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By J. P. Smith

DURING the winter of 1946 to 1947 potash operations in Germany, France and Spain were visited by the author. The U. S. Department of Commerce, through its Field Intelligence Agency Technical, sponsored the inspection of German properties by representatives of the American Potash Industry. Vast deposits of potash salts occur in the above-mentioned countries, and the production and marketing of these salts are important in their respective economies. Germany An area of some ten thousand square miles of north central Germany is underlain by lenses of potash salts interbedded with greater thicknesses of sodium chloride or common salt. These salt measures are relict deposits from the evaporation of an arm of the Zechstein (Permian) Sea which formerly covered northern Europe. During the peak year of 1940, Germany produced salts containing 1,860,000 tons of K,O and, next to coal, potash is its most important mineral raw material. The German deposits are found in the synclinal areas flanking the Flechtingen, Hartz Mountain and Thuringian uplifts, and, to the north they lie beneath the plains of Hannover. The regional dip of the salt measures is to the north, hence, lenses of potash found at depths of 500 to 1000 m* in the Two general depositional provinces of potash concentrations are recognized: (1) the main basin, and (2) the subsidiary basin. The main basin embraces the producing districts of Stassfurt, Sud Hartz, Halle, and Hannover-Braunschweig. From J. P. SMITH, Member AIME, is Clzief Geologist, U. S. Potash Co., Carlsbad, New Mexico. New York Meeting, February 1948. TP 2621 H. Discussion of this paper (2 copies) may be sent to Transactions AIME before Feb. 28, 1950. Manuscript received May 26, 1948. 40 to 45 pct of the German production comes from this basin. The Werra-Fulda district, producer of 50 pct or more of the German potash, lies in the subsidiary basin. Salt Stratigraphy: Five commercial potash zones or beds are recognized. The three beds present in the main basin are: The Stassfurt bed that occurs near the top of the older salt, and the Ronnenberg and Riedel beds in the younger salt occurring 200 to 300 m, respectively, above the Stassfurt bed. The Stassfurt bed is found over the entire main basin, while the Ronnenberg and Riedel are restricted to the Hannover area. Two potash beds occur in the Werra basin. These are the Thuringian, or lower bed and the Hessen or upper potash bed that occurs 60 m above. These beds lie 210 and 150 m, respectively, below the position of the Stassfurt bed, and are restricted to the Werra basin. The upper bed is 2.5 to 11.5 m in thickness, and the principal ores are hartsalz with varying thicknesses of carnallite. The lower bed averages 3 m in thickness, and contains hartsalz. The upper bed is presently being mined, and the

Jan 1, 1951

By C. W. Phillips, R. S. Busk

WITH most cast metals the grain size may vary within wide limits, depending upon the conditions at the moment of freezing. These conditions are subject to control in magnesium-base alloys, by proper melting and superheating techniques, enabling production of quite uniform and fine-grained castings, almost independent of section thickness. However, such variations of grain size as do exist, in common with all metals, are reflected in corresponding changes in mechanical properties. It is the intent of this paper to present data giving the relationship between grain size and mechanical properties. Data are also included on the combined effects of grain size and microporosity. In addition, a short discussion of factors influencing the grain size of sand castings is included. MEASUREMENT OF GRAIN SIZE By grain size is meant the statistical distribution of volumes occupied by the individual crystallites in a metal section. Since this is almost always impossible of direct measurement, several methods of estimating and expressing the size have been evolved. Most exact methods make use of the microscope. This involves study of a single plane cut at random through the metal. What is seen in the microscope are polygons, each the cross section of a grain. The diameters or areas of these polygons are then measured and the grain size is expressed as an average diameter, number of grains per unit area, average area per grain, or, rarely, average volume per grain. Rutherford, Aborn, and Bain3 have discussed extensively the errors involved when using a plane section to estimate volume. They clearly point out that the tendency is to underestimate the true grain size because of the nature of the measurement. The A.S.T.M.. recommends that measurement be made by comparison with a standard chart, by means of Jeffries' planimetric method' or Heyn's intercept method. The Society recommends that the notation be in terms of the number of grains per unit area (as is the grain-size number used for steel) or as an average diameter, expressed in inches or millimeters (as for copper and brass). The method of measurement used for this study was comparison with a standard chart, which has been described by P. F. George.', The chart was constructed by photographing at i00 diameters a uniform specimen with an average grain diameter of 0.003 in. The average diameter of this specimen was determined by numerous measurements, using both the Jeffries and Heyn methods. The other grain sizes were then obtained by appropriate enlargement of the master sample. Careful comparison of the chart method with other methods on identical samples indicates that though the differences be-

Jan 1, 1945

By Anthony T. Lannacchione, Donald G. Puglio

The Bureau of Mines developed data on the methane content of the Hartshorne coalbed, Haskell and Le Flore Counties, Okla. The methane content is calculated to be between 1.1 and 1.5 trillion cubic feet, based on an estimate of total coal in place of 2.4 to 3.2 billion short tons. Methane increases with depth, but the rate of increase decreases with greater depths. Degasification in advance of mining is recommended for all mines operating at depths greater than 500 feet to reduce hazards and methane explosions, decrease mine ventilation costs, and conserve the natural gas that would be otherwise wasted.

Jan 1, 1979

By Bernard Tougas, Franco Chiesa, David Levasseur, Bernard Duchesne

"In the present paper, the optimization of a tilt poured permanent mold will be carried out using filling and solidification modeling. This exercise resulted in 3 modifications of the initial mold design which was based on the foundry experience. The optimization provided a 20% improvement in the yield while increasing the output from 10 to 15 castings per hour.In a subsequent study, the value of the critical fraction solid of AlSi7Mg (A356) alloy was verified by radiographic analysis of the castings produced in the first 5 cycles of a run, which are necessary to bring the mold to a dynamic thermal equilibrium."

Jan 1, 2014

By F. J. Sotillo

"Scrubbing both horizontal (drum) and vertical (attrition) are considered simple unit operations in the beneficiation of phosphate ores. In general, the operating conditions are fixed at high solids content based on the experience of the engineering or equipment manufacturing company responsible of designing this beneficiation step. Nevertheless, scrubbing is a complex unit operation designed to clean the surfaces of phosphate mineral particles of slimes, break loose weak inclusions or attached particles of impurities, and break aggregates of clayish material. Therefore, it is considered that as high solids content as possible should be used to enhance particle-particle interactions (impact and rubbing) without taking into consideration the rheology of the system. However, scrubbing unit operations design requires studying the balance between the increase of particle-particle interactions with the cushion effect that may occur when slimes, clays and fines decrease the availability of free water increasing the apparent viscosity of the phosphate slurry up to that of a paste consistency. This paper presents data from laboratory tests to determine the best operating conditions for the design of these unit operations based on the highest P2O5 grade obtained with the lowest impurities for different size fractions. INTRODUCTION In the beneficiation of phosphate ores, unit operations such as horizontal scrubbing (drum) and vertical scrubbing (attrition) are considered simple unit operations. Therefore, little attention is given to the design of horizontal and vertical scrubbing during the basic engineering studies, and the detail engineering stage, the manufacturers recommending “standard” units and operating conditions based on their experience. Due diligence of several beneficiation phosphate plants at industrial scale indicates that a deficient scrubbing of the phosphate ore results in significant problems in downstream unit operations, such as classification, clarification, gravity separation, magnetic separation, flotation, dewatering, and filtration. Scrubbing is in fact a complex unit operation designed to clean the surfaces of phosphate mineral particles of slimes (clays and fines), break loose weak inclusions or attached particles of impurities, and break aggregates of clayish material. Two phenomena occur, the particle-particle interaction (impact and rubbing), and the rheological effects of releasing significant amount of fines into the slurry. Therefore, high solids contents are recommended to enhance the particle-particle interactions, which may result in a change in the rheological regime of the system due to the slimes, clays, and fines decreasing the availability of free water. This increases the apparent viscosity of the system up to that of paste consistency resulting in a cushion effect that suppresses scrubbing. Under these conditions, not all fines are release and rejected (deslimed), downstream unit operations being affected by the release of clays, resulting in P2O5 losses."

Jan 1, 2017

By C. B. DUTTON, W. F. RITTMAN, E. W. Dean, M. S. HOWARD

NOMENCLATURE USED IN THIS REPORT. In this report the ending ene has been used throughout, except in the bibliography and in quotations from the writings of previous investigators, for all aromatic hydrocarbons, as, for instance, benzene, toluene, xylene. The ending ol, though largely used in technical description, is not correctly applicable to these hydrocarbons, and should be used to designate the impure mixtures of commerce, as distinguished from pure chemical compounds. PRESENT STATUS OF PETROLEUM-REFINING INDUSTRY. Although petroleum is widely distributed, being found in many parts of the world, and although information as to its occurrence and general characteristics seems to have existed from vcry early times, our knowledge of the chemical nature of this substance has been acquired largely within the past 40 years. Within this period a voluminous literature has accumulated, which records work as painstaking as has ever been undertaken in the whole field of chemistry, such as that of C. M. Warren, F. H. Storer, S. P. Sadtler, S. F. Peckham, and C. F. Mabery. Despite this fact, the commercial method of treating crude petroleum for the purpose of procuring marketable products is, in the main, essentially empirical. Much knowledge has been acquired as to methods of separating from crude petroleum such products as are desirable commercially, but little has been done to attain the maximum recovery of such products.

Jan 1, 1916

By W. A. Tiller, D. H. Lane

A simple zone melting technique for investigating the effect of ultrasonic irradiation upon ingot solidification is described. The effect of i) ultrasonic power level, ii) freezing velocity, iii) constant or variable frequency, iv) direction of irradiation, and v) transducer-cozlpling bar joint upon the grain size of type 316 stainless steel have been investigated. The results of this study support the postulate that the ultrasonic vibrations increase the nucleation probability in the layer of liquid adjacent to the freezing interface. In the first paper of this series,l the possible mechanisms whereby ingot structure may be altered by irradiating a solidifying melt with ultrasonic vibrations have been discussed. A new technique for efficiently introducing the ultrasonic energy into the solid-liquid interface region was presented and applied to ingot preparation by the consumable-electrode arc-melting technique. The experimental results support the postulate that the ultrasonic vibrations may refine the ingot structure by increasing the nucleation probability in the zone of liquid adjacent to the solid-liquid interface. The present paper describes the application of the same technique to a relatively simple laboratory-scale zone-melting apparatus. This apparatus is found to be well suited to the detailed study of ultrasonic technology in this area and allows one to determine, in particular, the minimum ultrasonic power level needed to produce a certain grain size in a particular material. The results of this study support the nucleation mechanism for grain refinement, but do not provide any deeper insight into the specific nucleation mechanism responsible for the effect. EXPERIMENT The apparatus used in these experiments is shown in Fig. 1 and illustrated schematically in Fig. 2. The material to be studied, type 316 stainless steel, was in the form of a 3/4-in. sq bar 30 in. long. This bar was placed in a square open-topped mold with open ends made from high-purity graphite coated with a flame-sprayed Al2O3, skin. Surrounding the crucible was a molybdenum susceptor with 3/8-in. diam holes spaced at 1-in. intervals along its length to serve as sight ports. A tapered transducer horn was brazed to one end of the specimen. The entire assemblage was enclosed in a quartz tube, the transducer itself projecting out one end and resting in a cooling tank. A vacuum seal between the coupling bar and the end plate enclosed one end. A similar plate and seal enclosed the other end. The system is gas tight and can be operated under vacuum or an inert atmosphere. For these experiments, flowing argon at 15 in. of Hg pressure was used. The heat source for melting the stainless steel specimen was a 2-in. long 3-kc induction coil placed around the quartz tube; this source heated the susceptor, inductively melting about a 3-in. zone of the sample by radiation. To move the molten zone at a specified rate, the induction coil was moved down the tube at this rate with the aid of a simple pulling device. Thus, the sample could be irradiated at varying ultrasonic frequencies and power levels and could be solidified at varying rates. The power input to the transducer was measured using a "John Fluke Model 120 VAW-Meter." 1 The power delivered to the interface region is probably only about 50 pct of that measured on the VAW-meter. In a typical run, when the ultrasonic power was turned on, the interface of the molten zone closest

Jan 1, 1961

By Herman Mendoza, Luisa Ciriaco

An investigation of the seeding mechanism using heterocoagulation and the Derjaguin - Landau - Verwey - Overbeek (DLVO) theory of two pure minerals is the objective of this study. The seed was silica with modal diameters of 4.529 µm (fine particles) and 5.216 µm (coarse particles) and the test powder was hematite with a modal diameter of 0.883 µm. Parameters included variations in the concentration and particle size of silica. Both particles were first subjected to size determination and settling tests via Stoke’s Law. The silica-hematite system was then suspended in 0.001 M KNO3 electrolyte solutions where pH was adjusted. Afterward, the suspension was agitated and was allowed to settle at different time intervals while obtaining turbidity readings. Results through settling time and turbidity vs. pH graphs indicate that maximum heterocoagulation occurs from pH 2 to 5 while minimum heterocoagulation occurs from pH 6 to 7. At these pH levels the zeta potentials of silica and hematite are negative and positive, respectively. On the contrary, repulsive forces dominate the system from pH 8 to 11 due to the particles’ negative zeta potentials. Furthermore, the attachment of hematite to silica increases when the parameters become larger thereby increasing the effectivity of heterocoagulation at acidic to neutral pH levels.

Jan 1, 2014

By Robert E. Wood

Engineers have known for some time that the efficiency of filtering iron ore concentrate slurry can be significantly improved by pre-heating the slurry ahead of the filters. However, heating such large quantities of dense slurry by conventional means has proven to be inefficient and high-maintenance. Recently though, submerged combustion was considered by Altos Hornos de Mexico SA (AHMSA), an integrated steel producer in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, as a means of pre-heating their iron ore concentrate. The company toured many iron ore facilities in Brasil and Labrador, reviewing their heating processes, and concluded that submerged combustion could provide a competitive advantage through operational efficiency and lower capital cost than steam boilers. Inproheat was retained by the company to design and manufacture a SubCom slurry heating system to heat 403 m3/h of iron ore concentrate slurry from 25°C to 60°C. The 60GJ/h SubCom system consists of five natural gas combustion chambers mounted in an iron ore concentrate storage tank. The system features a heat recovery unit whereby the exhaust gases are used to preheat the incoming slurry stream, giving the system an overall thermal efficiency of 95%. As a result, the steel company expects to realise significant improvements in filtering efficiency which will enable them to increase the capacity of their pelletising plant without installing additional filters.

May 1, 2010

By E. L. Garton

Analyses of samples of crude oil from fields in West Texas have been published from time to time in Bureau of Mines reports.3/ Analyses of 100 samples of crude oil from West Texas) collected during 1946 to 1952) are presented in this report. The production of crude oil from the fields in this portion of Texas totaled 381,129,000 barrels4/ during 1951 - an amount greater than that of any previous year. Total cumulative production of this area through 1951 was 2,792,692,000 barrels.5/ Table 1 gives monthly production figures for 1951 and yearly totals for the preceding 10 years (1942-1951) [ ]

Jan 1, 1953

By R. E. Brewwe

"INTRODUCTION Anyone who has had frequent occasion to compare methods of analysis and testing as employed in European countries with those used in the United States has felt the need of a table or graph giving the relationship between the units of measurement of finely powdered materials. Most of the few published comparisons include only two series of sieves and often require tedious interpolations to adapt the data of one series to the series more familiar to the reader. To eliminate such deficiencies, the author hopes that the discussion and comparison of fine-series sieve sizes presented here will conserve the time of interested research workers.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe author is deeply indebted to Virginia B. Strathearn, scientific aide, for help in compiling the information from the literature and to W. A. Solvig, senior chemist, for valuable suggestions in preparing the manuscript.SQUARE-MESH-SIEVE SERIES OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIESSieving analyses of powdered materials have been placed on a comparable basis in different countries by the introduction and adoption of standard sieve-scale series. Series of wire-cloth square-mesh sieves in common I oratory and industrial use include: Institution of Mining and Metallurgy standard laboratory screens (I.M.M.); British Standards Institution standard for fine-mesh test sieves (B.S. or B.S.I.); Tyler standard sereer-scale sieves; United States standard sieve series; Deutsche Industrial-Nermen (DIN); and the standard control sieves of the Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR). With the exception of the I.M.M. series in which the opening is equal to the diameter of the wire, the general proportions of the various series of sieves are similar. The size of British and American sieves is designated by the number of meshes or openings per linear inch or, more recently, by the number of microns per linear sieve opening. In a technical sense the word ""mesh"" is meaningless, unless the diameter of the wire is also given, so that the size of the opening can be determined. On the Continent sieves are designated either by the nunber of Mesh per linear centimeter or by the number of openings per square centimeter."

Jul 1, 1944

By E. C. Tarpley, H. M. Cooper, R. F. Abernethy

"INTRODUCTION The float-and-sink test 5/6/ is generally the first test used in determining the washing characteristics of coal. The simplest form of the test is that of using one solution of such specific gravity that the test sample is separated into ""float"" and ""sink"" fractions. In practice, however, a series of solutions is used, and the sample is separated into a number of fractions of a definite specific-gravity range. Analyses of a series of fractions of this type are often referred to as the ""specific-gravity analysis,"" and are of great value in the selection, construction, and operation of commercial washing equipment.The test is rather simple to use, provided a number of conditions are recognized and as many as possible held constant, such as:1. In laboratory testing, two types of solution are available -Aqueous solutions of calcium and zinc chlorides.Mixtures of organic liquids such as carbon tetrachloride, benzene, gasoline, bromoform, etc.2. Absorption of the solution by the coal,3. Solvent action of the solution toward the coal.4. Constancy of specific gravity during the test is affected by temperature changes, dilution, and evaporation.5. Personal technique of the test, such as the time the coal is in the liquid, rate of adding the sample to the liquid, stirring, time of draining, etc.6. Moisture content of the coal as tested."

Dec 1, 1947

By E. W. Dewing

The solubility of A14C3 in cryolite melts has been determined by holding the melt with aluminum in a graphite crucible for 4 hr at temperature, quenching the crucible in water, and analyzing the frozen salt by CH4 evolution. The solubility is given by log(wt % Al4C3) = 1.298 -1.l74 (wt ratio NaF/AlF3) independent of temperature in the range 985" to 1080°C. Additions ofA1203, .NaCl, CaF2, or LiF up to 10 wt pct do not affect the solubility, provided that LiF and CaF2 are replaced by equivalent NaFin calculating the ratio. The variation with ratio can be accounted for quantitatively on the hypothesis that the Mechanism of solution is Al4C3 + 2AIF3 = 3Al2CF2 since the solubility varies as (aAIF3) 2/3; Mechanisms involving C", C2- , AlC- , A12C2+, and Al2CF+are re-jected. At ratios above 1.5 truces of c;- are also present. It was noticed some years ago in this laboratory that carbon specimens made cathodic in a cryolite bath decrease in diameter over a period of time.' It was also found that cryolite which had been melted with aluminum in a graphite crucible was sometimes yellow, and that A14C3 could be seen intimately embedded in the cryolite crystals. CH, could be recovered by acid attack. There was thus reason to believe that A14C3 had a genuine solubility in molten cryolite, and the object of this work was to measure it. EXPERIMENTAL AND RESULTS A graphite crucible, 2 in. ID and 2.5 in. deep with a close-fitting lid, contained about 150 g of cryolite (plus additives) and about 20 g of 99.99 pct pure Al. It was placed in a vertical Inconel furnace tube, covered with refractory brick to provide thermal insulation, and the top of the tube was roughly sealed with disks of asbestos paper. An alumina tube led argon down to the level of the top of the crucible to expel air, and an alumina sheath with a Pt-10 pct Rh ther-mocouple inside was positioned between the crucible and the wall of the Inconel tube. The tube was heated in an electrical resistance furnace for the desired length of time; the refractory bricks were then removed, and the crucible was lifted out with tongs and quenched in water. After such a crucible was broken open it could be seen that its inner surface was yellow owing to the presence of A1,C3, and sometimes needle-like crystals could be observed (at X75 magnification) growing out into the nielt. It was concluded that Al,C, had been present as a separate phase when the crucible was at tenlperature and that the melt had been saturated: in

Jan 1, 1970

By L. H. Smith, D. S. Taylor

"AbstractSherritt has been applying hydraulic drives to concentrator equipment since 1967. The initial application was made on a bank of 5- by 5-in. slurry pumps. This has now been extended to all slurry pumps requiring less than 40 hp and several conveyors which require variable-speed or low-speed/high-torque characteristics. The pump motors are directly connected through a flexible coupling, whereas the conveyor systems are directly mounted onto the head-pulley shaft extension.The different applications and design concepts will be described, with outlines of the operating and maintenance advantages and disadvantages and costs. The paper also outlines future possible applications, together with the limiting conditions, of such systems.IntroductionSHERRITT GORDON MINES LIMITED has been operating a mining division in Northern Manitoba for almost 50 years. The original mining operation was at Sherridon, Manitoba and was a copper-zinc producer. This mine was exhausted in 1948 and the mining plant was moved north to its present location at Lynn Lake, Manitoba. The Lynn Lake Mine is a nickel-copper producer. Since 1960, two new mines have been discovered and brought into production in the general vicinity of Lynn Lake. The first of these was the Fox Mine, a copper-zinc property operating at 3,000 tons per day from an underground operation. This mine started production in May 1970."

Jan 1, 1977

By R. K. K. Mbaya

The concept of adsorption or separation of platinum anions from base metal cations in chloride media using native or chemically modified activated carbons has been discussed in various journals within the context of batchwise systems. In our research work, a fixed-bed column, loaded with native and amine-immobilized activated carbon pellets (Norit RO 0.8), was used to study selective adsorption of platinum ions from chloride media at different flow rates, bed depth and initial metal concentrations. The kinetics, mass transfer characteristics, breakthrough data and separation factors (ß(Pt/Fe) and ß(Pt/Cr)) were quantitatively analysed and modeled. The bed-depth service time (BDST) model was used to model the breakthrough curves successfully in fixed-bed columns and also the dispersive diffusion in the radial and axial directions of the bed were evaluated. The inner diameter of the column was 3 cm and the bed depth was between 1.0 cm and 2.5 cm. Concentrated 4 M HCl acid solution was used to elute the fixed-bed column. It was demonstrated that amine-treated activated carbons provides superior separation factors between platinum and base metals (Fe, Cr). Results showed also, that 95% saturation was reached within 10~26 hours depending on the nature of ACs at a flow rate of 11 mL/min and initial concentration of 5 ppm.

Jan 1, 2014

By James R. Finlay

SOMETIMES the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers appears to be a strictly technical society, and if so my paper should deal with the technical operations of finding and producing gold. But I have not been engaged in practical gold mining since 1910. What I have been doing mainly for the last 25 years is to try to figure out what the income of a mine-gold, or any other-would be worth to an investor. So I have been in contact with gold mining, in one way or another, for some 42 years. I say that with a purpose. In that time the industry has been through one of its cycles. The value of gold mines is very dif¬ferent at different points in one of these cycles. For this reason the cycle of gold mining is a highly practical study. The cycle of gold is a more or less rhythmical change in its value or purchasing power measured in the grand average of other commodities, which is the same thing as its price. Taking the price of gold in 1897 as a stand¬ard, a dollar at that time declined to 55c. in 1913, to 26.8c. in 1920, and since then it has risen to 47.4c. in 1930 and to about 64c. in 1932. It is worth about 21/ times as much now as it was in 1920, but less than two¬thirds as much as in 1897. When this change is applied to the value of a gold mine still greater differences are evident. The cost of producing gold is of course measured in labor and other commodities, and as that cost goes down the margin of profit measured in the gold itself increases. Thus a mine which might make only 10 per cent profit in 1920 on its gross output may easily make 25 per cent now. The stockholder gets 2 ½ times more gold that is worth 2 1/2 times as much in purchasing power, therefore the real value of his holding has risen by the one factor multiplied by the other, giving him 61/4 times as much goods or services as he had in 1920.

Jan 1, 1933

By W. W. Mason

The US began exporting coal in the late 1800s, at first in very small quantities to Canada and, beginning in 1897 and 1898, to the east coast of South America. Shipments to European countries began on a very limited basis in 1902 and these shipments increased gradually until World War I when shipments overseas increased from 7.3 Mt/a to 20 Mt/a. After the war exports dropped as fast as they had increased and, with the exception of exports to Canada, remained at very low levels until just after World War II when the US again emerged as a major coal exporter. World War II left the coal industries of Europe in ruin. As the US was the only country able to supply large quantities of coal at reasonable prices needed for reconstruction of the European economy, the US coal exports overseas expanded rapidly to 38.6 Mt in 1947. Additionally, we shipped 23.8 Mt of coal to Canada in that year for a total export of 62.3 Mt. Unfortunately, that level was not reached again until 1957 when exports reached an all-time high of 69.3 Mt - a high that has not been reached since. Over the years the level of US coal exports has fluctuated fairly widely. Approximately 80-90% of all US coal exports are high quality metallurgical grade coal so our exports level depends directly on world-wide economic conditions and world steel production levels.

Jan 1, 1982

By N. S. Tanious

The need to provide better mine roof support and control in longwall tailgate entries prompted the Bureau of mines to search for a replacement product for wood cribs. Their search isolated steel-fiber-reinforced concrete (SFC) as the most effective replacement. Through successful laboratory and underground mine tests, handmade SFC cribs proved to be a viable and more effective roof support system. However, to ensure wider usage, U. S. Steel Mining Co. initiated a joint development and evaluation program with Burrell Construction Company in order to mass produce SFC blocks of reasonable dimension, weight, and cost. Small specimens and full-size cribs were evaluated during this program to determine their compressive strength and post failure characteristics. After considerable testing and adjusting of various concrete mixtures, a final formulation for the SFC crib blocks was selected. That formulation permitted the construction of SFC cribs possessing a nominal crib strength of 3200 psi (22.1 x 106 Pa) and a nominal modulus of elasticity of 1.0 x 106 psi (6894.76 x 106 Pa). These SFC cribs can support from 3.5 to 14.5 times as much load as a wood crib, depending on the size of the wood crib being replaced. Both laboratory and limited mine tests, conducted by U. S. Steel Mining Co. have shown the SFC crib to be an economical and effective means of roof control.

Jan 1, 1984

By Hendrik Gerritsen

The research to be described is directed to the construction of an instrument that detects methane in air. The principle on which it is based is that methane gas absorbs infrared radiation in the wavelength range of about 3.2 to 3.4 micron. Solid state p-n junctions of composition In, .97Ca.03As emitting radiation in a band centered at 3.3 micron were grown by liquid epitaxy on InAs. Fight separate growth cycles and a total of 200 diodes were measured to determine total power, wavelength peak, spectral. half width and reproducibility of the method. In order to compensate for temperature changes, dual emitter systems (one InGaAs, and one InAs diode) mounted on the same TO-5 header were made. These devices were imaged, using a folded optical path cell, on large area InAs detectors, grown by a planar diffusion technique. In the 0-50°C range the primary temperature sensitivity is in the InAs detector rather than in the emitters. Several methods to reduce the overall temperature sensitivity to within acceptable limits were demonstrated. Humidity was shown to have a negligible effect on the measurements.

Jan 1, 1976

By H. J. Chalmers

"Since the advent of large volume flotation machines, Cominco Ltd. has actively studied possible application of such machines to their various milling operations. A number of installations have been made and more are on the drawing board. This paper gives a description of these units, information as to choice of equipment, and information as to operating experience. Mechanical and operating details of six installations are summarized. Three different types of machines are discussed.Pine PointThe original Pine Point zinc flotation circuit comprised conventional roughing with two stages of cleaning. Over the years with increase in feed tonnage there have developed two adverse conditions; namely, a reduction in zinc concentrate grade coupled with an increase in MgO in the concentrate. This resulted in higher freight payments along with more severe smelter penalties. An intensive test program, in 1971, showed that the concentrate grade could be raised by 1.5 units of zinc along with a reduction in MgO from 0.8% to 0.47.. Subsequently this was done by adding two additional stages of cleaning using 16 cells of Denver 200-V's. The project was completed in January 1973 at a cost of $510,000 to give an estimated annual savings of about $390,000.Selection of the Denver Model 200-V was based on minimum floor space requirement, availability, and favourable operational and maintenance experience with Denver 100’s. As it happens it was possible to ""shoe-horn"" the 16 cells into place with a minimum of plant alteration. Some problems have been encountered with a tendency to ""sand up"" at high pH, particularly at the corners. Otherwise operational service has been very good."

Jan 1, 1974