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By R. E. Head

Under existing economic conditions, the treatment of gold ores occupies an outstanding position in metallurgical activity. The increased price of gold has automatically brought about a reclassification of old dumps and low-grade orebodies, and many that formerly were considered valueless are now being vigorously investigated and worked. This situation has developed problems that have taxed the ingenuity and ability of metallurgists to the utmost. Some gold ores give a high extraction of gold by standardized methods of treatment; other ores of apparently similar character yield but a relatively small percentage of their gold when treated by the same processes. Surface Contamination The experience gained by microscopic study of numerous gold ores and tailings has shown that there are pronounced differences in the physical characteristics of the minerals composing them, more especially of the gold. Repeated studies of tailings from flotation and cyanidation of gold ores has established the fact that surface contaminations on gold particles are often directly responsible for high gold losses; comparison of gold particles isolated from flotation concentrates and the resulting tailings have showed that the clean gold has been recovered and the tarnished or contaminated gold invariably lost in the tailing. Obviously, it is not possible to make such a comparison of gold ores treated by cyanidation, as the clean gold has been taken into solution; but when the gold found in cyanide tailing has a tarnished or coated surface, one may infer, with a reasonable degree of certainty, that the clean gold has been extracted. This premise is supported by experimental evidence obtained by isolating particles of tarnished gold and exposing them to cyanide solution in small parting cups. In one such experiment, tarnished gold particles picked from a cyanide tailing showed but slight evidence 01 dissolving at the end of 27 days. In this test, a cyanide solution of 1.6 11). per ton was used and the leach solution was decanted arid renewed every

Jan 1, 1939

By Robert F. Mehl

THIS essay is an attempt to present the elementary facts and ideas concerning the growth of crystals, especially of metals. Freezing, like all heterogeneous processes, is a process of nucleation and growth; it manifests itself in metallurgy primarily in the freezing of ingots. The preceding paper in this volume discusses nucleation; the paper to follow describes ingot solidification. The present paper will treat of the growth of nuclei to large crystals, embracing a long series of phenomena, many of which are familiar to metallurgists.† Crystal growth, it will be immediately noted, occurs not only in the freezing of metals, but in the freezing of all substances; and it is a prominent and familiar phenomenon in crystallization from solutions, aqueous or otherwise, and in crystallization from the vapor phase. It will be necessary to include such systems in this discussion, for so much of value to metallurgists has been learned from their study. Apart from this, so far as metals are concerned, it will be simpler to limit the discussion to the freezing of pure metals and of solid solutions. Other types of freezing-eutectic, peritectic, etc.-will be excluded, though they have much of interest and of importance. BASIC MECHANISM OF FREEZING Ideally, nucleation and growth processes can best be considered from the point of view of isothermal reaction and upon the assumption of random nucleation. In. such an ideal case, nuclei form at random, and at a characteristic rate either constant or changing with time, and grow to spherulites at a characteristic rate, constant or changing with time, Fig. I.. On the simplest assumption, the reaction rate-in this case the rate of freezing-is a resultant of these two component rates. The reaction rate equation may be written in terms of these two component rates. The formation of pearlite from austenite closely approaches this ideal case. The ideal case forms a very useful point of departure in considering real cases. Various factors of reality produce deviations from this assumed ideality. In freezing, the isotropic medium, the melt, passes to the anisotropic solid, the crystal. Crystals are lattices of atoms, and the unit cell is often referred to as a crystal unit. Rosenhain, many years ago, represented the nucleation and growth process on freezing in the manner shown in Fig. 2, feeling, intuitively, that there must be some crystal unit in crystal growth. It now appears that this may be true, though his picture requires much elaboration. The greatest deviation from ideality lies in the nonisothermal nature of the freezing process in metals. To approach this properly it should be recalled that many nonmetallic substances freeze slowly. Tammann, to whom we owe the classic approach, studied complex organic materials in which (as in the case of eutectoid steels at high

Jan 1, 1951

By L. A. Roe

The flotation of fine particles less than five microns in diameter and the flotation of liquids from liquids generally requires bubble generation methods different than methods used in dispersed air type machines used in mineral flotation. Conditions in the separatory zone in mineral cells are generally more dynamic as compared to the quiescent conditions often absolutely necessary for the flotation of fine particles and liquids. An example of quiescent flotation with very fine bubbles is the lithium flotation plant which operated at Trona, California for 34 years, until it ceased operations in 1978. A review of the process development and the commercial flotation operations at Trona is given in this paper. The clarification of oil field brines by flotation of the oil from the brine has been used for over twenty-five years. Recent installations related to the Prudhoe Bay oil field and the Alaska pipeline are described.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. D. McBeth, G. M. Potter, Ramon Pizarro

Heap leaching is used by the Carlin Gold Mining Co., Carlin, Nev., to supplement conventional processing of gold ore by agitation-leaching and countercurrent decantation. Selected open-pit ore containing about 0.072 oz Au per ton is crushed to 3/4 inch, dumped by truck on an asphalt pad, and leached by sprinkling with dilute cyanide solution for 7 days. The heap is then drained and removed by front-end loader to tailings disposal. About 70 percent of the gold is dissolved. Leach solution from the heap joins the pregnant solution from countercurrent decantation for gold recovery by zinc precipitation. Four leach pads, each with a capacity of 1,400 tons of ore, are in use. About 10,000 tons of ore are heap leached monthly from about April through October. Heap leaching is recessed during freezing weather. Labor, equipment, and reagent requirements for heap leaching are presented.

Jan 1, 1974

By Ward W. Minkler

Since 1978, the titanium metals industry, throughout the non-socialist world, has experienced a period of growth and prosperity unparalleled since the late 1950s. Sponge producers, melters and mill product manufacturers have operated at capacity, record shipments have been attained, new producers have entered the industry and established producers have implemented expansion plans. However, there is now mounting evidence that the underlying elements which generated this vigorous surge have abated, at least temporarily. It now appears that in 1982, the industry will encounter overcapacity, excessive inventory accumulations and the probability of declining prices. Therefore, it does seem appropriate that we now take inventory of the present and future markets for titanium with the hope we can identify both near term opportunities as well as challenges the industry now faces. If we view the development of titanium markets as a function of time, they fit rather neatly into three sectors.

Jan 1, 1982

By W. D. B. Motter

DURING the early development of blasting with liquid oxygen explosives the trend of experimentation was towards increasing the effectiveness of the explosive. Its characteristic of becoming inert after evaporation of the oxygen content made a strong appeal from the standpoint of safety, especially with missed holes. It later became apparent, however, with practical use of this explosive, that LOX lacked certain other safety characteristics. As its effectiveness was increased, it became more subject to detonation by impact. The object of this paper is to show the steps taken by one operating company to achieve greater safety in the large-scale handling of liquid oxygen explosives.

Jan 1, 1933

By L. R. Blair

Many hydrated silicates have been synthesized and sold for commercial use. However, this paper discusses only hydrated calcium silicates and, to a lesser extent, hydrated magnesium silicates. Synthetic calcium silicates were first formed by man when he found that mixtures of silica or silicates and lime in water set up to form cements. The material which was responsible for the cementing properties was calcium silicate hydrate, although this fact was not recognized until early in this century. In the early 19001s, synthetic calcium silicates, reinforced with fibers and formed simply by reacting calcium hydroxide and silica in water with fiber at atmospheric or under low pressure autoclave conditions, found increased use in thermal insulations and in building products. These insulations were found to have a low thermal conductivity and would withstand temperatures up to 650°C. This, combined with their very low densities (from 8 to 50 Ib per cu ft) and fairly high strength, also made them suitable for use as building products. Following the disastrous Morro Castle fire of the 1930Js, calcium silicate board products were used as partitioning material in all shipboard construction in the U.S. As autoclaving techniques were improved and developed, it was: learned that under hydrothermal conditions new and useful calcium silicates which could be used under more extreme temperatures (up to 980' C) could be prepared. These had high surface areas and other unique properties which suited them for use as fillers, pesticide carriers, low temperature insulating materials, and adsorbents for the removal of fatty acids from various solutions. Hydrated magnesium silicates have not been studied as extensively as the calcium compounds. Their first important use was in the filtration of dry cleaning solutions for the removal of fatty acids. With the introduction of detergents, it was found that these products lost their advantage because of their high affinity for the detergent chemicals. However, in recent years these chemicals are finding increasing use as decolorizing agents for fats and anti-caking agents for resins. Some materials with very high surface are finding new use as adsorbents. CALCIUM SILICATE HYDRATE COMPOUNDS AND THElR CONDITIONS OF FORMATION Within the past ten years much has been done in the field of calcium silicate hydrate chemistry. As a result of this work it has been found that at least 25 different forms of calcium silicate hydrate can either be formed synthetically or found as naturally occurring materials. The stability and composition relationships among these 25 compounds present a very complicated picture, and many of these very closely resemble other forms and are difficult to dis-

Jan 1, 1962

By J. C. Bowling

Factors governing the choice of building types, materials, and the details of construction for mineral processing plants in remote locations with cold climates are discussed. Alternative types of building insulation in common use are described and a comparison is made of their suitability under various conditions.

Jan 1, 1973

By Jonathan Ludlow, Paul J. Guay

Based on two studies that were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the authors provide an overview of the benefits expected from mining deeper webs on United States longwalls. The first study, completed in November 1979, identified the limits and potential gains from taking deeper webs with presently available equipment. The second on-going study discusses the conceptual design and benefits of a future system for taking very deep webs.

Jan 1, 1981

By B. C. H. Steele, C. B. Alcock

In choosing solid oxide electrolytes for use in the measurement of thermodynamic quantities at high temperatures, the two most important criteria are the values of the partial ionic and electronic conduc tizities. Measurements of these conducticities have been made for some Group IVA oxides and solid solutions of these oxides with CaO, Y2O3, and La2O3. The total conductivities as a function of temperature. oxygen partial pressure, and composition were determined, as well as the electromotive forces of cells in which the oxygen partial Pressures of the electrodes were between 10-7 and 10-29 atm at 1000°C. Additional factors that influence the experimental arrangements, such as the operating temperature, the appropviate cell atmosphere, and electrode kinetics, are also discussed. IT has long been recognized that galvanic cells incorporating solid electrolytes can possess many advantages for the measurement of high-temperature thermodynamic data. Unfortunately, the electrical-transport properties have only been established for a few solid electrolytes, although attempts have been made, and are still being made, to use such materials as porcelain' and magnesia.' Kuikkola and Wagner have discussed3 and demonstrated4 various applications of solid electrolytes, and, in particular, their work stimulated the electrochemical measurement of oxygen activities using cells incorporating the solid oxide electrolyte, Zr0.85Ca0.15O1.85 The excellent characteristics of this oxide electrolyte have been confirmed by the investigations of Kingery et al.5 (oxygen ion diffusion), Carter and Rhodes6 (zirconium and calcium ion diffusion), and Weissbart and Ruka7 (electronic transference number). However the observations of Peters and Mobius,8 later confirmed by Schmalzried,9 indicated that the electronic component of zirconia-based electrolytes could become significant at low oxygen chemical potentials. Under these conditions, thoria-based electrolytes have obvious advantages arising from their superior thermodynamic stability. It was known that certain thoria solid solutions possessed defect fluorite structures containing anionic vacancies (cf. Zro.85Cao.l50O1. 85), although data on their electrical properties were conflicting. Kiukkola and wagner4 concluded that thoria-based electrolytes exhibited appreciable electronic conductivity, whereas Peters and Mobius8 mentioned that the electronic conductivity only became important at high oxygen partial pressures, but gave no further details. In addition, both Kiukkola and wagner4 and Peters and Mann'" had determined the oxygen chemical potentials associated with the Fe-FeO, Co-COO, Ni-NiO, and Cu-Cu2O equilibria, and it was not known whether discrepancies in their results could be attributed to the different cell design, or the thoria-based electrolyte used by Peters and Mann. These uncertainties have been resolved during the present investigation into the measurement of low oxygen chemical potentials, and transport properties of the relevant oxide electrolytes are presented and discussed. Other experimental difficulties associated with low oxygen chemical potential measurements are also described, with particular reference to the Nb-O system. 1. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS Oxide systems of potential use as solid electrolytes possess a large energy gap between the valence and conduction bands. Little is known about the defects present in these wide-gap metal oxides as a function of impurity content and deviations from stoichiom-etry, or the mechanisms by which electronic charges move in these solids. For these materials it is convenient to represent the measured conductivity as the the sum of three terms: where a, is the conductivity due to positive hole conduction (p type), and oe is the electronic conductivity due to electron conduction (n type). U there is a large concentration of ionic vacancies fixed by composition then the ionic contribution will not be a function of oxygen pressure. Although the possibility of a pressure-independent electronic component also cannot be ignored, it is likely that such a term would only become significant at very high temperatures, and in general the positive hole conduction will increase with increasing oxygen pressure, and the electron conduction will increase with decreasing oxygen pressure. It follows that the total conductivity is related to oxygen partial pressure as follows:

Jan 1, 1965

"Butte originated as a placer mining camp. The first gold discovery was made in the year 1864, near what is now Main Street. Placer mining was vigorously prosecuted along Silver Bow Creek and in Missoula, Buffalo, Town and Parrot gulches for a period of five years, at the end of which time, in 1870, the camp was practically deserted. In the meantime, the quartz veins so prominently traceable over the hillsides were located, the first location being made by W. L. Farlin and called the Black Chief claim, and later restaked as the Travona. Reasoning from the presence of the gold placers, free-milling gold ores were eagerly looked for by the early prospectors. Claims covering the great Rainbow and other silver lodes were located in the sixties. The presence of valuable silver ores in these veins caused the staking out of many claims, believed to be valuable only for silver, but which later proved to be enormous copper producers.Treatment of these early discovered rich ores was first attempted in arrastres. Later, stamp mills were built. The Centennial dropping 10 stamps, was the first, and in 1875 Mr. Farlin built the Dexter 10-stamp mill, intro¬ducing chloridizing-roasting. More successful processes were soon introduced and several large mills built, among which were the Alice, Lexington, Silver Bow, Moulton and Bluebird, in all representing a total of 290 stamps. The silver mining industry reached its zenith in 1887 and declined rapidly in the early nineties, following the sudden drop in the price of silver in 1892.During this period of silver mining activity the business of copper mining was making rapid strides. Development of the veins, located as silver veins, had uncovered copper ore in many instances. There was great activity in ""claim staking'' in the years from 1871 to 1879, during which period most of the claims covering the present productive copper area were located."

Jan 1, 1913

By K. K. Clark, W. H. Somerton

The feasibility of reducing pressures needed to fracture formations by heating the borehole intensively has been investigated on a laboratory scale. Reductions in fracture pressures of heated Bandera, Berea and Boise sandstone cores were observed at various confining pressures, simulating reservoir stress conditions to a depth of 5,000 ft. Both permeable and impermeable borehole boundary conditions were tested. Three heating conditions were used in the tests. One group of samples was heated in a furnace to a temperature of 600C, cooled to room temperature., and then tested for fracture pressures. Two other groups of samples were heated with a borehole heater to maximum borehole wall temperatures of 625 and 792C, then cooled and tested. In all cases, heated samples showed substantial reductions in fracture pressures compared to unheated samples. The higher temperature borehole heated samples showed the greatest reduction, amounting to 70 per cent in the extreme case. In actual application to wells, it was concluded that fracture pressures may be reduced by 20 to 50 per cent by intensive borehole heating before fracturing. INTRODUCTION Hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells is an accepted and effective technique for increasing well productivity in many areas, but is notoriously unsuccessful in other areas. The technique becomes less interesting for production stimulation purposes when excessive fracture pressures are necessary. Formations which do fracture but require high pressures, probably form horizontal fractures. There is good evidence to indicate that some formations do not fracture at all, but yield plastically under high pressure. Thus, any technique which will make formations easier to fracture or will reduce fracture pressures is potentially interesting to petroleum producers. Horizontal fractures generally occur in planes of weakness, such as bedding planes, and at pressures equaling or exceeding the effective overburden stress. In the unusual case where planes of weakness do not exist, a slightly higher pressure must be applied to overcome the tensile strength of the rock. In general, high fluid-loss fracturing fluids are conducive to the formation of horizontal fractures.1 Vertical fractures, when they do occur, are initiated at pressures generally lower than overburden pressure and are favored by low fluid-loss fracturing fluids or impermeable boreholes. The pressure necessary to create a vertical fracture in an impermeable, elastic medium can be predicted from the so-called "thick-walled cylinder" equation: Pf = 2 or+ st.............(1) where pf = fracture pressure or = radial stress st = tensile strength of medium. This equation indicates that to fracture it is necessary to overcome a tangential compressive stress, induced by and equal to two times the radial confining stress, plus the tensile strength of the medium. If the above equation held strictly true for rocks, very little could be done to reduce fracture pressure. The tensile strength of the rock might be reduced somewhat, but any change in st would be small compared to the magnitude of the tangential stress at reasonable subsurface depths. Laboratory tests have shown that actual fracture pressures exceed values predicted from Eq. 1 by factors of 1.4 to 28.6.1,2 Eq. 1 thus does not properly describe the

Jan 1, 1966

By T. L. Johnston

MUCH has been said and written about deep mine shafts and deep drill holes as man in his search for mineral wealth digs deeper into the earth's crust. Each year some new extra depth is heralded as a record, but with unlimited possibilities of going still deeper. In contrast to "digging deep," "mining high" is limited by the height of the mountains (Mt. Everest being the maximum with its 29,000-ft. elevation) and also by the extent of human endurance. An ex- ample of what might be called near- stratosphere mining in what is probably the highest mine worked by compressed air in the world is seen in a recent project in the Andes mountains of southwestern Bolivia.

Jan 1, 1939

By G. B. Craig, B. Ramaswami

The temperature and strain rate dependence of the flow stress ratio and the stvain rate dependence qi the flow stress of annealed polycrystalline a zirconiur were determined over the temperature range 30 0" to 1000°K. Some evidence was found for strain aging and discontinuous flow in the temperature ranges 520" to 650°Kand650" to 760°K, respectively. The Cottvell-Stokes relationship was obtained when deformation occurred by twinning as well as slip. The flow stress ratio showed a strong dependence on temperature and strain rate above 800°K. The expevirnental evidence indicated that the rate-controllitzg mechanism for the deformation of a zirconium above 800°K was dislocation climb, and that the deformation was not thermally activated in the range 520" to 800°K. The stacking-fault energy of a zirconium was estimated to be about 250 ergs per sq cm. A knowledge of the temperature and strain rate dependence of the applied stress necessary to deform a crystalline solid is essential for understanding the thermally activated processes occurring during deformation.' Several experimental techniques have been developed for studying these processes.273 One of the techniques is the deter mi nation of the strain rate dependence of the flow stress at constant temperature. In close-packed crystals, it has often been observed that the change in stress due to a change in the strain rate varies linearly with the flow stress, (~1,' This relationship, known as the Cottre ll-Stokes law, is obeyed when deformation occurs by glide alone. However, when deformation occurs by twinning as well as glide, there is disagreement among different investigators on whether the Cottrell-Stokes law is observed. Whereas Thornton et ~1.~find departures from Cottrell-Stokes law when twinning occurs in copper, ~avis~ and sasinski? find that Cottrell-Stokes law is obeyed when deformation occurs by twinning as well as slip in cadmium and magnesium, respectively. One of the main objectives of this study is to determine whether the Cottrell-Stokes law is obeyed when deformation occurs by twinning as well as slip. The second technique that has been used extensively to study the thermally activated deformation of crystals is the determination of the ratio of the flow stresses, at identical dislocation structures and con-

Jan 1, 1968

By Marston G. Fleming

E. C. Peterson (Anaconda Copper Mining CO., Darwin, Calif.)—A study of this quite comprehensible and interesting paper by Dr. Fleming brings to mind several observations in the practical application of alkalinity and related factors to the actual practice of lead mineral flotation. Soda ash has long been a widely used and a very helpful alkaline conditioning agent in the flotation of galena from the usual run of lead-zinc ores. Soda ash is one of the common "standard" conditioning agents tried in any laboratory investigation of lead-zinc ores because it has so often proved helpful to galena flotation. However, the use of soda ash in the actual flotation of oxidized lead ores is certainly not widespread. In the flotation of certain lead-zinc ores from the Park City district of Utah, it was found in the usual cyanide-zinc sulphate-xanthate circuit that soda ash had an effect of producing a very condensed and flat froth regardless of the many frothers tried and that substitution of lime for soda ash to produce the same pH (8.0 to 8.4) improved the froth condition. However, the flotation of coarse particles of galena became so critical that some would pass through into the tailing, but caustic soda as a substitute for either soda ash or lime produced a very desirable froth condition in the same pH range and greatly improved the metallurgical outcome. Milling was carried out in typically "hard water" from watersheds of limestone and other calcareous rocks and the ore also apparently contributed magnesium and calcium salts to the pulp. Certain lead-zinc ores of Mexico have shown their greatest flotation response in circuits conditioned with sodium bicarbonate, and such actual mill use was also believed to be related to the water necessarily used in milling. On other lead-zinc ores the optimum has been obtained in actual milling treatment by use of caustic soda in both circuits of the operation. In flotation of oxidized lead ores in which sulphidi-zation is employed by addition of sodium sulphide, very high pH's exist in the flotation circuit. With the usual oxide lead ores, demanding 5 to 15 lb of sodium sulphide per ton of ore, pH's in the circuit (closed and open water-circuits) may range from 9.5 to 12, and for ores that contain much anglesite or a high percentage of iron oxide minerals, sodium sulphide consumption may reach as much as 30 lb per ton of ore and the resultant pH will be correspondingly higher. Yet in such flotation treatment employing either xanthate or oil (high-sulphur crude oil or diesel oils) as the collector, satisfactory to excellent grades of concentrate and lead recovery are obtained. Although there have been great studies and accomplishments in the investigations of flotation fundamentals and flotation theory, and although an investigation to determine the effect of all factors entering into the actual plant flotation of sulphide and oxide ores must become very complicated, as Mr. Fleming has mentioned in his caution regarding the drawing of general conclusions for other ores, it seems that it would be of greater interest if the techniques and investigations could, with time, approach the conditions of actual practice and lead the way to improved and more efficient flotation plant performance. Marston G. Fleming (author's reply)—The gulf between fundamental flotation research and plant operation is, perhaps, less wide than Mr. Peterson suggests. For example, the work described in my paper developed from an extensive investigation of a complex lead-vanadium ore from southwest Africa. This investigation started as a standard ore-testing problem but, at almost every stage, results were obtained which could not be interpreted in terms of previous experience. A program of fundamental research was therefore undertaken and was closely interlocked with the ore testing. This coordinated investigation resulted in a flotation process which has now been proved by two years of successful plant operation, and although the grade and mineralogical constitution of ore as well as smelter requirements have altered more than could have been anticipated, our knowledge of the fundamental character of the problem has made it possible to meet each change in conditions with much more confidence than would have been the case had we neglected this aspect of the investigation.

Jan 1, 1954

E1 Teniente made blockcaving look easy. Ore rolling out the Teniente 5 level has the appearance of nicely screened riprap ready for road dressing. Actually it has been mostly size-reduced by nature abetted along the way by the occasional nudge of a double jack wielded by a buitrero (grizzly-man). It is the famous upside-down mine at Sewell, where the ore flow is down and the people flow is up. Sewell (rhymes with jewel) is the impossible cluster of dwellings clinging to a high Andean spur where 13,000 inhabitants find that staircases must substitute for sidewalks. There is no mining man who is not familiar with the picture of Sewell-by day a pyramid of barracks huddled on the high ground out of harm's way and by night a surprising Christmas tree against the mountain top. Until April 1967, Kennecott's Braden Copper Co. rocked along producing a not inconsequential amount of copper, 180,000 tpy (all tonnages cited here are short tons), attributable to its not unspectacular mountaineering and engineering achievements. These latter included expertness in building avalanche-control fencing; operation of a 35,000-tpd concentrator on the Sewell mountain spur; a spectacular aerial tramway to move 1600 tpd of concentrates to the smelter at Caletones, and occasionally to provision Sewell when snow blocks the road; a cliff hanger of a railroad 43 miles down to the rich bottom land at Rancagua; and last but not least, a 40-mile tailing launder that sweeps across deep valleys on trestles that rival those of the Romans.

Jan 11, 1969

By Thomas L. Watson

My thanks are due to Mr. Frank Firmstone, Easton, Pa., who has called my attention to the statement in my paper' that " Barite, fluorite and quartz, thougll not observed in the Tennessee area," ... as possibly misleading to the reader, if construed to mean that such a discovery had never been made. Mr. Firmstone is correct in assuming that this statement referred only to the study of the worked areas of the metallic ores, especially zinc, made in the course of the survey upon which my paper was based. The occurrence of barite and fluorite with lead-ores in Tennessee was reported by Prof. Safford? in 1869, and by Safford and Killebrew? in 1887, with the further statement that about 1,000,000 lb. of barite were annually mined in Greene, Washington and Jefferson counties, Tenn., and that considerable deposits occur also in McMinn, Smith and other counties. It is also noted that the barite " usually occurs in veins, associated with galena." The present worked areas of barite are, however, distinct barite propositions, without workable quantities of either lead or zinc, so far as mining operations have gone, and the areas are more or less removed from the present areas of zinc-ores. Mr. Firmstone informs me also that, in 1892, he observed, in the magnesian limestone at Watauga Point, in Carter county, on the left bank of the Watauga river, a little below the mouth of Buffalo creek, small quantities of galena and some fluorite.

Jan 1, 1907

By ir. H. Eraly

The allocation of miners to teams, and of teams to production faces, is complicated by the high degree of absenteism of miners in Belgium. Therefore, the exact knowledge of who is actually present at the beginning of a shift and of the exact skills of those present, enables the foremen and mine captains to constitute their teams before all men go down into the mine in the most effective way possible. This paper describes the system of attendance recording and of displays which the foremen use to constitute their teams and/or to interrogate the personnel data base in order to do so. It shows how the foremen dialogue with the computer, to change the function of a miner within a team, to another team, or the function of a team as a whole. The implementation of the system, data bases, and data communication equipment and procedures, is described. The benefits obtained are presented for each level of the company: foremen and team supervisors, engineers, mine management.

Jan 1, 1977

By Helmer Hedstrom

GRAVITY surveying with the torsion balance or the pendulum for ore prospecting purposes has generally not been considered practical or even possible. It is the intention of this paper to show that a fast and sensi-tive gravimeter can be very useful in ore prospecting, as an auxiliary to the electrical and magnetic instruments. A number of gravimeters have been constructed and put in practical use in the last seven or eight years; for instance, by Ising, Lejay-Holweck, Haalck, Hartley, Thyssen, Noergaard, the Humble Oil and Refining Co. and the Gulf Production Co. Their main application, apart from their use for geodetic surveys, has been for structure mapping in oil prospecting. There is no record that any of them have been used for ore prospecting. About the middle of 1934 the Boliden Mining Co., in Sweden, began experiments in constructing a static gravity meter sensitive enough for ore prospecting. Calculations and considerations that will be discussed later in this paper showed that this would necessitate an accuracy in the measurements of 0.1 milligal-roughly, one ten-millionth part of the total force of gravity. The first successful practical field tests of the instrument were made in January 1936. About the middle of 1937 the Boliden gravimeter was perfected. Ore prospecting with this instru-ment is now regular practice in Sweden, especially for the testing of indications given by geoelectric and magnetic methods.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. Wright, R. J. Tyler

Changes in the pore structure of hematite pellets during reduction to iron were investigated under a variety of experimental conditions. Pore structures were determined by a mercury penetration technique. The reduction temperature was found to be the major influence on structure, the pore system being bimodal below 7.50°C and unimodal above 900°C. Pore sizes ranging front 0.04 to 20 m were observed in complete metabolized pellets produced over the temperature range 650 - 1050°C. Gas composition and reduction rates also influenced the pore structure of the metabolized pellets, although to a lesser extent than the reduction temperature. An apparent activation energy of 24 kcal/mole was derived for the pore formation process.

Jan 1, 1979