Search Documents

By Frank C. Roberts

Progress in the facilities for handling mining products has been largely superinduced by the necessities of commercial economy ren dered requisite in order to meet the demand of competition. So rapid has been the depreciation in the value of mineral products, primarily due to the disproportionate increase of output over con sumption, that it may be justly claimed that mining, when considered as a commercial success, depends largely upon the ease and cheap ness by which the products are brought to the surface of the ground. In all methods of performing this operation, wire rope enters as an important factor; and the object of the present sketch will be to explain, as fully as is consistent with the space allotted, the various • adaptations of wire rope employed in placing coal and ores within the reach of our overground systems of transportation. These adaptations will be considered in the following order: I. Hoists. II. Inclined planes. a. Engine planes. b. Gravity planes. c. Aerial planes. III. Haulage. a. Tail-rope system. b. Counter-rope system. c. Endless-rope system. IV. Hoists. The term " hoist" is applied to the system whereby the mine product is elevated from the mine-level to the surface through ver-

Jan 1, 1888

By E. B. Harden, J. H. Harden

The practical use to which topographical models or relief-maps have been put, has within the last few years taken a wider range. They are rapidly coming into favor for other than purely scientific purposes, and their value for illustration and instruction is being more fully appreciated. Topographical maps; representing by contour-curve lines the elevations and depressions of the earth's surface, are now demanded in engineering work of nearly every description, and afford a ready means of bringing out the configuration of the country in a simple manner. A beautiful example of recent topographical mapping is seen in the seventeen sheets just issued by the Geological Survey of New Jersey. By reason of the inability of unskilled persons to understand the nature of a topographical map, it is sometimes necessary to con struct the same in relief, with the rivers, canals, railroads, etc., delin eated upon it. With the aid of such a map, problems in engineer ing science which would otherwise require expert assistance to explain them, are reduced to a simple and understandable form. Relief-maps are also of value to the geologist in working out the geological structure. To the instructor they present the most ready and efficient means of imparting clear and accurate knowledge of topography and kindred subjects. To the lawyer they are invalua ble in enabling him to bring into the court-room a representation of a part of the country with all its features accurately shown, to ex plain to the court and jury the special points about which litigation is pending and which would otherwise require long and laborious description. The application of the topographical map to business purposes is shown in a relief constructed by the writers for the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company and used by that company in the various ways of calling attention to the desirability of its route. This model is based partly on actual survey and partly on sketch topography. The horizontal scale is ,%, the vertical 1/19,200 of

Jan 1, 1888

By Theo B. Comstock

In the summer of 1877, the writer led a party of four young men from Cleveland, Ohio, by way of the Great Lakes, to Prince Arthur's Landing (now Port Arthur), at the northwest corner of Lake Superior, thence, via the Dawson route and side journeys, as far as Cross Lake. It was the original intention to pass down the Pigeon river to its mouth, but the loss of one member of the party for six days in the forest, added to other obstacles, made it necessary to turn back. A well-filled note-book, together with illustrative collections, were sunk beyond recovery at the head of the Maligne rapids by the breaking of a tow-line, and two of our number (including myself) narrowly escaped drowning. I had, probably, obtained information of considerable economic value, but the necessity of travelling nearly 125 miles for provisions (excepting a meagre supply kindly furnished us by a Canadian government gang whom we fortunately met), rendered further note-taking impossible. Until now, such results of this expedition as could be recorded . from memory have gone unpublished, because of my inability to make them serve any useful purpose. The trip of the Institute to Vermilion Lake, only a few miles south and east of our turning point, gives some little excuse for presenting the following lines at this time. The ridge back of Port Arthur, Ontario, which follows approximately the course of the Lake Superior shore line, brings up the slates and accompanying strata through which the silver and gold veins of that region have penetrated. The interior district, hack from the lake, may be briefly described as a glaciated area, having its general drainage less modified by erosion than by the original structure. This statement, however, must be somewhat qualified with reference to minor details, which all bear the unmistakable impress of the ice-flow and its recession. In many respects there is much in this tract to remind one of the Sault Ste. Marie topography, excepting that the granitic character of the rocks is here largely replaced by fissile strata. The Kaministiquia river cuts through several of the parallel folds,

Jan 1, 1888

By John Fulton

The Menominee range is one of the four great mining belts that flank the western prongs of Lake Superior. It has received its name from its location along the north side of the Menominee river, which at this place flows between the States of Michigan and Wisconsin. The term "range" is derived from the elevated ridge, extending in a westward direction, and along the southern flank of which the iron-ore mines are located. This range is some 200 to 300 feet high above the general level of the adjacent country, and is made prominent by its surroundings of low, swampy lands. Its whole length is about 27 miles, and it is intersected, at intervals along its course, by gaps which are threaded by streams. The geology of the Menominee range is peculiarly interesting. It is composed of three distinct groups of Hurouian rocks. The supporting group consists of light-colored limestone beds of a crystalline, siliceous character, called the "Norway limestone belt." The map, Fig. 1, and the section, Fig. 2, will give a general notion of the position and structure of the range. The properties shaded in the map are those of the Penn Iron Mining Company, which is the Michigan representative of the Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. This belt is at least 1200 feet thick. It outcrops boldly at many localities along the range, especially north of the Norway, Quinnesec and Chapin mines. At Quinnesec it can be studied readily. The next, or Banking group, which is estimated at a thickness of 1000 feet, is called the Quinnesec ore-formation. It consists, in the portion next to the limestone, of siliceons or jasper slates, largely impregnated with iron oxide. These are succeeded by argillaceous hydro-mica black and flesh-colored slates. This formation embraces the deposits of the iron-ores. The third group consists of a series of dark gray, slaty or schistose beds, with occasional quartzose bands, having a thickness of 2000 feet. It is called the Lake Hanbury slate group.

Jan 1, 1888

By George W. Mansfield

My plan in this paper is, first, to prove three general points, and then to take up the specific applications of the electric motor to nining work. The three poinb are: 1. The electric system is the simplest method known for transmitting and distributing any amount of energy from one locality to another, irrespective of the intervening distance. 2. The electric system with its applications is not in its infancy.

Jan 1, 1888

By W. H. Adams

Among the engineering plants with new features and deserving details which are constantly being brought to the working stage in the Southern States by the generous expenditure of capital, none can exceed in interest, whether to the public or the profession, the incline-railway built from base to summit of Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Much geological and historical interest centers in this section of the middle mountain-country. Of its geology, the Transactions of the Institute contain many particulars. Of its history, the most

Jan 1, 1888

By A. Faber du Faur

At the request of some of the members to whom I have shown a collection of specimens of sulphur from southern Utah, I herewith present some notes relating to the mines and the method of extracting the sulphur from the ore. In preparing these notes I have borrowed from a paper by Prof. G. vom Rath, published in the Neue Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, vol. i., 1884, dated Salt Lake City, December, 1883. The Cove Creek sulphur-bed, now worked by the Dickert & Myers Sulphur Co., is in Beaver county, near the line of Millard county. It was first discovered by Mr. Ferdinand Dickert in 1869 ; other beds in the same neighborhood mere found by him from 1872 to 1875, making altogether 22 mining claims. The want of railroad communication prevented the early development of these claims; but in 1883 Mr. F. Dickert put up a plant for extracting sulphur from the ore, which proved a perfect success; and in 1885 the property was transferred to a stock company organized under the laws of Utah. The railroad station nearest to the Cove Creek mines is Black Rock, on the Utah Central Railroad, 204 miles south from Salt Lake City, and about 26 miles west of the mines. The road from Black Rock to the mines passes through desert and lava-bed, to the road leading from Kanosh to Beaver, which latter road it joins near Cove Creek fort, a square stone enclosure, erected by the Mormons for protection against the Indians. Cove Creek fort is situated near the eastern limit of a plain bounded on the west at a distance of about 12 miles by the Mineral range, and on the east by the Sulphur mountains, forming part of the Tushar mountains. To the northwest the plain runs into the Sandy desert. About 3 miles from the fort rises a solitary hill about 1000 feet above the

Jan 1, 1888

By T. Sterry Hunt

In a paper presented to the Institute in 1881* I have discussed at some length the question of the " Hydrometallurgy of Copper," and among others, have noticed two methods, devised and patented by Mr. James Douglas and myself, for the extraction of copper

Jan 1, 1888

By Joseph M. Locke

The discovery of this asphaltum was made by S. H. Gilson, of Salt Lake, and since then the material has borne the local name of Gilsonite. So far as I have been able to ascertain, however, the first published notice of this discovery was made by Prof. W. P. Blake in the Engineering arid Mining Journal, of December 26, 1885, where he names the new mineral Uintahite, from the place of its discovery, the Uintah Mountains in eastern Utah. The priority of publication and the geographical fitness of the name will probably secure its acceptance by mineralogists.* The following is Prof. Blake's article. In the month of September last, a sample of peculiar asphalt was received for examination, and recently when in Provo, Utah, I had the opportunity of seeing a considerable quantity brought in from the Uintah Mountains. It is obtained in masses several inches in diameter, and apparently free from mechanically disseminated impurities. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, is very brittle, and is readily reduced to powder in a mortar. Hardness, 2 to 25. Gravity, 1.065 to 1.070. Color, black, brilliant, and lustrous; streak and powder, a rich brown. It is a non-conductor of electricity, and is electrically excited by friction.

Jan 1, 1888

By Kwong Yung Kwang

This mine, which is sometimes called Tong colliery, from its director, Tong King Sing, is about 80 miles northeast of Tientsin (see map, Fig. 1). Fig. 2 shows a vertical transverse section through the coal-beds. These beds have a dip to the south of about 45' and are interstratified with sandstone, shale, indurated clay and fire-clay. Of the

Jan 1, 1888

By A. D. Hodges

The great mining region of Peru is a mountainous belt of country, running nearly the whole length of the republic, and comprising the two grand ranges of the Andes with the elevated table-lands between them. On the east of this belt are the extensive plains and fertile valleys of the Amazon and its tributaries. On the west is a narrow strip of coast 20 to 50 miles wide, for the most part a sandy desert, but producing abundant crops where irrigated ; and here are found petroleum (Department of Piura), salt (at Huacho and elsewhere), nitrate of soda in enormous amounts at the south, silver in a few localities (Province of Tarapaca), copper and other mineral products. The Western Cordillera, running nearly parallel with the shoreline, rises like a wall on the eastern side of the coast-belt, with passes from 15,000 to 18,000 feet high and peaks attaining 18,000 to 20,000 feet. Further east, at a varying distance, is the Eastern Cordillera, composed of broken mountain ranges which, considered as one group, have a general parallelism with the western chain, but individually vary greatly in direction, sometimes running nearly east and west, in places projecting out into the Amazonian lands, or here and there curving around to unite with the western ridge, and with this enclosing immense inter-alpine plains. These general features are indicated in Fig. 1. The surface of these plains is uneven and traversed by lower ranges of hills which surround large lakes, or rolling pampas, or fertile valleys; and through many of these last run rivers of considerable size. The whole country has a high altitude (averaging up to 15,000 or 16,000 feet), and slopes gradually north and east towards the Amazon, into which drain all its waters. Its bounding mountain chains are scored on all sides by narrow, picturesque and pre-

Jan 1, 1888

By G. E. Kedzie

The ore-deposits of ail that portion of the San Juan country within the borders of Ouray County are either in the tertiary ernptives or, confined to a relatively narrow zone, in the sedimentary beds just beneath them. The ore-deposits in the igneous formation

Jan 1, 1888

Jan 1, 1888

Jan 1, 1888

By Amos P. Brown

PYRITE, the bisulphide of iron, FeS2, is found more or less in all coal-beds: but, as a rule, in certain definite forms. More than any other impurity, it detracts from the commercial value of a coal-deposit, and yet its presence is so universal that it might almost be said that there is no coal entirely free from pyrite. My observation has been confined to the Pennsylvania bituminous and semi-bituminous coals, and to them, therefore, my remarks will be confined. Certain generalizations which I may make, however, will be found of universsl application. The lowest members of the coal-formation, No. XIII. of the Pennsylvania bituminous region, are nearly always pyritiferous, and in many cases highly so. In Cambria county, for instance, coalbed A, the Brookville, is locally known as the " Sulphur seam." The Lower Kittanning, in parts of Clearfield county, is so sulphury as to be almost unmarketable, though otherwise it is a strong locomohive coal. In Mercer county the Pardoe bed, so extensively mined there, carries great quantities of sulphur in the form of pyrite, though usually this can be separated in such a way as to detract little from the market-value of the coal. The other coal-beds of the Lower

Jan 1, 1888

By Willard Ide Pierce

The Department (formerly called State) of Tolima, which is beginning to attract considerable attention in this country on account of its mineral wealth, comprises an area of 18,415 square miles, lying between latitude 1" 34' 25" and 5" 44' 12/" N. and between longitude 74" 25' 45" and 76" 34, 25" W. from Greenwich. It is bounded on the north by the Department of Antioquia, on the east by the Departments of Cundinnmarca and Cauca, and on the south and west by the Department of Cauca. It is the most recently created of the States of Colombia, having been established by decree of April 12th, 1861, and being composed of the old provinces of Mariquita and Neiva, and of the districts Melgar, Carmen, Cunday and Santa Rosa, of Tequendama.

Jan 1, 1888

By William H. Pettee

A few weeks ago the Institute lost, by death, from its list of members one who in recent years, by frequent attendance at meetings, by the preparation of papers, and in many other ways, had shown a warm interest in Institute affairs; who had an extensive acquaintance among his fellow-members, and whose memory it is fitting to perpetuate by a permanent record in the volumes of our Transactions. Dr. Byron William Cheever, acting Professor of Metallurgy in the University of Michigan, died at his home in Ann Arbor, on the 6th of March, 1888. He was born September 17th, 1841, in Ellisburg, Jefferson County, New York. In 1844, the family moved to Geneva, Illinois, and thence, in 1857, to Dundee, Michigan. Two years later, a third removal was made to Ann Arbor to take advantage of the educational facilities there offered; and in 1859 the subject of this sketch, with his two brothers, entered the University of Michigan. In 1863, he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After a year or two of business life, he entered the medical department of the University, and graduated as Doctor of Medicine in 1867. A taste for scientific work had been developed in him in early life; and, even while carrying on undergraduate and medical studies, his proficiency in chemistry found recognition in his occasional employment as assistant in the University laboratory. The interval between the close of his course in Arts and the commencement of his course in Medicine was also devoted to chemical work, partly in the city of Philadelphia, and partly in the West Indies, where he was employed in the service of a commercial company engaged in the guano trade. Dr. Cheever never took up regular practice as a physician. After receiving his medical diploma he went again to Philadelphia, and for about two years was employed as an analytical and consulting chemist in that city. A favorable opportunity occurring for work in the Rocky Mountain mining region, he left Philadelphia and

Jan 1, 1888

Jan 1, 1888

By Arthur V. Abbott

In a few places attempts have been made to introdnce some means of delivering heat from a central station. Probably Pittsburgh, through the advantages derived from its almost inexhaustible supply of natural gas, has made a more wide-spread success in this direction than any other city. From the gas-wells in the vicinity of that town an enormous supply of natural gas can readily be obtained at a pressure sufficient to force it many miles from its source and to distribute it to all consumers. Obviously, very few places have such natural advantages, and some other means must be devised, if it is desired to furnish heat in a location not supplied with gas-wells. Several plants have been introduced to deliver heat by

Jan 1, 1888

By S. F. Emmons

" The obscurity which still veils from us the true nature of veins will become more and more cleared up when they can be considered in connection with the geological structure of the regions in which they occur."* These words, according to Lossen, the biographer of the late Dr. A. von Groddeck, of Clausthal, were the last received by him from that eminent man, perhaps the most far-sighted and carefully progressive of recent writers on ore-deposits. They seem to me to form a fitting text for what I am about to say; since I find that many of the conclusions at which I have arrived by my own study of the structural relations of ore-deposits, or, in other words, of the structural and dynamic geology of the regions in which they occur in this country, have been similarly determined by him within recent years in Europe, and especially in his home field of work, the Hartz. I shall not enter upon a detailed account of how far other workers may have arrived at similar conclusions with myself, since these questions of priority are of little interest, except to those immediately concerned; but will briefly present the methods by which, in my work in this country, I have arrived at certain generalizations, and will point out the practical bearing which they may have upon the work of mining engineers. In my first thorough and systematic examination of an important group of ore-deposits, viz., that of Leadville, Colorado, I was enabled, through the generous facilities afforded me by the then Director of the Geological Survey, Mr. Clarence King, to make a most elaborate and detailed study of the geology, not only of the immediate vicinity of the mines, but of the adjacent mountain regions, based upon accurate topographical and underground maps, and

Jan 1, 1888