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By Randolph C. Specht

A two year study was made of the waste disposal of the pebble rock phosphate industry. Solid slimes are impounded in large settling areas and the process water is re-used. Clear effluent was not found to be toxic to fish or animal life in field tests or in controlled experiments. Survey: The pebble rock phosphate mining and washing operations in Florida (fig. 1) are along the river basins of the Alafia to the west and the Peace to the east. The elevation of the area varies between 40 and 170 ft above sea level. Effluents from the operations find their way into one of the two river systems (fig. 2), the Peace River which flows into Charlotte Harbor and the Alafia into Tampa Bay, both along the Gulf of Mexico. There are no major industries along these rivers below the phosphate operations. On the Peace River, the town of Arcadia, approximately 50 miles below the phosphate operations, obtains its water from the river. No other communities along the rivers use them as a source of water supply. Small communities, farms, and ranches are located along the rivers and both rivers drain vast swamp areas. Complaints had been received at the office of the Chief Sanitary Engineer, of the Florida State Board of Health,' that both rivers were turbid at various times and that fishing in the Alafia River was "not as good as it used to be." Tests made by another agency on the dissolved oxygen content of the Alafia River revealed that the oxygen content, at times, was comparatively low.= However, it was not shown that the phosphate wastes had any effect upon the oxygen content of the stream. The river waters are normally brown in color due to drainage from vast swamp areas and are very shallow, from 2 to 6 ft in depth. Turbid waters have been noted in streams coming from the present phosphate operations and also from streams along which there are no operations at the present time. It was learned from "old timers" that, when many more companies than at present were operating along both the Alafia and Peace Rivers forty or fifty years ago, no attention was paid to prohibiting the disposal of slimes along the river basins. During dry periods now in some of the river swamps where drainage ditches have been dug, it is indicated clearly that phosphate slimes were disposed of directly into the river swamps for many years past. Places have been observed where there were alternating strata of phosphate mud, leaf mold, and quartz sand. The former practice of indiscriminate disposal of wastes accounts for some turbidity, particularly after heavy rains and washouts and during clearing of land and digging of drainage ditches. During a six months' period in which a large tract of land was being cleared and drainage ditches dug, a small stream (Six Mile Creek), which previously had been clear, showed a turbidity of 600 ppm and remained turbid until the clearing was completed; after which the stream again flowed clear. An interview with the operator of the municipal water plant, which is about 50 miles below the phosphate operations on the Peace River and which used this river as a source of supply, revealed that there had been no taste in the water for the past ten years, other than that occasionally encountered from increased growth of algae. The operations of each of the cooperating com-

Jan 1, 1951

By Richard E. Lounsbury

Coal mine refuse handling traditionally has been the redheaded stepchild of the industry-a problem to be ignored as much as possible. During the past few years, however, mining companies have become more aware of the potential water pollution problem associated with refuse handling and storage. Planning for refuse disposal involves environmental protection and the economics of refuse handling. For over two years, Monterey Coal Co. has operated a non-polluting refuse disposal system at its No. 1 Mine located in Brushy Mound Township of Macoupin County 6 miles south of Carlinville, Illinois. Drainage goes to Spanish Needle Creek and eventually to the Illinois River. The mine produced 3.5 million tons of clean coal during its first two and one-half years of operation and is designed to produce 3 million tpy of clean coal at capacity.

Jan 6, 1973

The Institute conducts jointly with the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American Institute of Electrical Engineers, certain activities as listed below, and is joint owner with them of certain properties. United Engineering Trustees, Inc. When Mr. Carnegie made his gift which made possible a home for the engineering societies, a separate corporation was organized to act as a holding company and to manage the common property. This was long known as the United Engineering Society, but the name has now hen changed to one which more nearly reflects the real function of the corporation. It holds title to the Engineering Societies Building and to various funds placed in its charge and is managed by a Board of Trustees, of which three are chosen by each of the four societies, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical

Jan 1, 1932

By Harlan A. Walker

Rock-drill steel has an important bearing on costs in many mining operations, both directly and indirectly. Direct factors include such items as shop expense, steel consumed per ton of ore produced, cost of distribution and the dust hazard. The latter, although no specific amount may be assigned to it, is an ever-present problem, and is receiving increased attention as the science of mining progresses. Indirectly drill-steel performance affects consumption of compressed air, maintenance of drills and drilling speed. The latter, in turn, increases or retards the tempo of mining and development. These factors, while not all inclusive, are preponderant in their importance. Thus it is evident that in an extensive operation drill-steel expense may run to many thousands of dollars and that thoughtful research leading toward more efficient practice is warranted. Experimental Work During the late spring of 1939, experiments were undertaken at Homestake in reducing changes in drill-steel gauge from ? in. to 1/16 in. In drifts and crosscut headings mounted machines were set up and holes were drilled with ?-in. bit-gauge changes and other holes a few inches

Jan 1, 1940

By Harlan A. Walker

Rock-drill steel has an important bearing on costs in many mining operations, both directly and indirectly. Direct factors include such items as shop expense, steel consumed per ton of ore produced, cost of distribution and the dust hazard. The latter, although no specific amount may be assigned to it, is an ever-present problem, and is receiving increased attention as the science of mining progresses. Indirectly drill-steel performance affects consumption of compressed air, maintenance of drills and drilling speed. The latter, in turn, increases or retards the tempo of mining and development. These factors, while not all inclusive, are preponderant in their importance. Thus it is evident that in an extensive operation drill-steel expense may run to many thousands of dollars and that thoughtful research leading toward more efficient practice is warranted. Experimental Work During the late spring of 1939, experiments were undertaken at Homestake in reducing changes in drill-steel gauge from ? in. to 1/16 in. In drifts and crosscut headings mounted machines were set up and holes were drilled with ?-in. bit-gauge changes and other holes a few inches

Jan 1, 1940

Organization Place Date International Mining Convention (Auspices, Van- 1919 couver Chamber of Mines) Vancouver, B. C. Jan. 8-10 American Institute of Consulting Engineers, Inc... New York, N. Y. Jan. 13 American Society of Civil Engineers New York, N. Y. Jan. 15-16 Institute of Chemical Engineers Chicago, 111. Jan. 15-18 American Wood Preservers Association St. Louis, Mo. Jan. 28-30 American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers New York, N. Y. Jan. 28-30 Automotive Engineers New York, N. Y. Feb. 4-6

Jan 1, 1919

By Robert Goodrich

THERE is a small area about Murray where bedded gold quartz veins occur in Prichard slate. The ore taken from the upper levels, during the early days, was free milling and was treated by stamp milling and amalgamation. There was likewise a considerable placer working. The report is current that tungsten (scheelite) was encountered, which interfered with the amalgamation in the stamp mills and which, in placering, collected in the riffles in the sluice boxes and. clogged them. Consequently, in the quartz mines, the scheelite, when encountered, was rejected, being thrown into the waste, sometimes inside the mine and at other times outside on the clump. The free surface ores became worked out and as the ore in depth became pyritic and rebellious to amalgamation the mines closed down. Last spring tungsten ore brought a high price, near $80 per unit, 60 per cent. W03 and up. This so stimulated the output of tungsten ore that old clumps were explored and waste stored in the mines was gone over. Tungsten was likewise mined from virgin ground. So the district produced quite heavily for a time. The condition now is different. The price is not so high, about $20 per unit W03, which makes profits questionable when mining in new ground. The accumulations from early clay mining have been exhausted and the output has greatly declined. The Golden Chest mine was the heaviest producer of tungsten. The months of June and July were spent at this mine studying the problem. Since the mine had produced both gold and tungsten, we looked forward to the problem of recovering both from what might be called a gold-tungsten ore. A study of the Golden Chest vein showed this not to be so there. While gold ore and tungsten ore come from the same vein, the tungsten ore is confined to a more or less disturbed or distorted portion

Jan 8, 1917

By Edward Gridley

Members of the Institute who were present at the Amenia, N. Y., meeting, in October, 1877, will remember their visit to the hematite mines, just west of the village of Amenia, and some of them may perhaps recall the deposit of carbonate ore south of the opening made for the hematite. The smelting of this carbonate during the last few months, has produced an iron that seems worthy of being brought to your notice. A little more than a year ago, at the Wassaie Furnace, Dutchess County, N. Y., we made a few hundred tons of iron from a mixture of two-thirds ram carbonate and one-third Chateaugay ore, hoping that it would be suitable for steel purposes, but as the iron showed phosphorus 0.189 per cent., it, was not offered. This iron looked well and seemed quite strong, and gave good results in malleable castings; but no special tests of strength were made. About February 1st, of this year, we began using two-thirds roasted carbonate, and one-third Chateaugay, and noticing that the iron mas stronger than usual, we had two samples tested, which showed tensile strength of 32,014 and 34,176 pounds per square inch. After our stock of Chateaugay ore was exhausted, me put on one-third ram carbonate with the two-thirds of roasted carbonate, and the first test made of the iron, showed 40,008 pounds per square inch. The three tests given above were made by Mr. A. J. Copp and Mr. E. B. Manning, of the Phoenix Furnace, Millerton, N. Y., on a machine of Riehle Bros., Philadelphia. Since these tests were made, they have broken samples made with all carbonate ore as follows: 39,669, 40,816, 41,882, 42,281, 39,902, and 40,130 pounds per square inch. A test taken from the same bed of iron as the last-mentioned (40,130), was broken by Mr. A. Blass, at Irondale Furnace, showing 40,151 pounds per square inch. A sample broken on the Riehle Bros. machine, at Stevens Institute, under direction of Professor R. H. Thurston, showed 40,000 pounds per square inch. Another sample was broken by Professor Thurston on his torsion machine, and gave torsion 7", and tensile strength of 44,500 pounds. And

Jan 1, 1884

By David B. Reger

Widespread wildcatting for new supplies of natural gas and the beginning of importation from the southwest characterized the petroleum industry of West Virginia during 1944. Within the state, drilling for oil did not increase but. more gas wells were completed than in any previous year since 1937. Out of 40 wildcats drilled there were 25 gas discoveries and 15 dry holes. No commercial oil was found in the 40 wells. The proved limits of several oil pools were slightly extended by marginal drilling, resulting in 1300 acres of new oil territory, although no distinctly new pools were found. At least four new gas pools were assuredly discovered and various successful wildcats indicate future pools or wide extensions. The new proved gas territory, in definite new pools and definite extensions, is about 34,000 acres. A considerable net decline of proved oil has occarred and probably a slight decline of proved gas reserves. The account of operations, as gathered from trade journals and other reporting services, shows that 918 new wells were drilled, resulting in 71 oil wells with 613 bbl. of daily new production; 577 gas wells with 305,372,000 cu. ft. of daily open flow, and 142 dry holes. Also, 107 old wells were drilled to deeper sands, with 22 bbl. and 12,327,000 cu. ft. of added production. On the new wells the oil average was 8.6 bbl. per well per day, and the gas average was 529,241 CU. ft. per well per day. On new wells the ratio of dry holes to completions was 15.47 per cent. On deeper drilling the ratio of failures was 19.63 per cent. Production of oil for the year was estimated by the Oil Weekly as 3,069,000 bbl., as compared with 3,349,000 bbl. in 1943. Production of natural gas for the year is estimated by the author as 200,000, 000,000 cu. ft., as compared with the U. S. Bureau of Mines final figures of 223,789,000,000 cu. ft.t in 1943.

Jan 1, 1945

The Institute conducts jointly with the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American Institute of Electrical Engineers, certain activities as listed below, and is joint owner with them of certain properties. United Engineering Trustees, Inc. When Mr. Carnegie made his gift which made possible a home for the engineering societies, a separate corporation was organized to act as a holding company and to manage the common property. This was long known as the United Engineering Society, but the name has now been changed. to one which more nearly reflects the real function of the corporation. It holds title to the Engineering Societies Building and to various funds placed in its charge and is managed by a Board of Trustees, of which three are chosen by each of the four societies, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Electrical Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers, which have equal and undivided interests in the property. The land and building cost two million dollars. During the gear 1934, the constitution and By-laws of The United Engineering Trustees, Inc., were thoroughly revised and a better organization of its functions was affected: The Engineering Foundation and the Engineering Societies Library were made "departments? of the United

Jan 1, 1936

By J. T. Burwell

The crystal orientation in silicon iron that has been given a particular treatment described by Goss,l has been studied by Goss, by Bozorth2 and by Sixtus,3 but their results do not agree and are almost entirely qualitative. The following pages give a description of the orientation of the crystals in the material as determined by means of X-rays and expressed graphically in a pole figure. The treatment consists of hot-rolling the material into strip and then giving it two cycles of cold reduction followed by recrystallization. This produces remarkably good properties in the rolling direction, the product having a maximum permeability in this direction of more than 25,000 and a permeability at 16,000 Gauss of more than 2200. It is now generally agreed that Goss's original conclusion1 that the crystals in the final product are randomly oriented was incorrect, since Bozorth2 and Sixtus,3 using different methods, have shown that there is a decided preference in orientation. Those writers, however, expressed their results only in terms of one or more ideal orientations with deviations therefrom. X-ray Data A strip of the material containing 3.1 per cent Si, prepared by Goss,† 1.2 by 0.0125 in., was etched rapidly in warm dilute hydrochloric acid until it was 0.005 in. thick, in order to eliminate the effect of the two surface layers. The specimen was then mounted in an integrating camera similar to one described in the literature.4 The purpose of this camera is to translate the specimen during exposure, so that a statistically large number of grains contribute to the pattern photographed. The camera also allows the plane of the specimen to make various angles with the X-ray beam. An area 5 by 1.2 in. was scanned by a beam of unfiltered radiation from a molybdenum target tube operating at 37 kv., and the measurements were made principally on the peak of the white radiation. X-ray photographs were taken at intervals of 15" in a plane

Jan 1, 1940

By J. T. Burwell

The crystal orientation in silicon iron that has been given a particular treatment described by Goss,l has been studied by Goss, by Bozorth2 and by Sixtus,3 but their results do not agree and are almost entirely qualitative. The following pages give a description of the orientation of the crystals in the material as determined by means of X-rays and expressed graphically in a pole figure. The treatment consists of hot-rolling the material into strip and then giving it two cycles of cold reduction followed by recrystallization. This produces remarkably good properties in the rolling direction, the product having a maximum permeability in this direction of more than 25,000 and a permeability at 16,000 Gauss of more than 2200. It is now generally agreed that Goss's original conclusion1 that the crystals in the final product are randomly oriented was incorrect, since Bozorth2 and Sixtus,3 using different methods, have shown that there is a decided preference in orientation. Those writers, however, expressed their results only in terms of one or more ideal orientations with deviations therefrom. X-ray Data A strip of the material containing 3.1 per cent Si, prepared by Goss,† 1.2 by 0.0125 in., was etched rapidly in warm dilute hydrochloric acid until it was 0.005 in. thick, in order to eliminate the effect of the two surface layers. The specimen was then mounted in an integrating camera similar to one described in the literature.4 The purpose of this camera is to translate the specimen during exposure, so that a statistically large number of grains contribute to the pattern photographed. The camera also allows the plane of the specimen to make various angles with the X-ray beam. An area 5 by 1.2 in. was scanned by a beam of unfiltered radiation from a molybdenum target tube operating at 37 kv., and the measurements were made principally on the peak of the white radiation. X-ray photographs were taken at intervals of 15" in a plane

Jan 1, 1940

By L. G. Huntley

Points out differences between the new, more liberal, law passed by the Colombian Congress and the law passed in 1919, gives a few facts about the pipe-line concession granted to a Canadian company, and tells of new drilling developments. PROBABLY the most important development in the Colombian oil situation during the past year was the passage by Congress of a new petroleum law, which went into effect Jan. 31, 1923. The principal points of interest in which this new law changes or improves the previous one are as follows: Law 120 of 1919 provided that one person or corporation could not acquire more than three exploitation zones. of 5000 ha. each, and royalties were based on a sliding scale, to wit: 6 per cent. royalty on lands 400 km., or more, from the ocean; 8 per cent. on lands 200 but not over 400 km. from the ocean, and 10 per cent. royalty on lands located less than 200 km. from the ocean. Rentals were fixed at 10 centavos per hectare for the first year; 20 centavos for the second year; 50 centavos, third year, and $1 (one peso) yearly thereafter. Under this law the term of the lease was fixed at 20 years and, at the discretion of the government, could be extended for 10 years additional. After the expiration of the lease and its corresponding extension, the machinery and other material placed upon the property would vest in the government. A bond of 20,000 pesos was also required of the lessee to guarantee faithful performance of his contract.

Jan 3, 1924

By J. H. Bechtold

Tensile properties of annealed molybdenum were investigated from 1000" to—200°C. In the vicinity of room temperature a well-defined transition in tensile properties occurs. Reduction in area decreases from over 80 pct to 0 pct and, simultaneously, the yield strength increases about 60,000 psi. MOLYBDENUM, tungsten, iron, and many other metals and alloys with the body-centered cubic and hexagonal close-packed crystal structures change from ductile to brittle behavior over some relatively narrow temperature range. The temperature at which this transition in ductility occurs depends on chemical composition, microstructure, and method of testing. When fine grained, completely recrystallized molybdenum of commercial purity is tested in uniaxial tension at a slow strain rate, the transition occurs at slightly below room temperature.' Iron2 and tungsten3 tested under similar conditions become brittle at temperatures close to the boiling point of nitrogen, — 195°C and at about 200°C, respectively. A sharp change in ductility is uncommon in metals with the face-centered cubic crystal structure, however, a relatively sharp transi- tion in notched bar impact properties has been observed below room temperature in a face-centered cubic copper-antimony alloy.4 A transition from ductile to brittle behavior is usually explained by the concepts originally developed by Ludwik,5 and discussed and elaborated on by others including Orowan,6 Hollomon and Jaffe,7 and Gensamer8 In brief, there are two aspects to strength, first the resistance to flow and second the resistance to fracture. Both are functions of temperature, strain, strain rate, stress system, composition, and microstructure. With decreased test temperature the flow stress required to initiate plastic deformation increases more rapidly than the fracture strength and brittle fracture occurs at that temperature where the yield strength equals or exceeds a brittle fracture strength. This investigation was conducted to determine the effects of temperature, strain, and rate of straining on the flow and fracture strengths of molybdenum above, through, and below the ductile-to-brittle transition. Other variables were held constant during testing. This information is believed to show

Jan 1, 1954

By H. W. Paxton, G. M. Pound

A method is outlined for taking into account variation in chemical potential of both components in evaluating capillary effects at growing interfaces. The results are compared with experiment, and seem to be in reasonably good accord for Widman-statten ferrite growing in austenite. ENERY pointed out that during the steady-state growth of phases with a rather small radius of curvature at their advancing edge capillarity cannot be neglected. By proper application of the Laplace equation a correction must be made to the activity gradients down which diffusion occurs. Subsequent workers have concerned themselves with attempts to evaluate specific cases by the use and modification of the principles laid down by Zener.2-5 To solve the problem in its simplest form it is necessary to assume thermodynamic equilibrium at the interface and to select some criterion which will allocate the available free energy between reversible and irreversible processes. Zener chose to assume that the division should be made such that the new phase grew at the maximum rate. Other workers have used the same2,3 or different assumptions, e.g., maximum rate of free-energy dissipation,4 minimum rate of entropy production.5 Li6 has proposed that the "thermokinetic potential" should be a minimum at steady state. The purpose of this presentation is to note that most prior treatments have considered variations due to capillarity only in the chemical potential of the mobile constituent, and that a more consistent treatment must involve a consideration of the variation of chemical potentials of both solute -and sol- vent in a binary system.* As an example, the way in which this arises for ferrite growing from austenite may be illustrated by reference to Fig. l(a). The line OABC shows a typical variation of carbon activity with composition at one atmosphere pressure (at a transformation temperature below A3). In the tip of a growing ferrite plate with a hemi-cylindricab leading edge of radius ?, the pressure due to capillarity is*

Jan 1, 1963

By Mungo Park, C. Baring Horwood

This paper is intended, in the light of recent investigations, to call attention to some of the essential features of good practice in sampling and mine-valuation. Mine-sampling may be divided broadly into two classes: (1) development-sampling and cornputatioll of ore-reserves; and, (2) stope-sampling and estimation of stope-values. Development-Sampling. It is with development-sampling only that this paper deals— the term development being taken to mean the opening-up of a mine by cross-cuts, drives, connections, etc., preparatory to actual extraction of the ore for milling. In development-sampling the work of the sampler and the consequent estima-

Jan 1, 1909

By T. F. Witherbee

In a paper read at the Lake Superior meeting, August, 1580, an account was given of the successful use of Rendrock. and Monaky powder upon a .scaffold- and salamander in the furnace. On April 5th, 1881,' the same trouble called for like treatment, which, though not so immediately successful, was on the whole more instructive than the first trial, and points, I trust, to a reasonably sure remedy for all such difficulties. Up to December 4th, 1880, foundry and mill iron were made from Old Bed and Sew Bed magnetite, and Kearney red hematite, when a return was made to Bessemer iron, from an inferior quality of New Bed ore as compared with that used during first blast. January lath, 1881, New Bed, Chateangay, and East-shaft, a newly-opened Bessemer deposit of Messrs. Witherbee, Sherman $ Co., were first used, and continued up to February 13th, on a fuel charge of 80 per cent. anthracite and 20 per cent. coke, the product on the three ores being about 10 tons more per day than on New Bed alone. From this time until March 11th all coal was used, and New Bed, Chateaugay, and East-shaft ores, up to February 224 and from that date Chateaugay and New Bed, the product falling off 9,8, tons per day as a result of not using coke. It is fair, however, to state that the furnace was not in good condition during this period, being over-burdened, and the New Bed ore was, temporarily, uncommonly poor, for reasons of no particular interest here. It required to properly flux it at least 140 per cent. of limestone; and 101 per ent. was actually used. March 11th, all Chateaugay ore aid 80

Jan 1, 1882

By Lewis T. Wright

IT is commonly believed by metallurgists that in copper-smelting, the copper in the slags, which is irreducible by continued smelting, is retained in the form of "prills" of matte. I have frequently held well-settled slag in a molten condition for a long period without being able thereby to reduce the copper-content. The slag acted as though it contained a minimum of dissolved or combined copper that could not be settled out by gravity. I have used reagents, but without satisfying myself in what form this copper existed. The same slags, by fine grinding and elutriation, could not be separated into portions containing more or less copper than the average content. By treating copper-slags in an electric furnace an impure button of copper. was produced, but the high temperature and the strong reducing-action of the furnace were influences that suggest an explanation of a result not obtainable with ordinary smelting-temperatures. If all the copper in the slag were in the form of copper-matte, and not existing as a dissolved compound with some of the elements of the slag, then the other metals in the matte, such as gold and silver, should occur in the slag in the same ratio to the copper as to the copper in the accompanying matte. This reasoning led me to study the ratio of metals in the products of smelting, and, apart from the issues discussed in this paper, the research has proved both interesting and illuminative. On the assumption of a similar ratio of metals in matte and slag, if the percentage of copper in the slag accompanying; a matte containing 50 oz. of silver and 1 oz. of gold per ton of copper was 0.3 per cent., or 96 oz. per ton of slag, there should be found 0.15 oz. of silver and 0.003 oz. of gold per ton of slag:; but, in my experience, there is less silver and much

Sep 1, 1909

By Bunting S. Crocker

Bunting S. Crocker (Executive Vice President, Kilborn Engineering Ltd., Toronto, Ont., Canada)-This is an interesting report on laboratory-scale testing with pebble charges in 12-in.-diam mills, and the author correctly concludes that useful laboratory testing can be done. In the opening paragraphs he states, "laboratory pebble-milling tests have been considered too difficult to perform and not relevant enough to the actual grinding situation"!! This is definitely not so! The writer published detailed tests done in a 12-in.-diam mill comparing pebble and steel balls in 1952 6 and again in 1954 7. We note that our review paper in 1963 was the only one mentioned in the References. The author states that "a smooth lining is more frequently used in commercial-scale pebble grinding." The writer has designed some 22 plants treating 134,000 tpd in North America and Australia. He has also visited pebble installations in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and South Africa. All these plants correctly use heavier lifters than would be considered standard for ball mills of a similar size. Smooth liners are not recommended in wet ore treating plants. In the 1952 paper6 it was clearly demonstrated in the test work that the individual ore pebbles had to be the same weight-not the same diameter or size-as the steel balls if comparable grinding results were to be obtained. In the tests performed in this study most of the pebbles "passed 50-mm round hole screen openings and remained on a 40-mm round hole sieve. Correspondingly most of the ball mill experiments were performed with 50 or 40-mm steel balls". Thus, the balls and pebbles were essentially the same size or diameter. This means we are comparing apples and oranges. When the feed being ground is fine enough the pebbles will be superior. When the feed is coarse the steel balls will be the better. This is similar to grinding tests in which two sizes of steel balls are compared. In the middle of the article, "Crocker5 has reported that equal weights of pebbles and steel balls achieve the same grinding capacities under similar conditions …", then he proceeds to question this postulate. In the eight reports that I have published, I have never made this statement. What I have said is "for comparable grinding, the individual pebbles in the mill charge should be the same weight as the individual steel balls." This is not the first time that I have been misquoted on this point! It is most unfortunate that this test work has been done with a ball and pebble of the same diameter and not the same weight. It is impossible to properly evaluate the results. I also regret the fact that the screen analyses of the tests were not shown. Many of us who have been 40 years or less in the grinding game can easily read screen analyses at a glance. We can tell whether the top meshes are being ground by the ball charge, etc., etc. The graphs are fine for the summary or to illustrate conclusions but are often misleading in the report itself. However, we do agree that useful pebble grinding tests can be done in a 12-in. mill.

Jan 1, 1973

Jan 1, 1942