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By John W. Tieman

Coal is a term applied to vegetable matter (trees, grasses, etc.) which was subjected to heat and pressure through geologic ages. This resulted in a change in both the physical and chemical properties. Because its chemical composition is variable, geologists classify coal as a heterogeneous mineral rather than a homogeneous mineral. Peat represents the initial, unconsolidated stage in the development of coal. This coalification continues with time and the application of temperature and pressure to lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite toward the theoretical graphite end member. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COAL The physical properties are concerned with the characteristics of coal in its natural state, or prior to its end use as a fuel. For example, the hardness and grindability of coal determine the maintenance cost for coal mining, handling, and pulverizing equipment; the specific gravity of coal and its associated minerals determines the coal preparation technique used in a cleaning plant as well as the capacity of coal bins, boats and size of cargo, and other coal storage facilities. The physical properties are, of course, dependent on the chemical constituents of coal, and all properties are interrelated. Specific Gravity The specific gravity (sp gr) of a solid is the ratio of the weight of a cubic foot of the solid to the weight of a cubic foot of water. The specific gravity of pure coal has been reported to range between 1.23 to 1.72 and increases with the change in rank from lignite to anthracite. This means that it is 1.23 to 1.72 times heavier than water.

Jan 1, 1981

Discussion of the paper of J. V. EMMONS, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914. and printed in Bulletin No. 93, September, 1914, pp. 2233 to 2248. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Cambridge, Mass.-Mr. Emmons is to be congratulated for having placed before us in so forcible and satisfactory a manner a question of much importance-that of the surface decarbonization of steel. Of course, both manufacturers and consumers have known for many years that during the heat treatment of high-carbon steel, surface deca.rbonization is always likely to occur to a greater or less degree, but the subject does not seem to have been investigated with the method and thoroughness it deserves. I am in substantial agreement with Mr. Emmons's conclusions, and I have but little to add to what he has so well said. His statement that carbon dioxide is just as effective an oxidizing agent as pure oxygen is likely to cause surprise and some will wonder whether his investigation has been carried far enough to warrant so unexpected a conclusion. The reaction C + 0 = CO, expressing the oxidation of carbon by pure oxygen, is decidedly exothermic, whereas the reaction C + C02 = 2C0, expressing the oxidation of carbon by carbon dioxide, is endothermic. Decarburization by pure oxygen, therefore, should take place much more readily than by carbon dioxide. One cannot help regretting that the author does not mention' the best way of preventing in a practical manner surface decarbonization while treating tool steel and other high-carbon steels.

Jan 4, 1915

The use of the verb in this mood is not as common as formerly: at the time, for example, when the Bible was translated and the plays of Shakespeare were written. Nevertheless it is an essential part of literary English. In editing the 'Mining and Scientific Press' I do not insist upon the use of the subjunctive in articles that are contributed from the outside, but it is deemed proper in all our editorial writing. To speak plainly, the subjunctive is a mark of scholarship; it is ignored by those that are not particular in such matters, and unfortunately it is a source of perplexity to many that are entirely unfamiliar with the use of it. Therefore, as an editor, I think it well to allow the indicative mood to be used by contributors in sentences in which, to be strictly correct, the verbs should be in the subjunctive mood. The fact that most subjunctives are indistinguishable in form from indicatives is another cause of trouble to the uninitiated.* For example, the verbs in such phrases as "Suffice it to say", '(So help me God ", and "God save the King" are in the subjunctive. One reason why the subjunctive is becoming uncommon is the growing habit of expressing the subjunctive meaning by aid of auxiliary verbs that are coupled with the infinitive; thus: "It will sate to say" and "May God save the King". The subjunctive is common in subordinate clauses, and that is how it obtained its name, 'subjunctive', meaning

Jan 1, 1931

By Persifor Frazer

The section along the left bank of the Susquehanna, in Lancaster County, from Falmouth to the Maryland line, which the writer made in 1877 to accompany his report on that county, was redrawn by Professor Lesley, as stated in the prefatory'letter to Vol. CCC. (p. x.).* As then stated, neither the numerous data, nor the general features of the structure obtained by the writer, were changed ; but enough was done to make a discrepancy between the text and the section as given; and some important points were made less clear in the published section than they were in the MS. map. Amongst other portions of the section, that between the railroad stations, 1190 to 1224, gives the impression on the published maps of a much too definite superposition. A few words will be devoted to this region in the following communication. There is absolutely no room to doubt the structure for about four miles on .each side of the Tocquan axis. The dips are gentle, and in opposite directions, and the lithological characters constant within ordinary limits of variation, nor do these characters resemble those of the rocks which flank these gneisses and mica schists to the northwest and the southeast. For the same reasons it is evident that the rocks which occur within these eight miles or so, represent an horizon below the basement of the fossiliferous or palaezoic series. Not only have no fossils been found, but their lithologieal characters are unmistakably eozeic. But on the upper and lower margins of this

Jan 1, 1884

By George Breyer

DURING the past 25 years the steelmaker has experienced some difficulty in producing steel to meet the standards established by the metallurgist. In contrast to the past, when a chemical specification of broad limits was the only requirement, he now has to employ such tests as microscopic, macroscopic, tensile, impact, Magnaflux and even X-ray and supersonic. The development of these tests has more than set the pace for a manufacturing process of which the exactness still hinges to an important degree on the ability of the furnace operator. In our efforts to produce steel, and especially alloy steel, to meet the exactness of modern engineering specification, many factors must be taken into account. It is not sufficient to make a good heat of steel in the furnace and then be satisfied that the job is done, since there are many pitfalls between the furnace and the finished product. The literature abounds with information on melting practices, deoxidation methods and slag control, but the lack of positive information about what happens when the steel is teemed into molds is quite evident. Such questions as what is the proper mold size, shape and thickness; which is the best mold coating; what is the best rate of pour for any given steel, and what is the effect of cooling rates on quality, are still answered by opinions. It is acknowledged that a poor heat of steel cannot be improved in the pouring pit. On the other hand, a good heat can be ruined by improper handling after it leaves the furnace.

Jan 1, 1947

By C. Dinis da Gama

In mining, all unit operations are closely interrelated, and the results of blasting are probably the key factor within that sequence. The drilling program prior to blasting is just as dependent upon the desired rock fragmentation as are the loading, hauling, and mechanical crushing operations which are economically and technically influenced by the results of blasting, namely, the size and scatter of the product. What is known today as optimum blasting is the process of designing a blast in order to obtain a certain degree of fragmentation so that overall mining costs are minimized. Applying this criterion often results in a different program than when an individual blasting pattern is chosen only on the basis of the lowest operational cost for that pattern, disregarding what comes before or after the blast. [Fig. 1] shows the characteristic variation of mining unit costs with the degree of fragmentation, or the maximum size of blocks obtained from blasting. From the figure, it can be seen that optimum breakage must correspond to the lowest total costs, but reducing drilling-blasting costs only does not achieve such an optimum solution. Methods of designing surface or underground blasting operations should comply with the optimization criterion, but this compliance is feasible only if a detailed mining system analysis is available. Therefore, predictions of costs of loading, transporting, and mechanical breakage of ore as a function of its size will define a narrow range of variation for drilling and blasting parameters in order to get the minimum total costs.

Jan 1, 1972

By Roy L. Zuber

Identification and analysis of mining hazards involves the correlation of accident, injury and illness information from all segments of the mining industry. It would not be feasible to process the volume of data involved without substantial reliance upon a computerized information system similar to that maintained by the Health and Safety Analysis Center. Numerous statistical programs are applied to the computerized accident-injury-illness data base to identify those mining tasks and associated activities which are responsible for most of the injuries and occupational illnesses. These programs are used to flag those mining tasks or conditions at specific mines or segments of the mining industry where either a significant increase in the injury/illness trend has been reported or where the number of injuries/illnesses related to specific mining tasks or conditions are high. Upon identification of those mining hazards which warrant further analysis, a computerized search of the coded accident data is performed to correlate the predominant categories by cause of injury or illness, source of injury, nature of injury, type of accident, etc. From this correlation, those factors most common to the conditions responsible for the hazard may be identified. Based upon analyses of this form, recommendations are made regarding the appropriate engineering, training, and/or operational improvements necessary to alleviate the hazard. In addition to mining hazard analysis, the computerized data base also has application in the area of optimum resource allocation. Computer programs have been developed to assist management in allocating resources based upon organizational requirements and historical accident - injury trends.

Jan 1, 1983

By Robert L. Bates

An industrial mineral, says the Glossary of Geologic Terms, is "any rock, mineral, or other naturally occurring substance of economic value, exclusive of metallic ores, mineral fuels, and gemstones; one of the nonmetallics." Probably most geologists and engineers would accept this simple and straightforward definition, at least as a general statement. On analysis, however, certain anomalies crop up. For example, it may be considered arbitrary to include industrial diamond and corundum, but to exclude their precious varieties, gem diamond and sapphire. So the present volume has a section on gems and gem materials, in spite of the definition. Another problem arises when we try to define precisely what is metallic and what is nonmetallic. Bauxite and ilmenite certainly qualify as metallic ores, but both are also raw materials of important nonmetallic substances; hence they are included in the book. A third anomaly is that, by common consent of geologists, engineers, mineral economists, and others concerned, the term industrial minerals may include not only rocks and minerals but also certain manufactured products like cement and lime, and even mixed groups of natural and artificial products, such as abrasives and refractories. Thus the central realm of the industrial minerals is clear enough, but its boundaries tend to be indefinable. Since a definition that allowed for every irregularity in the outer fringes would be excessively un- wieldy, the one quoted above may be considered satisfactory. The expression industrial minerals is commonly equated with nonmetallics, and with the somewhat more precise phrase industrial minerals and rocks as in the title of this book.

Jan 1, 1975

By H. B. Charmbury, D. R. Mitchell

Recovery of fine coal from solids reporting to wash water has become increasingly important. These solids range from about 28 mesh to 0 and constitute 3 to 7 pct by weight of the feed tonnage to a coal preparation plant. In the past they were usually wasted to streams, but present clean stream legislation makes it necessary to remove them from the wash water and, if economically possible, recover the associated coal as a saleable product. Where these solids are not wasted to streams or to slime ponds they are recovered by thickeners and filters. Since filter cake is often high in ash or sulfur, or both, it is not readily marketed or used. Common practice is to mix it with other plant products, generally slack or cleaned run-of-mine. Uniform blending is difficult, not only because the impurity is usually high, but also because during certain operating periods it is possible to get a concentration of this filter cake in a railroad or barge. At some plants filter cake has been derived from the froth flotation clean-up of Dorr thickener underflow. The operating circuits required for a froth flotation plant make this a comparatively high-cost treatment, and in the last few years experiments have been carried out with bulk oil methods. These also are quite expensive and lend themselves only to special situations. Table I gives some characteristics of thickener underflows for plants in the Pittsburgh area treating Pittsburgh seam coal. It will be noted that there is a concentration of impurities in the -200 mesh sizes.

Jan 1, 1960

By E. M. Wise

IT is known qualitatively that the recrystallization behavior of platinum is dependent upon the amount and particularly the nature of impurities present, the amount of prior cold-work and the annealing time and temperature, but published data are limited. A study of the effects of cold-work and annealing temperature on the hardness of a sample of very pure platinum was undertaken to supply part of this information. CONCLUSIONS 1. The platinum used in the experiments had a probable platinum content of 99.99+ per cent, and had the following mechanical properties in the completely softened condition: Vickers hardness number, 39.4; ultimate tensile strength, 19,340 lb. per sq. in.; proportional limit, very low; elongation, 37.5 per cent in 2 inches. 2. The effect of cold-rolling on the hardness is shown in Fig. 1. The hardness increases rapidly up to 10 to 15 per cent reduction and more slowly up to about 75 per cent reduction, beyond which it increases more rapidly. 3. The recrystallization temperatures for a 15-min. anneal, after cold-rolling 19, 39.5, 50.8, 66, 80.5 and 89.5 per cent reduction in thickness, are approximately 765°, 700°, 635°, 600°, 545° and 425°C., respectively. 4. The recrystallized grain size of this platinum is a function of the percentage of cold reduction, being larger the lower the percentage of cold-work. 5. Little or no grain growth resulted from subjecting recrystallized samples to higher temperatures or annealing for longer times.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. S. Richardson

VENTILATION of the Butte mines has long been a rather difficult problem because of the natural high temperature of the rock. With increase in mining depth, higher rock temperatures have been encoun-tered, and this has caused a constantly growing demand for more effective ventilation measures. During recent years the hazards of dust in mine air have been more clearly recognized, and have necessitated the adoption of dust-prevention methods. To meet these ventilation problems in the mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., a mines ventilation department was organized in 1918, to act under the direction of the general superintendent of mines. At the present time, under normal operating conditions, the force employed includes the ventilation engineer, two chief assistant ventilation engineers and eight assistant ventilation engineers. The activities of the department are, briefly: (1) planning and supervising operation of the general ventilation system; (2) planning and supervising the operation of dust-prevention measures, together, with dust sampling and related microscopic work for the quantitation of the dust samples and determina-tion of particle-size distribution; (3) the design and development of air-conditioning methods to meet present exceptionally severe temperature conditions and in anticipation of future requirements. To a large extent the technical features of the ventilation methods have been described in earlier papers by the author. This paper is written mainly to summarize past accomplishments bearing most closely on health and safety, with a somewhat more detailed account of the dust-prevention measures that have been developed comparatively recently.

Jan 1, 1938

By R. Lingle, E. Hardin, M. Board, H. Pratt, W. Ubbes, M. Voegele, N. Barton

A 2 m. cube of jointed, Pre Cambrian biotite gneiss was subjected to uniaxial and biaxial loading at ambient and elevated temperature. The effects of different boundary conditions on the following rockmass properties were investigated: deformation modulus, joint stiffness, dynamic modulus, coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal diffusivity and conductivity, and joint permeability. Test conditions ranged between 0 and 6.9 MPa uniaxial and biaxial load, and 12° to 74°C mean block temperature. The tests were performed as part of the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation program for evaluating site charterization test methods for measuring the hydro-thermal-mechanical properties of rock masses. The fracture flow experiments discussed in this paper were described in detail in a similar paper given to this symposium in 1981 (Voegele, 1981). DEFORMATION MODULUS Horizontal deformation measurements oriented parallel to the loading direction were made at the block surface. Several instrument types were employed: surface short-rod extensometers, bonded strain gauges, vibrating wire strain gauges and the Whittemore caliper strain gauge. Two vertical and two slant borehole extensometers measured vertical displacement. Loading history, especially during uniaxial loading, was critical to interpretation of observed deformation and fracture flow data. This important tendency has been observed in other large-scale laboratory (Bandis, 1980) and field tests (Pratt, et al., 1977). Excavation of the block resulted in minimal disturbance to the intrinsic condition of the sample. Even so, permanent, unrecovered "set" was imparted to the block beginning with the first low-stress biaxial load cycle to 3.45 MPa (Table 1). Unloading

Jan 1, 1982

By E. H. Barton

The necessity, on the Pacific Coast and throughout the semiarid regions in particular, of the conservation of waters for agricultural, industrial and mining purposes has forced itself upon the minds of those directly or indirectly interested in these industries. To meet the requirements of the case, storage must be provided for the flood-waters so abundant during the rainy season in order to insure a constant and unfailing supply during the summer months. Such storage can only be obtained, in the greater number of instances, by the erection of reservoir-walls of great height. The feasibility of employing earth or timber in the construction of such high dams is questionable, especially when (as is often the case) they must be placed in torrential streams. The experience of recent years with masonry dams, throughout this and foreign countries, has demonstrated that such dams, when intelligently and correctly designed and properly constructed, will meet the requirements of larger storage by means of increased height. The failures of masonry dams have been few; only two of any consequence being on record, namely, that of the Puentes dam, in Spain, in 1802, and that of the Habra dam, in Algiers, in 1810.* On the other hand, the failures of wooden and earthern dams are innumerable. The following are some of the most important structures constructed in recent years. The list is taken from Mr. Wegmann's book, just cited: The Furens, Zola, Ternay, Ban and Verdon dams, in France; the Nizar, Lozoya, Villar and the two Hizar dams,

Jan 1, 1900

By S.G. Bankoff

Ince1 proposed that electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged particles was responsible for slime-coating. Del Giudice2 postulated the metathetic formation of a cementing compound. Wark3 suggested that prevention of slime-coating was related to peptization of the slime. In the experiments of Table I the technique employed was essentially that of del Giudice, with the difference that the particle was examined under a film of water rather than dry.4 In general, the polished particle was agitated for 2 min. in a pulp consisting of 12.5 grams of the slime (—200 mesh) and 50 C.C. of distilled water, washed in three baths of distilled water, and examined at 220 diameters with the Leitz Ultropak. Observations of Brownian movement were made at 850 diameters with dark-field illumination. Several of these experiments do not jibe with the metathesis theory. According to published solubilities,5,6 the lead salts of the anions in experiments c through g are more insoluble than lead carbonate, there- fore should prevent the formation of lead carbonate on the galena surface. In experiment i the calcium oxalate, which precumably was on the calcite surfaces, should have permitted the formation of a lead carbonate cement by virtue of its greater solubility. Experiments j through m show that the addition of lime accelerates the deposition of quartz onto a galena surface. The writer is unable to postulate a satisfactory cementing compound, according to the metathesis theory, to explain this effect. These experiments led to the conclusion that the metathetic formation of a cement-

Jan 1, 1943

By G. F. Tagg

In an earlier paper1, the author described a method of interpreting earth-resistivity curves, based on the theoretical investigation of a single horizontal underlying stratum. If the four-electrode system of Wenner is employed, the resistivity in a homogeneous soil is given by the formula p = 2paR [1] where a is the electrode separation and R is the resistance of the earth between the two inner electrodes. If the earth is not perfectly homo¬geneous, the application of this formula gives an apparent specific resistance varying with the electrode separation. In the special case of the single horizontal underlying stratum, there is a surface layer of thickness h and resistivity pi and a lower layer, extend-ing to infinity, of resistivity p2. It has been shown by Lancaster-Jones2 that the apparent resistivity, obtained by an application of equation 1 is related to the true resistivities, the depth h and the electrode separation a by an expression of the form pa/p1 = 1 + 4F [2] where Pa is the apparent resistivity and F is a function (actually an infinite series), of the ratio h/a, and a reflection coefficient k = (p2 - p1)/(p2 + p1). For given values of h/a and k, the right-hand side of equation 2 can be calculated, and curves drawn showing the relationship between Pa/P1, h/a and k. Such a set of curves for the case when pi > P2 is given in Fig. 1.

Jan 1, 1937

By Carl Beal

IN February, 1918, the conclusion was published by Lewis and Beal1 "that wells of equal output on the average will produce equal amounts of oil in the future, regardless of the ages of the wells." This conclusion was based upon the study of data collected principally in Oklahoma and was not known at that time to be true for other oil fields. An abundance of statistical proof was later, collected by the senior author of the present paper, which showed that the conclusion was undoubtedly well founded and that it applied to other fields as well. Accordingly, it was later restated2 as the "law of equal expectations" as follows: "If two wells under similar conditions .produce equal amounts during any given year, the amounts they will produce thereafter, on the average, will be approximately equal, regardless of their relative ages." Although only scanty data from the California oil fields were available at the time this publication was prepared, sufficient information was analyzed upon which to base the insert on Fig. 80, which showed beyond a doubt that the law held at least for a part of the Midway oil field in California. Recently the authors have collected more complete data in California, and it is the purpose of this paper to explain the method used in demonstrating the truth of the law and, in addition, to give several methods by which curves constructed in accordance with this law can be used in a practical way with ease and accuracy.

Jan 8, 1919

By Don Blackmar

THE production of non-ferrous secondary metals has become a large and important industry in the United States, and deals with practically every type of manufacturing concern.. Its business is unique in that it generally buys from its customers as well as sells to them, whether they are individuals, cities, corporations, or the United States government. Its operations are of vital importance to the success and prosperity of many of the nation's most important manufacturers; yet there are few industries about which less is generally known by those outside it, whether concerning the magnitude of its operations or the details of its actual technique. The industry itself is to blame for this meager publicity, because its technical men have made few attempts to openly exchange ideas, in spite of the excellent examples set by the iron and-steel or the copper and brass industries. Whether this is due to the ancient shroud of secrecy generally supposed to cover smelting operations, or because its technical men actually felt that the industry was too puny to be interesting, is hard to say. This paper will consider its subject in a 'general way, attempting to show something of the size and importance of the industry, as well as its fitness to do its work well. Attention will be called to the sound economic reasons for the handling of non-ferrous wastes by specialists, and to the often unseen losses of metals and labor which occur when manufacturers reclaim' their own metallic wastes.

Jan 1, 1928

By P. Somasundaran

INTRODUCTION Large amounts of mineral values are discarded today as fines and ultrafines, because of inadequate technology to process them economically. Most conventional mineral processing techniques fail in the sub-sieve range. Fines respond poorly to processes such as flotation either due to change in mineralogy and surface composition or even simply due to the direct effect of their smallness in size on collision and adhesion rates between them and air bubbles. Indeed if the poor flotation is due to the smallness in size, a solution must rest in aggregating the fines. Inorganic electrolytes as well as polymers have been successfully used as flocculants in the past for obtaining increased flotation of colloidal material from waste water effluents. In mineral beneficiation, this technique can be profitably used if the process of flocculation can be made to take place selectively. The power of the selective flocculation technique has already been proven, with the successful application of it in the case of beneficiation of low grade iron ore by the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Ore Company and potash ore by Cominco. The process holds tremendous potential when it is followed by flotation, elutriation, etc. Today its application is, however, limited to the above two cases and it has become clear that a full understanding of the process will prove helpful for developing solutions to various problems that exist both at the basic and applied levels. In this paper, principles that are known to govern selective aggregation processes such as selective flocculation, carrier flotation and spherical agglomeration will be examined and areas of uncertainties will be identified.

Jan 1, 1979

By W. C. Winegard, C. J. Simpson

BNINGESSNER et al.1 have shown that the solidification substructure in dilute cadmium alloys persisted after repeated deformation, recrystallization, and annealing treatments. On the basis of this and similar evidence, Whelan has suggested in a recent publication' that the solidification structure might affect the mobility of grain boundaries even after primary re-crystallization. This suggestion is important, since the technique used by previous investigators3-5 to fabricate grain growth specimens consisted only of casting, deforming, and recrystallizing prior to the grain growth anneal. Usually no attempt was made to homogenize samples with prolonged annealing. Experiments. To test the Whelan hypothesis, grain growth experiments were performed with samples in which the degree of solute segregation was altered by controlling the solidification rate of the alloys. The initial experiments were performed on the Pb-Ag system. Alloys containing 0.01 at. pct Ag were produced from 99.9999 pct Pb and 99.999 pct Ag. Cylindrical samples, 40 cm long and 12 mm in diam, were solidified in graphite-coated Vycor tubes by lowering them through a vertical furnace at varying rates with the furnace power settings constant. Six-centimeter sections were discarded from each end, and the 28-cm section from the center was cut into sections 25 mm long for grain growth experiments. These samples were deformed with the aid of a drophammer to a uniform thickness of 5.7 mm. After almost instantaneous recrystallization, the samples were given a grain growth anneal for various times at 260°C in a salt bath. Experimental results are shown

Jan 1, 1970

By Don Blackmar

THE production of non-ferrous secondary metals has become a large and important industry in the United States, and deals with practically every type of manufacturing concern. Its business is unique in that it generally buys from its customers as well as sells to them, whether they are individuals, cities, corporations, or the United States government. Its operations are of vital importance to the success and prosperity of many of the nation's most important manufacturers; yet there are few industries about which less is generally known by those outside it, whether concerning the magnitude of its operations or the details of its actual technique. The industry itself is to blame for this meager publicity, because its technical men have made few attempts to openly exchange ideas, in spite of the excellent examples set by the iron and steel or the copper and brass industries. Whether this is due to the ancient shroud of secrecy generally supposed to cover smelting operations, or because its technical men actually felt that the industry was too puny to be interesting, is hard to say. This paper will consider its subject in a general way, attempting to show something of the size and importance of the industry, as well as its fitness to do its work well. Attention will be called to the sound economic reasons for the handling of non-ferrous wastes by specialists, and to the often unseen losses of metals and labor which occur when manufacturers reclaim their own metallic wastes.

Jan 1, 1928