Search Documents

By William N. Wallinger

The mine and concentrator of Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation are located in the south central section of Canada's Yukon Territory. The Yukon is sparsely settled, with a total population of less than 23 000. Wide seasonal temperature variations are experienced with extremes of 35º C and -57º C being recorded at Faro. The concentrator treats 9000 tons per day of a complex lead-zinc sulphide ore, employing conventional crushing, grinding and differential flotation to produce selective lead and zinc concentrates as well as a mixed lead/zinc (bulk) concentrate. The current operating practice and highlights of the eight years the concentrator has been in operation are reviewed. In addition, certain of the unique features and problems connected with plant operation in a remote northern location are discussed in some detail.

Jan 1, 1977

By Dewitt T. Ring

Reliable and detailed data covering the enormous number of wells drilled and the long historical production of the state, many of which were never recorded until recent years, render it impossible to gather statistical material suitable for the Institute's standardized form. The total production of crude oil in Ohio for the year was 3,654,503 bbl., which is less than the total production in the United States for the peak day of August 1937. For a period of eight years, from 1895 to 1902 inclusive, Ohio produced more oil than any other state. During the year, 1271 tests were drilled in the state, or 114 more than in 1936. Of these, 317 were oil wells, with an initial production of 7088 bbl., an average of 22.3 bbl. per well; 503 were gas wells, with an initial open flow of approximately 222,441 M cu. ft., or 443 M cu. ft. per gas well drilled; 451 were dry holes, that is, 35 per cent of the total completions. A number of factors account for the steady decline of oil production in Ohio. In the state, at the close of thc year, there were fewer than 28,122 producing oil wells. In 1936, there were 30,150 operated oil wells with an average yearly production per well of 126 bbl. The production for 1937 averaged 130 bbl. per well. During the year, 2028 oil wells were abandoned. In other words, old wells are being abandoned more than six times faster than new ones are being drilled. Since the inception of the oil and gas industry in Ohio, between 150,000 and 160,000 wells have been drilled in the state; new potential territory, offering desirable locations for either oil or gas, is becoming increasingly more difficult to find; the dry-hole percentage will continue to increase. Prices Another factor directly affecting the crude situation during the year was the matter of price and proration of Pennsylvania grade oil. The posted price for Pennsylvania grade in Ohio on June 7 was $2.37 per barrel; at the close of the year, it was $1.70 per barrel, or a reduction of 28 per cent in price. In addition to this price cut, a 50 per cent pro-

Jan 1, 1938

By Edward Nichols

These deposits, which are found in James County, Tennessee, differ both in their mode of occurrence and in their chemical constitution from any other ores belonging to the same geological horizon which are known to the writer. Taylor's Ridge, or White Oak Mountain, is a long monoclinal ridge, which starts from a point near the Tennessee River in Meigs County, and, following a southwwt .course, extends unbrokenly into Cherokee County, Alabama, where it finally disappears. It is made up of strata of the Upper Silurian rocks, which dip to the southeast. To the eastward of this ridge, which is generally several hundred feet high, are a series of low foothills or knobs, composed of Clinton shales carrying seams of fossiliferous hematites. In the neighborhoud of the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad, where it crosses the ridges, considerable ore has been milred from these seams during the pst ten years. Most of the workings have been superficial, and the ores mined, with one exception,,carry a silicious and nod-calcareous gangue, and contain from fifty to sixty per ceut. of iron.

Jan 1, 1882

By John Birkinbine

The following data concerning the general dimensions and district-location of the blast-furnaces of the United States are intended to supplement a paper of similar title, which appears in volume xiv., pages 561 to 577, of the Transactions, and bring the record to the end of the calendar year 1886. The reasons for presenting the figures at so short an interval since the former paper are that the American Iron and Steel Association has lately issued a new directory of iron and steel works (edition of 1886) from which many of the plants which have been inactive are omitted and new industries added, to such an extent as to materially affect the figures presented in the first paper; and also that the improvement in business has encouraged a production of pig-iron in 1886 in excess of any previous outputs, and the results obtained in the industry at large as well as at individual plants form a better index of what the American furnaces can accomplish than those heretofore presented. The statement will not be extended beyond the production of pigiron, although it could well be made to include the manufactured iron and steel; and while the data given have been verified as far as possible up to the close of the year 1886, no attempt, except in special cases, has been made to note the changes which have taken place since that time—changes which within the next twelvemouth will affect some of the figures here presented. At the close of the year 1886 there were 579 blast-furnaces reported on the active list—an apparent decrease, as compared with my former paper, of 97 stacks; but this was not an actual decrease, since most of the furnaces dropped from the Directory were those which, owing to location, inefficient equipment, or fake of ore-supplies, etc., were considered likely to remain inactive, although a number of them will possibly be temporarily put into blast with iron advancing in price. On the other hand the new plants added

Jan 1, 1887

By Lester Strauss

The fact that the loss of silver in the slag of the smeltingprocess increases with the amount of silica in the furnacecharge, was probably the ground of a general opinion that the silver is present in the slag as a silicate. Dr. Iles, in his inter-

Jan 1, 1901

By E. Wainer, K. D. Burnham

A wet beneficiation technique for producing wollas-tonite from its ore in high yield and purity has been evaluated in a pilot plant operation at the rate of 75 tons per month. Finely crushed, unsized wollastonite ore mixed with water is passed through a high in tensity oscillating wet magnetic separator of unique design and in a single pass over 90% of the wolla-stonite exhibiting a crystal purity of 99.8% is obtained irrespective of size of feed fraction. Thereafter, the material is processed by closed cycle standard wet milling and classification techniques to yield a 1µ size product, though any mesh size up to and including 50 mesh may be obtained, if desired. Costs appear to be significantly lower than those available from dry processed techniques. Wollas tonite made by this unusual wet process appears to have potential utility in the following fields: ceramics, paints, plastics, paper, organic finishes, reinforcement of portland cement items, controlled porosity refractory ceramic foams, cinder and concrete block paint, and the like. The 1µ and certain chemically processed varieties of wollastonite may have unusual utility in the paper industry both as a filler and as a coating material and in the organic finish industry. Extensive deposits of wollastonite ore equivalent to an average tenor of 50% to 60% of this latter mineral in easily separable form exists in and around Essex County in northern New York State in reserves of the order of several tens of millions of tons. While important portions of these deposits are susceptible to open pit mining techniques, one operation near Wills-boro, N.Y., involves tunnel mining and dry milling and beneficiation techniques. This mill and tunnel mine is presently being operated by The Cabot Corp. and a variety of particle sizes are now sold into markets in the ceramic, paint, plastic finish, floor tile and in similar fields in substantial tonnages on a repetitive basis. Serious investigation and study over the past several years has indicated that, outside of the obvious economies of open pit techniques for mining purposes, wet beneficiation and milling procedures applied to the ore not only represent a potential for greater economies in the production of a superfine finished product but yields products of improved properties exhibiting increased market potential which may not be available from the dry ground product. The Lewis and Deerhead deposits, controlled by the Adirondack Development Corp., appear to be identical to the Wilisboro deposit. Utilizing ore taken from the Lewis and Deerhead deposits, a pilot plant process for the wet beneficiation, milling and classifying of wollastonite ore has been operated for several months. After scalping a marketable garnet product from a minus 16 mesh dry crushed feed on a high intensity roll magnet the balance of the material is then roll crushed in a closed cycle until it will pass a 50 mesh screen. The product constitutes the feed of the wet magnetic separator. The heart of the new beneficiation process is a cyclically operated wet magnetic separator which exhibits the unique feature that unsized feed is easily handled. Product yields of higher purity are equal to that obtained with dry magnetic separations which use closely sized dry ore and multiple passes, but only produce wollastonite of about 98% mineral purity as determined by sink float techniques. It was anticipated that the wet processing through the grinding, milling and classification stage would yield a low cost 1µ ground product which should make available greatly increased applications for the mineral beyond those presently enjoyed. The improved purity was also expected to provide coarser sizes which might be utilized as a raw material for chemical modification which again would expand the uses of wollastonite. The evidence thus far collected appears to indicate that this premise may be expected to be fulfilled. There are on the surface of wollastonite particle sites at which cheinical reactions may occur1. It is believed that wet ground material provides a better base which will allow wollastonite a deeper entree into the field of chemical raw materials. Wet ground at 20µ and finer permits with certainty a number of chemical reactions, some of which are mentioned later in this article. While well crystallized wollastonite makes up the majority of the ore, the balance consists mainly of very weakly magnetic diopside of the hedenbergite-

Jan 1, 1965

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M., except on holidays. It contains about 70,000 volumes and 90,000 pamphlets, including sets of technical periodicals and publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library, through its Library Service Bureau, can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive especial attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and photographic copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information on the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape.

Jan 11, 1917

By A. J. W. Headlee

RECENT interest in germanium centers around its use as a semi-conductor of electricity in electronic devices. It is generally believed that germanium transistors, diodes, triodes, photocells, and rectifiers will largely replace the present-day vacuum tubes. The germanium electronic devices are much smaller, lighter, and more resistant to shock, and they require only a small fraction of current required for conventional devices. Hence only a small amount of heat is given off by the equipment. This development will require many times the quantity of germanium now being produced, which in 1948 was approximately 1000 lb1 and was obtained almost entirely from zinc ores in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. No one knows with certainty what the demand will be for germanium by 1956. It may be 40,000 lb.1 Known concentrations in zinc ores are not sufficient to

Jan 10, 1953

Jan 1, 1937

By S. H. Davis

The pyrites used in making sulfuric acid in the United States have been largely imported from Spain and Canada, the Spanish imports amounting to nearly 1,000,000 tons per annum in the pre-war period. The greatly increased use of sulfuric acid and the cutting off of these Spanish imports, incident to war conditions, brought about a threatened shortage of sulfur supplies during the war period. The bituminous-coal mines of ccrtain districts have, for many years, furnished a small tonnage of pyrite in the form of coal brasses. A mechanical concentrator at Danville, Ill., for a number of years, has been treating hand-picked lump pyrite and coal from the picking belt and from the mines and a small plant near Gillespie, Ill., for a few months has been recovering pyrite from washery refuse. Many mines throughout Illinois, Indiana, Western Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have shipped an occasional car of the hand-cleaned lump pyrite. Only a very small percentage of the available pyrite has been recovered in this way, however, as usually the miners throw such lumps into the gob with slate and other impurities. It has been estimated that the western Indiana coal field could furnish more than 100,000 tons of pyrite per annum. The present production is very small. The possibility of furnishing the domestic trade with pyrites recovered as a byproduct from coal-mining operations appears attractive but there are certain features difficult to overcome. Pyrite, to be used in acid making, must meet with certain requirements as to size and purity. Lump ore for grate burners should be under 3 in. (7.6 cm.) and over 1 in. (2.5 cm.) in diameter. Fines for use in mechanical roasters should be under quarter mesh. The material should be high in sulfur, free from arsenic and phosphorus, and as low in carbon as possible. The pyrite obtained from coal can be made to meet all the above requirements, but it is difficult to remove all the carbon. The pyrite in coal occurs as bands and nodules of varying thickness and size and of comparative purity, but mixed with this is more or less web sulfur. The web sulfur carries admixed coal, which may make the concentrate run up to several per cent. carbon. This makes the concentrates subject to firing, causes heavy consumption of niter, and lowers the acid-plant capacity, due to dilution of gases. The hand-cleaning methods

Jan 1, 1920

By H. J. C. MAC DONALD

THE mining engineer must have a chest of books snug enough for a camelback or to be stowed away in a canoe; at the lowest possible cost, as he needs it the most in those early years when he earns the least; but at the same time one having an unusually wide range, for he may have to cut down a forest, put up a sawmill, build mine towns, construct dams, power houses, power lines, and railroads. In fact he may be called upon for many unexpected accomplishments and all in extension of the characteristically broad demands of his profession. Suppose that an average mining engineer with a thorough theoretical training and a specialized mining education has accumulated, during a cosmopolitan experience, a complete and up-to-date library, but, unfortunately, in accepting a long term assignment to a far country he is forced to discard the greater part of

Jan 1, 1925

By Merrill F. McCarty, Robert S. Olson

New organic flocculants of high-molecular weight are replacing lime, glue, and starch in liquid- solid separation. Of these synthetic materials, polyacrylamides are outstanding. Polyacrylamides form a class of compounds varying widely in composition and activity. Separan 2610H, one of the first of these flocculants' released to the mining industry in 1954, is described' as a high- molecular weight polymer of acrylamide with or without a copolymer material and with some replacement of amide by carboxylic groups.

Jan 1, 1959

By O. B. Harden

In working out the geological structure of a complicated district, where the problems are difficult to solve by the ordinary methods in use, a model, upon which all the geological and topographical data may be put, will be found of great value, bringing, as it does, all the facts in their proper relationship at once under the eye. In the teaching of structural geology, also, a model is of great value, since the student can thus have before him, in miniature, a representation of the rocks, as he would see them in place. Topographical models may often be useful in suits at law for damages in railroad accidents, or for trespass against mining companies, etc., in order

Jan 1, 1882

New Products Equipment

Jan 1, 1951

By A. L. Engel

IN the treatment of complex ores by flotation, one of the most important steps is conditioning the feed. Conditioning primarily consists of the addition, in the grinding circuit, of an alkaline reagent, for example sodium carbonate, which neutralizes any acidity of ore and mill water, counteracts the effect of 'harmful soluble salts, disperses colloids, and provides the necessary alkalinity for the best metallurgical results. The several minerals of the ore should be put in such condition that they may be floated or rejected as desired, through the action of further reagents thereafter used.

Jan 1, 1932

By L. C. Skinner

THE Coal Hydrogenation Demonstration Plant at Louisiana, Missouri, was completed early in the year 1949. It has operated more or less continuously since completion except for the time required for making necessary inspections, repairs, and alterations between runs. Operations have included a short vapor-phase run on North Dakota lignite-tar distillate oil in 1949, followed in 1950 by four comparatively short exploratory liquid-phase runs and one vapor-phase run on Rock Springs [ ]

Jan 1, 1953

By Leonard Obert

Before 1957 a number of investigators reported stress determinations made on or near the surface of underground excavations. The usual procedure was to measure surface strains and to calculate the stresses using laboratory-determined values of the elastic constants of the rock. In some instances strain gages were stress-relieved so that the measured stress was absolute. Also, several investigators reported near-surface absolute stress determinations made by the flat-jack procedure. In 1958, Hast1 described a procedure for making absolute stress determinations within a body of rock. In this procedure a diametral deformation gage was placed in a borehole and then the borehole was overcored to produce stress relief. The secondary principal stresses in the plane normal to the axis of the borehole were calculated from measured deformations and the elastic constants of the rock. During the past nine years a number of investigations have been reported1-20 in which this technique, or modifications of it, have been reported. Both the stress distribution in the walls of underground openings and the stress field at points as great as 200 ft from these openings have been determined. Considered collectively, these reports shed some light on the nature of the stress distributions in the proximity of underground openings and on the stress field, that is, the state of stress outside of the zone of influence created by openings. To summarize these findings first consider the stress distribution in the wall and structural components of openings. Fig. 1 (a) shows a typical theoretical stress distribution curve in a linear-elastic, isotropic, homogeneous material. Fig. 1 (b) is an idealized measured stress distribution curve for the same opening in a relatively unfractured uniform, but brittle,

Jan 1, 1967

By T. H. Aldrich

This paper is intended only to give a preliminary account of experiments made, and conclusions reached, concerning the treatment of certain refractory low-grade gold-ores, the profitable reduction of which may furnish a useful guide to the solution of similar mining and metallurgical problems, not only in the gold-bearing belt of the Southern United States, but perhaps in other regions also. It must be regarded as simply a " report of progress," preceding a more elaborate and conclusive report of regular practice. The mines of the Hillabee Gold Mining Co. are located upon what is generally known locally as Hog Mountain, on the northern edge of Tallapoosa county, Ala., about 15 miles from Goodwater and 14 miles from Alexander City, stations on the Central of Georgia railway. Gold has been known since 1839 to exist on this property, where it was discovered in that year by a man named Johnston. The property was worked for placer-gold by the old miners, and there are now the remains of four attempts to operate it by stamp-mill and plate-amalgamation. The present owners purchasid it in 1896, and since that time they have experimented at frequent intervals, in order to devise a process that would satisfactorily recover the gold. In 1903 regular operations were begun. Geologically, the mountain consists of an intrusion of what has been pronounced true granite in altered sedimentary slates. The cooling of the granite produced shrinkage-cracks, which have become veins. There is considerable question as to the period of the slate formation; but it is undoubtedly, in my opinion, of Carboniferous age. The veins, about 50 in number, strike N. 60° to 80° E.; dip approximately 65' from the horizontal; vary from a few inches to 25 ft. (being in gen-

Jan 1, 1909

By Dermot Macaragh Ross-Brown, Brian Stimpson

Borehole information is often the only source of information on rock conditions at depth during the stage of feasibility studies of a project, and from this data the rock mechanics engineer would like to make some quantitative estimates of rock mass cohesive strength. While judgement and experience will usually play a paramount role at this stage, simple tools for estimating rock mass cohesive strength would be an asset. In this paper, an approximate technique is suggested for assessing the cohesive strength of a randomly jointed rock mass from borehole data on fracture intensity and intact rock strength.

Jan 1, 1980

By C. M. Wayman, S. R. Rauze

It was recently reported' that the initial transformation in (100) iron whiskers grown in the bcc condition can be nucleated on heating in regions of the whisker which are not necessarily the hottest. Although this behavior was observed1 several times, its sporadic nature precluded any documentation other than occasional visual observations during hot-stage optical-microscope heating experiments. The purpose of this communication is to report how, in one instance, the a-y transformation in such a (100) iron whisker was initiated in a region which was clearly at a lower temperature than an adjacent region which did not transform at all.

Jan 1, 1967