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By H. R. Peterson

The control of autogenous grinding circuits is very similar to the control of conventional grinding circuits. In both circuits the classifier must be operated to achieve the required degree of mineral liberation. Crude ore grade and grinding mill density are important in both circuits. The biggest difference between the control of the two circuits is the pronounced effect that crude ore changes have on autogenous circuits. The importance of crude grade, weight recovery, size and hardness is greatly magnified because the crude ore in the autogenous circuit is also supplying the grinding media. Crude ore sizing is a particularly critical factor in achieving efficient primary autogenous milling. Because of the above, computer control is advantageous for autogenous circuits. Changes in crude ore may necessitate rapid changes in the entire circuit control strategy, and only a computer can facilitate these changes. Also, the techniques of control are very different for conventional and for autogenous grinding. Set-point control is usually satisfactory in conventional circuits, but the multiplicity of varying conditions in an autogenous circuit usually require some type of computer optimizing search routine. Autogenous mills can be separated into two general types. In primary autogenous mills the media is obtained from the mill feed, and in pebble mills the sized pebble media is added separately from the material being ground. PRIMARY AUTOGENOUS MILL CIRCUIT CONTROL - FIGURE 1 Power Draw Primary autogenous mills are usually run at full motor loading so production will be at maximum. Therefore, power draw must be closely controlled; this is done by adjusting feed rate. The versatility of computer control is extremely valuable for power control, especially during starting and stopping. To bring the mill power up as fast as possible at

Jan 1, 1982

By George Evans

DURING the past ten or twelve years, the average reader of newspaper and magazine articles has been led to believe that enormous deposits of high-grade coal exist in the northland and that these can be mined for practically nothing. But much of the reputed glitter and attractiveness of Alaskan coals disappears when viewed at close range. Many areas of coal-bearing rocks are widely distributed geographically from Cape Lisburne, on Bering Sea, to Admiralty Island south of Juneau. Bituminous coal is found at Cape Lisburne, on the Bering Sea, at Five Finger Rapids on the upper Yukon, and at Herendeen Bay and Chignik Bay; lignite is found on the Kobuck River, along the Yukon River from points near the mouth to Tonakat, near Rampart, at Dawson, on the east shore of Cook Inlet, and in the Tanana Valley, 50 mi. south of Nenana. The Susitna and Matanuska Valleys contain coal ranging from lignite to anthracite, and in the Bering Lake district, there are coals ranging from semi-bituminous to anthracite. No effort will be made to describe all of these fields, but the writer wile confine himself to the four principal fields, namely, the Nenana field, in. the interior of Alaska, tributary to the Fairbanks district; the Matanuska, field, in the Matanuska Valley; the Kachemak Bay field on the east shore of Cook Inlet; and the Bering River field, east of the mouth of Copper River.

Jan 2, 1921

By W. R. Johnson

In the spring of 1935 the writers undertook to compare the geomagnetic and direct-current earth-resistivity methods of tracing a concealed dike along its strike. As far as they are aware no such direct test has been attempted.# The area surveyed lies along United States Highway number 15 about one and one-half miles east of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and northeast of Bolin Creek (Fig, 1). To the south of the highway is the flood plain of Bolin Crook, and to the north is a hill that rises almost to the elevation of Chapel Hill. A diabase dike, which strikes slightly west of north, out-crops in a. gully just south of the highway. Southward it has been covered by alluvium but northward outcrops again on the southeastern slope of the hill north of the highway. South of the highway the country rock is Triassic shale and sandstone, the northern limit of which is slightly north of the road. On the Geological Map of the United States I the pre-Triassic formations are shown as lower Glenarm and assigned a pre-Cambrian age. Since the ago of the Glenarm has been called into question in Pennsylvania 2, the writers prefer not to commit themselves as to the ago of these rocks further than to say that they are definitely pre-Triassic.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. E. Collom

VARIOUS chapters already written in the history of development of the North Dome of Kettleman Hills are monotonously identical in the one underlying theme of conservation of oil and gas. Discovered on Oct. 4, 1928, by Milham Exploration Co. with its wildcat Elliot No. 1, the field has been subjected to practically every modern form of produc-tion restraint in the name of conservation. The record thus far developed shows that conservation was had for a time, at a price; and that unitiza-tion must he blessed by single ownership or 100 per cent participation to be effective. In fact, incomplete unitization places a heavy handicap upon its participants in the competitive development that follows.

Jan 1, 1937

By T. PH. D. Egleston

THE importance of making analyses of gases in furnaces which are used for metallurgical purposes is every day growing more and more evident. It is the only method of understanding the reactions that take place in the furnace, and of economically conducting the operations both with regard to the fuel used and the reactions which take place on the bodies to be subjected to the influence of the heat and gases. As a knowledge of the composition of gases is becoming every day more necessary to the proper conduct of furnace operations, it seems desirable that furnace managers should generally know that the analysis of gas for commercial purposes is neither difficult, tedious, or expensive, and that it does not necessarily imply the use of corrections requiring difficult instrumental observations and long and tedious mathematical calculations. Any method, therefore, which will tend to render these analyses simple will also tend to having them made and repeated as frequently as the analyses of the ores and other materials charged in the furnace. They should be made even more frequently, as their composition is affected by any change in the condition of the furnace, and a knowledge of their composition will give a ready clue to the unseen and otherwise not easily detected changes which are taking place. The only practicable method of making industrial analyses of gas is that of measuring volumes in graduated tubes. The methods by

Jan 1, 1877

By Dorsey Hager

THE rapid increase of water troubles in the Mid-Continent oil fields is causing much alarm. Troubles occur at Towanda, Eldorado, Augusta, Cushing, Blackwell, and Healdton, although they had, not been acute in the Mid-Continent field until about two years ago, when the unusual conditions in the deeper oil fields were first encountered. California faced the same situation, but, thanks to aggressive measures, has largely overcome the dangers. The following analysis of water trouble may throw some light on the subject and be of assistance in solving the problems involved. WATER TROUBLES CLASSIFIED The presence of water in large quantities in oil sands has the following results: 1. Diminishes oil production. 2. Diminishes casing-head gasoline production: (a) By curtailing the gas flow. (b) By making the use of vacuum pumps unsuccessful. 3. Increases lifting costs: (a) By making it necessary to pump large quantities of water, which requires. a fast motion and long stroke (third hole). (b) By requiring the use of compressors for air lift. (c) By causing break-downs and delays due to the high speed necessary to pump water. (d) By making it necessary to treat "cut" or emulsified oil. Oil production is seriously curtailed by the presence of large quantities of water. Lease records show that wells are shut down 40 to 60 per cent. of the pumping time where serious water trouble occurs. While a small quantity of salt water may cut the paraffine and keep the oil moving, several hundred feet, or a hole full of water, effectually "kills" the oil

Jan 10, 1918

By E. C. Wright

FOR many years the cost of making pig iron and steel in the Birmingham district has been about the lowest in the United States. The close proximity of the important raw materials such as coal, iron ore, limestone, and the large available scrap supply made it possible to assemble all of the important ingredients necessary for steel-making with only nominal costs for transportation. Both iron ore and coal were being mined in this district at one time for about $1 per ton from underground operations. At that time mining wages were low everywhere and the labor rate in the South was considerably below that of other mining districts. This situation persisted until the emergence of labor unions as an economic and political force, emigation of southern labor to northern plants, and continued growth of industry in the South in the years following the depression of 1932. Since that time union organizing of miners and steel workers throughout the nation has increased labor costs in mining and steelmaking. This influence has been felt particularly in underground mining operations since the proportion of labor cost to total cost is still high. The previous advantage in basic labor rate in the South has been almost entirely eliminated by the equalization of labor rates in basic industries by national unions.

Jan 12, 1950

By R. C. Mahon

THE importance of ground water control in glacial drift overlying mines is widely recognized. Adequate handling of the problem results in consider- able saving in overall pumping costs, as the cost of pumping the larger quantity of water under low heads from surface wells is more than offset by the decrease in the quantity of water to be pumped from the mine under high heads. Eliminating or partly reducing seepage of water through the ledge reduces moisture content of the ore, a factor especially important in iron ore mines, where a reduction of 1 pct in moisture effects a very material saving. An important though indeterminate saving is also brought about by the elimination of water in the working places underground. The Homer and Wauseca mines of Hanna Coal & Iron Co. at Iron River, Mich., cover 480 acres. When these mines were started it was possible to operate on only one 40-acre tract, as the depth of water over the remainder of the property was too great to permit operation. Although the average depth of the ground water over the area being mined at that time was less than 50 ft it was necessary to pump 1200 gpm from the mine, the greater part from a depth of 750 ft. The slate footwall and graywacke hanging wall are almost impervious, and it was apparent that seepage into the mine was mainly through the iron formation in which the orebodies were located. Analysis of the water in the iron formation showed it to be of the same character as that in the glacial drift, while the water in both walls was heavily mineralized, also indicating that the water passed much more freely through the iron formation.

Jan 6, 1954

By D. J. Coolidge, H. L. Sheakley

This paper does not deal with all sands used in the glass industry in Missouri; it covers only that used in the plate-glass factory at Crystal City. However, it is probably safe to say that other sands, pro- duced throughout the state for this purpose, are of identical nature. The glass sand used in Missouri is cornrnonly called the St. Peter deposit, which is ascribed to the Ordovician Rock series in the form of sandstone. This St. Peter deposit, aside from a few small outliers, covers a large area of eastern Missouri. It forms, through a broad curve, the northeast margin of the typical Ozark region between Cape Girardeau on the southeast and Mineola, Montgomery County, on the northwest. The belt is extremely irregular, varying from one to ten miles in width; its length is 150 miles in a straight line. The outcrop near the entrance to the Crystal City mine appears in the form of a sandstone bluff approximately 30 ft. high, running along Plattin Creek (Fig. I). Above the sand rock an overburden of Joachim limestone appears, which thickens to nearly 300 ft. and forms the hill commonly called Buck Knob. Test holes where drilled at various points and the drillers' log indicate that the St. Peter deposit ranges in thickness from 63 to 71 feet. Properties of the St. Peter Sand From an analysis of the glass sands of the St. Peter formation in Missouri, the follow-

Jan 1, 1948

By Alfred Weiss

When I first received the announcement of this meeting I was pleased to see that this 14th APCOM Symposium had expanded its range of interest. One new topic to be considered this year is long range or strategic planning--the continuous process by which current risk taking decisions are made systematically, and with the greatest knowledge of future impact. Long range planning should receive our attention. It is the first step in the management process and the foundation of many--if not all --key managerial decisions. Improvements made at this stage of managing are almost certain to be of benefit in later stages of decision making. It is obvious to many of us that in a physical process such as mineral beneficiation, one does not concentrate all of one's attention on the flotation design without also considering the grinding, cycloning, and desliming stages of the process. Taking this a step further it would be equally erroneous to find a mineral engineer designing a mill without due consideration for mine, smelter and refinery and beyond that the sales goals, growth and profit objectives of the firm itself. And yet, how many times have we seen organizations staff and reorganize without consideration of an overall plan; without adherence to the management process which by its definition, calls for a plan first, followed by the appropriate organization and staff. The computer applications traditionally discussed at APCOM meetings have concentrated on areas dealing with things and people-- the implementation of the plan, rather than with concepts and ideas, the formulation of the plan.

Jan 1, 1977

By FREDERICK W. BRADLEY

MINING is one of the world's oldest industries and has pioneered the civilization of all new lands. Today, mining is not only one of the essential and basic industries of the world, but it is constantly growing in magnitude and becoming more important. We think that the most of our mining is done in the western portion of this country, but in the old State of Pennsylvania mines and products derived from minerals account for about two-thirds of the entire productive wealth of the State. As our forests are denuded, mining furnishes substitutes for timber in the way of concrete, gypsum board, etc. ; and as civilization increases the wants of mankind, mining is producing metals and minerals of every kind in increasing quantities. For example: during the past ten years the per capita consumption of copper in the United States has increased 49 per cent, to 14.56 Ib.; that of lead has increased 35 per cent, to 12.24 lb.; and that of zinc has increased 70 per cent, to 9.57 Ib. The consumption in European countries is about one-half of this, and there are other countries with large populations where there is virtually no consumption; so when all other countries catch up in consumption with our country, you can see what an enormous demand there is going to be for the metals, even to the extent of having to find substitutes for copper, lead, and zinc.

Jan 1, 1929

By Malcolm J. McPherson

INTRODUCTION The use of computers to assist the mine ventilation engineer began to grow in the early 1950s when electrical analogue devices were developed for the analysis of mine airflow systems in Europe and the United States (l,2,3). The need for quantitative planning of airflows in mines had become pressing and analogue computers fulfilled a useful purpose for over a decade. From about 1964 onwards, digital computer programs for mine ventilation network analysis became available (4,5) and, superseding the analogues, spread rapidly throughout the major mining countries. The successful implementations of such programs resulted in further research being directed towards the development of simulation programs to model the quality as well as the quantity of air flowing through underground workings. It is no understatement that digital computers have revolutionised environmental planning techniques in modern mining industries. This paper discusses the complex interaction of natural and mining factors which governs environmental hazards in underground mines and further indicates some of the simulation techniques which have entered practical usage or are at an advanced stage of development. THE PROBLEM OF ANALYSING THE MINE ENVIRONMENT The traditional methods of approaching environmental problems underground were based largely on empirical or intuitive techniques. The reason for this lay in the intricate relationships which exist between the many variables that influence the mine environment - and which limit the use of purely analytical methods to the simplest of cases. In order to illustrate the need for simulation techniques, Table 1 shows the three most widespread mine environmental hazards

Jan 1, 1977

By Mowry Bates

The following example of the practical application of engineering geology is of interest in that it demonstrates the advantage of keeping accurate records of all wells, whether drilled by onn's self or by others, together with the advantage gained by gathering such data during the process of development. The fault described was found in the autumn of 1915, during the hurried development caused by the discovery of the famous Gusher Bend pool in Red River Parish, Louisiana. The writer was at the time employed by one of the operating companies as geologist, and the example is a portion of the routine work. Location The oil fields of northern Louisiana and east Texas are located in Caddo, Bossier, De Soto and Red River Parishes, Louisiana, and Marion County, Texas. A very narrow strip of the eastern portion of the latter is productive. The producing oil pools are known as the Caddo Field, in the northern part, and the De Soto-Red River Field, in the southern. The two fields are 60 miles apart. There are several gas fields between them, but no important supply of oil has been found, though there are several producing wells in the Anona chalk, locally called the Chalk Rock, in the Elm Grove gas field in Township 16 North, Range 11 West (see Plate 1). General Geologic and Structural Features The general geology of northern Louisiana has been excellently described by A. C Veatch in Professional Paper No. 46, U. S. Geological Survey; by G. D. Harris, Bulletin No. 429, U. 8. Geological Survey; and later by George C. Matson and Oliver B. Hopkins in Bulletins No. 619 and 661C, U. S. Geological Survey.

Jan 1, 1920

By Michael Hoch

The phase diagrams of binary systems of some of the transition elements of Groups IV, V, and VI were used to compute the partial free energies of these elements and the free energy of formation of their Laves-type compounds. From these data, isothermal sections of ternary phase diagrams were calculated and compared with experimental results. DURING the investigation of ternary and quaternary high temperature systems formed by the transition elements of Groups IV, V and VI, the binary phase diagrams for these elements available in the literature were studied. In this study, the free energies of formation of the compounds formed in these binary systems were calculated; these values were then used to determine the general shape of the ternary and quaternary phase diagrams. Above 900°C, the transition elements of Groups IV, V, and VI are all bcc and form only Laves-type compounds in binary systems. The investigation was based on the binary phase diagrams published by Hansen.1 The Cr-Nb system was constructed from the data of Elyutin and Funke.' Several unpublished phase diagrams were taken from Schmidt'sLo and English'sl1 compilations. THE BINARY SYSTEMS valuations of the Thermodynamic Functions. Rostokers evaluated the boundaries of the (a + b) field in Ti-base alloys with a two-constant equation. The authors' interest is mainly in the center of the diagrams; therefore the miscibility gaps in the Zr-Nb, W-Cr, Ta-Zr, Ta-Hf, and Ti-W systems were used to evaluate the thermodynamic behavior of the binary systems. Lumsden's4 Equations 29.2, 32.1, and 33.1, page 287, were used for the excess integral free energy FeX, and for the excess partial free energies Fx and replaces b and b replacesP in Lumsden's notation):

Jan 1, 1962

By H. Merton Ruth

THE northern anthracite fields, although facing the same economic problems as the southern fields, are confronted with the additional problem of fast dwindling reserves of anthracite which can be conventionally and economically won. The mining of coal which remains in thin beds and the recovery of pillars from areas heretofore considered unrecoverable, either by reason of cost or surface restriction, pose problems of increasing importance to the economic life of the northern field operations. Successful approaches have been made to this problem and other work is being performed that holds promise. There exists in the northern anthracite field millions of tons of solid coal, the recovery of which has not been too successful due to the following inherent operating faults: inability to concentrate producing areas, the great quantities of rock to be cut and handled, lack of consideration of proper sequence and speed of second mining, and the continued use of the mine car as the basis of payment. A mining system that has successfully solved these major problems has been in operation in the Scranton area since 1944. Over 1% million tons have been produced from veins varying from 3 to 4% ft thick by this method, which is known as the multiple panel-triangular system-conveyor mining.

Jan 7, 1950

By Dorsey Hager

The possibility of oil and gas production in Alabama his been little considered as yet. Gas and some oil have been found in northwestern Alabama, near Birmingham, in the Pennsylvanian beds, but the oil and gas possibilities in the Cretaceous beds are not generally appreciated. The recent activity of oil companies in that State has attracted much attention, and in this paper the main structural and the general strati-graphic features are described. Four favorable areas are outlined. These contain folds of major interest. There are other favorable areas which have not been mapped-l Commercial pools discovered in this area would have the advantage of being near tidewater. Mobile, Ala., on the Gulf of Mexico, would be the logical site for refineries and shipping facilities. A pipe line could readily be laid to that city from the Hatchitigbee and the Jackson areas. The logical outlet for the Geneva and the Gordon areas would be Panama City, Ha., on the Gulf of Mexico. Topography The whole of the area under consideration lies in the Gulf coastal plain and slopes gently to the southwest and west. The elevations vary from 200 to 400 ft. (60 to 121 m.) above sea level. The streams have sunk their channels into this gently sloping plain, the main drainage flowing south or southwest into the Gulf of Mexico. Between the

Jan 1, 1918

By Olof Löfgren

PART 1 INTRODUCTION All modern pelletizing plants are equipped with either the drum or the disc circuits. Choice of one or the other circuit is not simple and it is desirable to establish a firm basis for such a task. For a meaningful and a fair comparison it is necessary to have the two systems working in parallel in the same plant with the same concentrate under the same supervision. Furthermore, the comparison has to be based on a defined green ball quality and size distribution. BALLING CIRCUITS The LKAB straight grate plant at Malmberget, Sweden, was started up in Septenber 1973. It was designed for a 2.5 Mton annual capacity and was equipped with five balling drum circuits. During the first year of operation it was found that the induration plant had the potential for a higher capacity which required increased balling capacity. For this purpose it was decided to install a balling disc circuit complete with a roll screen. The reasons for selecting a disc were space limitations and LKAB's desire to gather experience on balling disc circuits. The disc circuit was started up in 1975 and was run in parallel with the balling drums in the same plant and with the same raw material and under the same operating personnel. The necessary conditions for a comparison were thereby fulfilled. The data for the size distribution and quality of the green balls were obtained on random sampling during one year of operation, so that all the variations which appear in a commercial plant are covered.

Jan 1, 1977

By H. Colijn

Belt scales are frequently used in the mining industry because of the ability to handle large tonnages without interrupting the material flow, fitting easily into all types of bulk handling systems and being relatively inexpensive. Although manufacturers claim weighing accuracies better than Y2%, many operators experience, in practice, much larger errors and they have become apprehensive about the use of belt scales. However, in spite of these disappointing instances, a belt scale is one of the most valuable tools for process and inventory control. Since it is a measuring device, care should be given to the design and installation of belt scales. The basic components of a belt scale are: (1) conveyor belt, (2) scale suspension, (3) sensing device, (4) integrating and recording. The first component of this system is of great importance to the overall accuracy and has been thoroughly discussed in earlier papers. This paper will review primarily the various scale hardware designs currently available, and will be confined to the last three components of the system.

Jan 1, 1973

By John M. Hird

Control of artesian ground water has played an important role in the development of Texas Gulf Sulphur's phosphate mining venture in eastern North Carolina. To facilitate dry mining methods, 60 million gpd of fresh water is pumped through wells from a limestone aquifer underlying the uniform flat-lying ore section. Hydrologic information revealed from pumping tests has been used in successfully developing a depressurizing system. Computer assistance is used to plan well patterns. High volume pumping has lowered water levels in water wells over a large area in the Coastal Plain without detrimental effects on water quality in the aquifer. Cooperative effort between mining firms will be required to control the ground water as new mines are developed in the district. An intricate observation -well system is monitored regularly over the wide area of pumping effect to ensure that gradient reversals have not caused salt water encroachment.

Jan 1, 1972

By Raymond Moore

THE oil-producing districts of Kansas comprise the northern portion of the so-called Mid-Continent field. As shown in the accompanying map, these districts are located chiefly in the southeastern and south central parts of the state. A considerable area in southeastern Kansas, extending northward nearly to Kansas City, has long been known as oil territory, the productive wells being distributed in patches or spots' of irregular size and shape, the location of which is controlled by conditions of rock structure, and by the texture and porosity of the "sands" beneath: the surface. In south central Kansas, there are a number of producing fields, the location of which appears to be controlled chiefly by well-defined structure. The most important districts are those in Butler County, especially that in the vicinity of El Dorado, which was for a time the most productive district in the entire Mid-Continent field. Recently new production of importance has been brought in the vicinity of Peabody and present development is active to the north across Marion County. Tests in the western parts of Kansas have not been successful in finding new petroleum fields. HISTORY The first well drilled for petroleum, in Kansas, was near the town of Paola, Miami Co., about 40 mi. southwest of Kansas City, in the summer of 1860, only a few months after the completion of the famous "Colonel Drake discovery well in Pennsylvania. Kansas appears to be the second state to engage in a serious attempt to find oil by drilling. The Civil War caused the temporary abandonment, of attempts at oil development in the state.

Jan 2, 1920