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By J. Armitage, J. Erskine

Feed level and thickness measurements are essential in the optimization of an electric arc furnace. A precise measurement of the feed thickness and level gives operators the ability to increase the smelter efficiency and reduce the maintenance cost. Hatch has developed a radar system which is an affordable, low maintenance, and accurate level measurement system. The radar units can be installed across the furnace to measure the feed level and the feed thickness can be calculated with one slag level sounding. The present paper describes the development of radar systems as a process optimizing tool by furnace controls. The authors will discuss the challenges involved in installing eight radar units on the roof of a six-in-line electric furnace.

Jan 1, 2015

By W. K. Gummer

"THE LOCATION of Canada's present aluminum industry is determined by availability of hydroelectric power, and ready access to ocean transport facilities. The chief raw material for the production of the metal is imported by ship over several thousand miles of water. In times of freedom of shipping and uncontested movement this provides the industry with its cheapest method of operation. However, during the early part of the last decade the general conditions of ocean and rail transportation were such that interest in the treatment of materials other than bauxite was greatly stimulated. This was the case not only in Canada, of course, but in most other countries.Canada has no deposits of bauxite and much research was carried out on other aluminous materials, chiefly silicates, in an effort to develop more or less economic and feasible methods of treatment. In the United States, this research was considerably more extensive. Some projects were early shown to be of little or no value, whereas others, including the widely publicized lime-sinter and soda-lime-sinter methods, became important. In North America, however, apart from the application of the sinter method to the hitherto waste-product (red mud) of the normal Bayer plant operation, none of these processes contributed appreciably to the production of aluminum during the war. In certain European countries, on the other hand, largely because of their situation with regard to bauxite deposits, they had a more general application, and Germany, for example, produced alumina from clay, ashes, and slag by at least four methods."

Jan 1, 1952

By S. S. Teal, W. W. Weber

"AS THE TITLE implies, this paper will deal with the unusual rather than the standard practices as employed . at the property of North Rankin Nickel Mines, Limited. Fortunately •the mining, with the exception of permafrost conditions, and the milling practices, are the normal approaches dictated by the size, type, and character of the orebody. The unusual aspects are linked directly or indirectly to the isolated location and are •principally ancillary requirements or services covering a broad range from climate to supplies and from finance to entertainment. It is our intent to cover the more salient points of interest together with a brief description of the general operation.To understand the primary motivation of the mine, it must be made clear that North Rankin was conceived as a foothold in the Canadian North, that region embracing 40 per cent of the Dominion which ex-tends north of the commercial tree-line and which includes nearly 50 per cent of the Precambrian Shield, our mainstay of Canadian mining. Secondly, this project was born in an atmosphere of premium sales in the nickel markets, assuring a rapid pay-back of the heavy •capital expenditures. And finally, it has •been coddled through the stark reality of a competitive metal market with the hope and trust that the experiences and achievements will lead over the bill to a bigger and better mine in this virgin territory. This is the briefest story of the mine's history, but it pays tribute to the many people who, in thirty years since .discovery, have championed this project."

Jan 1, 1959

By Y. P. Wu

Steeply dipping seam refers to the coal seam with dipping angle in the range of 35?55°, which is well recognized to be very hard to mine by the mining industry all the world. In the last two decades, some fundamental researches were focused on the strata behavior of long-wall panel, complicated rock mass breaking process of the steeply dipping seam, overburden stress field developing and evolution, rock strata breaking and moving process, rock structure stability mechanism and control. Results show that it?s presenting macro stress arch-shell (MSAS) of the stress distribution of the overlying rock in steeply dipping seam. The MSAS is the spatial distribution of intensity envelope line under the strength criterion and has the geometry shape asymmetry as well as the stress distribution heterogeneity. The arch- shell base will forward as the working face mine forward and the shell roof will extend to higher overlying strata above the gob. In this paper, the stress arch-shell analysis model and coordinate system were established and analyzed the inclined masonry structure at different zone. Analysis results show that the rock damage at the key part of the arch-shell is the main factor which causes whole overlying rock structure failure. The rock structure instability modes have tension instability of the shell roof, compression-shear instability of the shell shoulder and composite instability of the shell base, meantime, instability coefficient is proposed to determine instability condition. The above research results enrich the complex coal seams mining theory and provide a theoretical basis for mining safely and efficiently in steeply dipping seam.

Aug 1, 2013

By P. D. R. Maltby

"With the narrow vein structure of Nova Scotia gold deposits, selective mining is rarely possible and mill heads will be too low (below 0.10 oz per ton of gold) to support a conventional mill of up to 1000 ton per day capacity at present gold prices. The recent operation of a small 100 t.p.d. mill at Cochrane Hill using fine grinding - leaching - filtration supported this assertion. Milling costs exceeded $25.00/ton of feed mainly due to high capital, labour and maintenance costs.Accordingly, since 1981, efforts have been directed towards the development of a cheap gold extraction process in terms of both capital and operating costs. The main criteria is to produce gold below US $200 per oz including all administration, mining and process stages. This paper describes such a process development for Cochrane Hill. LOCATION AND HISTORY OF THE PROPERTYThe Cochrane Hill property is located about 8 miles North of Sherbrooke, N.S. on highway No. 7. Sherbrooke is about 180 miles east of Halifax. Gold was originally discovered at Cochrane Hill in the 1860's. Early work consisted of trenching. In the 1930's a small shaft was sunk to about 80 feet and some tonnage treated using a stamp mill with gravity concentration of gold.Northumberland Mines Ltd. acquired a 70% interest in the property in 1977. Subsequent drilling indicated a potential zone of gold mineralization with a drill-indicated tonnage of one million tons having a grade of 0.07 ounces per ton of gold (all high assays cut to 1 oz) down to a depth of 300 feet recoverable by open pit mining methods. In broad terms, the goldbearing zone is about 50 feet wide and 800 feet long and dips at about 70°."

Jan 1, 1984

By Aaro E. Aho

Yukon, one of the most potentially accessible, relatively undeveloped, regions of Canada, has major mineral possibilities. The Klondike placer gold fields and the Mayo silver-lead ?district are the sole major producers but large base-metal re-serves have been discovered in re-cent years and important asbestos deposits are now being explored. Several major exploration companies are active in this region despite short seasons, permafrost overburden, remoteness, lack of transportation, and resultant high costs. Pro-posed new roads can be expected to accelerate development. At ?present the major future mineral possibilities are considered to be lead-zinc, copper, aslbestos, silver-lead, gold, and mineral fuels. These and other mineral possibilities are outlined for various geological subdivisions of Yukon. Major favourable metallogenic features of Yukon include complexity of rock types and structures, widening of the Cordillera with cross-trends, and variety and quantity of mineralization found even with limited prospecting. Comparisons with southern 'British Columbia and the U.S. Cordillera suggest that further exploration will result in discovery and development of more major ore deposits and reserves which will eventually revolutionize economy of mining in Yukon. Such mineral resources, with interior petroleum and natural gas possibilities, and ?huge coastal hydroelectric power potential, are the foundations of a much larger future mining industry in Yukon.

Jan 1, 1958

By Charles Camsell

Few persons ever stop to consider how vital an influence minerals, and especially metals, have had upon human history, how they have affected the every-day life of the individual or how at different periods they have altered the course of nations and determined their progress. Students and writers of history have dealt very fully with political history and have given us a great deal of detail about the careers and policies of kings, parliaments and nations, but frequently have not touched the economic causes that have been the real forces influencing the development and carrying out of these policies. So far as minerals are concerned there is no single work from which one can get a concise and consecutive account of the growth in the use of minerals, nor of the diverse ways in which the. geographical distribution, the .search for, the development and the use of mineral resources have affected human progress from the beginning of man's history. The reason for this is quite plain, and when one takes a little time to think of it he begins to appreciate the magnitude of the job and he will realize that the story of minerals and mineral resources touches a tremendous range of human activity, not only of mining .and metallurgy, but the whole field of agricultural and industrial growth, of exploration and colonization, transportation and commerce, monetary system, commercial policy, in short, almost every phase of economic life.

Jan 1, 1926

By A. G. Matyas

Process improvements which have reduced the lead content of slag from the Brunswick lead blast furnace are described. Microscope examination and electron microprobe analyses, supported by the results of slag settling and viscosity tests, showed that typically about 70% of the lead in the lead blast-furnace slag was present in the form of entrained prills of metallic lead. The total lead content was found to increase with the magnetic susceptibility of the slag. Measurements in the furnace settler indicated the presence of a magnetite-rich layer between bullion and slag, arising from high magnetite levels in the slag. This layer was believed to inhibit the settling of entrained lead from the slag. Tracer tests showed that the average slag residence time in the settler was less than 2 minutes. Improvements in coke quality and sizing, which led to a reduction in the slag magnetite content, and the installation of a larger settler and a continuous Roy tapper, have all contributed to a significant decrease in the slag lead content.

Jan 1, 1977

By F. R. Erick Mulder

"AbstractTwo bottom-hole samples have been taken from two new completions in the Turner Valley field, Royalite Lowery No. 8 on the west flank and Royalite No. 73, which was deepened into a lower fault block, on the northeast flank. From the bottom-hole oil of Royalite Lowary No. 8 a synthetic sample was prepared to simulate the original fluid in the reservoir, saturated at the gas-oil contact conditions. The sample from Royalite Lewery No. 8 has been shown to be the original fluid present at this well and represents the oil phase near the oil-water contact in• the reservoir. Complete chemical analysis, P.V.T., and viscosity data have been obtained on these reservoir fluids, which represent the range of saturation from the gas-oil to the oil-water contact in the Turner Valley oil structures. Sampling techniques and the application of the analytical data to reservoir conditions and field operations are discussed. Super-compressibility curves for an average separator tail gas have also been prepared. These data have not been available before. They will be of fundamental value in futu.re reservoir engineering studies of this field and will also serve as a guide in determining operating practices."

Jan 1, 1950

By Gerry Doeksen

The paper deals with three case studies: (a) the handling of wet concentrates (5 to 8 per cent moisture) through feed bins; (b) the handling of the same product in rail cars; and (c) the handling of dry concentrates (less than 0.5 per cent moisture) through feed bins. In each case, the paper discusses the problems of rat-holing. In each of cases (a) and (c), there is a discussion on the consequent extreme variations of feed rates coming from the feeders, making automation of process control difficult to impossible. Currently available bin-flow theory and flow property tests are used as aids in redesigning the bins. The paper concludes with illustrations of the final results after the redesigned hoppers were installed and tested. There is also a discussion on the advantages of the new mass-flow bins on adjacent feeder performance.

Jan 1, 1970

By H. -L. Heikkilä, E. Peuraniemi

"Boliden Harjavalta Oy has a long tradition in the Finnish metal industry starting from the 1930's. The Smelter consists of copper and nickel flash smelting lines. Off-gases are captured in the acid plant to produce sulfur products. During the early years of production, the surrounding environment suffered from high SO2 and dust emissions. The first acid plant started in 1947, a few years after commissioning of the smelter. The flash smelting method was developed and commissioned in 1949. This created the basis for today’s environmentally sound metal production. Recent air emission reductions are related to treating lean ventilation and granulation gases. Emissions from the stacks are monitored with continuous measurement devices. SO2 and PM10 concentrations are also measured from the residential area and reported online in cooperation with Harjavalta community and other local industry.INTRODUCTIONProductionBoliden Harjavalta Oy smelts copper and nickel concentrates and refines copper in the western part of Finland. The copper concentrates come from external copper mines mainly in South America and Europe. Concentrates are unloaded at the Pori harbor and transported to Harjavalta by train from a distance of about 60 km. Boliden Harjavalta Oy has operations in Harjavalta and Pori. The smelter in Harjavalta produces copper anodes that are transported via railway to the copper refinery in Pori. The anodes are electro-refined into copper cathodes and by-products like Se, Ag, Au and Pt/Pd concentrate. In the Harjavalta smelter SO2 containing gases are delivered to a sulphuric acid plant where sulphuric acid and liquid sulphur dioxide are produced.Our nickel smelter smelts nickel concentrates on a tolling basis to produce nickel matte for customer needs. SO2 containing off-gases are delivered to the sulphuric acid plant for sulphur capture and modification into products.All our operations are certified according to the Quality, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. Boliden Harjavalta Oy was the first company in Finland operating in the metal and technology industry to be certified according to the Energy Management Standard EN 16001, currently this certification is done according to ISO 50001."

Jan 1, 2012

By J. C. Johnson

Underhand mining with cemented mill tailings for backfill has proven to be a safe and effective alternative to conventional overhand mining for rockburst prone mines. The ability of the cemented sandfill to survive a rockburst shock wave without failing has been observed at mines in the Coeur d?Alene Mining District many times in the last twenty years. To better understand the dynamic loading of this commonly used support material the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed laboratory experiments using a split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) to quantify the maximum stress and energy absorption of cemented mill tailings from the Galena mine. Cylindrically shaped cemented backfill specimens aged 28 days were placed in the split Hopkinson pressure bar testing apparatus and a dynamic load was applied. The measured peak dynamic compressive strength of the cemented sandfill was 10.6 MPa (1540 psi) and is approximately twice the static unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of 5.5 MPa (800 psi). These test data showed about 95% of the initial energy was reflected away from the backfill and only 5% of the energy was absorbed. This may help to explain why backfilled stopes could withstand seismic events up to 3.5 Richter magnitude (Ml). When a compressive rockburst wave impacts a stope a large amount of the stress and energy is reflected away. The reflected wave is a tensile wave which creates tensile cracks and spalling in the entire wall of the stope. The backfill supports the damaged wall rock and holds it in place. Some of the stress and energy of the rockburst is transmitted into the backfill and because the backfill is being dynamically loaded it has a strength that is twice its static value and absorbs a substantial amount of rockburst energy. Although mining in deep underground mines is an extremely hazardous occupation, the use of underhand mining with cemented backfill for static and dynamic ground control increases the safety of the workers.

May 1, 2007

By K. J. Heale, G. G. Richards, D. J. Rioux, R. L. Stephens

Slag fuming has remained a key process for the recovery of Zn, Pb, and minor elements in the integrated flow sheet at Teck Cominco's Trail Operations for more than 75 years. Since the start-up of the KIVCETTM process and the #3 slag fuming furnace in 1997, a range of process intensification projects have been completed to improve metals recoveries and throughput based on improved process control, mechanical modifications, and, most recently, the implementation of oxygen enrichment of the blast air. This latter project, initially named 'nitrogen depletion' and now 'nitrogen oxygen performance enhancement' (NOPE), is the primary focus of this paper. NOPE reduces the amount of heat required to heat the inert nitrogen gas, and therefore more of the energy input can be used for reduction. It also frees up boiler capacity because the inert nitrogen gas does not then have to be cooled down. A dynamic METSIMTM model was developed to determine the opportunities to improve the process capacity and heat balance to both assist with justifying the project and to verify the observed furnace behaviour. Several process safety management issues were also addressed and a few key minor mechanical modifications were made to allow the project to proceed to commercial implementation at 25% blast air oxygen enrichment. Short term plant trials have confirmed the model predictions. The first three months of a long term, continuous trial showed a 6% increase in zinc fuming rate from average furnace performance despite the implementation of a KIVCETTM fluxing change to assist with minor element recovery that was expected to negatively impact the zinc fuming rate by 3 to 5%. This encouraging result is also in line with the model predictions.

Jan 1, 2008

By Ho-Sung Yoon, Jyothi Rajesh Kumar, Chul-Joo Kim, Sung-Don Kim

A recovery process for rare earths (REs) such as dysprosium and neodymium from the leach liquor of permanent magnet scrap (PMS) was developed. The two hydrometallurgical routes namely liquid-liquid extraction (solvent extraction) and selective stripping were implemented. The present study deals with the separation and recovery process development by using organo-phosphorous based extractant di-(2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as reagent for REs processing. Initial studies considered the influence of time on the extraction process, as well as pH and extractant concentration effects. This suggested the aqueous mechanism and separation factors played a role in process during development. McCabe-Thiele diagrams for extraction isotherms were developed. Counter current extraction (CCE) using various phase ratios influenced metals separation. Maximum loading capacity of the D2EHPA was determined. The loaded organic generated by the CCE process was water washed followed by a scrubbing process to remove the other metal ion from targeted metal. Finally, a stripping process was tested using various mineral acids.

Jan 1, 2015

By Donald Carlisle

"IntroductionTHE OPINION is held by many persons outside the mining industry, and by some within it, that mine •operators customarily find it advantageous to mine •only the richer parts of orebodies and to leave behind, perhaps permanently, leaner material which could be mined only at a lesser profit. This opinion and the inference which might be drawn from it that 'gutting' of mineral resources is a common feruture• of the mining industry are prejudicial to the intertsts of the industry and deserve careful scrutiny. Oddly enough, a theory of mine economics which gives much support for the opinion was advanced first by members of the mining profession itself, has been repeated •several times in mining literature, and to my knowledge has never been adequately refoted.According to the theory, selective mining of the rich ore first on a large scale will yield substantial gains and these gains do not merely reflect the desire of 'money minded investors' for a quick return but derive from the logical application of compound interest rates and the concept of ;present value. W. O. Hotchkiss and R. D. Parks (1) illustrate the reasoning with a hypothetical example in which an orebody of 4,000,000 tons may be mined either in its entirety in forty years at $1.00 per ton profit or selectively with the recovery of only the richest half in twenty years at $1.50 per ton profit. They show that, with Hoskold rates of 4 and 8 per cent, the present value of profits from mining only the richer 2,000,000 tons exceeds the present value of profits :from mining the whole orebody by about 20 per cent."

Jan 1, 1953

By Frank Otten, Jochen Greinacher

"In July 2017, Deilmann-Haniel signed a contract with IOO Slavkaliy to sink two 750 metre (m) deep freeze shafts for the Nezhinsky Potash mine in Belarus. This is the second shaft project where this technology is employed after two over 1,000 m deep shafts for a potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada, have been sunk by the application of the Herrenknecht Shaft Boring Roadheader (SBR) technology. Developed to sink shafts for green field projects in soft to medium hard rock, in frozen or unfrozen geology, the machine technology utilizes a roadheader-type cutterhead on a telescopic boom to mechanically excavate the rock, and a pneumatic mucking system to convey the muck from the face into the buckets. This leads to a manless face during the sinking cycle and thus a significant improvement in terms of workplace safety. For the Nezhinsky project, the SBR design was significantly modified in close cooperation between Deilmann-Haniel and Herrenknecht, based on the available experience and the special requirements of the project. Such modifications have been for example the adaptation of the Pneumatic Mucking System to cope with wet material as well as dry as originally planned or the shaft lining moving from shotcrete application to jump for and tubbing installation for which a step-change hands-off tubbing erector for the placement of segments was designed. Further modifications to optimize the machine technology for the requirements during shaft sinking were applied on the two machines for the Slavkaliy project as well as several revisions to match the special project requirements. The SBR is suitable for soft and medium hard rock up to 100 MPa UCS. The main design limits are maximum weight of the machine with 400 tonnes and length or height of 50 m due to the depth of the pre-sink. The Pneumatic Mucking System was changed in all components, sheaves and rope arrangement were redesigned and the concept of the hoist system was also re-engineered. The SBR in Belarus is configured for a daily sinking rate of three metres and all systems behind the cutting boom are not the bottle neck of the whole system. The works on site started in November 2017 including freeze hole drilling, construction works, site setup, installation of hoists winches, permanent headgears and other components required for sinking. The SBRs arrived on site in June/July 2018 and were preassembled on surface and then lowered into the 50 m pre-sink. SBR #1 started full face sinking in mid-December 2018, and SBR #2 in late January 2019. By the end of February 2019, the machines were at 150 m and 100 m depth respectively, and achieved up to 3.6 m/day concrete lined shaft. The SBR and the sinking system, the experiences, problems, technical solutions and performances of this challenging project will be presented in this paper."

Jan 1, 2019

By M. Cai

A practical simple method is proposed to estimate the tensile strength (st) of strong brittle rocks from the strength ratio of R= sc/st = 8 sc/sci, where sc is the uniaxial compressive strength and sci is the crack initiation stress in an uniaxial compression test. 8 is the Griffith strength ratio and the term sc/sci accounts for the difference of crack growth or propagation in tension and compression in uniaxial compression tests. sci can be reliably obtained from volumetric strain measurement or acoustic emission (AE) monitoring. With the strength ratio R determined, the tensile strength can be indirectly obtained from the result of uniaxial compression tests. In addition, a practical estimate of the Hoek-Brown strength parameter mi is presented and it is suggested that mi = 12 sc/sci can be applied to strong, brittle rocks in high confinement zone and mi = 8 sc/sci can be applied to low confinement to tension zones. It is found that the predicted tensile strengths and Hoek-Brown strength parameter mi using this method are in good agreement with test data. The rock strength parameters like st and mi, which require specialty tests such as direct tensile (or Brazilian) and triaxial compression tests for their determination, can be reasonably estimated from uniaxial compression tests.

May 1, 2009

By M. Rizwan

Mine workings are progressing to greater depths as shallow mineral resources are being depleted, and civil engineering projects are nowadays being developed at substantial depths. The threat to tunnel stability posed by rockburst events has increased as a result of these high stress environments. Rockbursts are violent events capable of mobilizing large volumes of rock. In addition to the threat to safety and equipment, rockburst damage can significantly impact on operations, and cause loss of mining production, often the largest cost component of such events. Rehabilitation of such damage requires significant effort and resources. Tunnel walls and roof are usually well supported, but the installation of rock support in the floor is uncommon, particularly in mining environments. In the absence of rock support, floors of the excavations are vulnerable to rockburst damage. New concepts for containing damage of excavation floors by dissipation of the large transient forces using simple techniques or preselected and designed elements of sacrificial floor systems are presented. Two approaches to calculate the demand are presented: estimating load demand by assuming displacement levels and a response modification factor; and using a limit displacement approach to calculate elastic stiffness of the selected elements of the sacrificial support system. The proposed conceptual support systems have the capability of dissipating rockburst energy while retaining sufficient serviceability. It is considered that the concepts presented, for discussion, in this paper are logical and developable into practicable and economic solutions for tunnel floor support in rockbursting environments.

Jan 1, 2015

By Hugh M. Roberts

DEVELOPMENT at Steep Rock lake has given rise to renewed interest in the geology of the iron ore deposits in the Lake Superior Region and has implications of no small moment bearing upon methods of exploration in the Precambrian Shield generally. Following upon the Regional Lake Superior meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers in August, 1941, the authors prepared a paper on the Steep Rock deposits, which appeared in the A.I.M.E. publication, Mining Technology, for January, 1943. Between Januar7 and April, 1943, exploration at Steep Rock was continued by means o vertical, Mesabi-type churn-drill holes put down from the ice. This drilling has enlarged the tonnage of ore previously known and has disclosed further facts relating to the origin of the ore. The added evidence, we believe, goes to support the hypothesis that the deposits were formed by a process of replacement due to upward-moving, iron-bearing solutions which came in as igneous after-effects. Accordingly, in presenting the subject to the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, it seems best not to change our first explanation, but to prefix the original paper with an interpretation of the results of the more recent explorations completed after its publication.

Jan 1, 1943

By J. F. McMahon

Introduction The greater portion of the information presented in this paper was obtained in the course of an investigation on clay gathering and its cost in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario (1). For assistance in the preparation of the paper, the writer wishes to record his thanks to Mr. Howells Fréchette, Chief of the Ceramics and Road Materials Division of the Mines Branch. Clays are mineral substances consisting essentially of hydrous aluminium silicate which become plastic when wet, fairly hard when dry, and stony masses when burned to a sufficiently high temperature and re-cooled. Shales are clays which have been indurated by the processes of nature. Millions of tons of clays and shales are won yearly for the production of brick, tile, sewer pipe, drain tile, roofing tile, fire-brick, china-ware, wall and floor tile, cement, and a host of other products. There are certain types of clay which, due to their particular qualities and limited distribution, are mined entirely or in part for sale to manufacturers, and are even exported from one country to another, as for example china-clays or kaolins, utilized in the manufacture of white-wares and in the paper industry, due to their consistent whiteness; ball-clays, utilized in the white-ware industry, due to their bonding power and whiteness; slip-clays, used in the stone-ware industry because of their glazing properties, and in the grinding-wheel industry for their burned bonding properties; and suspension-clays, such as are used in the enamelling industry. However, the great bulk of clays and shales won are used in the production of heavy clay products, and the manufacturer of these generally owns and operates his own deposit of raw material.

Jan 1, 1933