Search Documents

By Wheeler O. North

The United Eastern Mining Co.'s property is in the Oatman, Gold Roads mining district of Mohave County, Ariz. The mine and mill are 26 mi. (41.8 km.) southwest of Kingman, the nearest railway connection. The ore consists of a mixture of calcite and quartz with some andesite. The values, which are mainly gold, alloyed with approximately 34 per cent., by weight, of silver, are extremely fine so that fine grinding is a most important factor in extraction. The milling process, briefly, consists of single-stage, coarse-crushing, two-stage ball milling in cyanide solution, followed by combined mechanical and air agitation, and by straight counter-current decantation. The Merrill zinc-dust precipitation method is used to recover the values, and is preceded by the Crowe vacuum treatment of the solution. The most notable features of the plant are the absence of filters, and the use of short peb mills loaded with steel balls, for fine grinding. As originally designed, the capacity of the mill was to be 200 tons per day, although the grinding end was to be capable of handling double that amount. By adding extra agitators and thickeners and by some alterations to the grinding end, the daily capacity has been raised to 285 tons. This, it is hoped, may be increased to 300 tons during the warm months of the present year. Tonnage Milled per Day 1917 average....... 234; maximum month.... 272; minimum month..... 146 1918 average....... 253; maximum month,... 276; minimum month..... 217 As this article primarily deals with plant operations, those interested in the mechanical description are referred to the article by Mr. Otto Wartenweiler,1 the designing engineer, which gives the details and costs of design and construction. The following changes have been made since that article was published: Two special simplex Dorr classifiers have been substituted for the two duplex Callow screens and bucket elevator, which classified the Marcy discharge and returned the oversize for regrinding. Three Dorr

Jan 1, 1920

By E. Horton Jones

CONTENTS I Page Introduction ....:......................... 3 Chapter I. Unit Costs. . ...................... 4 Chapter II. Comparative Costs ..................... 20 Chapter III. Composite Costs..................... 32 Chapter IV. Wage Scale....................... 36 Chapter V. Raw Material Prices................. 37 Chapter VI. Description oF Costs ................... 64 Introduction We have endeavored in the following "sheets" to give the unit construction costs derived from 'the building of the Arizona Copper Co.'s new smelter, Clifton, Ariz., starting in February, 1912, and completing February, 1914.l In Chapter I—Unit Costs—are to be found the most elementary total unit costs which the accounts provide for. They are usable in the Clifton district. Here too are found the percentages to be added to an estimate for Engineering and General Expense. In Chapter II—Comparative Costs—these elementary costs have been classified, averaged and reported as labor and material unit costs. In such form the labor unit costs, when properly applied to similar conditions as these under which they were derived, are usable anywhere. The material unit costs are better disregarded for more accurate estimates and replaced by a newly priced bill of material. In Chapter III Composite Costs are given. They are unit costs built up from several elementary units, and likewise units of larger dimensions and simpler application, valuable for

Jan 1, 1915

By AIME AIME

APPARENTLY unperturbed by any misgiving as to ill luck connected with the mystic number thirteen -for there were exactly that number of Directors on deck-the Board held two sessions on Tuesday, Feb. 21. , . Between the executive session at 5:15 p. m. and the general session at 8:30 p. m., 28 Section and Division delegates were wests of the Directors at dinner. Committee chair- " men and past officers brought the attendance to 75. Messrs. McAuliffe, Merica, Mudd and Tally had expressed their intention to be at the Directors' meeting, but each was prevented unavoidably at the last minute. At the executive session of the Board, J. V. W. Reynders was unanimously chosen to fill the unexpired term of Dr. Becket as Director: and Eugene McAuliffe in like " manner was selected to become Vice-president to fill the vacancy created hy Dr. Becket's assumption of the Presidency. Upon nomination of President Becket the following Executive Committee was appointed: Frederick M. Becket, chairman; Howard N. Eavenson, H. A. Guess, J. V. W. Reynders and William Wraith; and the Finance Committee was appointed as follows: Henry Krumb, chairman; Paul D. Merica and H. G. Moulton. Karl Eilers was reelected Treasurer and A. B. Parsons was re- elected Secretary to serve for the ensuing year, whereupon the executive session was adjourned.

Jan 1, 1933

[ ]

Jan 1, 1938

[ ]

Jan 1, 1946

Jan 1, 1968

By Carl Swartz

METALLURGISTS differ considerably in their opinions regarding the effect, if any, of small amounts of iron pyrites, or other iron compounds on zinc sulfide ores during the roasting operation. As a result, the literature on this subject expresses many conflicting ideas. The ore, previously crushed to pass through a one-millimeter screen, dries in the roasting kiln, losing water up to 200° to 300° C. At 150° C. iron pyrites begin to lose sulfur. As the temperature increases, while the ore is passing to the hotter part of the furnace, the sulfur burns to sulfur dioxide, leaving the metals as zinc oxide and ferric oxide. These two substances then interact to form zinc ferrite, a compound, yellow brown in, color, having the general characteristics of a spinet Like magnetite, another spinel, zinc ferrite is insoluble in alkalis and dilute acids. As a result, when leached with 10 per cent. sulfuric acid solution zinc values tied up in this compound remain behind. HISTORY In the electrolytic recovery of zinc from its ores, the roasted ores are usually leached with a 10 per cent. sulfuric acid solution. When the zinc ore contains iron pyrites as an impurity in an appreciable amount, the actual yield of metallic zinc is much lower than a theoretical calculation would indicate. Further, losses of zinc are, in a rough way, directly proportional to the amount of iron pyrites or other iron compounds present. When the iron is present in the ore in an isomorphous relation to the zinc, as in the case of a marmatite, a greater amount of zinc remains insoluble than when present as a true pyrite or marcasite. Work on the insoluble residues obtained from leaching of the calcines shows that the zinc lost is intimately tied up in this residue. Some investigators have suggested a definite compound, such as zinc ferrite, others merely a mixture of zinc and iron compounds.

Jan 1, 1927

By George H. West, Ross Cummings, L. V. Steck, B. P. Little, Robert D. Pike

The drilling of constantly deeper oil wells has made it imperative that the manufacturer of casing be ever searching for new methods and new materials to meet the increased demands. One phase of this search constitutes the subject matter of the present paper. Starting from the original Drake well in 1859, the depth of wells has advanced by leaps and bounds, until today depths of 6000 to 8000 ft. are common. Conditions point to the necessity for drilling to greater depths, and it is not at all improbable that much of the future oil produc- tion will be from wells around 10,000 ft. deep. The trend to deeper wells is nicely illustrated by the curve in Fig. 1.l The points plotted are the maximum depths attained in the various pools which were at their peak for the years given. It may be of some interest to observe the change that has taken place in the tensile and collapsing stresses over the last 25 years. The pressure at the bottom of a 900-ft. hole, equivalent to the pressure caused by an equal column of water, is only 450 1b. per sq. in. The equivalent water pressure corresponding to the depth of the deepest hole today would be 4762 1b. per sq, inch.

Jan 1, 1930

By Richard A. Hawkins

O the American coal man, Australian coal mining most appear to have little, if any, influence on American coal-mining practice and to bear little relation to it. Actually, the relationship has been close, for Australian operators have carefully studied American practice by reading American technical publications, by consulting American engineers, and by visits to Ameriean operations. They have leaned heavily on America for their supply of mechanization equipment and many American mining-machinery manufacturers are active in that country, supplying its needs and furnishing technical assistance. Australia's influence on American coal mining has been obscure and probably negligible. However, it seems reasonable to assume that this influence will increase. The wartime development of air transportation will inevitably bring these two countries into much more intimate contact than existed in recent years. American servicemen. many of them former miners and coal-mining technicians, have visited Australian operation, while stationed in that country, have talked with operators and men over there, and undoubt-

Jan 1, 1945

By AIME AIME

THE annual meeting of the A.I.M.E. was fittingly closed with a joint meeting of the Metropolitan sections of the four National societies on Feb. 18, at which this subject was adequately discussed by leading engineers before an audience that completely filled the Engineering Auditorium. The large amount of publicity that has been given the Diesel electric loco- motive, and the often garbled reports of its performance and possibilities that have been circulated, makes it particularly fitting that the facts should be given the profession as determined by those who have aided in developing and operating this latest form of prime- mover in railroad operation. C. A. Stein, general manager of the Central R. R. of New Jersey, opened the meeting with a discussion of the problem of electrification, and the relation of the short haul, switching, and terminal service to heavy electrification. Referring directly to the problem of the Central R. R. of New Jersey, some subtitution for the steam locomotive is necessary within the city limits of New York because of local ordinances against the smoke nuisance. While the improvement in the design of the steam locomotive has been marked-the efiiency today is over fifty times that of the locomotive of 100 years ago-it has now probably reached the point of maximum perfection. If anything, it is open to the criticism of having Coo many appliances to get out of

Jan 1, 1926

By Thomas T. Read

Jan 1, 1913

By Jack A. Simon, M. E. Hopkins

GENERAL GEOLOGY Coal is defined as a combustible rock that had its origin in the accumulation and physical and chemical alteration of vegetation. Coal can be ignited and burned like the wood that was man's earliest fuel, but coal gives more heat than the same amount of wood and has many industrial uses. Unlike wood, coal is not generally found on the surface of the ground but is mined from the solid rock of the earth. Before taking up the occurrence, formation, and the somewhat unique character of coal in the rock sequence, let us briefly consider the general character of all rocks in the crust of the earth. Relatively little is known about the very earliest history of the earth, although a number of logical theories have been developed. Manned exploration of the moon and the rocks being returned to earth will, we hope, provide some answers to questions concerning the earth's origin and history. The period of earth history with which we concern ourselves here begins after great areas of water had evolved on earth and substantial land areas of once molten (igneous) rock existed. Weathering and other processes that attacked the surface of the rocks reduced them to small particles. Water provided by rainfall transported this material, ultimately, to large bodies of water where it was deposited. Thus was initiated the geologic sequence of sedimentary rocks that lie above the once molten igneous rocks. The crust of the earth is not completely stable, and throughout the geologic past portions of the crust have moved laterally and vertically. Even today, many coastal areas are slowly rising or sinking. More sudden earth movements are recognized by the earthquakes they cause. Throughout geologic history, rises in sea level or the sinking of the land areas have many times permitted the oceans to cover much of what are now the areas of the continents. Only relatively small parts of the present continents appear to have been above sea level throughout geologic time. Great

Jan 1, 1973

By Johann F. Kerl

Autogenous batch grinding tests were performed in laboratory-scale tumbling mills with magnetite, limestone, and sandstone pebbles. The influence of pebble size, feed size, mill speed and loading, and grinding time on the fineness of grinding was investigated. Comparisons were made with the results from ball mill grinding experiments.

Jan 1, 1972

By AIME AIME

As already announced in the January Bulletin, this publication will be issued during the coming year monthly instead of bi-monthly as heretofore. Among other reasons for this change, it is desired to effect thereby the earlier transmission to members of important papers, lists of candidates for membership, and other items of timely information. Spokane Meeting and Excursions. Further details of the' 97th meeting of the Institute have been sent to members in the Circular of May 8, 1909. For, convenience of the members a summary of the additional in¬formation is here presented. A special train of Pullman cars will leave Chicago about September 15. This train will be side-tracked at all places visited, and the sleepers will be available for lodging and the dining-car for meals during the entire trip, except during the Yellowstone Park tour. The general. cost of the trip per member will be $300, which includes transportation, berth, and meals for the entire trip from Chicago back to Chicago, almost 6,000 miles, and the tour through Yellowstone Park, occupying in all about 30 days. Special accommodations on the train will be furnished at the following, rates

May 1, 1909

By R. F. Mehl, C. S. Barrett, A. G. Guy

INTRODUCTION IN the last few years this laboratory has published a series of papers on the mecha¬nism of age -hardening.14,1,6,11,20 Briefly stated it has been proposed that hardening is caused by lattice strains created by lat¬tice coherency between matrix and precipi¬tate; much experimental evidence has been advanced to support this thesis. The system Cu-Be is an attractive one to study. It is a system that exhibits marked age hardening; it ought to be subject to the type of analysis of structural changes hitherto explored and it is a prominent example of "discontinuous precipitation," which, though studied in other cases, 6,20 remains largely unexplained. This research shows that hardening in the Cu-Be system proceeds essentially as proposed earlier.14 Guinier-Preston zones have been observed to form on the {100) planes of the matrix; no transition lattice was found. Aging and overaging were ob¬served to occur most rapidly in the region of discontinuous precipitation-the grain boundary-apparently accelerated there by strain. The Constitution of the Cu-Be System The Cu-Be constitution diagram is shown in Fig I. The structure of the ? phase was determined by Misch16 as of the caesium-chloride type with a lattice con¬stant of 2.598 Å High temperature X ray photograms of 7.2 pct Be alloy made by Kossolapow and Trapesnikow13 led them to conclude that the structure of the P phase is simply disordered body-centered cubic with [ao] = 2.79 Å at 750°C. Previous Work The initial work on the age-hardening of Cu-Be alloys was that of Masing, Dahl, Holm, and Haase. Their numerous papers were published in book form in 1929, sub¬sequently translated.18 The effects of Be content, solution temperature, aging tem¬perature, and cold work on the hardness developed in these alloys were studied. An initial decrease in the electrical conduc¬tivity was observed when strips of a 2.5 pct Be alloy were aged at temperatures from 200 to 350°C; a wire of the same analysis failed to exhibit this decrease when aged at 350°C. A volume decrease of 0.6 pct oc¬curred during aging at 250°C. Microscopic investigations of quenched and aged alloys disclosed a regularly ori¬ented "striping" (ripples) on the a and on the ß grains. In the case of the ß the cause of the striping was held to be decomposition

Jan 1, 1948

By John V. Beall

Let's start at the beginning, Mr. Turner. Where and when were you born? In Lansing, Mich., on July 31, 1880. And what was your education? I went to the University of Michigan, where I got an A.B. degree in 1902; then to the Michigan College of Mines at Houghton, graduating from there in 1904 with a B.S. and an E.M. What was your first job in the mining industry, Mr. Turner, and what were you paid? In the summer of 1902, 1 was a field assistant for the U. S. Geological Survey in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, working under Israel C. Russell, professor of geology at the University of Michigan, who incidentally, had just returned from an expedition to study the effects of the eruption of Mt. Pelee, on Martinique. I was paid $60 a month and found; in addition to doing geologic and hydrographic work, I cooked many of the meals for a party of four, and wrangled four horses. I slept for four months under the stars, without a tent.

Jan 1, 1949

By Herluf P. Nielsen, Robert I. Jaffee

IN recent years much attention has been given to high-melting alloy systems, It has been of interest in this respect to investigate the alloys of platinum and tungsten, which were known from the literature to have very high melting points up to about 50 pct tungsten, but about which little had been published on the high-tungsten side of the system. Powder metallurgical methods were used throughout this investigation for the preparation of the alloys, utilizing electrical sintering techniques such as are used for tungsten and molybdenum. In the course of the work it was found desirable to determine fusion temperatures of the alloys, and it was possible from these and other data to draw a tentative constitutional diagram (solidus, mostly) applicable to the high-temperature part of the system. No attempt was made to determine solid solubility vs. temperature data, nor to investigate the lower temperature transformations in the solid state. Data on the microstructure, hardness, and a note on oxidation resistance of the sintered alloys were obtained. PAST WORK Müller1 determined liquidus temperatures of platinum-rich alloys to 50 pct tungsten, using a radiation method employing a photoelectric cell, and found that the melting points increased progressively from 1771°C for platinum to 2350°C for the 50 pct alloy. Microscopic evidence by Müller that complete solid solutions exist to 50 pct tungsten was not checked by Kremer2 who, according to Vines and Wise,3 found that "although the 8 pct tungsten alloy was a solid solution, the 26 pct tungsten alloy contained a eutectic or an intermediate phase." Hultgren and jaffee4 using X ray methods found continuous solid solutions to at least 33.6 pct tungsten (35 at. pct) after annealing in vacuum for 6 days at 1000°C. Vines and Wise3 report work communicated to them by E. C. Rhodes on wrought alloys to 7 pct tungsten, which showed that tungsten hardened platinum extremely rapidly, and was one of the most potent hardeners of the binary additions to platinum. Considerable quantities of 4 pct tungsten platinum wire have been produced for grids in radar tubes and for aircraft spark plugs. Some of the alloy for the latter application is made by sintering, the remainder by smelting and casting. MATERIALS The platinum powder used in this work was kindly supplied by the research and Development Laboratory of the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Newark, Ohio, It was prepared from scrap platinum. After dissolving in aqua regia and evaporating almost to dryness, the solution was worked up several times with concentrated HCI. the resultant platinic chloride was diluted considerably, and metallic zinc was added, which precipitated the platinum in a very finely divided form. After dissolving the

Jan 1, 1948

By George Branner

THERE is no record of the commercial production of bentonite as such in Arkansas up to the present although fuller's earth has been. mined intermittently in the state1 from 1891 to 1922. Very nearly all of this was obtained from decomposed basaltic dikes.2 Recently three bentonite deposits of close stratigraphical relationship have been identified in the Coastal Plain region of southern Arkansas, which suggests that there may be a considerable quantity of commercial material available. LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY The three deposits are located respectively in the SE. ;1/4 SE. ;1/4 sec. 13, T.- 2 S., R. 13 W., Saline County, the SE. ;1/4 SE. 1/4 sec. 18, T. 5 S., R. 16 W., Hot Spring County, and in sec. 22, T. 12 S., R. 19 W., Ouachita County. The Saline County deposit is 14 miles by state highway 167 south of the city limits of Little Rock and 1 mile west by dirt road. This deposit is 12 miles south of Ward switch on the C. R. I. P. Railroad and 11 miles east of Vimy Ridge by dirt road. Vimy Ridge is also on the C. R. I. P. Railroad. The Hot Spring County deposit located in the SE. ¼ SE. ;1/4 sec. 18, T. 5 S., R. 16 W. is about 100 yd. north of Durian switch on the C. R. I. P. Railroad and on state highway No. 9, 5 miles southeast of Malvern. The Ouachita County deposit has not been accurately located but lies in sec. 22, T. 12 S., R. 19 W. It is approximately 2 miles by road from Chidester on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Jan 1, 1929

By Michael Perch

The fact that coal is a complex organic material and heterogeneous in composition has made its study extremely difficult, particularly in regard to obtaining a fundamental concept of the processes involved in the formation of coke. It has been stated recently that coals are natural polymers and that in a complex reaction such as occurs during carbonization the differences between coals are quantitative and not qualitative. Such being the case, it would be expected, therefore, that a series of coals subjected to exactly the same conditions of coking would produce results that should be related quantitatively to the chemical analyses of the individual coals. In the past, however, this fact was not generally recognized and consequently many empirical test methods were devised for testing coals. The interpretation of the results obtained depended upon comparing a set of data with other data on coals of known characteristics. The testing procedure had to be con- ducted in precisely the same manner each time and not the least requirement in making the interpretation was experience. The test methods varied from those utilizing a gram of coal to the plant-scale tests in which one or more ovens were charged with the test coal. The aim had been principally to find some simple, inexpensive means by which the coke-making and other properties of coal could be predicted. It is not necessary to emphasize the importance of these endeavors, for anyone acquainted with the problems involved in the selection of coals for making coke is well aware of the time and expense involved in making a series of definitive tests.

Jan 1, 1949

THE first session of the Institute was held on Tuesday evening, September 16th, in the William Molson Hall, of McGill University, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, Chairman of the Local Committee of Arrangements, in the chair. Dr. Hunt introduced Monsieur S. Rivard, Mayor of Montreal, who spoke as follows : GENTLEMEN: We welcome you with pleasure to our city, and we are proud to find that you have deemed it worthy of your visit. I understand that your association was founded in 1871 with some thirty courageous members, and that so valuable has it been esteemed, and so attractive was it found, that nearly one thousand have now enrolled their names as members and associates. But we must regard your profession as dating back to the stone age and mingling therewith ; how remote that is none of us can tell. Much of civilization is due to the discovery of metals, and the magnitude of our works to their widespread abundance. If you have not accomplished what the alchemists aimed at, which was to turn the ruder materials into gold, you manage, by your subtle skill, to turn stones into gold value. Europe has long since been-dug into and perforated with shafts and galleries in search of metals, and great wealth, and power, and comfort have arisen there-from ; but by an increase of knowledge, and more than European enterprise and energy, America is following rapidly in the race, and by means of natural advantages of a geological character has out-stripped the Old World. We are pleased to see you, gentlemen, as an evidence of the unity of this continent. Maps may have various delineations, but the veins and arteries of commerce and the nerves of science knit all together into one social organism with the same vital functions. We live here on the margin of the world, and can claim but a modest share in. the great works of modern times, but such as we have that can interest you we gladly offer for your observation.' Our Victoria Bridge may he considered appropriate, for without mining engineers to precede the civil and mechanical, no bridge would be there to-day. In truth, the same may be said of all works of metal, and of all that are executed by tools and machinery made of metal. The Mont

Jan 1, 1880