Search Documents

By Warren L. Howes

Literally hundreds of designs of mill liners are in use in current grinding operations, varying in contour from smooth to the roughest of surfaces, and in materials from scrap rail to alloy steels. A certain amount of variation in materials can be expected, owing to differences in local market conditions and the character of ores. However, when one attempts to rationalize the designs in current operations of a parallel nature, there is little that can be called standard practice. Designs and opinions of designs are as divergent as day and night. Somewhere in this maze there must be dues to better practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors for consideration in liner design, and to propose a vigorous campaign of exploration in this phase of grinding operations. The paramount considerations in the choice of mill liners for a grinding operation are: (I) durability, in view of the cost, and (2) developed grinding capacity. Because of the strategic nature of grinding circuits in controlling the production of most mining operations: grinding capacity usually is the greater consideration. Grinding Capacity Mill liners affect grinding capacity in two ways: (I) by establishing dead space within a mill shell, which could be usefully occupied by live grinding media, and (2) by controlling the grinding action of the media. The extent to which liner thickness affects the potential volume of live grinding media, and thereby the grinding capacity, is shown in Table I. In a ball mill 7 ft. in diameter, for example, an inch of liner thickness reduces ball volume and corresponding grinding capacity by 5 per cent. With grinding capacity at a premium, this makes consideration something more than first cost of liner materials. A low-cost, voluminous material, made extra thick to secure adequate life, can be very expensive in terms of grinding capacity. On the other hand, in increased grinding capacity, a long-wearing material in a thinner pattern can save many times its value. From the standpoint of mechanics, the function of mill liners is to provide the means of driving or tumbling the load of grinding media. In this respect, an internal-spur gear-and-pinion assembly resembles a rotating mill shell with its contained load of grinding media, the mill-shell linen

Jan 1, 1947

By Warren L. Howes

Literally hundreds of designs of mill liners are in use in current grinding operations, varying in contour from smooth to the roughest of surfaces, and in materials from scrap rail to alloy steels. A certain amount of variation in materials can be expected, owing to differences in local market conditions and the character of ores. However, when one attempts to rationalize the designs in current operations of a parallel nature, there is little that can be called standard practice. Designs and opinions of designs are as divergent as day and night. Somewhere in this maze there must be dues to better practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors for consideration in liner design, and to propose a vigorous campaign of exploration in this phase of grinding operations. The paramount considerations in the choice of mill liners for a grinding operation are: (I) durability, in view of the cost, and (2) developed grinding capacity. Because of the strategic nature of grinding circuits in controlling the production of most mining operations: grinding capacity usually is the greater consideration. Grinding Capacity Mill liners affect grinding capacity in two ways: (I) by establishing dead space within a mill shell, which could be usefully occupied by live grinding media, and (2) by controlling the grinding action of the media. The extent to which liner thickness affects the potential volume of live grinding media, and thereby the grinding capacity, is shown in Table I. In a ball mill 7 ft. in diameter, for example, an inch of liner thickness reduces ball volume and corresponding grinding capacity by 5 per cent. With grinding capacity at a premium, this makes consideration something more than first cost of liner materials. A low-cost, voluminous material, made extra thick to secure adequate life, can be very expensive in terms of grinding capacity. On the other hand, in increased grinding capacity, a long-wearing material in a thinner pattern can save many times its value. From the standpoint of mechanics, the function of mill liners is to provide the means of driving or tumbling the load of grinding media. In this respect, an internal-spur gear-and-pinion assembly resembles a rotating mill shell with its contained load of grinding media, the mill-shell linen

Jan 1, 1947

By E. G. Dean

A method of top slicing has been devised at the Miami Copper Co.'s mine at Miami, Aria., which differs radically in some ways from the customary methods of top slicing. The area of that section of the orebody in which top slicing is used is about 800 ft. square. The ore, while for the most part soft, is, nevertheless, considerably harder than the capping. The latter is siliceous, seldom containing any clay or other binding material, and breaks into fine particles so that it runs like sand if given the opportunity. Because of these facts, and because the ore is above the average grade of the mine ore, it has been mined by top slicing. Haulage levels are opened up 150 ft. apart, vertically, with two sub-levels between at 50-ft. intervals, to facilitate the putting up of ore chutes. These sublevels are used during slicing for distributing air in the ventilation system. On the haulage level the drifts are spaced on 50-ft. centers, and raises along these drifts are also spaced on 50-ft. centers, except the incline raises as hereafter noted. The raises are cribbed where necessary. Where the wear will be excessive, 1/4-in. iron plates are spiked to the top of every third set of cribbing, for its protection. When top slicing was first used, an attempt was made to carry a slicing face from fifty to several hundred feet long. Timber and other supplies were brought in through long drifts from an auxiliary shaft. Great difficulty was experienced in keeping these drifts open, the side pressure breaking the posts and the top weight breaking both caps and posts. Furthermore, the men could not work efficiently while these drifts were being repaired. The slicing faces advanced irregularly, due to varying conditions, and in many ways the results were not all that could be desired. It was then decided to divide the slicing area into blocks 200 ft. square and this was later changed to 250 ft. square. At the center of each block a two-compartment raise is put up as a supply raise, the compartments being 2 ft. 6 in. and 4 ft. by 4 ft. 4 in., the smaller being used as a manway. Station sets of 12 by 12 timber with

Jan 1, 1917

By J. N. Houser

THE industrial relations between the Tennessee Copper Co. and its employees have developed a number of interesting things and have been most, profitable to the employees and to the company. It is noteworthy that considerable has been done without a formal organization of any kind built up through the efforts of the company. From time to time there have been discussions regarding the advisability of a formal organization and the decision has always been in favor of the present method. In the year 1919, the company was dealing with its employees through union committees and, after an understanding was reached, satisfactory results began to be obtained, but as time went on the committees did not function and it came to a question of how to reach the men. For the past two years, about once a month, but at no stated time, there has been a meeting with a committee of employees consisting of 40 or 50 men out of 700. This committee is secured by notify-ing the locals. In addition, the Service Department notifies a number of men not represented in the union, so as to have a large representative committee. The meetings are on company time and the men are rotated, so that in time every employee attends , at least one meeting. All department heads and a number of foremen also are present. The operating plans and policy of the company are set out at the meetings and the market outlook for products is discussed. Explana-tions are also given of anything that has come up since the last meeting which affects the employees, and an effort is made to inform them of what will probably happen in the next month or two. Once a week there is a meeting of department heads with the manager, for discussion of all operations as a whole and such depart-mental details as seem advisable. When the depression started, it was necessary to curtail operations and the reasons were carefully explained; before the men were laid off, the employees as a whole were advised of the coming layoffs through these meetings. They were also advised generally who would be retained and given an opportunity to express their agreement or their. disapproval. In fact, an effort was and is being made to keep the employees advised in advance of matters affecting them and to give them full opportunity to express themselves.

Jan 12, 1922

By W. L. Chu

It was observed that chromized coatings on low carbon steel could be embrittled by cooling slowly through the 475°C range. A higher chromium coating was more susceptible to embrittlement than a lower chromium coating. Coating structure and composition could be correlated with the chromizing process and prior carbon content of the steel. IT was recently observed that during the fabrication of rectangular tubings made with chromized thin gage 1010 steel, a high percentage of these parts were fractured readily in a brittle manner under the light impact-forming load employed. Ensuing investigation indicated the cause for such brittle failures to be the so-called 475°C embrittlement of the chromized coatings. The experimental work and results are briefly reported. Rectangular tube sections of normalized AISI C1010 steel, which had a cross-section of 0.5x1.5 in. and a wall thickness of 0.030 in., were chromized to yield coatings having several ranges of thickness, varying from 0.0005 to 0.002 in. Essentially, the chromizing process is similar to that described by Samuel and Lockington,' which consists of heating the parts in a sealed container at about 955°C for 4 hr in intimate contact with a chromizing mixture* samples in a hydraulic press, and the other employed a simple beam bending test of the flat sides of the tubing walls. Neither, however, was able to differentiate the relative brittleness of samples known to include both the brittle and tough types, since the impact-brittle samples were found to deform readily in a manner similar to the tough ones. Both the tough and brittle samples were studied by reflection microscopy. Observation showed that the microstructures of the steel cores were similar in content and distribution of inclusions as well as in the ferritic grain size. Results of Filar micrometer measurements showed that coating thicknesses+ of the brittle samples averaged 0.0007 in., whereas those of the tough samples averaged 0.0016 in. The micrographs of Fig. 2 illustrate the structural differences between coatings of both types of samples. By dissolving the steel cores in nitric acid, coatings of both the brittle and tough samples were isolated. Simple bending tests showed that coatings of the brittle samples cracked readily at about 90" bend, whereas those of the tough samples could be bent nearly 180° without cracking. The coatings as well as the steel cores were analyzed for carbon and

Jan 1, 1956

By J. Kittl, D. Arias

THE decomposition on cooling of the high-temperature ß bcc phases in copper- or silver-based binary systems usually takes place by a martensitic. massive, bainitic, or pearlitic reaction depending upon the particular conditions of each system. The AgAl system is one of these systems in which a massive or a martensitic transformation can occur upon cooling from the 3 phase field. Recently Hawbolt and Brown1 observed both massive and martensitic transformation products in a 22.7 at. pct A1 alloy. In the present work the massive and the martensitic transformations were investigated in a number of alloys for the composition range between 23.2 and 27.9 at. pct Al. The alloys were prepared using high-purity silver, 99.999 pct, supplied by ASARCO and aluminum, 99.999 pct, supplied by ALCOA. The metals were melted using a graphite or a sintered alumina crucible which was sealed in quartz tubes under an argon atmosphere. The alloys Were remelted to reduce segregation and homogenized in the 13 phase field for 24 hr. The weight of the alloys after homo-genization compared with the initial weight indicating the alloy composition to be within k0.1 pct of the in- tended composition. Chemical analysis of several samples confirmed the estimated alloy composition. All metallographic observations were performed on samples electropolished with ac current using a 10 pct solution of KCN and a stainless-steel electrode. The samples were cut into -1-mm-thick slices, polished, heat-treated in the ß phase field, and quenched in air, ice water, or iced brine. Some heat treatments consisted of a 2-min anneal carried out in air to allow maximum quenching speeds. Other samples were heat-treated in a vacuum of 10"4 torr and quenched using a helium blast in a quenching apparatus described elsewhere.&apos; In both cases, no appreciable losses of silver or aluminum were noted at the sample surface by sectioning and electropolishing. Table I summarizes the microstructure resulting from the various quenching treatments. The composition of the alloys investigated is also indicated on the equilibrium diagram in Fig. 1. The <, hcp phase, typical of a massive ß — cm, transformation, was observed in all alloys. A minimum temperature of 450°C was estimated for this transformation based on preliminary cooling experiments. the results being included in Fig. 1. In these

Jan 1, 1970

A plan which has just been approved by President Wilson, by, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Naval Consulting Board, provides for the active cooperation of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World with the 30,000 engineers who will soon undertake the task of making a card index survey of American industry, so that it may be prepared for national defense, if need comes. Herbert S. Houston, President of the Associated Clubs of the World comments on the plan. "Through the great power of advertising we expect-to arouse manufacturers, workingmen, businessmen, in fact the whole country, to the vital need of making industry the basic line of defense so that, if necessity arises, it can supply munitions quickly and abundantly. "This is not a war measure, but a peace measure. The militarist will support it and so will the pacifist, as well as the great body of Americans in between. So the slogan `national defense and international peace, has been adopted believing that the two causes will be best served by linking them together. "While the primary thing, of course, is service to the country, it is manifest that this work of the engineers will be of the greatest service to industry in times of peace. If industry is mobilized for defense, it will be placed on a basis of efficiency to meet the keen competition that will surely follow the present war." Howard E. Coffin, one of the leaders of the American automobile industry, in outlining the far-reaching plans of his committee, the Committee of Industrial Preparedness of the Naval Consulting Board, said: "At the outset I wish to emphasize the absolutely non-partisan nature of this work. I am not even familiar with the political affiliations of the great majority of the members of the Board or of my committee. In setting out to, mobilize the industrial resources of the United States, we are concerned only with the benefit to the nation, and to that end we have called into being an organization made up of the best technical and business brains of the country, and that organization will work along business lines with strictly business methods. I think it reasonable to say that this is a movement perhaps unique in the history of national governments, and one geared up to the highest standards of twentieth century efficiency. "It is vitally necessary that American industry be made aware of the part it must play in the national defense. Our whole conception of warfare has been changed almost overnight. Our military heads at Washington are largely, of course, graduates of the very best technical schools, have been taught the profession of fighting, and are masters of that profession. As members of the Naval Consulting Board, we are unable to tell these men how to do their work. But while these departmental heads have lived with military problems all their adult years, we on the other hand have slept and eaten and lived with the industrial problems of the country. The two questions are wholly distinct, and the masters of one cannot possibly be the masters of the other. We are confronted then with the necessity of interlocking these two vast elements of our national life into a great working organization for the national defense. It is that which we are about to do.

Jan 5, 1916

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

In their action upon the senses a few minerals possess taste, and others under some circumstances give off odor. 444. Taste belongs only to soluble minerals. The different kinds of taste adopted for reference are as follows: 1. Astringent: the taste of vitriol. 2. Sweetish astringent: taste of alum. 3. Saline: taste of common salt. 4. Alkaline: tast&apos;e of soda. 5. Cooling: taste of saltpeter. 6. Bitter: taste of Epsom salts. 7. Sour: taste of sulphuric acid.

Jan 1, 1922

The President&apos;s Prizes, which consist of $30 and $20, were established for the best essays on some subject related to Mining, Economic Geology, or Metallurgy by a Junior Associate or a Member of an Affiliated Student Society of the Institute. In making the awards, special weight will be given to originality in investigation and treatment and to literary merit. As a general rule, the essays should not be less than 3000 nor more than 10,000 words.

Jan 1, 1923

IT is certainly fitting and proper that the shortage of engineers should be the topic of frequent editorials in the professional magazine of mining engineers, but many of you are directly concerned with another shortage; namely, the shortage of skilled miners. It is often said that the military organization is built around the noncommissioned officer and it is similarly true that the mining organization depends for its production on the skilled miner-the NCO of the mining industry.

Jan 10, 1951

As a service to its readers, MINING ENGINEERING is publishing the mineral industry portion of the 1952 list of "Accredited Undergraduate Engineering Curricula in the United States." This list, revised annually, is issued by the Education Committee of the Engineers Council for Professional Development, and covers all phases of engineering education. The AIME is actively represented on ECPD, which was jointly organized by the Founder Societies and various other groups interested in the professional recognition of engineers.

Jan 4, 1953

By David L. Thompson

The Alumet Company, a partnership of National .Steel Corporation, the Southwire Company, and Earth Sciences, Inc., is in the final phase of its feasibility study for an alunite plant. To be located in southwestern Utah, it could be the first commercial-scale operation in the Western Hemisphere to recover alumina from an ore other than bauxite. Sulfuric acid and sulfate of potash are by-products of the process. Alumina production level will be set at 500,000 tons p

Jan 1, 1976

By AIME AIME

FOR the following notes and pictures we are indebted to Sumner S. Smith of Oakland, California: Gold was discovered on Squaw Creek in the fall of 1927 by an Indian named "Paddy Duncan," and most of the stream was staked by natives. This stream is about 12 miles in length and flows into the east fork of the Alsek River, 10 to 15 miles below the old Dalton Post in British Columbia, near the international bound-

Jan 1, 1929

The Institute maintains a dual relationship with students (1) an individual relationship with a Student Associate, and (2) a relationship with local organizations of students, known as Affiliated Student Societies or Student Chapters 1 The conditions of Student Associate¬ship are set forth in Section 9, Article I, of the Bylaws of the Institute (see page 74 and following pages) During 1934, sundry amendments were made for the purpose of improving the student relationship Post-graduate students are now eligible, and associateship can be maintained, with the payment of the regular dues of $2 per year, for 18 months following graduation in June With his regular dues, each Student Associate is entitled to receive during the year his choice of MINING AND METALLURGY, METALS TECHNOLOGY, MINING TECHNOLOGY, PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, or COAL TECHNOLOGY, and on payment of an additional fifty cents he can have both MINING AND METALLURGY and any one of the others He is accorded the privilege of getting special publications such as "The Porphyry Coppers" and "Elements of the Petroleum Industry" at the reduced prices applicable to Members, he has the privileges of the Engineering Societies Personnel Service and the Engineering Societies Library, and he is not only invited but urged to attend all meet¬ings of the Institute, its Divisions and its Local Sections The Institute wants to extend the hand of professional fellowship to students following mineral industries curricula

Jan 1, 1952

Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn W. H Emmons, Director A list of publications will be sent upon application Orders for publications should be addressed to The University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota The Geological Survey of Minnesota has a record of long and useful service Some of the papers published have been outstanding in their field A series of 24 Annual Reports, covering the years 1872 to 1895-98, inclusive, was issued, of which 16 are still available at a price. More important however, are the six volumes of Final Reports, in which is collected the material presented in the earlier Annual Reports. All the strictly geological papers are found in four of the volumes of the Final Reports. vol 1 (1872-1882), principally geology by counties, 2 (1882-1885), same as 1, 4 (1896-1898), same as 1, 5 (1898-1900), Structural and petrographic geology Prices for each volume, leather $3, cloth $2 50, excluding postage, unless other directions accompany the order, volumes of the Final Reports will be sent express collect. A series of Bulletins has been issued, of which a few are out of print. Considering only those available, and of greatest interest, they are: Bulletin 5, Natural gas in Minnesota, by N H Winchell (1889), 50 cents, 6, Iron ores in Minnesota, their geology, discovery, development, qualities and origin, by N H Winchell and H V.

Jan 1, 1933

The Institute maintains a dual relationship with students: (1) an indi¬vidual relationship with a Student Associate; and (2) a relationship with local organizations of students, known as Affiliated Student Societies or Stu¬dent Chapters. 1. The conditions of Student Associateship are set forth in Section 9, Article I, of the Bylaws of the Institute (see page 57 and following pages). During 1934, sundry amendments were made for the purpose of improving the student relationship. Post-graduate students are now eligible; and associateship can be maintained, with the payment of the regular dues of $2 per year, for 18 months following graduation in June. With his regular dues, each Student Associate is entitled to receive during the year his choice of Mining and Metallurgy, Metals Technology, Mining Technology, Petroleum Technology, or two "classes" of Technical Publications; and on payment of an additional fifty cents he can have both Mining and Metallurgy and any one of the others. He is accorded the privilege of getting special publications such as "The Porphyry Coppers" and "Ore Deposits of the Western States" at the reduced prices applicable to Members; he has the privileges of the Engineering Societies Employment Service and the Engineering Societies Library; and he is not only invited but urged to attend all meetings of the Institute, its Divisions and its Local Sections. The Institute wants to extend the hand of professional fellowship to students following mineral industries curricula.

Jan 1, 1938

By F. S. Peabody

ANYTHING that may be said about "too much coal" must seem rather incongruous just at this time when two-thirds of the mines in the United States have been idle for nearly four months and a temporary coal shortage looms as more and more of a possibility. It is the purpose of this article, however, to deal primarily with the fundamental ills of the bituminous-coal industry, which, when summed up, can be expressed in one word-overdevelopment. During recent years the bituminous-coal industry in the United States has been seldom, almost never, in a state of normal business health with production run-ning evenly, prices steady and the market absorbing the output from week to week. There has been either a condition of feverish activity or apathetic sluggish-ness. We have had, for example, the intense strain on production during the war years with heatless days and lightless nights, followed by the slump late in 1918 which lasted through the greater part of 1919 when coal was a drug on the market. Then came the panicky demand of 1920. Competitive buying forced prices up to the highest levels in history. This demand in turn fell off suddenly in November, 1920, and the market remained apparently paralyzed all through 1921. During the latter year, lack of buying forced intermit-tent suspension of mining in all fields and prices averaged less than actual cost of production.

Jan 8, 1922

FOR the benefit of those of our members who may be asked what they know about Mr. Hoover&apos;s connec-tion with the Kaiping coal mines in China and who will naturally wish to appear thoroughly well informed on the subject, we reprint below an authoritative state-ment, recently made to the Japan Advertiser, by Tang Shao-yi, former premier of China, now retired to his country home at Tang Chia. "Information has reached me at my retreat that persons in America and China insinuate that Herbert Hoover acted dishonorably in dealings involving the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company a quarter of a century ago. I be-lieve myself the only Chinese living who was closely iden-tified with that company during Mr. Hoover&apos;s connection. My uncle founded the company and my family always has been a large shareholder and, therefore, I possess direct knowledge of its history. "I am actuated in this statement by a sense of justice and also gratitude for Mr. Hoover&apos;s acts in rescuing my family during the Boxer uprising. Mr. Hoover&apos;s record in China is clean and honorable, highly creditable and in many ways remarkable. Legal action brought in London in 1905 occurred after Mr. Hoover left the company. There were not any charges against Mr. Hoover and he was not a de-fendant in the lawsuit, but an important witness whose testimony helped the Chinese shareholders to save their property.

Jan 5, 1928

THE following letter from the Rector of Louvain University, addressed to Mr. Adams and the other delegates of the Founder Societies, will be of interest to members of the Institute. It is my duty, in the name of the University of Louvain and in my own personal name, to thank you and the representatives of the Founder Societies of the "United Engineering Society" for the very kind letter of congratulations which you sent to me from Brussels on the 5th of July.

Jan 1, 1928

[Alphabetic Section: The letter immediately following a member&apos;s name indicates grade: M-member, A-associate, J-junior. The numerals following member&apos;s grade indicate year of election. The letter following year of election indicates primary divisional affiliation: A. Mining & Exploration F. Coal B. Minerals Beneficiation G. Petroleum C. Iron and Steel H. Industrial Minerals D. Extractive Metallurgy J. Council of Education E. Institute of Metals K. Council of Economics Geographic Section: An asterisk (*) preceding a member&apos;s name indicates availability for consulting work:]

Jan 1, 1961