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By H. Hance James

SOME of the outstanding features of petroleum production in Illinois during 1923 were: (1) Sustained production from the older wells, due to cleaning and deepening; (2) good results from new drilling in a few localities; (3) large percentage of dry holes, many of which were ill advised tests, with a resulting high cost of the new production; (4) decrease in the number of productive wells in the state; (5) low average price of crude petroleum, a serious factor over the entire country. FIG. 1.-ANNUAL TOTALS OF ILLINOIS PRODUCTION. The total production of Illinois for 1923 was 8,710,000 bbl.,1 a decrease of 7.2 per cent. from that of 1922. Of this amount, it is estimated that about 8,500,000 bbl. were produced by old wells, many of which had been cleaned and deepened somewhat, and approximately 210,000 bbl. were obtained from the new wells drilled during the year. About 95 per cent. of the oil comes from the southeastern field in Clark, Crawford, and Lawrence Counties, where production is almost entirely from Pennsylvanian and Mississippian rocks. Extensions of the productive area were made in Clark, Wabash, Marion, and Jackson Counties. Some important gas development has been accomplished near Jacksonville, in Morgan County, and at Gillespie, in Macoupin County.

Jan 3, 1924

By H. M. Rutherford

The reflection method in seismic prospecting has aroused much interest in the past few years. The purpose of the present paper is to present the method of reflections in the mapping of geologic structure and also to give some indication of its limitations. The reflection method is well adapted to the mapping of geologic structure in the Mid-Continent fields, and has been found most useful there. The refraction method is ideally suited to the finding of structures, such as domes, where the amount of relief is very large. This explains the brilliant success of the refraction method in the Gulf Coastal region of Texas and Louisiana. The additional fact that salt has a much higher velocity than the surrounding sediments made their discovery much easier. By the use of the reflection method, differences of relief of 25 to 50 ft. to the mile may be detected at a depth of 5000 ft., and the depth points accurately plotted on a map. This is hardly possible by the use of the refraction method. The reflection method has been in almost continuous use in the Mid-Continent area since 1926, but very little, if anything, has been published until recently'(7) † regarding either the method or the results. The discovery of several oil fields is now attributed to the use of the reflection method. Reflection methods have been used by the Germans to find the thickness of the ice of several glaciers. (2,8) The depths there considered were of the order of only a few hundred feet. For the method to be of any practical value in this country, it must be able to work to depths of several thousand feet. As was indicated above, this is now possible, though there are many problems connected with the reflection method yet to be solved. The refraction method requires that the shooting be done over long ranges. It was necessary, for example, to take distances out to several miles in order to penetrate some five thousand feet. Naturally this uses a good deal of dynamite. In the reflection method the distances are much shorter and the amounts of dynamite are much smaller, within limits which will be noted below. The chief distinction between refraction and reflection methods is to be found in the analysis of the seismo-gram. Refraction shooting makes use of only the first arrival of energy

Jan 1, 1934

By Paul Billingsley, Augustus Locke

The mining districts of the first order' of the western United States (and borders) are those named on Fig. 1. These fall into four groups: (1) in the eastern outliers of the Rocky Mountain system; (2) in the Rocky Mountain system itself; (3) in the Great Basin; and (4) in the Sierras and Coast ranges. Of these four groups, the first three are almost entirely of Tertiary age and are within a belt of compressive folding which we shall call the Rocky Mountain-Great Basin thrust arc. The backbone of this belt is shown by the line BAC. The position of the ore districts in this belt indicates a conformance to linear elements of the continental pattern. These are additional to the peripheral elements emphasized by Butler.2 Nature of the Thrust Arc The thrust arc separates regions of contrasted kinds. To the east of it are flat-lying plateaus interrupted by earlier mountain folds; to the west, sunken basins, in which block-faulted ranges lie like an anchored fleet in a sea of desert wash or lava. The. cross-sections are as shown in Fig. 2. The backbone of the belt is the upward and eastward moving block represented by the Glacier Park, the Wasatch, and the Virgin mountains, successively. The structure represented on these sections is the culmination of events which began far back in geologic time and throughout which a contrast has existed between the regions east and west of the backbone line. Before the Pennsylvanian, as Fig. 3 shows, there was a shallow shelf on the east and a deep marine trough on the west; after

Jan 1, 1935

By Paul Billingsley, Augustus Locke

The mining districts of the first order' of the western United States (and borders) are those named on Fig. 1. These fall into four groups: (1) in the eastern outliers of the Rocky Mountain system; (2) in the Rocky Mountain system itself; (3) in the Great Basin; and (4) in the Sierras and Coast ranges. Of these four groups, the first three are almost entirely of Tertiary age and are within a belt of compressive folding which we shall call the Rocky Mountain-Great Basin thrust arc. The backbone of this belt is shown by the line BAC. The position of the ore districts in this belt indicates a conformance to linear elements of the continental pattern. These are additional to the peripheral elements emphasized by Butler.2 Nature of the Thrust Arc The thrust arc separates regions of contrasted kinds. To the east of it are flat-lying plateaus interrupted by earlier mountain folds; to the west, sunken basins, in which block-faulted ranges lie like an anchored fleet in a sea of desert wash or lava. The. cross-sections are as shown in Fig. 2. The backbone of the belt is the upward and eastward moving block represented by the Glacier Park, the Wasatch, and the Virgin mountains, successively. The structure represented on these sections is the culmination of events which began far back in geologic time and throughout which a contrast has existed between the regions east and west of the backbone line. Before the Pennsylvanian, as Fig. 3 shows, there was a shallow shelf on the east and a deep marine trough on the west; after

Jan 1, 1935

The mining districts of the first order' of the western United States (and borders) are those named on Fig. 1. These fall into four groups: (1) in the eastern outliers of the Rocky Mountain system; (2) in the Rocky Mountain system itself; (3) in the Great Basin; and (4) in the Sierras and Coast ranges. Of these four groups, the first three are almost entirely of Tertiary age and are within a belt of compressive folding which we shall call the Rocky Mountain-Great Basin thrust arc. The backbone of this belt is shown by the line BAC. The position of the ore districts in this belt indicates a conformance to linear elements of the continental pattern. These are additional to the peripheral elements emphasized by Butler.2 Nature of the Thrust Arc The thrust arc separates regions of contrasted kinds. To the east of it are flat-lying plateaus interrupted by earlier mountain folds; to the west, sunken basins, in which block-faulted ranges lie like an anchored fleet in a sea of desert wash or lava. The. cross-sections are as shown in Fig. 2. The backbone of the belt is the upward and eastward moving block represented by the Glacier Park, the Wasatch, and the Virgin mountains, successively. The structure represented on these sections is the culmination of events which began far back in geologic time and throughout which a contrast has existed between the regions east and west of the backbone line. Before the Pennsylvanian, as Fig. 3 shows, there was a shallow shelf on the east and a deep marine trough on the west; after

Jan 1, 1935

By Augustus Locke, Paul Billingsley

The mining districts of the first order' of the western United States (and borders) are those named on Fig. 1. These fall into four groups: (1) in the eastern outliers of the Rocky Mountain system; (2) in the Rocky Mountain system itself; (3) in the Great Basin; and (4) in the Sierras and Coast ranges. Of these four groups, the first three are almost entirely of Tertiary age and are within a belt of compressive folding which we shall call the Rocky Mountain-Great Basin thrust arc. The backbone of this belt is shown by the line BAC. The position of the ore districts in this belt indicates a conformance to linear elements of the continental pattern. These are additional to the peripheral elements emphasized by Butler.2 Nature of the Thrust Arc The thrust arc separates regions of contrasted kinds. To the east of it are flat-lying plateaus interrupted by earlier mountain folds; to the west, sunken basins, in which block-faulted ranges lie like an anchored fleet in a sea of desert wash or lava. The. cross-sections are as shown in Fig. 2. The backbone of the belt is the upward and eastward moving block represented by the Glacier Park, the Wasatch, and the Virgin mountains, successively. The structure represented on these sections is the culmination of events which began far back in geologic time and throughout which a contrast has existed between the regions east and west of the backbone line. Before the Pennsylvanian, as Fig. 3 shows, there was a shallow shelf on the east and a deep marine trough on the west; after

Jan 1, 1935

By Orson Shepard

TEXTBOOKS on fire assaying list the following standard methods of assaying sulphide ores: (1) scorification, (2) litharge-niter, (3) soda-iron, (4) roasting, (5) combination wet and fire. The litharge-niter method has proved the most satisfactory, and is the usual method for assaying sulphide ores and concentrates. It gives good results when suitably conducted and when lead buttons of uniform size are produced so that the cupellation temperature can be properly controlled. The main objection to the method is the inconvenience of determining the amount of niter to add to each assay charge to produce lead buttons of suitable size from a set of fusions. For the assay of different materials, the niter requirement varies with the particular sulphide minerals present, the amount of sulphide minerals present, the slag composition, and the rate of heating the charge in the furnace. Except for some materials, so uniform in composition that the same amount of niter can be used in assaying all samples, the amount of niter must be determined for each sample to be assayed. This is done by either: (1) calculation from an estimate of the kind and amount of sul-phide minerals present in the sample, or (2) a preliminary fusion. Some assayers use one method and some the other. The estimation method takes the least time; but much experience is required to obtain close estimates on a wide variety of materials. At best, the sizes of the lead buttons obtained vary considerably. The preliminary fusion method usually gives lead buttons of fairly uniform size, although sometimes there is a variation because the oxidizing power of niter varies a little with the charge. This variation can be eliminated by two preliminary fusions: one to determine the reducing power of the ore, and the other to determine the oxidizing power of niter in the charge. The objection to the prelimi-nary fusion is the extra time and expense involved.

Jan 1, 1939

By Evan Just

Government aid, regulation, and participation in the mineral industry are not new; they date back to the time when man first adopted communal living. Even in primitive tribal life, the obtaining of arrowhead or ceramic materials, washing of gold, or mining of copper were specialized activities, under tribal sponsorship. Later, when kingdoms, dynasties, and hierarchies developed, titles to mining properties were held by the sovereign or the state, work usually being done by slaves. Title acquisition through denouncement developed in Europe in the late Middle Ages and spread to the Western Hemisphere with the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Denouncements still recognized the rights of the sovereign in the requirement to pay royalties, which practice continues in many places today. Thus, anyone who views government participation in mineral activity as "encroachment" has no historical perspective. Only in a few countries and for a few generations have private interests enjoyed the right to exploit mineral deposits without the specific consent of the sovereign or without payment of royalty. Governments and the mineral industry have been linked together by other factors. Governments have had special interest in metals and minerals as stores of value and for armaments. Spanish conquests in the New World were energized by the lure of gold and silver. Pursuit of gold led to the American seizure of California in the days of the Forty-niners. The strategic importance of minerals in our own times has called for special steps to stimulate production in national emergencies and to prevent the enemy from acquiring mineral supplies. Our export controls to deny certain minerals to unfriendly countries, purchases for Government stockpile, and subsidies for domestic production are examples. Production regulation by state governments of oil and gas has become a well established routine. In brief, the mineral industry has never lacked aid, regulation, and participation by governments. The entrepreneur who wishes to explore for or develop minerals must deal with governments in most areas before he can begin, because mineral rights are reserved by them. He can proceed through discovery and de-

Jan 1, 1964

By R. C. Rastogi, F. F. Aplan

The goal of this study is to evaluate the coal flotation process and the interaction of the chemical (reagent) and hydrodynamic (machine, operational) variables as they affect yield, flotation of various sized particles, and sulfur and ash rejection. Coal flotation is found to follow a first order process with the coal floating much faster than either pyrite or ash. This circumstance may be used to achieve gangue rejection during flotation. When floated with MZBC, cresol, or pine oil frothers, coal floats in the size sequence: 108 pm ( - 65 mesh), 589 x 808 pm (88 x 65 mesh), and 1.17 mm x: 589 pm (14 x 18 mesh). However with a substantial amount of fuel oil collector, all particles tend to float roughly in proportion to their content in the feed. An increasing aeration rate was found to be the most important variable in increasing the coal flotation rate. This increase in flotation rate, unfortunately, is also accompanied by an increase in the flotation rate of the pyrite. The rejection of pyrite during coal flotation is best accomplished at low aeration rates, low frother concentrations, and low impeller speeds.

Jan 1, 1986

By Alvin H. Lense

In the spring of 1967, after a careful study of existing geology along the Pacific Coast including Alaska, the USBM, in conjunction with the USGS, decided that the offshore area around Nome, Alaska, presented an unparalleled land-to-sea comparison site for the evaluation of marine core drilling techniques and sampling equipment. Considering the geological evidence available and the production history of the Nome Beaches (5-6 million oz. of gold recovered), it appeared likely that gold in commercial quantities could occur in the offshore area. A 180 sq mi area of Norton Sound, extending roughly 14 miles to the east and west of Nome and averaging 6 miles to the south, was tested by approximately 530 line-miles of sub-bottom profiling. A total of 4043 ft (56 holes) were drilled in unconsolidated sediments, yielding mixtures of gravel, sand, silt and clay. Of the total holes drilled, 16 went to bedrock and six were terminated short of their intended depths due to boulders which halted penetration, or rough seas which caused the ship to move as the anchors slipped over hard sea-floor surface. The rest of the holes were terminated when the penetrative capabilities of the drills were reached, or when the required amount of geological data were attained.

Jan 8, 1968

By L. G. Graper, E. L. Ramsey

The present program of increased production of armament and lend-lease material for mechanized war has created a problem for the shops that must do the machining. They have naturally turned to the steel producers to provide them with a steel that can be accurately machined with the greatest possible speed. The adding of sulphur to steel as an aid to machinability has long been practiced; however, it may cause red shortness in rolling and may result in billets with seams and cracks, which must be removed before rolling can be continued. This conditioning of billets slows down production and adds to the cost of making steel. Experience with various grades of sulphur steel made to different specifications has shown that Bessemer sulphur steels roll better than similar grades made in the open hearth, and also that low-carbon steels that are open or semikilled as tapped roll better than completely deoxidized or killed steels. This has led to the belief that oxygen plays an important part in the rolling qualities of sulphur-bearing steels. It is generally held that the red shortness of sulphur steels is due to the low melting point of the sulphide compounds that separate out at the grain boundaries when the steel solidifies. At the rolling temperature of steel these sulphide compounds melt and cause cracking. Adding Sulphur as a Sulphite These difficulties can be avoided if sulphur is introduced into the stecl by means of an anhydrous sulphite, such as sodium sulphite or sodium bisulphite, which—upon decomposition—forms sulphur dioxide. It is assumed that, in this case, the oxygen of the sulphur dioxide forms part of the sulphide inclusions in the steel, and raises their solidification temperature enough so that the formation in the steel of a low-melting eutectic is prevented. The result is the prevention of hot shortness and a more uniform distribution of inclusions. Fig. I shows photomicrographs of steels made with sulphur, while Fig. 2 illustrates the structure of steels made with sodium bisulphite. These samples were cut from the steels as cast—that is, before rolling— and were polished and lightly etched to bring out the grain boundaries. Fig. I shows that sulphide inclusions segregate more or less at the grain boundaries, and it can be seen how the continuity of these low-melting inclusions would cause red shortness. Fig. 2 shows that the sulphide inclusions arc more or less uniformly distributed throughout the matrix. This arrangement of inclusions has no apparent effect on the rolling qualities of a steel. This statement has been substantiated by the observation of the rolling of over 6000 tons of steel made with a sulphite addition. Results As stated before, the sulphur dioxide is added to steel by means of the decomposi- 27

Jan 1, 1942

By George Smith

IN discussing present-day business and industrial troubles we easily drop into the habit of clinical diagnosis. Talk of this kind, with its emphasis on suspicious symptoms and abnormal tendencies, makes us all morbid. As an English essayist has put it, we may thus induce a melancholy, temper that simply in-vites the ministrations of social and political quacks. It is far better-because nearer the truth-for us to recognize that our condition is in no sense diseased, that our body politic, social and economic, is suffering merely from growing pains; that America is not de-cadent-indeed, that any lapses from staid normality are traceable to the, excesses of youth. Our chief .trouble, then, is only that our industrial state is still young; it may be that we have been growing too fast. The growth in the industrial development of our country from pioneer days to the present time has been marvelous. Too many of us, however, take all this as a matter of course-we credit this record of American progress to our American genius alone. Too often we overlook the fundamental relationship between resources and progress-that man is aided and even guided by Nature. The fact is, social advance, indus-trial progress, national prosperity all have their ma-terial basis in natural resources. In furnishing the needed mineral raw materials to the great manufac-turing industries of the United States there has been no halt, but rather a general acceleration. No other phase of American activity can show-equal advance. As the decades have passed, the winning of mineral wealth has progressed from the role of a stimulus for western exploration to that of the foundation for nation-wide business. In 1890 the Sherman law was passed; since then the population of the United States has about doubled. Since then, too, thevalue of the annual product of the mines of this country has increased better than eight-fold-from 650 millions to 51/ billions of dollars. Since then the four largest branches of the mineral industry, which supply the iron and copper, the bituminous coal and petroleum-the bone and sinew and the energy of all other American industries-have increased their annual output nearly ten-fold as to value and six-fold as to quantity. Such a growth in the volume of mineral output must be taken as a true measure of the ex-ceptional service rendered by the mines of the United States. Not only is this a much larger country than it was 38 years ago, but its growing mineral industry has met demands that have been out of all proportion to the growth of the population.

Jan 8, 1928

By L. G. Graper, E. L. Ramsey

The present program of increased production of armament and lend-lease material for mechanized war has created a problem for the shops that must do the machining. They have naturally turned to the steel producers to provide them with a steel that can be accurately machined with the greatest possible speed. The adding of sulphur to steel as an aid to machinability has long been practiced; however, it may cause red shortness in rolling and may result in billets with seams and cracks, which must be removed before rolling can be continued. This conditioning of billets slows down production and adds to the cost of making steel. Experience with various grades of sulphur steel made to different specifications has shown that Bessemer sulphur steels roll better than similar grades made in the open hearth, and also that low-carbon steels that are open or semikilled as tapped roll better than completely deoxidized or killed steels. This has led to the belief that oxygen plays an important part in the rolling qualities of sulphur-bearing steels. It is generally held that the red shortness of sulphur steels is due to the low melting point of the sulphide compounds that separate out at the grain boundaries when the steel solidifies. At the rolling temperature of steel these sulphide compounds melt and cause cracking. Adding Sulphur as a Sulphite These difficulties can be avoided if sulphur is introduced into the stecl by means of an anhydrous sulphite, such as sodium sulphite or sodium bisulphite, which—upon decomposition—forms sulphur dioxide. It is assumed that, in this case, the oxygen of the sulphur dioxide forms part of the sulphide inclusions in the steel, and raises their solidification temperature enough so that the formation in the steel of a low-melting eutectic is prevented. The result is the prevention of hot shortness and a more uniform distribution of inclusions. Fig. I shows photomicrographs of steels made with sulphur, while Fig. 2 illustrates the structure of steels made with sodium bisulphite. These samples were cut from the steels as cast—that is, before rolling— and were polished and lightly etched to bring out the grain boundaries. Fig. I shows that sulphide inclusions segregate more or less at the grain boundaries, and it can be seen how the continuity of these low-melting inclusions would cause red shortness. Fig. 2 shows that the sulphide inclusions arc more or less uniformly distributed throughout the matrix. This arrangement of inclusions has no apparent effect on the rolling qualities of a steel. This statement has been substantiated by the observation of the rolling of over 6000 tons of steel made with a sulphite addition. Results As stated before, the sulphur dioxide is added to steel by means of the decomposi- 27

Jan 1, 1942

By Harry Warren

THE Geology Department of the. University of British Columbia has undertaken the task of examining the ores from as many as possible of the gold mines of British Columbia. The object of this work is two-fold. First, it is known that detailed mineralographic studies are useful in attacking ore-dressing problems, and these studies are intended to be helpful to mill operators. Second, it is hoped that mineralogical and mineralographical studies will prove useful adjuncts to those of lithology and structure in throwing more light on problems related to the origin of the deposits. The paper shows that gold, for all practical purposes, is not present in an ore mineral in solid solution nor as a eutectic with any mineral; if the latter were true the gold particles would be distributed equally throughout that mineral. The gold occurs either as native gold or as a gold-silver telluride and is not distributed regularly through any mineral or minerals: The relationship between the gold or gold-bearing telluride and the associated minerals affords a means of classification that is not only simple but also appears to be directly related to the geological nature of the deposit, which may be summarized as follows: 1. Disseminated Gold Type. ;-Precious minerals in extremely small grains, which are distributed without regard to grain size, fractures or grain boundaries: (1) Hedley variety-gold in native form; (2) Surf Point variety-gold predominantly as telluride. 2. Veining Gold Type.-Precious minerals in grains of various sizes, which occur mainly along fractures and grain boundaries: (1) Cariboo gold quartz-gold in native form. (2) Waneta variety-gold as telluride.

Jan 1, 1937

By John F. Allan

This paper does not pretend to advance any facts or improvements not known to many members of the Institute, but is intended merely to give a few practical hints on preliminary tests, and to call attention to a possible enlarged field for the cyanide process in the treatment of some silver-ores, which merits investigation. Broadly considered, the choice of a process for the treatment of silver-ores in Mexico is confined to the following alternatives: (1) Concentration for treatment by smelting; (2) milling and pan-amalgamation; (3) the patio and Ortega process; [4) chloridizing roast and lixiviation; (5) chloridizing roast and cyaniding; and (6) cyaniding of the crude ore. These methods of treatment may also be combined, and cyaniding or concentration, or both, may be introduced, at what-ever stage it is found to be most advantageous. The characteristics of the ore (especially its gold-content) and local conditions, such as distance from railway, cost of fuel, amount of water available, vary so much that it is impossible to make general comparisons between the different processes, either as to extraction or cost. Concentration and subsequent smelting may be made very expensive by long-distance transportation of concentrates; pan-amalgamation is undoubtedly expensive; and the patio process is barred when the ore contains appreciable amounts of gold, by reason of its poor extraction of that metal; yet there are many ores for which each of these processes is especially adapted, and the expense of treatment is compensated by the results obtained.

Jan 1, 1905

By HENRY JULLUM

THE ARGONAUT' mill stands at the crest and spreads down the western slope' of a hill, which incidentally covers the' outcrop of the Argonaut vein' at this point. The collar of the main shaft of the mine is situated on the eastern slope of the same hill 120 ft. below the highest ?point. The present mill, built in 1916, was designed to treat 250 tons per 24-hr. day. This capacity has not been attained recently owing to the inability of the mine to produce enough ore while extensive development and underground construction were under way. At present, however, the mine is more than able to take care of the mill requirements.

Jan 1, 1932

By P. J. Carroll, H. Colijn

Feeders must be considered an integral part of the over-all bin and feeder system. Improper design of either one of these parts will affect the performance of the whole system. Feeder load, material properties, feed rate, physical layout, and environment as well as first cost determine the selection of feeder type. This paper provides a new method of calculating feeder loads with some experimental data as verification. General design criteria for belt and apron feeder, rotary table and plow feeders are discussed and a special section is devoted to vibratory feeders. Feeders are used to provide a means of control for the withdrawal of bulk materials from storage units such as bins, bunkers, silos and hoppers. This control function can only be performed properly as long as the bulk materials flow by gravity to the feeder in a uniform and uninterrupted fashion. During the past few years various papers have been written and presented on feeders and their application.1-9 This paper will be confined to some specific bin-feeder design criteria such as feeder load and power requirements. Special attention is given to the basic design criteria for vibratory feeders. HOPPER AND BIN DESIGN Feeders must be considered an integral part of the over-all bin and feeder system. Improper design of either one of these parts will affect the performance of the whole system. A lot of effort has been devoted in the past decade to the development of functional design criteria for hoppers and bins.1,10 The integrated concept of bin and feeder design requires quantitative analysis of the bulk material characteristics before the design and the selection of components can be attempted. The design of a feeder system must begin with the proper dimensioning of the hopper outlet to prevent arching or ratholing. The hopper opening should be large enough to allow passage of the bulk solid at the required maximum discharge rate." A feeder can only throttle the flow. FEEDER LOAD DETERMINATION Over the past ten years, there have been various attempts to determine the exact load or pressure on feeders mounted directly under hopper openings. Many designers, however, still consider this pressure equal to the hydrostatic head of material above the opening, and because such pressure would be very

Jan 1, 1969

By D. M. Jamieson, M. P. Pearse, E. R. A. Plumstead

In 1948 the shaft sinking record in the Republic of South Africa was held by the Van Dyk Consolidated Mines Ltd. for a ventilation shaft with a footage of 461 ft sunk during the month of August 1941. This record remained for some ten years; but in the ensuing nine years it was broken no less than 13 times. Table I gives shaft sinking records throughout the world for the 21 years, 1940 to 1960. History shows that the wide, deep, timbered rectangular shaft had passed its peak of popularity by 1948, although it still had a great deal to commend it, both from the sinking and operational points of view. In sinking, it is easy to clean manually, and water can be handled by bailing when wet ground has to be negotiated; its shape also lends itself to equipping concurrently with sinking. In operation it provides the most convenient "in line" hoisting arrangement, and if the ventilation requirements so demand, it offers the simplest solution in that it can be divided into upcast and downcast sections. Furthermore, in the case of a multi-level mine, the shaft compartments can be reduced conveniently if the full area of the shaft is not required to serve all levels.

Jan 4, 1963