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By John T. Norton

FoR many years the copper-bearing steels have been of considerable interest to the metallurgist because of their corrosion-resistant properties. More recently the discovery of their definite age-hardening characteristics has focused attention on them again. In a recent paper, Smith and Palmer(l)† have given an admirable description of the behavior of a considerable number of steels of this type and a study of their results suggests two questions of a more or less fundamental sort. In the first place, it has been plainly shown that the hardening effect of added copper does not increase up to the maximum solubility of copper in iron as given by earlier investigators, but reaches its greatest value considerably below this point. This fact suggests that either the solubility is not so great as previous investigators have stated, or that the age-hardening mechanism is not the simple precipitation phenomenon that has been postulated. In the second place, the nature of the aging mechanism in this particular system should be determined. Recent developments in the study of age-hardening processes have shown that the increase of hardness is often, but not always, accompanied by precipitation and the action of a particular system is not predictable on the basis of its components or type of phase diagram. It would be of considerable interest to study the aging of the iron-rich iron-copper alloys in detail. One would like to know whether the aging mechanism is different at high and low aging temperatures, and whether the extreme sluggishness of the system may perhaps represent some new type of aging process. The experiments to be described were carried out in an endeavor to answer these questions. Obviously, in such experiments it is important to confine the hardening effect to the single element, copper, so that iron and copper of high purity must be used in the preparation of specimens. An observation of lattice changes during the aging process, correlated with the hardness changes, seems to be the best available method of

Jan 1, 1935

By John T. Norton

FoR many years the copper-bearing steels have been of considerable interest to the metallurgist because of their corrosion-resistant properties. More recently the discovery of their definite age-hardening characteristics has focused attention on them again. In a recent paper, Smith and Palmer(l)† have given an admirable description of the behavior of a considerable number of steels of this type and a study of their results suggests two questions of a more or less fundamental sort. In the first place, it has been plainly shown that the hardening effect of added copper does not increase up to the maximum solubility of copper in iron as given by earlier investigators, but reaches its greatest value considerably below this point. This fact suggests that either the solubility is not so great as previous investigators have stated, or that the age-hardening mechanism is not the simple precipitation phenomenon that has been postulated. In the second place, the nature of the aging mechanism in this particular system should be determined. Recent developments in the study of age-hardening processes have shown that the increase of hardness is often, but not always, accompanied by precipitation and the action of a particular system is not predictable on the basis of its components or type of phase diagram. It would be of considerable interest to study the aging of the iron-rich iron-copper alloys in detail. One would like to know whether the aging mechanism is different at high and low aging temperatures, and whether the extreme sluggishness of the system may perhaps represent some new type of aging process. The experiments to be described were carried out in an endeavor to answer these questions. Obviously, in such experiments it is important to confine the hardening effect to the single element, copper, so that iron and copper of high purity must be used in the preparation of specimens. An observation of lattice changes during the aging process, correlated with the hardness changes, seems to be the best available method of

Jan 1, 1935

By E. P. Shea

The Anaconda Co.'s Geological Department at Butte, Mont., was started early in the Company's history because of litigation involving vein ownership and extralateral rights. The problems, some of which were resolved in courts, were many because of the large number of veins and lode locations. Defensive action was required to prove ownership and protect against illegal exploitation of the downward and extra-lateral extensions of the ore bodies. In many cases it was necessary to define the outcrop of the vein and to show that its apex was within the boundaries of the lode claim. Exhibits illustrating geology were needed to present the cases clearly, and these could be made only after careful inspection and mapping of the underground workings by competent geologists. Also, The Anaconda Co. was one of the first companies to recognize the worth of skilled mining geologists and the value of accurate records in the search for new ore. The department was organized in 1900 by H. V. Winchell who, with D. W. Brunton, worked out the methods. Reno Sales was Chief Geologist from 1906 until 1948 when he was succeeded by V. D. Perry, the present Chief Geologist. Under their direction, F. A. Linforth, M. H. Gidel, C. H. Steele, E. P. Shea, C. C. Goddard, Jr., and W. A. O'Brien enlarged the scope of the work and improved the technique.

Jan 3, 1961

By H. L. Hartman

The past 15 years have seen rapid advances in the metallurgy of materials for drill machinery and bits, but rock drilling itself continues to be largely an art. Jet piercing, roller bit rotary drilling, and rotary percussion are all promising new techniques, but the percussion rock drill, still used for 90 pct of the blastholes in U. S. hard-rock mining, has undergone no major modification since pneumatic machines were first used successfully in the 1860's. This singular lack of progress stems directly from ignorance of the nature of impact failure of rock and the fundamentals of rock penetration in general. For nearly three-quarters of a century, mining engineers did not know what went on at the bottom of a drillhole. More and more, in recent years, investigators in the field have come to realize that to understand percussion drilling they must study the basic action of percussion bits penetrating rock—not the per- formances of commercial rock drills, with their many attendant variables that cannot be isolated or controlled. Using a vertical drop tester, the writer investigated the sequence of rock failure under the impact. of a simple, chisel-shaped bit when changes were made, singly, in significant variables. Results of this and other research are reported here. BASIC CONCEPTS The formation of a crater in rock under the impact blow of a bit can be observed experimentally. Directly beneath the edge of the bit the rock is crushed into fine powder; toward the sides of the crater it chips out into relatively large fragments. An explanation of these phenomena has been offered by Drilling Research Inc. on the basis of work sponsored by this organization at Battelle Memorial Institute (Ref. 1,1954, Summary, pp. 9-18). High-speed photography and force waveforms obtained from strain gages mounted on the bit near the cutting edges recorded the sequence of events in crater formation with a die-shaped or blunt, wedgc-

Jan 1, 1960

By P. F. Mataich

When the subject of plant computers is brought up most people visualize the computer's con- trolling the entire plant with very little operator intervention. Actually, this picture is true today in only a limited number of cases and will certainly not be true in the minerals industries for many years to come. There are several ways in which a plant computer can significantly contribute to improving plant operation and closed loop control is only one of these. First of all, for good plant control, two basic requirements must be met. First, the operator must get good information feedback from the process and then he must know what action to take in response to this information. Control information can be obtained through instruments, laboratory analyses, or through simple visual observation. If it is timely and accurate and the operator knows how to use it, then we have the makings of a good plant control system. The computer can be of help in both these areas by getting good data back to the operator and in helping to develop a good control scheme for the plant.

Jan 12, 1966

By J. E. Clennell

It is a common observation that the improvements introduced in practice since the first announcement of the cyanide process have been almost entirely mechanical. Although .a good deal of study land research has been devoted to the chemical problems [involved, the results obtained appear trifling in comparison. Few of the suggested modifications in the chemical treatment have come into practical use and those only in limited fields. Nevertheless, if we study the recent history of the cyanogen compounds from a somewhat broader standpoint, we shall find that considerable additions have been made, not only to our knowledge of their chemical properties, but also to their applications for industrial purposes. The present review of these advances naturally falls into two divisions: (1) processes involved in the treatment of ores; (2) manufacture of cyanides and other related compounds. Part I. Advances in the Chemistry of Ore Treatment by Cyanide In the attempt to extend the scope of the process, various ores have been encountered which contain gold and silver in such forms that they will not yield satisfactorily to ordinary methods of cyanide treatment. In some cases the difficulty is due to the excessive action on the solution of base metals present in the ore; in others, to the occurrence of minerals such as dyscrasite (the native alloy of antimony and silver), or a supposed oxidized manganese compound containing silver, which are either altogether insoluble in or very slightly attacked by cyanide. A particularly troublesome case is that of the so-called "graphitic" ores, containing carbon in some form which has the property of precipitating gold and silver already dissolved. Other efforts have been directed to improving extraction by electrolysis of working solutions, and by addition of various chemicals with or without electrolysis; to the diminution of cyanide consumption by "re-

Jan 1, 1916

Masjid-i-Sulaiman Field.—During the past year, drilling activities have been limited to repair work. No new developments of importance can be recorded in production technique. Fall of dome pressure is maintained at the 1 lb. per sq. in. per annum rate mentioned in previous reports. Acid treatment of wells is being increasingly used and for wells in fissured areas has been very successful. Such wells have been converted into first-grade producers with substantial drops in bottom-hole differential pressures. The effect of acid treatment has been to increase the flowing lives of wells so treated. The normal procedure consists of threo treatments of 500 gal. commercial acid diluted 100 per cent but success has been met with fewer applications. The policy of returning products to the resorvoir has been continued. The total quantity of products returned since the policy was commenced in 1929 now amounts to approximately 30 million barrels. Haft Kel Field.—The drilling of the main Haft Kel structure for production purposes has now been completed. Production and control wells have been completed to meet the rate of production anticipated over the next few years.

Jan 1, 1937

Discussion of the paper of Frederic P. Dewey, presented at the Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912, and printed in Bulletin -No. 70, October, 1912, pp. 1075 to 1101. EDWARD KELLER, Perth Amboy, N. J. (communication to the Secretary *) :-Mr. Dewey, in his paper, offers a liberal addition of new data to those already to be found in the technical literature on this subject. However, now as before, the work issuing from the U. S. mints and assay-offices conveys the impression that systematic sampling in those institutions is more or less a secondary consideration, the chief attention being given to the principle of producing approximately homogeneous bars; recourse being taken to remelting or refining the bullion. This practice has been definitely rejected in the realm of copper-bullion sampling, for the reason that in such operations there are always unaccounted losses. Does not the same objection hold true for gold-bullions; although, perhaps,in a lesser degree ? Differences of opinion would seem justified on the following statements made by Mr. Dewey: 1. "Only two classes of alloys can form homogeneous bars-those that are solid solutions, and the eutectics."

Jan 3, 1913

Restrictions on the use of zinc will be a thing off the past in a few months. Government allocations on the metal are also expected to go by the board. Concurrently, action is also expected in reference to lead allocations. Government stockpile goals for zinc have been reached. The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers lent support to United Steel Worker demands and at the same time put in their own bid for a 25-cent an hour increase at a meeting held in Denver. While backing the USW, the IUMMSW charged the Steel Workers with membership raiding. Iron and steel companies producing about 92 pct of steel ingots in the United States, showed nearly a 13 pct decline in net profit during 1951, compared with the previous year, despite a 22 pct increase in their combined revenue. Federal income tax rose 61 pct, to more than 012 million. New iron ore reserves are being sought in Canada by Jones & Laughlin Steel Core, The company has acquired exploration options near Petersborough on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Durham, Northumberland and Frontenac Counties. *'A fourth property is southwest of Ottawa, in the Kingston, Ontario area..

Jan 1, 1952

By F. L. Sizer

The mining regulations of British Columbia and Mexico present some features which might well be copied in the United States, if we are to have a complete revision of the laws governing mining titles. 1. First and foremost is the "squarc" location, which would mean the abolition of extralateral rights. This is a condition in both of the countries above named which has seemed to work no hardship upon any one, and certainly the limitation of underground rights by vertical planes through all lines makes a locator's rights clear. In view of the long and costly litigation which has involved so seriously many of our most important mining districts, it would seem to be the part of wisdom to avoid a repetition of similar trouble on titles of lode mining claims, by the enactment' of a law similar to that in force in British Columbia. Objections have been raised by .representatives of English companies to the investment of large amounts of money in mining operations in the United States, because of the insecurity of title under the 'present apex law; and the statement has been made to me personally by one of the largest English operators, that he would .never again consent to the purchase of mines in the United States, preferring Mexico with all its revolutionary troubles to the danger of encroachment upon his underground rights by an unscrupulous neighbor. Without going into further argument as to the desirability of the I(square location," it should be sufficient to say to those who are inclined to "let well enough alone" and still stick to the "law of the apex" that there have never been any serious objections raised to this feature of the square location in either British Columbia or Mexico. There are well founded and logical reasons for abandoning the doctrine of extra-lateral rights since it is so difficult of interpretation; the most natural substitute being a law similar to that of British Columbia, giving to each locator an area 1,500 ft. square. I would advocate the right to locate adjoining claims of equal extent on either side of the discovery claim, on the strike of the lode, subject to a seasonable requirement in the matter of work upon them; and in the case of a vein dipping flatter than 45' from the horizon, or in case of a

Jan 1, 1915

By Lucien Eaton

THE accuracy with which detachable bits can be sharpened and gauged by grinding has made possible refinements in design that cannot be attained by forging. This applies particularly to gauging, where accuracy is of the greatest importance. Gauge changes of 1/32 in., and even 1/64 in., are now feasible, whereas 1/16 -in. changes are about the limit in accuracy for forged bits. These small changes in gauge are feasible, however, only with certain fundamental principles of design. Within reasonable limits the depth to which a hole can be drilled is dependent primarily upon the loss in gauge, or diameter, of the bit. In drilling there is always a certain amount of "overdrilling"-the bouncing of the bit in the hole and its rotation wear away the walls-so that the actual diameter of the hole is greater than the diameter of the bit. The amount of this overdrilling depends upon the kind of rock being drilled, and is sometimes sufficient to permit the use of the same diameter of bit for the full depth of the hole. If, for instance, a 1 3/4-in. diameter bit overdrills 1/32 in. in diameter, and loses 1/64 in. in gauge in drilling 2 ft. of hole, the bottom of the hole is still 1/64 in, larger than the original diameter of the bit, and a new 1 ¾ -in. bit can be used to drill the next 2 ft. If, however, the overdrill is less than the loss in gauge, the next bit must be of smaller diameter. The first requisite in reducing loss of gauge in drilling is to have the points and corners of the wings of the bit cut circles of the same diameter, thus producing a reaming surface with continuous bearing on the wall of the hole. The greater the reaming surface, the less the gauge loss that is to be expected. If the reaming surface, however, is too large, it may impede the rotation of the bit through excessive friction. This principle was probably first recognized in the design of the Carr bit (Fig. 1), a bit with a single cutting edge of wide angle, a definite reaming edge, and a large center hole. The same idea was followed in designing the double-taper cross bits, which are now standard almost everywhere.

Jan 1, 1939

By M. L. Fuller

DURING the last several years many papers have appeared dealing with the structure of highly polished metal surfaces The awakening of interest in this subject is due to the applicability of the electron diffraction technique to the study of surfaces The original theory of Beilby1 considered the surface of polished metals as of the nature of a super-cooled liquid or a vitreous, amorphous solid The electron diffraction effects from polished metals have been interpreted by many to be a direct experimental proof of the correctness of the Beilby theory This interpretation has been strongly opposed by others, so that at the present time the subject is in an uncertain and controversial state In the present paper new, and hitherto unpublished, electron diffraction effects from polished zinc are described These observations indicate that the polished surface of zinc is crystalline PUBLISHED WORK Many papers2-10 have interpreted the electron diffraction evidence as proof of the Beilby amorphous theory All investigators agree that highly polished metals give rise to two diffuse diffraction haloes, similar to those obtained by the diffraction of X-rays in liquids and vitreous solids It is this similarity that leads to the amorphous-layer interpretation of polished metals Strangely, the interatomic distances calculated from these haloes are very similar for the various metals investigated, in spite of a rather wide range of such distances in the crystalline and liquid states The calculated atomic sizes are, furthermore, smaller than are experienced in the normal states of the metals In spite of these anomalies, the amorphous-layer interpretation has been adhered to by many One investigator, S Dobmski,11 differs from the others in his experimental results By polishing under benzene in order to avoid the possibility of oxidation, Dobinski obtains diffuse haloes of [radire] different from those previously obtained He thus obtains a more rational quantitative correlation of-the diffuse haloes with the amorphous-layer theory

Jan 1, 1938

By C. C. Templeton, J. C. Rodgers

A key step in feed water treatment for generating wet steam for thermal oil recovery is the removal of calcium and magnesiunt hardness by cation-exchange series softening. Knowing the solubility of any scale forming salts in brines at elevated temperatures is necessary for fixing the level to which the feed water must be softened. Such calcium sulfate solubility data, previously not available above 392F, were determined by the authors in a flow equilibrium apparatus mud will be reported elsewhere. These data were used to develop a method for predicting the solubility of anhydrite in hot water or steam droplets for saturated steam pressures as high as 2,000 psig (637F). (The calcium sulfate solubility product is represented by a combination of two factors, one reflecting the effects of ionic strength and the other accounting for the effects of complex ion formation in either calcium-magnesium-rich or sulfate-rich brines.) The method is applied to a calcium-magnesium-rich brine If moderately high salinity from a pilot hot-water flood, I nd to several sulfate-rich, low-salinity feed waters and l lowdown (cooled steam droplets) samples from steam s ak operations. The predicted calcium hardness levels corresponding to the calcium sulfate solubilities agreed reasonably well with the results of laboratory solubility determinations run on the field samples. Further testing of the method is needed for brines of other composition classes. Existing field cation exchange softeners in the cases tested are performing adequately since all the samples were found to be undersaturated with respect to calcium sulfate at their operating temperatures. Introduction Prevention of scaling caused by precipitation of calcium sulfate (anhydrite) is of considerable concern in connection with thermal recovery processes using wet steam or hot water. To avoid anhydrite precipitation in a heated system, an engineer must keep the product of the calcium and sulfate concentrations in the water or steam droplets below the value of the solubility product of anhydrite for the temperature and brine composition in question. Usually it is most practical to keep the concentration product lower than the solubility product by keeping calcium low in the presence of high sulfate, or by keeping sulfate low in the presence of high calcium. This can be done by a choice of combinations of natural waters and water treatment processes (such as series cation exchange softening to remove calcium). Until recently, few anhydrite solubility data, particularly for solutions containing other salts, were available for temperatures above 392F (211 psig steam); Marshall, Slusher and Jones' studied the CaS0,-NaCI-H,O system up to 392F and surveyed the work of previous investigators. To model natural brines, one needs to study the solubility of anhydrite in aqueous solutions of sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and their mixtures. Since steam pressures as high as 2,000 psig (637F) may be involved in thermal oil recovery projects, a solubility study was conducted between 482 and 617F.' Discussed in this paper is the application of these data to the prediction of anhydrite precipitation in some practical steam soak and hot-water injection projects. Any simple method for predicting the solubility of an inorganic compound over a wide range of temperatures and solution compositions must be based on some assumptions, and therefore must yield approximate results. On the one hand, natural brines contain too many ionic species for all to be included in a simple scheme; on the other hand, there is no adequate theoretical basis for the exact prediction of solubility in even simple solutions of mixed electrolytes. However, it is possible at a given temperature to base a reasonable prediction scheme on two phenomena:'-' the increase in solubility with increasing total concentrations of all ions (as measured by the ionic strength; see the Appendix), and an increase due to formation of cornplexes between calcium ions and sulfate ions and between sulfate and magnesium ions. Stiff and Davis' developed such a scheme for predicting the solubility of gypsum (CaSO, ¦ 2H,O) in brines at temperatures u~ to 212F. However, for the higher temperaturei of present interest, the stable solid phase is anhydrite (CaSO,). This study involves a two-part method for predicting anhydrite solubility products. First, one predicts a value K, for a given ionic strength I and a given temperature T corresponding to mo./msr, = 1 from data of the CaS0,-NaCI-H,O system. Second, one determines a group of factors F .= F(Ca) • F(Mg) • F(SO,), where the individual factors account for increases in the solubility product due to complex formation by high concentrations, respectively, of calcium, magnesium and sulfate. Combining the two parts, one obtains the solubility product in molalities as

Jan 1, 1969

By Roscoe E. Bell

BETWEEN 1945 and 1948 the author made studies of the western phosphate industry and its potentialities. These included an appraisal of the opportunities for western development of the industry, studies of production costs, of market potentials, of transportation economics, and of industry location. This paper will be directed toward pointing up the factors which have an important bearing on the establishment of fertilizer plants in the western area. Industry Location Factors: There are, of course, an infinite number of possible organizational setups which might require consideration. However, the phosphate industry is simple enough so that studies of the most probable alternatives can be made conveniently. The salient factors which require special consideration in such a study are: (I) the location of the raw materials, (2) the location, size, and character of the present and potential markets, (3) the location of energy sources and materials required for fertilizer processing, (4) the location and capacity of present manufacturing facilities, (5) the cost of assembling the materials and energy needed in manufacturing, and (6) the cost of distributing the manufactured product. Raw Material Supplies: Rock phosphate is the raw material for the manufacturing of phosphate fertilizer. In the United States the important known deposits of this material are located in three general areas (fig. 1). The western deposits, comprising about 60 pct of the nation's supply, are in the four-state area—Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana. The Florida deposits comprise roughly 38 pct of the national supply. The Tennessee deposits, comprising about 2 pct of the national supply, have been the most important source until recent years. The western deposits, which are virtually undeveloped, have not been used to any extent to meet the nation's need for phosphate rock and phosphate fertilizer. Fertilizer Markets: The large national markets for fertilizer are in the midwestern and eastern United States (fig. 2). The principal far-western markets are along the Pacific Coast, especially in California. Until recent years the western markets have been extremely limited, whereas the markets in the eastern United States have long been established and manufacturing facilities have been provided to meet these needs (fig. 3). In recent years the western markets have expanded very rapidly, continuing to grow throughout the war years and postwar period at a similar rate. The question always arises as to whether this is a temporary war-swollen market which will shrink back to its original size as soon as the present agricultural price levels drop. In order to answer this question consideration must be given to the character of the market (fig. 4). I have considered seventeen western and midwestern states in the western market area where transportation costs from the western deposits are equal to or lower than those from Florida. They include all states west of a line drawn through Chicago, Kansas City and the western boundary of New Mexico. In the mewar period this was a small market totaling only 37,000 tons of P,O, annually. The 1946 total for this same area was approximately 200,000 tons. Considerably more fertilizer would have been used in 1946 had adequate supplies been available. Estimates of future markets are difficult to make, but we do have some indices that are useful. The

Jan 1, 1951

By Roscoe E. Bell

BETWEEN 1945 and 1948 the author made studies of the western phosphate industry and its potentialities. These included an appraisal of the opportunities for western development of the industry, studies of production costs, of market potentials, of transportation economics, and of industry location. This paper will be directed toward pointing up the factors which have an important bearing on the establishment of fertilizer plants in the western area. Industry Location Factors: There are, of course, an infinite number of possible organizational setups which might require consideration. However, the phosphate industry is simple enough so that studies of the most probable alternatives can be made conveniently. The salient factors which require special consideration in such a study are: (I) the location of the raw materials, (2) the location, size, and character of the present and potential markets, (3) the location of energy sources and materials required for fertilizer processing, (4) the location and capacity of present manufacturing facilities, (5) the cost of assembling the materials and energy needed in manufacturing, and (6) the cost of distributing the manufactured product. Raw Material Supplies: Rock phosphate is the raw material for the manufacturing of phosphate fertilizer. In the United States the important known deposits of this material are located in three general areas (fig. 1). The western deposits, comprising about 60 pct of the nation's supply, are in the four-state area—Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana. The Florida deposits comprise roughly 38 pct of the national supply. The Tennessee deposits, comprising about 2 pct of the national supply, have been the most important source until recent years. The western deposits, which are virtually undeveloped, have not been used to any extent to meet the nation's need for phosphate rock and phosphate fertilizer. Fertilizer Markets: The large national markets for fertilizer are in the midwestern and eastern United States (fig. 2). The principal far-western markets are along the Pacific Coast, especially in California. Until recent years the western markets have been extremely limited, whereas the markets in the eastern United States have long been established and manufacturing facilities have been provided to meet these needs (fig. 3). In recent years the western markets have expanded very rapidly, continuing to grow throughout the war years and postwar period at a similar rate. The question always arises as to whether this is a temporary war-swollen market which will shrink back to its original size as soon as the present agricultural price levels drop. In order to answer this question consideration must be given to the character of the market (fig. 4). I have considered seventeen western and midwestern states in the western market area where transportation costs from the western deposits are equal to or lower than those from Florida. They include all states west of a line drawn through Chicago, Kansas City and the western boundary of New Mexico. In the mewar period this was a small market totaling only 37,000 tons of P,O, annually. The 1946 total for this same area was approximately 200,000 tons. Considerably more fertilizer would have been used in 1946 had adequate supplies been available. Estimates of future markets are difficult to make, but we do have some indices that are useful. The

Jan 1, 1951

It is always the case with heavy and cheap materials that the area within which they can be economically used depends upon the cost of transportation, and in those days of poor roads and no mechanical means of haulage on them, coal could only be moved a few miles from the mine by any other means than water. The need of better means of transport to the areas west of the mountains had been urged by Washington and many other leaders, but the first turnpike over the Alleghenies only reached the Ohio River at Wheeling, W. Va. in 1818. The James River and Kanawha road reached the Ohio in 1831, that from Winchester, Va. to Parkersburg in 1838, and the road through the Cumberland Gap was completed in 1797. None of these affected the coal industry excepting indirectly by building up some of the river towns which coal could reach. The inadequacy of roads alone to carry the traffic of the rapidly growing interior communities was demonstrated only a few years after the National Pike was completed, and in the early 1820's several of the states embarked upon the construction of a canal system, which had been under discussion for some years. The Erie Canal was opened in 1825 from Lake Erie to the Hudson River through New York; Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland had already started similar projects designed to bring traffic to their principal cities from the interior. The Pennsylvania Canal was started from Columbia, as a railroad extended from Philadelphia to that point, and it followed the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers to Hollidaysburg; thence to Johnstown, a distance of 36 miles, where it consisted of partly railroad and partly inclined planes, the boats being hauled up, and lowered down the planes; from Johnstown the canal followed the Conemaugh, Kiskiminitas and Allegheny Rivers to Pittsburgh, 104 miles. Boats first reached Pittsburgh by this route in 1834. The Chesapeake and Potomac Canal followed the Potomac River from a point above Alexandria above the falls, to Cumberland. This canal was chartered in the eighteenth century and a portion of it was used by traffic in 1800. It was too small to be of much use and was abandoned, and later after many legal and financial vicissitudes was completed to Cumberland, traffic from there starting late in 1850. This date, however, was long after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had been completed to

Jan 1, 1942

By J. C. Purcupile, R. L. Morris

Present methods of roof support require that first a hole must be drilled, and then a toggle belt or grouted resin bolt be set. Automating this system is very difficult. Therefore, we decided to develop a system which would insert pins into the roof in one step. We think that this type of system can be automated much easier. It would then speed up the roof bolting operation and eliminate the need for a man to work under unsupported roof, making roof bolting a much safer job. There are two ways that a pin can be inserted in a mine roof without drilling a hole. It can either be pushed in, using a very high, constant axial force; or it can be hammered in like a nail. The former method involves very high compressive stresses in the pin, and requires complicated machinery to prevent buckling. Since hammering the pin does not require high axial forces buckling is not as likely. Also, experiments have shown that there are no problems associated with getting the pin to go in straight. We chose to develop the second method. While investigating methods for hammering a pin into a mine roof, we learned that piles were being driven 10 times faster than by conventional methods with a method called "orboresonance." We decided to turn the pile driver upside down, and drive pins up into the mine roof. Sonic Pin Setting Machine The machine consists of a steel bar supported at the nodal points of its first mode of transverse vibration (Fig. 1). A mechanical oscillator, driven by a hydraulic motor, is attached to one end of the bar. This provides the forcing function for the vibrations in the bar. The hydraulic power is supplied by a portable unit. When the forcing function is near the natural frequency of the bar, large amplitudes of vibration occur and require little power input. An anvil is attached to the bar at a point of maximum deflection, providing a means for striking the pin. Since the bar is being driven near its natural frequency, it takes little energy to accelerate the bar back and forth between each hit. This means that most of the power being put into the bar is going into driving the pin. This is unlike conventional pile drivers which use most of their power to accelerate the hammer back and forth between hits. The resonant frequency of the bar we used is about 250 Hz, which is in the audible range, hence the term "sonic pin setting machine." The system benefits are: (1) elimination of the two-step drilling and pin-setting roof bolt operation, (2) increased speed, (3) more intimate contact between the formation and bolts, (4) less expensive roof bolts, (5) higher integrity, (6) potential for automatic operation. Modifications During the months from Oct. to Dec. 12, 1974, under U.S. Bureau of Mines grant No. 00144104, "Projects on Coal Extraction," six members of the senior class at Carnegie Mellon University designed and built the experimental machine. They drove three pins into the Safety Research coal mine at Bruceton, Pa., and determined that the project was worth continuing. In January 1975 we began making modifications and repairs in preparation for a more extensive program of testing at Bruceton. The major items were: 1) Design and build a collapsible pin guide to keep the pin parallel with the line of travel of the lift table. 2) Move the anvil to the center of the bar. 3) Refinish the nodal holes and install new node pins and bushings. 4) Realign the bar in its frame. 5) Install a relief valve on the lift unit to control the upward force. The upward force that we exert on the pin is relatively small, so there is no tendency for it to buckle. This means that all we need to do is hold the pin straight during its initial penetration. This allows the bushing to travel up and down in a straight line. At the beginning of penetration, the bushing

Jan 1, 1977

By Harrison Schmitt

The Parral area, a part of the Parral mining district of Southern Chihuahua, is situated in and near the City of Parral, with the most important mine of the district, La Prieta, lying within the city limits. The famous Veta Colorado and Palmilla veins near Villa Escobedo or Minas Nuevas are a few kilometers to the northeast (see Fig. 1). The chief metals produced are silver, lead and zinc, with some copper and gold. This area was one of the earliest to produce metal in Mexico, according to records at Parral, which show that mining started in 1632. In near-by Santa Barbara, however, mining had begun 85 years earlier. It is said that when silver was discovered in the Veta Colorado, the Santa Barbara gold deposits, at that time nearly exhausted, were immediately abandoned for the more profitable silver mines at Minas Nuevas (New Mines) During the post-revolutionary period, 1923-1928, the author made many trips to the Parral district to do mine examination work for several units of the American Smelting and Refining Co. This paper is an abstract of some of the geologic data collected, together with the results of a microscopic study of the ores and rocks—the latter investigation made at the University of Minnesota—and is intended to supplement one recently published. Topography The Parral district lies in the eastern foothills belt of the Sierra Madre Oeste. The area is about evenly divided between fairly flat to rolling plains and mesas on the south and rounded hills to rough precipitous slopes on the west and north. The relief is approximately 550 m. (1800 ft.). The areas of intrusive monzonite and Jurassic (?) sedimentary rocks give rise to a topography of low rounded hills and relatively flat valleys; as contrasted with the volcanics, with their alternating beds of soft

Jan 1, 1931

By E. A. Anderson, W. M. Peirce

Deflection in a corrugated roofing sheet under load may be considered to take place in two stages; an initial bending of the sheet under the load and a slow, permanent flow or creep under continued application of the load. Stresses great enough to produce permanent set when prolonged may produce apparent elastic deformation when applied for only a brief interval. It is impossible to set a time limit on the duration of stress in actual roof installations. Roofs in industrial locations where dust accumulations are heavy, as in cement plants, are often loaded continuously with

Jan 1, 1929

By W. M. Peirce, E. A. Anderson

Deflection in a corrugated roofing sheet under load may be considered to take place in two stages; an initial bending of the sheet under the load and a slow, permanent flow or creep under continued application of the load. Stresses great enough to produce permanent set when prolonged may produce apparent elastic deformation when applied for only a brief interval. It is impossible to set a time limit on the duration of stress in actual roof installations. Roofs in industrial locations where dust accumulations are heavy, as in cement plants, are often loaded continuously with

Jan 1, 1929