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By Lawrence F. Schubert

Instrumentation is not a stranger to the minerals processing industry. In fact, very few plants now exist that haven't to one extent or another adapted operations to instrumentation. But with the rapid growth of such controls has come the need for effective departments composed of men trained to maintain and repair the instruments; here is where many firms fall short. The importance of the role an instrument department should play is underscored by the omnipotent effects which instruments often exert over an operation. Reserve Mining Co. is an example: while instrumentation at this taconite plant represents approximately 2% of the process equipment cost, a breakdown of instruments may result in the ineffective use (or complete shut-down) of the other 98% of plant investment.

Jan 7, 1966

By Edgar A. Scholz, Attilio G. Spat

The rapid worldwide increase in labor costs, prices of goods and services, and the rising tide of economic nationalism do not bode well for the future of mineral exploration and the mining industry. The increasing complexity and difficulty involved in finding economic mineral deposits makes these trends particularly significant. A comparative cost analysis of domestic and foreign exploration projects which developed into mines during the period 1960-74 may be useful in indicating the general nature of exploration expenditures as these trends continue. This analysis is based on a survey of 18 US and Canadian mining companies. Due to the inexact nature of exploration expenditure data, plus the fact that no two mining companies follow the same system of cost allocation, the results of the survey must be considered quite general in character.

Jan 6, 1977

BEFORE I go any farther, I wish to show you the different kinds of guns, as I have been able to understand them from the finished works, for no one is found to have written or spoken of this. To my knowledge, it is not universally known who was the inventor of this horrible and fearful instrument. It is believed that it came from. Germany, discovered by chance at least three hundred years ago, according to Cornazzano, * from a crude and small beginning like the printing of letters. I believe, .indeed it seems to me certain, that guns evolved from the effect of powder, and then the forms were varied and changed according to the desires and different abilities of those who made or wished to use them. †

Jan 1, 1942

By H. T. Mulryan

For the producer of industrial rocks and minerals, marketing is often the only means of survival. His material must be sold. There is little of the impersonal force of the market regulating supply and demand. No commodity exchanges facilitate his efforts to dispose of the material he produces, and the success or failure of his business depends primarily on prompt and correct response to market needs and requirements. This response is particularly vital where materials of low unit value must be shipped to distant consumers owing to a relative rarity of suitable deposits. The advantage of positive response to change can best be illustrated by hypothetical cases showing how problems can be turned into opportunity through marketing ingenuity. Three such cases dealing with materials of unit values in the range of $5 to $100 per ton are outlined below.

Jan 7, 1969

By R. L. Tobie

Handling and storing ore at transfer points underground are encountered frequently. An ideal solution to these troubles is probably still to be found, but at the Mather mine "B" shaft a method incorporating scraping trenches has been developed giving better service, from the standpoint of safety and simplicity, than obtained from other schemes. When shaft pockets are used for storage, the size of the ground opening required to assure capacity is often prohibitive, and shaft depth below the last level can become excessive, particularly if a crushing station is used. Also, if the material being handled contains large amounts of wet fines, it is difficult, if not impossible, to hold the material with regular chute gates. In order to remedy these problems Cleveland-Cliffs' Mather "B" has utilized three types of trenches. Types I and I1 are now in service and the third is under construction.

Jan 4, 1955

By Raphael G. Kazmann

Is electricity from nuclear-fueled power plants a partial solution to the energy shortage? According to various public and private institutions, the answer is an emphatic "yes." According to various other groups, the answer is an equally emphatic "no." I believe that a true and scientifically valid "yes" or "no" answer at this stage is premature because of conflicting claims and inadequate data regarding these two fundamental aspects: (a) the duty of uranium, i.e., the actual number of kilowatt-hours that can be generated from a ton of natural uranium through the use of light water reactors; and (b) the availability of uranium in the US to meet the lifetime requirements of the reactors scheduled for construction in the 1975-1985 period, as well as to supply the requirements of those reactors now in operation.

Jan 8, 1975

By Guy R. Johnson

It is a common observation among those engaged in the ironbusiness, that the lower (i.e., the less graphitic) grades of pigiron show a rough face on the pig. As such irons are always low in silicon, the generally accepted belief is, that this rough face is due to the absence of silicon. Certain investigations, however, made by the writer on Embreville pig-iron, and extending over nearly a year's time, seem to indicate another cause, namely, the giving-off of included gases, particularly sulphurous oxide (SO2,). It is, of course, the tendency of such gases to rise through the iron, escaping into the air; and the more liquid the iron, and the longer it remains liquid, the greater the chance for such escape. The lower grades of iron, being always colder, tend to solidify early, and before the included gases can completely escape.

Jan 1, 1898

By R. S. Shrode, R. F. Bunting

Transportation is one of several important increments in the total market cost of most commodities. On a national average it has been reported that transportation accounts for about 25% of the total cost of a product at the market place. And industrial minerals are no exception. In fact, the proportionate cost frequently exceeds the 25% average. Further, it may actually determine the economic value of a deposit. Transportation possibly may be thought of as a specialized subject, of concern only to a traffic manager and of only nominal interest to the mining engineer, the geologist or other technically oriented member of a mineral producers' staff. However, in the industrial minerals field, interest is not commonly confined to exploration, development, production or marketing, but is in contrast an overlapping one. In a very real sense this broad area of interest in the total economics of the business is the specialty of the industrial minerals man. And transportation is a vital part of the total picture.

Jan 1, 1970

The Howe Memorial Lecture, in memory of Henry Marion Howe, Past President of the Institute, was authorized in April, 1923, as an annual address to be delivered by invitation under the auspices of the Institute by an individual of recognized and out- standing attainment in the science and practice of iron and steel metallurgy or metallography, chosen by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of the Iron and Steel Division. The follow- ing were the Howe lectures and lecturers for the years indicated: 1924 What is Steel? By Albert Sauveur. 1925 Austenite and Austenitic Steels. By John A. Mathems. 1926 Twenty-five Years of Metallography. By William Campbell. 1927 Alloy Steels. By Bradley Stoughton. 1928 Significance of the Simple Steel Analysis. By Henry D. Hibbard. 1929 Studies of Hadfield's Manganese Steel with the High-power Microscopa By John Howe Hall. 1930 The Future of the American Iron and Steel Industry. By Zay Jeffries. 1931 On the Art of Metallography. By Francis F. Lucas.

Jan 1, 1937

By A. S. Appleton

The diffusion of carbon in Fe-Co-C austenites was studied as a function of cobalt concentration up to 12 at. pet, using an autoradiographic technique. The diffusion coefficient was found to initially decrease and then increase with increasing cobalt concentration, the trends being more marked the higher the temperature of diffusion. These effects were paralleled by variations in the activation energy and the constant for diffusion which, however, were found to be dependent also on the carbon content. The results are compared with the previously available data and their significance is discussed in terms of the kinetics of solid-state reactions in this systern. THE influence of cobalt on the diffusivity of carbon in austenite was first studied by Smoluchowski,' his data being that most commonly cited in works

Jan 1, 1964

By Nick Turner, E Walker, George C. Bowser

A fully field tested mine-wide data/communications system is presented which integrates total data acquisition, control, and instrumentation into a single system. Installations at Kitt #1 and Amonate Mines (W.Va.1 use an LSI-11 series computer which communicates with easily installed field data stations over a single twisted wire pair. Complete field test data are presented, identifying the problems and successes experienced in the development, installation, operation and maintenance of the system, and the training of mine personnel. Of particular interest is the system installed at Kitt #1 which has been in continuous use since February 1982. The paper will also deal with the application of a computer-based carbon monoxide monitoring system installed at the Amanate mine in September 1982. The purpose of that system is to monitor air quality and to provide early fire detection in the belt entry to permit the use of belt air for face ventilation.

Jan 1, 1983

By Ben. B. Cox

The principal events during the year consisted in the exploitation of the Kirkuk field, the regular operation of the four-million-ton pipe line to the Mediterranean, and the discovery of low-gravity oil on three other structures in the West Tigris (Shergat) area. The Iraq Petroleum Co., Ltd. continued the systematic exploitation and exploration of its Kirkuk field, maintaining a carefully unitized operation. Bottom-hole pressure differentials and low gas-oil ratios were maintained. All crude was produced by flowing The cleaning up following the construction of the Mediterranean pipe line, which began deliveries in August, 1934, was completed during the first quarter of 1935. The line easily maintained its rated capacity for the remainder of the year. The Mosul Oilfields, Ltd., through its operating subsidiary, the B.O.D., Ltd., expanded its exploratory organization from 9 to 16 drilling rigs and discovercd 20" A.P.I. crude on the Sadid, Hibbarah and Qasab anticlines. Whether these discoveries will be commercial pools remains to be proved. The Qaiyarah-Najmah-Jawan field, which was discovered by the I.P.C. in 1928, was extended arid production was found in the Eo-Cretaceous as well as the "Main Limestone" (Eocene, Oligocene and Lower Miocene). Gas caps were found under each of the crests of the West Tigris structures. Negotiations are in progress between the Mosul Oilfields, Ltd. and the Iraq Government for the extension of the Anatolian Railway from the Turkish border to Mosul, with a view to tanking the heavy West Tigris crude to the Mediterranean. The subsidiary of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co., Ltd.', the Khanaqin Oil Co., Ltd., continued to operate its Naft Khaneh field near the Iranian (Persian) border to supply the local Iraq market through the Rafidain Oil Co., Ltd. Somewhat more than 28 million barrels of crude was produced in Iraq during 1935. Crude delivcred to the pipe line for export during the years 1934 and 1935 was: Year BaRrels 1934................................................. 7,096,669 1935................................................. 27,014,904 Total as at Dec. 31, 193.5.............................. 34,111,573 ° Converted at an avcrage of 7.0 bbl. per ton.

Jan 1, 1936

By F. Selig, E. J. Couch

The following points serve to supplement the interesting theoretical study on forward combustion by Thomas, and may be of some general interest. The mathematical model presented by the author can be viewed as a first approximation to the problem of calculating the vertical burned height profile resulting from ignition of the interval | z |<h/2 in a very thick formation. However, the assumption of a given minimum combustion temperature T, would give a better approximation to the vertical burned profile if the burning height were not constrained to stay within the ignited layer. This follows from the fact that both fuel and oxygen are present in the adjacent region, |z|>h/2, and for certain combinations of process variables the temperature is sufficiently high for complete combustion to occur. In this case, the vertical coverage will first become greater than the ignited interval before cutting back to zero as the extinction limit is approached as shown in Fig. 1. Such growth of vertical coverage is possible if the minimum combustion temperature is less than the initial source temperature (r = rj) at the edge (z = h/2) of the ignited interval. But this latter temperature is equal to one-half the source temperature for the case of infinite burned height.&apos;,&apos; Thus growth will occur initially if The fact that the vertical burned height can be greater than the ignited interval complicates the picture considerably, as can be seen by referring to Fig. 1. Here burning occurs in Region A, whereas none was possible in the original mathematical model. At the same time, there is no combustion in Region B, contrary to the assumption of burning in the entire layer |z|<h/2. This apparent inconsistency suggests that the vertical coverage derived from this simple model does not adequately represent the vertical height of the burned zone. A more compatible model will result from the actual stepwise calculation of the burning length (as a function of time) that would give rise to the specified combustion temperature. This problem can be more conveniently attacked by using the temperature distribution, given by the author&apos;s Eq. 12, expressed in the integrated form:

By R. A. Brackett

The most effective means of controlling the dust in the drilling of rock has been found after careful investigation to be collection of this dust at the source. By direct collection, all the dust is collected at the collar of the drill hole and deposited into suitable containers. Equipment for handling this work can be either portable or stationary, depending upon the particular requirements and the application. For most work the portable unit is found most advantageous, and with a capacity capable of handling two drills operating simultaneously. Such a portable unit would consist of a metal cap, or hood, placed against the face of the rock through which the drill steel would be inserted. This hood is connected by a flexible rubber hose to a primary separator, where the bulk of the dust is collected. From here a second length of hose connects to the secondary stage of separation, where the fine particles of dust are collected and which is built in as an integral part of the vacuum producer. Hoods are adapted for vertical, horizontal or stope drilling, and mounted so as to become immediately effective when collaring the hole and remain in place continuously. Such dust collectors can be used with either wet or dry drilling. However, in view of the fact that when drilling dry and using the dust collector, the dust count can be maintained within safe limits, wet drilling becomes unnecessary. Furthermore, it has been found that when using the dust collector not only has the dust hazard been eliminated, but also increased footage can be obtained. Samples taken under a wide variation of conditions indicate that where the dust count required is below five million particles per cubic foot, dust collectors will be required. Opreators, in general, accept the use of this additional equipment favorably, and it is generally felt that such means of collecting the dust will soon be universally adopted. Tests made by the Connecticut Department of Health Bureau of Occupational Diseases show dust counts reduced from 203 million particles to 6.05 million by the use of the dust collector, when drilling dry.

Jan 1, 1934

The principal events during the year consisted in the exploitation of the Kirkuk field, the regular operation of the four-million-ton pipe line to the Mediterranean, and the discovery of low-gravity oil on three other structures in the West Tigris (Shergat) area. The Iraq Petroleum Co., Ltd. continued the systematic exploitation and exploration of its Kirkuk field, maintaining a carefully unitized operation. Bottom-hole pressure differentials and low gas-oil ratios were maintained. All crude was produced by flowing The cleaning up following the construction of the Mediterranean pipe line, which began deliveries in August, 1934, was completed during the first quarter of 1935. The line easily maintained its rated capacity for the remainder of the year. The Mosul Oilfields, Ltd., through its operating subsidiary, the B.O.D., Ltd., expanded its exploratory organization from 9 to 16 drilling rigs and discovercd 20" A.P.I. crude on the Sadid, Hibbarah and Qasab anticlines. Whether these discoveries will be commercial pools remains to be proved. The Qaiyarah-Najmah-Jawan field, which was discovered by the I.P.C. in 1928, was extended arid production was found in the Eo-Cretaceous as well as the "Main Limestone" (Eocene, Oligocene and Lower Miocene). Gas caps were found under each of the crests of the West Tigris structures. Negotiations are in progress between the Mosul Oilfields, Ltd. and the Iraq Government for the extension of the Anatolian Railway from the Turkish border to Mosul, with a view to tanking the heavy West Tigris crude to the Mediterranean. The subsidiary of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co., Ltd.&apos;, the Khanaqin Oil Co., Ltd., continued to operate its Naft Khaneh field near the Iranian (Persian) border to supply the local Iraq market through the Rafidain Oil Co., Ltd. Somewhat more than 28 million barrels of crude was produced in Iraq during 1935. Crude delivcred to the pipe line for export during the years 1934 and 1935 was: Year BaRrels 1934................................................. 7,096,669 1935................................................. 27,014,904 Total as at Dec. 31, 193.5.............................. 34,111,573 ° Converted at an avcrage of 7.0 bbl. per ton.

Jan 1, 1936

By William H. Radford

Having worked some rather lorn--grade gravel during the past season at a small profit, I give the actual figures, in the hope that other mining engineers interested in this line of work may be thereby induced to do the same, in order that we may all get more data on this little-ventilated subject. The property here referred to is situated in one of the northern counties of California, where hydraulic mining is still permitted by the courts. The water-right belonging to the mine is a good one, furnishing water during about nine months, whenever there is an average rain-fall, and a fair proportion of the precipitation is in the form of snow. The ditch, about 11 miles in length, is cared for during the rainy months by two men, and during the rest of the year by one; and the water cost last season, delivered at the mine, 0.69 cent per miners&apos; inch. The season commenced in November, 1899, and ended the last of July, 1900. During this time, 655,657 miners&apos; inches (an inch equals 1728 cu. ft. in 24 hours) of water were used for piping, and for sweeping the bed-rock at the end of the season. From actual surveys, this amount of water washed down 1,251,399 cu. yds. of material, consisting of pay-gravel lying on the bed-rock, and varying in thickness from a few inches to 8 ft., and practically barren top-material, consisting of mountain slide, carrying considerable broken rock, clay, and soil. The banks varied in height from 50 to 130 ft., the average height being 63 ft. The grade of the sluices was 7 in. to 12 ft., the boxes being paved with block-riffles 12 in. deep. Long bed-rock cuts extended from the heads of the sluices to within a few feet of the banks, and were kept practically to grade as the work advanced. At first, electric drills were used on this work; hut as it was found that heavy blasting shattered the rock too much, and caused slips, these drills were

Jan 1, 1902

By S. J. Sindeband

J. WULFF*—It seems to me that the author could improve the quality of his high temperature material by using less nickel as a cementing agent in hot pressing. Furthermore, to avoid the presence of undilfused nickel which would not be oxidation resistant, permit me to suggest that he use a nickel-chromium powder containing a small percentage of boron. This would give him a liquid phase at a lower temperature and accelerate both sintering and homogenization. The commercial alloy known ascolrnonoy contains sufficient chromium to be heat resistant and sufficient boron to be of low melting point. Such an alloy may be applicable as a cementing agent in increasing the quality of Mr. Sindeband&apos;s alloys. Finally 1 believe the author unfair to himself in expecting a porous material to have properties equivalent to one of 100 pet density. S. J. SINDEBAND—Dr. Wulff&apos;s point is well taken. Early in the program we realized the fact that we were having difficulty with these low-melting alloys, and we had hoped, since the colmonoy alloys of which you speak are at the nickel-rich end of the diagram, that by going to the other end of the diagram (chromium boride-rich) we would not have this difficulty. Thus we tried to use very small percentages of binder; but for reasons which are not exactly apparent we found that when we did this it was necessary to raise the pressing temperature to a point which we were unable to attain. For all compositions which we tried using nickel, or for that matter any nickel iron or cobalt containing material as a binder, we found that we would get low melting boride phases, which as you point out are the commercial "strength" of the hard-facing materials. 1 personally believe these owe a great deal of their behavior and even hardness to the nickel boride which is considerable evidence when an alloy of chromium boride is made with nickel. Nickel boride itself is very hard. We did try pure chromium as a binder and found there was considerable difficulty in handling it, particularly since we could not just hot press under

Jan 1, 1950

By J. F. Myers, F. M. Lewis

The purpose of the mill tests reported herein, was to determine the relative power efficiency of fast and slow rod mill speeds on the ores of the Tennessee Copper Co. The tests were carried out at the Isabella Mill of the Tennessee Copper Co. under normal operating conditions. Every effort was made to keep the ore supply and other conditions constant, but it will be noted that some slight variation did occur. The open circuit 6 by 9 rod mill, and ore, used in these tests have been previously described.&apos; Four motor drive pinions were available and the tests were performed in the following manner: each pinion was used to drive the mill for a period of one week. Constant sampling prevailed during the test run, and a composite sample for each speed test was made. Realizing that some slight liner wear took place during the four-week test-run, and that some slight variation of the ore may have taken place, a second and then a third series of four-week test-runs were made with the four different pinions. The screen analysis of each of the three-week run samples at the various speeds were composited and the results are shown in Table 2. The authors feel that the 22 weeks of operation consumed during these test-runs would represent fairly the effect of each mil1 speed. The data of line 37 show that within the error of sampling and plant operation, the tons of minus 65-mesh material generated per horsepower hour was the same at all four speeds. Obviously, rod and liner consumption could not be determined for each mill speed in so short a time. The rod load was maintained at a uniform level throughout the series of tests. The authors have operated rod mills at various speeds over the past several years, and it is their observation that rod consumption is directly proportional to the mill speed. Likewise, that the rod consumption per unit of work performed is a constant, providing that all other operating factors remain the same. It is a well known fact that the efficiency increases in a ball mill as the speed decreases. This is due to lateral segregation of the large and

Jan 1, 1950

By R. Philip Hammond

MONAZITE has had a Cinderella-like history. Although nearly go per cent pure rare-earth compound (rare-earth phosphate) it was sought at first not for the rare earths but for the sake of a minor constituent-thorium. The thorium, essential for the Welsbach gaslight mantle, was present in only small quantities and the principal constituents, the rare earths, were largely discarded. Gradually, however, the rare earths have developed uses of their own and today have left the thorium far behind in value. OCCURRENCE Monazite was first produced commercially about 1886, in North Carolina, where it was collected in small sluices by farmers who found it in stream beds on their land. The deposits were later exploited on a larger scale, but were mostly abandoned in a few years, when monazite from Brazil came upon the market in far larger quantities. Domestic production ceased entirely in 1906. The Brazilian source is still active, together with Indian, Dutch East Indies, and Australian deposits. Several other localities in the United States have yielded monazite, but none of these has produced commercially as yet. Monazite occurs originally in pegmatites and gneisses, through which, unfortunately, it is scattered in highly dispersed form. All commercially useful deposits consist of transported monazite sands liberated by erosion and concentrated by the action of water, which has sluiced away lighter materials and concentrated the heavy (D = 5.0 to 5.2) grains of monazite, together with ilmenite, zircon, garnet, and other dense minerals. The Carolina deposits were in stream beds; most of the other deposits mentioned are on or near the seashore, where the action of the waves has served to concentrate the monazite. In most cases today, the sands are worked to obtain the ilmenite and zircon, as well as monazite. The minerals are separated by means of sluices, dry tables, and magnetic separators, and each is finally obtained nearly pure. No crushing or grinding is necessary. The concentrates are shipped in fiber bags. COMPOSITION OF MONAZITE As Table I illustrates, monazite is the anhydrous orthophosphate of the cerium [ ] group of rare-earth elements. A small amount of yttrium and terbium group phosphate is also present.* All the rare-

Jan 1, 1946

By J. W. Eckerd

Anthracite mining developments have not been as spectacular as the advances made for bituminous coal. The reasons are well known, i.e., steeply pitching seams of the western, eastern, middle and southern fields, and the physical conditions of the strata in which the seams are situated. Beds with moderate pitches (30º to 35º or less) have been mined with coal planers, longwall with movable props, shaker chutes, coal borers and large diameter boring machines. However, the use of this equipment has been limited to a relatively small portion of the production. Long-hole drilling has been developed from a point where holes of 25 or 30 ft have been replaced by those up to 130 ft. This has been possible through the introduction of primacord and similar detonating agents that can fire a long train of explosives with one cap. The usual practice in long-hole mining is to drive a gangway, chutes and monkey heading, or return airway, in the normal development manner. Two breasts can then be driven from the lower to the upper level to act as openings for the beginning of the long-hole work. Following completion of the development, holes can then be drilled from the monkey headings 100 ft or more up the pitch through the coal to within 15 ft or more of the upper level, depending on the nature of the coal on the roof. The thickness of the coal bed determines the spacing of the long holes, although they usually are on 6-ft centers for a 6-ft thick coal seam. The Bureau of Mines has conducted extensive investigations and tests on the development of a hydraulic mining system to be used in conjunction with hydraulic hoisting. Tests were conducted in cooperation with a large anthracite producer in a coal seam from 10 ft 6 in. to 15 ft in thickness and on a pitch from 0º to 20. This particular mining procedure is adaptable only to thick seams on relatively flat pitch as the maneuverability of the hydraulic jumbo is an important restricting factor.

Jan 2, 1968