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By Chung Yu Wang

MINING ENGINEERING presents the fourth in a series of articles on strategic minerals. Preceding it are "Cobalt" in January, "Sulphur" in May, and "Nickel" in August. Here, an authority in the field analyzes the resources, production, uses, defense impact and future outlook of Tungsten

Jan 10, 1951

By M. J. Buerger

Possibly the most puzzling features observed during a single-crystal deformation test are the appearance of slip striae on the surface of the crystal and the strengthening of the specimen.' While the first phenomenon is mainly of theoretical interest, the latter is fundamental to all strain-hardening and cold-working processes in which the deformation occurs by translation. The plastic deformation of crystals has received considerable discussion2 and need not be reviewed here in any great detail. It has been observed, essentially, that after a certain amount of. initial stress is applied, the surface of the crystal becomes covered with sets of parallel striae or rings which appear to divide it into thin slabs or slip blocks.3 The striae are the traces of rational crystallographic planes along which shearing movements are localized, these movements providing the strain which accompanies stress applied beyond pure elasticity. As deformation under the applied stress proceeds the slip blocks shear past one another, although the essentially single-crystal character of the specimen is unimpaired. All of the shearing apparently takes place in the immediate vicinity of the original slip striae without the appearance of new planes of movement.4 Since each increment of strain is attended by an increased stress requirement to continue the deformation, the crystal strengthens during the process.

By T. Inoue, T. Imaizumi

A simulation model has been developed to find out the possibility of improving the industrial closed-circuit wet grinding operations. The model involves a continuous tumbling mill in combination with a hydrocyclone to recycle the oversize material back to the mill. The mill is described by the breakage, i.e. the selection and the distribution, functions, co-ordinated with the diffusional mixing along the axis. The cyclone classifier is characterized by the partition function with allowance for the non-selective separation of part of the feed material into the underflow. The computer program developed incorporates an interactive capability to modify the operating conditions of the system whenever needed. The results are analysed for the operational conditions characterizing the mill and the classifier. Besides the steady state conditions some observations are also made about the dynamic responses of the closed circuit grinding system.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. J. Bailey, R. C. Dean

Dr. Maurer has reviewed the large and confused field of rock mechanics and drilling. We have focused our attention on advance drilling and the disengagement of rock. To understand drilling in greater detail is certainly desirable, but such understanding does not necessarily hold any certain promise of near-term practical advancement. In the longer term, it is probably essential. Present work on drilling and our understanding of drilling falls roughly into three separate classes (and, indeed, these are in no way peculiar to drilling): 1) we have knowledge of certain (scientific) topics which seem to be relevant to the process, 2) we have knowledge of the drilling process in both qualitative and quantitative terms from observation of the actual process, and 3) we have certain modeling procedures, by which we bridge the gap between these two previous areas. The usefulness of our scientific knowledge depends critically upon this last item. In all our following remarks we shall consider only those problems of drilling and the disengagement of rock in which the rock behavior is essentially brittle. Let us start by examining some of the problems of constructing an even moderately detailed theoretical model of the drilling process in the small. The prospects of any near-term success in that direction seem extremely meagre; nor is it clear that any great advancement in the practical art of drilling is even likely to result from the construction of such a detailed model. On the other hand, as we shall suggest later, considera-

Jan 1, 1967

Report of Secretary TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS Gentlemen -I herewith present a report of some of the more important activities of the Institute for the year of 1922. The outstanding feature of the year is the optimism felt by our members despite the continued depression in the mining industry. January 1, 1921, found many of our members out of employment or drifting into other industries to tide them over the depression; but almost universally the feeling has been that this was but a temporary condition and that sooner or later the necessary production of raw materials would enable these members to return to their former activities and renew their participation in Institute affairs As the year passed conditions improved and, before it ended, many had found employment in their previous occupations. Bearing in mind that this depression has been very real, we have reason to be well satisfied with the work that the Institute has been able to do The loss of members through inability to pay dues has been large, and income has been correspondingly reduced, but it proved to be materially in excess of that anticipated early in the year, so that a substantial and unanticipated balance was carried forward toward the activities of 1923.

Jan 1, 1923

By G. F. Swindle

This paper discusses a Personal Computer (PC) software package that reduces the time required to evaluate a mineral reserve. It provides for: •Entry of borehole data onto PC diskettes and the creation of a borehole database; •Capture of map data using an attached X-Y digitizer; •Calculation of uniform square grids for thickness, mineral qualities, overburden ratio, etc., •Compilation of multiple such grids into a digital model, and iterative evaluation of the model with the user applying constraints and cut-off values; and • Graphic display of grid cells (blocks) showing which cells failed, and on which constraint(s), and a complete reserve report showing tonnages, averages, histograms, and quality arrays.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. N. Kust, J. C. Agarwal, H. E. Barner, N. Beecher, D. S. Davies

Kennecott Copper Corp. has developed a new hydro-metallurgical process for extracting nickel, copper, cobalt and molybdenum from manganese nodules. This process (KCC Cuprion Process) utilizes a reduction leach operating at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of 45°C to 50°C and has been successfully demonstrated in a continuous Pilot plant processing 350 kg/d of nodule ore. The chemistry, basic flowsheet and operating characteristics are presented and discussed.

Jan 12, 1979

By Stephen R. Holsinger

During 1972, Asarco's Silver Bell Unit embarked upon a project to test a digital computer-controlled grinding circuit against the performance of its other five grinding lines. The planning, implementation, and subsequent outcome of that project has been previously reported in a paper by Pitts 1, et al. This paper will describe the solutions to major problems incurred during the implementation of this control strategy on the remaining five primary grinding lines. Changes made in operating philosophy and methods during the expansion will also be discussed.

Jan 12, 1978

By J. C. Kerkering, J. C. Franklin, T. O. Meyer, R. W. McKibbin

A continuous survey of radon gas was made in two interconnecting stopes in a southwestern U. S. uranium mine to determine how the various phases of the mining cycle affected the radon concentration. The radon was monitored continuously with five detectors. One detector monitored the intake air, one the exhaust air, and three the stope air. The radon concentrations present during slushing, blasting, and exhaust fan shutoff were compared with concentrations on a nonwork day as a base level. Inside the stope, the radon concentration increased about 40% during slushing and 425% after blasting. Intake air radon increased 1600% and the stope air increased 550% while the surface exhaust fan was off.

Jan 1, 1979

By E. P. Pfleider, W. D. Lacabanne

Rotary percussive drilling, vibro-drilling, vibro-rotation drilling, rotary pulsating drilling-all names that mean the same thing-are gradually appearing in mining literature. What is rotary percussive drilling? It is a combined system superimposing a rapid percussive impact on a continuous rotary action in an attempt to utilize the most desirable features of both methods. At present single and multiple carriage-mounted rotary percussion units are being used in the European coal mining regions. One well engineered unit is the Hausherr "Albo" rotary percussive drill, utilizing two alternately operating percussion pistons, and another is the multiple-unit, jumbo-mounted Salzgitter machine. Niisse & Grafer also manufacture rotary percussion drills.

Sep 1, 1955

By Henry S. Brown, Jean E. Tilden

Pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite from deposits distributed within the Piedmont and Blue Ridge provinces of North Carolina and adjacent areas were examined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry for cobalt, nickel, manganese, lead, tin, chromium, molybdenum, and gold. The ore samples were also examined petrographically. Cobalt and nickel, in general, enter pyrite and pyrrhotite rather than chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Manganese generally enters sphalerite rather than the other phases where an alternative is possible. The presence of tin in sulfide minerals was noted in a group of deposits east of the known occurrences of tin oxide (cassiterite) in the Kings Mountain belt, which may indicate the presence of a more extensive tin belt in the southeastern Piedmont than was previously recognized. Pyrrhotite from a group of four deposits in Jackson and Clay Counties, North Carolina, differs from pyrrhotite from other Ducktown-type deposits in having cobalt/ nickel ratios less than one, finer grain sizes, and colloform texture. These differences suggest that that this group of deposits has had a history different from that of the other Ducktown-type deposits studied. No significant conclusions could be made based on the distribution of lead, chromium, molybdenum, or gold.

Jan 1, 1975

By E. Maltby Shipp

E. MALTBY SHIPP.-It was the intention of the Committee on Safety anti Sanitation to collect information and useful data from the companies having well-organized safety departments and print this in pamphlet form for distribution among the small companies that have no way of employing safety engineers nor have at their disposal these data. Consequently, I took these rules and the general data, especially the rules, went over them a great many times and tried to cut out whatever duplications appeared.

Jan 4, 1917

Stuart Manwaring Buck, a member of the Institute from the first year of its existence, and one of its Managers from 1883 to 1885, died at his home in Bramwell, West Va., on July 16, 1921, at the age of 79 years. He was the son of David and Matilda S. Ruck of Boston, and was educated at Williams College, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the School of Mines at Freiberg, Germany. Mr. Buck was one of the pioneers in the development of the coal fields of West Virginia. From 1872 to 1877 he was connected with the Kana-wha and Ohio Coal Co. as engineer and as lessor; from 1877 to 1888 he was general manager of the East Bank Coal and Coke Co.; from 1888

Jan 1, 1922

By Ch. J. Raub

A review will be given on the electrodeposition of Au, Ag and Pd and their technically important alloys focusing on recent work at the Forschungsinstitut. Special emphasis will be given to the influence of impurities on the behaviour of the electrolyte and the properties of the deposits, e.g. on resistance and on thermal and mechanical behaviour. The importance of C in gold and silver deposits and of H2 in Pd and its alloys at normal and high speed deposition rates will be discussed. Among Pd alloys attention will be focused on the Pd-Ni and Pd-Ni-Co systems. Comments will be made on deposition of Rh and Pt.

Jan 1, 1984

Stuart Manwaring Buck, a member of the Institute from the first year of its existence, and one of its Managers from 1883 to 1885, died at his home in Bramwell, West Va., on July 16, 1921, at the age of 79 years. He was the son of David and Matilda S. Ruck of Boston, and was educated at Williams College, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the School of Mines at Freiberg, Germany. Mr. Buck was one of the pioneers in the development of the coal fields of West Virginia. From 1872 to 1877 he was connected with the Kana-wha and Ohio Coal Co. as engineer and as lessor; from 1877 to 1888 he was general manager of the East Bank Coal and Coke Co.; from 1888

Jan 1, 1922

By Kevin B. Doyle

The export markets are of great importance to western Canadian sulfur producers, taking 70% of total products sold. For these marketers, Canadians have always supplied solid sulfur, first in a crushed, bulk form, and for the past several years in a slate form. Both form have proved inadequate for safety and environmental reasons, and new forms and processes have been developed by interested suppliers. The Canadian industry has evaluated these processes and ha made a determination of a desired Product specfication that will greatly enhance the acceptability of future Products from safety, environmental, and customer points of view. The new processed methods and resulting product characteristics are reviewed.

Jan 1, 1980

By William D. Schwab

In the technical literature of 1965 and 1966, there were several papers about future power for mining and construction equipment. Most of these papers made the same predictions: •More power •Better reliability and durability •Ease of service and maintenance •Operating economy •The possibility of future environmental concern •The entrance of the gas turbine In the five years that have since passed, some of the 1965-66 predictions have at least partially come true, while others have not been fully realized. Actually the list still appears sound today. Priorities may have changed and details may be different, but the main points cover the requirements for future prime movers quite well.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. M. Duncan, F. S. Kendorski, C. V. Jude

After shotcrete had been in use for a short time al the Climax Mine of the Climax Molybdenum Co., Climax, Colo., it was noted that regular longhole undercutting blasts would severely damage or detach slusher drift shotcrete linings. If this were to be a usual occurrence, the widespread application of shotcrete would have to be reexamined or abandoned. Concrete drift linings are affected less by blasting because of occasional significant gaps between the placed concrete and rock and the greater thickness of poured-in-place linings. Research Project Organized A research project was organized to determine: 1) the seriousness of the problem, 2) more complete in-use shotcrete strength data, and 3) possible solutions.

Jan 12, 1973

A regular feature of the December issue is to be abstracts of graduate theses in the mineral industry field presented during that year. The following abstracts were submitted for this first article in the series.

Jan 1, 1975

By Harry Perry

In the United States the state mining laws enacted in the late 1800s were the first laws to recognize that an employer had a responsibility to provide the employee a place to work that met at least some minimum safety standards. The coal mining industry was also the first major industry in the United States to be regulated in 1952 by federal safety laws, although federal inspectors had the right-of-entry as early as 1941. Within recent years, however, the Congress has enacted a number of federal safety regulations for a variety of industries, such as the Aviation Act (1958), National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Act (1966), National Gas Pipeline Act (1968), and Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act (1968). The fatality and injury experiences of the mining industry in the United States, while at a significantly higher rate than for industry as a whole, showed a continuous improvement until the last decade or two-at which time the rate leveled off. Although fatality and injury rates in foreign countries have been generally lower than in the United States, further improvement in those countries also has been difficult to achieve in recent years. It appears, therefore, that some major change in mining laws, combined with a radical improvement in mining technology and a more effective labor-management safety program, will be needed if further reductions are to be achieved in fatality and injury rates. At the same time, there is a growing awareness by society that an employee's place of work, where he spends nearly half of his waking hours, should be made as safe as possible. As increased consideration is given to means for achieving greater safety in all industrial situations, it is becoming apparent that more is required than merely providing physical safeguards on tools and machines. Rigorous, strictly enforced safety standards are useful, but more important is the desire of labor and management to make certain that industrial accidents are prevented. The pressure to achieve increased productivity, and thus receive higher wages, can be a significant deterrent to safe working practices. The temptation can be great to "take a chance" or "cut a corner" in order to speed up production. Public concern over all types of industrial safety in the United States was reflected by the introduction of a number of general occupational health and safety bills in Congress for the first time in 1968. While no legislation resulted, the hearings revealed that, although there were differences in how standards should be set and who should administer them, there was agreement on the need for adequate laws. Since the mining industry has been subject to safety standards longer than other industries, it is not surprising that advanced safety concepts for mining are being explored by the industry and the enforcing agencies. More complete and sophisticated accident reporting is being planned that will reveal the

Jan 1, 1976