Search Documents

By A. S. Richardson

THE conditions that make necessary the mechanical ventilation of the Butte mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. are due to a number of causes, all of which are incidental to the depth at which mining operations are now carried on. The main object to be accomplished, of course, is the reduction of the temperature and humidity of the air in the working places. Ventilation fans, both surface and underground, have been used for many years, but increasing depth has made the problem much more difficult. Further improvement in both ventilation equipment and methods, therefore, became necessary; and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the work planned and done under the improvement program. The mines of the district have been frequently described in various technical publications, so a description is unnecessary here. From a mine-ventilation viewpoint, compared with coal-mine ventilation systems, the problem is complicated by the fact that the workings to be ventilated are situated on a large number of steeply dipping veins which frequently intersect and are faulted, and also by the fact that the extent, or existence, of orebodies is not definitely known in advance of actual development work. For these reasons ventilation work cannot be planned in advance of actual operations, nor can such regular systems of ventilation as are used in working the more uniform and continuous bodies of coal be developed. When operations are conducted at a normal rate, about 10,000 miners are employed on two shifts, so that about 5000 men will be underground at one time. But as ventilation is necessary to reduce high temperature and humidity due, mainly, to natural causes, the quantity of air per man per minute is not a governing consideration in determining ventilation requirements. Most important among the numerous sources of heat and humidity in the mines are : heat generated during decay of mine timber; heat and humidity given off by mine rock and water; heat generated by oxidation of sulfide minerals; heat given off by electrical equipment; heat generated by mine fires (in certain localities).

Jan 2, 1922

By T. A. Rickard

Among the names which won a world-wide fame during the golden age of the early fifties, Bendigo and Ballarat were to Australia, what the Yuba and Grass Valley were to California. The map of Victoria did not for a long time show the name of old Bendigo;* for this first and more distinctive name was replaced with the more English Sandhurst, just as the alluvial diggings gave place to quartz mining. Towards the close of last pear, steps were taken to give back the old name, as associated with the early days of rich alluvium, and more suggestive than the application taken secondhand from an English military academy. History. The first discovery of gold? in this district, was made in the autumn of 1851 ; but there has never been any certainty as to the day or the man. At that time the country around Bendigo Creek was a part of the Ravenswootl sheep-run, and its resemblance to the Forest Creek district (now Castlemaine), induced the first prospecting. It was late in November when the "rush" broke out; the shepherds left their flocks; the sylvan solitudes were disturbed by * The name of Bendigo is said to have been derived from a hut-keeper on the Ravenswood sheep-run, who on account of his fondness for " fisticuffs " was nicknamed Bendigo, after the prize-fighter of that name. It is not aboriginal, as is often supposed, but Spanish ; and equivalent to our Benedict. There must always be some confusion between the two names of Sandhurst and Bendigo; the town, and with it the gold-field, having been three tinies named. Several other old familiar names have been likewise unfortunately replaced by second-hand English ones; so that an old digger talks of Forest Creek when he means the modern Castlemaine, Mt. Ida for Heathcote, Growler's Creek for Bright, etc. I shall use the names Sandhurst and Bendigo interchangeably. The first discovery of gold in Australia, was made by E. H.Hargraves, February 12, 1851, near Bathurst in New South Wales. In August of the same year the discovery at Buninyong, near Ballarat, inaugurated the first of a series of rushes to the Victoria gold-fields.

Jan 1, 1892

By David B. Brooks

INTRODUCTION Resources are not; they become (Zimmermann 100) . The companion concepts of reserves and resources appear, one way or another, in almost all considerations of mineral supply. Yet, no other concepts in the economics of the mineral industries have occasioned so much confusion. Whereas everyone agrees that in general the terms refer to the amounts of material that-depending upon technology, market conditions, and institutions-will become available for production in the near or more distant future, the apparent agreement disappears when we come to more specific definitions or to application of the definitions. Some definitions emphasize the physical aspects of reserves and resources, while others emphasize the economic. Some treat reserves and resources as fixed quantities, while others regard them as continually varying. Some consider that reserve and resource estimates have validity only for individual deposits, while others insist that they can be measured with sufficient accuracy for regional or national planning. This confusion in concepts that lies at the very heart of mineral economics is both strange and not so strange. It is common in the social sciences to find concepts that have been adopted into scientific jargon from popular usage and given rather special meanings -at the same time that they continue to be widely used without such qualifications. Psychologists have the same trouble with personality and sociologists, with community. Nevertheless, an attempt must be made to straighten out the various meanings of reserves and resources, or at least to clarify the conditions under which different meanings are applicable, before much progress in analysis of mineral problems can be expected. That is the objective of this chapter. Throughout the chapter, an attempt has been made to provide enough references to guide the interested reader to the most pertinent works on the concepts under study. However, even in a review article, it is no longer feasible to provide a comprehensive set of citations; there are simply too many. In many instances the works cited will themselves include the bibliographies needed to complete a literature search; those that are particularly useful in this respect are so noted. Also, because of the limited availability of foreign periodicals, some important works -originating largely in Canada, France, the

Jan 1, 1976

Charles H. Fulton, Rapid City, So. Dak. (communication to the Secretary*): Professor Lodge takes issue with Mr. Crawford and myself on results obtained by the scorification-method of assay on " zinc-box precipitates," which we published in a paper on the subject in the publication named below.' In our work we found that the normal seorification-method, employing only test-lead and a very little borax-glass as a flux, gave results on cyanide precipitates which mere invariably very low, loss having taken place by slag-absorption and volatilization, as repeated slag-assays failed to bring up results similar to those obtained by other methods. Professor Lodge anil his students made a large number of what he terms " scorification-assays," but which, I would like to point out, have claim to that name only in that they are made in a scorifier, for the charge consists of test-lead, a very considerable quantity of borax-glass (10 grams), at times also of litharge and even charcoal, so that the assays are in reality crucible assays. A scorification-slag proper is an oxide-slag to all intents and purposes, while the slags made by Professor Lodge are borates, certainly acid-slags. It has been our experience since our paper, The Assay of Cyanide Precipitates, was published, that the nature of the assay slag in the crucible assay has a great influence on the result. A " basic " or oxide-slag invariably causes high slag-losses, while an " acid " slag gives very fair results on material containing much zinc. This has also been the experience of a mellknown cyanide chemist with whom I have corresponded on the subject, who found that acid crucible-slags gave good results on zinciferous material, but that the scorification-method, as ordinarily employed, gave high slag-losses. I believe that if the conditions are such that the zinc can be

Jan 1, 1904

“The mining industry can do more to alleviate world poverty, hunger and human misery, more to close the widening gap between advanced and developing nations and more to achieve international peace and understanding than any other single force in the world," Charles W. Court, Minister for Industrial Development, Western Australia, told the American Mining Congress audience at the opening session of the 1969 Mining Convention, October 19-22, San Francisco. Australia, he pointed out, is a shining example. In 1971, 60% of U.S. mining investment overseas will go to Australia and other parts of Oceania, an increase of 42% over a year ago. Australia has capitalized on world needs, its own rich resources and good investment climate. Developing nations can and should do the same, but they mix emotion with nationalism, often frightening away foreign investment which could breathe life into dormant and backward areas, said Court.

Jan 12, 1969

By C. DeWitt Smith

"It just looks like everything is doing fine but humans," wrote Will Rogers fifty years ago. "Animals are having a great year, grass was never higher, flowers were never more in bloom, trees are throwing out an abundance of shade for us to loaf under. Everything the Lord has a hand in is going great, but the minute you notice anything that is in any way under the supervision of man, why, it's cockeyed." Do these words from two generations ago apply to oil shale? The United States has been blessed with deposits that can yield synthetic crude oil at a cost competitive with natural crude oil-under present economic conditions and with existing technology. Yet, the oil shale program is cockeyed because of the artificial obstacles that have been placed in its path "under the supervision of man." But more about this later. For the moment, let's focus on...

Jan 10, 1974

By WALTON H. HAMILTON

THE demand for "production control" has, like the poor, been with us always. With the development of the nation, the accumulation of business experience, and a maturing understanding of how our many and varied industries work, it is increasingly evident that an uncontrolled output is a source of great mischief and that order and performance demand a control of production. To see clearly the demand for "production control" we must look in detail at the ways in which industries operate. General pictures, grand aggregates, situations as "wholes," and smoothed curves are likely to be deceptive. An industry may seem to keep the even tenor of its ways, and yet the establishments which made it up may experience a great range of fortunes. A nice bundle of statistics may show in the aggregate a lovely regularity which is not shared by the firms which make up a trade. An industry may appear to be reasonably profitable, and yet the profits may be very unevenly distributed. The people in an industry, and dependent on it, are managers, laborers, stockholders, creatures of flesh and blood, such as you and I. General pictures and abstract statements must not blind us to what is happening to firms, corporations and individuals.

Jan 1, 1929

By J. L. Bray

ACCELERATED programs, as discussed in this paper, refer to the year-around operation of a college or university with three sixteen-week or four twelve-week terms per year, with pauses between sufficient only to allow the administrative group to perform their functions. In most engineering schools, under such conditions, the conventional four-year course can be condensed to two years and eight months. These accelerated programs of study, which now exist in most of our technical institutions, were forced upon us under the influence of the outburst of wartime patriotism, perhaps one might go so far as to call it hysteria. Many of us felt and hoped that these programs were temporary expedients, but the cold hard threat of permanency now rears its head; consequently we should examine the merits and shortcomings of the new order, and evaluate its effect on our educational system, since it may persist in some form in the postwar years, because of the changing political and financial situation. Many engineering students are being educated in state supported institutions

Jan 1, 1944

By John Goodell

CIVIL engineers seem to number in their ranks more advocates of licensing than are found among the practitioners of other branches of the pro-fession. Licensing was not originated by civil engineers but it was forced upon them in two ways. In the first place, the civil engineering profession has hangers-on like every other profession. The first legislative result of their imperfect accomplishments with which I am familiar occurred in the far West. It was found that early irrigation works were so badly planned in some cases that not only were water rights made very uncertain but considerable sums were invested in structures and ditches which proved inadequate and occasionally complete failures. Water was too valuable to be wasted in that way and money too hard to obtain. In those sections, therefore, laws were passed many years ago which made it obligatory for the design of irrigation works and other structures utilizing water to be made by engineers who had satisfied a board of examiners that they possessed the technical qualifications to plan such works properly. The basic thought on which such laws rest is the same as that on which laws governing the licensing of boiler operators rest, namely, the safety and welfare of the public. While boiler explosions still occur and irrigation works are built which are not wholly satis-factory, these laws have helped the, public, it is gener-ally agreed.

Jan 4, 1922

By Marie Kinzel

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, the birthplace f the atomic bomb, is one of the most famous-and mysterious-places in the world. It leaped into fame on Aug. 6, 1945, when the first atomic bomb burst over Hiroshima. Unheard of until that day, its present life is as hidden from most people as was its very existence in pre-Hiroshima days. Then, those who did know of it dared not breathe their knowledge. "What do you tell your wife when you go to Shangri La?" was the favorite quip of the few consultants who made regular trips from east or west to Los Alamos during the tense months when the bomb was in the making. Security regulations made it impossible even to hint at the rigid secrecy surrounding the project. The puzzled wives in question knew only that their husbands had top priority on airplane flights to Albuquerque. When they had verified the safe arrival of the flight, they undoubtedly breathed a sigh of relief. If they could have visualized the rest of the trip, the sigh of relief would have been replaced by a state of tizzy, until a telegram came saying "Arriving home on Flight X" (on a nice safe airplane).

Jan 1, 1946

By W. H. Bassett

A 10-year, sea-water, corrosion test of tubes of several copper alloys has shown that many alloys withstood attack by solution, pitting, and dezinkification; a 1-year, salt-spray test of sheet-metal specimens of the same composition showed the same results. THE late J. P. Sparrow, chief operating engineer of the New York Edison Co., carried out a series of practical tests on condenser tubes of several copper alloys and reported on the results to the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies at its meeting in' September, 1913. In the preparation of these tubes the senior author had the pleasure of cooperating. Copper-zinc alloys in the proportions of 60-40, 70-30, 80-20, 90-10, and Admiralty metal, which is in effect 70-30 with 1 per cent. of tin, were tried. Monel metal and several copper-nickel alloys, and 8, 5, and 3 per cent. aluminum bronze were also tried. At the time of this report, the aluminum bronze had been in service for 4 1/2 years and seemed to be giving especially good results but later it began to fail and showed no substantial improvement over Admiralty metal. Monel metal was unsatisfactory and the nickel alloys apparently did not give better service than the Admiralty alloy. Previous to the publication of the report, and after considerable discussion, it was agreed that a test where tubes of different kinds could be under laboratory observation would be advisable, so the apparatus described here was set up in The American Brass Co.'s Waterbury Laboratory. This was fitted with tubes of copper, brass, bronze, nickel silver, cupro-nickel and other alloys, and the test started Oct. 11, 1912. Salt water from East River, New York harbor, was barrelled and transported to the laboratory for the test. A fresh supply, completely replacing the water in service, was obtained at the end of each six months period.

Jan 1, 1925

AT the Tulsa meeting of the A. P. I., the following reso-lutions, expressive of the policy of that organization, were among those adopted: RESOLVED, That we endorse the conclusion of the Federal Oil Conservation Board in its report of September, 1926, that the prevention of the waste of gas incident to the pro-duction of oil is of paramount importance in the conserva-tion and economical production of oil, and the president of the Institute is requested to appoint a committee of seven to devise and suggest to this board, or the executive com-mittee, such measures as will enable the industry, while continuing to meet the consumption requirements for pe-troleum and its products, to conserve in its natural state such reserves of petroleum as may not then be required for consumption. RESOLVED, That the president of the Institute appoint a committee of seven to formulate and recommend to this board or its executive committee, at the earliest practicable date, a program of legislation; Federal and State, to be advocated by the Institute giving sanction and effect to agreements by oil producers for the curtailment of produc-tion in pools where and during periods when there is over-production, having for their purpose the economical and orderly production of oil.

Jan 1, 1927

By R. W. Newcomb

THE constancy of calibration, and to a great extent the life, of a thermoelement is dependent on the suitability of the primary protecting tube in which the wires are mounted, particularly when used at high temperatures. An ideal thermocouple protecting tube would be com-posed of materials that would not contaminate the thermoelement wires contained in it-one that would remain absolutely gas-tight ,it all temperatures of usage, that will not be attacked by gases, or other surrounding agencies, that is not destroyed by heat, that withstands sudden and extreme temperature changes, that affords a high degree of mechanical protection and does not deform at high temperatures, that is a good heat conductor and obtainable in small diameters so as to keep down lag factors. It has not yet been possible to produce tubes of any known mate-rials that will meet all of these conditions. In selecting protecting tubes, therefore, one should be chosen the characteristics of which best fit it to the particular conditions of usage. Frequently conditions are such that two tubes have to be used, a primary gas-tight protecting tube inside of a secondary protecting tube, because certain agencies will attack the primary gas-tight tube unless it is guarded by the outside tube.

Jan 9, 1919

By A. L. Mular

lnput energy-size modulus relation at small reduc-tion ratios is expressed by Et = (M, -Mt) k;. In some cases 13 is close to Schuhmann's distribution modulus a in value. Experimental results in conjunc-tion with the equation demonstrate the fact that energy input which produced fracture is not expended on unbroken starting material inside the mill at any time. Recently, schuhmann1 derived the Charles equation2 using the postulate that complex com-minution operations can be considered as a summa- tion of many comminution events. The fragments resulting from each event are assumed to follow the Gaudin-Schuhmamn distribution. In his derivation, Schuhmann implies that the size distribution of the total mass of a material is determined by the fraction of that mass actually subjected to comminution. Consider a feed to contain a volume, Vo, of uni- formly sized homogeneous material. After t seconds of grinding, let the volume of broken material be Vo - Vt where Vt is the volume of starting material not yet broken. The size distribution of the broken material is given by: where V is the cumulative volume less than size X, and k, is the size modulus of the broken material at time t. The distribution for the total volume at this

Jan 1, 1962

By Samuel Taylor

IF I LIVE another fourteen months and am still con-nected with the coal industry, I shall then have com-pleted a half century with it. Since May, 1874, when .I first entered the bituminous workings as a miner, I think I have held almost every position connected with a mine except possibly that of mule driver, for which I was unfitted by reason of my religious upbringing. We are all agreed, at least I have not heard it contra-dicted, that there is serious over-production in the bituminous industry. This has come about in various ways and is easily explained. During the Fuel Admin-istration, I recall making an estimate of the possible output of the bituminous mines of the country provided they were given a full force of men and a full-car supply; my estimate was a little over a billion tons a year. A few months ago, the late Francis H. Peabody, of Chicago, made a practically identical estimate. If, however, both of these conditions should happen con-currently, there would very soon be no market for the coal, and many of the mines would close down. Even today, if 10 per cent. more cars were furnished, to the bituminous mines, market prices would drop very seriously.

Jan 4, 1923

By William M. Shepard

The Tintic mining districts of central Utah com- prise one of the major silver-lead producing areas in the United States. Ore valued at nearly $450 million has been produced from these districts since the initial discoveries, in 1869, of veins cutting the Silver City monzonite stock. Subsequent production from the famous manto-type "ore runs", which characterize the Main Tintic district, was followed during the past 40 years by discovery of the blind orebodies of the East Tintic district, including the famous Tintic Standard mine and the most recent discovery, the Burgin mine, currently being brought to full production by Kennecott Copper. The occurrence of blind orebodies of exceptional size and grade in both the Main and East Tintic districts has made this area a field laboratory of major importance for the study of geochemical dispersion halos and alteration features associated with known ore, and has led to the discovery of additional concealed orebodies. The larger share of the basic data-gathering and interpretation has been done by members of the U.S. Geological Survey who have been studying the Tintic mining areas since before the turn of the century. These studies have been supplemented and expanded by the geological staffs of the local operating mining companies, by exploration geologists and by students.

Jan 4, 1966

By F. S. Crawford

IRON and copper are mined in the Lake Superior district. The iron mines of the district have the best safety record for that industry in the country as a whole, while the copper mines of the district rank second in two of the four years recorded (Table 1). In Utah copper comes mainly from open-pit mines, which enables that state to lead easily in safety. All of the Michigan production comes from deep under-ground workings. About 60 per cent of the iron miners in St. Louis County, Minnesota, are employed at open-pit mines; this favorably affects the combined open-pit and underground accident-frequency rate, as this county pro-vides most of the Minnesota-mined iron ore. In Michigan, however, there are few open-pit mines, the bulk of the production coming from underground mines, while all of the Wisconsin production, just across the state line from Michigan, is from underground mines. In spite of the fact that fewer mines in Michigan use the safer open-pit method, the iron-mining industry of that state maintained a consistently low record from 1931 to 1934; however, it was many points behind its nearest com petitor, Minnesota, with its much greater production from open-pit mines.

Jan 1, 1939

By Arthur L. Walker

In June, 1893, while I was with the Old Dominion Copper Co. at Globe, Ariz., I received an offer to take charge, as manager, of the Baltimore Electric? Refining Co. which had recently built a plant at Baltimore, Md., having a capacity of about 1200 tons of electrolytic copper per month, using the Hayden series system. This was a very large output, for in those days the plants were small and the art was in its infancy. At the beginning of 1893 there were 11 electrolytic refineries in the United States, most of them using the multiple system. The Hayden series system was used at Baltimore and Bridgeport and the Smith series system was in operation at the Electrolytic Copper Co. at Ansonia, COM., and at the Pennsylvania Salt Co. at Philadelphia. In the latter system the plates were placed in a horizontal position, but the operating difficulties were so numerous it was soon discarded. The total production of these 11 plants in 1892 was very small; I have not been able to discover reliable figures of production. There were about thirty electrolytic copper refineries in the world that year, according to Titus Ulke, and the entire production of these

Jan 1, 1932

By C. A. Heiland

MEASUREMENTS of gravity with gravimeters have come into increased use in this country and abroad in the past five years. Probably 100 to 125 gravimeter parties are working in the United States alone. In oil exploration, gravimeter methods have relegated the gravity pendulum definitely to second place, if not third, and now closely rival and possibly surpass the torsion balance in many applications. Gravimeters have lately been applied in mining, although it is doubtful whether they will ever replace electrical or magnetic methods in this work. Notwithstanding the widespread application of gravimeters, there has been no article covering the entire field in the domestic or foreign literature. The purpose of this paper is to meet the demand for com-prehensive engineering information on the subject. The working principles of a number of gravimeters will be, illustrated and treated in relation to the action of corresponding seismometers and astatization methods. The mathematical discussion of theory has been confined to the most necessary fundamentals and been given in as ele-mentary form as possible. A description of calibration methods con-stitutes the last part of the paper. The symbols shown at the top of page 2 will be used in equations throughout the paper.

Jan 1, 1939

By Robert E. Goodwin

There are four main requirements to be considered in selecting a wire rope that will provide the best service. A proper choice is made by correctly estimating the relative importance of each of these requirements and choosing a rope with qualities that will best enable it to withstand the combination of destructive forces expected under continued service. A Good Rope Choice Matches Strength with Stress A wire rope should be (1) strong enough to sup- port the maximum load anticipated with a proper safety factor, (2) able to withstand bending and to resist bending fatigue without failure of the wires, (3) able to withstand surface abuse such as abrasion, pounding, and wire scrubbing, and (4) able to take abuse such as crushing and distortion.

Jan 5, 1969