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By Edwin Ludlow

ONE of the most unusual features in connection with the strike of the union coal miners in the bituminous fields, now in its sixth week, is that the public interest seems to have completely died out. There is nothing on the front page and very little on any other page of the daily newspapers in connection with the strike. The United Mine Workers' officials must be rather disappointed to find that the only way in which they are being featured in the papers at present is in the reports of the trial for treason that is going on in Charlestown, West Va., against the local leaders of that organization for their responsibility in connection with the attack of the miners' army last summer against the non-union mines of Logan and Mingo Counties. Recent reports state that there are 13,000 cars of coal standing on the sidings at union mines for which no billing has yet been found. The output of the non-union mines has been gradually increasing but has never reached the maximum that they are capable of producing, owing to their inability to obtain enough orders to make it possible to run full operating time. The, present output is estimated at, 4,500,000 tons a week. It is possible, with a full car supply and full demand, to bring this output up to approximately 6,000,000 tons per week, and it is very doubtful whether, at this season of the year when probably there is less consumption of coal than, at any other season, the requirements of the country are greater than the 6,000,000 tons which the non-union mines are capable of producing. It would appear, therefore, that there is no immediate prospect of any settlement of the bituminous strike, and there is certainly no reason why the operators of the union mines should show any anxiety to begin operations as long as they have unbilled coal standing on their sidings.

Jan 6, 1922

By W. R. Phibbs

THE Columbia Steel Corporation, organized in 1922, and taken over by the United States Steel Corporation on Feb. l, 1930, is operating one blast furnace at Ironton, Utah, which was started on April 30, 1924, and is producing approximately 14,000 tons of pig iron per month. Half of the pig iron produced is basic iron and is used in its own plants at Pittsburg and Torrance, Cal. The ore for the blast furnace is shipped from Desert Mound, Utah, near Cedar City, in the southern part of the' State, approximately 231 miles from Iroaton. The ore is a hematite, disseminated with magnetite, the chemical analysis showing approximately 12 to 20 per cent magnetite, and under the micro- scope the ore has the appearance of a magnetite.

Jan 1, 1930

By James T. Kemp

AN historical society of particular interest to mining engineers all over the world was born in Cornwall in 1935. A hundred-year-old winding engine then finished its long labors at the Levant mine on the cliffs near Lands End, England. The engine was to be dismantled and scrapped. A few men living near-by, appreciating that this event was one of the final acts in closing a long century of extraordinary mining and engineering evolution. armed a committee to prevent the destruction of the old mine hoist and succeeded in purchasing the engine. They restored the engine house and in time arranged with the Manor of Trewellard, owners of the land, for a 99-year ground lease on a peppercorn rental.

Jan 1, 1947

By William P. Blake

(Read at the Amenia Meeting, October, 1877.) EUREKA has for several years past been known as one of the most important centres of production of argentiferous lead in the country. The average daily yield is now one hundred tons of lead bars, in which the silver and gold of the ore is concentrated. The value of this lead, called "bullion," is about $300 per ton. To produce this quantity of metal, about four times the weight of ore, or say four hundred tons, is required. Most of this ore is supplied by the two leading mines of the district, the "Eureka" and the "Richmond," adjoining claims on Ruby Hill, about two miles from Eureka. There are, however, many other mines from which considerable quan-

Jan 1, 1878

By William G. Schultz

Sylvite’s potash mine probably ranks as one of the most highly mechanized and automated mining operations in the world. Employing, on a normal 10-hr production shift, one supervisor and a crew of seven operators, Sylvite is able to mine at an average rate in excess of 600 tph. The ore is produced by two Marietta miners weighing 258 tons, making them the largest and heaviest piece of equipment ever taken underground. The ore produced by these two Marietta miners is conveyed to the shaft area, cycled through a 15,000 ton storage system and hoisted to surface completely automatically. The operation of all equipment in the mine can be monitored and controlled from a central control panel located underground.

Jan 7, 1972

By Robert H. Richards

VERY little has been published recently on this subject in the mining journals or proceedings of societies. The attention of experts has been diverted perhaps by the demands for pan amalgamation of refractory ores. Yet free milling ores occur in many localities, and it may be interesting to have on record some data as to details of running a small test-mill, especially as details of results do not seem to be accessible to students and investigators. Küstel, in 1863, under battery amalgamation, dismisses the subject by stating that "amalgamation on copper-plated platforms, troughs, and other copper fixings" is " very imperfect, and mostly abandoned." J. Arthur Phillips says, in 1867, under placer mining : A well-amalgamated copper plate is considered as effective for

Jan 1, 1880

By Helen L. Cannon

BOTANICAL methods of prospecting for metalliferous ores are based on the premise that deposits at depth may be reflected chemically in surface vegetation. For the past several years, on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission, the U. S. Geological Survey has investigated on the Colorado Plateau the application of botanical methods to uranium prospecting. Results suggest that orebodies may be found under a considerable cover of barren sandstone through the absorption of uranium and associated trace elements by plants growing at the ground surface. Plant physiologists have demonstrated that uranium is a necessary nutrient for plant growth and therefore is present in all plants.' The amount present is small but measurable. The absorption of uranium by plants growing over ore deposits forms

Jan 1, 1955

By John W. Tieman

Research on processes to remove sulfur oxides from flue gas has been in progress for many years. Pioneers in this field were the British who, in the early 1930's, installed a full-scale flue gas scrubbing unit on a 120 MW boiler using alkaline water from a Thames estuary plus chalk. Since that time, various methods have been studied by many investigators. Federal laws covering air pollution started with the 1955 Air Pollution Control Act. With the advent of the Air Quality Act of 1967, and subsequent publishing of criteria and available technology for control of sulfur oxides in January 1969, the clamor for information on commercially available control techniques to remove sulfur from fossil fuels has rapidly increased.

Jan 8, 1972

By William G. Pariseau

A design procedure for the quantitative estimation of support load requirements in underground mines is presented. The central problem in the design of mine support is one of es¬timating a maximum load that the ground will exert on the support in the coarse of mining. The distribution of stress around mine openings changes as mining progresses. At the time of support installation, the support load is essentially zero. With the passage of time and advance of the face, ground motion loads the support. The finite element method of analysis provides a simple quantitative technique for simulating the effects of mining and face advance on support load requirements. In particular, the maximum support load can be estimated by the proposed design procedure.

Jan 1, 1978

By Rixford A. Beals

Dry grinding without balls is feature of this mill now in use in three countries on two continents. Materials being ground commercially include iron ore, gold ore, asbestos rock, and slag. New large beneficiation plants have been using an almost standardized crushing and grinding flowsheet. Typically a primary gyratory is followed by several stages of fine crushing and grinding is often carried out in a rod mill operating ahead of one or more ball mills. The clearly labeled trend is to an increasing number of stages with a decreased reduction ratio per machine. Current Aerofall mill installations represent a complete reversal of this trend-one mill replaces the several stages of crushing and grinding a more conventional flowsheet would call for.

Sep 1, 1955

By Paul W. Jeran, Vladimir Adamek

Characteristics of surface deformations i.e., sub¬sidence, inclination, curvature and horizontal strains, are evaluated, based on information obtained by direct field measurements over three longwall panels in the Northern Appalachian Coalfield. Surface deformations have been precomputed using Bals' and Knothe's theories. The results have been compared with Bureau of Mines field data to evaluate the applicability of the two theories to the U.S. min¬ing conditions. Measured horizontal movements and the resulting horizontal strains differ as much as 300 percent from precomputed values. Topography has no detectable effect on vertical movements but appears to have substantial effect on the development of horizontal strains. The horizontal deformations computed from our field measurements generally exceed the limits used in other countries to protect surface structures.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. D. Livingston, J. J. Becker

A MAJOR difficulty in the experimental study of precipitation-hardening is the measurement of particle sizes too small to be easily resolved with the microscope. It has been shown recently, however, that magnetic measurements on copper-cobalt al- loys in the aged state can be used to determine the average volume, total volume, volume distribution, and shape of the ferromagnetic cobalt-rich particles, even though the particles are submicroscopic in size. r' These alloys also are known to exhibit considerable precipitation hardening. This paper reports some results on the dependence of the mechanical properties of such an alloy on the particle size, determined magnetically. It further illustrates the use of other magnetic measurements in interpreting structure changes occurring during deformation.

Jan 1, 1959

By Fred W. Menzl, Raymond E. Sutton

GABBS, Nev., in Nye County, is 140 miles southeast of Reno and about 31 miles north of the Southern Pacific railroad at Luning. The townsite lies at the eastern edge of Gabbs Valley, and plant and quarry operations are in the foothills of the Paradise Range at elevations from 5000 to 5900 ft. Hard-surfaced roads connect with main U. S. high- ways on the north and south. Historical Background: Brucite, a magnesium hydroxide mineral, was discovered in the Gabbs area in 1927 and magnesite, the magnesium carbonate, was found later on claims originally staked and worked for the tungsten mineral scheelite. The brucite is on a granodiorite contact and the magnesite is usually some distance away from the granodiorite

Jan 7, 1957

By Sir Robert Hadfield

I am asked to contribute a few words to "The Book of British and American Friendship." This book of the two countries ought never to have been closed. It was a colossal mistake on the part of certain of our statesmen in the past which led to the severing of the interests of the two countries which, by the greatest of all bonds-Nature-were meant to be one. However, that is past, and a new book is opened, one full of promise for the world's future. I should imagine that outside the Kaiser-Junker classes, even the Hun himself would prefer to be under Anglo-Saxon laws and customs rather than his own. At any rate, judging from the number of Huns who have

Jan 8, 1918

By S. C. Termes, P. E. Richardson, R. L. Wilfong

This paper discusses recent Federal Bureau of Mines research on the selective flocculation of various minerals with insoluble cross-linked starch xanthate (ISX). ISX is insoluble, has a shelf life of more than a year when kept cold, and has a higher molecular weight due to cross-linking than the soluble, non-cross-linked starch xanthate used in previous flocculation studies on nonsulfide minerals. ISX readily flocculates a number of sulfide mineral fines, but no silicious gangue. Floc formation, floc size, and settling rate are dependent on pH. The pH dependence, however, differs for each mineral. Bornite has been selectively flocculated from bornite-quartz mixtures, and the bornite-containing flocs were separated from the unflocculated quartz using decantation and washing procedures.

Jan 1, 1984

By Robert H. Richards

Very little has been published recently on this subject in the mining journals or proceedings of societies. The attention of experts has been diverted perhaps by the demands for pan amalgamation of refractory ores. Yet free milling ores occur in many localities, and it may be interesting to have on record some data as to details of running a small test-mill, especially as details of results do not seem to be accessible to stndents and investigators. Küstel, in 1863, under battery amalgamation, dismisses the subject by stating that "amalgamation on copper-plated platforms, troughs, and other copper fixings" is " very imperfect, and mostly abandoned." J. Arthur Phillips says, in 1867, under placer mining : " A well-amalgamated copper plate is considered as effective for

Jan 1, 1880

By Henry N. McCarl, John J. Dran

In recent years, market rates of interest have risen well above their historical long-term average. Also during this period, the short-term variability of interest rates has been greater than in prior years. Interest rates have a significant effect on the operation of our economy. They influence the extractive industries in a number of ways. Their major long-range impact is on in- vestment decisions-specifically the valuation of mineral deposits. An understanding of the factors that influence interest rates is important to the engineer or businessman who makes the investment decisions for the mining company. The effect of changes in the market rate of interest on the value of mineral reserves is critical to the future financial success of the mining enterprise.

Jan 6, 1977

By H. Nakazawa, I. Iwasaki

Galvanic contact, occurring between electrically conducting minerals in flotation pulps, may affect the nature of mineral surfaces and influence their floatabilities. Rest potential and galvanic current measurements were made on an electrode combination of pyrite and pyrrhotite under nitrogen, air and oxygen aeration conditions. The results were correlated with their oxygen-consuming characteris- tics and flotation behaviors. The galvanic contact improved the floatability of pyrrhotite, but adversely affected that of pyrite. Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the formation of hydroxide or oxide and sulfate species of iron on pyrrhotite decreased, whereas that on pyrite increased when these minerals were held in contact. An electro- chemical mechanism was proposed for the observed behaviors.

Jan 1, 1986

IRON AND STEEL COMMITTEE ALBERT SAUVEUR, Chairman .A. A. STEVENSON, Vice-Chairman HERBERT M. BOYLSTON, Secretary, Abbot Bldg., Cambridge, Mass. Guilliaem Aertsen, Robert W. Hunt, .-E: Gybbon Spilsbury, John Birkinbine, J. E. Johnson, Jr., J. S. Unger, William H. Blauvelt, William Kelly, Felix A. Vogel, Charles A. Buck, Charles Kirchhoff, Leonard Waldo, James Gayley, Richard Moldenke, William R. Walker, Henry D. Hibbard, Joseph W. Richards, William R. Webster, Henry M. Howe, C. F. W. Rys, Frederick W. Wood. Manuscripts of the following papers on iron and steel for the February -meeting have been received and accepted: Albert Sauveur, Notes on Heating and Cooling Curves of Professor Carpenter's Electrolytic Iron. H. M. Howe and A. G. Levy, Notes; on the Plastic Deformation of Steel during Overstrain.

Jan 2, 1914

AN unprecedented expansion of the mineral industries began in mid-1950. There are few minerals on the strategic list for which some source of supply here at home has not been found. All types of inducements have been utilized, ranging from RFC loans to guaranteed-price purchase contracts. No one can deny that tremendous progress toward mineral self-sufficiency has been made. Despite the greatness of these accomplishments, made' in the name of national defense, one cannot help but. have a feeling of uneasiness over the price which has been paid-in indebtedness, in freedom, and in the sacrifice of private enterprise. The people of the Soviet have been enslaved by a military state which attempts complete control of the economy. A similar yoke has been imposed on the business life of this nation. Of course, there is a difference in degree of control and in purpose. We are dedicated toward defense and the resistance of aggression. And, our personal liberties have not been usurped. The realization of the extent to which this nation has been forced by Communist aggression to adopt the practices of the socialized state is appalling.

Jan 1, 1952