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By Edwards A. B

Occasional, sporadic and small occurrences of lollingite in the Broken Hill lode have been described,(l) mostly in the garnet sandstone in the foot-wall and under-wall of the Broken Hill lode. The lollingite contains appreciable percentages of cobalt and nickel and is regarded as an early mineral in the development of the lode; and, with the incoming of the sulphides, it has suffered considerable replacement by arsenopyrite. During the conversion of iron arsenide into the iron sulpho-arsenide, ilie nickel and most of the cobalt are removed in solution and are inferred to reappear in niccolite and other minerals that have been recorded among the later minerals of the Broken Hill lode. As a result of observations of the officers of ilie Broken Hill South Ltd., an occurrence of cobaltite can now be recorded which has developed by an analogous type of replacement.Cobaltite has previously been recorded from the Australian Broken Hill Consols lode in the vicinity of the rich deposits of silver, though not in contact with them. Cobaltite has been found in the northern extremity of the No. 2 lens of the Broken Hill lode at the 1,480 feet level of the Broken Hill South...

Jan 1, 1944

By Edward L. Fidler, Thomas E. Finch

Thin seam coal mining in the western US nominally equates to recovery of stray seams associated with thicker, major seams. The thin or stray seams encountered are generally recovered, but not in all cases. The alternative to extraction is, of course, spoiling. The majority of thin seams are encountered somewhere in the overburden above the major seam or in the parting between thick seams. Although some are true strays and appear anywhere in the geologic sequence, others might be classified as thin "rider" seams immediately above or below a thick seam and separated by some equally thin parting. For the purpose of this discussion, stray or thin seams are defined as those which are less than 1.2 m thick or represent less than 10% of the expected extractable coal. [Figure 1] is a graphic representation of typical thin, stray, or rider seams which actually appear in a western operation. Operationally, stray seams create irritating scheduling problems and require special handling techniques which do not always lead to efficient equipment utilization. Additionally, coal recovery from a thin seam is considerably less than the 95% usually recovered from thick seams. Higher recovery in thin seams leads to dilution problems, which depreciates Btu quality, and most western coals are not in a position to lose heating value. Thin western seams also undulate and pinch or swell more than thick seams, and this leads to more difficult recovery. Often they are associated with equally dark carbonaceous shales and visual selectivity is difficult at best during daylight hours. Resource Recovery Regulations Thin seam recovery in western mines is encouraged by both federal and state regulations and by the mining industry's concern for total resource recovery. [Table 1] lists the western coal states and their recovery regulations. The federal regulations are found in the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. They state, "General performance standards shall . . . require the operation as a minimum to … conduct the surface coal mining operations so as to maximize the utilization and conservation of the solid fuel resource being recovered." Economic stimulation for thin seam recovery appears to be marginal or at the least controversial. Scheduling and operational problems often outweigh the nebulous profits created by engineering analysis. The only alternative to extracting thin seams occurring above major production seams is to strip directly through them and lose the resource to the spoil pile. Although this is not palatable to environmental emotions or resource promoters, it is the most simple expedient to operations people.

Jan 1, 1981

By John S. Sumner

The various electrode arrangements used in induced polarization (IP) surveying can be classified according to the geometry of the electric field being measured. The simplest geometry (Wenner, Schlumberger, gradient) is the parallel or plane-wave electric field, while the three-array and pole-dipole array measure the field about a point current electrode. In the dipole-dipole array the characteristics of a dipolar field are approximately measured. The drill hole arrays employ variations of these fundamental geometries, depending on the objectives of the survey. This report compares the relative advantages and disadvantages of each of the commonly used surface and drill hole IP electrode arrays. Factors of each array that are considered are signal-to-noise ratio, EM coupling rejection, speed and cost, and resolution of polarizable bodies. It is concluded that certain arrays are better suited for different exploration objectives and for different geological conditions. Also the type and capabilities of the IP surveying equipment and method limit the choice of arrays.

Jan 1, 1973

By D. W. McDonald, N. A. Duke, R. L. Hauser

"Abstract- The NERCO Con Mine is situated in the amphibolite facies aureole of the Western Plutonic Complex overprinting the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt. Metamorphic grade of the upright monoclinal basaltic succession decreases from hornblende-amphibolite facies along the border of the batholith to greenschist facies. Metamorphic isograds, subparalleling the faulted margin of the batholith, transect volcanic stratigraphy and coincide with major gold­ bearing shears.Gold mineralization is confined to north-striking, west-dipping shear zones where hanging­ wall amphibolite facies mineral assemblages retrogress to chlorite-carbonate-sericite-sulfide bearing schists hosting multiple generations of quartz-ankerite veins. The gold-producing portions of the Con and Campbell Shears occur where these structures transect an east trending thermal corridor. The corridor is defined by granitic plugs and a number of related breccia bodies, that can be traced outwards from the batholith across the greenstone belt.Prograde reactions of greenstone during amphibolitization effectively liberate fluids that partition metals. With retrograde reactions at shear zones, gold is precipitated with quartz due to the destabilization of sulfide and arsenic complexes. The coupling of regional prograde metamorphic and restricted retrograde metasomatic overprints suggest mineralization is temporally related to emplacement of the Western Plutonic Complex. Economic gold concentrations within the intrusive corridor indicates enhanced metamorphic overprint of hornfelsed greenstones enveloping satellite intru sives peripheral to the main batholith."

Jan 1, 1993

By Evan Just

Government aid, regulation, and participation in the mineral industry are not new; they date back to the time when man first adopted communal living. Even in primitive tribal life, the obtaining of arrowhead or ceramic materials, washing of gold, or mining of copper were specialized activities, under tribal sponsorship. Later, when kingdoms, dynasties, and hierarchies developed, titles to mining properties were held by the sovereign or the state, work usually being done by slaves. Title acquisition through denouncement developed in Europe in the late Middle Ages and spread to the Western Hemisphere with the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Denouncements still recognized the rights of the sovereign in the requirement to pay royalties, which practice continues in many places today. Thus, anyone who views government participation in mineral activity as "encroachment" has no historical perspective. Only in a few countries and for a few generations have private interests enjoyed the right to exploit mineral deposits without the specific consent of the sovereign or without payment of royalty. Governments and the mineral industry have been linked together by other factors. Governments have had special interest in metals and minerals as stores of value and for armaments. Spanish conquests in the New World were energized by the lure of gold and silver. Pursuit of gold led to the American seizure of California in the days of the Forty-niners. The strategic importance of minerals in our own times has called for special steps to stimulate production in national emergencies and to prevent the enemy from acquiring mineral supplies. Our export controls to deny certain minerals to unfriendly countries, purchases for Government stockpile, and subsidies for domestic production are examples. Production regulation by state governments of oil and gas has become a well established routine. In brief, the mineral industry has never lacked aid, regulation, and participation by governments. The entrepreneur who wishes to explore for or develop minerals must deal with governments in most areas before he can begin, because mineral rights are reserved by them. He can proceed through discovery and de-

Jan 1, 1964

By Hillary W. St. Clair

The reduction zone of the iron blast furnace is represented by a mathematical model of the chemical reactions and heat transfer that occurs between gas and solids during the deoxidation of iron oxide. The model consists of a set of equations and an algorithm whereby the equations may be solved to give the temperature and composition of gas and solids at any position in the reaction zone and at any time after a specified initial state. The model is applied to the special case in which ferric oxide is reduced by graphitic carbon and carbon monoxide produced by burning carbon in dry air. The rate of reduction, carbon consumption and maximum temperature are shown as functions of the temperature and rate of flow of the incoming reducing gas and external heat loss. The model of the reduction zone is the essential part of a general mathematical model for simulation of the iron blast furnace. The simulation model will serve as a research tool to be used in conjunction with an experimental or operating furnace. After the simulation model has been correlated with the real furnace, it is proposed that further experimentation be done mostly with the model. The real furnace will then be operated primarily to test and confirm the model.

Jan 1, 1967

The first difficulty encount.ered in preparing this paper was to find a definition of the word "special" as applied to steel. The first thought is "obviously any grade not mild steel" but this is an over-simplification, because the term "mild steel" covers a series of carbon ranges, each found from experience to be especially suited to the production of a particular rolled section.Even if the Australian structural mild steels are excluded it is found that no part of the plant here is independent of special steel.The face-man on Iron Monarch makes his bench safe by barring down with a 0.6% carbon steel bar. He bores a hole into the ironstone with a 0.75-0.8% carbon steel drill, driven by a jackhammer which is built of a variety of special steels. After it is shot down, the stone is lifted by an electric shovel, very few of whose steel components fall into the general category of structural grades of mild steel.Further special steels are met with in the truck into which the stone is loaded, the hauling electric locomotive, and the rails on which these .run. Even the permanent way uses more than one grade, e.g., the crossings experiencing heavy service have their frogs built with austenitic manganese steel inserts.Special steels play their part in the overhead crane which tips these trucks, and in the crushers into which they discharge, and so they can be followed right through the production line, and they are still there at the seaward end of the ship loading boom at the head of the WhyalIa ore jetty.

Jan 1, 1951

By X Hu, C-C Yang, J Pan

In this work, preheating and roasting tests of pellets made from blends of Western Australia ultra-fine (WAU) magnetite concentrate and Chinese domestic magnetite concentrate or Brazilian hematite concentrate were carried out. The results showed that pellets made from 100 per cent WAU magnetite concentrate possesses inferior preheating and roasting performance when preheating at 1050°C for 20 minutes and roasting at 1300°C for 40 minutes, the compressive strength of preheated and fired pellets is 502 N/pellet and 2313 N/pellet, respectively. When 40 per cent Chinese domestic magnetite concentrate or 20 per cent Brazilian hematite concentrate was blended with 60 per cent or 80 per cent WAU magnetite concentrate, the appropriate preheating temperature of the pellets are reduced from 1050°C to 950°C and 975°C, and also the firing temperature of two types pellets are decreased from 1300°C to 1250°C and 1280°C respectively. Moreover, the compressive strength of fired pellets is obviously improved up to 2746 N/pellet and 2630 N/pellet respectively. Microstructure analysis of the fired pellets made from 100 per cent WAU shows its poor growth of Fe2O3 grains, low interlinkage degree of hematite grains, small size of crystallised grains and high porosity of pellet; however, the fired pellets that blended with domestic magnetite concentrate or with Brazilian hematite concentrate have fully growth of Fe2O3 grains, closer interlinkage of hematite grains, lower porosity and stronger consolidation. The preheating and roasting performance of WAU magnetite concentrate pellets can be improved by optimising ore matching.CITATION:Pan, J, Hu, X, Zhu, D-Q and Yang, C-C, 2017. Pelletising performance of Western Australian ultra-fine magnetite concentrate and strengthening technique by optimising ore matching, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 97–104 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By Michael J. Abrams

The large amount of data available from Landsat has made digital processing necessary to extract and display that subset of data relevant to the problem being considered. Computer image processing techniques developed and used at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory can be divided into four categories: rectification, cosmetics, display, and analysis. These techniques have been applied to various geologic problems, including mineral exploration, lithologic mapping, hydrology, and tectonics.

Jan 1, 1977

By Bradley Stoughton

As a part of the systematic study of the alloys of iron under the auspices of the Engineering Foundation, and preliminary to the commencement of comprehensive work on this larger subject, the authors have undertaken an investigation of the available literature dealing: with the alloys of iron and silicon. The purpose is to collect all the data in English and foreign languages and present them in two mono-graphs, one of a more scientific and the second of a more industrially useful nature. Of course, a great deal of information upon the constitution of the iron-silicon alloys was found specificially upon the changes of phase in the equilibrium diagram and the different phases present, such as solid solution, chemical compounds (iron silicides), etc. While no extended research was contemplated in the particular study undertaken, nevertheless the data collected proved to be so contradictory in many respects that a simple study of some of the outstanding problems involved in the constitution and equilibrium diagram was undertaken Because research was not a primary object of the work, and also because of the extreme industrial importance of the silicon alloys between 0.80 and 14 per cent. silicon, and finally because of the unsatisfactory state of knowledge existing as to these alloys, the experimental investigation was limited entirely to alloys with less than 10 per cent. silicon.

Jan 1, 1930

By W. W. Adams

[The sfxteeith e-mud ?7ntior_,il SnS~ty Cn~potitior,, cohduc ted by th Bureau of Mines, United Stntes'I3epnrtzel?t oL' the Interior, hstc fist been closed, and the resvlt s reveal tbt t!:e co~yafir,~ compzniqs had fewer accir'.ents in prnyort?lon to t2.o numbcr,of nkr-l:q?lr~1 1:9:='czd thm in my other ycryx in t3o r~cordc of the conlcst, Pheco zrzu-J. con:estn me thus aclr,i-cvir.c; Shc?r purpoao of ~romo tine w.fe ty in t5c nip-i~y induc tq*.]

Jan 1, 1941

By R. V. Higgins

This report presents the results of a study of gas injection in the Upper and Lower Terminal zones in fault block VB and in the Upper Terminal zone in fault block VI, Wilmington field, California. This report is based on data obtained to January 1956. Earlier studies of gas injection in other California fields have been reported .3/ The Upper and Lower Terminal zones, fault block VB, have been producing oil since 1945 and the Upper Terminal zone, fault block VI, since 1948. Before starting the gas-injection project, the expansion of dissolved gas was the principal mechanism moving the oil to the wells. Gravity drainage and an edgewater drive also have contributed to the movement of the oil to the wells. When the gas injection was begun, the reservoir pressure and the oil production had declined appreciably. Gas injection was started in the Upper and Lower Terminal zones, fault block VB, in May 1953 and in the Upper Terminal zone, fault block VI, in October 1953.

Jan 1, 1957

By James P. Kimball

Sulphur is always present in mineral coal of every variety. In the oxidized state it may exist as sulphuric acid in combination with a base. In the unoxidized state it exists in combination with iron as bisulphide of iron. It is also supposed by some chemists to exist in unknown combinations with the organic elements of the coal. This supposition requires the demonstration as a fact that certain coals yield more sulphur than what may exist in a free state, or what belongs to recognized combinations, not only with the accompanying iron but with other inorganic bases abundantly occurring in coals, but which unfortunately are very rarely estimated. This practically as well as theoretically important question it is at present impossible to decide, simply for want of available thorough ultimate coal analyses including the ash. Such analyses, at the best imperfect, are luborious and intricate, and therefore seldom made, the much simpler proximate analyses, so-called, being resorted to by most chemists for technical purposes, and commonly substituted for more scientific work even in the laboratories of government surveys. And it is unfortunate enough that few ultimate analyses are extended to the composition of the ash, much less to its relation to the original constitution of the coal. Sulphur chiefly occurs in most coals in the form of yellow pyrites (pyrite) and white pyrites (marcasite), both minerals, characterized by differences in crystalline form and in physical properties as well as in color, but having the same chemical composition (FeS2). No coal is entirely free from one or both of these dimorphous forms of bisulphide of iron. It may be disseminated through the mass so as to be invisible, in plates or scales between the laminæ of the coal, or in conspicuous segregations or nodules, sometimes of considerable dimensions. Coals greatly differ as to the proportion of sulphur which they contain. They also differ as to the relative proportion in which its several forms of combination occur. Such qualitative and qnantitative disparities arc scarcely, if at all, more marked in separate coal seams of a uniform type than in different parts of one and the same coal seam, whether it be considered locally as constituted of several

Jan 1, 1880

By Gordon E. Agar

Several correlations have been proposed to relate energy consumption and size reduction in comminution, and although these are arrived at from different starting points, it is postulated that they are all statements of the same basic concept. To test this postulate, the dry ball mill grindability of langbeinite was determined, and the results were analyzed according to the various methods. An examination ' of the energy-particle size relationships proposed in the recent past revealed that they had much in common. In fact, the conclusion was tentatively drawn that these expressions were essentially the same, even though they were arrived at from quite different basic premises. The equations attributed to Charles2 and Holmes3 were shown to re- duce to the same single equation, W - A K-3, and the simulated continuous test used by Maxson et al.4 was shown to give the best experimental value of the required empirical parameter, ß. Furthermore, the size distribution parameter a in the Schuhmann equation, y - (x/K)2, was shown to be equal to ß in many cases. The kinetic approach used by Arbiter and Bhrany5 should give the same results as the Maxson test procedure; however, the batch operation used by Arbiter and Bhrany could not produce data that would be as precise as the simulated continuous technique. To test the validity of these conclusions, the simulated continuous method was used to obtain data on the dry grinding of langbeinite. The results are discussed in terms of the various equations and approaches. APPARATUS AND MATERIAL A ball mill with internal dimensions of 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in.) in length by 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.) in diam was loaded to 50% of its volume with balls 3.2 cm in

Jan 1, 1969

Jan 1, 1913

By Lawson J. Taylor, Paul N. Worsey

Recent reputable evidence conclusively indicates that conventional chemical delay elements in delay detonators are notoriously inaccurate and can thus seriously affect blasting efficiency.

Jan 1, 1983

By C. W. Price, G. A. Wheeler

BERYLLIUM has always been a difficult material to prepare for metallographic examination. Severe surface deformation occurs during mechanical grinding and polishing, and a suitable bright-field etchant has not been developed. Certain electrolytic techniques produce satisfactory polishes, but these techniques have not yielded entirely consistent results. Furthermore, they have not provided satisfactory bright-field etches. The purpose of this paper is to describe an electrolytic polishing technique that can also provide an excellent bright-field etch. In addition to the bright-field etch, other advantages of this technique are excellent reproducibility, rapidity, and ease of polishing and etching. Experimental Technique. Specimen Preparation. Beryllium specimens may be either mounted or unmounted for the use of this technique, and the size of the specimens is not important. Specimens with surface areas up to 4 sq cm have been electrolytically polished and etched successfully with this technique. The most important requirement is to provide a good electrical contact to the specimens, preferably on the back of the specimens. When specimens are mounted, a hole is drilled through the back of the mount so that the specimen can be contacted with a probe. Conventional metallographic grinding techniques are used to prepare the specimens for electrolytic polishing. The specimens are ground on silicon carbide papers. Grinding through the usual series of papers down to the 600-grit paper is recommended to minimize the electropolishing time, although successful electrolytic polishes and etches have been obtained by grinding only through the coarser papers. A continuous flow of water is used during grinding to provide lubrication and to minimize contamination. Mechanical polishing is not required because high rates of material removal are achieved with the electrolytic polishing. Polishing. Most of the results reported in this paper were obtained with a "Disa-Electropol", manufactured by Struers Scientific Instruments of Copenhagen, Denmark. Satisfactory results have also been obtained with the conventional beaker technique of electrolytic polishing, however, the conditions applicable to both the Disa unit and the beaker technique will be described. Stainless-steel cathodes are used in both techniques. In the beaker technique, a flat cathode, with an area at least twice that of the specimen, is used, and the specimen is held parallel to the cathode. The distance between the specimen and the cathode affects the quality of the electropolish. This distance is set at about 7 mm in the Disa unit; the same distance produces the best results in the beaker technique. Specimen-cathode distances greater than about 20 mm produce considerable relief, while distances less than 7 mm cause high current densities that are difficult to control. An electrolyte of 2 pct HC1, 2 pct HNO3, and 2 pct HCIOl in ethylene glycol gives the most satisfactory results for both electrolytic polishing and etching. This electrolyte was developed by altering the composition of a similar electrolyte used for electrolytic lapping1 and adding HClOl to improve the etching characteristics of the electrolyte. Variations of from 0.25 pct to as much as 5 pct of each of the acids do not significantly affect the results, but the greatest amount of control and reproducibility can be obtained with the composition of 2 pct of each acid. Generally, lesser amounts of the acids produce lower polishing and etching rates, while greater amounts of acids cause high current densities that are difficult to control.

Jan 1, 1968

Longwall minim; is a highly mechanized, high productivity mining method that is finding increasing applications in coal. Although the method would be highly advantageous in certain hard rock mining applications it cannot be applied in hard rock because no suitable cutterhead exists for such materials. The wedge longwall cutterhead is a, roller cutter device that is wedge-shaped, with cutters arranged to eliminate the very large normal force ordinarily required to cause such cutters to penetrate hard rock. However, the wedge geometry cannot be extended to a point: special nose cutters are needed to open a narrow slot for the wedge. This report describes the design, fabrication, and successful field testing of these critical nose cutters.

Jan 1, 1974

By Xuejing Xie, Tianxiang Ren

Paper presented at the 28th International Geological Congress held in Washington DC, July 1989 (International geochemical mapping sessions). Standardised stream-sediment sampling procedures have been used in mountainous and hilly terrains. Special sampling procedures were developed for application in remote environments, such as high mountains, desert, semi-desert, karst and loess-covered regions. The diversified analytical methods used in more than 20 analytical laboratories participating in the project have been unified into two multi-element, multi-method analytical systems. A unified data monitoring procedure was developed based on primary and secondary standard samples. To date the project has covered about 4 000 000 km2 and the aim is to complete the coverage within the present decade

May 1, 1991

By J. K. Richmond

Early research on coal dust explosions by the Federal Bureau of Mines and in other countries is reviewed to examine the effect of a single inhibitor, rock dust, on the explosion limits of coal dust. The parameters studied in this research included coal dust fineness, volatile content, and type of initiation. This research resulted in appropriate safety regulations in the respective countries. Also reported are the results of recent research in the Experimental Mine of the Bureau of Mines to investigate in detail the limits of coal dust explosions; the research used three types of coal with rock dust added as the independent variable. New experimental techniques and new criteria for defining propagation/nonpropagation were applied to the experiments. Also, a limit explosion propagation model is proposed based on the assumption of rapid devolatilization of the coal particles, with the subsequent combustion of the evolved volatile products contributing primarily to the propagation of the explosions. The model assumes also that the resultant char acts mainly as an inert diluent similar to the rock dust. The model also suggests that the function of stronger initiation is mostly to lift more dust from the mine surfaces.

Jan 1, 1975