Search Documents

By E. W. Enqelmann

INCREASED metal consumption throughout the world in the past three years has brought greater activity in the concentrators and mills that treat the ores.' Comparatively low prices have made greater economies necessary, with a continuing search for more efficient flow sheets, equipment, processes, and reagents. Comminution GRINDING has long been too ex- pensive and even any small increment of saving has been eagerly sought. Although not recently new the use of rod mills to cover the gap between intermediate crushing and coarse grinding has made further headway. They eliminate dusting and the closed- circuit operation of fine crushers, either roll or Symons cone, and the rod-mill product is suitable for secondary mills which can be operated with smaller balls and iron liners instead of coarse balls and steel liners. The newer practice is radically different from the older application of rod mills where they at- tempted to use them instead of ball mills for fine grinders. For that purpose they were not well adapted, as they do not have sufficient grinding surface available per cubic foot of mill volume.

Jan 1, 1940

By E. H. Rose

IN a year of sober reflection and stocktaking after the mineral-squandering spree of World War II, the role that beneficiation of low-grade must henceforth play in American mineral industry has become unmistakable. From the volume of research and development progress in mineral engineering during 1946, mineral dressers evidently have ample resoluteness to meet the challenge. Perhaps ,the most conspicuous trend of the year was the renascence of interest in gravity concentrating methods and more serious effort than ever before to make them effective in finer size ranges down to 200 mesh. This has been forced by the problem in iron ores where the low value of the product will not support a high flotation reagent cost, however good flotation pilot plant results may have been and however well the acute problem of variable feed may be met. The race is on between rabbit flotation and tortoise gravity methods and a surprising amount of betting money is being laid on the tortoise which already is showing previously unsuspected talent for speed. Mostly, however, a wait-and-see attitude prevails during the present preliminary heats. As evidence of the latter, two magnetic plants are now on the boards for magnetic taconites on the eastern Mesabi to establish a reprieve against the time when nonmagnetic taconites must be addressed. Incidentally, these operations will force the blast-furnace issue on preparation of fine material since a minus-100-mesh grind is contemplated.

Jan 1, 1947

By F. M. Jardine

I1944 the cry was for higher production more tons, more metal. New plants were built, capacity of old plants was increased and millmen all over the country were treating tonnages far above normal, sacrificing recoveries to vet that extra metal from extra tons. The list of "critical minerals," at first long, has been scratched until there remains, not a list, but only an item or two. Stocks of all metals and minerals, with possibly one or two exceptions, are now entirely adequate and numerous plants have curtailed or suspended operation.

Jan 1, 1945

By R. W. Diamond

THREE mills are now operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd. : (1) The Sullivan Concentrator, Chapman Camp, B. C. (near Kimberley, B. C.), (2) the St. Eugene Concentrator, Moyie, B. C., and (3) the Tadanac (Customs) Concentrator, Trail, B. C. Differential flotation is the only concentration method employed in all three I plants. Tables are used for pilot work only. Values in all ores treated are as minerals of some or all of the metals -lead, zinc, gold or silver. Occasional customs ores contain small amounts of copper. Sulfide iron content of ores treated varies from a [ ] low figure in some ores to 38 per cent. iron in Sullivan ore. Gangue minerals vary considerably. A few customs ores are somewhat oxidized and as a result present difficulties. Flotation equipment and control are similar in the three mills, and the flow sheets at the St. Eugene and Tadanac mills, while much simpler, are modeled after that of the Sullivan Concentrator. In this paper I will not detail treatment nor equipment in any of our plants but will describe special features in, or in connection with, all of them. I will then deal with flotation reagents, describing our use of each of them, particularly where differing from general practice. I will conclude with comments on special subjects related to differential flotation.

Jan 1, 1928

By R. W. Diamond

THREE mills are now operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd.: (1) The Sullivan Concentrator, Chapman Camp, B. C. (near Kimberley, B. C.), (2) the, St. Eugene Concentrator, Moyie, B. C., and (3) the. Tadanac (Customs) Concentrator,Trail, B. C. Differential flotation is the only concentration method employed in all three plants. Tables are used for pilot work only. Values in all ores treated are as minerals of some or all of the metals -lead, zinc, gold or silver. Occasional customs ores contain small amounts of copper. Sulfide iron content of ores treated varies from a FIG. 1.-THE SULLIVAN CONCENTRATOR, CHAPMAN CAMP, B. C. (NEAR KIMBERLEY, B. C.). low figure in some ores to 38 per cent. iron in Sullivan ore. Gangue minerals vary considerably. A few customs ores are somewhat oxidized and as a result present difficulties. Flotation equipment and control are similar in the three mills, and the flow sheets at the St. Eugene and Tadanac mills, while much simpler, are modeled after that of the Sullivan Concentrator. In this paper I will not detail treatment nor equipment in any of our plants but will describe special features in, or in connection with, all of them. I will then deal with flotation reagents, describing our use of each of them, particularly where differing from general practice. I will conclude with comments on special subjects related to differential-flotation.

Jan 1, 1927

By F. M. Leonard

Churn-drill hole sludge samples have proved their reliability at Cananea

Jan 5, 1951

By J. L. Carne

Careful sampling is necessary to maintain sulphide-oxide ratio of open-pit and underground ores.

Jan 6, 1951

By J. L. Carne

ORE control is a matter of planning and supervision based on a foreknowledge of the content and distribution of ore. The Inspiration orebody is predominately a copper-sulphide blanket, overlain by an oxidized zone of copper silicates, copper carbonates, and barren capping. Most of the ore is treated by leaching, and the optimum requirement of this method is the goal toward which the mining schedule is aimed. Both open-pit operations and underground mining are used. The problems of ore control at Inspiration are: 1-maintenance of metallurgical balance, 2-conservation of oxide ore, and 3-mining out of the orebody at an average grade which parallels that of the reserve figure. Prior to the fall of 1926 all of the Inspiration division ores were treated by flotation, but the mixed ores of the Live Oak-Keystone section carried too large a proportion of copper in the form of chrysocolla for satisfactory flotation. For this type of mixed ore the leaching process now in use had been worked out, and the plant was put into operation in the fall of 1926. The process is known as the ferric sulphate leach, and the leaching solvents contain both ferric sulphate and free sulphuric acid. Sulphide copper in the form of chalcocite is leached by the ferric sulphate, and the oxidized copper minerals are dissolved by the sulphuric acid. From the beginning of operations to the present time the plant has treated some 67 thousand tons of ore having an average copper content of 1.142 pet, of which 0.605 pct has been in the form of oxidized copper minerals. The plant is currently being operated at the rate of 11,500 tons per day, 7 days per week. However, this tonnage is produced in 6 days of mine operation. The average current grade is approximately 1 pct copper, of which about 50 pct is present as oxidized or acid-soluble copper. Close control of metallurgical procedures is a vital factor in operation of the plant and is in turn dependent upon careful regulation of feed. An excess of sulphide copper requires the presence of more ferric sulphate in the leaching solvents. On the other hand, an excess of ferric sulphate in the presence of a low sulphide feed seriously reduces the efficiency of electrolytic precipitation in tank house operations. This condition must be avoided at all costs. An additional factor must be considered. It is known that the sulphide content is predominant in the ore which remains in the reserve. To maintain the necessary sulphide-oxide proportion, so that the entire reserve will mine out at both a grade and a sulphide-oxide ratio that will be permissible throughout the remaining life of the property, it is obvious that the oxide reserve must be currently preserved to as great an extent as possible. Fortunately much of the oxide reserve is found in the open-pit operation. This happy circumstance adds flexibility to the procedure and makes it possible to maintain the close regulation necessary to insure best overall results, both mining and metallurgical. The two ore streams from the pit and underground operations join at the coarse-crushing plant, and proper control must be exercised before the ore reaches this point. The open pit is currently providing about 55 pet of the ore and underground operations the balance of production. Both operations are under a single superintendent so that the closely interrelated problems may be more readily controlled. The least flexible of the two producing units is the underground mine, where the mining method is block caving. Although a block of ground may be undercut and developed, characteristics of the material determine its caving action. The ore in the chutes must be drawn. The area currently mined from underground is in a zone predominately sulphide and is generally

Jan 1, 1952

By Otis M. Clarke

The Eufaula bauxite-kaolin district in southeastern Alabama is an important source of raw material for the refractory industries in the United States. At the present time, five companies are mining and processing bauxite and kaolin from this district and a sixth company is holding substantial reserves. Mining operations are expanding, but finding new ore reserves is a major problem. The Geological Survey of Alabama sponsored geologic research in the Eufaula district to: (1) investigate the

Jan 1, 1973

WALTER E. GASP, Vanadium, Colo. (communication to the Secretary*).-Having enjoyed associations with the authors of this paper while on the Anaconda geological staff, I want to express my appreciation of it as a contribution to economic geology very direct in its application to ore deposits. The conclusions reached seem to me to show that concrete generalizations can not be made over very wide areas as to structural relations of ore deposits, but taking each district separately data of great value has been presented. Looking over thin sections of Montana rocks, among these a collection belonging to Mr. Billingsley and some prepared by myself, one important point in the Butte area has come to my attention which I would like to discuss. Related to the batholithic intrusion, there are a number of various types of both the earlier andesites and the later rhyolites, especially of the rhyolite. Some of this rhyolite is composed- so predominantly of plagioclase and quartz as to be more properly called dacite, and near the volcanic centers the different phases are even more numerous, the quartz in some becoming a very minor constituent and confined to the ground-mass. Some portions of these rhyolitic extrusives assume ,deep reds and grays, and in the hand specimen may very easily be mistaken for andesite of the older period that has been altered by weathering or by baking near the intrusive granite contact; but thin sections of such specimens remove this color effect and present so clearly all the minute details of texture and mineral composition that they are in every respect identical and indistinguishable from the commoner types of the rhyolite. The andesites generally are augitic rocks with smaller plagioclase feldspars than the rhyolites and exhibiting a different arrangement. Therefore the so-called red and Clark gray andesite near Butte is not a portion of the pre-batholithic rocks, but a. phase of the rhyolite, and the authors, in assuming that "roof pendants or large inclusions of andesite are found

Jan 10, 1917

By M. N., Short

TIE Pioneer mining district, better known as the Superior district, from its principal town, is located in Pinal County in south-central Arizona about 80 miles east of Phoenix and 22 miles west of Miami. The region embraces a confused series of mountain ranges of moderate FIG. I.----SUPERIOR, LOOKING NORTH FROM SOUTH BANK OF QUEEN CREEK. MAGMA MINE IS INDICATED BY WASTE DUMP IN GULCH TO RIGHT OF CENTER. height but precipitous slopes, between which lie irregular valleys filled with alluvial detritus. The average elevation is about 2800 ft. in the valleys and the summits of the ranges reach 2000 ft. above this. Superior is situated on the north bank of Queen Creek where it emerges from one of those ranges into a more or less basin-shaped valley. The drainage of Queen Creek is to the southwest and the flood waters spread out and lose themselves in the desert northeast of Florence, the county seat of Pinal County.

Jan 2, 1926

By B. S. Butler

PART I SUMMARY CERTAIN relations between the formation of ore deposits and other geological processes are pretty generally accepted, namely: that many ore deposits are closely associated with igneous activity; that ore deposits accompany certain types of intrusive bodies, notably batholiths and stocks, and that they are concentrated near the tops of such bodies; that igneous activity occurs in belts of strong folding and faulting; that folding and faulting are greatest in basins of extensive sedimentation and least in areas of erosion or slight sedimentation; that areas of erosion or slight sedimentation and of heavy sedimentation persist over long periods and exert a major control over structure, igneous activity, and ore deposition; that cycles of erosion, deposition, folding and faulting, igneous activity, and ore deposition, have been repeated through geologic time resulting in rather definite periods in which metal deposits have formed. In short, ore deposition is but one phase of a series of closely related geological events. It is attempted in this chapter to point out the relations of these interreacting geologic processes to the distribution of ore deposits in the western United States. Three great periods of mineralization are recognized; pre-Cambrian, post-Jurassic, and late Cretaceous-Tertiary. In distribution the deposits of the three periods, with certain exceptions, show a concentration about two large positive areas, the Colorado plateau and the Columbia plateau, which suggests a causal relation. The most general age divisions of the rocks of the Cordilleran region of the United States are (1) pre-Cambrian, and (2) Cambrian and later rocks. The pre-Cambrian rocks are exposed mainly through the Rocky Mountain belt from the Canadian boundary southward to Arizona and westward through Arizona to southern California. They have commonly

Jan 1, 1933

By John H. Stewart, Daniel R. Shawe

Major transverse structural zones in the western U.S. such as the Lewis and Clark line, Walker Lane, Texas lineament, and Colorado mineral belt, have localized important mineral districts. In Nevada and Utah the alinement of Cretaceous and Tertiary mineral deposits, such as in the Pioche, Eureka, Manhattan, and other mineral belts, may be related to similar tectonic features. All the mineral belts in Nevada and Utah have produced precious and base metals and tungsten; the Manhattan belt in addition has produced magnesite and brucite; and the Pioche belt, uranium, fluorspar, and alunite. Specific types of ore deposits seem related spatially to major belts of the Paleozoic Cordilleran geosyncline and compositionally to the intrusive bodies with which they are associated.

Jan 1, 1977

By Reno Sales

INTRODUCTION. THE geology of Butte possesses especial interest on account of the magnitude of the ore deposits, their extraordinary richness and persistence in depth. Since its discovery in the early 60's the district .has yielded, in round numbers, 6,000,000,000 lb. of copper, 260,000,000 oz. of silver, 1,250,000 oz. of gold, and a large but not definitely known number of pounds of zinc. This enormous metal production has been derived from an ore tonnage estimated roughly at 65,000,000 tons. At the present day, most of the important mine shafts have reached a depth of. 2,400 ft., while several are more than 3,000 ft., deep. At these-great depths rich bodies of copper ore are being exploited, showing no diminution in metal content as compared with the ores of the higher levels. The present (1913) daily rate of production is approximately 14,000 tons, of which 13,250 tons may be regarded as copper ore, although a small percentage of this is minable only because of the presence of

Jan 8, 1913

Discussion of the paper of Reno H. Sales, presented at the Butte meeting, August, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 80, August, 1913, pp. 1524 to 1626. L. C. GRATON, Cambridge, Mass.:-It has been my privilege to read with some care Mr. Sales's paper, and I feel it a sense of duty and a pleasure to discuss it briefly. After two months spent underground in the Butte mines by my associates-Messrs. Augustus Locke, A. M. Bateman, and E. H. Perry-and myself, it seems only fair to record our appreciation of the almost baffling structural complexity of the Butte veins, of the remarkable accuracy with which their mechanical details have been worked out, and of the unusually effective and intelligent use of geologic conceptions in interpreting their subtler characters and significance. During this period, under the courteous and helpful guidance of either Mr. Sales, the members of his staff, or the geologists of other companies, we have been afforded opportunity to test many of the conclusions embodied in the present paper, and it is but just to state that as our observations have accumulated sufficiently the great majority of these conclusions have received unquestioned confirmation in our minds. The pleasure consists in realization that the science of mining geology, to which so many of us have devoted ourselves, actually embraces the possibilities that this paper exhibits. The science of geology has been favored by many brilliant contributions of general nature, and by a smaller number of studies remarkable because of their detail and precision. I know, however, of no other piece of work like this, which, including Mr. Winchell's administration, virtually represents the combined results of over 15 years of work by a staff of trained geologists in a district which measures not much more from end to end than it now does from top to bottom. That this concentration of effort and observation has been required, and that it has been repaid by the results attained, are plentifully evident in Mr. Sales's paper. If one were inclined to doubt this after perusal of the text, surely he would be convinced by the maps and sections, several of which, I venture to say, are unapproached in detail and accuracy by anything attempted before.

Jan 11, 1913

By Paul Billingsley

THE purpose of this paper is a comparison, based on genesis, of the ore deposits associated with the igneous rocks of the central Montana Rockies. Considered separately, without attention to their origin, the orebodies appear to be distributed haphazard, with no fundamental laws controlling their position and character. It is believed, however, that if all the factors be weighed, this apparent confusion will to a large degree disappear. The, first essential to such a comparison is detailed knowledge of the individual mines, as to their geographic position (see Fig. 1), their mineralogical character, and in particular the derivation of their ores.1 The authors of this paper have pursued such an investigation for the past 6 years, and have accumulated a mass of evidence that enables a preliminary correlation to be attempted. It appears that the majority of ore deposits are genetically related to one or another of the igneous

Jan 4, 1917

JOHN B. HASTINGS, Los Angeles, Cal. (written discussion *).-This, paper is so admirable for its brevity that one hesitates to enter into discussion. The cycle of eruptives makes one wonder, "Where's the basalt?" and the youthfulness of the Idaho flows suggests they may yet come. Veins and Dikes.-Veins and dikes seem to be closely aligned in the minds of some authors, while to me they appear quite distinct, the first representing quiet, long-continued action, typified by metasomatic replacement, far removed from volcanic action; the latter, sudden and cyclonic, emanating from the heart of vulcanism. The rock openings occupied by both types were formed by kindred forces, but in the one they were closed for indefinite periods before invasion by the solfataric solutions, and in the other their formation and occupation were simultaneous. Open Fissures.-I do not believe in the existence of open spaces of discission that may be occupied by veins. Occasionally they occur; I found one with. a machine drill 350 ft. below surface, fortunately in an adit; the water spouted for 12 ft. in a 6-in stream for nearly 24 hr. It was only a flattish fissure, 6 in. wide, crossing the perpendicular vein, and indicating how tabular veins of ore might be formed. The practical absence of open fissures should be a joy to miners. We all know the misgivings with which we feel about for an old winze having only 30 ft. of water in it, in an unsurveyed and inaccessible part of a mine. It is said that veins are sometimes formed in open spaces left by Protuberances of the walls, which meet after having been displaced; but I believe that in such circumstances there would be sufficient attrition and brecciated material to fill the fissure, though perhaps loosely. Parts of veins may possibly have been formed in originally open spaces, but if so, the spaces were made by solution shortly preceding the deposition of the veins. That total solution of rock adjacent to a fissure may occur under favorable conditions is proved by the existence of large bodies of sulphide which contain only a few per cent. of silica; while on the same level, and in other levels above and below, all being within the same ore shoot, assays may show as much as 50 to 60 per cent. of silica, although the gold, silver and copper assays may be almost identical in all the

Jan 1, 1918

By David Scott

THE MOGOLLON mining district, New Mexico, has received little public attention, although for 15 years it has been the leading silver producer of the state; it is situated in a region remote from the principal lines of travel, and its activities have usually been limited to the operations of two or three companies. The value of the total production of the district in the 44 years of its history has been estimated at $15,000,000. For the years 1904 to 1917, inclusive, the output was: gold, $4,370,000; silver, 10,042,000 oz.; copper, 874,862 lb.; total value, approximately. $10,500,000. In 1913 the district contributed 80 per cent. of the total silver production of New Mexico, but in 1917 only 41 per cent., due to serious interruption in the operations of the leading producer. Since 1914 the silver output has diminished one-half, and the present high value of silver is nearly offset by the increase in cost of production. The output of gold has rarely exceeded 35 per cent, of the total for New Mexico. The ratio of silver to gold, by weight, has averaged 46:1 based on the whole output of the district. LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY The town of Mogollon is 75 mi. (121 km.) by a poorly located highway from the nearest railroad terminals, at Silver City and Tyrone. All supplies are transported by motor trucks and teams. The area, sometimes called the Cooney Mining District, lies on the western flank of the Mogollon Mountains, which occupy the western part of Socorro County. The elevations drop steeply on the west to the valley of the San Francisco River, adjacent to the Arizona boundary. The topography is very rugged, the whole area being sharply dissected; deep canyons with steep gradients and rugged walls are characteristic of the whole western-slope of the Mogollon Range. The main canyons run east and west, and usually maintain a flow of water during the entire year. As would be expected in a region of such deep dissection, the

Jan 2, 1920

By F. L. Ransome

THAT geology and mining should stand in close and mutually helpful relationship was recognized in the United States at an early period, but it is not possible to set a precise date at which the study of ore deposits became a thoroughly reputable and important branch of geological science. As early as 1850, appeared the first ,part of Foster and Whitney's report1 on the Lake Superior region, devoted mainly to the copper-bearing areas, followed, in the succeeding year, by the second part,2 on the iron lands. This appears to have been the first comprehensive report on what might, at that time at least, be called "western" ore deposits to be prepared and published under the auspices of the Federal government. An outgrowth from this work was Whitney's Metallic Wealth of the United States,3 which appeared in 1854. It was the earliest general work on the ore deposits of the country, and remained a standard reference book for marly forty years. From 1853 on, various parties were sent out by the War Department to explore routes for proposed railways and wagon roads from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Coast. Geologists were attached to most of these parties, but their work was mainly of broad reconnaissance character, little attention being paid to ore deposits. Although the

Jan 1, 1933

By Fred Hale

OWING to the large area included in the Yellow Pine mining district, and the-varied nature of its mineral deposits, a detailed geological description of the district could be covered only in an extensive monograph. This paper is intended as a description of the most prominent geologic features only with special reference to those of economic importance. The first mention of the district was in 1903 by J. E. Spurr,1 who briefly describes the structural geology of the Spring Mountain range. In 1906, H. F. Bain2 briefly described the Potosi mine. James J. Hill,3 of the United States Geological Survey, visited the district for a brief period in 1912, the result of which is an excellent reconnaissance report, covering the district in some detail but necessarily with brevity. Since that time, articles covering special features of the district have appeared in the technical press, including some by the writer, and a notable description of the Boss mine, by Adolph Knopf,4 appeared in 1915. Development of the district during the past few years has progressed so rapidly and with so many notable discoveries, particularly with reference to the rare metals, that a further description at this time may prove of interest. The writer's acquaintance with the district is based on 7 years' continuous residence in the vicinity, beginning with the spring of 1910.

Jan 2, 1918