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By C. O. Brawner

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STABILITY AND STABILIZATION METHOD The most effective stabilization method and design can only be developed if the cause(s) and mechanics of the slide are known. Therefore, it is important that the stability be evaluated by an engineer who has had extensive rock stability experience. The most important factors that influence stability are structural geology, ground water, blasting and the mining method or methods. Structural Geology - The majority of failures in rock slopes occur along discontinuities in the rock (joints, bedding planes, shear or fault zones, etc.). Therefore, on all surface mining projects, the development and maintenance of a comprehensive structural geologic mapping program should be a first priority program that is considered a part of the operations function. This program should include mapping all major features - faults, shear zones and through going joints. All structural features which could influence stability should be mapped and presented in a structural domain format for the entire mine (Canmet, 1977). Where planes, wedges or blocks will be undercut by the mining excavation, shear strength and strain to failure tests should be performed on the joints, fault gouge and gouge-rock contact surfaces. These tests must be performed on the samples in the direction of potential slide movement and must determine the range of peak and residual shear strength values. A preliminary assessment of friction angle can be obtained from measurements of failed surfaces in the field (Figure 1) or from core sliding tests (Barton, 1981). An assessment must be made of the past geologic history of

Jan 1, 1983

By William Glenn

The taking of proper samples of crude ores seems to he less thoroughly understood, or less carefully practiced, than its impor tance requires. We all know how often we encounter the reports of very accurate assays and analyses, the weight of which as evidence wholly depends on the method of obtaining the sample, and is very probably nil, because there has been no proper sampling. Pissages might be cited from technical books, and from current technical literature (all the work of writers whom we delight to honor) to show that even among high scientific authorities there is too little acquaintance with the practical art of the sampler. There is no metallurgical or chemical establishment which does not frequently receive samples truly representing nothing. They consist usually of bits of ore, or what not, selected because they are worse or better than the average of what they are meant to represent. And they are worthless, no matter who made the selection. Where conscious choice is permitted to enter into the operation, a fair sample will not result, unless by a miracle. The work of sampling is often looked upon as within the realm of boys and of pensioners only. At least, though the manual labor be left to subordinates, the principles on which it is conducted and the safeguards with which it is surrounded are not unworthy of the study of experts; and experts should he ready to teach these principles and enforce them in practice. For exact sampling is the indispensable first step towards learning the value of any boxful, carload or shipload of ore. I propose to give a simple account of the method of sampling by hand, such as I have always pursued. There is nothing new about it. So far as I know, it is the immemorial old method, as old at least as Cornish copper-mining. Perhaps my fellow-members in the Institute may suggest improvements in it. If not, it will constitute a record in our Transactions to which laymen and beginners may be referred.

Jan 1, 1892

By Myrick N. Bolles

The concentration of gold and silver in mattes low in copper, and the subsequent separation and recovery of either or both of these metals, is a question the satisfactory solution of which has long vexed metallurgists. It covers a broad and important department of metallurgical science and brings in its train a series of attendant problems continuing from the initial operations of concentration to the final recovery of " values."

Jan 1, 1905

Jan 6, 1976

The discovery of nickel at the Wallace Mine in 1846, recorded in the Report of Progress of the Geological Survey of Canada, 1.848-49, was not the first find in the Sudbury mining district. As long ago as 1770 a company had been formed to work the rich deposits of, copper whose existence was then known. .But it was during the first mentioned year that, incited thereto by fresh finds and a favorable report by Mr. W. E. Logan, then Provincial Geologist, two [ ] groups of Canadians organized "The Montreal Mining Company and "The Upper Canada Mining Company." By the former company the Bruce Mines Location' was purchased and work was immediately commenced upon it. The Wallace Mine acquired by the Upper Canada Mining Company, was abandoned after a shaft had been sunk and a few test pits opened.

Jan 1, 1907

I;. D. Godshall, Everett, Wash. (communication to the Secretary) : In Mr. Morse's interesting paper several statements occur which seem to require correction and comment. This is the more appropriate, since Mr. Morse has mentioned me by name, and has cited my "Review of the Russell Process,"* so that silence on my part might be taken as indicating an assent which I cannot give. On the first page of his paper Mr. Morse says that the " goingback " of chlorination was " the only difficulty encountered at Aspen," and adds that he has " never seen any explanation " of the cause. The plain inference is that he now fills this complete

Jan 1, 1896

Jan 1, 1969

By B. M. Larsen

Jan 1, 1965

By L. C. Morganroth

Magnesites are of two general classes - massive and crystalline.

Jan 1, 1915

By N. E. Norman, R. Stier

The mining industry is continually seeking out new and better underground mining techniques. One of the most recent-also, perhaps, the most significant-of the new concepts in underground mining is the use of mechanical rock-boring machines. And one of the problems that concerns us all in this matter is the cost of mechanical rock tunneling. To help answer the oft-quoted question "What will it cost me?" the following pages deal with the operating costs of so-called "medium to medium hard rock" boring machines-i.e., those designed to meet the drilling requirements in 8000 psi to 25,000 psi rock. A few machines are capable of drilling hard rock above 25,000 psi, but the economics of mechanical tunneling in rock that hard is limited at the present time. [ ] For mechanical rock tunneling, there are five main cost factors influencing the expense: Capital Investment, Cutters, Labor, Power Requirements, and Maintenance. These factors give us a good basic picture of the cost of excavation, although muck handling, erecting supports, and other costs directly related to conventional tunneling and mechanical boring enter into the final picture.

Jan 6, 1967

By John Hays Hammond

The Transvaal comprises about 120,000 square miles (nearly • the size of the United States Territory of New Mexico). Besides the famous Witwatersrand, which will here be de scribed in detail, there are two quartz-mining districts of some importance, viz., Lydenburg and De Kaap. The Lydenburg district first attracted attention in 1876, when the alluvial deposits of that section began to be exploited. At a later period vein-rnining was started, and at the present time several companies are operating in that district. The product in 1898 of five companies, running 137 stamps, was 154,560 tons of ore, yielding 108,884 crude ounces of gold (an average of 14.09 dwt. crude gold per ton) valued at £392,378. The De Eaap gold-fields were discovered in 1884. In 1898, seven companies, running 200 stamps, produced 89,760 crude ounces of gold, valued at £314,792. I. Mining Titles in the Transvaal. The mining laws of the Tranuvaal are most excellent in char acter, and while the claims cover every square foot of land for an area of nearly 40 miles long by from 2 to 3- miles wide, there have been practically no conflicts over extra-lateral rights. Notwithstanding the change in the political status of the Transvaal likely to follow the present war, it may be coufi dently assumed that the main features of the mining law of the South African Republic will be retained, and certain op pressive featureu of monopolies, etc., bearing with special weight on the mining industry, will be abolished. The dynamite mo nopoly was one that bore most heavily on the mining industry; and, according to the Reports of the State Mining Engineer, explosives, including fuse and detonators, amounted to nearly 10 per cent. of the total working costs of the mines. Further more, it was impossible to obtain the proper quality for the most economical working, and often 80-per-cent. or 40-per-cent. gelatine had to be used- in many instances where 60-per-cent.

Jan 1, 1902

By Cyril Smith

A COMPLETE discussion of the literature on the subject of the influence of copper on iron and steel will be published elsewhere.1 The present paper is concerned especially with the precipitation-hardening of copper steels, and brief mention will be made here only of the work of Kin-near,2,3 Nehl4 and Buchholtz and Koster,5 who alone have studied this phase of the subject. Kinnear found that normalized low-carbon steel castings containing about 1.0 per cent copper on drawing at temperatures in the neighbor-hood of 530° C. (1000° F.) increased in tensile strength and yield point, with little decrease in ductility. The maximum effect was obtained with about 0.9 to 1.0 per cent copper, and when the copper exceeded 3 per. cent no improvement occurred on reheating. Kinnear did not study the effect of time of reheating-an all important factor where precipitation is concerned. Nehl,6 who apparently was unaware of Kinnear's work, recognized the change as due to precipitation and studied the interdependence of time and temperature of reheating, the temperature of the initial solution heat treatment, and the speed of cooling necessary to retain the bulk of the copper in supersaturated solu-tion and to give an increase in hardness and tensile strength on reheating. Nehl found that if the final rolling or forging temperatures exceeded 700° C. (1300° F.) it was not necessary even to normalize the steel, but full precipitation occurred on merely reheating the forged or rolled shapes at 500° C. (930° F.).

Jan 1, 1933

By P. A. C. Wilson

Instantaneous outbursts of carbon dioxide in coal mines have occurred in Germany only in one part of the Waldenburg-Neurode mining district.' This mining region comprises the northeastern fold of the "Innersudetian" coal basin. The basin (Fig. 1) is in the form of a geologic trough approximately 60 km. (37 miles) long and 30 to 35 km. (19 to 22 miles) broad and is enclosed on three sides by ancient truncated mountain ranges—the Riesengebirge, the Bober-Katzbachgebirge and the Eulenge-birge. Only the southeastern part of the trough is not enclosed by mountains of older rock formation. The floor of the basin before the building up of the coal measures was formed on the western, northwestern and northeastern borders by the material from Archean rocks (gneiss and mica schists); in the northern part over this was deposited the Silurian formation. The carboniferous period is represented both by the Lower ("kulm") and Upper Carboniferous, with an unconformity between the stages; that is, the kulm was tilted up and partly eroded before the Upper Carboniferous was deposited. The kulm is a salt-water formation (with marine fauna) but Upper Carboniferous rocks are nonsaline water deposits, with fresh-water flora only. The Lower Silesian coal measures were thus formed in a lime basin fed by the running water coming down from the mountains. As already indicated, the bottom series of the Upper Carboniferous formation, termed "Waldenburg strata" were laid down unconformably on the Lower Carboniferous. Over the Waldenburg strata there are the "Weisstein strata," an intermediate barren stage without coal beds, 400 to 500 m. (1300 to 1600 ft.) thick. Another unconformity followed, which is overlain by the '(Saarbrucken" series, which contain the upper coal measures, and the ('Ottweil" strata. In the last named, it is only on the southwestern fold that beds of coal are developed.

Jan 1, 1931

By A. C. JR. Boyle

I. INTRODUCTION THE geological field work of the Bully Hill district, upon which this paper is based, was begun July 1, 1908, and covered a period of three months. The time was found too short for a complete report and the district was again visited in the early part of July, 1912,. from which time detailed study of the locality continued until September of the same year. This paper is the result of observations made in the mines in the immediate vicinity of Winthrop, Shasta county, Cal., during these two periods of study. The preparation of this report has been greatly facilitated by various courtesies rendered the writer by D. M. Riordan, President of the Bully Hill Copper Mining & Smelting Co., and by John B. Keating and Herbert R. Hanley, managing officers actively in charge at the mines. The elaboration and further study of the notes and collections were carried on in the laboratories of the Departments of Geology and Mining at Columbia University, and the writer takes pleasure also at this point in expressing his acknowledgments to Profs. James F. Kemp, A. W. Grabau, Charles P. Berkey, and William Campbell, for advice and assistance. In order that one may appreciate at first reading the significance of some of the details which follow, and for the sake of clearness, a brief outline of the geological relationships is here given, together with certain conclusions which have been reached regarding the genesis. of the ores and the gypsum masses. In the Bully Hill mining district an associated series of Triassic lavas and tuffs, chiefly andesites, is preceded as well as followed by sediments. The entire system is tilted so that the original bedding planes dip in general to the southeast. The surrounding region has been greatly disturbed, and in the immediate vicinity of the mines close folding of the later sediments and extreme shearing of the igneous rocks locally is a striking feature. Into the nearly vertical shear zones have been intruded post-Triassic dikes of various rock types in the following order: alaskite-porphyry and andesite-porphyry. Outside the area under consideration diorite dikes are known, but they will not receive attention further than to note that' they, probably, represent a differentiation product of the same magma from which the other two dikes came. In this connection all the dikes have an important bearing on the origin of the ores and of the gypsum found in the mines.

Jan 1, 1914

By Albert Sauveur

(New York Meeting, February, 1913.) IT is delightful to read a technical paper like that of J. E. Johnson, The Effect of High Carbon on the Quality of Charcoal-Iron, presented in October, 1912, at the Cleveland meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers.1 The clear, simple, and straightforward manner in which he describes his experiments and results makes you feel as if you had been, so to speak, at his elbow during the course of his investigations, while his method of procedure is so rational that you can fairly anticipate each step in the logical sequence of the tests performed. The following notes suggested by Mr. Johnson's paper are presented here in the hope that they may help, if only a mite, towards the final solution of a problem of considerable scientific and industrial importance.

Jan 3, 1913

By Herbert H. Kellogg

IN 1930, Taggart, Taylor and Knoll1found that addition of various electrolytes to suspensions of ground minerals resulted in the stopping or starting of Brownian movement of the suspended particles. On the basis of the many new facts found, they rejected the "classical "[t] theory of Brownian movement and proposed an "ionization" theory. This new theory was further supported in later publications by Taggart.3,4 The acceptance of the ionization theory by men in the field of flotation may be judged by the mention given this theory in Gaudin's "Principles of Mineral Dressing,"5 Wark's "Principles of Flotation,"6 as well as in a recent paper by Fitt, Thomas and Taggart.7 The proponents of the ionization theory have gone further than the mere statement of the new theory. A parallelism between the Brownian movement of mineral particles and their behavior in flotation was reported.1,3,4 Likewise, the correlation between flocculation-dispersion of mineral particles and the Brownian movement of these particles has been investigated.7 Bankoff15 has suggested that "slime-coating" can also be directly correlated with the Brownian movement of the slime particles. In each of the instances mentioned it is the ionization theory of Brownian movement that has been used to "explain" the correlations that were found. The essential conflict between the kinetic theory and the ionization theory can be understood best by a brief description of each. The kinetic theory* proposes that Brownian movement is caused by the impacts of liquid molecules against the solid particles. At any instant of time, the molecular impacts on all sides of the solid particle will not balance, and the particle will receive a push in some direction. According to this theory, all particles suspended in a liquid are in Brownian movement. However, if the particle is very large, the impacts on all sides will very nearly balance and the motion will not be noticeable. Another factor, besides the size of the particle, that affects the magnitude of the Brownian movement is the viscosity of the liquid-the greater the viscosity, the less the displacement of particles by Brownian movement. This theory has been verified experimentally by measurement of the velocity of Brownian movement, and by measurement of the compacting of suspensoid particles under the influence of gravity.2 The originators of the ionization theory found that the addition of various electrolytes to slime pulps caused cessation or commencement of Brownian movement, depending upon the chemical nature of the particle and the electrolyte. The Brownian movement of quartz particles was observed to stop upon the addition of certain electrolytes, where the conditions of the experiment prevented flocculation

Jan 1, 1945

By W. C. Phalen

SALT-MAKING PROCESSES THE production of salt in the United States divides itself at the outset into two distinct classes: (1) The mining of rock salt and its purification and separation into marketable sizes, and (2) the production of salt by evaporation from brines, bitterns, and other solutions. The processes employed at the present time in the manufacture of salt by evaporation may be outlined as follows: 1. Solar evaporation. 2. Direct-heat evaporation (a) in open kettles; (b) in open pans. 3. Steam evaporation, (a) in jacketed kettles, (b) in grainers. 4. Vacuum-pan evaporation. In this paper only the solar-evaporation processes practised in different parts of the United States will be described. SOLAR EVAPORATION Localities In the Eastern States the solar-evaporation process is not generally employed for climatic reasons. In the Western States, particularly in California and Utah, the great bulk of the salt produced originates in the solar-evaporation process. Of the Eastern States producing salt, this process, so far as the writer is aware, is employed in New York State only.

Jan 9, 1914

THE composition and quality of finished steel depend upon selection and proportioning of the raw materials of the charge as well as upon control of furnace practice. This chapter deals only with the raw materials of the basic open-hearth process that are important in determining the composition of the steel or slag. They are the metallic charge, oxygen-bearing materials, fluxes, alloying and deoxidizing additions, and certain refractory materials used for maintenance of bottoms. Other refractories, which may affect the slag composition, are discussed in Chapter 3. Wide variations are possible in the type and composition of charged materials but certain limiting relations among the elements of the charge must be observed. Since the process consists essentially of refining by the oxidation of undesired dements, a balance must be established between the sources of oxygen and the elements in the charge that are subject to oxidation (see Chapters 2 and 7). For example, if it is desired to use a high ratio of blast-furnace hot metal to scrap, it is necessary to add an oxygen-bearing material such as ore or mill scale to eliminate the excess carbon and silicon that are present in the hot metal. An example of the opposite extreme is the use of a metallic charge composed entirely of steel scrap. With this type of charge, it is common practice to substitute burnt lime for limestone as a flux and to charge some carbonaceous material such as coke to avoid an excess of oxygen in relation to the elements of the charge that are subject to oxidation. Elements such as copper and nickel, which are not oxidized or eliminated by, any other reaction, may be introduced into the charge only to the extent to which they are permissible in the finished steel. An example of adjustment of the charge for elements of this type is found in the use of steel scrap high in copper. In this case, metallic components of the charge other than the scrap should be low in copper, or a sufficiently high ratio of pig iron to scrap should be charged to dilute the copper from the

Jan 1, 1951

By Nicholas J. Grant, Oliver Preston

PUBLICATION of data by Irmann' indicating outstanding thermal stability and elevated-temperature strength properties in a sintered aluminum powder product (SAP) stimulated interest in the strengthening of metals by means of a highly dispersed oxide phase. This material was produced by compacting, sintering and extruding a fine flake aluminum powder, resulting in a dense product containing 10 to 16 volume pct alumina, which arises from the thin oxide film on the starting powder, highly dispersed in a matrix of pure aluminum. The method of producing SAP, and the stable high-temperature properties obtained from it, introduced the possibility of developing superior materials for high-temperature service by powder metallurgy methods. The composition of the materials of this type which are presently under consideration is predominantly metallic, containing from less than 1 pct up to about 20 volume pct of the oxide. As a result, other properties of these materials, such as electrical and thermal conductivity, thermal shock resistance, and to a certain extent ductility, notch sensitivity, machinability and hot working properties, are also predominantly metallic. These alloys do not constitute, therefore, a completely new class of materials as do the cermets, but rather present a new means of modifying the properties of a metallic matrix. In this sense, SAP type alloys are more closely analogous to the alloy aging systems. While the strength properties realized in the oxide-pure metal systems at the lower temperatures are substantially less than the best attainable in the aging systems, the thermal instabilities in the latter make them of less value for use at temperature much above their optimum aging temperatures, as indicated in Fig. 1. While the means of obtaining an oxide dispersion are more difficult and costly than conventional aging processes, in the light of the as yet limited understanding of such systems there is considerable promise of improved high temperature properties arising from the thermal stability of these structures. Since the development of SAP in 1946, its properties and the properties of a series of similarAl,O,-A1 products containing from about 1 to 20 pct aluminum oxide have been fairly extensively studied and reported.'- "articular attention has been given to

Jan 1, 1958

By O. W. Ellis

The question of the influence of gases upon the properties of copper has received the attention of a number of investigators, among whom Sieverts,' Iwase,2 Lobley and Jepson3 stand preeminent. Solubility of Gases in Copper Sieverts and Iwasé concerned themselves with the solubility of a variety of gases in the metal in the solid and liquid states. They determined the absorption coefficients of these gases and in all cases found a sharp change in solubility at the melting point of the metal. In this respect they disagree with Lobley and Jepson, who have based their opinions upon the appearance of small ingots of the metal which had been fused in an atmosphere of one or other of three gases and had then been rapidly cooled, while surrounded by gas, to the freezing point (rate—possibly 30" to 60" C. per sec.). The ingots that had been fused and cooled under nitrogen and carbon monoxide were free from blowholes and it was assumed that these gases were not absorbed in amounts much in excess of those which would dissolve in the solid metal; the ingots similarly treated under hydrogen were full of blowholes and it was assumed in this case that gas was ejected on solidification of the copper. The effect of varying the rate of freezing upon the character of the test ingots was not examined by these investigators; otherwise, it is felt, their views might have been subject to modification. Sieverts' most important contribution is that the solubility of a gas in any metal is proportional to the square root of its pressure or concentration. Knowing then the absorption coefficients of the various gases in copper, it should be possible to determine the analysis of the

Jan 1, 1929