Search Documents

By Granville S. Borden

This brief is a reconnaissance report on some prospects in the field of taxation which can safeguard our Mineral Resources. The brief is a prospectus soliciting help and enthusiastic cooperation in the common task of developing these prospects in a manner which will be most beneficial to all parties-the owners, operators, employees, tradesmen, the federal and state governments, and the people of this nation.

Jan 4, 1950

By Harrison Schmitt

An eloquent plea for clear and objective thinking when, with a war behind us and the possibility of future conflicts looming large, we must re- evaluate our mineral position with an eye to defense.

Jan 4, 1950

By James H. Pannell, John Dasher, Wilfred L. Freyberger, A. M. Gaudin

A new sorting process for beryllium minerals is described. This depends upon emission of neutrons upon irradiation by gamma rays, a nuclear reaction which is specific for beryllium at the appropriate energy level. Signals given by neutrons when ore passes on a belt are changed to mechanical commands through amplifiers and other electrical equipment.

Jan 4, 1950

By R. G. Fleck, W. R. Webb

Iron ore mining in the Adirondack region of northern New York dates back to the Revolutionary War. It is recorded that Benedict Arnold in his campaigns in the Lake Champlain area during the American Revolution utilized the local ores to produce armament and cannon balls. Through the efforts of early pioneers, the iron mining industry in northern New York gained impetus so that in the 1880's mines in the area accounted for nearly one fourth of the iron ore produced in the United States. Both magnetite and red hematite ores were mined during this period. With the discovery of the Lake Superior ores, the iron ore industry in New York started to decline and remained relatively unimportant until 1938. Modern day methods of mining and beneficiating sufficiently high tonnages of low-grade ores to justify the large expenditures for plant and equipment prompted a resurgence in northern New York mining. During the past several years, the production of iron ore from the Adirondack magnetites has greatly increased, and production which amounted to .6%, of the United States total during the 1918-1928 period (Mining and Metallurgy, November 1943) has been increased to 2.85% of the total in 1948. Today, Republic Steel is mining in the Port Henry-Mineville and Lyon Mountain areas; the

Jan 4, 1950

Jan 4, 1950

MARCH 15-Industry is rapidly snapping back from another coal crisis, other business news is in general favorable and the outlook through the Spring is by most observers considered quite promising. Most industries report comfortable backlogs of unfilled orders, department store sales in recent weeks have equalled in dollars those of the corresponding period last year, retail sales of automobiles show again over the same period a year ago, and new orders for machine tools are at the highest figures since August 1946. Orders for railway freight cars have shown a very encouraging pickup, with a total of 9385 cars in January and the N. Y. Central alone ordering 4500 in February. Construction continues very active. In January new housing starts totaled 80,000 against 50,000 a year ago and the daily average contract awards, according to the Dodge reports, were 57 pct larger. In the first 22 days of February the increase in awards was 27 pct. Lumber orders since Jan. 1 have run 22 pct above last year. All of these favorable factors bolster the opinion that the upturn in industrial output and employment which began last summer has not yet spent itself and that the setback caused by the strikes will be made up when people get back to work. Only in a few lines are there indications that primary production may be outrunning the consumption of finished goods, although inventory build-up would seem to be rather modest as the National Association of Purchasing Agents reported in February that 78 pct of its members were buying for 60 days or less. Industrial prices as a whole show no significant trend despite the continued alarm over both the immediate and the long-term possibility of inflation caused primarily by the government's increasing expenditure and its inability to balance the budget. A recent advance of 1.9 pct in primary market prices is viewed by some people as the surface symptom of renewed inflation, but even so it is more than two years since the alltime high was reached by the daily index of sensitive commodities in November 1947. Over two years have passed since prices received by farmers hit their peak and about a year and a half since all wholesale prices and the consumer price index touched their highest points in August 1948. The decline in the wholesale price index has been almost continuous, interrupted only twice by slight advances in the monthly figures from February to March 1949, and, later in the year, from August to September. Of course, this continued decline in the last half of 1949 largely reflects a downward movement in farm and food prices. Wholesale prices for commodities other than farm and food leveled out after June and now stand only slightly under the June level. Farm products are down by 22 pct from January and by 18.6 pct from August 1948. Food prices are down only slightly less. Consequently, the farm price support program is in serious trouble and has imposed a heavy financial burden on the Treasury. In those commodities other than farm products only building materials, chemicals and textiles have come down as much as the average, while housefurnishings and metals and their products have fallen hardly at all. Glancing away from the domestic front, the results of the British general election indicated a highly inconvenient situation, that public opinion there is so exactly deadlocked as to divest the victors of much ability to make forceful decisions or create significant policy. It is generally considered that another election in the near future would give substantially the same result. The British people are equally divided and the politicians are not likely to precipitate another appeal to the country until there is manifest reason to believe that external and internal circumstances have changed sufficiently to permit one party or the other to obtain a decisive verdict. Because of the lack of a clear mandate steel nationalization will likely lag in Britain. In the meantime there is considerable discussion going on as to whether the European steel industries as a whole are at a disadvantage in world competition with the American industry. An article in the "Statistical Bulletin" for January of the British Iron and Steel Federation takes issue on this point with the authors of the Geneva report, observing that they wrote before devaluation, and this particular conclusion "has been overtaken by events." The "Bulletin" also contends that the statement was in any case incorrect so far as Britain was concerned, and that it was based on scanty and insufficient evidence. To support the rebuttal a detailed and extensive comparison is made of the home prices of certain steel products in Britain and in other countries of the world. The accompanying table gives a selection of the prices published. It sets out the changed position since devaluation and since the recent increases in American steel prices. These are home market prices; no doubt in competitive export business some of the price levels could be brought closer together at need.

Jan 4, 1950

Scraper and Slide Riddell Mucker Boskovich Device Hydro-mucker Inclined Shaft Mucking The Benching Method Performance Chart

Jan 3, 1950

EVERY forward-looking mining company realizes the need for employing graduate mining engineers so that there will be a supply of qualified men from which to draw for company officers, executives, and mine managers. The mining industry is competing today with numerous other fields of engineering for its supply of technical men, many of which are more attractive than mining because of better pay, living conditions, and well- regulated company training programs. The Ontario Mining Association and the mining companies of Ontario are conducting a postgraduate training plan which if adopted in the United States, might well encourage top quality men to study mining.

Jan 3, 1950

By Joseph Bernhardt

Use of concrete underground at No. 4 mine, Cornwall, Pa., has become increasingly important. Starting with small amounts at finger openings, occasional raises, piers, its use has expanded to entire slushing drifts and haulages. Besides eliminating costly timber repairs, concreting costs of slushing drifts have proved cheaper than timbering. Higher haulage-concreting costs are offset by no maintenance charges during the life of the haulage.

Jan 3, 1950

By Shiou-Chuan Sun, R. F. Wesner, J. D. Morgan

A new apparatus termed a "distribution analyzer" is introduced to ascertain the optimum conditions of electrostatic separation of minerals. It was found that with similar surface condition, testing environment and a constant feed rate of not higher than one layer of particles fed on the grounded roll of the separator, the behavior of each component mineral in a synthetic mixture or ore is roughly similar to that of the same mineral when tested alone.

Jan 3, 1950

By C. N. Savage

The drawing above shows clearly the disastrous effects of a slow-motion "landslide," or mass wasting. A danger to water supplies, homes, and roads, it can also put strip miners out of business. Read how and why it occurs, and some suggestions for prevention.

Jan 3, 1950

By Elliot Rexford

The quality of aggregate materials is of major importance in governing durability and permanence of concrete structures. The problem of selecting suitable aggregate materials is two-fold. Geological factors include the type and character of the aggregate source, presence of known or suspected reactive constituents, and presence of thermally incompatible materials. Laboratory investigations include petrographic studies, soundness and reactivity tests, and tests of thermal properties. The importance of each factor in the selection of satisfactory aggregate material is considered in detail.

Jan 3, 1950

• In 1949 the United States imported 7,400,000 tons of iron ore; Chile, Sweden and Canada, in that order of importance, supplied over 80 pct of this amount. U. S. imports have increased from 3 pct of the total supply in 1940 to 8 pct in 1949. • Mica has been successfully synthesized by scientists of the National Bureau of Standards. quartz, magnesite and bauxite, plus a fluorosilicate compound to act as a crystallizing agent, are heated to 2500°F in a platinum-lined crucible and as the furnace cools mica crystals grow. The key to parallel growth to make sheets is in precision control of temperature. • Inland Steel Co. of Chicago has taken an option to lease from Steep Rock Iron Mines, Ltd., of Canada -- a large undeveloped acreage in the vicinity of Steed Rock Lake, Ontario -- for the purpose of exploring and developing a new iron ore mine. The exploration program is expected to begin at an early date. •A 20-yr test conducted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines with the cooperation of Cleveland-Cliffs indicated that chemically treated timbers last from 2 to 3-1/2 times as long as untreated ones set in the same passageway. Of the three reagents used, zinc chloride gave the best result -- 13.3 yr as compared to 3.8 yr for untreated timber. •Senator Pat McCarran charged that President Truman used a "shotgun approach" to the taxation problem when he accused the mining industry of enjoying excessive depletion exemptions when actually mining taxes should be lowered. He introduced to the Senate a report of the National Advisory Council -recommending a decrease * The country's first graduate program of research and instruction in conservation of natural resources will begin at Yale in September. The Conservation Foundation is supplying $20,000 a year to finance the program. •Felix E. Wormser urged that adequate tariff protection should be provided to offset effects of devaluation on the domestic mining industry in an address before the Colorado Mining Association. He advocates tariffs rather than subsidy legislation, such as S. 2105, for the protection of the lead-zinc miners because the latter would promote inefficiency and "impair our priceless free market." •"It may be startling to realize that for the world's white population the per capita requirements for minerals have multiplied 30 times in 30 yr, or that more minerals have been mined in the last 40 yr than in all prior history." -- Evan Just, in "Mineral Depletion and Metal Supply." •The National City Bank in its monthly letter states that both management and the unions concede that there are too many miners trying to make a living out of the industry for its present market. •On Feb. 3 it was reported that 6000 Anaconda employes in Chile quit jobs in sympathy with striking telephone and electric workers. The government has ordered them back to work on penalty of discharge. It appears that the walkout will not be prolonged in view of the government stand.

Jan 3, 1950

By Charles A. Lindberg

It will be generally agreed that the most important accessory to a rail haul operation is the railroad type locomotive crane. The oldest and still most common type is the steam crane, a self-contained steam power plant, coal fired, complete with boom and hoisting machinery and mechanical drive capable of propelling the unit on its own power at speeds up to 15 mph on the level, and hauling, if necessary, a car for transport of the objects being handled. Usually, for greater mobility and safety, this crane and flatcar are moved around the pit by a switcher locomotive. Crane capacities range from 25 to 40 tons, these loads being handled with the shortest radius of boom and with outrigger. Boom lengths are 55 to 60 ft long, usually with heavy lift main blocks at 40 ft boom lengths. Lifting capacities with booms at maximum radius are approximately 20 % of maximum rating. Free capacities, namely without outriggers, range from 65 (at minimum radius) to 55% (at maximum radius) of the above capacity values.

Jan 3, 1950

By James J. Bean

Although determining and controlling specific gravity of operating medium in a heavy-media plant manually presents no problem, there are advantages to automatic recording and control. The two installations discussed employ the usual method of measurement. Pneumatic control with band control and reset features is used to regulate dilution water and hence specific gravity. Difficulties have been mechanical in nature and associated with obtaining a proper sample and maintaining tight air connections in bubble-tube piping.

Jan 3, 1950

By Walter Hull Aldridge

Much has been said about the foreseeable exhaustion of known mineral reserves-particularly in the United States. It is claimed that we are about to become a have-not nation insofar as certain essential minerals are concerned; and in this respect our position is often contrasted with that of the world as a whole, largely because we have drawn so heavily on our domestic resources during the last fifty years. As a matter of fact, the difference is not great if one takes a reasonably long-term view of the situation. No one denies that nature endowed the United States richer in mineral resources than any other equal area. It is granted that we have skimmed the cream of many kinds of minerals; but in a free international trade in minerals it would not be many decades before the richer deposits-at least the deposits easy of discovery throughout the world would be depleted to much the same degree as those in the United States today. For it is a fact that the problem of satisfying the needs of our industrial society for minerals is fundamentally worldwide in scope. The singular and significant attribute to all minerals is that there is but a single crop. Forests can be grown, but mineral deposits can be replaced only by finding new ones. Thus, one of the vital tasks of the mining engineer, the petroleum engineer, and the geologist is to find these new mineral resources. Another task is to devise means and methods for the exploitation of, at costs that are economic, low-grade deposits and those deeply buried in the crust of the earth. The first need, however, is to find the deposits in the ground. If the assumptions of those who today fear an early exhaustion of all deposits are valid, the outlook for continued material and social progress is gloomy indeed. I take a more optimistic view, for it is my belief that vast new sources of needed minerals will have come to light before our known resources are gone. The real question is whether the outside layer of the crust of the earth that is accessible to engineers contains adequate mineral deposits; and whether engineers can find those deposits. The answer must be based on geologic science, geologic fact, and mining history. Every continent, and almost every country, has yielded minerals of industrial utility in substantial quantity. Mineral deposits are widespread. Geologists know the conditions that were favorable to the occurrence of ores and the types of rocks in which various kinds of ores may ordinarily be found. They know that such rocks occur over broad regions of the earth's surface. They also know that in large areas rocks that are potential carriers of ores are covered and concealed by material of entirely different character. Such cover may consist of lava flows, layers of volcanic ash, or beds of material washed down from the surrounding mountains. Sometimes those covers are thick, sometimes relatively thin. But men well-qualified to pass judgment are sure that concealed deposits, large in number and in size, exist close enough to the surface to make exploitation practical. Only by actual penetration of the surface can this contention be proved, but to conclude otherwise would be to ignore the laws of probability and to deny the over-all consistency of nature. The task of probing the crust of the earth to determine the location of these deposits, and to obtain some notion of their size and quality, poses serious problems. However, they should not be beyond human solution. Much more research must be done in analyzing and explaining the laws of ore deposition. New tools, in the shape of techniques and methods and of mechanical and electrical devices and instruments, must be developed. But no reasonable person can doubt that these objectives will be achieved. As the need becomes increasingly pressing, scientists and engineers will supply the imagination and the ingenuity that will provide the solution. The time and effort thus far devoted to the development of methods for locating hidden ore bodies have been pitifully meager. Energetic investigation of the subject of applied geophysics is essential to the success of the mineral industry, and I have no hesitation in predicting that effective techniques will be found and successfully applied. Twenty-five years ago the petroleum industry

Jan 3, 1950

By Orville R. Lyons, A. C. Richardson

Operating data is presented for a Bird centrifuge used to dewater coal treated at one preparation plant. The data include: (1 ) percentages of solids in centrifuge feed, cake, and effluent and the plant circulating water for a period of four consecutive operating shifts, and (2) screen-sizing data for a number of centrifuge feed, cake; effluent, and combined cake-effluent samples. An evaluation is included of the relationships between fine solids in the centrifuge feed and the total moisture content of the centrifuge cake.

Jan 3, 1950

By Elmer R. Kaiser

Cooperative research is an established and important activity of modern business by which whole industries can advance on a broad front. The economy of jointly sponsored research as well as the limited research talent available direct attention to the advisability of projects in which a number of companies participate. After outlining the growth of industrial research, the paper discusses one successful method for organizing and financing group research programs. A systematic procedure is advocated by which engineers and scientists can bring to management practical plans for cooperative research and development programs.

Jan 3, 1950

By M. M. Fine

In a laboratory study of grinding and classification of silica sand, a satisfactory means of producing the medium-fine specification sand desired by producers of flint-glass containers was developed. The best procedure consisted of ball-mill grinding and double classification, which gave a properly sized sand containing less iron than the feed.

Jan 3, 1950

By Norman Ketzlach

Manganese Products, Inc. has developed a chemical process for the recovery of high-grade manganese oxides from low-grade manganese ores. Ammonium sulphate is also produced. Manganese ore is leached with sulphurous-sulphuric acids. The impurities are removed with ammonia, heat, and air. Manganese oxides are produced by addition of more ammonia and air under pressure. Ammonium sulphate is recovered from the remaining solution.

Jan 3, 1950