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By A. A. B. Douglas

In this paper the origins of the mortar intruded concrete concept and its development and application in the construction of watertight bulkheads in South Africa are described. The events leading to the commissioning and execution of the West Driefontein Experimental Plug and the Virginia/Merriespruit Boundary Plugs, and their roles in the proving of the technique, follow. The development of the first Transvaal and Orange Free State Chamber of Mines Code of Practice for Mortar Intrusion Concrete for Underground Plugs and Bulkheads, Johannesburg, November 1962,is explained. The saga of the October 1968 flood and subsequent salvage of the West Driefontein Gold Mine is recounted. The paper concludes with mention of the validation programme carried out for the Placer Dome Western Areas Joint Venture and their South Deep water barrier programme.

Jan 1, 2006

By Robert B. Hopler

The history of bulk loaded explosives begins with the loading of black powder and RRP (Railroad Powder) into vertical boreholes. The early air place, net of black powder and nitrostarch dynamites is covered, as are the brands and formulas of the nitroglycerinsensitized "Bagged" powders.

Jan 1, 1993

By Robert B. Hopler

Emplacing explosives in the borehole by bulk methods is utilized today for about 35% of all of the explosives used in the United States. Although different from today's methods, some bulk emplacement has been utilized throughout the history of explosives. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of the industry from primarily packaged to primarily bulk materials and methods.

Jan 1, 1992

By Rudolf Gahl

THE history of flotation in America is very short, at least as far as the large-scale application of the process is concerned. It is remarkable how many important developments have taken place inn the last few years and are already being extensively utilized. What was new a year ago, seems almost commonplace now. For this reason it is with hesitation that I follow the suggestion: of Dr. Ricketts, President of the Institute, to describe the experiences of the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. with the flotation process. TESTS CONDUCTED IN SMALL TEST-MILL When the Inspiration company first decided to build a concentrating plant, nothing was known about flotation, and the process was to be gravity concentration pure and simple. Demonstration Tests Conducted by Minerals Separation Co. While plans were being prepared by H. Kenyon Burch (who had been intrusted with the design and construction of the concentrator) the Minerals Separation Co., a concern at that time little known in America, asked and obtained permission to demonstrate the value of its flotation process for Inspiration ore. As. a consequence, a small 50-ton flotation machine of standard design was added to the company's test plant and started to operate in the beginning of 1913. This marks the beginning of flotation at Inspiration. The results obtained with this machine, which was operated by members of the Minerals Separation staff, so far surpassed what this company anticipated that it was decided to continue flotation tests for this purpose, and two of the flotation experts of the Minerals Separation Co., I. L. Greninger and G. A. Chapman, were retained. L. R. Wallace, now superintendent of the Miami works of the International Smelting Co., was at that time metallurgist of the Inspiration company and in that capacity took an active part' in these tests. Great credit is due to him for his quick recognition of the possibilities of flotation.

Jan 9, 1916

By David Cole

DAVID COLE, EL PASO, TEXAS (communication to the Secretary*).-I have read with great interest Dr. Gahl's painstaking paper giving us the details of development of flotation at Inspiration, and it seems to me that he has covered the ground so completely that there is little to discuss or criticize in connection with his subject. While it was in operation, the test mill in which the campaign was carried on was the Mecca of mill men and metallurgists. There was much to interest students of milling methods in addition to the flotation experiments, and readers of Dr. Gahl's paper will miss the information they hoped to get when the "pilot" mill results were. finally compiled, and I hope that the following remarks outlining from a distance some of the things that happened there will bring forth the rest of the story of the performances recorded in these important experiments. Prior to the use of flotation methods in concentration it had long been recognized that the "unavoidable" losses of sulphides were in the slime which is inevitably produced in the grinding operations required to free the minerals to be separated. Classifying the feed prior to its final stage of treatment had long been in style in milling. This assisted the sand-handling machines and resulted in lowering the tailings made by them, but at the expense of the slime-handling department; and while little was expected of the latter, the wisdom of complicating the process by hydraulic classification was being seriously questioned. Indeed, at the

Jan 10, 1916

By Robert C. Horton

The Getchell Mine is located on the east flank of the Osgood Mountain Range in the Potosi Mining District, Humboldt County, NV. Mining in the area first began in 1883 for copper, lead and silver in skarn-related deposits. Tungsten was discovered in the skarns in 1916 and was mined sporadically until 1957. The first major discovery was made in 1933 when two Winnemucca prospectors, Edward Knight and Emmett Chase, found gold at the present site of the Getchell gold mine. In 1934, after a small amount of preliminary prospecting, the claims were purchased by Noble H. Getchell of Midas, NV. The Getchell Mine Inc. was organized and exploration and development work began on a broad scale. Major funding was provided by George Wingfield and investors he assembled. Laxalt described Wingfield’s immediate history prior to his financing of Getchell as follows.

Jan 1, 1999

By M. Wasel

The Gross Rosebel gold deposits are located in theGuiana Shield of northcentral Suriname in South America. The property lies 80 km (50 miles) south of the capital city of Paramaribo. Gross Rosebel covers 170 km2 (65 sq miles) in an area of small hills covered primarily with secondary tropical rain forest, separated by discontinuous savannah (Fig. 1). The concession is accessible from Paramaribo by a 120-km (75-mile) paved and all-weather gravel road. Surficial gold was discovered in 1880 by local artisanal miners. This was followed by small-scale mechanized mining from 1885 to 1939. Placer Development carried out the first systematic exploration program from 1974 to 1977. In May 1992, Golden Star Resources optioned the property. Initial shallow reconnaissance diamond drilling of the extensive surface geochemical anomalies intersected sporadic gold mineralization with no apparent continuity between drill sections. Successive deep augering, trenching and systematic grid drilling, based on information from surface mapping, allowed the development of a preliminary geological model. Further drilling of specific structural-lithologic targets and more complete synthesis of geological data from the trenching and deep auger sampling added to the geological model and defined the multiple controls of gold mineralization. Carefully planned infill drilling on a tighter grid spacing resulted in progressive definition of reserves within six discrete gold deposits. Reserves based on $11.25/g ($350/oz) gold now stand at 35.5 Mt (39.1 million st) of 1.8 g/t (0.053 oz/st) gold, or 62.2 t (2 million oz) of gold.

Jan 1, 1998

By JAS. F. McCARTHY

THE present Hecla Co. is a Washington corporation; the Hecla Co. of Idaho was the old company. The older corporation owned two claims, the Hecla and the Katie May, and was incorporated for 500,000 shares of one dollar par value. The principal shareholders and officials of the older company were among the early mining men of the camp. Among the active officials were John A. Finch and A. B. Campbell. Among the directors and share- holders were Patrick Clark, J. R. Smith, Frank Upman, F. J, Kipp, Chas. Kipp, B. A. Kipp and Carl Landsee. F. J. Kipp and Carl Landsee are now directors of the Company. All of the others mentioned have died, but the surviving members of their families retain their ownership in the Company's shareholders. B. A. ,Kipp, who recently died, was the largest shareholder at the time of incorporation and Patrick Clark was the second largest shareholder. B. A. Kipp is a brother 'of F. J. Kipp, director of the Company.

Jan 1, 1924

By A. B. Parsons

NOT every organization on reaching the relatively ripe age of three score and fifteen can say with truth that its purpose and objects remain precisely the same as prescribed by its founding fathers. Of course, constancy of purpose may be something else than unalloyed virtue. It could merely reflect slavish worship of tradition, intellectual stagnation, or sheer inertia. On the other hand, it could establish the fact that the founders were men possessed of broad outlook, of prophetic vision, and of an acute sense of direction. In addition to charting the course with precision, the founders of the A.I.M.E. surely showed a flair for expressing clearly in a few words what others might say obscurely in many words. To quote verbatim from the "call" for the meeting, in 1871, the proposed organization was to have: "two great objectives: "First, the more economical production of the useful minerals and metals. "Second, the greater safety and welfare of those employed in these industries." This text underwent some refining on several subsequent occasions but today the ultimate product, as set forth in the Constitution reads: "to promote the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals and the welfare of those employed in these industries by all lawful means." The original call was dated "Wilkes-Barre, Pa., April, 1871," and was signed by Eckley B. Coxe, of Jeddo, and by R. P. Rothwell and Martin Coryell, both of Wilkes-Barre, each of the three subscribing himself as "mining engineer." The authors proceeded to explain briefly just how it was proposed to achieve these objectives: "In European countries, where the arts of mining and metallurgy have long been the subject of the most careful study, no means have been found so effectual in attaining the end above proposed, as the free interchange of experience among those actually engaged in these industries; and this object has been accomplished mainly through the medium of `Institutes,' `Associations,' or `Societies,' composed of those engaged in these occupations, and by the periodical publication of `essays' or `papers' communicated to such societies by their members. "It must be evident to all practical men that the interchange of the varied experience

Jan 1, 1947

Jan 1, 1971

By A. B. Parsons

Jan 1, 1971

By Edward H. Robie

Jan 1, 1971

By Joe B. Alford

Jan 1, 1971

Jan 1, 1971

By Joe B. Alford

Founding of the Institute The advance of population and civilization in the U. S. moved through the woodlands of the East, and reached the edge of the great central plains about the middle of the nineteenth century. There the advance paused for almost a generation - ahead were vast reaches of prairie country, uncharted, forbidding, and populated by hostile tribes of the native Indians. The turmoil of the Civil War, and the readjustments following it, further delayed the advance. By about 1870, the Nation was becoming stabilized again, the conflict with the Indians was closing, and the pressure of growth was forcing population to resume its westward movement. In addition to geography, the Nation had another frontier: the development of its immense natural resources. Conditions of the time brought into sharp focus the need for coal, iron, steel, gold, silver, and other minerals. The application of engineering and science was necessary for the production of these minerals and their manufacture into products to meet the needs of a growing nation. The requirements of the time were eloquently expressed in a paper by AIME member Edmund C. Pechin in 1872 : We find, the world over, the most intense activity everywhere displayed in enterprises requiring prodigious quantities of iron. Railways of colossal magnitude are projected. . . . The growing scarcity of timber is compelling the use of iron in buildings; bridges of wonderful size and strength; huge ocean steamships; barges and boats for lake and river traffic; churches; cars, and thousands of minor articles of every shape and size. . . . The time has come when scientific research is to assume its true position - the day of "sheer force and blind stupidity," whose only protection is a high tariff, has gone forever . . . the physicist, the geologist and mineralogist; the chemist, the engineer, are as essential to success as the [blast] furnace itself. . . . There is no merely practical man, no matter how varied may have been his experience, or how long his practice, that will not benefit from the results of scientific investigation. That there is a growing sense of the importance of having thoroughly prepared scientific men in every department of business is evidenced by the institutions [of learning] that are springing up in different quarters, provided with

Jan 1, 1971

By AMY F. JENNINGS

TO give a concise history of the Woman's Auxiliary of the A. I. M. E. is a difficult task and much interesting information must needs be omitted. The organization has grown and evolved so much from its early simple beginning that it seems best to adopt the technique of some of our modern novelists and begin with the latest development. As the headquarters of the A. I. M. E. is in New York, it follows that the Woman's Auxiliary to the A. I. M. E. necessarily has also its central office and government there. The affairs of the organization are administered by a duly-elected president and five vice- presidents, a treasurer, recording secretary, and corresponding secretary and a board of directors, the personnel of which includes each chairman of a section or an elected or nominated representative who is able to attend the monthly meetings of the board and correspond with the section for which she acts, and the chairmen of the five standing national committees, i. e. Educational Fund, Library, Emergency, Membership and Hospitality. The chairmen of these committees are all responsible to the president and board of directors and their activities must be indorsed with their approval.

Jan 1, 1929

By Bruce Haldeman

Timber has been used as pile support for structures for 6,000 years. Some means of preservation of wood go back almost that far. Timber piles support all types of structures ? some are buried below the water table; others raise a home for protection from animals or a chief's home for prestige. Millions of wood piles have been driven for bridge support. Earlier piles were driven by hand then by ingeniously raised weights. Charring, animal fats and oils have been used for preservation. Coal tar creosote and other preservative methods started only in the early 1800's and give effective protection.

Jan 1, 1984

By N. H. Jensen

SINCE the sixties, Utah has been one of the leading metal mining states of the Union. During the last fifteen years its mines have supported the largest smelting center in the world. Its rank as a metal producing state is reflected by its 1924 production which had a value in excess of $65,000,000 making it the leading silver producing state, third in both copper and lead and sixth in gold production. During the past year, metallurgical developments for the recovery of zinc contained in lead ores has made rapid progress so that the future zinc output will be of substantial importance. The largest silver mines of the nation and the world's largest open cut copper mine are within its borders. Settlement of Utah started in 1847, with the advent of the "Mormons," and originally the area of the state was much greater than now. The first metal mining

Jan 1, 1925

By Mark W. DeLawyer

The base of the stone quarry still stands today, as imposing as any Mavan temple or Egyptian pyramid. For 80 years it has been a reminder to those who must sweat to earn a wage. There are no plaques to indicate its impressive history. Rather, it stands as a towering monument to the masons and stone cutters who built it-a testimony in stone to that most demanding and back-breaking of industries. Take your imagination back to the limestone quarries at Split Rock, near Syracuse, NY. The sound of an occasional steam drill and the mighty roar of a dynamite explosion herald progress. The ring and crash of a hundred sledge hammers are music in the calloused hands of the quarry men. It is a symphony of man against nature. Hundreds of sweat-soaked men break up the blue Onondaga limestone for the "sodi ash," the popular name for the quarry owner, the Solvay Process Co. Nearby, expert stone masons fit mammoth 454-kg (1,000-1b) blocks of cut stone into place, building the foundation for what may have been, back in 1902, the world's largest stone crusher. Consider for a moment, a modern stone quarry. The business is now essentially one of machine against nature. The shovels, drills, conveyors, and locomotives help make the quarry of today a profitable venture. Now consider the quarry of the early 20th Century. Anyway you look at it, a tougher, more demanding life would be difficult to imagine-12 hours a day, all kinds of weather, breaking up tons of rock that had been drilled, blasted, or pounded from the bowels of an uncooperative earth. Before proceeding, it might be prudent to briefly describe the history of the Split Rock quarries. Before the purchase of the quarry lands by the fledgling Solvay Process Co. in 1889, the quarries already had a reputation literally chiseled in stone. Most of the municipal buildings in Syracuse were made of it, as well as over half of the Erie Canal, including the engineering marvel of the time, the Montezuma Aqueduct. This was where the Canal passed not only through, but in some

Jan 11, 1982

By E. M. Bennett

HISTORY In 1923 John Campbell Miles discovered the Mount Isa deposit after finding and submitting for assay some “unusual and heavy rocks”. Six months after submission he received the assays of his original samples which indicated high lead-silver values. The deposit area was isolated and unknown geographically and not served by even a rough country road. The isolation of Mount Isa coupled with the depression years had a strong influence on the rate of development of the area. These two factors resulted in a slow amalgamation of the early individually held leases and the lack of ready finance to begin serious mining of the deposit. Initially, surface lead-silver-zinc mineralisation was proved and diamond drilling to shallow depths showed the presence of a viable orebody. Limited underground development work was initiated and open cutting associated with glory holing commenced. Due to the metallurgical problems associated with the ore and due also to unsuspected change in metallurgical conditions as the ore deepened into what is known today as the transition zone, major problems of finance were recurring at frequent intervals. Despite low metal prices the development of the mine continued due to continuing infusion of capital. During the 1939-45 war years a surplus of lead was being produced in Australia, but a grave shortage of copper was apparent. About this time copper ore had been found to the hanging wall of the then known major lead orebodies. At the request of the Australian Government, lead production ceased and copper production commenced.

Jan 1, 1970