Search Documents

By D. M. Hausen

The amenability of a given vanadium ore to any given treatment depends largely on the mineralogic combinations of vanadium in the ore. Quantitative data on vanadium mineralogy provide not only an objective basis for selection of proper treatment, but also may eliminate many time-consuming amenability studies whose results are empirical, at best. Vanadium is distributed through the interstices of mineralized sandstone ores in the form of oxidized vanadates, reduced oxides, and silicates. Oxidized vanadates, e.g., carnotite, tyuyamunite, etc., are most readily beneficiated by simple acid leaching. Reduced oxides are more slowly solubilized, but relatively amenable to most acid treatments. The layered silicates, roscoelite, mixed layered mica-montmorillonite, and chlorite, are least amenable to most acid extractions, and constitute an assemblage of vanadium- bearing clays that are common to many sedimentary deposits. Vanadium is combined principally as layered silicates in the clay fractions of many sandstone ores. Mineralogic studies in this paper are largely confined to clay minerals, and to their amenability characteristics in low pH liquors.

Jan 1, 1985

By Guy Crane

I. INTRODUCTION THE geology of the Tintic mining district, fully treated, would occupy an elaborate monograph. This less comprehensive paper is devoted primarily to the occurrence and origin of the orebodies of the district, while space is given to those phases of the general geology only which seem necessary to a proper setting of such a discussion. The first geological report on the Tintic district to be issued was that by Tower and Smith, published in 1899, in the form of a paper in Part III of the Nineteenth Annual Report of the U. S. Geological Survey, and also as Folio No. 65, Geologic Atlas of the United States. About four years ago a second investigation was begun by Waldemar Lindgren and G. F. Loughlin, of the U. S. Geological Survey. With the exception of a paper on the oxidized zinc ores of the Tintic district by Mr. Loughlin, the results of their work are still unpublished. The writer's acquaintance with the district began in the fall, of 1913, and has extended over a period of about two years.

Jan 10, 1915

Zinc is just now a very important metal. Its use in cartridges and shrapnel brass are in the public eye. But its uses after the war are no less important. Brass as an engineering material for electrical machin-ery, journal bearings, and plumbing fixtures takes fully 50 per cent. of the production, and its use in these lines would have been increased in the last few years but for the price. Its use for barbed wire is probably more in war time than in peace. In the composition of paints, it is becoming more and more necessary. One of the forms of pigment, litho- pone, is the base of nearly all interior wall paints; of all the sanitary enamels for bath-rooms and bath-tubs, and is now in great demand. Zinc oxide is also increasing in use for paint, and for manufacture of linoleum. When we realize that this district-Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas-produces now over one-third of the zinc ore of the world, it is at once seen that a meeting where the geology, mining, concentration

Jan 6, 1917

By Freeman Bishop

Copper production has been under Government scrutiny for many years because it's known as a concentrated industry which in turn creates what many economists label administrative prices. Neither of these conditions is illegitimate, per se, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department have said time and again. But Justice spoke up once more. This time over a Puerto Rican copper development planned by American Metal Climax, Inc., and the Kennecott Copper Corp. Bureaucratic Dichotomy Creates Confusion and Conflict In the Copper Industry Ian MacGregor, chairman and chief executive officer of Amax, said Justice in a recent communique questioned the propriety of the proposal of a joint copper venture in Puerto Rico. At the same approximate time, Dr. Hendrik S. Houthakker, chairman of the President's Commission on Copper, was urging copper producers to expand production to help hold down prices by making more copper available to all consumers. This, Mr. MacGregor said, is creating confusion and conflict, since the Administration from one source is chastising the industry for doing what another branch requests.

Jan 1, 1970

By S. F. Turcotte, B. J. Grierson

At the Q. I. T. ilmenite smelter, nine electric furnaces produce titania slag and iron At high power levels, a furnace requires either a slag or an iron tap approximately once an hour, using rail cars as slag receptacles and ladles for iron. The correct scheduling of taps is an important operational tool due to peak power load and operational considerations. Over recent years, large increases in furnace capacity have imposed severe strains on the product handling facilities. This situation results in loss of production when several taps are bunched, because of an in- ability to handle many taps simultaneously. An on-line computer program has been developed to generate schedules for tapping a single furnace. By improved scheduling, this program can en- large the tonnage of each tap and minimize the number of taps, while reducing traffic congestion and unit cost s. Future plans call for extension of this technique to all nine furnaces with addition of a master scheduling program to optimize the overall traffic flow in the smelter aisle.

Jan 1, 1969

By Nicholas Chlumecky

To date information is somewhat limited concerning the strength and bearing capacity of floor strata, which is of great importance where proper roof control is desired. If the bearing strength of strata is not known, the support may be excessively strong in relation to the support capacity of the floor, with the result that strong props sink into the floor strata, giving them dubious value as a roof support. The method described is used to determine how tests are made on dry rock to determine the required support area for the base of props or other structures which may rest on rock strata in mines. Relationships were established for the bearing capacity of rocks which were subjected to loads by means of bearing areas of various sizes ranging from 0.09 sq cm (.014 sq in.) to 700 sq cm (108.5 sq in.). This permits the evaluation of the bearing capacity of rocks by testing small areas for the de- termination of the capacity of larger areas.

Jan 3, 1968

By E. A. Stevens

In a low and gently sloping ridge extending some 1500 ft. southward from Squaw Mt., and now.covered by the buildings, or crossed by the railroads and streets, of a portion of the city of Victor, there is an ancient volcanic vent or crater, which exhibits one of the most interesting phenomena of the great upheaval and volcanic disturbance that built up the hills of the famous Cripple Creek gold-field—of the period when mass was piled on mass to form the mountains and foothills; when fissures and craters opened, and lavas, welling up, overflowed the surface, until, finally cooling, they effectually choked their vents, thus forming many of the ridges that stand out in bold relief, and the dikes that seam the Continent. This particular occurrence, though limited in dimensions, shows in miniature certain stages of the eruptions of Etna and Vesuvius,* Kilauea and Loa; and illustrates what was (with the exception of the penetrating dikes) the closing chapter of the early volcanoes whose emanations have contributed to the

Jan 1, 1901

By Ralph Arnold

PERHAPS the most striking feature in the three newly discovered fields in the Los Angeles basin is the enormous thickness of oil sand. The total thickness is not yet known in any of the fields, since no well has as yet been drilled deep enough to pass through it. In the Signal Hill area a maximum of 1500 ft. or more of productive sand has been penetrated. In the other fields the interbedding of considerable shale members renders the total sand thickness somewhat less, but in all cases the depth of sand strata is enormous when compared with other California fields. For instance, in the Coalinga field the total thickness of sand on the average has been less than 100 ft., while in the Midway and Sunset fields not more than 250 ft. of actual productive sand has been encountered in any one place. This condition has so upset all previous ideas regard-ing the possible future production that but few of the engineers who have had to deal with the situation feel

Jan 5, 1923

By R. T. Hukki

THE accepted basis of comparisons between mills of different diameter is the percentage critical speed. [ ] In the following analysis capacity, T, is expressed in short tons per hour, tph, and power consumption, P, in kilowatts, kw. Accordingly power consumption per unit of capacity, Po, will be expressed in kilowatt hours per short ton, or kw-hr per ton. In all equations D refers to the inside diameter of the mill in feet and v to the peripheral speed of the mill in feet per minute inside the liners. Comparison between separate mills must be based on equivalent grinding conditions, i.e., same feed, same size distribution of feed, same size distribution of product, and same percentage of solids. In addition, comparisons between separate rod mills must be based on the same rods, same type of liners, and same percentage rod load. Comparisons between separate ball mills presuppose the same balls, similar liners, and same relative ball load. The practical np-range through which the equations apply varies, being narrower for fine grinding in ball mills and wider for coarse crushing in rod mills.

Jan 7, 1954

By Wen H. Su

Multiple seam mining and its associated problems are very serious in Southern West Virginia where poor planning or lack of knowledge in seam interaction often results in complete loss of coal properties. Several measures have been proposed to alleviate the interaction problems under various multiple seam conditions, but few of them are specific in terms of mining plan. Two parallel approaches are adopted for this paper. One is field investigation which consists mainly of mine site visits and gathering of data. The other is the two-dimensional finite element simulation of mine workings using the data gathered as input. Two typical cases which represent the past and present multiple seam mining practice in West Virginia were investigated. Much attention is focused on the interaction problems experienced and the important parameters controlling interaction. Several key parameters controlling interaction in multiple seam mining were analyzed. Proper mining plans, by which the interaction problems can be minimized, are proposed for the individual cases after a better understanding of the interaction mechanism was realized through finite element analyses.

Jan 1, 1984

By A. H. Miller

TEMPERATURE considerations are of prime importance in the manufacture of steel products-front the time the metal is produced in the melting furnace, where the chemical reactions have a direct dependence on the temperatures of the bath, to the final machining of work on which the expansion due to the rise in temperature of the forgings during machining must be allowed for. Methods employed and difficulties encountered in some of the more important steps are here outlined. These methods are the result of years of experience, with many methods of temperature determination, and have been successful in routine works practice in the manufacture of high-quality steels. In the operations of melting, forging, and heat treatment, if the product is to be of the best quality each operation must be carefully followed through. A high-quality product cannot be obtained even with the best heat treatment if the steel is poorly melted, and, conversely, the best steel ever made may he spoiled by inefficient heat treatment. To perform the best work in any of these operations, temperatures must be accurately regulated.

Jan 8, 1919

By C. D. Broadbent

Open pit blasting can be a low cost routine or a high cost bottleneck depending on geology, environment and the operator's ability to master site conditions. Because blasting is a repetitive operation, there should be ample opportunity to optimize the process; but ordinarily this optimization is rarely achieved and then only if conditions remain consistent and predictable. Often, however, and particularly with porphyry coppers, hidden differences in rock characteristics nullify the operator's best efforts. At a porphyry copper deposit being mined by Kennecott Copper Corporation, all of the following rock types occur; oxidized and fresh porphyry, altered and silicified limestone, explosion breccia, rhyolite, sandstone, shale and several others. The units can cover large areas or be limited to a few tens of feet in maximum dimension. They are rarely visible on the bench surface and often do not show up in the bench slope. Even though the blastability of these rocks varies substantially, a generally-uniform blasting pattern was formerly used with disappointing results. Secondary blasting was often required and high bottoms occurred frequently, overblasting wasted drilling time, and explosives caused excessive throw.

Jan 4, 1974

By K. U. Snowden, J. N. Greenwood

CRACKS which form in lead exposed to fluctuating stress frequently follow a rectangular pattern. It is well known that under ordinary atmospheric conditions these cracks are intercrystalline. On the other hand after fabrication the crystal grains in lead are in general irregular polygons. The observed facts appear to be mutually contradictory. Re-examination of some lead failures has confirmed that the rectangular cracks are intercrystal- line. It follows therefore that under fluctuating stress some of the grains lose their irregular outlines and become approximately regular polygons of cubic type. G. R. Gohn and W. C. Ellis* suggest that this is due to recrystallization during the life of the part, in such a way that the new grain boundaries are aligned at 45 deg to the longitudinal strain prior to the formation of the fatigue crack. Experiments at Baillieu Laboratory—Some recent experiments carried out in the Baillieu Laboratory in conjunction with the Broken Hill Associated Smelters have thrown some light on this transition. A test piece of pure lead was polished chemically

Jan 1, 1959

By G. S. Derrickson, R. A. Golobic

Any type of agitation within a confined vessel is primarily concerned with two parameters: a level of agitation describing the homogeneity of the constituents (whether it be suspension or mixing), and the energy efficiency with which this level of agitation is accomplished. The following is an attempt to present a solution to the problem of adequately defining and optimizing these properties. A discussion is included of the application of good design practices to the determination of a mechanically efficient shape to the blade elements of the propeller. These practices, excluding several appropriate modifications, have been known, but not well understood, in aircraft fluid mechanics for a number of years. Having optimized the direct impartation of energy to the medium being agitated, attention is turned to one of the more perplexing phenomena of multi-phase systems - definition and prediction of agitation levels. The result of recent study and testing is a method of scaling that the authors believe provides a lucid understanding of governing physical parameters within the agitator itself, allowing one to scale up and down with confidence.

Jan 1, 1985

By Evan Just

Engineering education for the mining industry has been undergoing a gradual change in recent years, to an extent that many employers may not realize. The result of this change is that the new graduate comes to his first employment with very little knowledge that is immediately valuable in operations. He is in fact, simply "half-baked" and needs much education on the job before his schooling will pay out in any significant way. To the employer who fails to recognize this, and fails to give the necessary training to finish the educational job, the modern graduate is likely to be unsatisfying. Moreover, the young fellow's future competence will be impaired. However, to the employer who assumes the educational burden, the effort should pay out as the half-baked products, after a few years, ought to be more useful than their predecessors and should have a greater potential to solve problems or cope with change. The reasons for this development are given below in the foreword to a questionnaire survey circulated by the SME Committee for On-the-Job Training.

Jan 6, 1964

By J. H. Nead

Discussion of the paper of J. H. NEAD, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 108, December, 1915, pp. 2341 to 2357. E. D. CAMPBELL, Ann Arbor, Mich.-Any one at all familar with research work can at once see that Mr. Nead has condensed into his tables and curves the results of a carefully planned set of experiments which must have involved a great amount of work on his part. He deserves much credit for the way in which he has carried out these experiments, for it is to the results of such systematic experimentation that we must look for further knowledge of the underlying causes which determine the physical properties of steel. It will probably be many years before we have sufficient knowledge of all the factors of the problem of the constitution of steel, but every set of carefully carried out experiments such as Mr. Nead has made adds something to our knowledge and brings us a little nearer to the final solution of the problem.

Jan 5, 1916

By R. W. Raymond

The " law of the apex," with its vague and impracticable " extra-lateral rights," is defended—if it is defended at all— on the ground that it is required by the peculiar conditions of the mineral deposits or of the mining industry in those States and Territories in which it is operative. As I have repeatedly attempted to show, in papers read before the Institute, and most recently in an article on " The Relation of the Mining Law of the United States to the Davelopment of its Mineral Resources," published in Mr. Rothwell's Mineral Industry for 1894, there is now (whatever may have been the case formerly) no peculiarity of conditions in the regions referred to which warrants the subjection of their mining industry to a burden so vexatious and injurious as this law imposes. I have called attention to the absolute freedom from expensive litigations over mining titles enjoyed by all other States in the Union and all other regions in the world where the absurd extra-lateral right does not exist.

Jan 1, 1896

By H. S. Drinker

I. The Mines THE first discovery of zinc on the property now worked by this company was made by the celebrated mineralogist, Prof. William Theodore Röpper, in 1845. Different claimants kept the property in continual litigation till 1861, when everything was satisfactorily settled by the purchase of the land by the company, who have worked it ever since. The mines are situated in a valley, four miles south of Bethlehem, Pa., in Lehigh County. The valley is from two to three miles broad, and is bounded on the north and south by syenitic hills. Syenite underlies the valley, and upon this is deposited the Potsdam sandstone, then a layer of slate, and, finally, a dolomitic limestone, belonging to the Chazy or Black River formation, in which the zinc deposits are inclosed. The rocks occur in folds, and have evidently been subjected to tremendous pressure from below, the zinc deposit being found in an anticlinal axis, in nearly vertical veins. It is supposed that the zinc was originally disseminated through the

Jan 1, 1873

By C. B. E. Douglas

In an interesting article on evaluation of the water problem at Eureka, Nev., W. T. Stuart describes how a difficult water problem, or one phase of it, may be evaluated by means of a small scale test. Test data are plotted by a method rendering, under certain conditions, a straight-line graph that can be projected to show how much the water table will be lowered by pumping at any specified rate for a given time. A formula is then used to determine the size of opening, or extent of workings, necessary to provide sufficient inflow to enable pumping to be maintained at that rate. At first glance this might seem the answer to a miner's prayer, but a word of caution is in order. It may not be the whole answer. Moreover, results obtained by the method described are reliable only for conditions approximating those assumed. Even where conditions do not meet this requirement, however, it may be possible to draw helpful inferences from the results, perhaps enough to facilitate another approach to evaluation of a problem.

Nov 1, 1955

By W. A. Nagel, R. P. Alger, H. Sherman, J. Tittmann

A sidewall epithermal neutron tool has been developed to substantially reduce environmental effects that have previously complicated neutron log interpretation. Designed for operation in uncased wells, the device provides increased accuracy in both liquid-filled and empty holes. A brief discussion of neutron moderation, diffusion and capture shows that logs using epithermal neutron detection depend on a smaller number of formation-characterizing parameters than those using thermal neutron or capture gamma ray detection. Thus, they come closer to providing an unambiguorls determination of hydrogen content. In this new device a directionally sensitive epithertnal neutron detection system has been incorporated in a side-wall source-detector skid to minimize borehole effects. The effects of variations in borehole size and shape, mud type, temperature and salinity are greatly reduced. Small residual borehole effects are then computationally accounted for in the surface control panel to provide a borehole-corrected neutron log. The log presents a direct recording of neutron-derived porosity on a linear scale. With corrections for borehole effects already applied, this direct recording of porosity simplifies log interpretation. Furthermore, comparison with a linear porosity presentation of a formation density log permits sandstones, limestones and dolomites to be readily identified. Thus, in complex or variable lithology, porosity is determined with greater accuracy and reliability than heretofore. Laboratory data and field results demonstrate the improvements in neutron logging afforded by this new side-wall epithermal neutron logging device. INTRODUCTION The new Sidewall Neutron Porosity (SNP) logging system, designed for use in uncased wells, provides reliability and accuracy never before achieved with neutron logs. The effects of variations in borehole diameter and shape, fluid salinity, mud weight and temperature—parameters that have long complicated neutron log interpretation— are suppressed or corrected for by this sidewall epithermal neutron detection system. Furthermore, to simplify interpretation the SNP log presents a direct recording of computed porosity on a linear scale. The performance improvements achieved by this new system arise primarily from the combination of two im- portant design features. First. though not unique to this new tool, an epithermal neutron detection system is used,',' Epithermal neutron detection substantially reduces the perturbing influences of the thermal neutron absorption properties of rock matrices and water salinity. Second, the neutron detection system is mounted in a directionally sensitive sidewall skid to greatly minimize borehole effects. The purpose of this paper is to explain briefy the advantages offered by the detection of epithermal neutrons, to describe the SNP equipment and the log, to present calibration and correction data and to give examples of interpretation methods made especially convenient by this new system. ADVANTAGES OF EPITHERMAL NEUTRON DETECTION Epithermal neutron detection, of all the neutron methods in current commercial use, provides the simplest determination of formation hydrogen content. Advantages of epithermal neutron detectors, as compared with thermal neutron and gamma ray detectors, are probably best explained by a brief review of the life of a source-emitted neutron. A fast neutron from the source will eventually be cap-tured by the nucleus of an atom. However. before capture is likely to occur, the fast neutron (energy of 100,000 electron volts (ev) or more) will be slowed down until it is in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings. The neutron is then considered to be a "thermal" neutron (average energy of 0.025 ev at 25C). The overwhelming majority of the slowing down thus occurs in reaching epithermal energies (energies just above thermal—0.5 to several ev). After reaching thermal energy. the neutron will "diffuse" through the formation with, on the average, no further energy change until capture. Upon the capture of the thermal neutron, relatively high energy gamma rays arc usually emitted. Hydrogen plays a very important role in the process of slowing down fast neutrons. On the other hand, the absorption effects of water salinity and low concentrations of other strong thermal neutron absorbers—relatively unimportant in the moderation process-—are very important in thermal diffusion, capture and the production of gamma rays. Thus, by detecting only epithermal neutrons with the SNP, spurious effects due to these thermal neutron absorbers are greatly minimized as compared to the effects on tools using thermal neutron or gamma ray detectors. The epithermal neutron detection system affords another important advantage. Log response in various litho-

Jan 1, 1967