Search Documents

By R. J. Stevens

THE Roan Antelope Smelter commenced operations in October, 1931. As originally designed, its equipment consisted of one reverberatory furnace, 120 X 25 ft, two Peirce-Smith converters 12 X 20 ft, and one straight line casting machine. Since that time the following additions have been made: One reverberatory furnace 120 ft X 28 ft (1934) One reverberatory furnace 95 ft X 28 ft (1943) Two 12 X 20 ft Peirce-Smith converters (1934 and 1938) One 13 X 30 ft holding furnace 6 (1938) One straight line casting machine and 2 ladle tilting quadrants (1934) The metallurgy of the smelting process is comparatively simple. However, there are several features of operation which are uncommon to most copper smelters: (1) The high grade of concentrate treated; this has always been about 50 pct copper. (2) The high flux burden on the charge. This is necessary because of the deficiency of bases'in the concentrate and the high alumina content of the concentrate. (3) The frequent necessity of adding coal to the furnace charge to control the matte grade. (4) The high grade of matte produced. This has led' to unusual converter problems. From the commencement of operations, the ore mined has come from the Roan Basin orebody. The concentrate produced from this ore consists mainly of chalcocite and shale with small proportions of other copper minerals. As mining operations extend to the Roan Extension orebody, the proportions of bornite and chalcopyrite in the concentrate will increase with a corresponding decrease in the copper content of the concentrate. Because of the concentrate grade the capacity of the reverberatory . furnaces in terms of tons of copper produced per ton of coal burned is high.. This ratio is usually over 2.2, and on especially favourable runs has reached 2.6. Reference to Table , shows that the iron content of the concentrate is unusually low. Only part of this iron is available for slag formation, the balance going to the matte. To make up this deficiency in bases, limerock is added to the furnace charge. This flux ensures a slag that is of the correct silicate degree, is sufficiently fluid, of low specific gravity, and it counteracts the thickening effect of the alumina present. An ample supply of flux is obtainable from Ndola, 2 2 miles distant by rail. Although the reverberatory slag has a high copper content, the slag fall is low and the copper loss in the slag now rarely exceeds 1.0 pct of the total copper charged. The blister copper shipped is of such purity that only one fire refining operation has been necessary to produce a wirebar with properties comparable to electrolytic copper. Bismuth has always been the most troublesome impurity and consequently the problem of its control in the finished product has been of prime importance. Practically none is removed in the reverberatory furnace. The bulk of the elimina-

Jan 1, 1947

By Dunbar D. Scott

The development in the perfection of mine-surveying instruments has been by no means rapid, as it has depended somewhat on the details of construction borrowed from astronomical and geodetic theodolites, largely on the restrictions laid down by mining companies and the prejudices of mine managers themselves, but more than all on the methods used in conducting surveys and the importance attached thereto. Mine-surveying, in some form or other, has been practiced from the very earliest times; but it has never kept pace with the other branches of surveying, or even with the art of mining itself, and cannot be recognized as an exact science until shortly before the beginning of this century. The works of Hero of Alexandria, who lived in the second century B.C., are still extant, and contain descriptions of a rectangular sighting-instrument, which he invented and called a diopter. His improvement upon this simple construction, which possibly he devised for use in the Greek mines for rough leveling-purposes and for laying out any angle, must be considered, says Hübner," as the origin of the highly perfected theodolite of to-day. Whether this instrument came into general use during the first centuries of the Christian era, is not recorded; in fact, no writer undertakes to tell how mine-surveying was conducted until 1556, in which year Agricola expounds the principles of mining and metallurgy in his De Re Metallica, devoting the entire fifth chapter to the practice of mine-surveying (see Fig. 1). In mediæval times those who possessed any knowledge of engineering skill made strenuous effort to keep their art a secret, partly on account of the miners' proverbial conservatism and partly for their own personal aggrandizement, and were, in

Jan 1, 1899

By Shawn T. Sorrell, Carl Hrovatic

Original by Carl Hrovatic and Shawn T. Sorrell Revised by Carl Hrovatic Land is a precious resource and should be treated as such by all members of our society. The soil covering this earth is only a very thin outer layer, varying in thickness from a few inches to a few feet and covering the rocks and minerals lying beneath the surface. The wise use of this valuable commodity is the responsibility of everyone. Many everyday activities disturb the earth's surface. Examples are highway construction, housing and commercial developments, agriculture, and various types of mining. This chapter discusses the relationships of the environment to land as it applies to surface operations in the coal industry. Mining by surface methods disturbs, for a brief period of time, thousands of acres of land annually. In addition, refuse piles, slurry ponds, abandoned mine structures, unprotected mine openings, and unsightly cleaning plants can also adversely affect land unless properly handled. ACTIVE SURFACE MINING OPERATIONS Mining by surface methods includes rock quarries; sand and gravel pits; huge open pits to extract iron, copper, phosphate, and other ores; and coal mining. Production of coal by surface methods is now approaching 408.2 Mt/a (450 million stpy), amounting to almost 60% of the total coal output. Surface coal mining can be classified into the following five broad categories : Open-pit mining is practiced where coalbeds are extremely thick, as in some western states, or where coalbeds are sharply pitching, as in the anthracite region of the eastern United States. A typical open-pit mine, with coalbeds of 3.05 to 30.5 m (10 to 100 ft) or more thickness and a

Jan 1, 1981

By H. T. Hildage

Although Greater New York does not bear any resemblance to a great mining district, the mining operations that are being conducted in and about the city are both extensive and interesting in character. With regard to the extent, it may be mentioned that, at present, there is more dynamite used in New York than in any mining district in the United States; that there are under construction about 38 miles of tunnel, and that 66 miles more are projected, most of which must be constructed .in the near future; that since 1903 at least 2,000,000 tons of earth has been removed in underground work, in addition to about 3,500,000 tons that has been removed in open-cut in connection with tunnel-work, and many times this quantity that has been removed in excavating foundations for buildings not connected with tunnel-work; and that there are to-day probably more than 5,000 men engaged in mining-work in and about New lrork City. These undertakings include almost every operation connected with underground work, from exploration by means of trench and boring, to the sinking of large shafts and the driving of large tunnels through every kind of ground from hard rock to soft, semi-fluid silt and quicksand. It is proposed in this paper to give a general description of some of the methods and appliances used in the opening-up of a " mine " in a large city, and a brief description of some of the &'mines" now being developed in New York, connecting as far as possible the methods described with the particular work for which they were designed, in order to give a general idea of the

Jan 1, 1908

By G. R. M. Del Giudice

A survey of the flotation literature of the past 10 years indicates an increasing use of the microscope as a tool for investigation. Thus, the metallurgical microscope has been used by Tucker and Head;' Taggart, Taylor and Ince;2 Ince,3 and del Giudice4 to examine mineral surfaces that had been subjected to the action of various flotation reagents and to the action of slime pulps. It has also been used by Gaudin, Groh and Henderson;5 Martin;6 Morrow and Griswold;7 and others to examine bakelite briquets of mill products. The microscope with transmitted light, both with bright-field and dark-field illuminations, has been used by Taggart, Taylor and Knoll8 and by Ince9 to observe Brownian motrement and flocculation in flotation pulps. The use of the microscope at low-power magnifications with incident illumination for the examination of mill products has been known for years.10 Finally, del Giudice11 has used a relatively new type of illumination, the Ultropak, for the examinntion of slime-coatings.

Jan 1, 1935

By George B. Clark

THE " Munroe effect" of shaped explosive charges was discovered by Charles E. Munroe more than 50 years ago (in 1888), but it was not until World War II that it was put to any practical use. Both Allied and Axis armies used the principle effectively in bazooka projectiles, artillery projectiles and in fixed shaped charges. The first two were used primarily to combat tanks and other armor and the latter to assault pillboxes and other fixed concrete emplacements. Many engineers and others who saw the military application of the jet effect of shaped charges believed application would be possible in many industrial fields where blasting is used, such as mining and quarrying. Some work has already been done on the problem of making shaped charges applicable to mining operations. Experimentation conducted at the National Tunnel and Mines' was directed primarily along the lines of use of shaped charges for secondary blasting in connection with long-hole stoping methods. Experimentation initiated earlier and conducted by the author2 at the University of Utah on a more scientific basis was directed at revealing the basic principles of the functioning of shaped charges, as well as the feasibility of using them in mining operations after the principles of their operation had been clearly defined. It was found that: (I) a given design of charge required an optimum standoff to make it most effective, either in penetrating solid rock or steel (see Fig 3); (2) for a given design of charge there exists an optimum ratio of charge diameter to charge height above which the increase in effectiveness of the charge decreases rapidly (see Figs 4 and 5); (3) partial confinement has the effect of making charge performance much more consistent; (4) the higher power and higher velocity explosives tested are much more effective than relatively low-strength explosives; and (5) shaped charges may be adaptable to mining operations in secondary breakage and drilling blasting holes. Fig I is a diagrammatic sketch of the action of a shaped charge for two types of cavities, while Fig 2 shows the approximate manner in which the jets are believed to be formed when an explosive wave encounters the cavity, approaching it from the top. The experimentation already completed has laid the foundation for further research in the study of shaped charges. Standoff effects, effect of the strength of explosives and other features have been fairly well established. Such elements in the design of shaped charges as (I) geometry of cavity liners, (2) relative horizontal dimensions of explosive column, (3) effect of

Jan 1, 1947

By AIME AIME

THE list of deaths during the year 1906 comprises the following names, the figures in parentheses indicating the year in which the persons named were elected to membership Members and Associates.-Arthur Vaughan Abbott (1882), William Anderson Akers (1889), R. Scott Allen (1905), George H. Arlett (1900), Thomas Septimus Austin (1883), Thomas T. Baker (1887), William Tittley Batchelor (1902), Charles Lowthian Bell (1897), Edgar Vallentine Bensusan (1892), George Lothrop Bradley (1874), Ernst Elmer Breisch (1896), Horace F. Brown (1895), James A. Burden (1876), Alexander B. Coxe (1880), George A. Crocker (1879), Albert W. Fiero (1886),

Jul 1, 1907

By F. Benard

Recovery of selenium and tellurium at Copper Cliff by the Ontario Refining Co. has been previously described by the writer.l During 1935 a new building was erected to house this operation and description of the new plant and process form the subject of this paper. The building, of modern steel and tile construction, covers an area of 5900 sq. ft. with a volume of approximately 165,000 cu. ft. The large monitored center bay is flanked by two smaller outside bays, one of which is devoted to the tellurium section. All equipment, ceilings and upper walls, are treated with aluminum paint, giving good illumination and facilitating good housekeeping, essential from a health standpoint in handling material of this nature. Equipment Layout and type of equipment conforms to the requirements of the process as described below. In the selenium section, storage tanks, neutralizing tanks and precipitators are of steel construction, lead-lined and arranged for gravity flow (Fig. 1). The neutralizing tanks are equipped with water-cooled lead coils for controlling solution temperature, agitation being accomplished with compressed air. The precipitators are provided with mechanical agitators, and sulphur dioxide is introduced into the solution through 1/2-in. lead pipes leading from a manifold attached to the cover of the precipitator. Each precipitator has internal cooling coils and an air-jet exhauster to carry off fumes. Neutralized solutions are filtered in a 29-plate wooden filter press using heavy cotton duck as a filter medium, forced feed being maintained by a Welmet centrifugal pump. Dilute solutions are concentrated by evaporation in a vacuum evaporator, constructed of cast hard lead. Heat is supplied by an outside steam chest operating under 15 Ib. steam pressure. The solution is circulated through the steam chest by a pump of antimoniallead at a rate approximating 400 cu. ft. per min. The evaporator is evacuated by a water-jet condenser that creates a vacuum of 26 in. of mercury under normal operating conditions. The capacity of the vessel is 60 cu. ft. and the rate of evaporation 25 cu. ft. per hour.

Jan 1, 1944

By Ta M. Li, Russell A. Carter

The first century of mining in northern Idaho's Couer d'Alene District will soon he drawing to a close. Like so many other great raining districts, it has been a period accompanied by a rich and colorful history. From its early days as a gold rush camp, the district has evolved into the leading silver producer in the US, but the going has not been easy: early-day labor disputes, the challenge of mining for profit in some of the deepest mines in the Western hemisphere, and the constant search for new reserves at great depths have taken their toll of mines-and miners-along the way. To these traditional mining problems have of late been added the burden of inflationary cost increases, pollution control, and reclamation. A recent visit to the district by MINING ENGINEERING, how ever, revealed that the deep commitment of the operating companies and the quiet competence and vitality of their engineering personnel are key factors in the continued prosperity of the district.

Jan 7, 1976

By C. M. Young

The safety lamp is the most common and convenient apparatus for detecting inflammable gases in mines, the presence of gas being shown by a blue flame, called the cap, if the wick has been lowered to suppress the luminous flame. The height of the cap increases with the proportion of gas and with the temperature of the lamp flame. Lamps of the Wolf type, the fuel of which is benzine, have a hotter flame than lamps in which vegetable oils are used, such as the Davy, and the Clanny, and are more sensitive than the latter and their many modifications. The Piehler alcohol lamp gives a still higher cap while the Clowes hydrogen lamp is most sensitive of all. While the effect of the temperature of the source of ignition is well known, the writer knows of no previous attempt to correlate the change of this temperature with change of the height of the cap produced, In order to determine the height of the cap at various temperatures, it was necessary to have a source of ignition the temperature of which could be accurately controlled over a considerable range. This condition was met by a coil of wire of high fusing point heated by an electric current controlled by a variable resistance. The use of a coil offered the further advantage of freedom from complications due to the flame of a burning fuel. Such a flame, being itself of variable height, would to some extent raise or lower the elevation of the base of the cap and therefore add to the difficulty of determining the height of the cap. Besides this, the presence of a small cap from the lamp fuel, commonly known as the "fuel cap," would interfere with the observation of small gas caps. After some experiment, a coil was made of platinum wire, No. 26, diameter 0.016 in. The coil was 17/64 in. (6.746 mm.) in outside diameter and had eight full turns in a length of 1/2 in. (12.69 mm.). This was connected to an electric circuit through an adjustable resistance, as shown in Fig. 1. In order to measure the temperature, a thermocouple was inserted in the center of the coil; the leads passed out at the ends and were ccnducted to a millivoltmeter. It is probable that the current of air passing upward through the coil resulted in the indication of a tempera-

Jan 1, 1920

By J. L. Bray

LEAD has often been suggested as a protective coating for iron and steel. Such a protective coating should possess: (1) good adhesion, (2) durability, (3) ease of application, (4) freedom from pinholes, (5) good appearance and (6) low cost, but, unfortunately, lead coatings so far produced do not have all of these characteristics. Because of the necessity of carrying out the coating process cheaply, and because lead solutions have poor plating characteristics, most of the efforts have been directed toward the hot-dipping process rather than electroplating. The hot-clipping processes using lead have not been successful chiefly because of the lack of adherence between iron and lead. In any coating process involving iron a bond can be obtained only by the formation of an intermetallic compound, the formation of a solid solution, or mechanical means. Lead forms with iron two immiscible liquid solu-tions, and in the solid state no intermetallic compounds or solutions. It is necessary, therefore, to employ some other element or elements as a binding agent. Tin may be used as in terneplate, or copper in the form of a thin film of electrolytically deposited metal to which the lead will adhere. Because of its physical and chemical properties, lead as a coating medium would undoubtedly be limited in its use to sheet and wire and then only when the article is not subject to abrasion or wear. A very large tonnage of these products are being used under such conditions and a successful lead-coating process should be a valuable contribution to the science. Two other difficulties stand in the way of successful lead coating-that of poor appearance of the weathered surface and the tendency of the lead to form pinholes during solidification. Since lead is commonly accepted as cathodic to iron, these exposed areas are ones of accelerated corrosion.

Jan 1, 1937

By F. R. Brotzen, L. D. Whitmire

Single crystals of high-purity molybdenum were de-formed at temperatures from 195°to 473°K, and the effect of deformation on the electrical resistivily was deler-mined. To separale the resislivity components of point and line defecls some cryslals were annealed at 473°K. The vale of resislivily increase wilh strain was nearly linear and was strongly dependent upon the deformation temperature. Point dejects are annealed out without any effect on the flow stress. At low temperatures the flow stress is a linear function of the square root of the resistivity increase attributable to dislocations. ELECTRICAL-resistivity measurements have been used successfully to gain information on structural changes in metallic materials. During plastic deformation the electrical resistivity rises because of electron scattering from newly created lattice defects. Such measurements lend themselves, therefore, to corroborating results from direct observation of lattice defects and, to a certain extent, to correlating defect densities and distribution with mechanical properties. Published information on research with single crystals of the bcc metals of Group VI, particularly molybdenum, is still limited. Yet, molybdenum single crystals of relatively high purity can be readily prepared by electron-beam-melting techniques. Furthermore, some valuable information on the defect structure of deformed crystals by direct observation is available. Lawley and Gaigher,1 for example, have examined dislocation configurations in deformed molybdenum crystals by means of transmission electron microscopy. Their results revealed that the dislocation density and distribution were strongly dependent upon the deformation temperature. These findings differed from those by Keh and weissmann,2 who found that the average dislocation density in polycrystalline iron deformed between 138° and 298°K depended only on the degree of strain and not on the deformation temperature. Martin3 and peiffer4 showed that point defects introduced in polycrystalline molybdenum by cold work can be eliminated by annealing at a relatively low tempera-ture. In view of their work it became apparent that resistivity measurements of suitably annealed crystals could disclose changes in their dislocation structure and contribute to the understanding of the work hardening of molybdenum crystals. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Crystals were grown by electron-beam zone melting5,6 of 0.062-in.-diam molybdenum rods (99.99 pct) supplied by General Electric Lamp and Wire Division, Dover, Ohio. The crystals, about 4 in. long, were prepared by using five zone-refining passes at a speed of about 6 mm per min in a vacuum of about 5 X l0-6 Torr. The resistivity ratio of the crystal, p(4.Z°K)/p(273°K), was generally near 10-3. These crystals were used as tensile specimens of uniform diameter in the "as-grown" condition. They were oriented for maximum shear on the (011)[111] slip system (Schmid factor >0.49). The specimens were held in spherically seated Templin-type grips so as to minimize bending. Samples were deformed on an Instron machine at a strain rate of about 5 X 10-5 sec-1 in an isopentane bath with dry ice at 195°K, in ice water at 273°K, and in a vegetable-oil thermostat at 373° and 473°K. The temperature in the latter was maintained constant within +2°K. Resistance measurements were carried out with a Kelvin double bridge. The resistance of the potential leads was kept low by using large-diameter wires outside the low-temperature bath. Many of the resistance data were checked by measurements made with an ac bridge. Current and potential leads were spot-welded to the specimens. The distance between the potential leads, about 3 in., was also considered to be the gage length for the strain measurements. Diameter and gage length of the samples were measured optically with an error of less than 2 pct. These measurements were used also to insure that the deformation had been uniform over the gage length of the specimen. Resistivity changes were then determined from the resistance measurements at 4.2°K assuming constancy of volume. In the course of a test, the crystal diameter, gage length, and resistance at 4.2°K were determined first in the initial state and subsequently for various amounts of elongation.

Jan 1, 1968

By M. Muskat

A theory has been developed describing the behavior of wells and reservoirs producing by the action of bottom water drives. It is assumed that the pressures are maintained above the bubble point, and that the permeability to viscosity ratio of the water in the flooded zone is the same as for the oil in the oil-saturated pay. Accordingly, the treatment is based on the homogeneous fluid potential theory. The effect of the difference in density between the oil and water is neglected. .4fter deriving the proper potential distrihutions, the nature of the rise of the water-oil interface below the producing wells is calculated. The primary clean-oil-production phase is expressed in terms of the displacement efficiency, defined as the fraction of the pay flooded out by the rising water table at tlle time of first water entry. The variation of this displacement efficiency is calculated as a function of the well spacing, pay thickness, the ratio of the horizontal to vertical permeability, and the well penetration. The important parameter, other than the well penetration, is found to be the ratio of the well separation to the thickness of the oil pay multiplied by the square root of the ratio of vertical to horizontal permeability. It was found that the displacement efficiency continually decreases as this parameter increases, and for values of the latter >3.5, the efficiency varies inversely as the square of the parameter. It also increases with decreasing well penetration. Perhaps the most striking result of this phase of the analysis is the conclusion that in order to explain the delay in entry of water in wells producing by bottom water drives for periods longer than a few days normal production, with drawdowns large compared with the differential density head between the oil and water, it is necessary to assume that the vertical permeability is a very low fraction of the horizontal permeability. An analysis is also given of the production history after the water has broken through, on the assumption that the production mechanism and details of the flow distribution continue to be the same as during the phase of clean-oil production. As is to be expected, it is found that the water cut will increase at an accelerated rate as production proceeds. However, the initial differences between systems of different well penetrations or well spacings with respect to the total clean-oil production gradually decrease in terms of the variation of the water-oil ratio with cumulative production. In particular, by the time the water-oil ratio has reached values of the order of 5 or greater the cumulative recoveries will generally differ much less among various producing systems than their corresponding clean-oil recoveries. Introduction On the basis of elementary geological principles, one may classify effective water-drive fields in two groups. In the first, the entry of water into the oil-producing formation may be characterized as an edge-water encroachment. This term is used to suggest that the motion of the water proceeds largely in a direction parallel to the planes of stratification. This type of water intrusion occurs usually in thin producing zones and in strata lying along structural flanks of appreciable dip. In the second group—"bottom water-drive" fields—the water-oil interface lies in a plane of zero or slight inclination to the

Jan 1, 1947

By M. Muskat

A theory has been developed describing the behavior of wells and reservoirs producing by the action of bottom water drives. It is assumed that the pressures are maintained above the bubble point, and that the permeability to viscosity ratio of the water in the flooded zone is the same as for the oil in the oil-saturated pay. Accordingly, the treatment is based on the homogeneous fluid potential theory. The effect of the difference in density between the oil and water is neglected. .4fter deriving the proper potential distrihutions, the nature of the rise of the water-oil interface below the producing wells is calculated. The primary clean-oil-production phase is expressed in terms of the displacement efficiency, defined as the fraction of the pay flooded out by the rising water table at tlle time of first water entry. The variation of this displacement efficiency is calculated as a function of the well spacing, pay thickness, the ratio of the horizontal to vertical permeability, and the well penetration. The important parameter, other than the well penetration, is found to be the ratio of the well separation to the thickness of the oil pay multiplied by the square root of the ratio of vertical to horizontal permeability. It was found that the displacement efficiency continually decreases as this parameter increases, and for values of the latter >3.5, the efficiency varies inversely as the square of the parameter. It also increases with decreasing well penetration. Perhaps the most striking result of this phase of the analysis is the conclusion that in order to explain the delay in entry of water in wells producing by bottom water drives for periods longer than a few days normal production, with drawdowns large compared with the differential density head between the oil and water, it is necessary to assume that the vertical permeability is a very low fraction of the horizontal permeability. An analysis is also given of the production history after the water has broken through, on the assumption that the production mechanism and details of the flow distribution continue to be the same as during the phase of clean-oil production. As is to be expected, it is found that the water cut will increase at an accelerated rate as production proceeds. However, the initial differences between systems of different well penetrations or well spacings with respect to the total clean-oil production gradually decrease in terms of the variation of the water-oil ratio with cumulative production. In particular, by the time the water-oil ratio has reached values of the order of 5 or greater the cumulative recoveries will generally differ much less among various producing systems than their corresponding clean-oil recoveries. Introduction On the basis of elementary geological principles, one may classify effective water-drive fields in two groups. In the first, the entry of water into the oil-producing formation may be characterized as an edge-water encroachment. This term is used to suggest that the motion of the water proceeds largely in a direction parallel to the planes of stratification. This type of water intrusion occurs usually in thin producing zones and in strata lying along structural flanks of appreciable dip. In the second group—"bottom water-drive" fields—the water-oil interface lies in a plane of zero or slight inclination to the

Jan 1, 1947

By Jan Visman, S. J. Aresco

INTRODUCTION The accurate sampling of coal, as with most minerals, is a difficult task. Coal is a heterogeneous material made up of different types of coal and varying amounts of mineral matter. The product as mined may contain all the layers of coal and impurities found in the seam as well as portions of the stratas above and below the coal seam. The preparation plant is the device to size, crush, and/or remove impurities so the coal may be shipped as a salable product. Sampling may be needed at many stages in the preparation process. Although this chapter is primarily concerned with sampling in connection with preparation processes, the principles apply to all coal sampling. The main reasons for sampling in connection with coal preparation are: 1) To determine the washability characteristics of the raw coal by means of float and sink tests. These may be used for the design of a preparation plant, prediction of results to be obtained, or monitoring raw coal delivered to the plant. 2) To check the performance of various operating units in the plant, either by float. and sink tests or chemical analyses. 3) To determine the analytical characteristics of the products produced, such as moisture, ash, Btu, sulfur, etc. HISTORY The earliest accepted methods of sampling coal in the United States were given in US Bureau of Mines (USBM) publications by J. A. Holmes,l G. S. Pope,2 and A. C. Fieldner.3 The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) more or less adopted the methods proposed by USBM in their Standard D-21-1916 and it remained a standard for many years. Briefly, this standard called for a 500 lb (227 kg) sample for coals less than 94 in. (19 mm) in size and a 1000 lb (454 kg) sample for all coals over 94 in. (19 mm) in size. No mention was made of increments, but there was an instruction that the sample should spread over the coal

Jan 1, 1979

By Cyrus Garnsey

NECESSITY FOR PRICE FIXING DURING the latter part of 1916 and the early months of 1917, clue to war activities, there was a threatened shortage of coal which resulted in panic among consumers and a rush to obtain coal at once at any price. As a result of this insistent demand for immediate delivery, prices were bid up by the consumers to unprecedented heights; spot coal which had previously been selling at from $1.50 to 82 per ton was bid up to $5, $6, and, in exceptional cases, as high as $7.50 or more per ton. Then when the April, 1917, contract period arrived, contracts could be made only at prices ranging from $3 up to $5 and $6 per ton for the year's delivery. This condition caused such a demoralization of the business, and so much complaint, that some action to regulate prices was considered essential by the National Administration. LANE-PEABODY AGREEMENT In May, 1917, a committee under the chairmanship of F. S. Peabody, of Chicago, was appointed by the Council of National Defense, through Mr. Lane, to consider the whole question of bituminous coal. This committee, with the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Lane, after numerous meetings and long negotiations with the operators throughout the country, announced on June 29 an agreement between the Committee and the producers, fixing a tentative maximum price for bituminous coal throughout the country at $3 per net ton f.o.b. mines, to which was added 25 c. for selling commission to wholesalers. This plan was based on the idea of fixing a maximum price, high enough to greatly-stimulate production, with the expectation that the laws of supply and demand would, with ample production, operate to maintain fair and just prices for coal throughout the country.

Jan 9, 1918

By Robert M. Dreyer

AGGREGATE With an annual domestic production of over 1.6 billion tons at a value of over $2 billion (see Table 15.1.1), the production of aggregate (crushed rock, sand, and gravel) is a basic industry of utmost economic importance. Because of the role of aggregate materials as essential ingredients of concrete, asphalt surfacing, and plaster, their delivered prices are major factors in determining the cost of construction. The annual domestic production comes from nearly 10,000 plants. About 15% of these plants account for over one-half the production. In a rapidly inflating economy, the average mine sales price of aggregate has remained relatively stable. The actual mine sales prices, however, vary greatly depending on quarrying costs in various parts of the country. Of much more importance in construction costs, however, is the delivered price of aggregate. This varies for each job, depending on the distance from the quarry and resulting transportation costs, as well as the initial cost at the mine. Because of a proliferation of regulations limiting new quarries in the vicinity of the encroaching urban sprawl, the average distance which aggregate must be transported has been increasing rapidly. Although it is impossible to derive an average delivered cost for aggregate, it should be noted that even an increase of only $1 per ton in average delivered cost over the last decade (probably a minimal assumption) would mean an annual cost $1.5 billion higher than ten years ago. In recent years, structural engineering considerations, as well as an increasing use of lightweight concrete blocks, have resulted in a rapidly increasing demand for lightweight concrete and plaster, the essential ingredient of which is lightweight aggregate. Principal lightweight aggregates are: pumice, slag, perlite (thermally expanded hydrous volcanic glass), vermiculite, and expanded shale, formed by the thermal expansion of shale and slate. The United States now has the capacity to expand, annually, over 13 million tons of shale and slate and to expand over 600,000 tons of perlite. In locating a site for aggregate production. the following factors must be considered: (1) tonnage available; (2) quality of aggregate (including local variations); (3) distance from major use areas; (4) transportation costs, including those resulting from present and possible future haulage restrictions; (5) zoning regulations; (6) operating costs, including the cost effects of compliance with local regulations governing blasting, air pollution, water pollution and drainage, noise levels, and operating periods. At one time, locating a suitable site for the production of crushed rock, sand, or gravel, in most areas, was regarded as an extremely simple task. In the past few years, however, finding a site for profitable production of aggregate has assumed ever-increasing com-

Jan 1, 1976

All the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS and CONTRIBUTIONS published in 1939 are available at Institute headquarters, unless otherwise noted. They are also on file in many public, university and technical libraries and, when so indicated in the list, may be found in the TRANSACTIONS. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS in Classes A-Metal Mining, B-Milling and Concen-tration, H-Industrial Minerals, and ;I-Mining Geology are distributed in MINING TECHNOLOGY, which is issued every other month. Technical Publications in Classes C-Iron. and Steel Division, D-Nonferrous Metallurgy and E-Institute of Metals Division are distributed in METALS TECHNOLOGY, which is issued twice quarterly. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS in Class G-Petroleum Division are distributed in PETRO-LEUM TECHNOLOGY, which is issued quarterly. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS in Classes F-Coal Division, J-Mineral Industry Education Division, K-Mining Administra-tion, and L-Geophysical Methods of Exploration are issued as separate pamphlets. An Institute member is entitled to one copy of any TECHNICAL PUBLICATION or CON-TRIBUTION. Copies of TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS listed have been mailed to members of the Institute according to their registration by classes. CONTRIBUTIONS and Other TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS will be sent upon request. A member relay purchase an additional copy of a TECHNICAL PUBLICATION Or a CONTRIBUTION at One cent a page; minimum charge, 25¢. Nonmembers may purchase any CONTRIBUTION or a TECHNICAL PUBLICATION Of the F, J, K, or L classes at the same rate, but the nonmember price per copy for METALS TECHNOLOGY, MINING TECHNOLOGY or PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY is $1. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS (separate pamphlet form), $2 per annum; Canadian and foreign postage 50 cents extra. METALS TECHNOLOGY, $7 per annum; Canadian and foreign postage 50 cents extra (Iron and Steel Division and Institute of Metals Division ferrous and nonferrous papers). MINING TECHNOLOGY, $6 per annum; Canadian and foreign postage 50 cents extra (metal mining, milling and concentration, Industrial Minerals Division, and mining geology papers). PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, $4 per annum; Canadian and foreign postage 50 cents extra. Bound volumes have been mailed to members that have requested them, and MINING AND METALLURGY is mailed each month. A member is entitled to one volume a year on his membership and lie may purchase for $2.50 one copy of a volume not already received; additional copies of 'the same volume, $5. Nonmembers may pur-chase the volumes listed, at $5 each, plus 60 cents for Canadian or foreign postage. Extra single copies of MINING AND METALLURGY, 25¢ current issue, back numbers 500 each to members; to nonmembers 50¢ current issue and $1 each, back issues. Subscription price to nonmembers and to members for extra copies, $3 per annum plus $1 for Canadian or foreign postage.

Jan 1, 1939

By Richard Akerman

At the International Sessions of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain, the American Institute of Mining Engineers and the Verein Deutscher EisenhUttenleute, held in Allegheny City, Pa., in October, 1890, Sir James Kitson, then President of the Iron and Steel Institute, presented an account by Sir Henry Bessemer of the origin of the process which bears his name.? The paper graplhically told how, after the first successes immediately following the first reports given at Cheltenham of the new process, there rapidly succceded such obstacles and difficulties in its practical application, that the whole matter was nearly abandoned in 1858. Suddenly, however, the situation changed, so that at length it became possible

Jan 1, 1894

By R. F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1961