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By L. S. Darken

It has long been recognized that the driving force in an isothermal diffusion process may be regarded as the negative gradient of the chemical potential (partial molal free energy) of the diffusing substance. This equivalence is exactly analogous to the fact that a mechanical force is the negative gradient of the potential energy. Nernstl in 1888 expressed these driving forces in terms of osmotic pressure, which is directly related to the chemical potential and free energy. The relationship between the diffusivity, mobility and activity coefficient of electrolytes in aqueous solution has been developed in great detail by Onsager and FuossZ with results which have recently been confirmed experimentally by Harned and Nuttall. This interpretation of the driving force in isothermal diffusion has been discussed earlier by the author,4,5 who pointed out4 that "for a system of more than two components it.is no longer necessarily true that a given element tends to diffuse toward a region of lower concentration even within a single phase region"; departure from the behavior of an ideal solution may be so great that the concentration gradient and the chemical potential gradient, or activity gradient, may be of different sign, thus giving rise to "up hill" diffusion. Since, in the discussion of that paper,4 some skepti- cism as to the validity of this conclusion was expressed, it seemed desirable to adduce experimental evidence to support it. Evidence of such diffusion in nonmetallic systems has already been reported. For example, it was observed by Hartley" in a series of experiments in which sodium chloride diffused from a saturated solution in about 5 pct acetone in water into a solution virtually free of salt but with essentially the same acetone concentration. Specifically, a wine glass containing crystalline salt and saturated solution was totally immersed in a large glass cylinder containing the acetone-water solution without salt; the difference in specific gravity was such as to prevent convection. Diffusion of salt was accompanied by a marked depletion of acetone in the wine glass; after 3 days the acetone concentration decreased from 5.37 pct at the top of the glass, where the salt concentration was low (0.93 pct), to 1.84 pct at the bottom where the salt concentration was high (21.64 pct). This "uphill" diffusion was found to be such that the partial pressure (activity) of acetone was essentially equalized throughout the system when a steady state gradient of sodium chloride was maintained. In order to demonstrate the existence of such diffusion in metals, a series of four weld-diffusion experiments was made. In these measurements pairs of steel of virtually the same carbon content, but differing markedly in alloy content, were welded at the end and held at 10500 C for about two weeks. Subsequent analysis showed that carbon had diffused so as to produce an inequality

Jan 1, 1949

Discussion of the paper of J. V. EMMONS, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914. and printed in Bulletin No. 93, September, 1914, pp. 2233 to 2248. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Cambridge, Mass.-Mr. Emmons is to be congratulated for having placed before us in so forcible and satisfactory a manner a question of much importance-that of the surface decarbonization of steel. Of course, both manufacturers and consumers have known for many years that during the heat treatment of high-carbon steel, surface deca.rbonization is always likely to occur to a greater or less degree, but the subject does not seem to have been investigated with the method and thoroughness it deserves. I am in substantial agreement with Mr. Emmons's conclusions, and I have but little to add to what he has so well said. His statement that carbon dioxide is just as effective an oxidizing agent as pure oxygen is likely to cause surprise and some will wonder whether his investigation has been carried far enough to warrant so unexpected a conclusion. The reaction C + 0 = CO, expressing the oxidation of carbon by pure oxygen, is decidedly exothermic, whereas the reaction C + C02 = 2C0, expressing the oxidation of carbon by carbon dioxide, is endothermic. Decarburization by pure oxygen, therefore, should take place much more readily than by carbon dioxide. One cannot help regretting that the author does not mention' the best way of preventing in a practical manner surface decarbonization while treating tool steel and other high-carbon steels.

Jan 4, 1915

US 4,192,852-Precipitation of iron values as a jarosite from a sulfate solution obtained as a byproduct in the hydrometallurgical processing of zinc sulfide ore The solution is cooled, partially neutralized, and clarified. The clarified solution is heated to a temperature of 80 to 100°C in the presence of sodium, potassium, or ammonium ions to precipitate substantially all of the ferric iron as jarosite The precipitate is thickened, filtered, and washed The residual solution may be processed for zinc or other nonferrous metal values R V. Pammenter and C J Haigh, assigned to Electrolytic Zinc Co of Australasia Ltd. Mar. 11, 1980. 16 pp. (423-42) Filed: 5-8-78 (903,524). Priority- Australia, 5-9-77 (PD0030) (Drawings below.)

Jan 1, 1982

By Adam Jordens

Along with gravity separation and froth flotation, magnetic separation is one of the most common techniques for separating minerals. Minerals are separated by a magnetic force that is dependent on a combination of the applied magnetic field, the magnetic field gradient and the magnetic properties of the minerals themselves. Minerals may be classified as diamagnetic, paramagnetic or ferromagnetic based on the way they interact in a magnetic field. The magnetic susceptibility of a material may be determined by using a vibrating sample magnetometer to determine the magnetic moment of the material in an applied magnetic field and then converting this measured moment into the material?s magnetic susceptibility. In the case of rare earth minerals, magnetic separation is commonly used to remove ferromagnetic iron-bearing gangue minerals and to concentrate paramagnetic valuable minerals such as monazite and xenotime. These magnetic separation steps are frequently preceded by a gravity separation step as many iron oxides and rare earth minerals have specific gravities that are much larger than those of typical gangue minerals. By varying the magnetic field intensity it may be possible to use magnetic separation to selectively separate the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic minerals that report to the concentrate after gravity separation. Test work on a Canadian rare earth ore has shown that a gravity concentration step using a Knelson concentrator was able to selectively concentrate heavy magnetic minerals as evidenced by increased recoveries, relative to the Knelson tailings and fresh feed, after processing through a wet variable intensity magnetic separator. Mass pull to the Knelson concentrate was 4.5 % and the magnetic recovery of this concentrate, at 0.94 T, was approximately 40 % higher than the magnetic recovery from the Knelson tailings (70 % versus 30 %). The products of the wet high intensity magnetic separation were also analysed using a vibrating sample magnetometer to determine the magnetic susceptibilities of the various concentrate and tailings products.

Aug 1, 2013

By Fumito Tanaka

The Mitsubishi process is the sole pyrometallurgical process for the continuous production of blister copper from copper concentrates and has been successfully operated around the world. The development of calcium ferrite slag (CaO-FeOx-Cu20), the so-called "C-slag", has enabled continuous converting from matte to blister copper in the commercial scale operations. Commercial interests in the slag led to many papers over the CaO-FeOx slag. However, CU2O- bearing slag has not been studied well due to experimental difficulties. The authors have quantified the thermodynamic properties ofthe CaO-FeOx-Cu2O system. The results have been utilized to analyze various issues related to the converting furnace, such as the magnetite precipitation from the slag or from blister copper and to develop better controlling criteria for the continuous converting operation.

Jan 1, 2003

By C. H. Mathewson

MICROSCOPIC. rnetallography has been exploited quite well enough to bring about a very general understanding that the typical metal or alloy is composed of minute crystalline particles blended into a coherent microstructural mosaic. One does not have to be a specialist in metallography to realize that the properties of such an aggregate are essentially a summation in appropriate form of individual effects derived from the shape, size, placement or orientation and cohesive characteristics of the component particles. It is clearly of great importance to consider the various forms of discontinuity which may occur at the boundaries between these crystalline particles. When a number of 'particles each possessing the same orderly arrangement of atoms are brought together into a close-fitting system of purely haphazard contacts, not unlike a handful of snowflakes compacted into a snowball, the particles are said to possess random orientation. There are no generally accepted views concerning the arrangement of the atoms or the constitutional reaction between atoms where one crystal meets another, but these contact regions are characterized by strength rather than weakness and it is customary to require the presence of many rather than few boundaries in preparing metal for useful service. Under certain circumstances all of the particles in a metal may be nearly alike in orientation. Other general tendencies of orientation may be associated with particular forms of mechanical and thermal treatment. In contrast with these cases of fortuitous or statistical diversity of orientation, we often find adjacent particles united along a plane which possesses a grouping of atoms belonging equally well to both structures. This, of course, determines a fixed relationship between the two orientations and it is always possible to derive one from the other by some form of rotation or reflection prescribed by the symmetry of the crystal structure under consideration. Particles united in this manner are known as twin crystals although the term refers to the form of association rather than the number of individuals concerned.

Jan 1, 1928

By T. B. Massalski, Horace Pops

The occurrence and the temperature dependence of the athermal martensitic transformation in bcc Cu-Zn ß-phase alloys have been studied by cold-state microscopy, differential thermal analysis, and electrical -resistivity measurements. CinenzatograpJzic studies have shown that in the majority of alloys the transformation occurs in two stages. A thermoelastic phase, having a 'needlelike" uppearance, forms initially at the MS temperature and grows relatively slowly, chiefly in the edge (lengthwise) direction. With further cooling, an additional martensitic phase forms in rapid bursts at a lower temperature, MB, Both martensitic phases appear to have the same cry stallographic habit hut their modes of formation and growth are different. For the composition range studied, between 38.55 and 41.49 wt pct Zn, the habit planes determined are close to the (2.17 ,12) plane of the matrix, in general agreement with the prediction of the phenomenological theory of martensite formation. Thermal cycling through the MB temperature produces permanent plastic deformation in the 0 matrix and gradutally eliminates the typical burst phenomena. Thermal cycling only through the MS temperature produces no noticeable deformation effects. THE bcc Cu-Zn ß-phase alloys tend to become unstable at low temperatures and undergo a martensitic transformation,'-3 but the details of the transformation have not been completely determined. Following earlier metal log raphic and X-ray work1 Tichener and ever' determined by means of electrical-resistivity measurements the temperature range of the martensite transformation during continuous cooling. The transformation temperature was found to decrease with increasing zinc content, becoming about -130°C for an alloy containing 40.04 wt pct Zn. Hull and Garwood3 made a metallo-graphic study of Cu-Zn 0 brasses at temperatures down to -160°C, and determined the habit plane of the transformation product for an alloy containing 38.88 wt pct Zn. No metallographic studies below liquid-nitrogen temperatures have been reported. The martensitic transformation in ß-brass alloys can also be induced by deformation.1,4 The MD temperature corresponding to the appearance of the strain-induced martensite is some 300°C higher than that observed without strain, and hence the transformation can be strain-induced in alloys containing a higher percentage of zinc. Massalski and Barrett4 found that alloys containing as much as 51.89 wt pct Zn could be transformed into a faulted hcp structure by cold working at liquid-helium temperature. Because the details of the MS temperature and morphology reported in the literature are somewhat incomplete, a further study has been made of some of the above features. A design of a cryogenic stage for optical metallography5 has permitted the examination of specimens at temperatures down to 4.2oK, and the use of a cinecamera has permitted a study of the morphology on cooling and heating. The particular aim of the present work was to examine the transformation temperatures, the habit planes, and the growth morphology over a wide composition range in the ß-phase field. The effect of thermal cycling upon the subsequent transformation was also examined.

Jan 1, 1964

By Richard Newcomb

Since the report of the 1972 Rapid Excavation Conference in the city of Chicago, speculation has continued concerning the estimates of tunneling demand. Little has been published that would persuade me to modify substantially the rather tentative estimates that originated with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering (NAS-NAE) study of 1968 which were recomputed by the United States in the survey of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1970. The OECD estimates, of course, hedged the really difficult question of forecasting civil construction tunneling demands. In the United States contribution, this was done by predicting both an upper and lower bound for important categories of demand. A discounting procedure was then applied to each of the major sectors of expenditures, permitting a forecast that reflected the current subjective assessment of how extensively and how likely cities were to adopt plans that required tunneling. This was done for water, utilities, transportation and other novel underground facilities. The purpose of this paper is a modest one. In it I wish to describe the efforts made since 1972 to generate more thoughtful and more robust estimates of urban sector demands, and to apply what has been learned to the most difficult category of predictions: those for urban mass transit systems. The estimates of the Underground Construction Research Council funded by the National Science Foundation have been described at an earlier panel of this Conference. The principal effort I am familiar with is that of

Jan 1, 1974

By D. J. Carney, J. Chipman, N. J. Grant

G. Derge—With the development of this last weapon, there is not much of a chance for hydrogen. It is certainly a very interesting paper, and it gives us more confidence in sampling liquid steel for hydrogen than we have ever had before. This satisfactory work gives considerable confidence to all of the chilled methods of sampling which should be more or less successful depending upon the degree of chilling obtained. J. T. MacKenzie—How do you handle a nonmagnetic specimen in that device? D. J. Carney (authors' reply)—I left that out in going over the analytical procedure. For the 18-8 steel, what was done was to get some iron wire which was degassed. One turn of wire was made around the sample; it was inserted into the analytical apparatus, and that was enough to allow the magnet to pull the sample and drop it in the furnace. Other methods could be devised for this apparatus to do the same thing. This was just a quick method. C. E. Sims—This method of sampling and analysis is very ingenious, and the results obtained attest to a satisfactory degree of accuracy. It was noted in the paper that the samples are satisfactory only when there is a complete absence of pipe. This should be empha- sized, particularly in view of the fact that they are cut off under water. Some reservations are held in regard to the adequacy of the method of sample storage prior to analysis. Cooling on dry ice undoubtedly slows down the rate of diffusion to a marked degree, and it obviously suffices when the analysis is made within a few hours. All of the samples, except some of high-nickel steels, were analyzed within 12 hr. It is still unknown how long this method would be safe. In the work at Battelle Institute, it was impracticable always to start analysis within 12 hr for various reasons. Some samples did not reach the laboratory for several days, and some were held as long as a month before analysis. During this period, they were held over mercury, and the gas evolved at room temperature was collected and analyzed. It should be mentioned that both the mercury and the container must be kept very clean.

Jan 1, 1951

By F. B. Henderson, D. Bird, P. L. Hauff, E. C. Prosh

A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-funded project (NASA Grant #NAG13-02026) is underway to determine the ability of hyperspectral remote sensing to map mineralogy that affects water quality within a watershed and to identify the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources to that drainage. Natural sources, particularly areas of pyritic hydrothermal alteration, have been found by the Colorado Geological Survey to be a significant source, sometimes the only source, for acidity and/or metals in a number of areas of Colorado (Neubert, 2000). This situation undoubtedly occurs in many places in the Western United States and elsewhere where metallic mineralization occurs. Anthropogenic sources arise from mining and other human activities that increase the exposure of acid-generating materials to weathering processes, thereby increasing acidity and metal loading to drainages where that activity is occurring or has occurred. This project is attempting to determine if these sources can be differentiated through mineralogical analysis, in conjunction with surface water chemistry that controls the precipitated minerals, of the impacted drainages by remote sensing techniques.

Jan 1, 2003

By Richard J. Kline

This publication comprises tables listing friction loss for a flexible, spiral-reinforced circular ventilation tubing system. The tables were constructed with the following parameters: a friction factor of 62 X 10-10, 10-foot sections of tubing ranging in total length from 100 to 550 feet, air quantities ranging from 1,000 to 15,000 cfm, and one to four 90° bends in the tubing. The aim of this publication is to improve ventilation tubing analysis and to provide a method of proper fan selection.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. Beckering

IN CHARACTERIZING tars obtained by the low-temperature carbonization or North Dakota lignite, infrared spectra have been an invaluable aid in both qualitative and quantitative examination. Quite early it became evident in the tar-research program of the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, that the small number of published spectra available for hydroxy aromatics would be inadequate for comparative purposes when dealing with the wide range of compounds present in coal tar; therefore, compiling a catalog of spectra was initiated as a continuing part of the tar program. As these spectra should be valuable to other investigators in this and related fields, they are being presented in this report. This group or spectra (figs. 1-98) represent 97 compounds, largely phenolic materials. The major problem of this project has been the availability of materials for examination. Samples have been obtained from commercial and private laboratories or synthesized at the Bureau of Mines Lignite Experiment Station, Grand Forks, N. Dak.

Jan 1, 1959

By T Huynh, V Matanitobua, J Zheng, B N. Noller, J C. Ng, H H. Harris

A risk assessment was undertaken of the aquatic ecosystem and bioaccumulation of metals and metalloids in fish at the Leichhardt River, Mount Isa, Queensland. Residual contamination of metals and metalloids in Leichhardt River sediment was assessed and arose from mine practices using river discharge in the 1940s. The ecological risk assessment of sediments involved comparison of the concentrations of heavy metals and arsenic with those of the ANZECC/ARMCANZ (2000) Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines (ISQG). Results indicated that all sites including the background site exceeded one or both the ISQG-high and ISQG-low trigger values based on total concentrations. A lesser number of sites exceeded the ISQG-low trigger values following the 1 M hydrochloric acid extract step, which was used as an indication of bioavailability. An additional risk from particulate matter in river sediment is that acute human toxicity from the consumption of fish contaminated with metals and metalloids is unlikely. The potential risk was assessed by comparing with the maximum levels set by FSANZ (2010) for fish consumption by children and adults. In general, the liver of the fish have higher heavy metal and metalloid concentrations compared to the muscle. Frequent or regular consumption of fish from the Leichhardt River that exceed maximum levels (ML) of heavy metals and metalloids is not recommended. Risk analysis showed that an adult can consume up to 5 kg of fish fillets every day from fish caught at the man-made Lake Moondarra downstream on Leichhardt River and still be within safe consumption levels whilst a child can eat up to 1 kg daily.CITATION:Noller, B N, Ng, J C, Matanitobua, V, Harris, H H, Zheng, J and Huynh, T, ?2014. Assessment of ecotoxicology and health risk from bioaccumulation in fish of heavy metals and metalloids from historical mine practices in the Leichhardt River, Queensland, Australia, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014 , pp 337–348 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 16, 2014

By Richard M. Foose

Five miles southwest of Mt. Holly Springs, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Clay Co. has been mining and milling a white clay since 1896; for use in white cement, as a filler in rubber, pigment and paper, in the manufacture of insecticides, and for other minor purposes. Until late in 1942, when the mine was abandoned because of labor shortage, combined underground mining and surface stripping produced approximately 30,000 tons of clay a year, of which 10,000 tons were refined in the mill. Geology Lower Cambrian Antietam quartzite and the Rilontalto quartzite, stratigraphi-cally older, trend N.55°E. and make a sharp 1600-ft. anticlinal ridge of the South Mountains. The Tomstown dolomite overlies the Antietam quartzite on the southeast flank of the anticline, which is displaced near its crest by a steeply dipping oblique fault. Erosion of the less resistant Tomstown formation has resulted in a narrow valley at an elevation of 700 ft. Directly on top of the Antietam quartzite and at the base of the Tomstown formation is a zone of sandy white clay, lenticular along the strike of the formations, ranging in thickness from 10 to 300 ft. within a mile. All of the formations dip steeply to the southeast, from 65" to vertical. The clay crops out at an elevation of about 1000 feet. Origin and Character The uppermost part of the Antietam formation is sericitic and schistose at many places, and at all these places weathering is in an advanced stage. The clay is the residual product of weathering of this sericitic quartzite or sandy schist. The crude clay has the physical aspect of a sandy kaolin, but there Are large areas in the clay formation that are low in free silica, and commonly the 30 ft. adjacent to the Antietam quartzite is notably free of silica. The overlying Tomstown dolomite has been weathered almost completely to a mixed yellow and brown clay, which carries a zone of nodular and chunky limonite and manganese ore, 4 to 12 ft. thick, about loo ft. from the contact with the white clay. In mining, this zone is an important "marker," indicating where the white clay may be expected in an advancing tunnel. The contact of the white clay formation with the yellow and brown clay of the Tomstown formation is relatively sharp, although the line of contact is irregular and therefore responsible for the lenticular character of the white clay formation. Following is an analysis of the refined clay containing less than one per cent of moisture when dried at 212°F.: SiO2, 67.05 per cent; Al2O3, 22.27; Fe2O3, 0.40; CaO, 0.00; TiO2, 1.05; MgO, 0.52; Na20, 0.04; K2O, 0.88; ignition loss, 7.65; total, 99.86.

Jan 1, 1948

By Richard M. Foose

Five miles southwest of Mt. Holly Springs, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Clay Co. has been mining and milling a white clay since 1896; for use in white cement, as a filler in rubber, pigment and paper, in the manufacture of insecticides, and for other minor purposes. Until late in 1942, when the mine was abandoned because of labor shortage, combined underground mining and surface stripping produced approximately 30,000 tons of clay a year, of which 10,000 tons were refined in the mill. Geology Lower Cambrian Antietam quartzite and the Rilontalto quartzite, stratigraphi-cally older, trend N.55°E. and make a sharp 1600-ft. anticlinal ridge of the South Mountains. The Tomstown dolomite overlies the Antietam quartzite on the southeast flank of the anticline, which is displaced near its crest by a steeply dipping oblique fault. Erosion of the less resistant Tomstown formation has resulted in a narrow valley at an elevation of 700 ft. Directly on top of the Antietam quartzite and at the base of the Tomstown formation is a zone of sandy white clay, lenticular along the strike of the formations, ranging in thickness from 10 to 300 ft. within a mile. All of the formations dip steeply to the southeast, from 65" to vertical. The clay crops out at an elevation of about 1000 feet. Origin and Character The uppermost part of the Antietam formation is sericitic and schistose at many places, and at all these places weathering is in an advanced stage. The clay is the residual product of weathering of this sericitic quartzite or sandy schist. The crude clay has the physical aspect of a sandy kaolin, but there Are large areas in the clay formation that are low in free silica, and commonly the 30 ft. adjacent to the Antietam quartzite is notably free of silica. The overlying Tomstown dolomite has been weathered almost completely to a mixed yellow and brown clay, which carries a zone of nodular and chunky limonite and manganese ore, 4 to 12 ft. thick, about loo ft. from the contact with the white clay. In mining, this zone is an important "marker," indicating where the white clay may be expected in an advancing tunnel. The contact of the white clay formation with the yellow and brown clay of the Tomstown formation is relatively sharp, although the line of contact is irregular and therefore responsible for the lenticular character of the white clay formation. Following is an analysis of the refined clay containing less than one per cent of moisture when dried at 212°F.: SiO2, 67.05 per cent; Al2O3, 22.27; Fe2O3, 0.40; CaO, 0.00; TiO2, 1.05; MgO, 0.52; Na20, 0.04; K2O, 0.88; ignition loss, 7.65; total, 99.86.

Jan 1, 1948

By P Waters, P Hollings, M Baker, D R. Cooke

Over the last three million years, porphyry and epithermal mineralisation in the Baguio Mineral District has been driven by calc-alkaline magmatism associated with the subduction of the South China Sea plate and the Scarborough seamounts beneath northern Luzon, Philippines. Coupled with extreme uplift and exhumation rates, mineralisation in the Baguio District has been responsible for the emplacement of over 922 million grams of gold. As one of the oldest intrusive bodies associated with the Baguio District, the Black Mountain Cu-Au deposit consists of at least five intrusive phases overprinted by potassic and propylitic alteration and sulfide mineralisation. Gold ore grades are low and molybdenum grades high with respect to other porphyry Cu-Au deposits in the Baguio Mineral District. An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation.

Jan 1, 2008

By Sumner M. Anderson

THE ENORMOUS contrast between the mineral economy of Cuba in 1963 and in 1958 was the result of the overall Political changed to which the total economy of the country was intimately lined. Creation of the Cuban Mining Institute (Instituto Cubano de la Minería) to direct all mining activities in the country was an early act of the new Government after the revolution on January 1, 1959. During the next 2 years, the Government confiscated foreign holdings,2 including Unite States investments exceeding $1 billion in value. Foreign mining and metallurgical technicians-predominately from Communist areas-were brought in to reorganize the mineral industries. On January 3, 1961, diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States were severe and then on May 2, Cuba announced its full-fledged membership in the so-called Communist Bloc. Fifty-four international treaties assured Cuba of Communist economic support, technical and financial assistance, machinery, raw materials, and manufactures. The Soviet Union agreed to buy some Cuban mineral products, and Czechoslovakia stated that it would buy all mineral production offered for the next 20 years, but in both cases at prices said to be much lower than the world market. The mineral productivity segment of the mineral economy during and since the period of political metamorphosis, has withstood the political disruption better than has the economy as a whole, but with no direct measure of the magnitude of its cost. The overall economic record is marked with steady deterioration; the annual average per capita income has dropped from $374 in 1957 to $185 in 1963, when Cuba's deficit with the Soviet Union alone reached an admitted $1 billion.

Jan 1, 1964

By J. J. Shields

This is the Seventh of a series of publications that describe methods and practices used in mining bituminous coal mechanically.3/ This report deals with the operation referred to in coal mining as continuous mining, and the interest shown by mining companies in this method is the reason for this study. Only continuous mining as it applies to the room-and-pillar system of mining, or a modification thereon, is discussed in detail in this report. Although not always as continuous as the name implies, it is a system of mining in which a machine is used to cut and load coal in one continuous operation without drilling and blasting the coal. With the mining equipment in most general use today, the usual cycle of operation in mining of coal is: (1) Timber, (2) cut, (3) drill, (4) blast, and (5) load. As the phases of this type cycle cannot be performed simultaneously in the same working place, it is necessary to operate from 3 to 7 working places so that at least 1 place is available for coal loading at all times. Even if the schedule of the phases in a cycle is maintained, coal production ceases during the time required to move the loading equipment from one loading place to the next. In 1920 a continuous-type mining machine4/ was installed in an Illinois coal mine to drive entries. Several other companies used these entry drivers for short periods in the following few years. In 1927 a southern Illinois coal company installed 2 of these machines which, in the next 25 years, were reported to have driven over 200 miles of entries. The machines did not attain widespread usage.

Jan 1, 1954

The deformation, failure, and filling characteristics of a caving roof in the initial and normal mining stages of a pitching oblique longwall mining area are analyzed using large-scale threedimensional physical-similitude experiments and numerical calculations to study the characteristics of roof fracture and migration in a steeply dipping seam. The results show that the roof fracture development has evident sequential and spatial characteristics. Among them, immediate roof breaking in different parts of the mining area shows difference in time and space. The failure sequence of the immediate roof in different areas changes with the mining; unique regional stability evolution characteristics are observed in the suspended immediate roof simultaneously, resulting in its significant regional stability on the goaf filling.

Jan 7, 2020

. E. P. MATHEWSON, New York, N. Y.-I would like to call attention to the excellent plan for protecting the lining of the tanks from rough handling by the excavator. Many engineers, when considering mechanical excavators for lead-lined tanks, have been afraid that the machinery might get out' of order and rip out the lining. This difficulty seems to have been entirely overcome in this installation, and those who have been responsible for its success deserve a great deal of credit. A. F. CASE,* Cleveland, Ohio. (written discussion t).-The application of the automatic unloader to the copper leaching process at Ajo was a very radical departure from the common use of this machine, inasmuch as the only previous use of this device has been in connection with the unloading of coal and ore from vessels on the Great Lakes. There are many phases in connection with the unloading of ore from lake vessels that are not presented in the extraction of ore tailings from leaching vats. For instance, in unloading from boats, it is necessary to provide means to reach under the hatches to parts of the cargo hold which do not lie directly under the hatches, and to work in inaccessible places that do not exist in a leaching vat. These necessities require complications that could be very easily dispensed with in this new application. On this account the unloader, is applied to the New Cornelia, plant, represents what is probably the simplest development of the machine that has ever been produced, and, manifestly, in its simplest form it could he expected to show results corresponding to its performances when installed with all of its complications. One of the requirements of vessel unloading is extreme vertical travel, when the bucket is required to reach the bottom of the, cargo hold, often 12 or 13 ft. below water-level, and discharge into a receptacle 30 ft. above-the water. This was materially simplified at Ajo for the reason that the vertical travel was never more than 20 ft. This condition immediately resulted in the possibility of shortening the walking beam which carries the bucket leg, and, in fact, in entirely reducing the size of all the working, parts of the trolley, walking beam, and bucket leg, as far as reaches were concerned.

Jan 11, 1918