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By AIME AIME

SECTION DELEGATES were given an opportunity to see how the machinery of Institute administration functions, on Tuesday evening, Feb. 16, when they were the' guests at the regular monthly meeting of the Directors. Of the new board of 25 members, 19 were present at the meeting, including directors from Seattle, Los Angeles, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Chicago and Pitts-burgh, the new junior past-president from Jerome, Ariz., and the new president from .Washington, D. C. The complete list of the 72 in attendance at the dinner,: held in the main dining room of the Engineers' Club, which pre-ceded the general session of the Directors'. meeting, follows:

Jan 1, 1932

By Scott Turner

AS IN OTHER lines of engineering, progress in mining was influenced during 1931 by the world-wide economic depression. Low-metal prices ? resulted in active efforts to reduce production costs of base-metal mines. Probably the chief factors in reducing costs were the greater efficiency of labor, due to better relations between management and workmen, to the scarcity of jobs, reduced wages in most base-metal mines, and to lower overhead expenses secured by drastic economies. The use of mechanical equipment continued to increase, due to more efficient designs and a better practical understanding of the applicability of such equipment to requirements. With one exception, there were no startling innovations in stoping methods, but there was notable progress in the better adaptation of mining methods. In the United States, no large new base-metal or silver mines came into production during the year. At a number of mines, output was curtailed, and operations were discontinued at several important producers. On the other hand world-wide interest in gold was stimulated, as evidenced by increased output from producing mines, the reopening of some old properties, and intensive prospecting for new deposits. Mining methods at several gold mines in the United States and Canada were modified or changed to obtain a higher extraction of ore or to meet the need for additional support of the mine workings at depth. Permanent record of improvements in mining practices has been made during the year by the Federal Government; the industry thus has available for its use more detailed information than ever before. This work was done through cooperation of the mining companies and their representatives with the United States Bureau of Mines, whereby many papers descriptive of practices and costs at individual mines have been published. The Bureau's program of describing methods and costs at the more important mines (those producing in excess of $100,000 annually) is nearly completed, but papers will be issued concerning such additional mines as may possess particular interest because of novel methods, exceptional conditions or operating results, and others to supplement reports already issued. In this way, an interesting record of the results of changing conditions, or innovations in methods, will be made available.

Jan 1, 1932

By E. C. Houston

The phosphate ores mined in middle Tennessee typically consist of granular rock phosphate particles disseminated in a clayey matrix. In the TVA plant near Columbia, Tenn., the phosphate ore is mined, made into a slurry with the addition of a small amount of sodium hydroxide as dispersant, and treated in a hydroseparator to remove minus 10 micron material. The hydro-separator underflow, comprising a rough concentrate, is transported by pipeline to the plant; the hydro-separator overflow, comprising a tailing, is flocculated by addition of calcium sulphate and is discharged to settling ponds at a rate of about 1400 gpm. Sedimentation in the ponds produces a clarified effluent, which may be recycled for use as process water or discharged to surface drainage. This method of tailing treatment is not entirely satisfactory since poor sedimentation characteristics of the tailing result in poor ultimate utilization of pond storage volume.

Jan 1, 1949

PERSONAL (Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members.) Members and guests who registered at Institute headquarters during the period June 10 to July 10: J. C. Ralston, Spokane, Wash. E. P. Ashmore, So. Porcupine, Ont., Can. William H. Yeandle, Jr., Mexico City, Stuart Croasdale, Denver, Colo. Mexico. W. E. Hopper, Houghton, Mich. W. C. Minsch, Mexico City, Mexico. D. W. Brunton, Denver, Colo. H. V. Winchell, Minneapolis, Minn. Fred Crabtree, Pittsburg, Pa. W. G. Swart, Denver, Colo. Robert S. Lewis, Salt Lake City, Utah. D. F. Schindler, Madison, Wis. Noel Cunningham, Timmins, Ont., Can E. R. Pettebone has just been elected a Trustee of the Pennsylvania State College, being supported by the votes of the delegates of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Local Section of the Institute and the Engineers' Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Jan 8, 1914

By G. A. Merkt

THE Isley furnace control, here presented as a novelty in furnace construction, is, in principle, one of the oldest methods of maintaining furnace heat for industrial purposes. Records unearthed in Egyptian tombs and the primitive methods of melting metal practiced by African tribes today indicate that fanning the fire and forcing the furnace by bellows have been an effective means of regulating heat for man's work during thousands of years. Even today, these cruder forms of mechanical draft production are still nn use within the borders of this most highly developed industrial land. Stacks, as we know them, are of com- paratively recent historical age but their attractive simplicity and seeming effectiveness have made them exceedingly popular. And so we find one of the most important types of furnace the world has even known, the open-hearth furnace, duly and more or less properly equipped with a chimney. The regenerative, or reversing, type of furnace, how-ever, required another mechanism between its hearth and the stack to provide a means for alternately con-necting one side and the other of its system of regen-erative chambers and flues to the stack and to a source of fuel and air supply respectively. Various types of reversing valves were developed, some of which are re-markably well designed for maximum efficiency and ease of installation as well as operation. However, this combination has a number of inherent faults which are so difficult to correct as to make efforts in the direction of improving over-all efficiency almost futile. These inherent difficulties are as follows: (1) The necessarily high temperature at which the gases must be delivered to the stack in order to make it operative. (2) The great temperature difference incidental to the reversal of flue gas and air and consequently the large variation in preheated air and fuel delivered to the furnace dur-ing the cycle. (3) The leakages and resistances created by the reversing apparatus and the complicated flues necessary. (4) The inadequate range of control af-forded by the natural draft system, especially under adverse atmospheric conditions.

Jan 12, 1927

By P. G. Shewmon, W. M. Robertson

The derivative of the surface tension with orientation, ??/??, for copper has been measured over the entire unit triangle. This derivative or torque term was determined from the variation of the dihedral angles at the intersection of twin boundaries and free surfaces. High-temperature anneals in graphite with a hydrogen atmosphere gave torque terms of 0.097 at (111), 0.066 at (100), and 0.0257 at (110). A variation from -36oto +23oC in the dew Point of the H2 had no effect on these values, nor did a change from 99.98 to 99.999 pct Pure copper. The removal of graphite from the system decreased ??/?? slightly. Considering the surface near a low-index plane to be smooth except for occasional steps, the free-energy increment per cm of step is calculated, and it is shown that the observed variation of ??/?? is consistent with a random distribution of steps and an interaction energy between steps. Integration of ??/?? gave the relative values of y at (100), (110), and (111) as comPared to ymax: (Y111/Ymax) =0.974, (Y110/Ymax) =0.996, (y100/Ymax) = 0.983. The ratio of the surface tension of coherent twin boundaries to the surface tension of the free surface was found to be (yT/ys) = 0.027 * 0.011. In a crystalline solid the surface tension y (surface free energy per unit area) depends on the orientation of the surface relative to the crystallographic axes of the crystal. Measurements of this variation of y with surface orientation have been reported for metals only within the last few years. Consider the grain boundary groove shown in Fig. 1. Here the three surfaces are all normal to the plane of the paper, and each has a different surface tension, y1, y2, and y3. If the system is at equilibrium, the total surface free energy must remain unchanged for a slight vertical displacement of the intersection (points A, B, and C are kept fixed). As shown by Herring,' the following equation is obtained:

Jan 1, 1962

THE following employment items are mode available to AIME members on a nonprofit basis by the Engineering Societies Personnel Service, Inc., operating in cooperation with the Four Founder Societies. Local offices of, the Personnel Service are at 8 W. 40th St., New York 18; 100 Farnsworth Ave., Detroit; 57 Post St., San Francisco; 84 E. Randolph St., Chicago 1. Applicants should address all mail to the proper key numbers in care of the New York office and include 6c in stamps for forwarding and returning application. The applicant agrees, if placed in a position by means of the Service, to pay the placement fee listed by the Service. AIME members may secure a weekly bulletin of positions available for $3.50 a quarter, $12 a year. POSITIONS OPEN Mining Engineer with some engineering training, capable of doing mapping, surveying, exploration, geology and transit work. Location, New York State. Y7333. Mineral Dressing Engineer, B.S. Mining or Chemical Engineering, age to 35. Must have knowledge of flotation. Duties will be in applied research and field evaluation of cationic and anionic flotation agents. Salary, $3500 to $7000 depending on experience. Location, Chicago. R-8971. Geological Draftsman, 25 to 30, with some experience in working with a geologist. Salary, $5100 a year. Location, New York, N. Y. Y7153.

Jan 1, 1952

By C. O. Burgess, A. B. Kinzel

Although vanadium is an important constituent of almost every brand of high-speed steel manufactured today, little is known as to its role in this series of alloys. The now standard 18 per cent tungsten and 4 per cent chromium constituents were the result of developments and improvements before 1903. In that year, vanadium was added to the steel by Dr. J. A. Mathews. This proved to be an outstanding contribution, so that the standard high-speed steel of today is generally referred to as the 18-4-1 type—18 per cent W, 4 per cent Cr and 1 per cent V. Various modifications have been attempted since then, but with the exception of the introduction of cobalt, no striking improvements have occurred. Vanadium has been increased to 2 per cent in many of the common brands, and at least one brand contains 5 per cent V in addition to the usual tungsten and chromium. The carbon has been gradually increased so that it is not uncommon to find 0.80 per cent in the standard grade, although the carbon in the 5 per cent vanadium steel mentioned above is approximately 1 per cent, and even 1.2 per cent has been made experimentally. The role of vanadium has never been well understood, and although vanadium has been increased to 2.5 and even 5 per cent in certain high speed steels, it has not been generally established that the higher vanadium contents result in superior cutting properties. However, in all of the investigations, of which the writers are aware, the interrelation of the vanadium and carbon contents was not considered as a prime factor. The carbon content was held at 1.2 per cent or less—generally at the usual 0.65 to 0.75 per cent. Theoretical Aspects Although the role of vanadium is not understood, there are theoretical considerations which indicate definite reasons for the improved cutting effciency due to vanadium. Refinement of the secondary grain is one distinct possibility. The well-known action of vanadium in limiting grain size might well be expected to operate in high-speed steels, and even though its action were not evident in the parent austenite grain.

Jan 1, 1932

By William Campbell

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) THE structure of iron and steel, though the object of so much study and research for the past 25 years, is by no means thoroughly understood. In the first place, we have three or more distinct iron-carbon thermal diagrams, each with its own supporters, and each representing a theory of the structure and constitution of cast-iron. In the second place, by reason of the fact that austenite, the solid solution of carbon in iron, decomposes in the solid state into ferrite, or pure iron, and cementite (Fe3C), and that quenching from above this transition-range, no matter how rapid, cannot entirely prevent the change and thus preserve the austenite by itself at ordinary temperatures, it happens that under the microscope we find, in addition to the ferrite, Fe3C, and austenite, which the thermal diagram of steel requires, it series of transition-products with distinctive structures, to which have ,been given the names martensite, troostite, sorbite, etc. Now these transition-products, in addition to the solid solution, austenite, have been the source of much controversy, at times very bitter. One side would insist that, say, troostite was an entity, which the other side would deny, pointing out that it must be a transition-mixture, with a particular structure. That austenite was a solid solution of carbon in iron has been denied by one school ; we have been told that Fe24C dissolved both Fe3C and Fe, and thus gave rise to a whole series of quenching-products-all this in spite of the fact that no matter how the thermal diagrams differ in regard to cast-iron, they all agree in regard to the solid solution, austenite, for Fe24C finds no place on the diagram. Thus it happens that while the authorities fight both in regard to the iron-carbon diagram and the structures met with in hard- * Associate Professor of Metallurgy, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Dec 1, 1912

By H. M. Chance

Discussion of the paper of H. M. Chance, Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 23, September, 190S, pp. 791-808. CHARLES CATLETT, Staunton,Va. (communication to the Secretary *):-Mr. Chance's suggestions that the brown hematite ores of the Potsdam formation are due to the alteration in place of iron sulphide, and that their extension may reasonably be expected to contain valuable deposits of unaltered sulphide, are interesting; but the facts marshaled by him are too limited to justify more than the hope that they may serve as a commercial source of sulphur. It is true that these deposits have been the source of large amounts of iron-ore; and it. is common, as stated by him, for the mining operations to extend to a shallow depth only; but this is largely due to the fact that the surface-material represents an accumulation from the breaking down and collection of the ore which formerly reached a much higher level. With, increasing depth comes a decreasing thickness of valuable material. This is especially appreciated by a glance at Mr. Chance's drawings. This is the reason why so many disappointments have resulted when these ores have been followed to greater depths. Even if the ore is largely derived from oxidation in place, it is impossible to ignore the great number of concretionary forms, as well as those showing the evidence of secondary solution and deposition now taking place, such, for instance, as the part replacements of fragments of quartzite derived from the underlying beds. Concretionary form does not necessarily mean long transportation, and may be a variation of material in place; but commonly it is an evidence of collection, and tends to imply that more or less concentration has taken place. This fact would also argue against an equally extensive develop¬-

Nov 1, 1908

By Ronald C. Whiting

SINCE the advent of what has been aptly called "chemical flotation," about 1920, the number and complexity of the various chemicals used in practice have increased enormously. Over 300 patents have been issued dealing exclusively with flotation reagents, and many of these embrace from two or three up to a score or more of specific compounds. The exact number of compounds actually finding a practical use in flotation would be difficult to determine, though the U. S. Bureau of Mines gives an annual list by groups.

Jan 1, 1938

By H. J. Fraser

LIKE a runner catching his second wind, the mining geologist in 1944 has had some opportunity to appraise the result of three years of active and intense search for the metallic sinews of war and peace. The war period has been one of physical activity and accumulation of new data but has not so far resulted in the announcement of any profound or revolutionary theoretical concepts or techniques. Most technical publications during the year have been either descriptive or statistical. A review of accomplishments during the war years, although affording some measure of satisfaction in individual cases or regarding production of certain metals or' ores, is far from justifying any feeling of complacency regarding the growth of the profession either in fundamental knowledge or in application. During 1944 an abundant supply of all metals and minerals flowed steadily to smelters and fabricating plants. Also, during this and preceding years, adequate stock piles for war needs, in view of the improved foreign and domestic supply situation, were accumulated in many metals in such quantities that the mining industry has become concerned not with the problem of supply but with the effect these accumulated stocks, if maintained, might have on the postwar market. These considerations culminated in the enactment by Congress of the Surplus Disposal Act, which, admittedly a tempo-

Jan 1, 1945

By C. K. Leith

THE interdependence of nations in regard to mineral supplies has grown apace with the expanded needs of industry, with depletion of reserves, and with advances in technology. This increased mutual dependence raises many questions of foreign economic policy of special importance in our postwar planning. Realization of the urgent need for the development of a general mineral policy broadly based on national requirements led to discussions of the problem between officials of the Department of State and myself, as a result of which it was suggested that I make an informal and unofficial canvass of the views of mineral specialists of the country on foreign mineral policy.

Jan 1, 1946

By H. A. Baumann

Experimental data are presented showing the influence of size consist and firing rate upon the performance of bituminous coal-fired, single-retort, industrial underfeed stokers. Size segregation, degradation, and distributor data are also included. The conclusion is reached that size consist of the fuel as fired, is a critical factor in its performance on this class of equipment.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. Chipman, H. R. Larson

The data previously reported for the quantity as a function of oxygen pressure at 1550°C have been used to compute the activities of Fe, FeO, Fe2O3, and COO in slags of the ternary system. Activities of the first three have been obtained also for two quasi-ternaries involving fixed CaO:SiO2 ratios. IN a previous paper1' the authors reported the results of an investigation into the effects of oxygen pressure on the composition of various simple slags analogous to some of those which are found in steel-making practice. The ratio of ferric iron to total iron was studied at 1550°C in iron oxide melts to which lime, magnesia, lime-plus-silica, and other oxides were added. The oxygen pressures involved those of air, carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide plus carbon monoxide in several proportions. Although very low oxygen pressures could not be used, the slag-metal equilibrium studies of Fetters and Chip-man' permitted extending the results to slags in equilibrium with iron. For the ternary system CaO-FeO-Fe,O, the oxygen pressure-composition relationship has been determined from zero percent lime to lime saturation over an oxygen pressure range from air to that represented by equilibrium with liquid iron. Lime and silica were added to iron oxide in the ratios 0.54, 1.306, and 2.235 to form three quasi-ternary systems which were also studied over the entire region of liquid melts at 1550°C. Ternary Gibbs-Duhem Equation Wagner" has developed a method by which the activities of two components of a ternary system can be calculated if' the activity of the third component is known throughout the composition range being considered. The fundamental form of the Gibbs-Duhem equation for ternary systems is N, d In a, + N2 d In a, + N3 d In a3 — 0. Wagner has developed a usable form of this equation by introducing the term y = N3/(N3 + N1) and rearranging the equation to give (? In a1/?N2)x = -y/(1-N2)2 (? In a2/?y) x2 N2/1-N2 (? In a2/?N2) y To apply this equation to the slag system CaO-FeO-Fe,O,, the activity of one of these components must be known. However, the only activity which is known from the experimental data is the activity or pressure of oxygen in the gas phase with which the slag is in equilibrium. The activity of oxygen in the slag can be defined as the square root of the oxygen pressure. In order to use oxygen as one component, the composition of the slags must be converted to the basis Fe-O-CaO. Oxygen, exclu-sive of that contained in CaO, then becomes com-ponent 2 in Eq. 1, Fe is selected as 1 and CaO as 3. Then y = Ncao/(Ncao + NFe). Eq. 1 then becomes (? In a fe/? Nx) y = -y/(1-No)2 (? In ao/?y) xp - No/ 1- No (? In ao/ O No) y. In order to evaluate Eq. 2, the boundary conditions must be known. The obvious choice of a standard state for iron is to assign slags in equilibrium with iron an activity of one. Then In a,., or log aFe, which is substituted for convenience, is determined by integrating along a line of constant y from the slag in equilibrium with iron to the composition at which log a,, is to be determined. Mathematically this can be expressed as log aFe (Nlog y) = log a'Fe + (? log a Fe/? No) dNo where the primes indicate equilibrium with liquid iron and a'Fe = 1. When Eq. 3 is integrated along a line of constant y, the following is obtained: log a Fe (No, y) = - y No ?/ No ? y ( log ao/(1- No)2) No d No - No/1-No d log ao. Lime-Iron Oxide Slags Iron Activity: The oxygen pressure of lime-iron oxide slags is shown in Fig. 1 as a function of j, de-fined as j = Fe+++/(Fe++ + Fe +++) for various constant mol percentages of lime. The j values at 0 to 60 pct lime were then determined for oxygen pressures of 1, 10-1, etc. to 10-" atm. For purposes of calculation, the line for zero percent lime was extrapolated to

Jan 1, 1955

By G. C. Trevorrow

STRIP mining during 1943 increased considerably with further extension of mechanical loading in mines already partly mechanized; with the considerable introduction of mechanical loading into hand-loading mines; and with improvements in the use of loading equipment. Extension of the use of machinery both in strip mining and underground is due to reduction in labor supply and increased cost of labor, together with the increased demand for coal during the period of labor shortage.

Jan 1, 1944

By Edward W. Parker

IF one is to place any credence at all in the reports published in the daily press, the subject of conservation has been a very lively topic of conversation during the past 60 days, and it does not appear that the temperature of the summer months has been in any way moderated by the discussion. It is a subject in which we are all vitally interested and to which, so far as our mineral resources are concerned, both the Institute and the Geological Survey have liberally contributed. The report of the National Conservation Commission, appointed by President Roosevelt, contains a series of papers on the conservation of mineral resources, all of which were prepared by members of the Geological Survey and were compiled largely from information previously collected by that Federal bureau in the performance of its regular duties. It is not the purpose of this paper to reiterate in extenso any of the material already published. The contributions of the Survey officials to the Commission's report have been published in a separate document as Bulletin No. 394. This docunient is for free distribution and may be obtained upon application to the Director of the Survey. In the preparation of this paper I desire merely to make a few suggestions regarding the possible necessity of some restraint upon or control of one branch of the mining industry with which I have been somewhat closely associated for the past 20 years-that of coal. Most of the members of the Institute are cognizant of the suits brought by the government against the anthracite-operators in Pennsylvania, or the combination of interests commonly known as the ? hard-coal trust." No defense of any illegal combination in restraint of trade is intended, but there are some facts which should not be lost sight of, and unfortu-\

Nov 1, 1909

By Sherwin F. Kelly

THE geophysical scene shifts and alters, the emphasis changes, and new possibilities loom, but the tendency is always towards widening the field and deepening the analytical penetration. Seismic methods have had their heyday, the torsion balance is being displaced by the gravimeter, electrical methods are showing deeper penetration, soil analysis is the newest tool, and gamma-ray logging appears on the horizon. One of the striking features of re- cent geophysical work in the oil fields has been the marked decrease in the number of seismic crews employed. Although the percentage of company crews is believed to have increased appreciably. the sum total has fallen sharply, as shown by the figures for the Gulf Coast area. About two years ago probably over 100 seismic parties were operating there, whereas now there are only about 35. This decrease may be partly due to the low prices of petroleum with a consequent reluctance to spend money to increase crude-oil re- serves but more probably to the fact that reflection and refraction shooting have been carried on so extensively that they have been applied to a large pro- portion of the areas in which they may reasonably be expected to succeed. Some of the earlier enthusiasm, particularly over reflection prospecting, may have erred on the side of over- optimism; some of the present curtailment may be due to over pessimism; but in the opinion of various observers seismic work at the present rate seems to be at it- optimum. It nevertheless remains pre-eminent as a technique for detailing structures in areas where good reflections can be obtained and is the only method that will give accurate depth to definite beds. Results may be poor in certain areas but many regions still remain wherein it can be applied, so that plenty of structural mapping remains to be done by the reflection seismic method.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. R. Seeber

(Pittsburg Meeting, March, 1910.) IN the copper-mining district of northern Michigan a fair-sized mine usually operates two or more shafts along the strike of the lode, these shafts being usually at least 1,000 ft. apart. The tonnage to be hoisted from each shaft is large-from 13,000 to 25,000 tons per month. The hoisting-engines used are generally steam-driven, non-condensing, duplex engines with Corliss valves, supplied by steam from separate boiler-plants where the distance between shafts is great. In an attempt to centralize power-plants and secure central-station economies, the Winona Copper Co. installed an electric hoist of the Ilgner type, with Ward Leonard control. A brief description of this plant has already been published.1 The only point of variation from the simple Ilgner set lies in the connection of two generators to a single induction-motor by flexible couplings. These generators serve motors which operate hoisting-drums at separate shafts, viz., No. 4 shaft, Winona, and No. 1 shaft, King Philip. , The hoist for No. 4 shaft, is about 1,700 ft. from the power-plant, and in this building the motor-generator set is placed. No. 1 King Philip hoist is 1,500 ft. from the motor-generator set. The equipment of the motor-generator set is as follows: In the middle of the set is a 12-pole, 450-h-p., 600-rev. per min., 2,080-volt, three-phase, 60-cycle, variable-speed induction-motor, connected on each side to a 20-ton fly-wheel which is 10 ft. in diameter, and to a 6-pole, 170-kw, 575-volt, interpole, direct-current generator. On each side of the shaft is placed a separate exciter, which delivers current at 125 volts. The lubrication of the four main bearings that support the fly-wheels * Presented also, by mutual agreement, at the meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, New York, N. Y., Mar. 11, 1910. Engineering and Mining Journal, vol. lxxxviii., No. 3, p. 110 (July 17, 1909).

Sep 1, 1910

By L. G. Austin, P. T. Luckie, R. R. Klimpel, R. S. C. Rogers

1. INTRODUCTION The Bond method(1.2) for sizing tumbling ball mills has been used successfully for many years. The primary purpose of the Bond calculation is to predict the mill size and mill power to give a desired capacity (Q tph) from a wet overflow ball mill in normal closed circuit operated with a circulation ratio of 2.5. The input to the calculation is the make-up feed size characterized by the 80%-passing size in micrometers (xG), the desired circuit product size characterized by the 80%-passing size (xQ), and an empirical grindability number (the standard Bond Work Index) determined by a standard test. A series of empirical correcting factors(2) are used to convert the results to open-circuit or dry grinding in grate discharge mills. The Bond method has two major engineering advantages: (i) it is very simple; (ii) experience has shown that it works for many circumstances, as a reasonable approximation, because it is based on direct conversion of test data to results measured on industrial mills. There are four main disadvantages of the Bond method. First, there will be a range of error for any specific mill and material and set of operating conditions because the method does not explicitly include several variables which are obviously important: (i) recycle ratio and classifier efficiency (ii) mixture of ball sizes in the mill (iii) variations of residence time distributions with mill geometry and slurry density (iv) lifter design (v) slurry rheology (vi) different underfilling or overfilling of the mill as flow rate is changed. Second, the Bond method explicitly assumes that specific grinding energy E is not a function of ball load, whereas industrial practice and laboratory tests(3) show that the specific grinding energy (to go from a specified feed to a specified product) is less for lower ball loadings than the ball loading for maximum mill capacity. Third, the method uses only the 80% passing size of circuit feed and product to characterize the size distributions, whereas mill capacity in general must depend on the shape of the feed size distribution and the product size distribution. The prime example of this is the use of the reverse closed circuit which removes some fraction of the make-up feed before it is

Jan 1, 1982