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By K. Osseo-Asare

The thermodynamics of solid-aqueous solution equilibria up to 200°C In the systems Me-NH3 H2 0 (Me=Cu, Ni, Co) are summarized with predominance area diagrams generated with the DIAGRAM computer program. The implications of the diagrams to ammonia hydrometallurgy are discussed.

Jan 1, 1981

Jan 1, 1889

BOSTON LOCAL SECTION Executive Committee HENRY L. SMYTH, Chairman ALFRED C. LANE, Vice-Chairman AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. ROBERT H. RICHARDS ALBERT SAUVEUR Meets on the first Monday evening of each winter month Twenty-first Meeting The Twenty-first meeting of the Boston. Local Section of the Institute was held at the Engineers' Club, 2 Comonwealth Avenue, Boston, Monday evening, Oct. 5, 1914. Twenty members and two guests were present. The Chairman, Henry L. Smyth, presided at the dinner, at the close of which he introduced, as the speaker of the evening, John M. Longyear, who gave a most interesting talk about his work in exploring for coal on the islands of Spitzbergen, 400 miles north of the North Cape of Norway. The talk was illustrated with many photographs, which showed clearly the nature of the work and the extraordinary difficulties of the location. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary.

Jan 12, 1914

By Harold W. Smith

Ore beneficiation via grinding and flotation has traditionally been considered an art because, until recently, the beneficiation plants that operated effectively were those run by skillful personnel who had acquired an "eye" and a "feel" for the process. Today, thanks to technological developments of the past five to ten years, ore beneficiation can be tackled more scientifically. In properly chosen applications, two developments that can bring significant operational and control improvements to concentrating plants are: • X-ray fluorescent spectrometers-that continuously measure chemical composition of flotation process streams, and • Minicomputers-that are relatively inexpensive and highly reliable in data gathering and process control.

Jan 11, 1974

By W. G. Fischer

This paper attempts to close the gap between extensive rock testing with field measurements and the mine operator's need for safe mine layouts and alternatives. It was found that many of the variables that influence mine geometry and worker safety are relatively unimportant while others are critical. The development of empirical relationships that tie the critical variables to the safe useful life of a trona mine layout and observations made in 140 production areas where the variables were researched over a 15-year period are discussed. The concepts presented may have applicability in mine design for other bedded deposits.

Jan 1, 1986

By W. V. Bluck, W. L. McMorris

Higher coal quality is being recognized in potentially lowering the cost of power as measured at the bus bar. Assessment of potential coal supplies for most power plants is now going beyond buying at the lowest delivered fuel cost. It is now taking into consideration other factors, such as handling, storage, pulverization cost, boiler fouling, post combustion cleanup, and waste disposal costs. New measurements of quality are being considered now by those producing and those consuming the fuel by assessing numerous variables in the total fuel cycle to achieve the lowest possible power costs.

Jan 1, 1986

By Rupert Spivey

Kennecott Copper's Chino mine is one of the oldest copper mines in the United States, having been operated by the Spaniards as early as 1800. At that time haulage methods were indeed primitive. Indians brought the ore up on "chicken ladders" in leather buckets. It was then melted into crude bars and hauled to Chihuahua by mule train. There are still remnants of the old trails near the present pit where the mule hooves cut grooves in solid rock. The mines were worked as underground operations off' and on until open-pit mining was started in 1910 by John Sully and Daniel C. Jackling. Since that time many haulage methods have been used: mule carts, steam and electric trains and finally large haulage trucks, now believed to be the best method for this mine. The general shape of the pit is oval with dimensions of 1% miles by 1% miles. Working benches are 50 ft high, with the bottom bench at 5750 ft and the top at 6450 ft above sea level.

Jan 1, 1964

By C. H. Benedict

1. Shaking Tables 2. Fine Grinding 3. Hydraulic Classification 4. Mechanical Thickeners 5. Flotation ENTERING the profession of minerals beneficiation (it was plain garden variety "ore dressing" . in those days) I was fortunate that at that time the first major innovation in modern ore dressing practice was being introduced. I refer to the Wilfley table. You youngsters that came into the game only 30 years ago or even more recently, with flotation machines and reagents as your very ready tool in time of trouble, do not realize what the invention of the Wilfley table meant to us. We had but one physical property of ores to reckon with-specific gravity- and when there was but little difference in specific gravity between the mineral and the gangue, we were in trouble. The jig and the revolving table were our only mechanical equipment for recovering values and so that we might make even a reasonably satisfactory extraction, we had to classify and reclassify, and jig and rejig, and worry about the laws and advantages of free settling vs hindered settling and just tire the minerals out.

Jan 10, 1954

By Robert P. Uhley, LeRoy Scharon

TEST gravity surveys were made in the Washington County barite district of Missouri on property owned by the Baroid Sales Division of the National Lead Co. This property is located just northeast of Richwoods in the northeastern corner of Washington County, Fig. 1. The area to which the surveys were confined comprised approximately 5000 acres, of which some 525 acres were surveyed gravitationally. Gravity observations were made at 2600 points within the area, observations being confined to relatively clear and gently sloping ground. Part of the area was heavily wooded, and the terrain too rugged for either the occurrence of a commercial barite deposit or a feasible gravity survey. The relief along the central drainage, Ditch Creek, was about 140 ft, the maxi- mum difference in elevation being 400 ft in a distance of 3 ½ miles.

Jan 1, 1954

By M. N. Nabighian, J. R. Odekirk, D. M. Hausen

Preliminary investigations based on the concept of cross-power indicate that quantitative volume percentages of minerals, including quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, fluorite, and chalcopyrite can be obtained by X-ray diffraction analysis. Pulverized samples are scanned from 4° to 65°, 2e, using a Norelco diffractometer, with the output recorded on a punched tape at 40 intervals per degree, 29. Errors from crystal orientation are minimized by (1) gridded surface packing, (2) sample spinning, and (3) quantitative measurement of all major diffraction peaks. Computer programming enables rapid quantitative evaluation of X-ray diffraction data. Results to date indicate that most minerals analyses can be performed within an accuracy of ±2%. Metallurgical applications include analysis of various flotation concentrates and tailings.

Jan 1, 1973

By Randy M. Cole, Peter J. Phillips

A methodology is presented which quantifies six coal utilization cost components, each proportional to a coal's mineral content. These are: Ash disposal costs, coal transportation costs, plant maintenance costs, reduction in plant peaking capacity, reduction in plant rated capacity, and reduction in plant availability. Numerical examples illustrate that coal containing between. 12.5% and 25.0% ash-plus-sulfur can cause incremental utilization costs ranging from less than $1.00 to more than $8.00 per ton of coal, when combusted in a pulverized coal fired power plant. Estimated costs are then compared to historical data and the conclusion drawn that steam coal beneficiation may have broader economic justification than sometimes realized. It is noted that TVA, which first proposed the methodology and parameters used here, is continuing research on this aspect of coal utilization.

Jan 1, 1981

By Robert Y. Grant

This study outlines the history of metal mining in Japan and the characteristics of the industry as they existed from 1925 to 1945. Mining and milling operations are described together with the role of the Japanese Government. A description of post-hostilities conditions and the present state of the industry is included.

Jan 11, 1951

By Paul C. Merritt

For more than 100 years, British Columbia has been considered a mountainous mining province, rich with potential but relatively poor in actual production. Times have changed. Today, Japanese interests and money have altered the difficult, if not once impossible, economic conditions and market factors which until recently precluded any great growth of the British Columbia mineral industry. The mining boom now underway in British Columbia has carried the total value of mineral production in the Province to a record height in 1962 as it rang up a 27% increase over that of 1961. Breaking the $200 million barrier for the first time, total value of British Columbia's mineral output reached $229- 276,385. Of this amount, metals accounted for 70%; industrial minerals, 6 %; structural materials, 9 %; and fuels, 15%. The substantial increase is attributed to the record production of copper, iron, asbestos, natural gas and petroleum, in addition to the continuing high production rate and favorable prices of other mineral commodities.

Jan 12, 1963

By W. E. Anderson, T. M. Brady

As part of a larger study to identify factors influencing the practical operating life of wire rope used on large draglines in surface coal mining, field trips to operating surface coal mines were made during late 1975. Wire rope performance information was obtained from personnel at 13 mine sites west of the Appalachians. Seventeen pieces of equipment, utilizing bucket sizes ranging from 30 to 220 cu yd (23 to 168 m), were documented. Draglines at large US surface coal mines can be represented as 120 machines having 60-cu yd (46-m3) buckets, moving 1.8 x 10[9] cu yd (1.4 X 10[9] m3) of overburden during 6650 hours of productive availability per year. Based on the limited field study, the calculated downtime resulting from rope-related causes averages 105.6 hours per year for each typical 60-cu yd (43-m3) dragline. The total loss in production from this source alone is thereby estimated at about 25 X 10[6] cu yd (19 X 10[6] m3) annually.

Jan 11, 1979

By Paul E. Queneau, H. J. Roorda

Cobalt consumption will increase during the next decade at an average rate at least equal that of nickel. In the past, use of cobalt has at times been curtailed by lack of availability or by high price. In the future, output of cobalt derived from copper ores and iron sulfides will continue to grow and output of cobalt from nickel ores will be greatly increased. There should therefore be an adequate supply of this metal at a reasonable price. Nickeliferous limonites constitute by far the largest known terrestrial reserves of cobalt. A process has been conceived, based upon selective reduction and aqueous chlorination for treatment of such ores. The proposed procedure permits good extraction of the ore's cobalt content, comparable to that of the nickel, and is adaptable to large-scale, automated unit operations. Chlorine leaching of the ore enhances its value as a potential source of iron and chromium. Over four thousand years ago, cobalt pigments were employed for decorative purposes in some glass and glazes of Egypt and Persia, and by 1000 B.C. they were widely used in the Middle East.' " However, prior to 1914, virtually no cobalt was produced as metal and ceramics remained the largest consumer of the element as oxide. During World War I cobalt-containing high-speed steels came into their own and the metal's merit in magnet steels was established.

Jan 1, 1971

By d&apos, C. McCoul, C. Antonio, R. Krohn

MOST of the commercial colored gold alloys for jewelry applications are based on the Au-Ag-Cu-Zn system. Although work has been done on the constitution of the Au-Ag-Cu system.'-4 there are no reports in the literature on the effects of zinc additions in these alloys. We have metallographically determined the a =al + a2 transformation temperatures in 91/2- and 131/2-karat alloys in which varying amounts of zinc have been substituted for copper and silver. Samples were cast in the form of 1/2-in. round bars

Jan 1, 1970

By R. N. Singh, A. S. Atkins

One of the most difficult problems associated with modern mechanised longwall mining is the lack of system flexibility to deal with local changes in geology, seam thickness and the face design parameters. As a consequence of system rigidity and the quest for increasing the coal face performance, the percentage extraction in the U.K. is currently below 52%. The paper outlines the current guidelines used in face design which permit coal to be left in situ for various purposes and discusses the strata control implications in extracting subsequent panels in the same and adjacent coal seams. The paper examines the application of strata mechanics to the design of longwall layouts for maximizing .the percentage of coal extraction. Remedial measures include optimizing pillar dimensions, reduction in roof coal left for support purposes by improving the use of available powered support technology and application of thick seam mining methods including sub-level caving and techniques of extracting coal from odd shaped pillars. Case studies are described where coal extraction has been maximized by adopting a new single heading retreat mining system; a shallow seam partial extraction system utilizing, existing heading machines and minimisin8 coal sterilization in pillars by replacing longwall access roadways by goaf scour.

Jan 1, 1984

By Reed S. C. Rogers, Robin P. Gardner, Kuruvilla Verghese

The development and use of short-lived radioactive tracer methods for the onstream determination of residence time distributions in large-scale ball mills is described. Tests are reported on a pilot-plant ball mill with 0.43 m diameter and 0.86 m length and on an industrial mill with 1.83 m diameter and 2.74 m length. Tests with different tracer feed sizes indicate that the residence time distributions on both mills are independent of charge particle size. Similar tests are planned for a large ball mill of 4.57 m diameter and 9.30 m length. No safety problems were encountered in these tests and none are anticipated in tests of the larger mill.

Jan 1, 1981

By George W. Maynard

IN the course of an examination of some of the California hydraulie mines in November last, I visited the property of the Gold Run Ditch and Mining Company, near Dutch Flat, Placer County. This is one of the most important and extensively worked mines in the district. The gold occurs in the characteristic blue gravel, which averages 175 feet in thickness, the lower 40-60 feet being made tip of cement gravel, which resists the action of water, and can only be loosened by blasting. The specimen which I have the pleasure of laying before the members was presented to me by Mr. I. L. Gould, the intelligent superintendent of the mines, who informs me that he found it in the old river channel, about twelve feet above the bedrock. The flattened water-worn nugget of gold, about the size of a kidney-bean, is imbedded in blue cement gravel, around which quartz has crystallized. When found the projecting portion of the nugget was enveloped in quartz, the core of gravel and gold having only been discovered after breaking the lump of quartz. On the quartz there is a shell of cement. The specimen is a remarkable confirmation of the theory of the deposition of quartz from solution. DISCUSSION. DR. T. STERRY HUNT, in commenting upon this occurrence, remarked that it is in accordance with what we already know of the recency of some of the quartz of this region, and cited the microscopic

Jan 1, 1880

By R. W. Smith, R. W. Lai

Very recently there has been a quickening of research effort in the field of silicate mineral flotation, particularly as regards the flotation of beryl.' These studies have already contributed much to the understanding of both anionic and cat-ionic flotation of silicates. Of particular interest concerning anionic flotation has been the work done on heavy metal activation of silicates by M. C. Fuerstenau and co-workers.4,7 In addition. in the paper by Fuerstenau, Rice, Somasundaran and Fuerstenau7 attention was paid to low pH anionic flotation of beryl in the absence of activators. This subject was also covered in the papers by Avotins,3

Jan 1, 1967