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By Leonard P. Colvin

Like all successful American enterprises, the mining industry is constantly trying to increase production, lower costs and improve working conditions. Companies are, of course, intensely interested in new equipment to help them gain these important ends, and one recent development-the mechanical raise climber--contributes to all three goals. Properly used, it increases production, cuts costs and has a number of important safety aspects all of which are the subject of this article.

Jan 1, 1962

By W. H. Pelton, P. G. Hallof

Outlining small pods of high-grade, massive sulfide, copper-zinc mineralization was the object of an intensive exploration program by Long Lac Mineral Exploration Ltd., near York Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada. Efforts to define the ore zones using surface dipole-dipole induced polarization techniques were not entirely successful due to the poor size-to-depth ratio of the targets and widespread disseminated mineralization. Additional information on the size and shape of the sulfide bodies was obtained by placing a current electrode directly within a mineralized drill intersection and systematically measuring the resultant potential on the ground surface. Some simple potential field sources were interpreted from the data and their validity has been shown by an extension to the underground workings.

Jan 1, 1973

By J. D. Miller, M. B. Mooiman

It has been discovered that gold can be extracted from alkaline cyanide solution with primary, secondary, and tertiary amines by adding certain Lewis base modifiers, such as organic phosphorus oxides. Under these circumstances, gold can be extracted at about pH 10, commensurate with the pH of cyanide leach liquors. The selectivity of the amines and amine/modifier combinations for Au(CN)[2] over other metal-cyanide complexes is discussed. Potential applications for the solvent extraction of gold from cyanide solutions are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1985

By John Birkinbine

Mr. Neilson was born Aug. 12, 1842, at Philadelphia, Pa., where he died Dec. 30, 1906. His business career began with his graduation, in the class of 1862, from the Polytechnic College of the State of Pennsylvania. For a short time after graduation he was instructor in mathematics at the college, and then became associated with Messrs. Booth & Garrett, chemists, of his native city. In 1867 he was sent to the Adirondack mountains to care for mining interests of the late Jay Cooke, and spent about three years there, operating the forges at Elizabethtown, Essex county, N. Y. He also prepared an interesting monograph on Catalan forges and their operations. In 1868 he published a chart showing the material progress of the United States, and the cost of certain staple products during a series of years, which is believed to be the first of its kind issued in this country. In 1870 he made a trip to the Pacific Coast, prior to entering the service of the Pennsylvania Steel Company.

Jan 1, 1908

By Douglas A. Anderson

We have instrumented well-controlled free-face blasts with six- component borehole strain gages, in order to determine the complete strain tensor as a function of time due to explosive loading. The strain tensors have been diagonalized to determine the principal strain time-histories, and further processed to determine the octahedral shear strains as a function of time. Principal strain time-histories, when compared with a computer model, indicate the arrival of various direct and reflected phases. Strong shear strains coincide with the expected arrival time of shear waves. These shear waves are probably instrumental in the fragmentation of confined rock due to explosive loading, and should be incorporated in models of the fragmentation process.

Jan 1, 1984

By T. E. Schwarz

The publication of the report by Mr. F. L. Ransome1 was welcomed by many engineers who had mined in the heart of the San Juan country, braved its long and snowy winters, climbed its lofty peaks, run the gauntlet of its snow-slides, and studied its problems of geology, while making dividends for their English or American clients. This report helps one to understand why the bonanzas occurred, and why the inevitable " borrasca " presents itself where least expected. The Red Mountain district of Ouray county, a very productive section from 1884 to 1893, occupies considerable space in the report mentioned. The character of the ore-occurrence.

Jan 1, 1906

By C. P. Parsons

CALIPER logging is a practice of measuring the variations in the diameter of the open hole in a well. This information is useful for many purposes, among which are: Determining the volumetric capacity of the portion of open hole to be cemented; the amount of gravel to be used for gravel-packing a well; the size and location of seat for a packer to be placed in a well; studying the effects of nitroglycerin shots; studying the effects of acidizing; studying the cause of drill-pipe failures; studying drilling technique; geological correlations. This is a new practice in oil fields and is eliminating considerable guesswork.

Jan 1, 1942

By Louis C. Just, Robert L. Sandefur, Carl E. Williams

In 1981 Ertec Rocky Mountain, Inc. completed a significant development in contemporary planning support; MINEPAK was completed, tested on various properties and offered for license. MINEPAK was one of the first computer systems for ore body analysis and mine planning that - Was designed as an interactive and completely integrated system - Was portable so that it can run on many hardware systems - Was really user friendly - Can run on minicomputers and on some microprocessors - Was built around a data base management system MINEPAK was designed to be a completely general block modeller and it achieved that goal. Since it contained a gridded file type, surfaces could be easily modelled but the system needed extensions to allow layered deposits to be modelled with the same ease as block models. So COALPAK was designed. COALPAK is an extension as well as a modification of MINEPAK. A 'layer' file type was defined and retrofitted into the existing system, new software tools were developed for modelling layered deposits, and tools for strip mining were written.

Jan 1, 1983

By Frank Firmstone

IT is proposed to consider here only comparisons made between results obtained when the materials employed are precisely the same, two furnaces at the same works for example, or the same furnace under different conditions as respects temperature of blast, method of charging, etc. With this limitation, the most important point in the comparison is the amount of fuel consumed per ton of iron. This, in fact, is the only item in the prime cost of the iron which can properly be said to vary in consequence of changes in the furnace process ; for of the other principal items, the ore used per ton of iron, and also the amount of fluxing material, will depend on its richness, which, under the assumed conditions, will be practically invariable when taken over any considerable period; the labor cost also, from its nature, should be very nearly constant when estimated on the ton of iron. Moreover, as it consists principally in handling and moving material, it is greatly affected by circumstances quite independent of

Jan 1, 1876

By Frederik P. Agterberg

This paper deals with frequency distributions in the field of mineral resource evaluation when a grid is superimposed on the study area and metallogenetically significant attributes are coded with respect to the cells of the grid. It is shown that the parameters of a negative binomial distribution for frequency of mineral deposits per cell can be derived from the parameters of a gamma distribution for the coded attributes. It is also shown that an exponential model for spatial correlation of cell values and Matheron's discrete Gaussian model for indirect transfer functions may provide a suitable methodology for relating cell value distribution to cell size.

Jan 1, 1977

By Robert A. Lothrop, Richard B. Porter, Robert P. Porter

Changes became necessary in dredging methods employed in Idaho through passage of the Dredge Mining Protective Act (1954). Among other provisions, the law requires dredge operators to construct settling ponds of sufficient capacity and character to reasonably clarify the water used in the mining process before such water is discharged into the stream. Porter Bros. Corp., a placer mining company with many years operating experience in Oregon and Montana, became interested in strategic mineral placers in Idaho in 1950 when it was learned that prospectors had discovered a radioactive mineral deposit in Bear Valley Creek, 95 miles northeast of Boise. The company acquired mining leases and proceeded with exploration and development work on the property. After extensive research had resulted in the determination of successful separation processes, contracts were negotiated with the federal government and deliveries of columbium-tantalum and uranium concentrates commenced in 1956.

Jan 5, 1960

At a meeting of the Associated Engineers, with Columbia Section in charge, a discussion of the metric system was led by-Mr. F. A. Ross. While the majority of the engineers present favored resolutions seeking compulsory adoption and use of the system at the end of 1924 it was believed the engineers present should not undertake to speak for the entire membership and upon suggestion of Mr. J. B. Fisken the resolutions were laid over to be acted upon at a later meeting. The resolutions are as follows: WHEREAS the Great War has drawn the United States into a permanent and close relationship with the other nations of the world and opened the way to an unlimited foreign trade; and WHEREAS more than-70 per cent. of all nations have discarded their arbitrary standards of weights and measures and have made the use of the decimal, or metric, system obligatory; and WHEREAS the United States still clings to an antiquated, complex, cumbersome, and wholly illogical system of weights and measures, consisting of a duodecimal and fractional arrangement of arbitrary units, instead of definitely determined and correlated units following the decimal system; and

Jan 8, 1919

By John L. Schroder, Woods G. Talman

EXPERIENCE has shown that certain known natural conditions and other indefinite characteristics combine to make a mining area vulnerable to mountain bumps. Some of the known conditions are heavy overburden, an overlying stratum of strong non-elastic rock, a structurally strong coal seam that does not crush easily and yet is the weakest stratum in the series, and a floor stratum of more than ordinary firmness. The indefinite characteristics could include resistance of top or bottom of a coal seam to lateral flow, effect of immediate top and bottom strata, nature of the coal seam, and other factors about which very little is known. It is in this area that exhaustive study is needed to achieve positive control of the dreaded mountain bump hazard.

Jan 8, 1958

By C. E. Schwab

A lead-zinc orebody, in fairly strong quartzite and with a dip of 35° to 60°, is block-caved by use of scrams in a stair-step pattern up the ore footwall. Scram linings to handle coarse muck and permit the use of folding scrapers are developed by the use of end-grain wooden blocks to reduce maintenance and keep operating cost to a minimum.

Jan 10, 1953

By J. Vakili

The objective of this paper is to present a practical method for calculating minimum safety factors of rock slopes with a horizontal layer of weak material. It is demonstrated that the most critical failure surface, in this case, is a bilinear surface composed of a horizontal failure surface inside the weak layer and an inclined surface inside the rock. The model presented in this paper shows that with a good approximation, the change in slope for the bilinear failure surface may occur directly below the slope crest. This assumption simplifies the calculation of safety factors considerably, because the most critical failure surface is located directly, and the trial computations for a number of failure surfaces are not necessary. Special parameters involved in slope stability analyses of highwalls in open-pit mines are discussed and, by an example calculation, the applicability of this method is demonstrated.

Jan 1, 1985

By P. Barnes

IF it be admitted that the use of the metric system of measurement is desirable, and that it will be well, as urged by one of our engineering societies, to show upon all our plans or drawings a metric scale in addition to a scale of inches, then it becomes important to introduce some ready means of drawing these scales. For many present purposes it is quite sufficient to space off and to draw them with the common dividers and the right-line pen, but if the number of drawings made or copied in an engineer's office, and upon which scales must be shown, is more than two or three daily, then some more mechanical or automatic means should be provided. For a great majority of detail drawings, a simple transcript of the surface of a good two-foot rule would answer every purpose, and probably the best comparative showing of the metric scale would be made by drawing a line of millimeters close by the side of the line of sixteenths. This would be in fact little more than the

Jan 1, 1877

INSTITUTE MEDALS AND PRIZES ASIDE from the John Fritz Medal, in which the Institute partici¬pates through its representation on the John Fritz Medal Board, the Institute itself has three awards to make annually, as follows the Robert W. Hunt Medal and Prize, the J. E. Johnson, Jr. Award, and the James Douglas Medal. ROBERT W. HUNT MEDAL AND PRIZE The partners of Robert W. Hunt established a fund, which was presented to the Institute at a fitting ceremony on May 27, 1920, to establish an annual medal and a sum of money to be awarded under the following rules: 1. The award shall consist of two prizes, first of a gold medal, second of a sum of money, a certificate to accompany each prize The money prize shall not be awarded to a member over 40 years of age, but under unusual circumstances, both prizes may be allotted to one person provided that he is not over 40 years of age In general it will be understood that the Committee shall award the money prize to the younger men, rather than the medal

Jan 1, 1923

By T. P. Meloy

Economic constraints require that the optimum mineral processing circuit be chosen for a given ore and then the circuit be optimized. Meloy (1983) developed a general methodology for finding the best circuit for a given ore. This analysis, however, did not specify a way to optimize the best circuit once it has been found. To optimize a given circuit, it is necessary to find the optimum set points for each unit operation in the circuit. Developed in this paper is a simple, general equation which, when applied, defines the optimum separation set point for the maximum mineral grade. This general equation, Equation (4), applies not only to simple ores, but also to complex ores containing variable and locked particles. Currently, the optimum set point can be calculated only for heavy media and cyclone circuits, because they are the only unit operations for which the necessary data has been measured.

Jan 1, 1984

LIST OF THE MEETINGS OF THE INSTITUTE AND THEIR LOCALITIES FROM ITS ORGANIZATION Transactions Number Place Date Vol Page I Wilkes-Barre, Pa * May, 1871 I 3 II Bethlehem, Pa August, 1871 I 10 III Troy, N Y November, 1871 I 13 IV Philadelphia, Pa February, 1872 I 17 V New York, N Y * May, 1872 I 20 VI Pittsburg, Pa October, 1872 I 25 VII Boston, Mass February, 1873 I 28 VIII Philadelphia, Pa * May, 1873 II 3 IX Easton, Pa October, 1873 II 7 X New York, N Y February, 1874 II 11 XI St Louis, Mo * May, 1874 III 3 XII Hazleton, Pa October, 1874 III 8 XIII New Haven, Conn February, 1875 III 15 XIV Dover, N J * May, 1875 IV 3 XV Cleveland, 0 October, 1875 IV 9 XVI Washington, D C February, 1876 IV 8 XVII Philadelphia, Pat June, 1876, V XVIII Philadelphia, Pa October, 1876 V 9 XIX New York, N Y February, 1877 v 27 XX Wilkes-Barre, Pa * May, 1877 vi 3 XXI Amenia, N Y October, 1877 vi 10

Jan 1, 1917

By R. M. Treco

The effect of small additions of oxygen on the hardness, density, and lattice parameters of high purity zirconium has been investigated. Precision parameter values and density of oxygen-free zirconium are given as: a,, - 3.2258 kX units, C = 5.1373 kX units, O23 = 6.507 g per cc. THE effect of oxygen on the hexagonal-phase lattice constants of pure zirconium is of interest for several reasons. The extensive hardening effect of oxygen noted by previous investigators' must be due in part to the lattice distortion accompanying its introduction and possibly to the preferred position of the oxygen atoms. De Boer and Fast' have shown that oxygen is taken into solid solution in large amounts, appearing to occupy an interstitial position. These authors also found that expansion of the lattice was not uniform since the a axis attained a constant value after the addition of 10 atomic pct while the c axis continued to expand. It was thought in the present work that this expansion of the zirconium lattice with increasing amounts of oxygen

Jan 1, 1954