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By J. F. Myers

A bit of old philosophy: The optimist, the pessimist, The difference is droll; The optimist, the doughnut sees, The pessimist, the hole. This is a neat summation of the viewpoint of those engaged in "treating the crude mineral crust of the earth." Many of those in high places have reminded us during the year of the diminishing supply of the resources so essen-

Jan 1, 1948

By Harlowe Hardinge

AN extensive recent trip throughout the mining districts of the Southwest, Central West, an Northwest,' reveals a numbes of interesting conditions that have influenced operators, in both large and small mills, to modify their flow sheets insofar as they pertain to crushing and grinding. The changes made and planned for the future should be of interest. It is interesting to note when traveling through the country, how ideas change and practice is modified, and it is rather amusing to see how milling methods seem to run, more or less, in cycles. New ideas and developments are brought about which run through the industry and are taken up by many of the best and most well informed operators. Some of them will change, sooner or later, back to their old practice; for, like everything .else, what will work well in one place will not necessarily be suited to another. On the other hand, it is often difficult to establish. other practices known to be of value, owing to the natural resistance to make a change, but on the whole, the western mill men seem to be more alive to possible benefits of various modifications than any other engineers with whom I have come in contact in all parts of the world. Mill men in other parts of the world always keep in con- tact with what is being done in the western part of the United States, but it does not necessarily follow that those in the western part of the United States are always right. Some of these changes that have been made and afterward abandoned will be referred to later.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

A PERIOD of business depression and falling prices always raises questions as to the possible responsibility of the monetary or banking system. This is natural enough, for it is agreed that the supply of money or credit is a very important factor in modern business and in prices. However, it is far from being the only important factor. One of the chief merits of the gold standard is that under its workings the supply of currency and credit is regulated automatically to the masimun extent, in- stead of by the control of any arbitrary authority. The supply of new gold comes from the mines, and mining is free. It is distributed among the countries by the currents of trade and the play of economic forces, with the general result that the distribution tends to be in accordance with the economic development of the countries and their ability to use it or command it. Inasmuch as the accumulated stock of monetary gold is very large in comparison with the annual additions, the total avail- able supply changes but little from year to year, and it may be assumed that price-changes that are properly chargeable to gold will take place gradually rather than suddenly.

Jan 1, 1930

By S. S. Arentz

An organized safety program has reduced accidents at Pioche because effort is first devoted to arousing and maintaining interest in safety, followed by training in accident prevention, assigning responsibility for the detection and removal of safety hazards, and finally, by keeping score through an adequate system of records. A health program is intergrated with the safety program.

Jan 1, 1950

By Clyde E. Williams, V. N. Krivobok, C. H. Herty

THE extreme effect of the depression on the steel industry is well illustrated by the fact that the amount of iron ore shipped from the Lake Superior district was the lowest in 47 years. Something over 3 1/2 million tons of ore was shipped in 1932, compared with over 65 million tons in 1929. It is not surprising then that practically no advancement in iron ore beneficiation has been made. Improved research and development work, however, was continued at the Michigan College of Mines in the survey of the lean iron ores of Michigan with reference to the possibility of their concentration; at the University of Minnesota in its large-scale jigging studies of Lake :Superior ores; and at Battelle Memorial Institute in the development of improved jigging of iron ores. The successful operation of the new Hadsel mill at a gold property in California gave such low grinding costs on a quartz ore as to give much encouragement in the iron ore industry for a cheapening of the cost of grinding lean ores for concentration.

Jan 1, 1933

By H. W. Gillett

MAINTENANCE of membership by the technical so¬cieties and the activity of these societies in spite of the adverse business situation have been noteworthy. This forcibly brings home the fact that industry recognizes that sound technical guidance is well worth its cost. The numerous difficulties and losses due to defects of various kinds arising from gas-metal reactions are now generally recognized and interest in these problems is widespread. The forthcoming A. I. M. E. round-table discussion of gas-metal problems will do much to clarify the situation and will permit us to assay our present knowledge and to suggest the proper direction for profitable future research. "The Age Hardening of Metal" was the title of the annual I. M. D. lecture delivered by Dr. Paul D. Merica. A critical review of the known facts relating to age-hardening phenomena was first given, followed by the presentation of a theory correlating the detailed observations which have been made regarding the mechanism of the hardening.

Jan 1, 1933

By H. J. Wasson

WITH the close of 1932 and the third year of the depression, the activity of oil production presents, amidst the general wreckage and chaos of industrial society, a somewhat unique picture of rationalized economic effort. East Texas still dominates the contemporary horizon, but it has become, at least for the time being, a definitely known factor. With its 9500 wells it is approximately 90 per cent drilled up. So long as production control obtains, it is merely one important factor of the national oil reserve. Each succeeding month of stabilized production tends to lull the industry's fears and the menace, both actual and psychological, of this giant field becomes ever more remote.

Jan 1, 1933

By Charles Y. Clayton

THE general public does not know that there is such a thing as metallurgy and it is very seldom that you see the word metallurgy in print except in technical magazines. Perhaps it is more to the front now than in former years; the Dee. 30, 1929, issue of Time mentioned under the heading of "Science7' certain new achievements in metallurgy, which may be cited as a rare instance of the use of the word in anything but the technical press. Too often the part the metallurgist plays in the advancement of the different branches of engineering is overlooked. To say that the public does not know there is such a profession as metallurgical engineering seems to be a bold statement, but had there beep time a questionnaire could have proved this beyond doubt. Suppose a carefully-planned questionnaire had been sent to all high school students asking them, among other questions, to list the different branches of engineering, I believe that the several professions would have been listed in this manner: (1) Electrical engineering; (2) mechanical; (3) civil, and (4)' mining. One in each hundred might have listed metallurgy as an engineering profession. Even the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education in its Bulletin No. 10-"Investigation of Engineering Education" lists Civil, Mining, Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical, leaving out Metallurgical Engineering.

Jan 1, 1930

By R. Dawson Hall

WHAT are the opportunities for the services of engineers in the coal mines? The best answer perhaps can be made by detailing the present lines of development in the bituminous coal mining regions. They are just at the beginning of a period that can be conservatively termed revolutionary. A few glimpses of new possibilities in economic mining that will reduce the cost of bituminous coal at the mines by at least one half have convinced almost everyone that a change must shortly come about. The cost of housing has become such a burden, especially in mountainous regions, that development which demands the hiring of more men and constructing more houses would not be profitable. The introduction of mechanical aids to mining, transportation and dumping suggests a way of obtaining a large tonnage with the same or a smaller number of men with no further house construction. At the same time the restriction of immigration has made it increasingly difficult to obtain men inured to hard labor. Modern civilization is not productive of muscular energy and at the same time it provides men who are not indisposed to the use of the mental effort required to direct the physical forces now available for the replacement of such energy.

Jan 1, 1924

By James Bowron

CONSIDERING the importance of the steel trade and the strategic position occupied in it by the Birmingham District, it may be surprising to many to realize that even the first pig iron smelted with coke was made in Alabama on Feb. 28, 1876, although merchant pig iron had been produced in Rockwood, Tenn., in 1867, a plant which is still in active operation. The heavy deposit of Clinton ore extending from Pennsylvania into Alabama, varying greatly in accessibility on account of geological changes such as erosion or anticlinal upthrow, varies equally as much in thickness and in quality. The brown ores extensively scattered through the South also vary materially in quality, some being relatively low in phosphorus and high in manganese, and vice versa. The red ore varies materially in phosphorus, but the iron produced from these ores was always considered to be too high in phosphorus for treatment by acid Bessemer or open hearth and did not contain sufficient for the basic Bessemer process. Under these conditions there remained only the basic open hearth as a possibility, and for many years it appeared impossible to use it, because, with coke smelted iron, the silicon was too high to permit its use in basic lined furnaces.

Jan 1, 1924

"INTRODUCTION In recent years, there has been increasing focus on environmental and social impacts of the extractive industries, climate change and resource scarcity. The concept of the circular economy aims to replaces the “take-make-dispose” economic model with one that eliminates waste of all kinds and is restorative by design. Such closed-loop systems implicitly aim to reduce the quantity of primary extracted materials entering the economy, thereby affecting supply and demand dynamics, hence mining industry economics. For the metals industry, the ability to engage in, or adapt to the circular economy can be heavily affected by industry structure and geographical factors. Eco-efficiency initiatives that reduce waste and environmental impact may help the mining and metals industry align with some of the goals of the circular economy. This paper focuses on base metals, and explores case studies in copper, lead and zinc. It analyzes primary and secondary metal production, and recycling. It examines company structures and how these affect engagement with the circular economy. CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRINCIPLES Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2012) describes the circular economy as “an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design”, which “replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with restoration”, and “aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, systems, and, within this, business models”. The concept is systems focused. For materials such as metals, a series of loops are considered, including maintenance of devices, reuse, refurbishment and recycling. Potential methodologies to achieve circular economy outcomes include disassembly and reassembly of manufactured goods, leasing rather than buying major appliances, and converting to renewable energy sources. The circular economy is partially aligned with the principles of eco-efficiency, which relate to reducing the environmental impact per unit of a material produced. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY METAL PRODUCTION Base metals (copper, lead, zinc and nickel) are essential ingredients in modern economies and are key commodities produced by the global mining industry. Metal production can be categorized as primary or secondary. Primary metal comes from the processing, smelting and refining of metal content extracted from ores, while secondary production comes from metals recovered from recycled streams (e.g. recycled lead-acid batteries, copper wire scrap, etc.). Metals are stored in natural, anthropogenic in-use and anthropogenic waste stocks. An example of the stocks, flows and processes associated with global copper extraction and use is shown in Figure 1."

Jan 1, 2018

By B. R. Richards, B. G. W. Robinson

"This paper shows how metal values can be profitably won from a comparatively small and remotely located but high-grade orebody. To do so is not uractical for a large mining company, with its necessarily high overhead of services and organization essential to a large producer.To evaluate, develop and profitably exploit a limited but defined ore deposit becomes only a problem of determining the dollars required to win the dollars available. This paper will record how this was carried out during 1965 and at the same time describe the history, development and production plant of this property."

Jan 1, 1966

By M. W. BERNEWITZ

IT is 27 years since I last visited Broken Hill, New South Wales, one of the world's greatest lead-silver-zinc districts. Then, the flota¬tion of ores was in its infancy. The Minerals Separation process had its birth as a practicability in the Central Mill, which is still operating and yielding high recoveries. The average Australian knows that Broken Hill is an important mining center in a "corner" of New South Wales, but he does not know what a factor it is in the lead, silver, and zinc production of the world. Nor does he realize that among the ramifications arising from metal production at Broken Hill are the great lead smelter at Port Pirie, South Australia, 254 miles southeast; the electrolytic zinc works at Risdon, and the limestone mine at Davenport, Tasmania; the acid works at Cockle Creek, New

Jan 1, 1935

By James D. Hall

THE Dome ore-bodies are more or less isolated and are mined. by shrinkage stoping. An interwoven system of veins is mined at Hollinger '.1.nd requires close filling. Deep mining is the problem at McIntyre. Dome ore contains a large amount of free gold, which is recovered on blankets. An all-cyanide flow-sheet is \lSed in the Hollinger mill. Flotation concentration is an important feature of McIntyre mill operation. Therefore, these three mines afford an unusual opportunity to compare gold mining and milling methods. The purpose of this paper is to describe the conditions existing at the Dome, Hollinger, and McIntyre mines and to outline the mining and milling practice at each property. Figures 3, 4, 5, and 7 are reproduced from the Canadian Mining ]011rna/, September, 1935 (Young, A. W., Mining at Hollinger), and Figures 8 to 11 from the Engineering and Mining Journal, November, 1933 (Keeley, D. E., Development and Mining at McIntyre). The photographs (Figures 6, 12, and 13) are by The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau. Diagrams of the several mill flow-sheets, which formed a part of the original paper, are not reproduced here. They will be found in Dorr's Cyanidation and Concentration of Gold and Silver Ores.

Jan 1, 1938

By JAMES BRADLEY

THE Spanish mine is in Nevada County, California, 21 miles northeast of Nevada City by road, and 3 miles north of the town of Washington. The mill and surface buildings are on Poorman's Creek at an ele¬vation of 3,000 ft. About 35 men are employed at the property, which is producing 50 tons of ore per day. Electric power, purchased from the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., is brought in from Alleghany, seven miles away. In the early days the mine was operated by F. W. and P. R. Bradley. Between 1883 and 1899 the production was approximately $900,0)0 in gold. The ore treated during; that time yielded an average of 60 cents per ton and was mined and milled at a profit. The surface, oxidized, ore deposit was 30 to 100 ft. wide and was mined by the glory-hole method. The milling-plant at first consisted of a Blake crusher an-1 a small Huntington mill; later three large Huntington mills were added to the plant. In 1893 a new mill was built at a lower adit- It consisted of 10 stamps and four Huntington mills. The gold was secured by amalgamation, the recovery being about 50 per rent.

Jan 1, 1931

By Staff

The Tetreault mine, operated by the British Metal Corporation (Canada), Limited, holds a unique position in Canadian mining, being the only steady producer of zinc in Canada east of the Rocky mountains. Its importance in Canadian zinc production may be gauged with some accuracy, since, in 1927, it was responsible for over 13 per cent of the zinc output of the Dominion. In addition, it also made valuable contributions to the production of lead, silver, and gold. Location: Situated in the foothills of the Laurentian mountains, 600 feet above sea level, 20 miles from the St. Lawrence river, and 52 miles due west from the city of Quebec, the property is in the township of Montauban, county Portneuf, Province of Quebec, as shown in Figure I. The municipality of Montauban, immediately adjoining the mine, has a permanent population of 700 people and is six miles by road from Notre Dame station on the main line of the C.N. Rys. between Montreal and Chicoutimi-Notre Dame being n6 miles by rail from Montreal. Connection by 19 miles of dirt-and-gravel road with the Provincial highways' system of Quebec Province, the city of Quebec, which is distant 78 miles, can be reached by automobile in less than three hours, while the distance to Montreal by road is 16o miles .

Jan 1, 1928

By Masatsugu Taniguchi

Onoda Cement Co., Tsukumi is one of the largest limestone producer in Japan. From mines called Suisho and Ganji, it supplies limestone for cement plant, lime manufacture, iron and steel industries and for many purposes. The Suisho mine is highly productive, though it's operations are governed by the utmost regard for its impact on the surrounding environment. However, it became difficult to meet additional expanding demand and to assure continuity of high rate production. Present production rate 1s 6 million tons per year. The Ganji mine, some 2 km south west of the Suisho mine, began first-stage development In mid- 1973 and in january I976 started production. The capacity of major facilities is 9 million tons per year. Full production is predicted in 1979. Mining and milling methods of these mines under strict environmental considerations are discussed.

Jan 1, 1976

By Hugh Rose

THE properties of the company lie within the Pachuca district, State of Hidalgo, Mexico, connected by three railway lines with Mexico City, 55 miles southwest, and by two lines with Vera Cruz, 250 miles southeast. The ores were formerly divided by sorting into two classes, smelting and milling, the former averaging about 2 oz. gold and 335 oz. silver, the latter 0.12 oz. gold and 23 oz. silver. The smelting ores were sold to custom plants, principally the American Smelting & Refining. Co. at Aguascalientes. The milling ores were treated by the patio process at the Guadalupe Hacienda, at Pachuca. This patio was probably the largest in existence at the time and continued in active operation up to March, 1910. In January, 1910, the mines and patio were sold to English interests, represented by Camp Bird Limited. Two new companies were formed, the Compañia de Santa Gertrudis, S. A., to operate the mines, and the Compañia Beneficiadora de Pachuca, S. A., to build and operate a custom cyanide milling plant. (Fig. 1.) GEOLOGY The historical geology of the Pachuca district is described by Fred J. Pope as follows: 1. The most recent sedimentary rocks in the district belong to the Cretaceous period. 2. The Cretaceous rocks were penetrated by large intrusions of ande-site (referred to hereafter as primary andesite) which occur as elliptical dome-shaped masses, striking northwest-southeast. These andesite bodies are from 8 to 15 miles long and from 6 to 10 miles wide. 3. A period of erosion during which the contour of the andesite domes was changed. 4. Andesite flows (secondary andesite) which rest unconformably on the primary andesites.

Jan 8, 1916

By R. C. FLEMING

MINING rock asphalt for use as a paving material is an industry which has grown with the spread of the good roads movement. "Mineral Industry During 1930" reports asphaltic pavements constructed, including maintenance and repair but excluding pavement constructed with road-oil, cut-back or emulsified asphalt, as grown from 23 million square yards in 1911 to a high of 144 million in 1927. In 1930 the same source reports 106 million square yards of such paving laid and, in that year, 664,871 tons of native rock asphalt were so utilized. Many states contain rock asphalt deposits of greater or less importance but in only a few places are the de¬posits being mined commercially. In the year cited Ken¬tucky produced 305,024 tons of bituminous sandstone, Texas 270,138 tons, mostly bituminous limestone, while Alabama, Oklahoma, California and Utah produced 89,709 tons of bituminous rock for road construction. In addition Utah produced 37,906 tons of the purer asphaltic products, gilsonite, wurtzilite and ozokerite, for other uses. Speaking generally, the rock asphalt is a sandstone or limestone naturally impregnated with asphalt to an extent that makes it an ideal road surfacing material without mixing or treatment other than crushing. The asphalt content of the commercial product runs 8 to 12 per cent.

Jan 1, 1933

Minerals are vital to any industrialized civilization. Annually, the United States uses more than 4 billion tons of new mineral materials, or about 40,000 pounds per person-about half being mineral fuels and the other half being metals and nonmetallics. Stable and economic domestic mining, mineral, metal, and mineral reclamation industries are essential to the economy. The value of United States energy and processed materials of mineral origin exceeds $200 billion annually. Although a number of minerals are imported, especially some designated as "strategic and critical," most U.S. mineral supplies are derived from the domestic mines and processing facilities that you will be seeing, reading about, and visiting as you use this visitor guide. We hope you enjoy your experiences. This pamphlet, a guide to mining and mineral operations that may be observed or visited and some other points of interest relating to minerals, is intended to aid tourists and students who are interested in mining. Some may wish to study our Nation's romantic past; others may plan to enter the minerals industry as a career; still others may have a primary interest in conservation practices. The pamphlet is also intended to aid State and local officials, Chambers of Commerce, and mining firms in answering some of the many questions of tourists and students.

Jan 1, 1976