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By Paul F. Gnirk

INTRODUCTION The notion of permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste in natural salt formations was formally proposed in 1957 by the Committee on Waste Disposal of the National Academy of Sciences- National Research Council. This proposal was the result of the Committee's deliberations in response to a request from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in 1955 to assess the viability of geologic formations for such disposal. The research investigations for waste disposal in salt were initiated at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the late 1950's and continued through the 1960's and early 1970's at a relatively modest level of funding. During the period of transfer of Federal Administrative authority from the AEC to the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) to the Department of Energy (DOE) during the latter part of the 197O’s, financial support for the research program was enhanced substantially. The program at OWL was regrouped under the Office of Waste Isolation (OWI) and later transferred to the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation (ONWI) at Battelle Memorial Institute. With this enhancement in the research program, consideration of basalt, granite, shale, and tuff as repository host media was initiated. In February, 1980 the President of the United States established officially a comprehensive waste management program which called for the selection of the first repository site in 1985 from a suite of four or five potentially suitable sites, and initiation of a repository operation at that site in the mid-1990's. The current disposal system concept involves the emplacement of radioactive waste packages in mined disposal rooms at depth in suitable geologic formations, with closure of the facility effected

Jan 1, 1983

By Ben B. Sweet

The ongoing controversy over mining and agricultural use of ground water in Arizona underscores the importance of this commodity to both industries. Although the principles presented in this article are fundamental, a method of systematic data collection and interpretation is provided for evaluating a water well by a set of uniform standards common to all areas where ground water is a primary source of supply.

Jan 8, 1978

By M. J. Swan, W. C. Foshee, R. R. Klimpel

The large volume of water used in coal preparation plants makes water recycling a necessity. Economical cleaning of dirty water usually requires flocculation with an efficient organic polyelectrolyte. This paper discusses identification of optimum flocculant systems. Supporting laboratory data with on-site tests and full-scale field trails supplies information necessary for matching the polymer to the plant.

Jan 1, 1983

By M. A. Mallinger

A series of laboratory tests was conducted to determine the limits of practicability in regulating the weights of various cement slurries. It was found that slurry weights of 12 to 19 lb per gallon could be obtained by adding bentonite to decrease the weight and barytes ore to increase the weight. It was also found that barytes ore was not usable in all cements. LIGHTWEIGHT CEMENT SLURRIES INTRODUCTION During the drilling and completion of oil wells the magnitude of the hydraulic pressures exerted on certain formations is critical. In many cases considerable care must be exercised to prevent drilling mud weights from becoming too high, and in those wells where loss of circulation is a problem, the use of normal weight cement slurries will generally result in lost returns during casing cementing operations. While mud weights can easily be controlled, it is necessary to exercise care in the selection of weight reducing additives for cement slurries in order that slurry weights may be reduced sufficiently to prevent the loss of a large portion of the cement to the thief formations without seriously affecting the setting properties of the cement. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS An extensive search revealed that a large number of materials .that might have been otherwise practicable as a weight reducing additive were not acceptable for use with oil we cements because the imposition of pressure on the slurries caused the additive being tested to be compressed or to absorb water from the slurries, resulting in negligible decrease in the slurry weight. This search for lightweight additives disclosed that bentonite, a material very commonly used for reducing the weight of drilling muds and cements, produced the best results without undue harmful effects on the properties of oil well cements. It was found that there was a limit to the amount of benton-

Jan 1, 1950

By Myron K. Rodgers

In rock- or ore-crushing tests all data, in order to be valuable for study and comparison, should be obtained and tabulated under conditions as uniform as possible. The results of many such tests have no value for comparison, because of incomplete data and the lack of uniform conditiops, screens and scale of sizing, etc. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a form of standard specifications which may be developed by the Milling Committee and approved by the A. I. M. E. for rock-crushing tests. It is not intended to discuss any theories of rock crushing. Reports of rock-crushing tests should include the following details: 1. Description of the machine employed (jaw or gyratory crushers, rolls, stamps,tube mills, Chilean mills, etc.), 2. Method and material (timber, concrete, etc.) of foundation. Much power is dissipated in the vibration of poor foundations. 3. Locality from which the rock or ore was obtaincd, and geological, mineralogical, and physical characters of the material. 4. The power consumption of the machine running with no load and with full load, the unit of power being 1 hp. per 24 hr, 5. The capacity of the machine in tons (of 2000 Ib.) per 24 hr. 6. The duty in tons per horsepower-day. 7. The screen analysis of feed and product by the proposed A. I. M. E. standard screen scale. On the foregoing statement, the following remarlrs are offered. Toughness of Rock Table P shows the relative crushing duty of the same machine on three different characters of rock, all other crushing conditions being the same. This table indicates that the specific resistance of the rock to crushing, may affect the crushing duty of a unit of power as much as 300 per cent. Perhaps this quality may be called toughness. It is not a function of hardness only. For comparison of tests, rocks should be divided into

Jan 1, 1916

By Courtenay DeKalb

The accompanying illustrations, Figs. 1 to 6, from plans drawn by Mr. T. L. Knapp, a student in the Missouri School of Mines, show a type of furnace designed by the writer, which possesses some peculiarities intended to meet the necessities of laboratory-instruction in that institution. The object aimed at was the construction of a simple, inexpensive furnace, suitable for the distillation of zinc from its ores, and using only a single retort. This limitation imposed the chief difficulty, owing to the necessity of obtaining a high degree of heat concentra ted upon the retort. This is accomplished by the peculiar curve of the arch, which consists of arcs of seven distinct ellipses, one focus of each of which lies within the area occupied by the retort. Thus the reflected heat would necessarily be thrown mainly where most needed, namely, on the retort. Conservation of heat is provided for by a return-flue through the hollow arch, and by a sand bottom under the fire-brick hearth. Four openings lead back from the laboratory, or heating-chamber in this instance, to the arch-flue; and three openings lead from the arch-flue to a large horizontal flue, from which a down-take conducts the gases to the stack. The fire box, it dl be observed, is deep, thus producing much CO during the combustion of the coal. The further combustion of this CO may be accomplished by the admission of air through the hollow fire-bridge, thus producing a higher flametemperature surrounding the retort. Provision is also made for removing the retort and the portion of the wall supporting it and the condenser, leaving a high arch, into which a door-frame may be inserted; the space above being temporarily bricked in. By this alteration, which may be quickly and easily made, the furnace may be converted into a reverberatory, suitable for treating small charges such as

Jan 1, 1898

Meeting, Aug. 20, 1913, B te, Montana, at 12.45 p.m.-On, the written request of 27 members of oft Institute residing in Montana, the Montana Local Section was established, and the following Committee was appointed by the President of the Institute to complete the organization : E. P. Mathewson, Chair pan; Frank M. Smith, Vice-Chairman; D. C. Bard, Secre-tary, Montana State School of Mines, Butte, Mont., Oscar Rohn, James L. Bruce. The President reported the appointment of a Committee on Mining Law, the names of whose officers and members are given on page xxxv of this Bulletin, and these appointments were approved. It was voted: That the Committee on dining Law be requested to establish a Sub-Committee on Censorship, a majority of whom shall be lawyers; and, further, that no paper on mining law be recommended for publication to the Committee on Papers and Publications, unless it is previously approved by the Sub-Committee on Censorship of the Committee on Mining Law. The President reported progress in the matter of co-operation between the Institute and the United States Bureau of Mines, through Committees of the Institute. The President reviewed the history of plans for a union or affiliation with the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, and the following minute was then adopted : " The Board of Directors of the American Institute of Mining Engineers has carefully considered for several months the question of union or affiliation with the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America ; and, while at an earlier time and under other circumstances, such. a union might have been accomplished, yet under present circumstances the Directors of the Institute deem such union inexpedient. "While thanking the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America for its consideration of the matter, we believe that further discussion of the subject will serve no useful end, and we conclude it best that the Society and the Institute continue their useful functions and friendly relations side by side, as heretofore."

Jan 10, 1913

By Alexander L. Field

In the light of the experimental data on equilibrium for the reaction C + FeO = Fe + CO in molten steel recently obtained by Kinzel and Egan,l it is necessary to revise current theories regarding the nature of equilibrium between carbon and FeO in the basic open-hearth furnace. According to the measurements of these investigators the equilibrium constant m for the above reaction for a pressure of dissolved CO equal to 1 atm. is equal to 0.0005 at 1550" C., when concentrations of carbon and FeO are expressed in percentages by weight. Their work also shows that, with the pressure of CO fixed at 1 atm., not only is the product of carbon and FeO constant, but carbon and FeO are each independently constant—a circumstance which might have been predicted from theoretical considerations. At 1550" C., carbon is constant at about 0.025 per cent. and FeO at about 0.020 per cent., with the pressure of dissolved CO equal to 1 atm., the product of these two constants being equal to the originally mentioned constant of 0.0005. Available data on the dissolved FeO content of samples taken from the metal bath at practical slag-metal equilibrium prove that this FeO content is determined solely by temperature and the effective FeO content of the slag. The distribution constant r at 1550" C., as determined by Herty, Gaines, Larsen, Simkins, Geruso and Watkins2 is equal to 0.0086. A slag would have to contain 0.020 = 2.3 per cent. effective 0.0086 FeO or less in order to prevent the metal from containing more dissolved FeO than that required for equilibrium with CO at 1 atm. pressure. Such low percentages of FeO are never found in basic open-hearth slags at the completion of a heat when rate of carbon drop has become practi-

Jan 1, 1930

The authors have done a very thorough job in analyzing the factors affecting turndown sulfur performance at Inland's No. 4 B.O.F. While many of the results are not unexpected, it is helpful I am sure to have quantified many of the relationships that the operators rely upon daily. On the other hand, however, the results shown for ladle skimming are very surprising. I do not doubt the statistical relationship shown but I feel, based on our experience at Youngstown, that some other parameter has been ignored in the data on ladle skimming. It was our experience that by skimming our hot metal transfer ladle we could reduce our lime consumption by eleven percent while obtaining sulfur removal comparable to that shown by the authors. I would like the authors comment of similar adjustments on the lime charge that were made on skimmed heats at Inland. If not, it would seem that one could gain more desulfurization in the B.O.F. by raising the hot metal manganese than by installing a skimmer. The author's state that no comparisons are valid between the data sets for the two time periods involved because of the difference in the consumption of No. 2 Bundles. I feel this in fact is one of the important conclusions to be drawn from the paper, as there seems to be approximately a 10-20 percent difference in percent of heats that are under 0.020 percent sulfur for similar conditions, which is an extremely important difference with today's demands for low sulfur. I would like the author's comments on the difference in the amount of 82 bundles consumed. Along this same line I was quite surprised by the relatively low number of heats that had a first turn down of 0.020 percent sulfur or less. Also rather disconcerting are the conditions necessary to achieve a first turn of 0.020 percent sulfur, 50 - 60 percent of the time, as required by today's specifications. It is a problem which we are well aware of, but the numbers are still shocking.

Jan 1, 1972

By David P. Hale, Guy W. Jordan

HIGH-IRON cements have a number of advantages over cements carrying little or no iron. The presence of iron in Portland cement aids in the manufacture of the cement and also imparts certain advantageous physical properties to the finished product. In manufacture, the presence of iron lowers the fuel consumption, increases the ease of proper burning, and lessens the destructive action of the charge on the kiln refractories. In the finished cement the presence of iron reduces the expansion and contraction, adds strength, adds increased resistance to freezing and thawing, and increases the resistance of the cement to sea or sulphate waters. During the past few years the construction of numerous dams throughout the Southeast by the Tennessee Valley Authority has stimulated the production of high-iron cements. At present a great number of specifications call for an iron cement, and the industry is supplying this demand with a Portland cement carrying approximately 5 per cent iron oxide. Several manufacturers are now making practically all of their cement of this type and a number of others manufacture it as a special cement over short periods to meet demands from the Tennessee Valley Authority and other buyers. The recent increase in the use of iron in Portland cement has created a market for iron products that previously was nonexistent. The chief sources of supply for the cement manufacturers at present are iron sand, iron sinter and slag, and ocher. The Copperhill mining district, Tennessee, supplies both iron sinter and slag for use in cement. The Cartersville district supplies iron sand, ocher, and some iron resulting from the magnetic separation of iron from barite. The advantages of these products vary according to the chemical properties of the raw materials and the methods of handling used by the different manufacturers. Where the iron is to be handled by conveying belts and in hopper cars, the iron

Jan 1, 1939

HUBERT INGERSOLL ELLIS Hubert Ingersoll Ellis, who met accidental death on Jan. 6, 1919, in eastern Washington, had already advanced far in the profession of mining engineering and gave promise of a brilliant future. He was born on the Washington coast in June, 1889, and had his preparatory schooling at Menlo, Wash. In 1905; he entered the College of Mines of the University of Washington, and at once made a high record of scholarship. After completing 3 years of his technical course, he went to the interior of Alaska, where he spent 4 years in mining. During this time he was field correspondent for technical-magazines and wrote several important articles. In 1915, Ellis completed his senior year in the College of Mines; his graduation thesis was a comprehensive paper on mining methods at Fairbanks, Alaska, which was published as a series of articles in the Engineering and Mining Journal. On July 14, 1915, he entered the employ of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co., Kellogg, Ida., as an underground miner, and was soon promoted to the position of operative on experimental metallurgy and later chemist in the same work. Later, he did exhaustive work on flotation with particular attention to the use of various addition agents. For the past 212 years, his work was largely in the field, examining mining prospects and directing work of investigation, during which time, while located at Sumter Valley, Ore., in 1916, he was elected to membership in the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. During the same year, he was married to Miss Grace Wells, of Arkadelphia, Ark., and besides his widow leaves a young son. In Hubert I. Ellis, there was found the rare combination of executive, administrative, and business ability, together with a temperament exceptionally well adapted and trained for research work and for the careful and exhaustive examination of engineering problems, both practical, and academic. These qualities were in addition to a splendid physique and a personality that made him highly successful in the handling of sub-ordinates and in his contact with his associates and the public.

Jan 4, 1919

By J. E. Strongman

This paper describes a system dynamics model of the international copper system. The development of the model is described regarding the questions it was designed to address, model boundary, major sectors and actors, the availability of data, the copper life cycle, and major supply and demand dynamics. A base forecast is presented describing future supply, demand, capacity, prices, trade flows, scrap flows and capital expenditures from 1976-1990 for the major producing and consuming market economy blocs.

Jan 1, 1977

EVERY intelligent and practical investigator of minerals says that copper ore is found in various regions of the world and that among others Italy is very rich in it. But very little is mined there, perhaps because of a cowardly Italian avarice which has the power to make us lazy and indolent in carrying out those lofty and fine designs which should reasonably make us proceed swiftly, or perhaps because we are not prone to attempt extraordinary profit but only undertake those enterprises in which we are certain of a return on our investment. The reason for this might also be found in the meager possibility of success, which, since these things are not easily attempted because they are enormous undertakings of doubtful outcome, cools the spirit of men and in place of enthusiasm introduces the fear of loss, the fear of having to sacrifice not only time but also the work and money invested; then they think of the difficulty [II] of discovery, of the impossibility of full ownership, and of the necessity of excavating the mineral marrow from the hardest bones of the mountains with the brawn and efforts of men. To this is added the fear common to many that in attempting such things they may be called fools by certain ignorant and dissolute persons, and it seems better to them to be praised for becoming rich through usury and by many other infamous and illicit methods than to lay themselves open to the danger of censure from such as these. But there are those who deserve still greater censure, particularly princes and all rich and powerful persons, and theirs is an even more useless error than that of those who refrain for the above reasons. If the occasion and means present themselves for both attempting and continuing such a profitable and laudable affair as mining ores and if they hesitate solely because of cowardice or because they give ear to the bayings of ignorant hounds, or if because of their own willfulness they wish to remain prisoners of a detestable and ugly avarice, then this is their own loss.

Jan 1, 1942

By R. S. Shrode

By now most readers of this column are aware that it no longer has a regular editor. Tom Murphy, who did the job so well, has had to bow out because of his duties in Australia---duties that keep him from the luxuries of such things as typists and typewriters for rather extended periods of time. We will miss his regular contributions but hope and expect to hear from him as a guest columnist from time to time. Finding an editor to function on a regular basis turns out to be no simple task. This does not mean that there may not be candidates around who would secretly enjoy having their arm twisted into a "yes" position, but at the moment none has been found. Anyway, at the Salt Lake City business meeting it was agreed that we should try to spread the load around. To that end, the Regional Vice Chairmen were specifically singled out as one potential source of contributions. These fellows should have an opportunity for a hearing during their term in office. The existing organizational set-up of the IndMD Division may be a little unfair to this group of officers. The limited responsibility outlined in our Manual of Official Duties and Responsibilities does not offer them much chance for self-expression. Probably the by-laws were written so as to have a geographic representation of membership in case it should be needed at some time. But that is another subject. The point is that now these regional officers have an opportunity to speak out on topics of their own choosing through this column. Some have already done just that. There are also other potential contributors to the column. One is the Secretary, who twice a year uses the column for distributing the minutes of our business meeting to the members. Another is the outgoing Division Chairman. In Salt Lake City, it was decided that this officer should be challenged to contribute something each year as a means of reviewing events of the past year or explaining what should have happened but didn't. I am, therefore, trying to accept that challenge.

Jan 1, 1970

Although grinding mill liner life has been the subject of extensive studies, evaluation of the effect of liner design a power consumption, a far more significant part of total grinding costs, has been less comprehensive. The factors that effect ball mill energy efficiency are reviewed, and attention is then focused on the mechanism of grinding. The trajectory of the outer row of balls, with different lifting face angles, is derived. Basic recommendations for mill speed and liner configuration are also presented

Jan 1, 1984

"Only the coal of the Sunnyside district in Carbon County is coked. Two companies, the Utah Fuel Company and the Columbia Steel Corporation, operating adjoining mines at Sunnyside and Columbia, produce coke.The Utah Fuel Company has 819 beehive coke ovens at Sunnyside. Only 350 ovens are being operated at the present time, largely because the smelters which had been using Sunnyside coke changed their equipment from blast furnaces to reverberatory furnaces.The Columbia Steel Corporation operates a plant of 33 Koppers type by-product coke ovens at Ironton, near Provo. About 800 tons of coal are used per day to produce coke for the company's iron blast furnace plant pie ovens produce about 400 tons of coke, 12,000,000 cubic feet of gas, 9,000 gallons of coal tar, 3,000 gallons of benzol and several tons of ammonia sulphate per day.The total coke production for the State from the earliest output of record in 1880 until June 30, 1924, is 5,947,714 tons."

Jan 1, 1925

By George H. Ashley

Mining, including quarrying, dates back almost to the dawn of history, beginning almost with the beginning of what we call civilization. State surveys date back about 100 years. Evidently mining flourished for thousands of years before state surveys were thought of. Why should it not continue to flourish without state surveys? First, it may be noted that as mining and civilization were contemporaneous, so state surveys and the science of geology were almost contemporaneous. As recently as 30 years ago the United States mineral laws were interpreted to mean that coal lands in the public domain were only those lands on which workable coal outcropped. The half billion acres of public land underlain by .coal but on which it did not outcrop were treated as homestead lands and open to settlement. Just what did the science of geology do to or for the mining industry? Until geology arose rocks or minerals or ores were where they were found. Their finding might be accidental, or might be the result of deliberate search or prospecting. In open, rocky country, with little or no vegetation, as in parts of the West, prospecting served very well, though at an enormous expenditure of human time and effort, if not money. The old saying that every dollar's worth of gold taken from the earth has cost two dollars may largely be charged to the time value of the usual method of prospecting. Geology changed all that. The science is still young and it still labors under handicaps of immaturity and early errors. Geology, however, has gradually been discovering the relations and conditions under which the several mineral deposits occur. Its elaborate studies of exhausted or nearly exhausted mineral deposits has done for it what human autopsy has done for medicine and surgery. Perhaps in no field is this plainer than in the oil and gas industry. Note might also be made of several important coal fields in England and on the Continent, in which the coal is everywhere deeply buried. Passing over the long period of growth during the past 100 years, geology today is prepared to offer the mining industry: first, a knowledge of the geologic conditions under which most minerals occur and to explore

Jan 1, 1935

By George H. Ashley

Mining, including quarrying, dates back almost to the dawn of history, beginning almost with the beginning of what we call civilization. State surveys date back about 100 years. Evidently mining flourished for thousands of years before state surveys were thought of. Why should it not continue to flourish without state surveys? First, it may be noted that as mining and civilization were contemporaneous, so state surveys and the science of geology were almost contemporaneous. As recently as 30 years ago the United States mineral laws were interpreted to mean that coal lands in the public domain were only those lands on which workable coal outcropped. The half billion acres of public land underlain by .coal but on which it did not outcrop were treated as homestead lands and open to settlement. Just what did the science of geology do to or for the mining industry? Until geology arose rocks or minerals or ores were where they were found. Their finding might be accidental, or might be the result of deliberate search or prospecting. In open, rocky country, with little or no vegetation, as in parts of the West, prospecting served very well, though at an enormous expenditure of human time and effort, if not money. The old saying that every dollar's worth of gold taken from the earth has cost two dollars may largely be charged to the time value of the usual method of prospecting. Geology changed all that. The science is still young and it still labors under handicaps of immaturity and early errors. Geology, however, has gradually been discovering the relations and conditions under which the several mineral deposits occur. Its elaborate studies of exhausted or nearly exhausted mineral deposits has done for it what human autopsy has done for medicine and surgery. Perhaps in no field is this plainer than in the oil and gas industry. Note might also be made of several important coal fields in England and on the Continent, in which the coal is everywhere deeply buried. Passing over the long period of growth during the past 100 years, geology today is prepared to offer the mining industry: first, a knowledge of the geologic conditions under which most minerals occur and to explore

Jan 1, 1935

By F. J. Longworth

FoR a number of years an intensive study has been made to improve the blast-furnace practice at Copperhill not only as to cost% but to provide a good grade of gas for the acid plants. This study took us back to the fundamentals of successful pyrite smelting; namely, a blast furnace working on a clean sulfide ore, free from fines, and the use of quartz high in silica as a flux. In 1919, the quality of the flux was improved and its effect on the metallurgy was very marked. To improve the practice further, it was necessary to work out some method of treatment for the sulfide fines and the siliceous and refractory ores, other than in the blast furnace. A series of milling tests indicated that these products could be successfully treated by differential flotation, and in 1922 plans were made and a flotation plant built. It was estimated that the flotation plant would deliver to the smelter 40 to 50 tons of concentrates per day; the problem was what to do with these concentrates. It was out of the question to attempt to smelt them in a blast furnace because of the dust losses and because our practice demands a charge free from fines for satisfactory operation. There is no custom smelter in the vicinity to which concentrates may be sold, pending the time when the tonnage will be sufficient to warrant roasters and a reverbatory furnace. Sintering and nodulizing were investigated but neither method fitted into our scheme of metallurgy. A close study of the converter practice was then made to see if some method could not be evolved to smelt this tonnage of concentrates in a converter without preliminary treatment. At that time, the converter installation consisted of two 12-ft. Great Falls converters, which were handling 12 to 14 per cent. matte. The heat balance of the converters working with 12 to 14 per cent. matte was more than sufficient to smelt the contemplated tonnage of concentrates but the mechanical difficulties of feeding fines into the Great Falls converter made the use of this type of converter impractical. While there was no opportunity to experiment with the Pierce-Smith converter, equipped with a Garr gun, theoretically it seemed practical

Jan 1, 1925

By Robert A. Bauer

This study showed that diametral point-load testing performed parallel to the bedding planes of highly anisotropic sedimentary rocks produced inconsistent results that cannot be used to accurately estimate uniaxial compressive strength. Axial point-load values from tests performed normal to bedding planes and evaluated by the T500 index produce good correlations with the uniaxial compressive strength values obtained for five different rock types. A strong correlation also existed between the moisture content and the uniaxial compressive strength of the tested lithologies. A combination of axial point-load and moisture content indices produces the best correlation with the uniaxial compressive strength test results.

Jan 1, 1984