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By Henry B. Fernald

THE Federal income tax treatment of expenditures for exploration and development for mines and other natural deposits (other than oil and gas) was materially changed by special provisions of the 1951 Act that are continued in the present 1954 Code." These present provisions for mines in stance they are the same as the 1951 amendments to the 1939 Code, Secs. 23 (cc) and (ff), respectively, except that for exploration the allowable annual deduction is increased to $100,000 (from $75,000) and minor changes in case of property transfers are made with respect to the four-year limitation. Before 1951 the statutes made no specific pro- visions regarding development and exploration for mines, but the rules were prescribed by Treasury regulations: 1) Before the mine entered the production stage, all development and exploration expenditures for mines, less net receipts, were to be capitalized recoverable through depletion or written off as losses when determined worthless. 2) After a mine entered the production stage, development expenditures were deductible as expenses-currently if ordinary expenses, but on a deferred basis if extraordinary in scope. This recognized the two separate periods, one before and the other after beginning of the production stage. There was no distinction between an exploration and a development period, but exploration was included as part of development.

Jan 1, 1958

By Robert Linton

The Sierra Consolidated Mines Co., organized in 1909, owns, together with other holdings, practically all of the productive mineral area in the Ocampo district. Lying within this area are 15 mines, large and small, that hid previously been worked and appear to have yielded, since the discovery of the camp, about 100 years ago, bullion of a total value of over $50,000,000. The deepest mine, the Santa Juliana, had been worked to 1,100 ft. below the outcrop. The reopening of the mines involved, first, extensive and thorough development to open up the known ore shoots at greater depth and explore the ledges for additional shoots, and, second, a revision of existing equipment and methods, so as to increase output and reduce cost of production. This paper will give some account of the metallurgical treatment and a description of the new mill to be built at El Salto. The Ore The ore is practically all argentite, Ag2S, with some associated gold, and carried in a siliceous gangue. The typical ledge matter is an ande-sitic breccia cemented with quartz, or quartz stockwork in andesite.l The proportion by weight of silver to gold averages about 60 to 1. The silver sulphides occur ordinarily in rather fine. dissemination, sometimes not being easily discernible with the naked eye, even in ores of very good grade. The ledges also contain considerable pyrites, which as a rule is barren. "Bronce" is the local term applied to such barren pyrites, and "Pasta" to such as carries values.

Jan 1, 1915

By P. G. Barnard

Losses of alloying metals in furnace flue dusts, grinding swarfs, and mill scale produced during the manufacture of stainless steel are substantial. About 25 million lb Cr, 8.7 million lb Ni, and 150,000 lb Mo and other critical metals can be made available annually for recycling by a process developed by the Bureau of Mines. Stainless steel wastes pelletized with a portland cement binder were reduced in a small electric-arc furnace by a two-stage process to produce a recyclable alloy containing Cr, Ni, Mn, and Fe. The initial reduction was with carbon; the second, with ferrosilicon. Results are compared with previously reported laboratory induction melting tests. A 2,000-lb demonstration test of the process in a commercial electric-arc furnace is also described. Data are also presented on three 1,500-lb tests made using various slag conditions in the electric-arc furnace. Recoveries up to 99 pct of the Fe, Cr, and Ni contents of stainless steel wastes were obtained in using the process.

Jan 1, 1977

By K. V. K. Prasad

Solution of most engineering problems requires, in addition to vast numerical calculations, substantial use of practical judgement and expertise. With advances in applied mathematics and computer technology, the numerical aspects of problem solution have reached a considerable level of maturity. However, it is only recently that approaches like the expert systems methodology have been developed to incorporate the judgemental aspects as well. For rapid development and prototying of expert systems, expert system building tools or "shells" have become widely available. For the expert system developer, identification of the key characteristics of the problem domain and selection of the right expert system tool are of crucial importance. In this paper, the important attributes required in an expert system shell for use in the development of a mine ventilation planning expert system are discussed. These attributes are general in that most engineering problems in mining would have these requirements. Also, the results of an exercise undertaken to evaluate commercially available shells for application to mining engineering problems are presented.

Jan 1, 1989

By W. H. W. Husband

Rock salt has been solution mined for many years in many countries. Attempts have been made in the past in Canada and various other countries to produce potash by the same method. However, only Kalium Chemicals Ltd. has been successful, possibly because the conditions in Saskatchewan are the most favorable to be found so far for the development of a solution-mining method for potash. In view of the fact that few studies of solution mining of potash have been attempted, only one company has succeeded in using the method, and no information has been released by this company, the application of solution mining of potash ore bodies has to be presented on the basis of available theory, past small-scale studies, and recent patents. A simple mining method is outlined and possible methods of recovering the potash from the brine are discussed. Dissolution data pertaining to solution mining of potash, flowsheets, and material balances are presented. The available information is brought together in a cost analysis to show capital and product costs in terms of 1966 dollars.

Jan 1, 1972

By Si Qin

Unknown goafs and roadways of abandoned coalmines can be a great water inrush hazard for coalmine workers. Consequently, advance detection of such hazards is of great importance. By detonating seismic charges in underground coal seams, we can collect seismic data using a surface survey line, which is located across the ground projection of the underground shot point. This experiment was conducted in a coalmine in Shaanxi Province, China. After surface elevation compensation and travel time adjustments, we accurately determined the position of the goaf boundary along the survey line based on the wave velocity anomaly on the seismic record. Then we used a scattered wave imaging technique to enhance the energy of the scattered waves that are generated when the coal seam roof slide wave (refracted wave when the incident angle bigger than the critical angle) hits the roadway, thus confirming location of a geological discontinuity (roadway). This experiment shows that the coalmine ground seismic method, employing an underground explosive charge and a surface seismic array, has the ability to detect an abandoned roadway and goaf in advance of coal mining, thus can improve worker safety.

Aug 1, 2013

By N. Hanief

This research involves the investigation of phase transformations in the platinum-chromium coated system. Single-layer 0.1 µm platinum coatings were deposited via electron beam deposition on 99.98 percent pure chromium substrates. Specimens were subjected to systematic heat treatment in a vacuum furnace at 900°C for up to 20 hours. Phase formation and the changes in surface morphology were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Both CrPt and Cr3Pt phases are formed during heat treatment for different times at 900°C. Significant changes in the morphology of this coated system were detected after heat treatment at 900°C for 20 hours.

Jan 1, 2012

By T. Carl Shelton

The coal industry of the United States in 1967 had reasons to be both exuberant and concerned about its present and future role in the economy of the country. Continuing a momentum that began in the early 1960's, the industry has moved ahead in providing competitive customized products to strengthen its long-term domestic and foreign commitments, and has maintained with steady progress its position as a major supplier of energy. On the other hand, the industry must overcome air- water pollution and conservation-reclamation problems that have been identified by 1967 legislation. Throughout the year, the industry was characterized as "progressive," "healthy" and "dynamic." To have been termed a "growth industry" in 1967, is an accolade the coal industry can accept with pride. Culminating its efforts throughout the decade, the industry has emerged with a competitive image that is representative of its future strength.

Jan 2, 1968

By Fábio O. Braga, Sergio Monteiro, Artur C. Pereira, Foluke S. de Assis

The jute fiber is one of the most investigated natural lignocellulosic fibers due to its easy processing and extensive occurrence. However, the studies with some varieties of jute fiber such as the Corchorus capsularis are rare, so this wor kinvestigated the toughness behavior of polyester matrix composites reinforced with up to 30% in volume of a fabric made of jute fiber by means of Charpy impact tests. It was found that the addition of jute fabric results in a marked increase in the absorbed energy by the composites. Macroscopic observation of the post-impact specimens and SEM fracture analysis showed that transversal rupture through the jute fabric interface with the polyester matrix is the main mechanism for the remarkable toughness of these composites.

Mar 1, 2017

By Tell Ertl

THE term oil shale is defined. Foreign oil-shale developments are outlined briefly, The richest and most extensive oil-shale deposits in the United States lie in Western Colorado. The Bureau of Mines is opening two adjacent areas for underground mining in Western Colorado. From the first area the oil shale is mined selectively as required by the retorting plant. The second area is being developed as a unit of a full scale oil-shale mine to ascertain the most practical methods of mining oil shale and to determine costs. In both of these mining areas, research will be carried on to develop new and improved practices for mining oil shale.

Jan 1, 1947

By Williams P. A

Tailings dams constructed by the upstream method have traditionally been built using the sand fraction of the tailings, which has automatically provided a relatively permeable embankment material, and helped provide the necessary drainage conditions which are a pre-requisite for safe and stable dam construction using this method. This paper discusses some recent trends which have resulted in proposals to use impermeable material in place of the sand fraction as the embankment material, both for the starter dam, and subsequent lifts. The consequences of these types of decisions on the overall stability of the dam are illustrated, and the need for continued monitoring of pore pressures in the tailings as the dam is raised is emphasised.

Jan 1, 1992

By Reuben B. Ellestad, Fremont F. Clarke

In the early days of the lithium industry most of the production was from lepidolite, zinnwaldite, and amblygonite. Nearly all the early extraction processes described in the literature involve heating the finely ground mineral with sulphuric or hydrochloric acid. On subsequent water leaching most of the bases present in the mineral (especially aluminum) are dissolved as sulphates. As a result, the leach solution required extensive chemical purification before the lithium could be precipitated as carbonate. Following the remarkable growth of the lithium industry to its present size, zinnwaldite and amblygonite ores must be considered of minor importance only. Attention is now focused on spodumene, abundant enough in North America to be a major source of supply, and there are important supplies of lepidolite and petalite in Africa. The extraction processes described below all apply to spodumene, although several will also operate on other lithium minerals, such as petalite. Base Exchange with Alkali Sulphates: A distinct advance was made with the disclosures of Wadman and von Girsewalt. In these methods the finely ground silicate ore (spodumene or lepidolite) is intimately mixed with an excess of alkali sulphate (usually K2S04) in at least a 1 to 1 proportion, and the mixture was heated to a relatively high temperature. Base exchange results, with the formation of lithium sulphate. A water leach dissolves the lithium sulphate, together with the excess potassium sulphate. Successful operation of this type of process requires very thorough grinding and mixing, as well as careful temperature control. The use of K,SO, is objectionable from cost considerations since purification of lithium carbonate re- quires the use of potassium carbonate, if the K2S04 is to be recovered and recycled. The lower solubility of K,SO, as compared with Na,SO, is also objectionable, since it limits the concentration of the Li,SO, solution to be precipitated by K,CO,. Early laboratory-scale investigation of this process by Lithium Corp. was not encouraging

Nov 1, 1955

Oceanographers are tooling up. Back of the build-up is Navy defense work and private business. Business is dipping toes in the ocean gingerly and not sure whether the motivation is based on logic or intuition. The problem is that new business opportunities in the oceans could explode rather than evolve. The question is when. At stake for earthlings are food supplies, mineral resources, oil and gas, weather forecasting, navigational systems, shore erosion control and sewage disposal, as primary targets. "Twenty years ago, offshore oil seemed a remote possibility for economic exploitation but today it is a reality. It became a reality largely because of the development of practical ocean seismic equipment and drilling platforms. Today the oil industry is looking at submerged-type drilling rigs. Mineral exploration in the sea is more expensive than on land now primarily because familiar land tools are being modified for sub- marine work." These were the ideas expressed by C. G. Welling of Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., at one of the many meetings that have taken place so far this year on development of marine resources. Welling's views indicate the rationale of companies that have already invested in the sea. Many companies, including those in mining, have observers who caution, "go slow." The continental shelfs and even the deep ocean floor represent to the mineral industries the age-old, enigmatic confrontation-is this the time to move? To no other industry, except Defense, are the results of correct timing so vital.

Jan 8, 1967

By Thomas W. Gibson

THE Province of Ontario in recent years has come strongly to the front as a producer of metals, especially nickel, copper, silver, and now gold. Of the last named, the output for 1922 was in the neighborhood of $20,000,000. The law governing the mining industry in a community where such develop-ments are taking place will be of interest, therefore, in other places where mining laws are up for revision The first mining of importance done in this province was for copper on the north shore of Lake Huron, where the Bruce mines were opened in 1846. These deposits of copper sulfides, notwithstanding the remoteness from markets and the cost of transportation, were vigorously worked for 12 or 15 years and also intermittently later, but the active career of the mines came to an end in 1875. From first to last, a little less than 10,000 tons of copper was produced, valued at $3,300,000. All the product was shipped to England as dressed ore, contain-ing up to 13 per cent. of the metal. In. 1866, a rich pocket of gold was found on the Richardson farm near Madoc, Hastings County, but was not followed by further discoveries of a like kind and in time the excitement it caused died away. Rich silver ore was found in 1868 on Silver Islet in Lake Superior, a speck of land not larger than a good-sized ball-room. The assemblage of minerals here was practically the same as that at Cobalt, discovered 35 years later, namely, native silver, cobalt, nickel and arsenic; in addition, there was considerable argentite, which has always been scarce at Cobalt. In all, the silver produced amounted to about $3,500,000. The belief persisted that the deposit was not mined out, and in the summer of 1922, some rich ore was extracted from the roof, perilously near the bottom of Lake Superior.

Jan 2, 1923

By D. R. Griffiths

"Oxidation of pyrrhotite prcxiuces sulphuric acid which in turn leaches out heavy metals, resulting in acidic contaminated seepages. The establishment of a marsh on top of the pyrrhotite would result in an anaerobic sediment, which should prevent further oxidation of the pyrrhotite. Initial data indicates that concentrations of sulphates and heavy metals in the seepage water are greatly reduced. Further hydrogeological studies are required however, to determine if metal and acidic loadings to the environment have increased.L'oxidation du sulfure de fer produit de l'acide sulfurique qui a son tour attaque les métaux ayant pour resultat une contamination d'acide et de métal des eaux d'infiltration. L'etablissement d'une couverture faite de boue et de vase au-dessus du depot du sulfure de fer réduit les effets de l'oxidation.Les données initiales indiquent que les concentrations de souffre et de métaux dans les eaux d'infiltration sent grandernent réduites.Des études plus poussées sent nécessaires pour déterminer si les quantités de souffre et de métaux dans les eaux d'infiltration ont augmentées.INTRODUCITONPyrrhotite tailings are readily oxidized through a combination of precipitation and atmospheric oxygen causing acidification of the unsaturated zone above the water table. This reaction is usually catalyzed by the bacteria, Thiobacillus ferooxidans. As the pH decreases, heavy metals become more soluble resulting in contaminated seepages to ground and surface waters.By creating a marshland on top of the pyrrhotite, an anaerobic intermediate layer should form between the organic covering and the tailings, preventing the oxidation process from progressing.In September 1986, Falconbridge Limited implemented a tailing reclamation project that involved creating a marshland on top of pyrrhotite tailings. The following paper will discuss and illustrate the preliminary results obtained during the sampling period of May to September 1987."

Jan 1, 1988

By S. K. Kawatra, K. J. Shoop

An analysis of an iron-ore processing plant showed that its performance was affected by seasonal temperature variations, resulting in reduced grinding efficiency during the winter months. Laboratory and pilot plant studies were conducted to determine the cause of the observed loss of efficiency at lower temperatures. Two types of experiments were performed: drop tests and wet grinding tests. Drop testing was performed to determine the effect of brittleness and frozen pore water on the breakage characteristics of the ore. The wet grinding tests were divided into laboratory tumble tests and pilot-plant tests. The combined results of drop testing and wet grinding were used to make predictions on the performance of plant-scale autogenous grinding. From the drop tests, it was determined that dry iron ore, basalt and sandstone did not change in brittleness over the temperature range studied (-25º to 25ºC). However, when the rocks were water-saturated, the highly porous sandstone became considerably more fracture-resistant upon freezing, due to "grouting" of the pores and preexisting cracks by ice. This effect was not seen for either the iron ore or the basalt, because they were considerably less porous than the sandstone. Tumble tests on both laboratory and pilot scales showed that both the addition of fines to the test charge and a reduction in temperature caused a decrease in the amount of new fines produced. This reduced fines production was the result of increased slurry viscosity when either the fines content increased or the temperature decreased.

Jan 1, 1998

By Albert Roberts

Summary In response to a growing intolerance towards ground vibrations and noise as environmental pollutants the engineer must consider the effects of his operations as they are likely to be judged subjectively by the public at large. Much work has been done on the study of vibration damage to structures, but the damage criteria normally applied do not take into account any resonance effects, nor do they embody any subjective criterion. Mu1tiple criterion techniques of subjective appraisal have proven to be of value .in the assessment of environmental comfort in relation to ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting. One such scale, the Reiher-Meister Scale, has also been applied to ground vibrations and noise, and an attempt has been made to correlate this scale with objective criteria, using the parameters of frequency and displacement. This paper quotes examples and compares ground vibrations resulting from blasting, the operation of, vibrating and impact-hamner pi1e drivers, forge hammers, and railway and road traffic. The Reiher- Meister Scale was applied to a subjective-objective correlation in relation to vibrations from railway traffic and gave results which did not conflict with experience.

Jan 1, 1971

By Simmons SF, Fleming J

Alteration and mineralisation at the Island Copper deposit is related to the intrusion of Early Jurassic quartz feldspar porphyry dykes into surrounding comagmatic Bonanza volcanic rocks. The pyrophyllite alteration zone forms an upward flaring cone, largely hosted within a breccia body that c ross-cuts the Cu, Mo, and Au-rich ore shell. This alteration zone contains pyrophyllite, dumortierite and diaspore and resembles alteration occurring in some high-sulfidation deposits, but which is barren. Fluid mineral equilibria and fluid inclusion studies indicate formation at approximately 300 ¦C from fluids dominated by steam and gases. These fluids appear highly acidic, but sulfur poor, leading to extreme base leaching within the breccia body and surrounding rocks.

Jan 1, 1995

Minimize the risk of conveyor belt fires in underground coal mines by improving the accuracy of and means by which flammability data are acquired. Approach Develop a large, laboratory-scale flammability test for mine conveyor belting that realistically assesses its fire resistance. Background A conveyor belt fire in an underground coal mine is a serious threat to life and property. To minimize the risk of belt fires, the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for underground coal mines requires approved fire-resistant belting. Despite this precaution, about 25% of the reportable underground coal mine fires from 1983 through 1988 involved conveyor belting. In several instances, hundreds of feet of belting were destroyed. The current flammability test for fire-resistant belting is specified in 30 CFR, Part 18.65 and is conducted by (be Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The small-scale test is performed in a 21-in-cubical chamber with 6-in-long by 1/2-in-wide belt samples. To evaluate the flammability of conveyor belting under more realistic conditions, the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted large-scale fire tests of belting. The large-scale data were then utilized in the development of an improved laboratory-scale flame test for fire-resistant belting.

Jan 1, 1991

By Werner Goldsmith

This discussion is confined to the first section of Professor Clark's paper entitled 'Elastic and Nonelastic Waves' and its application to wave propagation in rocks. Some published results by other investigators concerning measured decay of peak strain and variation of pulse duration with travel distance are cited, but the principal subject of this section is a detailed mathematical analysis of spherical (and, to a lesser extent, of plane) wave propagation in various homogeneous, isotropic media. The materials selected include an elastic substance, a Voigt and a 'modified' Voigt solid-the latter incorporating the assumption of a constant loss factor (defined here as the product of frequency and the ratio of the imaginary to the real part of the shear modulus)-and a solid friction model. While other possible representations of a solid continuum model are mentioned, corresponding solutions are not presented. The pulse inputs considered comprise exponential decay, a unit step, and steady- state sinusoidal excitation: the process of conversion from one solution to another in the operational plane is indicated. The basic problem relative to the analysis of wave propagation in rocks concerns the specification of the appropriate material behavior, since the equations of motion for a given geometry of the source and medium are well established. In principle, the required information can be deduced from two types of measurement: 1) field observations of underground explosions or seismic disturbances, and 2) laboratory tests on small samples of the pertinent rock. However, in practice both types of approaches are beset with difficulties and subject to valid criticism. Field observations must be carried out under relatively uncontrolled conditions, including, in general, a lack of knowledge of the precise arrangement of the medium, stratification, faulting. inhomogeneities, etc. Specimens investigated in the laboratory can not represent the environment found

Jan 1, 1967