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THE twelfth annual meeting of the American Asso-ciation of Petroleum Geologists will be held in Tulsa, Okla., on March 24 to 26, at the Mayo Hotel. The per-sonnel of the committee on arrangements for this meet-ing is as follows : Chairman, M. M. Valerius ; finance, J. H. Gardner; program, Sidney Powers,; publicity, Luther H. White; reception, L. G. Welsh; registration, Frank A. Herald; exhibits, Frank C. Greene; entertain¬ment, Harry H. Nowlan ; ladies' entertainment, T. E. Weirich; golf tournament, A. L. Beekly; hotels, G. C. Potter; transportation, A. W. Duston; banquet, R. Hughes; decoration, V. H. Hughes.

Jan 2, 1927

By Arthur F. Colombo, Donald W. Frommer

With the opening of the Tilden mine near Ishpeming, MI, a new era in iron ore beneficiation was begun. A description of a U. S. Bureau of Mines investigation is summarized to illustrate the selective flocculation-deslime-flotation process developed by the Bureau and used at the Tilden concentrator, which is also briefly described. The operating parameters for the selective flocculation-cationic flotation of an oxidized taconite from the Mesabi range are discussed. A water reclamation system using lime and a cationic flocculant was applied to reclaim the effluents from a 900-pound-per-hour flotation pilot plant. About 80 percent of water requirements were recovered, and the calcium content of the reclaimed water was found to be more important than clarity in influencing the selective flocculation and flotation processes. Although reclaimed waters with about 10 ppm calcium registered turbidities of approximately 5,000 ppm SiO2 equivalents, the concentrates produced using these waters contained 64 percent Fe and 55.0 percent SiO2 and had accompanying iron recoveries of 75 percent. Lower grade concentrates resulted from using reclaimed water with higher calcium contents and lower turbidities.

Jan 1, 1976

An appropriate change in Art. I, Sec. 9, of the bylaws was voted by the Board on April 16 whereby, in the case of Student Associates applying for change of status to Junior Member, only two endorsers are needed instead of three, provided one of them is the same member who endorsed his original application for Student Associateship.

Jan 1, 1952

The annual meeting of the Woman's Auxiliary was held on February 19, at 10 a. m. The president, Mrs. Sidney Jennings, said in her greeting "it is a matter of congratulation that during the past year when the demands upon women for work of all kinds has been so large our membership has grown from the 50 enrolled at the first meeting a year ago to over 300 today. Some women, when. asked to join the organization, say that they are doing so much work in other ways that they have no time for work in a new organization, but the director for Canada struck the right note in her report when she told us of the splendid work the wives of mining engineers are doing in Canada, as individuals and as leaders and members of various organizations doing patriotic work. We do not want to divert such women from the work they are now doing, but we do want them to enroll as members of the Woman's Auxiliary and let us know what they are doing, that they play give inspiration to others." Reports were made by the directors of the following sections: Canada, Chicago, Colorado, Columbia, New York, Puget Sound and St. Louis, in some of which sections excellent progress has been made in food conservation, foreign war relief, including the adoption of fatherless French children, and in work for our own engineering regiments. These reports were read, accepted, and placed on file. The reports of the corresponding secretary, of the recording secretary, and of the treasurer, were read, accepted, and placed on file. Various amendments to the Constitution were proposed and accepted, and copies of the Constitution, as amended, will be mailed to all the members of the Woman's Auxiliary.

Jan 4, 1918

By Francis Foley

IN examining steel under the microscope, one is constantly confronted with structures that are difficult to interpret. Recently, in a collection of samples for exhibition purposes, the writer found apiece of open-hearth runner metal, 2 in. (50 mm.) in diameter, that had been fractured for use as a sample of cast-steel structure. On polishing and etching a section for the purpose of photographing a field to typify the microstructure of steel in the "as cast" condition, a variety of structures was found (Fig. 1) so arranged as to arouse interest at once. For a distance of about 0.065 in. (1.6 mm.) from the skin of the runner, normal ingot structure was found (Fig. 2); this was followed by a zone, about 0.215 in. (5.5 mm.) wide, of considerably lower carbon content in which occurred a most pronounced Widmannstättian structure (Fig. 3); from this point on to the center of the runner, the metal was again of normal ingot structure (Fig. 4). Representative samples taken from the metal in the three zones showed the following analysis: C Ni Cr Metal from skin 0.34 1.26 0.63 Widmannstättian zone 0.21 1.18 0.63 Metal from center 0.34 1.32 0.67

Jan 7, 1919

By William Hume-Rothery

I need not say how much I appreciate the honor of being asked to lecture to you, and how much I would thank you for your kind invitation. It is encouraging to feel that the abnormal restrictions of the war have been relaxed sufficiently to allow a free exchange of scientists between our two countries, and I hope that some of you will be persuaded to go to England, and to visit us at Oxford, so that I may repay a little of the kindness I have received from you. As this is one of the first lectures since the end of the war, I have thought it well to describe some of the advances in the theory of alloys which were made in the years between the two World Wars. From the point of view of theoretical science, these years have been of outstanding interest in the history of metallurgy. They have been years in which the development of new and more accurate experimental methods has led to the revelation of many new facts. At the same time, the theoretical developments have enabled some of these facts to be viewed as parts of a general scheme, and we may say that some of the foundations of metallurgical science have been laid. This work was naturally stopped by the Second World War, and it can therefore be reviewed as one definite stage in the development of our Science. To illustrate the new advances, I shall deal mainly with the alloys of copper and silver, since these have revealed many of the general principles. taken, and copper had been found to crystallize in the face-centered cubic structure (Fig I). The determination of this structure naturally was of immense importance in the understanding of our subject, because it meant that we were at last in a position to appreciate the underlying structure out of which the crystal of copper was built. The earlier science of metallography had shown that in many alloys of copper the addition of a second metal in not too large proportions resulted in the formation of a homogeneous alloy which was regarded as a solid solution of the one metal in copper. Fig 2, for example, shows the so-called equilibrium diagram of the copper-zinc alloys, and here you will see that there is a solid solution of zinc in copper extending to something of the order 35 to 40 at. pct zinc.

Jan 1, 1947

By William Hume-Rothery

I need not say how much I appreciate the honor of being asked to lecture to you, and how much I would thank you for your kind invitation. It is encouraging to feel that the abnormal restrictions of the war have been relaxed sufficiently to allow a free exchange of scientists between our two countries, and I hope that some of you will be persuaded to go to England, and to visit us at Oxford, so that I may repay a little of the kindness I have received from you. As this is one of the first lectures since the end of the war, I have thought it well to describe some of the advances in the theory of alloys which were made in the years between the two World Wars. From the point of view of theoretical science, these years have been of outstanding interest in the history of metallurgy. They have been years in which the development of new and more accurate experimental methods has led to the revelation of many new facts. At the same time, the theoretical developments have enabled some of these facts to be viewed as parts of a general scheme, and we may say that some of the foundations of metallurgical science have been laid. This work was naturally stopped by the Second World War, and it can therefore be reviewed as one definite stage in the development of our Science. To illustrate the new advances, I shall deal mainly with the alloys of copper and silver, since these have revealed many of the general principles. taken, and copper had been found to crystallize in the face-centered cubic structure (Fig I). The determination of this structure naturally was of immense importance in the understanding of our subject, because it meant that we were at last in a position to appreciate the underlying structure out of which the crystal of copper was built. The earlier science of metallography had shown that in many alloys of copper the addition of a second metal in not too large proportions resulted in the formation of a homogeneous alloy which was regarded as a solid solution of the one metal in copper. Fig 2, for example, shows the so-called equilibrium diagram of the copper-zinc alloys, and here you will see that there is a solid solution of zinc in copper extending to something of the order 35 to 40 at. pct zinc.

Jan 1, 1947

By Howard N. Eavenbon

The low-volatile, or smokeless, coal field of southern West Virginia is in Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, Mercer, Summers and McDowell counties, in the extreme southern portion of the state, and extends into the adjacent counties of Tazewell and Buchanan in Virginia. McDowell County is the largest producer, with Fayette and Raleigh counties next. The total area of the field (Fig. 1) is approximately 1600 square miles, or 1,024,000 acres. The percentage of volatile matter in the various seams ranges from 15 to 26 per cent, The upper limit of true low-volatile coal is usually considered to be 23 per cent volatile matter; above this point, the coal usually is classed as medium volatile. This limit will be used in this paper. Geological Position of Seams The smokeless seams are among the oldest coal seams in the country, as the Pocahontas group of rocks is the lowest member of the coal-bearing series and rests on top of the Mauch Chunk red shale, in or below which no coal seams of any importance occur. The Pocahontas group, or Lower Pottsville measures, has a thickness of 750 ft. in southern McDowell County, which decreases to about 350 ft. at Prince, on the New River, in Fayette County, 50 miles to the northeast. In this group, at various points, 12 coal beds have been found, of which 4 have been found in workable thickness and are now being mined. The New River group, or Middle Pottsville measures, is just above the Pocahontas group and varies in thickness from 1300 ft. in southern McDowell County to about 700 ft. along New River. At various places, 16 beds of smokeless coal have been identified in this group, of which 5 have been found in workable thickness and are now being mined. A general columnar section of these strata is shown on Fig. 2. The workable seams in these strata, arranged in geological sequence, are as shown on page 77.

Jan 1, 1932

By Donald A. Brobst

The minerals barite (BaSO4-barium sulfate) and witherite (BaCO3-barium carbonate) are the chief commercial sources of the element barium and its compounds whose many uses are nearly hidden among the technical complexities of modern industrial processes and products. Barite, the major ore mineral, is extremely vital to the petroleum industry which in 1980 consumed at least 90% of the world's production of 8.8 million tons as a major ingredient of the heavy fluid, called mud, that is circulated in rotary drilling of oil and gas wells. The remaining 10% of the barite production was consumed chiefly in the manufacture of barium chemicals and glass and as a pigment, filler, and extender. Barite occurs throughout much of the world and is available from three major geologic types of deposits-vein and cavity filling, residual, and bedded-in sufficient quantity at competitive prices to meet current demands. The world's demand for barite is expected to increase, and geologic circumstances are favorable for the discovery of new deposits of commercial value. Witherite is much less common and abundant than barite, although it is more desirable in many ways as a raw material for the production of barium chemicals. The United States has not produced witherite since about 1950; England is currently the chief producer of witherite. End Uses Most of the world's barite production since 1926 has been used as a weighting agent for the muds circulated in rotary drilling of oil and gas wells. The muds fundamentally are mixtures of water, clay, and barite in different proportions that vary according to local reservoir conditions. Muds with a specific gravity as great as 2.5 are used. The mud is pumped down the hollow drill stem, passes through the bit at the bottom of the hole, and rises to the surface in the space between the drill stem and the wall of the hole. In the course of this circulation the drill bit is cooled, cuttings are removed, the drill stem is lubricated, the walls of the hole are sealed, and the hydrostatic head of the column of weighted fluid helps to confine high oil and gas pressures. The latter feature aids in prevention of gushers, thus reducing both environmental pollution and waste of oil and gas resources as well as conserving the natural reservoir pressure for greater production and rate of recovery of the products contained in the rocks. Barite is particularly well suited for drilling mud because it is clean, easy to handle, soft (nonabrasive), heavy, virtually inert chemically, and relatively inexpensive compared to many other available heavy materials. Barite is used in the manufacture of glass in continuous tanks. The addition of barite homogenizes the melt and gives greater brilliance and clarity to the finished glass. Ground barite, both unbleached and bleached by sulfuric acid, is a common industrial filler, extender, and weighting agent. The rubber industry is a major consumer of barite as a filler. Barite also is added to bristolboard, heavy printing paper, playing cards, rope finishes, brake linings, clutch facings, plastics, and linoleum, to name but a few uses. Bleached barite has long been an extender in white lead paint because of its weight. The low index of refraction of barite, however, makes its ability to cover marks poorer than some other substances, but its low capacity for absorption of oil is a good feature. Off-color or unbleached barite can be used as a filler in colored paints. In the construction industry, some lump barite is used in concrete aggregate to weigh down pipelines buried in marshy areas and to shield nuclear reactors. Because barite absorbs gamma radiation well, its use reduces the amount of expensive lead shielding otherwise

Jan 1, 1983

W. L. SaundeRs, New York City (communication to the Secretary*):—Notwithstanding the sweeping statements made by Mr. Clarke in this paper, the friends of compressed air are not dismayed. There is no war between electricity and compressed air. Each one has its field of usefulness, and in that field each is supreme. In spite of commercial interests, in spite of prejudices and the enthusiasm of the inventor, the thing that is best will survive and flourish. At least ten years ago, our engineering papers contained large advertisements and pages of reading-matter about the application of electricity to mines, recording the introduction of numerous rock-drilling plants, and claiming that the problem had been solved, greatly to the advantage of the miner and with promise of large profits to the manufacturers of electrical apparatus. Edison and Thomson labored to apply electricity to mines, and each believed that the probabilities of success were great. This was the period of the solelloid rock-drill, which mas admirably suited, theoretically, to the percussive principle and in the development of which hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent without satisfactory result. I have searched in vain for a standard mining equipment where electric rock-drills are in constant, commercial operation. During a recent trip made from New York to California, I visited most of the important mines of the West and failed to discover a single electric equipment, so far as this class of mining-work is concerned. If any one will inform me where there exists today an electric-drilling equipment in constant service in mines in the United States, I shall be glad to receive the information. Mr. Clarke has been for some years an active and intelligent writer on the subject of electricity for mining. Whenever his

Jan 1, 1904

By J. A. Fellows, Earnshaw Cook, H. S. Avery

THE increased use of heat-resistant alloys (26 per cent Cr, 12 per cent Ni, 16 per cent Cr, 35 per cent Ni, 12 per cent Cr, 60 per cent Ni, etc ) in recent years has been accompanied by continued demands by the consumer for improvement in properties The manufacturers of these materials, of necessity, have resorted to more critical studies of the basic causes of variations in fundamental properties To keep pace with the need for augmented information, previous techniques of investigation have been refined and new test methods and instruments created It is the purpose of this paper to describe the apparatus, experimental technique and precision of measurement that were employed in the exploration of properties of heat-resistant alloy presented in a companion paper† The detailed precautions in experimental procedure essential for attainment of accurate and comparable data at elevated temperatures cannot be too highly emphasized THE CREEP TEST Since the fundamental concepts of creep testing have been recognized for the past 20 years, present interest is restricted to refinements in equipment and experimental procedure The creep-test laboratory constructed for the American Brake Shoe and Foundry Co is designed to permit 1000-hr tests in the temperature range of 1200° to 2200°F with a choice of applied stress extending from 50 to 50,000 lb per sq in in increments of 50 lb per sq in To simplify the calculation of weight combinations, the loading beams (Fig I) are provided with counterweights to eliminate the tare The precision of the knife-edges (10 1 ratio) is such that a 10-gram weight placed on the upper specimen grip will be exactly balanced by a 1-gram weight attached to the loading shackle Check of the loading weights proved the maximum error to be 0 06 per cent Axial alignment is provided by crossed knife-edges in the grip seats The furnaces are similar in design to those of Crane and Company, Battelle Memorial Institute, and the U S Steel Corporation An 80 per cent Pt, 20 per cent Rh No 19 B and S gauge wire is used as the heating element The details of construction are shown in the radiograph reproduced in Fig 2 The windings are held in place on an alundum tube with alundum cement, the distribution of turns is adjusted to give a maximum temperature gradient of ± 1°F over a 4-in gauge length (Fig 3) To avoid sharp temperature differentials at the ends of the test section, the length of the furnace is four times the gauge length Sixteen-inch coupons are used to reduce the temperature of the threaded

Jan 1, 1942

By AIME AIME

THE first fall meeting of the new Coal Division started on time on Thursday morning, Sept. 11, at Pittsburgh, with Paul Sterling of the Anthracite Section presiding and over a hundred members and guests in the room. The attendance increased from session to session, the total registration being 248. Excellent arrangements had been made by the officers of the Division covering all features of the meeting, the only drawback being that more papers-were listed for presentation than could be discussed in the time available. Howard-N. Evensong, chairman of the Division, explained this situation as sore and sore papers case in by likening it to the case of the small boy who wanted a second niece of pie at the end of a large seal. When his mother remonstrated that if he ate any more he would certainly burst, the young man replied, "Well, you just hand over the pie and then get out of the way." With that Mr. Evensong turned the meeting over to Mr. Sterling, who handled it so well that with ample discussion it was still possible to adjourn at lunch time, all but the group of junior papers having been heard. This series of papers, the output of the .very lively Junior Section organized last spring by the younger men of the Division was regretfully put over until Friday morning, when that on "Heat Drying" by S.. M. Parsley was read.

Jan 1, 1930

By Thomas T., Read

THROUGHOUT the Colonial era, Philadelphia was easily , the leading city of North America, and it still held that position at the end of the period, with a population of about 25,000, though closely pressed by Boston, which had slightly over 20,000, and New York, which had nearly as many. It was the center of a region in which mineral industry was important. Thomas Rutter's bloomery, built in the Schuylkill valley in 1716, was quickly followed by many others, and during the Colonial period at least 20 blast furnaces, 45 forges, and iron- works of other types were built in eastern Pennsylvania, which easily led all the other colonies in iron manufacture. During the Revolutionary period others were erected as far west as Fort Loudon, in the Cumberland c alley.^ After 1800 the rapid development of the anthracite mining industry profoundly affected Philadelphia's, development, since transportation of the coal was then necessarily by water, and the streams of the anthracite . regions mostly flowed into either the Schuylkill or the Delaware Rivers. With an abundant near-by supply of coal and iron, with the seat of government, which had been there since 1774, and with a National Bank established there in 1791, one would have seemed safe in prophesying, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, that Philadelphia would permanently remain the leading city of the United States. Education in Philadelphia was at first wholly in the hands of the Quakers, who had established a "Public School" there in 1689, but in November 1739 George Whitefield, who had created a sensation in England by his preaching, though only 24 years old, passed through Philadelphia on his way to Georgia to found an orphan school there. He preached a series of sermons in Christ Church that were so disturbing to the established church that on Nov. 25 the Rev..Richard Peters (who was also Provincial

Jan 1, 1941

By L. E. Young

MUCH has been said and written on this subject and probably little new can be said. However, the point of view of the operating company changes from time to time, and more stress may be laid upon a subject today than was done some years ago, and it is with this changing point of view that the following observations are presented: The writer wishes to limit the discussion to views of a company mining bituminous coal, particularly to what the production department expects of the college grad¬uate. In an editorial in MINING AND METALLURGY for February, 1929, entitled "Is. Mining Engineering Passing?" it is stated that: It is not by accident that mining engineering courses have been general rather than special and form even today the only general engineering courses widely offered and followed by engineering students.'* * * even in this age of specialization, the mining engineers remain a body characterized particularly by broad knowledge.

Jan 1, 1929

By Donald H. Beilstein

The St. Joe Minerals Corporation Lead Smelter and Refinery have been in continuous operation at Herculaneum, Missouri since 1892 as the Herculaneum Lead Smelting Division. Over the years, the plant has undergone many changes to increase production, improve the technology, reduce the cost of operations, and produce the highest grade of primary lead. The latest alterations were begun in 1950 and completed in 1970 and have resulted in the Herculaneum Smelter capacity being increased to in excess of 200,000 tons per year (180,000 metric tons). This increase has made the Herculaneum Smelter the largest in the United States, and second largest in the world. This paper will describe the Herculaneum Smelter equipment, processes, and material balances. Particular emphasis will be given to the McDowell-Wellman 10' x 100' (3 x 30 meter) up-draft sinter machine and ancillaries; to the new Heavy Smelting Department (blast furnaces and drossing section); to the new Lead Refinery and its automatic casting equipment and to the gas handling system including the 340 tons per day (305 metric) Sulfuric Acid Plant utilizing a -four pass converter. The description will include photographs, flow sheets, tonnages and assays where applicable.

Jan 1, 1970

By AIME AIME

BUFFALO, Queen City of the Lakes, singularly accessible by land, water and air, will be the mecca for metallurgists throughout the United States and Canada during the week of the National Metal Congress, Oct. 3 to 7. Headquarters during the National Metal Congress will be the Hotel Statler and there on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 5 and 6, the Institute of Metals and Iron and Steel Divisions, A.I.M.E., will hold a series of technical sessions, the annual Science Lecture, a dinner and executive committee meetings. The American Society for Steel Treating, American Welding Society, Production Division of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Iron and Steel and Machine Shop Practice Divisions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Wire Association and the American Drop Forging Institute will present a carefully planned program extending throughout the week.\

Jan 1, 1932

By Augustus Locke

In 1900, when. the public first heard of "secondary enrichment," the Butte chalcocite seemed clearly supergene. Mining, through successive regions of leached capping, bonanza sulfide, and sulfide less rich, had paused at lean bottom levels which, though chalcocite-bearing, suggested the waning of copper. The deepest chalcocite, at 1500 ft., was yet too shallow to disturb the supergene hypothesis. But, with deeper mining, lean levels yielded to fat ones. Here and there they showed, within the same vein, an inverted distribution, chalcopyrite above and chalcocite below. To the miners' astonishment, they carried chal-cocite, unaffected by cross faults, on an independent course to the depth of 2500 ft. The pattern of ore distribution, hitherto revealed only in fragments, was now appearing in perspective, and, in the depth of the chalcocite, was beginning to make Butte differ from all districts where the chalcocite is indubitably supergene. The idea of hypogene origin at length came into favor; by 1913, when Sales' advocated this origin, the argument had become a powerful one. This argument rested on field evidence; but, already, there was beginning to emerge microscopic evidence not included in this argument. Especially pertinent was the proof that (1) the deep chalcocite lies in-mixed with bornite, often microscopic; (2) the deep chalcocite often replaces bornite; and (3) replacement of bornite by chalcocite is accomplished more easily than that of pyrite, enargite, or chalcopyrite. The microscopic evidence has been accumulating for ten years and it demands

Jan 1, 1924

By A. S. Hewitt

After an interval of fourteen years, saddened for all of us by the death of David Thomas, the father of the anthracite iron-trade, first president of the Institute, and by the untimely loss of his successor, Alexander L. Holley, whose memory we are about to honor by loving services, the members of the American Institute of Mining Engineers have conferred upon me for the second time the office of president, under circumstances similar to those which led to the choice in 1876. Then the whole world was represented at the great exposition of industry which was held in Philadelphia to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of our declaration of political independence. In 1890 it is our privilege to receive as guests the members of the British Iron and Steel Institute, who, with singular and graceful felicity, have appointed a meeting in the United States in the year when we pass from the second to the first place in the international column of the production of iron, and thus celebrate our industrial independence. For the honor of being chosen to extend to our distinguished guests the right hand of fellowship and a hearty welcome I return to my associates the grateful acknowledgment of one whose chief claim to your favor is to be found in his love for the professional occupation in which we are all engaged, and in his efforts, public and private, to promote its advancement into new fields of usefulness. In order to indicate the full significance of the visit of our foreign guests at this time, it will be proper to explain briefly the origin, aims and work of the Iron and Steel Institute. It unquestionably owes its birth to the International Expositions held in London in 1851 and 1862, and in Paris in 1867. These expositions served to break down the jealousies of nationality and to diffuse a better knowledge of industrial processes. Trade-secrets, which had been carefully guarded, became common property; manufacturers who had previously regarded themselves as rivals formed bonds of union and ties of friendship, as the results of an intercourse which

Jan 1, 1891

By Otto Wartenweiler

AFTER the phenomenal development of the new mine, the United Eastern Mining Co., with Mr. Frank A. Keith as President, decided to install a reduction plant. The character of the ore, closely resembling the product of other mines in the district, did not offer any particular metallurgical problems, since these neighboring mines had been operating milling plants very successfully for several years. Thus, with the general metallurgical treatment fairly well-defined, the matter of next importance was to design and construct a plant as economically as possible, that would give the best results obtainable. The ore consists of a mixture of calcite and quartz in about equal quantities with some decomposed andesite, while the average value of mill heads were calculated to be $20 plus in gold, no silver being present. The tonnage to be treated at ,the start was fixed at 200 tons, but, in view of the favorable condition of the mine, it was considered advisable to arrange facilities, for increasing the capacity to 400 tons. . While it is best in some cases to adopt a distinct independent unit system where future enlargement is contemplated, in this instance the plans worked out differently. Summarized, the treatment adopted consists of coarse crushing, coarse grinding, fine grinding and cyanidation. For coarse crushing the selection of the No. 6 size gyratory crusher was governed not so much by its capacity as by the size of the feed openings to properly receive the run-of-mine material, which was too coarse for a No. 5 crusher. To accomplish the coarse grinding to. best advantage, a careful comparison was made between the modern steel ball mill-the last word in crushing and grinding-and one of its older, and, at that time better-established, competitors, the rolls.' The following conclusion was reached: While it is possible that for the sized plant under consideration the cost of operating rolls might be a little cheaper, it is preferable to use ball mills because a simpler arrangement is possible, and1 because. the handling of, ball mills is preferred by the operator.

Jan 11, 1917

By N. I. Fisher, J. Shepherd

A rapid method of determining natural fracture trends in collieries has been developed. The method will yield information that is precise enough to permit fracture domain boundaries to be delineated in a coal seam. Instead of a survey of cleat trends in a colliery taking several man-weeks or even man-months, a reconnaissance survey can be carried out in only a few man-days. At each of a sequence of sampling sites along a traverse, five measurements of trend are recorded for each set of fracture directions. A sequential plot of the medians of each fracture set is then made manually underground or by a computer in the mine office. Changes in fracture pattern can be detected easily in colliery development work if a geologist visits advancing faces regularly, and forecasts can be made about the likelihood of forthcoming faults and dykes. A full description of this method is given in Shepherd and Fisher (1981). The concept of mapping fractures rapidly in a colliery is based on using a geological traverse (Compton, 1962), along which observations can be made at chosen, regular intervals. The technique has been widely used for surface mapping across outcrops and in follow-up work in photogeological studies (Hepworth and Kennerley, 1970). In these cases, the geologist surveys the traverse line as mapping proceeds. In a colliery, however, ready-made traverse lines already exist in panels and along main roadways, often in several directions. It is thus possible to traverse a colliery in different directions and record the fracture trends at intervals, generating a reconnaissance fracture map. This can also be done on a continuing basis as mine development takes place. Generally, a sampling traverse should be longer than 0.5 km with sampling sites at relatively close-spaced intervals along the traverse. For example, in room-and-pillar mines pillars are commonly formed on 40-m centers and the sampling sites can then be arranged at 20-m intervals [(Fig. 1)]. The sites might have to be closer together for mines known to have bad mining conditions. The predominant fracture trend is normally the face cleat and the subordinate trend is the butt cleat (McCulloch et al.. 1974). Various changes can occur in the cleat or joint pattern: the face and butt sets may disappear or an entirely new set or sets may appear. Therefore, it is best to record all prominent fracture sets. Sometimes there is only one; in other cases there may be as many as three or more. An odd number of measurements of each fracture set are made (generally five or more) to enable the median value to be determined easily. The median value can be plotted underground using graph paper or a computer plot can be made in the laboratory or mine office [(Fig. 2)]. The sequential linked median (SLIME) plot draws the median trend for each sampling site as a unit line segment. The segments from successive sampling sites can be connected together to form a long chain [(Fig. 2A)]. The needle plot, on the other hand, draws a straight line to represent the traverse and then plots out the median trend for each sampling site [(Fig. 2B)]. The SLIME plot is better for visual display, as it highlights small irregularities and gross changes in trend. However, some work is required to relate the individual segments to their site location along a traverse. In this respect, the needle plot is more convenient because each segment -can be plotted-at a point corresponding to its location. Also, there is precise match-up if needle plots of face and butt cleat are compared. A description and listing of the SLIME program is given by White et al. (1981). An example of the use of this method is given for Wallsend Borehole colliery in New South Wales (Australia) [(Fig. 2)], where domains II and IV are associated with mining hazards. Domain II is coincident with a normal fault of 2.6-m throw, and domain IV with a basic dyke 12 m thick. These hazards were approached driving in a southwesterly direction, and a pronounced change in trend of the cleat to a northwesterly direction occurred at a distance of approximately 45 m from each one. The northwestern joint trend is parallel to that of the dyke and fault, and it occurs at a higher frequency close to these structures. The association of a particular joint set with faults has been found elsewhere (Shepherd and Creasey, 1979). The two minor cleat direction changes within domain V are narrow joint zones that are less than 5 m wide. The fracture trends derived from a SLIME traverse can be verified by collecting larger quantities of data at selected sites, as shown in the balloon density (rose) plots depicted in [Fig. 2C]. We are grateful for the financial support provided by Thiess Bros. Pty. Ltd. and the National Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Program administered by the Commonwealth Department of National Development and Energy. R.W. Miller Holdings Ltd. and Thiess Bros. Pty. Ltd. are thanked for their permission to publish data from their collieries.

Jan 1, 1982