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By Stanley D. Michaelson, Norman Weiss

This was a year of realization. Some years are for planning and development, some for designing and building, others for fulfillment. With greater hopes and plans for the future than ever before, the year 1954, nevertheless, will be remembered principally because of project completion. Among copper mines, for example, there were Silver Bell, Copper Cities, Bisbee, Yerington, and White Pine. In iron, there were the Humboldt, Coleraine, Cerro Bolivar, and Eagle Mountain. In asbestos, Johns-Manville's new mill at Asbestos, Que. In uranium, completion of the ninth mill on the Colorado Plateau-Kerr-McGee's at Shiprock, N. M. In research, 1954 marked the completion of Kennecott's Research Center in Salt Lake City, one of the historic forward strides in the science of minerals beneficiation. The year was fruitful in other directions as well. Investigations of a fundamental nature were on the upswing, and pilot plant projects have also increased in size and number. Progress in new reagents and equipment was greater than normal. It can already be conservatively predicted-from the technological point of view-that 1955 and 1956 will be tremendous years.

Jan 3, 1955

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

Four coals were treated in the Humphreys spiral concentrator, and the products were examined by float-and-sink and screen-sizing tests to determine fundamental performance characteristics. The efficiency of the separation between coal and impurity was shown to be influenced greatly by particle size.

Jan 1, 1950

By Larry A. Shiprnan

DEMANDS upon power plants by the war program in 1941 intensified problems of coal utilization. It was an outstanding year in that field. The domestic heating stove witnessed outstanding development; the research folks progressing so rapidly that the design of the "perfect" stove is just around the corner. Use of colored motion pictures in analyzing fuel-bed performances has reached a new high with the colored pictures taken at minute intervals and projected at sixteen frames a second as shown by the Koppers Coal Co. and the Anthracite Institute (on domestic stokers) and the Consolidated Edison Co. (industrial stokers). Continued efforts of this kind will be beneficial in analyzing further some of the "Code for Testing Coal" problems confronting Subcommittee No. 2 of the Joint A. I. M. E. - A. S. M. E. Committees.

Jan 1, 1942

By Louis D. Huntoon

CANADIAN gold production is forging ahead annually and the prospects are that it will continue to do so for many years. Table 1 shows recent annual increases. Production for 1933 will probably reach $70,000,000, and further increases are likely in 1934 and 1935. (Data for November and December, 1932, are estimated throughout this article.) The depression sent many prospectors to the woods so during the last two years many new gold areas have been discovered and are attracting real capital for exploration and development. Several mills came into production in 1932 and mills now under construction will start production in 1933. The offices of mining lawyers are busy. Capital for this new work is obtained from well financed mining companies, syndicates, and individuals who were fortunate enough to invest in the dividend-paying gold mines of the north country in the early days. Prospectors and capital are cooperating. An interest is always retained by the prospector or vender and usually a small amount of real money is given the prospector.

Jan 1, 1933

By Gilbert E. Doan

IN a technical civilization, that is. one whose major difference from past civilizations is its enormous development of technology, in transportation, communication, labor saving, centralized control, and mass production, it is natural that the most critical problems should be those that arise out of technologic advances; it is natural also that a. man who understands these advances should be chosen as the leader to meet these problems. This was done in the selection of Herbert Hoover as President of the United States. Mr. Hoover was a good, and perhaps a great President. But he was not a great politician and that ensured his defeat when a crisis came.

Jan 1, 1939

By M. F. Trice

Pyrophyllite is a hydrous aluminum silicate (A1²Si4O10(OH)²)1 that, occurs in both the foliated and the massive forms. The foliated variety resembles talc in that it has a greasy feel, a pearly luster, perfect basal cleavage, and usually is white, although in some deposits apple green, gray, brown, russet, and nearly black specimens may be found. The massive deposits of pyrophyllite yield pearl gray to light tan aggregates, some of which are so friable that they may be crushed with the hands into a fine gritty powder. Frequently specimens of the massive variety are studded with crystals of radial structure. The mineral has a specific gravity of about 2.7 and a hardness of 1 on Mohs' scale.' The chemical composition of commercial pyrophyllite reflects the mineralogy of the deposits, which, according to Stuckey12 contain pyrophyllite and quartz, together with chloritoid, sericite, and a few other minerals of negligible importance. The latter, he says, ('are noticed in but small quantities to the extent they might occur as accessory constituents of an igneous rock or as products of regional metamorphism or weathering. . . . Quartz is abundant everywhere except in the very best grades of pyrophyllite." Analyses of specimens from several deposits are listed in Table 1, showing that the silica content varies from 57 to 73 per cent and the alumina from 22 to 33 per cent. Oxides of iron and the alkaline metals are collectively present, with one exception, to an extent of about 1 to 1.5 per cent. Sources At present, North Carolina is the only commercial source of pyrophyllite, although the mineral has been found in small quantities in many parts of the world. The North Carolina deposits are in the "Carolina Slate Belt," which traverses the center of the state in a southwesterly direction. This belt varies from 8 to 50 miles in width. Two major deposits of pyrophyllite lie along its eastern boundary, in what is known as the Deep

Jan 1, 1942

By M. F. Trice

Pyrophyllite is a hydrous aluminum silicate (A1²Si4O10(OH)²)1 that, occurs in both the foliated and the massive forms. The foliated variety resembles talc in that it has a greasy feel, a pearly luster, perfect basal cleavage, and usually is white, although in some deposits apple green, gray, brown, russet, and nearly black specimens may be found. The massive deposits of pyrophyllite yield pearl gray to light tan aggregates, some of which are so friable that they may be crushed with the hands into a fine gritty powder. Frequently specimens of the massive variety are studded with crystals of radial structure. The mineral has a specific gravity of about 2.7 and a hardness of 1 on Mohs' scale.' The chemical composition of commercial pyrophyllite reflects the mineralogy of the deposits, which, according to Stuckey12 contain pyrophyllite and quartz, together with chloritoid, sericite, and a few other minerals of negligible importance. The latter, he says, ('are noticed in but small quantities to the extent they might occur as accessory constituents of an igneous rock or as products of regional metamorphism or weathering. . . . Quartz is abundant everywhere except in the very best grades of pyrophyllite." Analyses of specimens from several deposits are listed in Table 1, showing that the silica content varies from 57 to 73 per cent and the alumina from 22 to 33 per cent. Oxides of iron and the alkaline metals are collectively present, with one exception, to an extent of about 1 to 1.5 per cent. Sources At present, North Carolina is the only commercial source of pyrophyllite, although the mineral has been found in small quantities in many parts of the world. The North Carolina deposits are in the "Carolina Slate Belt," which traverses the center of the state in a southwesterly direction. This belt varies from 8 to 50 miles in width. Two major deposits of pyrophyllite lie along its eastern boundary, in what is known as the Deep

Jan 1, 1942

By T. A. Wright

The sampling of waste materials containing copper, lead and tin has taken on a new significance within recent years, and is of increasing importance, on account of the entry of some of the copper refineries into this field and the tendency towards consolidations among the smelters. In the past, such material was sold on the basis either of a rough or grab sample or of casual inspection of the lot. The two principal sources of this waste are the processes of fabrication and the scrapping of automobile, electrical, plumbing, railroad and other equipment. In both cases much material can be sorted, salvaged and sold by classification and grade to be melted "as is" or with the addition of new or virgin metal. The increasing care in classifying exercised in the large manufacturing plants tends to increase the proportion of this usable scrap; on the contrary, the increasing use of more complex and special non-ferrous alloys tends to make sorting and grading more difficult in turnings, borings, clippings, etc., and consequently is making sampling of more moment. In tin, lead, aluminum, and zinc furnace by-products such as ashes, drosses, skimmings, etc., the trade practice of evaluation has not varied much. For instance, tin drosses, battery lead, and aluminum skimmings are ordinarily sold on what is called "metallic button" or "metallic recovery" or ('metallic yield." Copper and lead waste, however, is being sold more and more on actual copper and lead contents based on sample and chemical analyses. This paper will be devoted chiefly to the sampling of materials suitable only for refining and recovery of one or more of the metals present. The methods described are often based on the fact that but one metal, such as copper, is to be paid for. The loss of volatile constituents in melting does not appreciably affect the final copper result, as the "after-melting" assay can be readily calculated to the "before-melting" basis, but if smelter efficiency continues to increase, so that in time zinc, for instance, may be recovered on a paying basis, the method of sampling dirty brass, for example, will have to be changed also. As a matter of fact, we may expect that improved refining processes will make possible the partial recovery of lead and tin which are now lost.

Jan 1, 1928

By Charles Will Wright

THE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED heavy air transport services to mining regions, such as exist in the New Guinea gold fields and in northern Canada, have been even more essential in the development of mines in Peru. Few nations have been con- fronted with greater natural obstacles to transport than has Peru, and without the plane it would have been impossible to get the machinery and supplies for the construction of power plants and mills to many of these interior mines, situated as they are over high mountain ranges, with muleback the principal means of transportation. As the mines within a district become important producers and warrant the expenditure, the mule trail is being replaced by automobile roads to connect with the railway stations and with the airports.

Jan 1, 1940

By Boris J. Kochanowsky, Burke O. Trafton

Because of the strict requirements on the quality of limestone that are dictated by the users, the operator was compelled to find new approaches to produce a product of uniform and acceptable quality. The raw material is controlled and monitored every two minutes by a special computer in order to ensure its quality. The required minimum and maximum quality constraint had an adverse effect on performance and consequently cost. In order to improve this performance, a Monte Carlo simulation model was developed and tested for the optimal truck allocation. The input data is based upon the distribution of equipment performances and costs.

Jan 1, 1969

By Joseph Jensen

CURTAILMENT of oil production in California began in 1922 and 1923 when certain of the major companies completely shut down some pumping properties. Efforts of this kind were generally carried on without coordination by individual companies until 1923. From May to August of 1923, oil production in the Los Angeles Basin was curtailed because of lack of pipe-line outlets. This work was handled by a small committee of executives and engineers of some of the pipeline companies without any established. Method such as obtains at present. Not all of the major companies participated in ibis curtailment and the effort was not well organized. The problem then was principally to move the oil. The crisis passed in September of 1923 from then on the major companies each on it own initiative, shut in additional production. At Domiuguez, in 1921, Shell, Union and Associated agreed to limit drilling to a 100-ft. zone for one Near. In the summer of 1925, operators at Ingde-wood agreed to limit developments to a 1300-ft. zone during the 1925 drilling campaign. In the summer of 1927, the Ventura operators cut back their production one-third and deft it thus for 90 day. Drilling in this field has always been at a slow and conservative rate.

Jan 1, 1932

By Robert F. Mehl

EXTENSION of physical and chemical methods of research in the study of metallic behavior continues rapidly, particularly in the correlation of behavior with crystal structure, and in the analysis of elastic and plastic properties. The growth of the science of metals during 1933 calls for special comment; the need for special reviews and for textbooks and monographs is now acute, as might he supposed from the number of references appended to this article, a list which is much abbreviated.

Jan 1, 1934

By ERNEST W. ELLIS

MORE or less contradictory findings as to the most satisfactory feed for concentration tables of the Wilfley type is shown by the diversity of opinion among experimenters. Prof. R. H. Richards,l as a result of his work, favors classification. On the other hand the work of Messrs. Cox, Gibbins, and Porter,' of McGill University, points in general to the desirability of screen-sized feed The ore used was obtained from the West mill of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Co., Kellogg, Idaho, and consisted of argentiferous galena in a gangue of quartzite and siderite. The natural feed was taken from the launder supplying the Fahrenwald classifier. Classified feed was collected from each of the ten spigots of this same classifier. From the natural feed the screen-sized feed was pre- pared in the laboratory. All three types of table feed were therefore derived from the actual mill circuit of a large plant.

Jan 1, 1926

By JESSE L. MAURY

DEVELOPMENT of new gold mines in Canada since the price of that metal was increased in 1932 and 1933 has been of interest and importance to many of us. The day-by-day story has given an impression of aggressive effort and enough good luck so that the spirit of enterprise has been encouraged. It is the purpose of this article to report the results of a statistical appraisal which give emphatic numerical confirmation to this impression, together with certain side lights on the costs of development and equipment of new mines. The data presented have been taken from all readily available published sources up to the close of 1938 and are representative of that year. A. B. Bower did a large part .of the spadework and Weston Thomas offered many helpful suggestions.

Jan 1, 1939

By JAMES A. VEASEY

SINCE the World War, excepting for a few brief periods of relief, the American petroleum industry has been obliged to meet its important economic responsibility to this nation hampered by the maladjustment that inevitably follows a marked and unwholesome over-production of its raw material, crude oil. Despite the warnings of the Federal Oil Conservation Board and the endeavors of many of the leaders in the business to stem the flow of oil from the wells of the country, the evil ,not only persists but, at the moment, seems more malignant than ever before. Unless the local and temporary restraints on drilling and production now in effect in California, Wyoming, Texas, and Oklahoma are continued, and, indeed, unless stricter and more comprehensive measures of the same sort are imposed and adhered to by the industry in those States, over-production in the enterprise during the current year will be more pronounced than in any other period in history.

Jan 1, 1929

By Strathmore R. B. Cooke

On the basis of experiments con- ducted on quartz using a bubble pick-up method, it was shown in an earlier paper1 that this mineral will preferentially adsorb hydrogen, calcium, or sodium ions, depending on the relative concentrations of those ions in the solution in which the quartz is immersed. For quartz particles ranging in size from 0.2 to 1 mm, it was demonstrated that the concentration of calcium in solution (assumed present as ions) necessary to completely activate quartz for flotation is given by the expression: In this expression, ionic concentrations are in mols per liter. It was further shown that the pick-up method is apparently more sensitive to changes in reagent concentration than the standard captive-bubble method, and that induction times are apparently much reduced. Since completing these earlier tests, a new type of cell has been constructed; this is shown in Fig 1 and 2. In Fig 1, A is a ground joint, B is a ceutral tube reaching to within a few millimeters of the bottom of the cell, and C is a stopper which may be removed for re- agent addition, and serves the further purpose of excluding carbon dioxide from the air during the test. The entire cell is constructed of Pyrex glass, and does not give the trouble experienced with the earlier cell, in which activating ions were released from the glass at high pH values. The only critical factor in the construction of the cell is the clearance between the central tube and

Jan 1, 1949

By Frederic E. Carter

THERE have been many attempts to prove that platinum was known to the ancients, but since no traces of the metal have been found in the relics of early times, it must be concluded that it was not known to them. As far as records go, it was actually first discovered in the 16th century in a Spanish mine on the Pinto River in South America; from which source it received its name of Platina del Pinto (little silver from the Pinto). It was more or less of a rarity and was a subject of interest to a few chemists only, until the year 1822 when the metal was first discovered in Russia. In 1819 there were noticed in the washings of the gold sands of the southern part of the Ural Mountains, grains of a heavy white substance, but it was not until three years later that this substance was found to contain platinum. While at first the amounts of platinum brought from the Urals were meager, prospecting soon disclosed rich deposits extending over a considerable area, and nuggets from 10 to 20 lb. were by no means rare. This discovery assured to chemists an ample supply of platinum for their crucibles, etc. The ore is now found in various parts of the world but the richest deposits are still found in the Ural Mountains. The platinum of commerce is obtained entirely from alluvial deposits at depths varying from 6 to 40 ft. The sand and gravel of former river beds are subjected to a series of screenings and washings to effect the separation of the ore. Actually, probably all gold-bearing gravel beds of the world contain platinum, and it is more than likely that large quantities of platinum ore have been thrown away with the black sand washings from gold placer deposits. This is especially true of the alluvial deposits of the Pacific Coast in California and Oregon. Platinum ore is usually found in the form of rounded or flattened grains of "sand," and occasionally in irregular lumps of the size of peas. Large nuggets are very rare. The ore has a metallic luster and is distinguished by its steel gray color, but shows light gray streak when rubbed on a hard white surface; it has a high specific gravity, 16 to 19; is infusible in the hottest blast furnaces, and insoluble in any single acid. Platinum ore is a complex body consisting of the metal in combination with varying proportions of the other members of the platinum group; iridium,

Jan 1, 1928

By W. A. Clark, E. H. Dresser

ORE from the Minnesota iron ranges is transported from the mines to the loading docks on Lake Superior over four different railways: the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Soo Line, and Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range, with hauls varying from 60 to 110 miles. For this service a large amount of specialized equipment is used. The steel ore cars are of the hopper type, 24 ft. long, to dump into alternate pockets of the docks, these pockets being 12 ft. long to correspond with the 12 or 24-ft. spacing of the boat hatches. The more recently con-

Jan 1, 1941

By Joe B. Alford

Jan 1, 1971

By FRED T. WILLIANS

INTRODUCTION. THE Park City mining-district is distinctively a camp of few properties, 5,000 acres, or one-third of the entire district, being under the management of but three companies. As a rule, the ore-bodies lie deep, with no outcrop, except where erosion has formed the deeper canyons and gulches. Ontario canyon exposed the famous Ontario ledge, and Woodside gulch showed the first ore of the Silver King Coalition mine. The Quincy ore-bodies were first brought to light in upper Empire canyon, and Thaynes canyon was instrumental in aiding the prospector during the early days of the camp. There are 22 shafts which have reached a depth of at least 500 ft., ten a depth of 1,000 ft., five a depth of 1,300 ft., and two a depth of 2,000 ft. The amount of lateral development has been proportionally extensive, including six long tunnels, four of which are in 3 miles, with a fifth now being driven. The Ontario lower drain-tunnel is now more than 4 miles long. The formations are sedimentary, dipping about 30° NW. and N., and traversed by many fissures, dikes, and faults. The principal ore-bodies are found associated either with the contact of the basal Ontario quartzite and the overlying limes, or on a quartzite stratum within the limes, or in the fissures, or along some of the porphyry dikes. The district covers the intersection of the Uintah and Wasatch ranges, which explains the existence of large folds and faults, and fissures of great length, width, and depth. In a general way, the geology of the district consists of a basal quartzite dome, which has been exposed by erosion at the Ontario property. The Ontario fissure lies entirely within this formation. Flanking this dome on the west, north, and east lie

Jun 1, 1911