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By Robert L. Bates

On April 2 and 3, 1970, more than 100 geologists attended the Sixth Annual Forum on Geology of Industrial Minerals at Ann Arbor, Mich. After this brief appearance, the Forum apparently ceased to exist- but it didn't really, and another spring will see it again in action, in another corner of the country. The organization might be characterized as the country's largest permanent floating conference on the geology of industrial minerals. What is the Forum, where did it come from, and what is it up to? The idea originated in 1964 with a small group in the Department of Geology at Ohio State University, Columbus. This group felt that a forum was needed for the exchange of geologic information on industrial rocks and minerals. They envisioned an approach-which has subsequently been adhered to--that would be dominated neither by geological academics interested in theoretical problems nor by practical engineers concerned with processing large tonnages of rock. It was proposed to focus attention on the middle part of the spectrum, especially on practical problems of geological occurrence and how these problems affect extraction and use. In terms of the standard rock-products flow sheet, which starts with a truck unloading into the primary crusher beneath the words 'from quarry,' it was proposed to focus geological attention on what is beyond the primary crusher, out in the quarry.

Jan 1, 1970

By Baoshen. Liu, Lin Dezhang

Vertical and horizontal movements beyond the perimeter of the open pit have resulted from the development of deep and extensive open pits; the surface point always moves towards the centre of the open pit. The surface movements are not only great in relation to the stability of the open pit slope and the safety of mining operations but also are of significance to the stability of structures and ser- vices on the surface beyond the perimeter of the open pit. Recently, some studies on factors contributing to the surface movements have been carried out. Particular attention has been paid to prediction of vertical and horizontal movements, differential subsidence and horizontal strain and careful assessment of their influences on existing structures in the adjacent area. In the application of the theory of stochastic medium, it is assumed that ground subsidence process has the property of Markov Process. Based on the superposit ion principle, surface movements due to open pit mining are derived from the Kolmogorov Equation, and calculated in a digital computer. Quantitative calculation of surface movements is made according to the method employed in this paper and compared with the results of measurement in Morwell Open Pit, Victoria, Australia and Baiyin Open Pit, Gansu, China. The method of calculation gives reasonably satisfactory results.

Jan 1, 1983

By George F. Beardsley

The silver-fields of Zeehan and Dundas are located on the "West Coast" of Tasmania, 30 miles from the port of Strahan on the Macquarie Harbor. This harbor is 17 miles long, from 4 to 5 miles wide, and completely landlocked. Its only drawback is a shallow bar with 9 feet of water on it. The hills on the western side of the harbor vary from 200 to 300 feet in height, and are all composed of quartzite or a quartz grit. From 15 to 20 miles back from the eastern shore of the harbor is a conglomerate-capped range of mountains, rising to the height of 4700 feet. The immediate eastern

Jan 1, 1893

By Albert R. Ledoux

With the improvements in design and efficiency of machinery the element of danger in its use is becoming less, but it is a question whether the strain involved in operating modern plants is not increasing somewhat the danger of accident due to human fallibility. I propose to describe a somewhat uncommon casualty resulting from a not infrequent incident in the use of air-compressors. It is not necessary to state the location of the mine in which the accident occurred nor the makers of the compreseor, and the object of this brief paper is more to draw out suggestions from members more familiar than am I with the practical handling of mining machinery, than to point a moral. The compressor in question was a three-drill machine of standard make. At the time of the accident it was furnishing air to a single drill working in an upraise from a well-ventilated tunnel, and giving ventilation to a winze below the tnnnel where two men were hand-drilling. The compressor also furnished power to a small hoist in the winze, but the hoist was only operated occasionally, and never while the drills were working. The drills were located about 1200 ft. from the compressor. The engineer testified that he never had been short of air, and that there had been no complaillts that the

Jan 1, 1904

By J. W. Ristori

During the year 1940, production of crude oil in RiIexico totaled 43,914,000 bbl., or 2,776,000 less than in 1937, the year before expropriation. The 1940 output was I,2000,000 higher than in the previous year. In 1937, Poza Rica production accounted Declines in exports of Panuco crude, fuel oil and gasoline were recorded but these were more than offset by increased exports of 4,000,000 bbl. of Poza Rica crude, which was the approximate amount shipped to Sinclair during 1940 under the terms of the settlement. Over-all exports increased by 1,500,000 bbl. over the preceding year. The outstanding development regarding the destination of Mexican exports in 1940 was the increase of I0,000,000 bbl. in the exports to the United States. Exports to Germany ceased toward the end of '939 and to Italy in the second half of 1940. During the year 1940 the Sinclair interests and the Mexican Government settled their expropriation question. By the terms of the settlement Sinclair is to be compensated by cash payments and oil-purchase contracts. On Dec. I, 1940, Ada Camacho was inaugurated President of Mexico for a term of six years. Among his first acts following his election were: I. A proposal to change the Constitution to restore Supreme Court Judges' terms to life tenure. This has been ratified by both chambers of the Mexican congress and is now before the legislatures of the States of Mexico for ratification. The, taking away of the administration of the railroads from labor and restoration to the State.

Jan 1, 1941

By C. T. Bischoff

DURING the past few years geochemical testing for traces of heavy metals in water, soil, rock, and vegetation has aroused increasing interest. Various techniques for field and laboratory determinations have been described in the literature, as have some of the results of application. However, little information has been published regarding application to glacial terrain. Over 90 pct of the Canadian Shield is overburdened, resulting in high costs for mineral exploration once the outcropping ore deposits have been found. This has been largely responsible for the widespread application of mining geophysics in Canada, permitting concentration of effort on area or zones considered most favorable. However, geophysical interpretation has its limitations, since at least 90 pct of the structures indicated thereby contain no valuable minerals. A more direct approach is therefore highly desirable. If underlying base metal mineralization can be detected by sampling soil or vegetation at moderate cost this should prove of great help in locating new discoveries or extending known ones. A large proportion of Canadian ore deposits contain appreciable copper or zinc, even where these are not the principal economic metals. Consequently the field of application is a broad one.

Jan 1, 1954

By Stanley Herold

AT THE present time five localities in the Argentine Republic are known to bear direct evidences of the presence, of petroleum. The segregation of these localities is more or less arbitrary inasmuch as minor indications may be found to extend from one locality to the other at no regular distance apart, especially in the northern and western part of the republic. These localities are listed as follows: North Argentine-Bolivian region, Salta-Jujuy district, provinces of Mendoza and Neuquen, Comodoro Rivadavia, and the Gallegos-Punta Arenas region. Economic conditions attract us to the possibilities of developing these and other regions of countries in the southern hemisphere. Development work will, naturally, be undertaken first in such localities as present direct manifestations of the presence of petroleum; "hidden fields" may exist, but, unless discovered by accident, their development will be left to the last. The problems to be solved in the development of the petroleum resources of the Argentine republic are mainly of stratigraphy, structure, and transportation. We are not here concerned with the unfavorable climate of the countries to the north in the tropics where, for us of the "far north," life hangs by a thread ready to be severed by a mosquito, gnat, or tropical germ.

Jan 2, 1920

By Henry Wurtz

OBSERVING in the Engineering and Mining Journal, of January 16th, 1875, page 35, a report of a brief discussion upon the nature and origin of this unique and interesting coal, I take the liberty-on thus finding it a subject of interest to members of the Institute, and especially as my name came into this discussion-to communicate some results which may serve at least to overthrow certain erroneous ideas that have prevailed. While I would not claim to have made much approach to an understanding of this mineral-the whole of what I call Apozoic Mineralogy being as yet dark and almost unknown ground-yet I believe I have shown that few minerals of such importance and abundance, and so long before the world, have been so singularly misunderstood. On first examination of a sample of the substance to which the name of carbonite has been given, my surprise was not small, at failing to recognize in it one individual characteristic of true coke; neither the hardness, lustre, color, streak, porosity, sonorosity, structure, fracture, nor any of the so-called "pyrognostic" characters. Indeed, comparison with any coke, or variety or modification thereof, seemed altogether fantastic. Therefore the controversy regarding supposed trap dykes, whose existence at the locality is denied by some, seems useless, as we have no question of a natural coking, there having been no coking at all.

Jan 1, 1875

By J. W. Ristori

During the year 1940, production of crude oil in RiIexico totaled 43,914,000 bbl., or 2,776,000 less than in 1937, the year before expropriation. The 1940 output was I,2000,000 higher than in the previous year. In 1937, Poza Rica production accounted Declines in exports of Panuco crude, fuel oil and gasoline were recorded but these were more than offset by increased exports of 4,000,000 bbl. of Poza Rica crude, which was the approximate amount shipped to Sinclair during 1940 under the terms of the settlement. Over-all exports increased by 1,500,000 bbl. over the preceding year. The outstanding development regarding the destination of Mexican exports in 1940 was the increase of I0,000,000 bbl. in the exports to the United States. Exports to Germany ceased toward the end of '939 and to Italy in the second half of 1940. During the year 1940 the Sinclair interests and the Mexican Government settled their expropriation question. By the terms of the settlement Sinclair is to be compensated by cash payments and oil-purchase contracts. On Dec. I, 1940, Ada Camacho was inaugurated President of Mexico for a term of six years. Among his first acts following his election were: I. A proposal to change the Constitution to restore Supreme Court Judges' terms to life tenure. This has been ratified by both chambers of the Mexican congress and is now before the legislatures of the States of Mexico for ratification. The, taking away of the administration of the railroads from labor and restoration to the State.

Jan 1, 1941

By A. A. Venghiattis

This paper is discussed not because of its intrinsic value but because it has been related by its authors to the oilwell gun perforators. It is well known that conditions almost ever present in oilwell perforations are the overburden and the presence of the casing. Because of the lack of information in the paper on the dimensions or confinement of the target rocks, one is led to guess that they were not confined at all and, particularly, that no steel front plates were used on the impact face of the rocks to materialize the presence of the cemented casing. This situation, plus the fact that small steel balls have been used as projectiles instead of actual bullets, makes the whole thing unapplicable to oilwell perforation. When shooting is performed against target rocks confined (as shown on Fig. 1) in such a way as to give a fair image of the overburden applied to the formation to be perforated, as well as of the cemented casing, the following are found. 1. There is no cratering worthy of mention, even with bullets having 10 times higher impact energy per unit projected area than the steel balls mentioned in the article. This has been confirmed with sandstone as well as with other rocks (granite, limestone and chalk). See Figs. 2 and 3. 2. Penetrations vary closely as the logarithm of the impact velocity. On this matter I have established the relation

By Charles M. Stone, Dale S. Preece

Introduction The Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) is a national program dedicated to storage of large quantities of crude oil in leached salt caverns in the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast area. The program has required storage in existing caverns at each site and includes plans to leach new ones. The structural stability of each cavern depends on the behavior of the surrounding salt. In the past cavern stability has been predicted based on experience with other caverns in the vicinity. With the development of good non-linear finite element structural computer programs, it is possible to predict stability before the cavern is created. An important step in verifying the applicability of these predictive methods is comparison of analytical and field data. The analytical data come from finite element analyses of a specific cavern where the laboratory determined material properties and an approximation to the cavern geometry are used as input. These comparisons have been made for caverns in the Bayou Choctaw Dome (Louisiana) and Eminence Dome (Mississippi) with reasonably good correlation being obtained between measured and predicted volumetric response of the caverns. This paper discusses 1) the acquisition of material properties, 2) the finite element program SANCHO, and 3) the comparison of analytical and field data for each of the caverns.

Jan 1, 1982

By S. C. Termes, R. L. Wilfong

As part of an effort to provide basic data on the fundamental scientific and engineering principles of minerals beneficiation, the Bureau of Mines is conducting research on the flocculation of mineral fines. This paper presents results of studies using cross-linked starches containing carboxyl, diethanolamine, iminodiacetic acid, and xanthate groups to flocculate hematite, goethite, chromite, manganite, pyrolusite, cuprite, and cassiterite fines. The carboxyl and xanthate derivatives flocculated all minerals except cassiterite; the latter was flocculated by only the diethanolamine derivative. The imlnodiacetic acid derivative flocculated hematite, goethite, chromite, cuprite, and pyrolusite fines. Zeta potential measurements were made to help define the reaction mechanism responsible for flocculation. These measurements indicate that electrostatic attraction probably is not involved, except possibly in the case of the diethanolamine derivative. The separation of hematite from quartz by selective flocculation with chelating crosslinked starches under two pH conditions and with two dispersing agents is described. Best recoveries and grades were found when either the carboxyl or xanthate derivatives was added at the natural pH of the pulp in the absence of a dispersing agent.

Jan 1, 1984

By E. J. Bruderlin

A METALLURGICAL process to be economically successful must be carried on under proper conditions of control and equipment. The question of equipment is always of primary importance. In the dis-tillation process for the recovery of zinc by retorting, the retort is the all-important piece of equipment. Each retort in a working block must function as a separate unit. Over-all block efficiency is the result of the ability of the individual retort -to withstand the severe conditions of operation for a maximum period of time. Therefore retort manufacture has been an ever present problem with the operator of a zinc-retort-ing plant. During recent years the zinc-plant operator has been faced with rapid changes in the character of the ores and concentrates. Operating costs have increased as a result of the- introduction of the flotation process and the amount of flotation concentrates to be handled. To counteract increasing costs, the operator has found it necessary continually to attempt heavier loading of retorts, until a 45 to 50-lb. charge per cubic foot of retort space has become common practice. Heavy loading has brought about severe firing conditions, which, in turn, have emphasized the necessity for further improving the quality of the retort. Increasing percentages of detrimental impurities in the retort charges have also added to the operator's difficulties.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. W. Raymond

I DESIRE to call the attention of the Institute briefly, and by no means in the way of an exhaustive description, to the interesting developments recently made on the east bank of the Hudson River, in the mining of spathic iron ores. The mines to which I refer are those of the Hudson River Spathic Iron Ore Company, situated at Oakhill on Hudson, Columbia County, N. Y., five or six miles from the city of Hudson, and opposite the town of Catskill. The ore occurs in beds, constituting apparently members of the stratified series of rocks on that side of the river, coursing nearly north and south, parallel with the river, and dipping east. The principal out- crops are presented in a range of low hills, about one mile from the river, along the crest, on the western face of which the stratum of spathic ore is more or less exposed. The length of the line in this range, along which, at various openings the ore has been discovered in profitable quantity, is about two miles. To the northward, the hills are somewhat higher, and the stratification may possibly be disturbed, though the rapid examination of the locality which I made in November last did not, include any determination of this

Jan 1, 1876

By Henry Louis

THE work performed by, the Royal Commission on Mining Subsidence is likely to prove of permanent value, less perhaps for the conclusions it has reached and for the recommendations it has based upon these than for the admirable exposition which it affords of the law concerning mining subsidence and of the legal status of the person who has suffered damage by reason of such subsidence, as also of him whose working has caused the damage. The Commission was appointed by Royal Warrant in the middle of 1925 and delivered its final report in the middle of 1927. The terms of reference to the Commission were as follows: "To consider the operation of the law relating to the support of the surface of the land, and of buildings or works on or under the surface, by underlying or adjacent minerals; to enquire into the extent and gravity of the damage caused by subsidence owing to the extraction of minerals and the incidence of the resulting liability; and to report what steps should be taken, by legislation or otherwise, to remedy, equitably to all persons concerned, any defects or hardships that may be found to arise in existing conditions."

Jan 1, 1929

By F. M. Lewis, Johnson. E. C.

BY now application of the liquid-solid cyclone to various classification problems in the chemical and metallurgical fields is more or less familiar. A less publicized application receiving wider consideration as time goes on is its use as a classifier in closed-circuit grinding operations. This paper presents the costs involved and the experience gained from operating a unit of this kind. In May 1951 the Tennessee Copper Co. installed in its London mill at Copperhill, Tenn., a liquid- solid cyclone in closed circuit with a 6x12-ft ball mill. The circuit in which this cyclone is used is the regrind or secondary grinding circuit of a copper flotation plant. Originally it consisted of a 7x1-ft conical ball mill in closed circuit with a bowl classifier. Changes made in the primary grinding circuit of the mill necessitated a regrind circuit of greater capacity. The bulk concentrate to be ground was raised from 900 or 1000 tpd to 1200 or 1300 tpd, and to accommodate this increase a 6x12-ft ball mill which had been in the primary grinding circuit was moved into the regrind circuit. When this was done it was found that the classifier was too small to give efficient operation. Space in the plant was at a premium, and since use of the cyclone offered considerable economy the installation shown in Figs. 1-3 was made.

Jan 6, 1954

By Thomas E. Howard

Recipient of the 1975 D. C. Jackling Award - "For his vision and initiative in defining, planning, directing, and accomplishing mining research programs; for his leadership in focusing worldwide attention on the need for research to improve underground excavation for mining and civil applications; and for his lecture. . ."

Jan 1, 1976

By Colin Rae

THE absence of paraffin and other oil hydrocarbons in the soil, although they are concentrated in extensive deposits in some localities, the common distribution of plant remains through many formations that .are not productive for oil, and many other factors, seem to indicate the existence of an intermediate organic compound between the complex plant compounds and the petroleum hydrocarbons; and much evidence points to the humus acids or associated organic compounds, which are probably collected by surface waters and concentrated in certain areas by means of precipitation by electrolytes, which would be contained in sea water or possibly in various inland seas or lakes. PRESENT-DAY EVIDENCE There are many present-day evidences of the association of petroleum with humus acids. Binney, in 1912, made observations without explanations on the peat mosses of Down Holland, England, where he found petroleum being formed by decomposition, in the presence of an infiltration of sea water. The analysis of a typical peat will show its relationship to the humus acids under consideration. SAMPLE 'No. 1, SAMPLE NO. 2, PER CENT. PER CENT. Water : 20.0 29.5 Ash 3.0 3.05 Fiber 47.0 54.95 Humus acids 30:0 12.50 J. D. Haseman and others have noted the association of asphalt and hydrocarbons with the swampy, boggy areas, particularly adjacent to the sea.

Jan 2, 1922

By Richard Birk

Rf sputtered quartz has been successfully used in multilayer interconnects for MOS devices. The target potential was 2000 v peak to peak with a frequency of 13.56 Mc per sec. The sputtering rate was approximately 60A per min with an operating pressure of argon gas at 10 to 15 p. The dielectric strength is 8.0 x 10' v per cm and the pinhole density is less than 2 x 10-2 per sq mm. Infrared absorption peaks for the Si-O vibrational bands we at 9.4, 12.4, and at 22.5 p. The etch rate of the sputtered SiO2 is 1200A per min. MOS devices have been fabricated using multilayer interconnects with no degradation of electrical characteristics. MULTILAYER interconnects require an insdating film between the metal layers which can be deposited below any potential eutectic temperature. Sputtered Si4, which can be deposited with substrate temperatures below 200°C, satisfactorily meets the multilayer insulation requirements and has been used to prepare MOS circuits with multilayer interconnects. The physical and electrical properties of rf sput-

Jan 1, 1969

By S. L. Couling, G. W. Pearsall

MOTT and Hainesl have summarized the available techniques for the examination of aluminum and some anisotropic metals under polarized light. Many of these techniques are rather complicated and cumbersome. This note presents a simplified procedure for using polarized light to obtain information about the crystallographic orientation of any particular grain in a magnesium alloy. Since other hexagonal metals are more anisotropic than magnesium, similar methods might well be applied to them. Ernst and Laves2 produced a double-refracting layer on magnesium alloy specimens by SuCCeSSiVe etches in solutions of perchloric acid in alcohol, magnesium perchlorate in perchloric acid and alcohol, and calcium and magnesium carbonates in water. They examined their specimens under polarized light and were able to determine the direction of the hexagonal axis in any particular grain from a measurement of the extinction behavior of that grain. The disadvantages of their technique were the complexity of the etching procedure and the explosive hazard of the perchloric acid-alcohol solutions. Results equivalent to those of Ernst and Laves were obtained in this investigation after etching specimens for 6 to 8 sec in an acetic picral solution containing 100 parts 6 pct picral, 10 parts distilled water and. 5 parts acetic acid. A. similar etch has been used by George3 in earlier metallographic

Jan 1, 1958