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By Clark A. Sumner

An apparatus for agglomerating fine particles was developed in 1969 as a joint effort of Stauffer Chemical and O’Brien Industrial Equipment. Commercial sized units were built for agglomerating home dishwashing detergents. Recently, as a result of further pilot development, variation of bed depth and cage configuration has resulted in a means of controlling the amount of internal classification from a minimum, producing small agglomerates, to a maximum, producing compact rounded agglomerates. Little or no external classification of discharged agglomerates is needed. At maximum internal classification the agglomerates roll on a bed of fine particles rather than the shell resulting in increased agglomerate size.

Jan 1, 1977

By Carlos Kovacs-Figueroa

Complying with air pollution regulations created the need to dispose of increased sulfuric acid production by the Morenci smelter. As a result, a two-module leaching plant was constructed to leach Morenci flotation tailings. The leaching plant was equipped to perform the following operations: leach feed pumping, agitated leaching, two-stage countercurrent decantation, neutralization of leached tailings, and copper precipitation. Ancillary facilities were provided for neutralizer and flocculant preparation as well as precipitant handling and recovery of precipitates. Plant control is automatic from a central control panel supervised on a shift schedule by one operator and two helpers. Construction of the first module was initiated in April 1973 and leaching of tailings commenced in November 1974. Construction of the second module began in January 1975 and was completed in November 1975.

Jan 1, 1977

By Charles J. Speake, Dennis R. Haley, Thomas E. Finch

The tremendous interest in development of surface- mineable coal throughout the western US will bring with it a requirement for many manhours spent in mine planning and equipment selection. One problem in particular that engineers face during the planning stage is that of selecting a dragline with the proper reach capability. Reach, expressed in terms of operating radius and effective spoil radius, can be a major problem when mining deeper than originally planned, and aside from production requirements, the ability of a particular dragline to spoil across a strip is essential. Determination of dragline reach needed for a multiple-seam western coal operation can be simplified by use of an equation derived below that eliminates the need for tedious and repetitive calculations.

Jan 5, 1977

By Thomas V. Falkie, Robert Stefanko

Previous articles in this column have defined the manpower situation as it. applies to the coal industry. There is at present a shortage of experienced managers, mining engineers, technicians and skilled workers. The extent of this shortage is controversial, but it is sufficiently important to have received the serious attention of coal industry people at all levels. It has also been discussed by union officials, educators, government agencies and trade publications as well as other communications media. Discussion is not enough, however. A plan of action is needed. Some suggestions for such a plan are presented here. First, the coal industry must interest itself in government training programs. The U.S. Government (primarily the Bureau of Mines and HEW) is planning to spend or is spending millions of dollars to educate and train technicians, inspectors, engineers and miners. The new Federal Health and Safety Academy at Beckley, W. Va., for example, will involve an expenditure of $20-30 million for the physical plant alone. There are encouraging signs that the present hierarchy in the Bureau of Mines intends to seek the advice of mining educators on some of these projects, but industry should also demand a voice in the policy to be followed in making these expenditures.

Jan 1, 1971

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M., except on holidays. It contains about 70,000 volumes and 90,000 pamphlets, including sets of technical periodicals and publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library, through its Library Service Bureau, can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive especial attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and photographic copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information on the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape.

Jan 3, 1918

ANDERSON, ALEXANDER, Captain, Royal Garrison Artillery. ANDERSON, GEORGE K., JR., Lieutenant, 30th Co., 3d Replacement Regiment. ARMSTEAD, H. H., Captain, Quartermaster Corps, U. S. N. A. ARMSTRONG, HAROLD KERR, Student Flight Officer, U. S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps, Dunwoody Naval Training Station, Minneapolis, Minn. BAKER, HARRY A., Captain, Co. M, 53d Pioneer Infantry. BASSETT, THOMAS E., Corporal, 340th. Field Artillery, Battery A, 89th Division, A. E. F. BATES, Wm.. T., 3d Reserve Officers' Training Camp. BAUMMGARTEN, K., 1st Lieutenant, 1st Corps School A. P. 0. 703. BAYLESS, G. E. S., Supply Dept., U. S. Submarine Base, New London, Conn. BENSEL, J. A., Major, U. S. R., Board of Control, War. Construction Activities, Norfolk, Va. BILLICK, DON C., Co. C, Ordnance. Supply School. BILLINGSLEY, PAUL, 1st Lieutenant, National Army, Statistics Branch,. General Staff. BLANDY, S. H. B., B. E. F.

Jan 8, 1918

By J. H. Berryman

THE use of oxygen as a bath reagent in hearth furnaces during the refining period is a familiar story. Investigations and tests in which oxygen was substituted for iron ore to reduce carbon date back 25 years and include the work of Bigge,1 Browne,2 and Chelius.3 During this past year the majority of the experimental work in the use of oxygen was carried on mainly in open-hearth shops, since it was felt that the greater field for application lay in this type of furnace. Much constructive work was done in evaluating the carbon-oxygen relationships, as reported by Slottman and Lounsberry4 and by Hughes.5 Steelmakers using the electric furnace have been actively engaged meanwhile in an experimental program of their own, with such success that the oxygen injection pipe has become a tool in the day to day production of low-carbon and stainless steels.

Jan 1, 1947

MINING; SOLUTION U.S. 4,066,297 - In the solution mining of uranium from an underground deposit of uranium ore using an alkaline leaching solution, precipitation of alkali metal salts is avoided by maintaining the Injected leach solution of an alkaline carbonate or bicarbonate and an oxidant undersaturated with respect to carbonates Undersaturation is effected by use of a water softening unit or by bleeding a portion of the recycled alkallne leach solution. A P. Spence, assigned to Atlantic Richfield Co Jan. 3, 1978 4 pp. (299-4). Filed: 6-1-76 (69 1,344)

Jan 1, 1979

No early records of coal in Iowa have been found, although it is very probable that coal along the Mississippi, in the northeastern corner of the state, was seen very early. The United States Census of 1840 showed a production of 400 tons, mined of course in 1839, and the earliest mining, was in Jefferson and Fairfield Counties where the coal was hauled by wagons to shops in the Mississippi River towns years before any railroad was built in the state. In 1840 mines were opened in Van Buren County, near Farmington and Douds, and in Scott County, near Jamestown, all of the product being used locally.' In 1844 D. D. Owen reported seeing mines in the tongue of land between the Rock and Mississippi Rivers, in one of them the coal being 5 to 6 ft. thick, and several other seams south of this locality? In the, late forties a number of small mines were opened in various parts of the state, and in following years in practically every county having coal. The Mystic seam was first opened in 1857 in Appanoose County, since then consistently one of the large producing areas in the state. Consumption was local until the Milwaukee Railroad was built through the county in 1887.1

Jan 1, 1942

Jan 1, 1951

By C. G. Dunn

THE present note, which was given in the form of a Research in Progress item,' traces the origin of secondary recrystallization grains produced on annealing a cold rolled bicrystal specimen. The investigation began with the realization that a recently acquired conception for the origin of secondary grains produced on annealing cold rolled single-crystal specimens might require modifications for the case of polycrystalline materials. The stated conception2,3 begins with several conditions to be met by primary recrystallization: 1—a primary re-crystallization structure to consist of many small primaries and relatively few large primaries (diam- eters two or three times the average); 2—a primary recrystallization texture to consist of one strong preferred orientation or component and one or more weak components; and 3—a primary recrystalliza-tion structure-texture combination with some of the large primaries belonging to the weak components of the texture. When these conditions occur, some of the large primaries from the weak components of the texture

Jan 1, 1955

By J. B. Scuffham, G. A. Rowden

The use of ammonia as a leaching agent has been well-documented but only recently have its advantages been fully exploited on a commercial basis. When compared with conventional sulfuric acid leaching processes, the major advantage of ammoniacal systems is their ability to reject iron and many acid consuming gangue materials. Although metallic copper, nickel, zinc, etc. are dissolved rapidly in ammoniacal liquors at ambient temperature in the presence of air the sulfide ores of these metals are more resistant to this treatment. Sherritt Gordon Mines in Canada treats sulfide concentrates at its Fort Saskatchewan plant under pressure with ammoniacal am- monium sulfate solution to solubilize the non-ferrous metal values. Typical leach operating conditions are 80-95°C and 115- 128 psig. Although the metals present in the ammonical solution could be recovered via solvent extraction techniques, Sherritt Gordon Mines currently operates a pressure reduction process using hydrogen to yield metal powders directly from the ammoniacal solution. The basic Sherritt Gordon technology has been applied world wide for the treatment of nickel/cobalt concentrates.

Jan 12, 1973

By W. H. Fluker

Until recently, the universal practice in New Zealand was dry-crushing and direct cyaniding. With ores containing no mineral sulphides, and little or no coarse gold, 'this method, in spite of its many disadvantages, gave excellent results, and was by far the best one available, pending the solution of the slimes-problem. But the situation has now been changed. The successful treatment of the slimes, enabling the mines not only to do away with dry-crushing, but also to deal with the mineralized ores of the lower levels, which are, for obvious reasons, quite unsuited to that method of treatment, has made wetcrushing universal; and this may be taken as satisfactory proof of its superiority over the former practice. In the lack of accurate information from plants operating successfully, particulars of experimental trials carried out on a working-scale at the Waitekauri Extended mine, Maratoto,

Jan 1, 1903

Tars Committee is the result of a desire of the authorities in charge of the publications of the four national engineering societies to co-operate in this matter. The members of the Committee are the following: Charles WarreN Hunt, Secretary of the American Society of Civil Engineers. D. S. Jacobus, Vice-President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Joseph Struthers, Assistant Editor of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. CaRy T. Hutchinson, Chairman of The Editing Committee of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. This Committee has held several meetings; it seemed advisable, at the outset, to limit its discussions closely to the general subject of abbreviations. Further, it seemed best to formulate a few general rules to be followed in making abbreviations, rather than to compile a list of forms to be recommended. The Committee decided to limit the subject more narrowly by considering only abbreviations to be used in the text, or general reading-matter, arid not those to be used in special matter,

Jan 1, 1905

By Gerald Schroeder

The flow of gases, particularly radon and methane, into the mine atmosphere is a problem traditionally controlled by ventilation-dilution techniques. More recently, a preventative approach has been to seal underground surfaces with a polymeric coating to act as a barrier against the influx of dangerous gases. H However, a study by the Israel Government Research Station indicates that unless the rock surface is perfectly sealed, much of the labor to reduce interstitial gas flow is lost to the effects of barometric "breathing" from the rock pores. Previous research has reported the increased frequency of coal mine explosions during periods of barometric pressure minima,1 and the phenomena has been explained through correlation of the observed increase in mine gas concentrations during periods of low barometric pressure with the connective flow of interstitial gases from rock pores into the arsine atmosphere when pressure was actually falling.234 While changes ill barometric pressure arc rapidly transmitted to the mine atmosphere, response in the rock interstices is sluggish, momentarily creating a pressure differential between the mine atmosphere and the interstitial gases. Responding to the pressure gradient, this interstitial gas flows until pressures are equalized.

Jan 6, 1977

By Milton C. Neul

As recently as the mid-1930's, steam and rail haulage were still the primary means of moving large quantities of rock. However, 2- to 5-ton standard on-highway trucks were beginning to be used in the mining industry's efforts to lower haulage costs. It was quickly obvious that rubber-tired equipment was more flexible, faster and more maneuverable. The trend towards haulage trucks had begun. Now while savings were being realized, the severe operating conditions encountered in open pit operations proved too much for the lightly constructed frames, gasoline engines and highly inflated tires. As a result, a few years later, the first 10 to 15-ton, two-axle heavy duty trucks were designed specifically to operate under off-highway conditions.

Jan 3, 1966

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Jan 1, 1938

By R. H. Sweetser

There are so many conditions affecting blast-furnace results that it is hard to get satisfactory comparative data on the working of two furnaces, and much more difficult to get comparable results from the use of two entirely different fuels. The several advantages of charcoal over coke as a blast-furnace fuel have doubtless been apparent to many managers; but probably the conditions for comparative tests of the two were never so favorable as during the year 1905, at the works of the Algoma Steel Co., Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, which comprise two modern blast-furnaces, well equipped, though of comparat.ively small capacity. For four consecutive months one of these furnaces was run with charcoal and the other with coke. Then the charcoal-furnace ran for a while with part charcoal and part coke; and, still later, with coke only. The ore-mixtures were

Jan 1, 1909

By James W. Clark, William C. Dixon, Kevin L. Wiley, Thomas R. Couzens

This paper is a description of certain geologic aspects of the Inspiration mining operation. It is not a geologic description of the Inspiration deposit nor an exposition of all the geologic work. Involved in the development and exploitation of the deposit. A few specific examples of the application of geology and geostatistics to the mining process are given to illustrate the progress that has been made in making the Inspiration Mine more efficient and cost effective, and a statement of the philosophy of geologic applications is offered.

Jan 1, 1985

By George L. Lyle

WITH the advent of World War II, the need for agricultural products rose phenomenally and caused a similar increase in demand for plant foods of which phosphate rock is one of the more important raw materials. By the close of the war or shortly thereafter, all of the operating companies were expanding their production facilities. Many companies installed modern bulk material handling facilities. Designs varied, but were generally of the overhead trestle type of storing conveyors. American Cyanamid studied these various installations but was not satisfied with the conventional system because of high initial cost, increased maintenance problems in the way of painting structural steel that might be submerged in stored materials, and because of slightly increased operating costs. As a consequence of these economic analyses, conferences were held with the various conveyor manufacturers to develop a better method of storing and reclaiming. After considerable engineering study, one conveyor manufacturer suggested the unique system which was installed in 1950.

Jan 8, 1954