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By William H. Marlowe, Thomas E. Ban, Eric Johnson

Introduction In recent years, the industries of the US have been caught between ever increasing environmental concerns and an increasing uncertainty in availability of fuel. An obvious solution is to use our vast reserve of coal by direct combustion or gasification. The problem involves development of a fuel that is environmentally acceptable for these purposes. In order to resolve this problem in the shortest period of time, it would be ideal if an existing technology could be modified to produce a clean fuel from coal. Shortly after World War II, the iron ore industry was compelled to develop a high quality ore from low grade resources. This need led to the development of the taconite industry which involved milling, concentrating, and pelletizing technologies. These technologies are now fully established and applicable to conversion of coal. This presentation introduces a process for converting high sulfur coal into carbonized composite pellets, which emit low quantities of sulfur and particulate matter and may be produced by employing proven elements of technology. The new product, a clean pellet fuel (HelifuelTM) was initially developed by McDowell-Wellman Co., a subsidiary of Helix Technology Inc., at their Dwight-Lloyd Research Laboratories

Jan 1, 1982

By I. J. Jansen

Introduction The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (PL 95-87) lays a new challenge before the surface mining industry by requiring that prime farmlands must be reclaimed to equivalent or higher levels of yield as nonmined prime farmland in the surrounding area (section 510d). We must now evaluate the situation and plan a mining and reclamation program that will achieve that objective. We must recognize that soil and land needs vary with intended land use and climatic setting. Also, various site conditions determine the potential for constructing a productive soil and the best procedures to accomplish that end. It is necessary to plan the land reconstruction program on a site by site basis in order to achieve the best results. Discussion The Prime Land Concept Terms like prime agricultural land have been used loosely for many years to refer to lands that are highly productive and well suited to agricultural use. The concept of what qualified as prime land varied considerably from one geographic area to another and from one person to another. The term prime farmland, as used in PL 95-87, has recently been defined quite

Jan 1, 1982

By Robert Glass Cleland

THE CLOSING years of the nineteenth century witnessed a rapid expansion in Phelps Dodge activities in Arizona and other parts of the Southwest and a corresponding decline in its exporting and importing interests in New York. Before the close of another decade, this process had gone so far that the company was committed lock, stock, and barrel to its western undertakings. By 1910 the evolution that began with the tentative investments at Bisbee and Morenci was complete. An enormous increase in the domestic production of iron and copper, which made it increasingly difficult to find markets for imported cargoes of those metals from English mills, accounted in part for this radical shift in Phelps Dodge activities and interests. In the case of tin plate, the change was even more spectacular. In 1890 a seventh of the world's supply of pig tin passed through the hands of Phelps Dodge agents. In 1906, thanks chiefly to the McKinley Tariff of 1890 which imposed a duty of over two cents a pound on tin plate imported into the United States, the company received its last shipment of tin from England, and thus ended a form of

Jan 1, 1952

By Eugene P. Pfleider, Claus Freyberger

Generally, the different methods of financing new mining projects are not well understood by the engineers and supervisory personnel. Nor are the effects of these alternatives on depletion, taxes and profitability readily apparent to even the sophisticated management personnel without the aid of cash flow studies. Fortunately, with the advent of the computer it is possible now to simulate many different combinations of 1) equity, 2) loan and 3) production payment financing with little effort. A general computer program for cash flow analysis of mining ventures has been developed and applied as a case example to a 1967 feasibility study of the Underground Mining of Minnesota Taconite. The effects on profitability as measured both in rates-of-return and present value are presented for various financing combinations. In addition, percentage depletion rates were altered so as to measure the impact of this statuatory allowance. Based on the cost data as presented in the aforementioned 1967 feasibility study, and assuming 7% loans, the rates-of-return vary from 9. 9% to [00] % on equity variations and from 9. 9% to 11.4% on total invested funds.

Jan 1, 1969

By Philip R. Whitney

Deposition of manganese oxides is of common occurrence in streams of the north-eastern United States. Manganese entering the stream in solution in ground water is oxidized and deposited in the stream, primarily as oxide coatings on detrital materials. Prevalence and thickness of the coatings increases with increasing particle size in the coarse sand and gravel range. A number of metals of economic and environmental interest are enriched in these coatings. Samples of 8 to 16 mm pebbles were obtained from two streams in the Shawangunk region of southeastern New York State, an area of know71 Pb/Zn/Cu mineralization. The pebbles were leached to remove the oxide coatings and the resulting solutions analyzed for Mn, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, Co, and Ni. Trace-metal/Mn ratios in these streams are generally one to two orders of magnitude higher than regional background values. Profiles of trace- metal/Mn ratios along the streams show considerable detail; contributions of metals from tributaries are sharply reflected in the metal content of the oxides. The potential advantages and disadvantages of using coated stream gravel for geochemical prospecting and environmental studies are discussed in the light of these and other data.

Jan 1, 1976

By John G. Hall

The unstable metal market during 1949, with resulting lower metal prices, has focused every mine operator's attention on the problem of reducing operating costs. Improvement in mining methods, use of modern mechanical mining equipment, and increasing the efficiency of the labor force are the tools with which we will have to work. Careful planning is necessary to coordinate all phases so that no one phase is overdone. A mine may become over-mechanized if, for instance, capital charges against new equipment exceed the savings in labor costs, or where a large enough tonnage is not produced. The cooperation of labor is essential to any mechanization program. There have been too many instances where mechanization and improvements have done nothing more than make up for a decrease in labor efficiency, thus bringing the production of labor back to its old standard. The operator has gained little and labor has gained only a "softer job." In any mechanization program there are gains to be had by both the operator and labor. By the efficient application of modern equipment and improved mining methods the operator should gain by decreased costs, and labor may profit by receiving a share of these decreased costs.

Jan 8, 1950

By Charles Hart

THE art of electric smelting came with the turn of the present century and owes its existence to the introduction of alter-nating current, which found its first wide use in the establishment of the great power plants at Niagara Falls, N, Y. Prior to that time current was largely direct. The fur-naces were electrolytic in nature and found their first metallurgical use in the produc-tion of aluminum, and this process still prevails. The normal production of pig iron up to that time was carried on in blast furnaces in which charcoal, coke and anthracite were used as the fuel. This new electric process called for sufficient carbonaceous material to reduce the oxides and impregnate the pig iron with sufficient carbon, but the remainder of the energy was to be supplied by electric power. The chemical reactions are essentially the same in electric smelting as obtains in the older blast furnace. All of these data are so well known in both methods as to need no discussion at this time, for they can be found in scientific publications and books written during the first two decades of this century.

Jan 1, 1940

By Robert Glass Cleland

IN SPITE of its widely ramified interests in manufacturing, mines, lumber, railroads, and real estate, Phelps, Dodge & Co. remained primarily interested in exporting and importing, in buying and selling, and William E. Dodge, the directing-partner, consistently styled himself a merchant. After 1849 the profits of the company mounted steadily for seven years until they approached the half-million mark, but in 1857 another severe panic ended the long period of national prosperity that had begun some fifteen years before. Extravagance, indebtedness, and inflation again took their costly toll; or, as the New York Herald of June 27,1857, declared: Governmental spoliations, public defaulters, paper bubbles of all descriptions, a general scramble for western lands and town and city sites, millions of dollars, made or borrowed, expended in fine houses and gaudy furniture; hundreds of thousands in the silly rivalries of fashionable parvenues, in silks, laces, diamonds and every variety of costly frippery are.only a few among the many crying evils of the day. The worst of all these evils is the moral pestilence of luxurious exemption from honest labor, which is infecting all classes of society. The country merchant is becoming a city stock-

Jan 1, 1952

THE 127th meeting of the Institute was held in New York, Feb. 19 to 22, 1923. In addition to the usual large volume of technical matters under consideration, the meeting was particularly noteworthy for the amount of attention given to its business session; the convention of local section representatives also was full of interest. The total registration was 1201. The annual business meeting on Feb. 20, President Dwight presiding, was attended by 125 members, who listened with marked attention to the reports and addresses of the several officers. The chairman departed from the stipulated order of business in order to allow more time for the presentation of remarks on the state of Institute affairs. The previously pub-lished reports of the officers were accepted, as printed. On the report of the tellers, the following officers were declared elected: E. P. Mathewson, Director and President-District 0 T. T. Brewster, Director and Vice-president-District 6 Frank M. Smith, Director and Vice-president-District 11 W. H. Aldridge, Director-District 0 G. H. Clevenger, Director-District 1 A. N. Diehl, Director-District 3 Reno H. Sales, Director-District 7 Seeley W. Mudd, Director-District 10

Jan 3, 1923

By A. H. Grobe, F. N. Rhines

THE constitution of the indium-zinc alloy series has been investigated by Wilson and Peretti,1 who determined the liquidus and eutectic temperatures by the conventional method of cooling curves and the eutectic composition by analyzing eutectic exudations. Recent developments affecting the availability of indium and consequent increased interest in its applications make a more complete knowledge of the constitution of its alloys desirable. As a part of a program for the reexamination of the constitution of indium alloys by precision methods, the indium-zinc phase diagram [ ] (Figs. I and 2) has been redetermined in its entirety. The eutectic temperature (143.5°C.) reported by Wilson and Peretti has been confirmed exactly, but their value of the zinc concentration at the eutectic, 4 per cent, was found to be high; the new value is 2.8 per cent of zinc. There is also a rather large difference between the forms of the liquidus curves of Wilson and Peretti and those found in the present studies. The solidus curves herein have been located for the first time and the limits of solid solubility have been tenta-

Jan 1, 1944

By C. G. Brennecke, R. T. Gallagher

This paper is the result of a research program entered into cooperatively by the General Reinsurance Corporation and Lehigh University in January 1944. The research program was instituted to find a more positive method to determine the presence of hazardous roof conditions in , mining operations. The co-authors, together with Mr. R. D. Currie, Engineer for the General Reinsurance Corporation, started working on the project in January 1944, first undertaking a library search; second, a preliminary study based on some existing equipment; third, the design of new and more suitable equipment; and finally, the field testing of equipment and methods. Purpose Any study of the accident statistics of mining operations will disclose the rather startling fact that approximately 50 to 60 per cent of all fatal underground accidents in the anthracite and bituminous mines are caused by falls of roof and coal, the metal and nonmetal mines showing only a slightly smaller percentage. Advancements in safety engineering have produced definite results in the decrease of accidents due to blasting, haulage, electricity, and explosions but no such decrease is shown in those caused by falls of roof, coal, or ore. Table Il,2 is a compilation of statistics as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, showing the percentages of fatal accidents caused

Jan 1, 1947

By R. T. Gallagher, C. G. Brennecke

This paper is the result of a research program entered into cooperatively by the General Reinsurance Corporation and Lehigh University in January 1944. The research program was instituted to find a more positive method to determine the presence of hazardous roof conditions in , mining operations. The co-authors, together with Mr. R. D. Currie, Engineer for the General Reinsurance Corporation, started working on the project in January 1944, first undertaking a library search; second, a preliminary study based on some existing equipment; third, the design of new and more suitable equipment; and finally, the field testing of equipment and methods. Purpose Any study of the accident statistics of mining operations will disclose the rather startling fact that approximately 50 to 60 per cent of all fatal underground accidents in the anthracite and bituminous mines are caused by falls of roof and coal, the metal and nonmetal mines showing only a slightly smaller percentage. Advancements in safety engineering have produced definite results in the decrease of accidents due to blasting, haulage, electricity, and explosions but no such decrease is shown in those caused by falls of roof, coal, or ore. Table Il,2 is a compilation of statistics as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, showing the percentages of fatal accidents caused

Jan 1, 1947

By B. J. Kochanowsky

To improve blasting methods it is necessary to know how the explosive force acts and how rock resists this force. Because of the tremendous power developed within milliseconds and the great number of other factors directly affecting the technical and economic results, an analysis of the fundamentals of blasting theory is difficult. But since the rules used for layout design and for calculations of size of explosive charges are based on theoretical assumptions, complete knowledge of blasting theory has great practical importance in mining. Analysis of Blasting Theory: It is interesting to note the opinion of blasting experts with respect to contemporary blasting theories. F. Stussi,' Professor of the University of Zurich, stated: "We do not have enough experience yet to change our army engineering regulations in blasting and base it on new fundamentals. It is our duty to collect more practical data and to do more research in blasting to close this gap." K. H. Fraenkel,' editor of the Manual on Rock Blasting published in 1953 in Sweden and written by well-known Swedish, German, Swiss, and French blasting and explosive experts, said: "To the best of our knowledge no suitable formulas for civil blasting work are to be found in the American, French or German literature."

Sep 1, 1955

By F. D. Hoyt, H. L. Hartman

The development of new processes and methods by The Pennsylvania State University to improve slate quarrying technology has centered in recent years on cutting and sawing stone in the quarry to eliminate a second cutting process in the mill. Two machines exhibit promise for this work: 1) a circular saw mounting diamonds or hard inserts to produce smaller sizes of stone and 2) a chain saw with insert cutting teeth to produce stone in the larger dimensions. Prototype machines have been constructed and tested in several Pennsylvania slate quarries, and one commercial installation has been operated for several months with a circular diamond saw. Other kinds of dimension stones may be cut by these saws. Research at Penn State has begun to study the fundamental cutting action of rotary tools or saws in slate and other dimension stones. A laboratory drill press is being instrumented to permit thrust-torque-rotational speed us penetration rate studies of single tooth cutting surfaces on stone. Machinability studies of slate conducted with tungsten-carbide inserts have been performed. The dimension stone industry generally accepts the rather basic premise that the larger the block removed from the quarry, the more practical and economical the operation. Thus, the concept of cutting to size any dimension stone while it remains in place in the parent bed would receive little consideration from the majority of members of the industry. However, the slate industry, which is usually considered a separate member of the dimension stone family, is pioneering in the development of an in-place sawing method. Before any final decision can be reached concerning a proposed new system, it is essential to take a long, hard look at the present method of operation in order to determine if the new system is indeed an improvement or even desirable. In the following section is a brief description of present quarry practice in the slate quarries of eastern Pennsylvania. PRESENT METHOD OF QUARRYING SLATE In the numerous slate quarries of Lehigh and Northampton Counties of Pennsylvania, the grain and cleavage of the slate are most often at right angles to each other; if a third surface is broken at right angles to these two natural planes of weakness, blocks of more or less rectangular shape can be separated.' In conventional quarrying a large calyx core drill prepares holes of 36-in. diam in which wire-saw standards are positioned. By wire sawing between strategically located core-drill holes, large sinks or benches of virgin slate are opened up. The sides freed by wire sawing will vary from quarry to quarry but generally are rectangular in shape with dimensions averaging 20 ft in length and about 15 ft in depth. Some quarries are fortunate in having a joint or natural parting to work to, which of course diminishes the amount of core drilling and wire sawing required. Once the various benches have been developed either through wire sawing alone or through a combination of wire sawing and natural jointing planes, the block removal proceeds in the following manner. A plug hole is drilled in the block with a compressed-air hammer and a feathering chisel is inserted in the hole to cause a fracture of the rock either with or against the grain as indicated by the positioning of the so-called feathers. This operation is referred to as sculping. After a block has been freed with and against the grain by means of wedging from the cross fracture with long bars or levers, the block is further freed along the cleavage plane by shimming it up with small wooden pieces in an operation known as styling. A large steel loading chain is wrapped around a block thus freed and the chain is attached to the wheel of an overhead cable. The block is then hoisted vertically to the cableway and moved along this cableway laterally to the lip or edge of the quarry. From here it is unloaded onto a rail car or truck for transportation to the processing mill. Except for occasional blasting to free stubborn blocks,

Jan 1, 1961

[ ] ST. JOSEPH Lead Co., is entering the oil business. Andrew Fletcher, St. Joseph president, stated that plans call for a contract with the Continental Oil Co., to drill 11 exploratory wells. Six will be in Texas, one in southern Louisiana, one in northern Louisiana, and one each in California, Oklahoma, and Montana. St. Joseph is also negotiating a contract with the Zephyr Drilling Co., for wells in Wyoming and Colorado. St. Joseph is planning to drill another well on a 6000 acre plot in southern Illinois. Proxies issued before a special meeting of the board, said the new venture is not intended to change the general character of the company's business, or to involve a significant part of its resources. If gas, oil, or minerals are discovered in paying quantities, the company will develop and operate the deposits and dispose of the products for the joint account of Continental Oil and St. Joseph Lead. The mining company will contribute a proportionate share of the cost, but will have definite limitation of its obligation. The amendment to St. Joseph's certificate of corporation, passed by the board meeting, also extended the power of the company to include mining operations of all kinds.

Jan 1, 1952

We, the undersigned, being all persons of full age and citizens of the United States and a majority residents of the State of New York, desiring to form a corporation pursuant to the provisions of the Membership Corporations Law for the purpose of incorporating, as provided in Section 5 of Article I of said law, the existing unincorporated association known , as American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Incorporated, do hereby make, acknowledge and file this Certificate for that purpose, and do certify as follows I That the American Institute of Mining Engineers is an unincorporated association organized and existing with the object of promoting the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals and the welfare of those employed in these industries by means of meetings for social intercourse and the reading and discussion of professional papers, and to circulate by means of publications among its members and associates the information thus obtained II That the persons duly appointed or designated to manage the affairs of said association are designated by the rules thereof Members of its Council, that the undersigned are all members of said Council as the same was constituted on the 29th day of December, 1904

Jan 1, 1952

Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, 76 Beaver St., New York, N. Y. Percy E. Barbour, Secretary and Treasurer. This Society issues Bulletins each year containing papers presented, and accounts of Society business. The Bulletins each year are collected in a volume as the Proceedings for that, year. In 1931 Bulletins numbered 216 to 222, inclusive, were issued in the Proceedings for that year (vol. 24). In addition to the Bulletins two special volumes have been published: International Control of Minerals, $1; and World Survey of the Zinc Indusry, $2.25. A selected list of paper,,-from the last two volumes of the Proceedings: Vol. 24 (1931) : Bull. 216 The cycles of prices of non-ferrous metals, by L. Vogelstein; 218, Marketing problems, by T. M. McNiece; 222, Copper tariff number (a discussion of the copper tariff by a number of authors). Vol. 23 (1930): Bull. 208 to 215, inclusive: Bull. 208, Some aspects of the copper industry, by L. C. Graton; 209, The ethical question of developing Soviet mines; 213, Legal recognition of geophysical prospecting, by A. H. Rogers; The evolution of the metal cartels, by L., Domeratzky and L. Vogelstein; 214, Geological justification for "exploration permits," by L. C. Graton; 215, The future of nickel, by A. J. Wadhams.

Jan 1, 1933

By Thomas V. Falkie, Robert Stefanko

Previous articles in this column have defined the manpower situation as it. applies to the coal industry. There is at present a shortage of experienced managers, mining engineers, technicians and skilled workers. The extent of this shortage is controversial, but it is sufficiently important to have received the serious attention of coal industry people at all levels. It has also been discussed by union officials, educators, government agencies and trade publications as well as other communications media. Discussion is not enough, however. A plan of action is needed. Some suggestions for such a plan are presented here. First, the coal industry must interest itself in government training programs. The U.S. Government (primarily the Bureau of Mines and HEW) is planning to spend or is spending millions of dollars to educate and train technicians, inspectors, engineers and miners. The new Federal Health and Safety Academy at Beckley, W. Va., for example, will involve an expenditure of $20-30 million for the physical plant alone. There are encouraging signs that the present hierarchy in the Bureau of Mines intends to seek the advice of mining educators on some of these projects, but industry should also demand a voice in the policy to be followed in making these expenditures.

Jan 1, 1971

WE the undersigned, being all persons of full age and citizens of the United States, and a majority residents of the State of New York, desiring to form a corporation pursuant to the provisions of the Membership Corporations Law for the purpose of incorporating, as provided in Section 5 of Article I. of said law, the existing unincorporated association known as American Institute of Mining Engineers, do hereby make, acknowledge and file this Certificate for that purpose, and do Certify as follows: I. That the American Institute of Mining Engineers is an unincorporated association organized and existing with the object of promoting the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals and the welfare of those employed in these industries by means of meetings for social intercourse and the reading and discussion of professional papers, and to circulate by means of publications among its members and associates the information thus obtained. 11. That the persons duly appointed or designated to manage the affairs of said association are designated by the rules thereof Members of its Council; that the under- signed are all members of said Council as the same was constituted on the 29th day of December, 1904.

Jan 1, 1932

WE the undersigned, being all persons of full age and citizens of the United States, and a majority residents of the State of New York, desiring to form a corporation pursuant to the provisions of the Membership Corporations Law for the purpose of incorporating, as provided in Section 5 of Article I. of said law, the existing unincorporated association known as American Institute of Mining Engineers, do hereby make, acknowledge and file this Certificate for that purpose, and do Certify as follows: I. That the American Institute of Mining Engineers is an unincorporated association organized and existing with the object of promoting the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals and the welfare of those employed in these industries by means of meetings for social intercourse and the reading and discussion of professional papers, and to circulate by means of publications among its members and associates the information thus obtained. II. That the persons duly appointed or designated to manage the affairs of said association are designated by the rules thereof Members of its Council; that the undersigned are all members of said Council as the same was constituted on the 29th day of December, 1904.

Jan 1, 1923