a report entitled "Froth Flotation and Agglomerate Tabling of Nonmetallic Minerals, " published in Transactions of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (vol. 40, November 1937, pp- 691-726) and prepared a year previously. Revisions embodied herein brine the data up to January 1, 1938. References have also been added to make the earlier paper more complete for the period it covered.]

Jan 1, 1938

By M. W. Von Bernewitz

Fay's glossary3/ of terms contains the following definition of "black sand": Heavy grains of various minerals which have a dark color and. are usually found accompanying gold in alluvial deposits, for example, magnetite, chromite, ilmenite, cassiterite, tourmaline, and others. The Bureau of Mines is issuing this report in answer to the many inquiries from individuals and firms as to how they may treat or sell the heavy black sands that accumulate in the sluice boxes of beach and river placering and to warn such individuals and firms against becoming too enthusiastic over the chances of striking it rich. For a half century or longer much money, energy, and time have been wasted in devising, building, and trying numerous machines to recover gold and platinum, also gem stones, from sand that generally has not been worth the effort. Volumes have been written on the subject, and thousands of letters of inquiry have been received by agencies of the State and Federal Governments. The demand for information has been so great that all of the Bureau's publications dealing wholly or partly with black sands are out of print. They are listed at the end of this report.

Jan 1, 1938

[ ]

Jan 1, 1938

By Marvin J. Udy

THE preparation of this paper is in response to many requests for in-formation on the mining and smelting developments which have been carried on for the past three years or more by the Chromium Mining and Smelting Corporation of Canada. By way of introduction, the following paragraphs, relating to the early history and present status of the chrome-mining industry in the United States, are of interest. They are quoted from Bulletin No. 76 of the California State Mining Bureau, published in August, 1918: 'Chromium was discovered about 1797 by a French chemist, Louis Nicolaus Vauquelin, in ore from Siberia. From that time until 1827, the Urals, in the region of Ekaterinburg, supplied the chromium used in . Europe. In the summer of 1827, as the historian advises us, Isaac Tyson, Jr., saw in a Baltimore market-place a cart containing a cider barrel, which was held from rolling about by some heavy black stones. He had made a study of such stones at the first-known American locality, the Bare hills near his father's home, six miles from Baltimore, and he recognized the black stones as chromite. On inquiry, he found the chromite came from the Reed farm in Harford county, 27 miles northeast of Baltimore. At this time, Tyson was one of the very few men in the country who knew the value of chromite, and in the next few years he took full advantage of this knowledge. He immediately bought the Reed farm. He found about 30 tons of float-ore on the surface, but there was no outcrop of ore in place. Never-theless, he sank a shaft, and at a depth of eight feet struck an ore-pocket which proved to be 80 ft. long, 25 ft. wide, and 8 ft. in maximum thickness. His next discovery was of placer chromite in the sands in the beds of brooks on an estate called Soldiers' Delight, 16 miles northwest of Baltimore. Thus far, Tyson's observations had shown him that chromite occurred apparently only in serpentine areas. His explorations were now leading him farther afield. In 1828, he found on the Wood Farm, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, a deposit of float chromite which led him to lease the ore-right of the farm, which he finally purChased in 1832. Here he developed the famous Wood mine, the largest single producer of chromite in the world.

Jan 1, 1938

By H. F. Yancey

The development, manufacture, and sale of small coal stokers suitable for domestic use has provided a new industry in the United States at a time when badly needed. Sales of domestic stokers have doubled each year for the past 4 years, until in 1936 probably more than 80,000 such units were put into use, According to reports of the Bureau of the Census 75,543 residential stokers mere sold in the first 10 months of 1937 by 108 manufacturers. This rapid expansion has made itself felt in the coal-mining, industry. The smaller sizes of coal, either in a sized or slack condition, are in greater demand; as a result, preparation practices at the mines have had to be revised so that, in many instances, lump coal is being crushed to meet the demand for stoker coal. This situation in turn has necessarily resulted in a realignment of price schedules for the different sizes. One of the first underfeed stokers small enough for domestic use was developed at Seattle, Wash., in 1912 in 1916, a small overfeed stoker was developed at Seattle. These two types are generally considered to represent the beginning of tie present domestic stoker industry in the United States. A careful inquiry as to the number of domestic stokers now installed in the Seattle area, made by C. R. Pate, who was detailed to this duty by the Works Progress Administration, indicated that probably 7,000 domestic stokers are being used in this area for residential heating. Most of these stokers axe of the overfeed type, although in the past 2 years the underfeed type has made rapid gains.

Jan 1, 1938

By Carlton E. Brown

Broom and Yant6/ recently described a. microprojection method for determining the particle-size distribution and number concentration of samples of dust collected from the air by such samplers as the Owens jet dust counter) and the thermal precipitator8/ . This method was developed to obviate or reduce the eyestrain consequent to the regular filar-micrometer method9/ and to save time and work. The article stated that work was in progress on a micrcprojection method for counting impinger dust samples; this article describes the method developed. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The assistance of the personnel of the ventilation Department of the Anaconda Copper Miring Co., Butte, Mont., in developing this method and particularly in suggesting a suitable material to use for the microprojector screen is sincerely appreciated. Much of the work was done in the laboratory of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. on samples collected in Butte mines during a cooperative study with this Bureau.

Jan 1, 1938

By Eric H. Brown

One of the best methods by which the results of accident-prevention work can be measured for any particular period is to keep an accurate record of the accident experience, which may then also be compared with the experience of others. The purpose of this report is to compare records of the salt-mining companies operating in Louisiana, and their assistance in making available their accident records is gratefully acknowledged. PRODUCTION Four companies produce salt in Louisiana -Avery Salt Co., Avery Island; Jefferson Island Salt Mining Co., Jefferson Island; Myles Salt Co., Weeks; and Carey Salt Co., Winnfield. Three of these companies operate within 30 miles of each other in the southern part of the State, and the other operates in the central part.

Jan 1, 1938

By Sharpe E. J

The Triton lode is a schistose feldspar biotite chlorite rock with quartz, carbonate, pyrite and some pyrrhotite. Its more chloritic sections strongly resemble the enclosing greenstones, its more feldspathic portions are indistinguishable from the flne-grained phases of the porphyry dyke into which the southern extremity of the ore body merges. The ore body' has a length of 880 ft. and an average width of I2t ft.; in places this widens to as much as 30 ft.The average dip is 85° west and pitch of the ore shoot 75° south.METHOD OF SAMPLING.With the exception of a limited amount of channel sampling (a reference to which is made elsewhere in this paper) all the sampling is by chip sample.The samplers use a hammer weighing approximately 11 lb. and chip directly into the sample bags. Sampling is generally carried out over 3-ft. sections and portions thereof to the nearest half foot-thus a face 8t ft. wide is divided up into two sections of 3 ft. each and one section of 2 ft.-no measurements of less than 4 ft. are used and calculations are all in feet and dwt. per long ton.In the oxidised stopes wp.ere the lode is much narrower, .i.e., 6 ft., sampling is over 2-ft. sections. All borehole samples are over 2-ft. sections, this corresponding approximately to steel changes.(a) DEVELOPMENT SAMPLING.Driving.-This is done by following the east wall and each face is sampled-this corresponding to an advance of 5 ft. If the full width o,f the lode is not exposed boreholes...

Jan 1, 1938

By J. J. Forbes

The activities of the Bureau of Mines include the development and testing of self-contained oxygen breathing apparatus and other devices for respiratory protection, the development and tasting of devices for detecting dangerous or noxious mine atmospheres, and the training of men in the mineral industries in the use and care of this equipment to enable them to render effective service in mine rescue and recovery operations following mine fires and explosions, or under other conditions where irrespirable gases may be found in mines or mining plants. The first use of self-contained oxygen breathing apparatus for com- bating mine fires and explosions in the United States dates back about 30 years. Previous to that time, exploration for any distance ahead of fresh air was virtually impossible without great risk to life; moreover, the men called upon to render service at mine disasters were not well-versed in the properties and physiological effects of gases likely to be encountered. It was also impossible to work ahead of fresh air to restore ventilation, and if many stoppings were blown out by an explosion, air had to be introduced into whole areas or sections at once without knowledge of the conditions ahead; moving an explosive mixture of methane and air over live fire had to

Jan 1, 1938

By Wesley, Worner H

During the meeting of the Institute last year at Port Pirie, the opportunity was taken to sample the lead bullion coming from the blast furnace and various stages during the refining process. Also, in the desilverising section, the upper zinc rich phase was sampled as the silver content built up and in the cupellation operation a series of samples was taken as the silver content of the bullion increased. In these two cases, the samples were taken under the supervision of a member of the staff of the Broken Hill AssociatedSmelters.In the following account of the microstructure of the samples taken, only the main phases present have received attention. In this connection deduction from phase diagrams of binary alloys has been used in conjunction with the assays carried out on duplicate samples taken at the same time as those for micro examination.

Jan 1, 1938

By Albert L. Toenges

The purpose of this paper is to describe some of the methods and practices of mining coal mechanically where more than one shift is worked, with the view of determining the advantages and disadvantages of various types of equipment and mining systems now in use. This paper is in the nature of a progress report, and, as the number of mines discussed in it is limited, the conclusions drawn in the comparison of various systems are not final but may be revised after subsequent investigations. Physical conditions vary in different and in the same mining districts and determine, more

Jan 1, 1938

The Australian Gas Light. Company was established in 1837, the first gas being sent out from the Kent Street Works, then the headquarters, in 1841. Mortlake Works were opened in 1886, and has since grown to the vast undertaking inspected by members of the Institute.The Kent Street Works were closed in 1921. The area of the, company's property at Mortlake is 117 acres.Some interesting figures from the statistics of the company's activities for 1937 are:-

Jan 1, 1938

By Orr C. W

Continuing the systematic investigation of the influence of elements on the properties of lead(1). If the effects of additions of copper (up to 0.3%) on Port Pirie lead have now been determined in so far as creep rate is concerned.The results in the present paper contain also a survey of the influence of copper on the micro-structure of lead, a feature which has not appeared in the previous papers of this series. Further, it has now become known that creep is but little related to the more usually determined properties such as hardness and tensile strength. Since, however, these properties are of considerable importance in connection with the fabrication and use of this metal. Brinell hardness determinations have also been made and are here included.It is becoming more and more realised also that to be useful, creep data should refer to stresses of the order of those used in practice. This is due to the fact that as soon as deformation takes place, the properties of the metal are automatically changed. Lead does, of course, creep during industrial use, and probably (in lead chamber construction for example) extensions of the order of 5%...

Jan 1, 1938

This is the sixth in a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior. The first report gave data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.3/ The present report covers 54 brands of gasoline represented by 1,480 samples plus those from the Pacific Coast, which were averaged by the Pacific Coast Technical Group before being submitted and are published exactly as they were submitted. In some areas reports were received from 8 to 10 companies on the same brands of gasoline, whereas in other areas only one company reported on a brand. Thus, it can be seen that some of the data are more representative than others. The inclusion of data from several cities within some of the districts has improved the report by reducing the number of brands reported by only one company. Several changes have been made in the districts. A new district, Memphis, Tenn., has been formed to include Arkansas and western Tennessee. The Rocky Mountain areas have been divided into three sections. Salt Lake City and Denver form the Middle Rocky Mountain district; Laramie, Wyo., Idaho, Montana, and Spokane, Wash., are included in the North Rocky Mountain district, and Arizona, New Mexico, and El Paso, Tex., have been combined to represent the South Rocky Mountain district. The Cleveland district has been expanded to include Ohio an,"- Indiana. Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and northern Virginia are included in the Washington (D. C.) district. The Atlanta district includes Georgia, South Carolina; Mississippi, and northern Florida.

Jan 1, 1938