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By John V. Beall

When a mine has ore averaging 5% lead, 7% zinc, 0.60% copper, 1/4 oz gold, and 6 oz of silver, adequate reserves, power and water, easy access to market, and is situated in beautiful natural surroundings with the advantages of a big city within a few hours drive, there is little left to be desired. Such a mine is the Mayflower mine of the New Park Mining Co. situated 30 miles from Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Mountains near Keetley, Utah.

Jan 1, 1949

By N. D. Policow, J. S. Orphanos

Dewatering fine clean coal fractions, -595µm (-28 mesh), represents one of the most difficult and costly separations in typical plant circuits. Since 1969, the screen bowl centrifuge has offered an economical alternative to filtration/thermal dyer combinations. The performance of screen bowl centrifuges has been continuously modified and improved to dewater not only coarser coals, but also today's variety of ultrafine material. Test comparisons with alternative methods show the screen bowl centrifuge to be most cost effective and efficient when all factors are considered.

Jan 1, 1984

By F. Rosenblum

An on-stream particle size analyzer (PSA) based on the sedimentation principle has been developed to the commercial prototype stage and tested at a concentrator. The current instrument gives a direct reading of the weight % finer than any two sizes, although the capability exists for providing a complete size distribution through the sieve and sub-sieve range. The readings obtained at intervals of about 10 minutes are derived from 0.5-L samples of slurry cut from the monitored stream. The accuracy of the PSA meets the requirements of process control.

Jan 1, 1984

By Immo H. Redeker

North Carolina is the leading state in the US in lithium mineral production. Spodumene is mined in open pits and concentrated by flotation by the two companies, Lithium Corp. of America and Foote Mineral Co. North Carolina State University has a mineral research laboratoy in Asheville, N. C., with trained personnel, batch and pilot plant facilities to assist in the state's mineral development. The NCSU Minerals Research Laboratory assisted both lithium-producing companies with spodumene concentration problems and has lately worked closely with Lithium Corp. of America to develop the best flowsheet for spodumene and byproduct recovery. The concentration of North Carolina spodumene and byproducts from pegmatites is presented and illustrated with figures.

Jan 1, 1980

By R. Clare Coffin

The production of oil in the Rocky Mountain district, including southeastern New Mexico, increased from 33,048,630 bbl. in 1930 to 34,325,163 bbl. in 1931. This increase was due to production in New Mexico, which exceeded the 1930 figure by approximately 5,000,000 barrels. Total production by fields is given in Table 1. Exploration during 1931 resulted in the discovery of a new oil-producing horizon in the Big Muddy field in Natrona County, Wyoming, and ' the discovery of a new gas pool in the Powder Wash structure, Moffat County, northwestern Colorado. Gas was discovered also in the Frontier sands of the Bunker Hill dome, Carbon County, Wyoming, but no test has yet been made by which to determine the significance of this discovery. All other exploration which resulted in increasing the known reserves of oil and gas in the district was confined to drilling in partly outlined fields where known limits of production were extended. During the year two major gas pipe lines were completed in western Montana, and one in southwestern New Mexico was extended into Arizona. One new project involving the marketing of natural gas from Wyoming fields included the conversion of an existing oil line to a gas line to serve towns in southeastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. Colorado The decline of 132,501 bbl. in the production of oil in the Colorado fields during 1931 from the figure of 1930 is due to the natural decline of existing wells, partly offset by the increased production in the Greasewood area. New exploration was limited largely to northeastern Colorado, where attempts were made to find oil in areas adjacent to the Grease-wood field. Powder Wash, Moffat County.—The Ohio Oil Co. is to be credited with the discovery of a gas field in the Power Wash structure in Moffat County, Colorado. The initial well drilled in sec. 5-11-97 encountered a sand at a depth of 2152 ft. which produced 34,188,000 cu. ft. of gas on an open-flow test. The rock pressure was reported as 630 Ib.

Jan 1, 1932

By W. S. Ayres

[Secretary's Note.—At the Spokane meeting of the Institute, in discussion of President Brunton's address on "Modern Progress in Mining and Metallurgy in the Western United States," and at the request of members present, Mr. Ayres gave an oral account of his new separator, which is here published as an independent paper, partly because of its inherent importance and partly because it describes an improvement which did not originate in the Western United States, and therefore does not fall, strictly speaking, under the title of President Urunton's address.—R. W. R.] A brief history of the growth of the anthracite-coal preparation will give a better view-point from which to judge the present problem of separating slate from coal. At the beginning of the commercial value of anthracite, 70 years ago, only the pure portions, or " splits," of the veins were mined and shipped to market, and without any preparation or screening other than the selection, while loading, of the glassy lumps, and the rejection of the fine material and the slate that had strayed accidentally into the coal. The next step was the crushing or breaking of the coal (hence the name "breaker" as applied to the preparation-building), and the sizing of it by means of bars or revolving screens. This stage of its development marked the advent of the " breaker-boy " as a slate-picker, with his ever-increasing capriciousness. As the richer veins or a splits " became exhausted and the market demanded a still greater output, the less-pure " splits " and the thinner veins were utilized to produce the coal. Carrying as they do a far greater percentage of impurities, particularly when removing the pillars, it became necessary to build new and better equipped preparation-plants. Finally, we are now at the highest stage of complicatioii yet known to the art of coal-preparation. We are dealing with varying specific gravities, frictional difference, hardness, structure, and form in the pieces of coal and slate coming from many different veins, and

Jan 1, 1910

By William J. Bronkala

Magnetic Separation is a proven means of effectively obtaining purification and/or concentration of mineral products. In addition, magnetic separators are widely used for tramp iron removal in the protection of mineral processing machinery such as crushers, conveyors, mixers, etc. This paper summarizes the various types of magnetic separators available and outlines their basic selection and usage. Current magnetic separator costing is provided for general guidance and estimating.

Jan 1, 1978

By AIME AIME

Air transport supplants the old methods. The 3-piece canoe fits in the plane and likewise makes possible not a bad division of labor over a 5-mile portage

Jan 1, 1933

By R. E. Mazurak, E. L. Ealy

At the Beckley mine in southern West Virginia, forecasting unstable roof conditions in advance of mining is accomplished by wing a rating system that combines historical information on mine roof failures with known mine geology. Failure frequency rates are derived for each category of roof rock composition, unit thickness, structure, and extraction ratio. In this manner, known geological environments are rated according to instability based on actual experience. Drill hole control and geological interpretation provide the basis for forecasting unstable conditions beyond working faces. The forecasting technique has assisted mine management in reducing fall frequencies by 80% over the past two years compared to the first five years of operation. This reduction in fall frequency was accomplished by modifying the plan of advancing sections to minimize mining exposure to unstable roof conditions.

Jan 1, 1983

Jan 1, 1942

By L. K. ARMSTRING

ANYONE doubting prosperity in the mining industry should visit the Kootenays of British Columbia where the West Kootenay Power & Light Co. is kept busy running new power lines and connecting mines and mills with lines already in service. Quoting from an inspired statement "The four hydro-electric plants of the West Kootenay Power & Light Co. on Kootenay River have been in continuous operation." At the recent 35th annual meeting of the Eastern' British Columbia Boards of Trade held in Nelson, a two-day session indicated unusual activity. The following information was obtained through personal contact, through the press, and by hearsay. Much of it has been checked and proved accurate. Reversing the order of the flowsheet. Secretary J. R. Hunter reported as fol¬lows regarding the value of the 1934 production of the Consolidated Mining & . Smelting Company's metallurgical, plants at Trail and Tadanac:

Jan 1, 1935

By John Birkinbine

The iron industry of the United States, and, in fact, of the world, was established with charcoal as fuel. Long before the value of mineral coal was recognized, the carbonization of wood was carried on in connection with various metallurgical processes, but at the present time we look upon establishments using charcoal as the remnant of a former greatness, and are apt to sympathize with the operators because they have no other fuel to depend upon. In the iron

Jan 1, 1883

By Kenneth L. Zonge

Recently, extensive field use has been made of a digital minicomputer incorporated into a modified geophysical prospecting method. This is a generalized induced polarization (IP) system called complex resistivity (CR) and has been successfully used in sulfide mineral exploration. The ease of use, portability and cost effectiveness of this computer-controlled method has provided a viable exploration tool based on a complex data acquisition system. Without the computer, this method would still be relegated to tedious laboratory measurements and theoretical studies.

Jan 1, 1976

By P. J. Shenon

ENROLLMENT in geological and mining engineering curricula is declining at an accelerated rate despite the greatest need for trained men ever extant in the minerals industry. Industrial and military demand is mounting, but the number of freshmen selecting the mineral field continues to fall. Estimates on the needs of industry range as high as 30,000 new engineers a year. The current deficit is more than 60,000 engineers less than the 350,000 to 450,000 which eventually will be needed. The indisputable fact is that the colleges are turning out fewer and fewer engineers despite the greatest enrollment in colleges and universities ever experienced in the United States. In 1950 a record 52,000 young men stepped out of the confines of ivy covered walls with engineering degrees in their hands. By 1951, however, the number dropped to 41,000 and present enrollment indicates a national graduating class of only 25,000 for 1952. No letup in the drop is forecast. About 19,000 can be looked for in 1953 and 1954 may reach an unhappy 12,000. It becomes clear that something must be done to attract high school graduates to engineering. One immediate possibility could be to make the course burden carried by the engineering student somewhat lighter. The prescribed curriculum in many schools is such that the student takes the path of least resistance, and instead of training for an engineering future, studies for a vocation which will allow him to learn and at the same time get at least a nominal enjoyment out of college life. Review geological and mining curricula of 20 colleges and it will be found that the engineering student is a veritable pack mule compared to a lad taking liberal arts or some other non-technical program of study. The curriculum for geological engineering at one school calls for 202 semester hr, with almost 23 hr carried per semester. Multiply this figure by three hr, the minimum supposedly to be devoted to a credit and you get 69 hr per week. With a bare minimum of 84 hr for sleeping and eating, about two hours a day remain for recreation. However, the load of other schools investigated is about 19 hr. The University of Utah requires 238 quarter hr for graduation with a degree in geological engineering, while requiring only 183 quarter hr for baccalaureate degree from University college, Utah's liberal arts school. It can be stated with a measure of surety that the same proportions exist in other universities. The first step would be for ECPD to review its requirements for mining and geological engineering. It must recognize that mining and geological engineers operate in a specialized field, as do other types of engineers. Although a geological engineer may not design a bridge, as pictured by the ECPD Committee on Engineering Schools, his field of design calls for similar engineering precision, a knowledge of materials, construction methods, economic considerations, and financing. Six schools have been accredited by the ECPD. What is the basis for approval and can the requirements be modified and still be kept in line with the needs of the geological engineer? Course work from school to school varies with the exception of mathematics, chemistry, and physics. Even in those courses the not inconsiderable variation lends dubious creditability to the mean. One accredited school requires 7 1/3 semester hr of chemistry, compared with 24 hr required by another, making an average for the six schools of 17 1 /3 hr. Required credit hr in mechanics ranges from 4 to 18 and in surveying from 2 to 15. Several non-accredited schools require more hr than do the accredited schools in some courses. Why is the engineering student forced to carry such a back-breaking load? The answer is of course fairly obvious. He is irrevocably set apart from the rest of the student body because of the nature of his life's work. He is training for a place in a world where technology is becoming increasingly involved. He must be prepared to do a job now-and not later. Mining and geological engineering require the same essential backgrounds as other engineers, and more. The "more" is a knowledge of mining methods, metallurgy and geology for the mining engineer. The geological engineer must know in addition, mineralogy, petrography, and geophysics. The load is compounded finally by the addition of liberal arts courses. Should anything be done to relieve the situation? Today's engineer must be a whole man, capable of handling the tools of communication and with an understanding of the economics of industry. He must be able to write clear simple English, and he must be man who can think from some other position than bent over a work table. He must be aware of the history of his country and to some extent that of the world. Not all schools share this view. Only two of the accredited schools require history courses. However, five of the non-accredited schools make it mandatory. Four accredited and five of the nonaccredited schools require economics. Courses in mathematics, physics, and chemistry are fundamental in engineer training. The average for the accredited schools could serve as a guide in

Jan 1, 1952

By AIME AIME

LIFE will not be difficult for those who attend the fall meeting of the Petroleum Division at the Conoco Club, Ponca City, Okla., Sept. 30-Oct. 1. An attractive program to appeal to oil company executives and lawyers, as well as technologists, has been arranged and the Continental Oil Co. has contributed for the occasion the buildings, grounds and facilities of the club. E. 0. Bennett, Continental Oil Co., Ponca City, is chairman of the arrangements committee, and reservations for rooms and trips, requests for information, etc., should be sent to him.

Jan 1, 1932

From the cold Pacific waters in June rolls a blanket of white clouds that tucks up around the mountains at around 8000 or 9000 ft. This is the way it happens in southern Peru and so the mining operations and daily living at Toquepala have an ethereal quality not often encountered. Besides looking down on the clouds from the brightly sunlit mountain tops, one can discern the trace of a different era in the brown barren mountain slopes. This trace is like a delicate net laid over the surface of the earth-a criss-crossing of innumerable trails that are so omnipresent, yet faint, that the local people have long since ceased to notice them. It is difficult at first to ask about them because no one understands what you are talking about. It finally comes out though, that the markings are indeed trails, but fossil trails made by animals in times when they were in abundance in a countryside that was green in some bygone century. In a way Toquepala is still pristine, it is the way the engineers planned it-from the ground up. There are no additions or expansions- those tackings-on that spoil the symmetry of design while increasing the profit. This does not deny that annual production has gone up over the years. Daily mill throughput has been increased from 30,000 to 42,000 tpd. Initial design of the concentrator was for 30,000 tpd but in 1964-65 milling capacity was increased to 36,000 tpd at a cost of $3 million.

Jan 11, 1969

By Thomas A. Edison

We have not yet begun. to realize the possibilities of automatic machinery, in part because we have not developed the designing brains, and in part because we have not sufficiently simplified industry to make possible the economical use of such machinery. The principle of the Jacquard loom, has scarcely been utilized except in weaving silk and in the player piano. It is the principle of bringing into action the various parts of a machine in accordance with a pattern traced on a steel card by perforations or as on the paper roll of a player piano. This principle gives us a control which can be applied to any kind of machine. It is a' great reserve principle for the future. But even now, with the machinery that we have at command, anyone can cut the number of employees in two, at the same time doubling his output, by installing semi-automatic or automatic machinery. And no one knows how far this process can go on. Cutting down the number of men is not just putting some poor fellows out of a job. It is increasing the number of good jobs by increasing the production per capita to a point where really satisfactory wages can be paid out of it, and this in turn- increases the amount of work required to be done and creates new jobs. Thus, cheapening in- creases the demand.

Jan 1, 1929

By Phyllis A. Lyday

Jan 1, 1985

By AIME AIME

THE time of the Section delegates was economized this year by providing the section reports in mimeo- graphed form, together with the reports of the officers and committees of the Institute, for their consideration on arrival. The meeting was called for Thursday forenoon and despite a certain amount of oratory managed to get through before all the luncheon was gone. In all, nine section delegates and one from the Iron and Steel Division attended and took part. One delegate, who had come many miles, got lost in the complication of the program and failed to attend. Six appointed dele- gates failed to attend and two sections neglected to make appointments.

Jan 1, 1929

Jan 1, 1892