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Executive Committee. ROBERT H. RICHARDS, Chairman. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Vice-Chairman. TIMOTHY W. SPRAGUE. HENRY A. WENTWORTH. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. The twelfth meeting of the Boston Section was held at the Engineers' Club, 2 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, on Monday evening, May 5, 1913, fifteen members and three guests being present. The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Albert Sauveur, who introduced the speaker of the evening, Utley Wedge, of Ardmore, Pa. Mr. Wedge read his paper on the chloridizing roasting of copper ores, which he illustrated with a stereopticon, and which will be published in full by the Institute. After Mr. Wedge had closed his paper, which was received with great interest by all the members, the following discussion took place: Professor Hofman said that iron was formerly thought to ho essential to the Henderson process, but that it is not absolutely essential. Mr.Wedge said that, as far as he. knew, the presence of some sulphates was an abso¬lute necessity, and that line ores can be worked satisfactorily, although lime has an effect on the subsequent leaching. He added that the low fuel consumption of the latest Wedge furnace is a result of direct application of the combustion gases to the ore. Ten per cent. of fuel was needed with the muffle furnace. By direct firing he has been able to reduce the fuel needed to from 2 to 4 per cent. In the latest types of furnaces the gases from the upper hearth are not used. There is doubtless some temperature at which the loss. from copper chloride volatilization becomes serious, but in practice on Rio Tinto ores troublesome losses are not experienced. The copper apparently does not become volatile at. the temperatures where we would expect that it would. There are doubtless ores in which there would be serious danger from losses from this source. The latest furnaces do not use the high temperatures that were needed in the former single-hearth Wedge furnaces.

Jan 7, 1913

By Run Huang, Xuewei Lv, Songli Liu, Chenguang Bai

"Titanium alloy was prepared from titania-bearing blast furnace slag (Ti-BF slag) by aluminothermic process in an induction furnace. The effects of aluminum amount on the titanium silicon yield and titanium recovery ratio were studied. The phase transformation and chemical composition of the prepared alloy were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) respectively. It was found that the mass fraction of silicon and aluminum increased with increasing the aluminum amount, however, the mass fraction of titanium increased first and then decreased with increasing the aluminum amount. Furthermore, both the titanium alloy yield and titanium recovery ratio increased with the increase of aluminum amount. The main phases of the alloy were TixSiy and AlTi3. The titanium alloy samples prepared in various conditions had a composition (wt.%): 38–50% Ti, 29-34% Si, 4-11 Al%, 1.6-2.2 Mn%.IntroductionPanzhihua and Xichang regions in the southwest of China are rich in vanadium-titanium magnetite containing iron, vanadium, titanium and gangue. According to the characteristics of the resource, iron and vanadium are successfully recovered with a blast furnace process and a converter process. However, most content of titanium are entered in the blast furnace slag with TiO2 22% -26% and metallic Fe 2%–6% called Ti-BF slag. Due to the dispersed distribution of Ti in various fine grained mineral phases with a complex combination between Ca, Al and Si, it is difficult to recover the Ti components[1]. This slag is generated at a current rate of 3.6 million tons per year, which adds to the existing 70 million tons of slag produced so far[2]. The slag has had to be piled as large as the mountains, which not only waste of resources but also cause a pollution of the environment. Therefore, the study of integrated utilizing Ti-BF slag has become very significant."

Jan 1, 2012

By Clifford R. Miercort

When it was announced that the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.7 percent in the Fourth Quarter of 1992, it appeared that our long awaited recovery from recession was here. Unfortunately that much growth proved to be unsustainable, and in the First Quarter of 1993, the number dropped to less than one percent. Today it is clear that the recovery is continuing, but at a very slow rate. One of the Most disturbing statistics during this recovery is that unemployment has not improved as one would expect but has been hovering around 7 percent for over a year, making this recovery a ?jobless? one. In a recent Harvard Business School presentation, a professor reported that the United States has slipped from its leadership position in almost every manufacturing category since World War II. From the production of cars to consumer electronics, we have lost significant world market share to others, most notably Japan and Germany. Obviously this is not new news, but the magnitude of the loss and the number of industries affected was surprising to me. The result has been that our negative balance of payments has soared, and the United States of America now has the dubious distinction of being one of the world's largest debtor nations. It has been common for politicians, and political want-a-be's, to blame all of our trade problems on industry. They say that the moguls of American industry spend too much time seeking short-term gain at the expense of long-term growth. They say that we are interested more in our own perks and economic security than in producing quality products that can compete in the world marketplace. One of the stared goals of the Clinton Administration is the targeting of strategic industries to receive help from the government so they can compete on the world stage more effectively. Personally. I think that is an oxymoron. My experience has been that whenev-

Jan 1, 1993

By W. H. Coghill

Numerous investigators have studied grinding. Each has contributed his bit to a literature that is difficult to correlate. Too many of the results have been transformed into curves with so many "inflection points" and "counterflexures" that they obscure the issue. Some of the investigators have neglected the very essence of the problem, namely the power and the amount of material to which a known amount of work was applied. The purpose of this paper is to show the ease with which results can be interpreted when these quantities are duly recognized. Some grinding tests will be given for illustration. Grinding studies are of two kinds: (1) Study of the character of the ore and (2) study of the performance of the machines. Several ores may be crushed by a given machine, or several machines may be used on a given ore. The illustrations given in this report cover both objectives.

Jan 1, 1934

By Neel Gupta, Dustin M. Crandall, Brijes Mishra

X-ray computed tomography (CT) images of rock specimens often contain artifacts which must be corrected before scientific analyses are performed. This paper presents a new workflow of automated image processing to utilize poor-quality X-ray CT scan images. The workflow runs on the open-source image analysis software and efficiently separates desired features from low-contrast scanned images. The new workflow is a two-step technique using contrast enhancement and automated feature segmentation to generate noise-free binary images. The results of binary images using the proposed workflow and using a conventional thresholding technique are analyzed to show the quality of the proposed method. The paper also presents a workflow of estimating the structural geometries of features in two and three dimensions. The results of the structural feature analyses and computational time were compared between the open-source (ImageJ) and commercial image analysis software (Bruker Computed Tomography Analyzer). The commercial software was more computationally efficient, but the task-specific macros in open-source software enabled the user-desired automation in image processing and data extraction of desired structural features of comparable quality.

Sep 8, 2022

By William H. King

The Mining Division of the Bureau of Mines has been making development and power-requirement studios for the Interior Department Missouri Basin Field. Committee. The studies by the Bureau of Mines have as their purpose, the summarizing of potential future power requirements in the mineral industry within the Missouri Basin, special emphasis being placed on possible expansion of these requirements through construction of new mining enterprises by private capital. In preparing a proposal for the production of phosphoric acid from phosphate rock near Lander, Wyo., it was found that the basic information on the physical and chemical characteristics of the phosphate beds to determine costs of mining and treatment was lacking.

Jan 1, 1949

By S. H. Ash

NINE-TENTHS of the total anthracite deposits of North America are in Pennsylvania. Corrosion of pumping equipment by acid mine waters has been experienced at tremendous cost by mining companies in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania, for many years in many ways. The design and specifications of the large centrifugal pumps as provided in the proposed mine-drainage system (7-35, 45, 46, 48, 54, 64, 70, 71)° make it imperative that a metal or alloy be recommended that has the highest corrosion resistance and, at the same time, acceptable properties suitable for general workability (welding and machining). This report presents data on the corrosive and erosive effects of acid mine waters in the anthracite region on metals and alloys for pumping equipment and drainage facilities necessary to remove or control this water.

Jan 1, 1955

By W. W. Adams

With production of coal per man-hour of work highest in history, the coal mines of the United States established a lower accident-frequency4 rate in 1942 than in any year since 1930, the first for which the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, collected complete reports of nonfatal as well as fatal injuries. Reports from mine operators and State mining departments showed that 530,861 men were employed in and about coal mines during the calendar year 1942. This number does not include office employees or coke-oven workers. The figure represents a decrease of 15,831 men from the previous year, owing to losses of men to the military services and to more lucrative employment in the munitions and other industries. The loss of men was offset to some degree by an increase in the number of days of mine activity and the average number of hours of work per man during the year. The volume of work done during 1942 was 910 million man-hours, 11 percent more than in 1941. The average employee worked 243 days, 30 days more than in 1941. Production reached the unprecedented total of 640 million short tons, an increase of 12 percent over 1941; 582 million tons came from the bituminous fields of the United States and 58 million tons from the anthracite fields of Pennsylvania. To produce this quantity of coal 1,471 men sacrified their lives, and 69,564 men suffered nonfatal injuries that disabled them for more than the remainder of the day on which the accident occurred. The nonfatal injuries were divided into three groups: 65 caused permanent total disability, 2,045 caused permanent partial disability, and 67,454 caused temporary disability of 1 day or more but did not result in the loss of, or permanent loss of use of, any part of the body.

Jan 1, 1944

By W. E. Oching, M. M. Ghomshei

"Collaboration among Ventilation Engineers, Mine Inspectors, worker representatives, health and safety officers and management is key to an effective operational mine ventilation management. Mine ventilation training, ventilation survey reports for mine stakeholders and interaction with mine frontline workers and management concerning safety, energy saving, assets management and maintenance are effective tools in implementing best industry practices and significant reduction of ventilation operating costs without compromising safety. These approaches may not be new to well established mining companies but the real dilemma is how to implement them effectively and this is what this paper will address.INTRODUCTIONManaging an effective mine ventilation system is becoming increasingly challenging, especially during tough economic times in the mining industry. Management strives for more production while frontline miners work hard to surpass the production targets, thus improving their incentives and above all aiming to enhance the prospects of their job security when the mining industry is facing challenging times. Taking shortcuts by not fully following the safety regulations or industry best practices are often notable, resulting in the rise of Workers Compensation Board claims and temporary shutdowns of active workings, compromising productivity and increasing the operating costs.In accordance with the Mines regulations in various jurisdictions in Canada and the US, it is evident that companies adhere to establishing basic ventilation management systems through the provision of the code of practice, procedures, work practices and standards/guidelines. This is aimed at ensuring the health and safety of underground workers (de Souza, 2017). However, the challenge to many operations is the improper implementation of the mine ventilation regulations including some managers showing reckless disregard for workers safety by focusing on production and not worrying to address ventilation problems (Steven & O'Keefe, 2010). Other challenges facing effective ventilation management include inadequate training of frontline workers on ventilation system and hazards associated with poor ventilation systems such as toxic gases, dust, heat, and underground explosions (Mufson et al., 2010; Suvar et al., 2017); friction between mine managers and the mine inspectors (Mufson et al., 2010), improper maintenance of ventilation system and inventory management, among others."

Jan 1, 2019

By G B. Smith

Barrick (Australia Pacific) Limited initiated a trial of Caterpillar’s Minegem autonomous loader technology in 2009 at the Kanowna Belle mine in Kalgoorlie. Autonomous loader technology offers the potential to improve loader productivity, reduce operating costs and improve safety through removing personnel from the mine operating environment. This paper discusses the implementation of the technology at the mine site, the data collected during the trial and quantifies the benefits of using automated loader technology in comparison with teleremote loader operation. The lessons learned from the trial and work planned for the future in respect of this technology is also discussed.

Mar 21, 2011

W. L. SaundeRs, New York City (communication to the Secretary*):—Notwithstanding the sweeping statements made by Mr. Clarke in this paper, the friends of compressed air are not dismayed. There is no war between electricity and compressed air. Each one has its field of usefulness, and in that field each is supreme. In spite of commercial interests, in spite of prejudices and the enthusiasm of the inventor, the thing that is best will survive and flourish. At least ten years ago, our engineering papers contained large advertisements and pages of reading-matter about the application of electricity to mines, recording the introduction of numerous rock-drilling plants, and claiming that the problem had been solved, greatly to the advantage of the miner and with promise of large profits to the manufacturers of electrical apparatus. Edison and Thomson labored to apply electricity to mines, and each believed that the probabilities of success were great. This was the period of the solelloid rock-drill, which mas admirably suited, theoretically, to the percussive principle and in the development of which hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent without satisfactory result. I have searched in vain for a standard mining equipment where electric rock-drills are in constant, commercial operation. During a recent trip made from New York to California, I visited most of the important mines of the West and failed to discover a single electric equipment, so far as this class of mining-work is concerned. If any one will inform me where there exists today an electric-drilling equipment in constant service in mines in the United States, I shall be glad to receive the information. Mr. Clarke has been for some years an active and intelligent writer on the subject of electricity for mining. Whenever his

Jan 1, 1904

By C. H. Hitchcock

History In approaching the subject of diamond-drilling practice, a brief history of the origin and development of the diamond drill may be of interest. The use of black diamonds for boring holes in rock was discovered in 1863 by Rudolph Leschot, a French engineer. In 1864, he employed a diamond bit to bore holes for blasting purposes in the construction of the Mont Cenis tunnel between France and Italy. The method was introduced and developed in the United States in the late sixties. The first deep hole was drilled for coal in 1870, near Pottsville, Penn., by M. C. Bullock. This hole was seven hundred and fifty feet deep. It can be inferred that the diamond drill was introduced into Canada in 1871, when a bore-hole, known as Harper's bore-hole, was drilled for coal at Springhill, Cumberland county, Nova Scotia; and at the old Silver Islet mine, near Port Arthur, the diamond drill was in use as early as 1872. Diamond Drills While M. C. Bullock was developing the diamond drill for exploratory work, the Sullivan Machine Company, of Claremont, N.H., was developing the diamond channelers and gadders for quarry work. These quarry machines were very successful until the high price of black diamonds became prohibitive. In 1878, Albert Ball, chief engineer of the Sullivan Machine Company, designed the Sullivan diamond drill so well known today. The first of these drills went to the Lake Superior iron ranges. After 1880, use of the diamond drill expanded rapidly and spread to all parts of the world where exploratory work was being done. In recent years, the type of diamond drill has not changed much, but better material is going into its construction. Steel castings have replaced cast-iron. Ball and roller bearings are now used instead of brasses and babbits. Gun lubrication has eliminated the oil-can. These improvements make a drill that can be operated for long periods without expense for repairs.

Jan 1, 1933

By D. G. Klaren, E. F. de Boer

Self-cleaning fluidized bed heat exchangers have demonstrated unparalleled performance internationally for the implementation of indirect heat transfer in severely fouling fluid environments. The ingenious configuration of recirculated cleaning particles through the tubes of vertical shell and tube heat exchangers provides the ability to solve any problems that arise as a consequence of tube-side fouling during indirect heat transfer to process fluids or slurries. In most cases, the cleaning particles consist of chopped metal wire, however other process-specific materials have been used. In addition to the mitigation of fouling effects, a number of other significant benefits for slurry heating are afforded by the mode of operation of the self-cleaning fluidized bed heat exchangers. Increased turbulence at the slurry/tube interface is imparted by the action of the fluidised particles, resulting in very high heat transfers at relatively low liquid velocities. Furthermore, given the thixotropic nature of most process slurries, the action of the fluidised particles imparts additional shear to the process slurry, resulting in shear thinning effects with a consequent reduction in pressure drop and enhancement of heat transfer across the heat exchanger. The benefits provided by the self-cleaning fluidized bed heat exchanger make it the ideal option for the indirect heating of laterite nickel slurry for High-Pressure-Acid-Leach (HPAL) plants. This article explains the principle and application of the self-cleaning fluidized bed heat exchanger technology for the processing of laterite nickel and cobalt slurries in HPAL plants. It also presents an elegant method to revamp existing direct heated laterite nickel and cobalt processing plants into an indirect heated configuration employing self-cleaning fluidized bed heat exchangers.

Jan 1, 2004

By R. C. Gilmore

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to model gas compositions in underground longwall coal mine gobs to study oxygen ingress and the development of potentially explosive methane-air mixtures that may form in the gob. The scenarios studied involve various headgate and tailgate ventilation and inertization schemes and controls. In a project sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), researchers at Colorado School of Mines have used an innovative meshing approach, allowing easy adaptation of the CFD model to adjust to a variety of bleeder and bleederless mining geometries, with gob porosity and permeability scalable over a wide range. This paper presents the methodology of the meshing and scaling approach along with recommendations for using CFD modeling in longwall gob ventilation applications. The new meshing technique was utilized to evaluate the function of a back return in a progressively sealed gob. The back return was successful in maintaining sufficient oxygen concentrations in the tailgate corner of the longwall face.

Feb 23, 2014

Mining and oil industry representatives are scheduled to testify May 15 at hearings on the Simpson bill to extend the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, Several Congressmen have introduced bills to extend present trade agreements without modification. Price of copper appears to be stabilizing at 30[] per lb, after a period where market price ranged from 27 to 34[]. Copper offerings from abroad were finding no takers at 30.24[] per lb late in April.

Jan 5, 1953

CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. By George M. Fowler 2 Question 1-Is Structural Deformation of Some Character Always Necessary for the Migration of Mineralizing Solutions, Especially in Limestone or Other Dense Rock? DISCUSSION by: A. M. Bateman 10 S. F. Kelly 15 C. H. Behre, Jr 8, 13 G. B. Langford 13 T. M. Broderick 11 H. E. McKinstry 6 R. H. Clarke 13 D. H. McLaughlin 8 J. D. Forrester for M. H. Gidel . . . 4 W. H. Newhouse 13 G. M. Fowler 2, 6, 11 R. H. Sales 6 L. C. Graton 11 Edward Sampson 12 R. D. Hoffman 10 J. S. Stevenson 7 I. B. Joralemon 11 L. B. Wright 2 Question 2-What Are Some of the Chemical and Physical Characteristics in Cer¬tain Beds within a Limestone Formation that Determine Their Favorable or Unfavorable Aspects as Reservoirs for Ore and Other Introduced Minerals? DISCUSSION by: G. W. Bain 17 G. M. Fowler 21 C. H. Behre, Jr 21 L. C. Graton 18 J. S. Brown 16 G. F. Loughlin 18 E. L. Bruce 19 R. H. Sales 19 R. H. Clarke 20 A. K. Snelgrove 20 Question 3-Are There Any Criteria by Which One Can Determine When Min¬ing Operations Have Reached the Roots of an Ore Deposit? DISCUSSION by: J. M. Boutwell 29 G. B. Langford 29 T. M. Broderick 28 G. F. Loughlin 25 E. Y. Dougherty 27 R. H. Sales 24 G. M. Fowler 22 F. A. Thomson 26 I. B. Joralemon 22 Edward Wisser 30 General S. F. Kelly 35 References 36

Jan 1, 1940

By Louise Corriveau, Bronwyn Azar, Valerie A. Jackson, Luke Ootes, Jeff Harris

We use the results of new bedrock mapping, combined with geochemical point data and airborne radiometric data (in particular equivalent uranium concentrations) to help determine which geological units in the Paleoproterozoic Great Bear magmatic zone (GBmz) contain elevated uranium. The data collectively indicate that the highest primary uranium concentrations are in equigranular granites and subvolcanic/volcanic porphyries. Notably, these rocks host the majority of known uranium-bearing deposits and/or prospects in the GBmz. We speculate that the uranium in these deposits/prospects was derived from nearby, uranium-enriched rocks and was mobilized by much younger, circulating hydrothermal fluids. Sedimentary rocks of the Thelon and Dismal Lakes groups unconformably overlie the GBmz and are known to host unconformity-type and sandstone-hosted uranium prospects. Most likely, the uraniumenriched rocks of the GBmz acted as a uranium donor to these overlying sedimentary basins. The method of investigation employed in this study may be applicable to other ‘granitic’ terrains in order to identify regions with favourable rocks for uranium exploration.

Jan 1, 2013

By A. J. Stewart, M. Guay, J. W. Critchfield, A. P. Hoddeson

The MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel project includes three main work shafts, excavated primarily in rock. Shaft L is 9.8 m (32 ft) diameter and 124.1 m (407 ft)deep. Shaft E is 7.0 by 12.8 m (23 by 42 ft) and 91.4 m (300 ft) deep. Shaft 5A is 7.9m (26 ft) diameter and 72.5 m (238 ft) deep. Construction methods are compared and contrasted. Lessons learned involve a differing site condition in soil overburden, contractor-proposed modifications, and remedial slurry wall work. Other aspects discussed include noise and vibration control, groundwater inflow, water treatment, muck handling and contract administration issues.

Jan 1, 1999

By Sandra Lúcia de Moraes

O presente trabalho visou contribuir para o melhor entendimento do mecanismo inerente ao uso de agente coloidisante/dispersante no processo de pelotização de concentrado de minério de ferro. Avaliou-se a influência dos agentes coloidisantes em comparação aos aglomerantes Peridur e bentonita. Para este fim, foram realizados ensaios de bancada visando a identificação de possíveis ações destes agentes no grau de dispersão das misturas, bem como a sua influência na liberação/aglomeração dos finos. Os resultados destes parâmetros foram confrontados com os resultados de caracterização das pelotas confeccionadas com os diferentes agentes pelos quais foi possível identificar que os dispersantes tem forte atuação sobre o conteúdo de finos do concentrado de minério de ferro. A ação principal se dá pela remoção das partículas ultrafinas que recobrem os grãos mais grosseiros presentes na amostra e as dispersam, no caso dos dispersantes, aumentando a disponibilidade do conteúdo de finos <4 µm, principalmente os finos <1 µm (coloides). No caso do aglomerante orgânico, observa-se também essa ação, no entanto, os finos presentes são aglomerados na faixa entre 26 e 4 µm.

Aug 16, 2017

By Naiyang Ma

Along with fast growth of EAF steelmaking, better ways of treating EAF dust have been continuously pursued for better environmental protection and better economic benefits. In this contribution, various ways of collecting EAF dust in EAF off-gas cleaning systems are reviewed, and generation of dust and concentration of zinc in the dust from various collecting devices are examined. Accordingly, recycling of EAF dust through source separation is discussed.

Mar 1, 2018