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Jan 1, 1970

By E. A. Holbrook

The art of ore dressing is as old as civilization itself. Jason's search for the golden fleece was perhaps only the use of sheepskins for catching gold from gold-bearing sands washed over them. From Hoover's translation of Agricola we gather that in the middle ages ore dressing had advanced through the stage of hand sorting to water concentration by jigging. German methods and apparatus continued in the lead until the closing years of the past century; indeed, it is little more than a generation ago that many ore-dressing plants in this country were designed and operated by German-trained ore-dressing specialists. Meanwhile the development of the ore deposits in this country during the nineteenth century brought forth new inventions and methods. Blake's invention of the rock breaker in 1858 and the coming of the Wilfley table about 1896 are random examples of the improvements caused by our expanding needs. Yet ore dressing remained an art developed and practiced more or less by cut and try methods. The publication of the volumes on Ore Dressing by Dr. Robert H. Richards in 1903 marks the beginning of American ore-dressing practice as a science. Previously we had as guides only a few incomplete books based on foreign practice, or scattered references and articles in our own Transactions. Dr. Richards set down all the developments that had gone before, and outlined the ways for a scientific approach to the subject. He gave us a starting point. Since then ore-dressing practice and technique in this country have set the pace for the world. Coal preparation has been called "ore dressing upside down,'' because in ore dressing we generally save a small percentage of the heavy valuable mineral and discard the lighter gangue, whereas in coal preparation we save the larger quantity of light mineral and discard the smaller percentage of heavy waste. By comparison with ore dressing the history of coal preparation is brief, extending backwards hardly 100 years, for although coal had been dug and used locally for centuries it became an important article of commerce only with the coming of the industrial revolution 150 years ago. In new mines it was to he expected that the thickest and purest seams should be worked first. So long as these lasted there was little thought of coal preparation other than hand picking of the larger impurities and simple sizing to supply the real or fancied need

Jan 1, 1934

By David Brown, Glen Hall, Ken DeVos, Frank Barone

Dredging and Flooding was completed on the Falconbridge Limited "New Tailings Area" in the period from 1996 through 1998, as part of their site closure measures. Part of the decision making process and closure planning was water quality prediction, including oxidation and diffusion modelling. The purpose of this modeling was to define the potential water quality that would result during and after dredging. A significant body of research on the geochemistry and oxidation kinetics of this site had been compiled. The results of the modeling provide practical insight on the potential water quality that may be expected. Water quality in the pond has steadily improved since flooding was completed with the exception of short term peaks during spring runoff. Aquatic vegetation is appearing through natural recovery and transplanting of local species, and colonies of minnows are now observed in the ponds.

Jan 1, 2000

By D. E. Pickett, J. A. Roland Faucher

"INTRODUCTIONMineral processing is undergoing growth and change at a rapid rate. The modern flotation process was discovered only in the mid-twenties, and uranium leaching in the mid-fifties. The growth of individual unit equipment size is also a recent development and is perhaps most dramatically illustrated by the increase in size and connected horsepower in grinding mills. It is also apparent in much of the equipment used in mining operations.These technical and mechanical developments have influenced the design of plants but not to the expected degree.Many metallurgists believed until recently that grinding an ore in the absence of steel results in a loEs of selectivity in the flotation. However results reported by Thornton (1), Fahlstrom (2), Canmet (3 & 4) have shown on the contrary better selectivity and improved recovery at a lower operating cost. According to the Aitik (2) plant results, the net difference in cost plus tailing value in favour of the two-stage autogeneous grinding circuit is in the order of 40 cents per ton of ore milled. Even a greater difference was indicated by the results obtained by Canmet on a sample supplied by Mattagami Lake Mines Ltd.Yet how many plants are taking advantage of these findings and how many plants are being converted. How much more improvement of the results would have been obtained if these tests had incorporated optimization of classification efficiency? By nature the mining industry and the mineral processors are conservative, and tend to emphasize the possible penalties for an unsuccessful innovation out of proportion to the potential rewards even for a significant improvement."

Jan 1, 1979

The Archean Gossan Hill Group at Golden Grove, Western Australia, hosts two potentially economic volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. The volcanic-sedimentary succession hosting this mineralisation is composed of a facies association which includes the products of rhyodacitic to,andesitic effusive volcanism, mass-flow sedimentation and concentrated hydrothermal fluid discharge, in a deep subaqueous setting. The Tertiary Kuroko deposits of Japan are widely compared to Archean volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits and a comparison of the facies associations hosting this style of mineralisation, in these two successions separated widely in time, allows a refinement of facies models suitable for exploration in ancient successions. The required deep subaqueous environment for the formation of volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits places constraints on the physical processes that can operate during accumulation of the host stratigraphy. Limitations on the operation of physical processes is reflected by the resultant facies association which can be used to characterize suitable volcanic-sedimentary successions in which volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralisation may be present. The facies association includes: (1) proximal effusive volcanic products - lavas and associated autoclastic breccias (2) distal volcanic products - mass-flow resedimented pyroclastic debris (3) background sedimentation - reworked volcanogenic and terrigenous mass-flow sediments and (4) chemical sediments - exhalites including cherts, sulphides and oxides, with perhaps various carbonates and sulphates. Primary pyroclastic deposits are not expected to be present, other than distal water-lain air-fall deposits, derived from shallow to emergent basin margin explosive volcanic centres, which also provide a source for the resedimented pyroclastic debris.

Jan 1, 1987

By B. Thompson

"1. AbstractMagnesium alloys have been successfully recycled for decades and have won acceptance for use by die casters and most of the automotive industry. As the supply chain for magnesium and magnesium alloys continues to change, due to the consolidation of producers, it is essential that quality control methods be closely examined with each new supplier added. An examination of the various process steps that are needed to assure quality in the final product will be discussed thus giving a basis for the auditing of new magnesium suppliers.2. IntroductionMagnesium recycling in the past has been somewhat limited due to its use more as an alloying agent for aluminum based alloys and as a desulfurization agent in iron and steel than in more readily recycled structural products. Recycling efforts continue to improve as more production is finding its way into automotive structural components, hand tools, and a variety of computer and cellular telephone applications.With the closure of several large North American primary magnesium production facilities over the past decade we have only recently witnessed a tightness in supply that is driving magnesium prices significantly higher, nearly doubling the price in the last year alone. The rapid escalation in pricing will provide additional economic incentives to fully utilize recycling for the recovery of an even greater percentage of both old and new sources of magnesium scrap. Political pressure continues to intensify towards the secondary recovery of any and all recoverable resources of which magnesium recycling readily applies.Economics will also likely drive the development of new sources of magnesium production, both from primary and secondary production. As new sources of magnesium are offered to the marketplace the potential for product quality issues may increase. When considering any new raw material supplier a decision must be made as to the impact of defective material on the intermediate or finished product. Quality defects in magnesium ingot can result in a variety of appearance, corrosion, and even adverse structural effects in the finished product. The potential severity of the impact of defective raw materials on the finished product will determine and often justify a close look at any new supplier. An on-site audit of a new supplier of a critical raw material is often justified to ensure that an adequate quality assurance system is in place. We will now look at a number of key production points that should be examined during an on-site audit that have can have an impact on the overall quality of the finished product."

Jan 1, 2008

By V. F. Swanson

As part of the Bureau of Mines titanium resources examination program, samples of altered rock (saprolite) and unaltered rock from the Roseland anorthosite near Roseland, Nelson County, Va., were tested for amenability to beneficiation by flotation. A flotation technique was developed to produce bulk concentrates of ilmenite, rutile, sphene, and leucoxene. It was necessary to first float apatite using oleic acid as the collector, in an alkaline pulp with dextrine as a titanium mineral depressant. The titanium minerals could then be floated from the apatite tailing, using fluosilicic acid to depress the remaining apatite, morin to depress ferromagnesian minerals (when present), and oleic acid as the collector. A bulk titanium mineral concentrate, analyzing 66.0 percent Ti02 and 0.08 percent P205, was obtained from a sample of the unaltered rock which contained 5.45 percent TiO2 and 2.81 percent P205. Overall recovery in the concentrate was 47.1 percent of the total TiO2 in the ore. About 55 to 65 percent of the saprolite sample was clay and was removed by attrition scrubbing and decantation. The apatite prefloat procedure was applied to the saprolite sands; subsequent titanium mine: 1 flotation recovered 72.2 percent of the Ti02 in a bulk concentrate containing 65.1 percent TiO2 and 0.20 percent P205.

Jan 1, 1962

A study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the quantity and value of economic demonstrated resources discovered for 12 mineral commodities over a ten year period and the expenditure required to yield such mineable resources. The results showed that for every dollar spent on exploration, there is an apparent in-ground average value of around $54 dollars contained in the economic resources found. While this appears to be a satisfactory return, it should be remembered that more than 99.9% of exploration programs are judged to be failures because a viable ore body or mineral deposit was not proved up. What is behind this seeming paradox?   The fundamental truth behind mineral exploration is the fact that the more you explore, the more you find, and that one success will often lead to further discoveries. It appears that one rich and viable deposit creates such surplus that its inherent high value ('the pot of gold') makes up for all the failures. In short, mineral exploration is a high risk business with uncertain returns. However, with skill, enthusiasm, experience and venture capital, it can yield larger than normal returns for the brave and the fortunate.   Analysis of exploration expenditure and economic resources discovered for the period 1987 to 1996 revealed that the apparent in-ground value of economic ore discovered per dollar of exploration expenditure varied from a high of $429 for iron ore and $261 for bauxite to a low of $22 for gold and for lead, and $5 per dollar of diamond exploration expenditure. Preliminary conclusions drawn on the reasons for the variations observed include the inherent ease or difficulty of discovery for different mineral commodities which may in some cases, relate to the natural prospectivity of Australia as a whole. Layered deposits like iron ore and bauxite appear to yield higher in-ground value returns on the exploration dollar. To some explorationists, this may be considered as seemingly obvious, but it may have more to do with very large-exploration tenement grants pursued by various Australian State Governments in the early 1950s and 1960s than the apparent ease of delineating a stratabound deposit.   Despite the apparent relatively low in-ground value produced by the gold exploration dollar of $22, the 5660 tonnes of gold discovered in this ten year period was worth $9.1 billion and representing over a quarter of the new mineral wealth created in the ten years to 1996. This contribution, along with that from the other minerals discovered over the period, led to a significant boost to Australia's export income and standard of living.   It is concluded that, given the nexus between the amount of mineral exploration expenditure and the quantity of new resources likely to be discovered, this knowledge may help policy makers seek to influence the rate of resource discovery in countries like Australia for the benefit of the nation.

Jan 1, 2004

By J. J. Lander, L. H. Germer

Molybdenum and tungsten have desirable corrosion and temperature resistant properties, but the metals in bulk are expensive and their fabrication is difficult. Such considerations led to a search for a method of plating them upon base metals. This search was successful and led furthermore to a number of developments which could not have been foreseen. Neither pure tungsten nor pure molybdenum has been electroplated successfully, although the literature of electroplating is liberally sprinkled with the description of unsuccessful attempts. The process of plating these metals by thermal reduction of their halides has achieved onlv limited usefulness because of technical limitations and because of limited range of product quality. Plating by thermal decomposition of the carbonyls does not suffer from limitations of the same sort and the properties of the plate are readily controllable. This paper describes the plating of molybdenum and tungsten, and of compounds and alloys of these metals, by pyrolysis of their carbonyl vapors. Chromium also has been plated in this manner, but the experiments upon chromium have been less extensive and the results much less satisfactory. Probably the most important of the products which we have obtained are the alloys with carbon, and the carbides of the metals. Either molybdenum or tungsten can be deposited upon a base metal as a coherent and adherent coating. By adjusting the plating condition the carbon content of the coating can be made to have any value from substantially zero to about 35 atomic pct. The hardness is dependent primarily upon the amount of carbon in the plate and can be regulated over a very wide range, some coatings containing considerable carbon being harder than sapphire. In addition to products already known this method of plating has yielded new carbides of molybdenum and tungsten and alloys supersaturated with carbon. These new products are possible because, in the process of plating, carbonyl can be decomposed at temperatures as low as about 150°C, and thus in the presence of other substances reactions occur which could perhaps not be produced in any other way. In addition to carbides and alloys with carbon, sulphides and oxides of molybdenum and tungsten have been produced and studied. There are certain other advantages of the carbonyl method of plating. It is not required that the base have good electrical conductivity as in electrochemical processes, and the base need not have the temperature stability required in plating from a halide. Thus low melting glasses, as well as other ceramics, can be plated almost as readily as metals. In particular, the plating of glass with

Jan 1, 1949

The passing of Benjamin Bowden Lawrence in January, 1921, was a distinct loss to the engineering profession. Mr. Lawrence had a genius for reviving abandoned mines and developing them into substantial producers. A notable example of his work in this line was the Dives-Pelican near Georgetown, Colo. While on an exploring expedition in 1888, he examined this old mine and was convinced that bonanza ore still existed there. He located the owners of the property, and induced them to place sufficient capital at his disposal to enable him to re-open and explore this mine. So confident was he of the outcome that he undertook this work on a profit-sharing basis without salary. Within eighteen months the old Dives-Pelican was operating profitably, and for the following ten years it paid very substantial dividends. The late Theodore N. Vail was one of the owners of this old mine, and many years later, at a dinner given to Mr. Lawrence by the Alumni of Columbia University, Mr. Vail told the story of the resuscitation of the Dives-Pelican by Mr. Lawrence, and declared that the dividends he himself had received provided a large part of the funds that made possible the realization of his dream of establishing the long-distance telephone in this country. The E1 Cobre mines at Santiago de Cuba also owed their renewed life to Mr. Lawrence. Under his management, these mines produced and shipped several million pounds of copper per year. He was for several years consulting engineer for the Kerr Lake and other silver mines in the Cobalt region; the Kerr Lake became famous as a silver producer. Mr. Lawrence spent more than twenty years of his life in the mining camps of the West. He was but twenty-one years of age, and only a few months out of college, when he was appointed manager of the great Chautauqua Lode (a silver mine) located on Glacier Mountain near Montezuma, Colo. Here, isolated in the mountains for several months each year by ice and snow, he worked for five years to make these mines Pay. He possessed unusual breadth of vision and human understanding; he had ''personality plus," and when he opened an office in New York City as consulting engineer he quickly rose to an enviable position in his profession. Young engineers worked with enthusiasm under his guidance. He carefully selected his men, discussed fully with them the plans and policies to be pursued, then left them free to accomplish results in their own way. This attitude developed individuality and resourceful-

Jan 1, 1922

By Wescomb R. Jones

The United States is the world's largest producer of hydrofluoric acid (HF), with its 1971 output of 317,000 short tons representing about 40 percent of the estimated Free World production. U. S. production has increased over five fold in the past 20 years, with a growth rate of about 7 percent per year between 1960 and 1970. However, the growth rate to 1977 is expected to be less than 5 percent per year, due primarily to a reduced rate of growth in requirements by the aluminum industry and an expected increase in imports from Canada and Mexico. This discussion will include our analyses of the consumption pattern for HF in 1972 and the factors influencing the demand forecast for 1977.

Jan 1, 1973

By M. Harrison, C. H. Stockwell

"Metals vah1ed at more than $200,000,000 have been obtained, mainly since 1930, from the mines of northern Manitoba. The greater part of this production has been copper, zinc, and gold from the Flin Flon, Sherritt Gordon, and Mandy mines. The chief mines from which gold alone has been produced are God's Lake, Laguna, and Gurney. At present (May 1947) Flin Flon and Sherritt Gordon are the only producing mines, but the Nor-Acme property is being developed for large-scale production of gold. Large deposits of nickel and copper are being diamond drilled at Lynn Lake, and the Thompson, Ferro, and other properties are being developed. The mineral deposits lie within irregular or elongated areas of Precambrian sedimentary and volcanic rocks, surrounded by granite ( Fig. 1).The common rock types include basic and acidic flows, agglomerate, ruff, greywacke, arkose, argilli te, conglomerate, and their gneissoid and schistose derivatives. They are invaded by sills, dykes, and irregular bodies of gabbro and diorite, and all are cut by granite. Some of the sediments are interstratified with volcanics, and others are deposited unconformably on them.STRUCTURAL GEOLOGYLittle is known of the structures of the rocks in the area as a whole, because by far the greater part is unexplored or has been covered only by reconnaissance surveys. Available information indicates a general east structural trend in the southeast part, whereas in the west part the folding is mote complex with no definite overall trend. However, in a few small areas in the western part where detailed work has been done, as around the Flin Flon, Sherritt-Gordon, Nor-Acme, and other properties, the structure is fairly well known. The following descriptions apply chiefly to these areas ."

Jan 1, 1954

By Frank K. Cameron

"The DepositsThere are two large deposits or groups of deposits of potash salts which, at the breaking cut of the great world war in 1913 and for several decades preceding, were practically the only commercial sources of supply for the entire world. In both cases the origin of the deposits was sea water, the potassium salts being deposited by desiccation, but there were modifying factors which were not entirely the same in both cases so that well defined and important differences exist in these deposits. The larger and better known group, called the Stassfurt Deposits, are in Germany in the region about or adjacent to Magdeburg and Halberstadt. The general character of these deposits and the methods for recovering potash from them have been frequently described, not only in technical publi¬cations, but in the non-technical propaganda long maintained by the Kali Syndikat, an organization founded on a ""cartel"" with the supervision and support of the late Imperial German Government.Less well known are the smaller though nevertheless extensive deposits in the neighborhood of Mulhouse in Upper Alsatia, which were also under the control of the Kali Syndikat at the breaking out of the war but have now passed to French control, with the reentrance of Alsace into the French Republic.The Alsatiaa deposits, while less extensive than the German deposits, are, nevertheless of great magnitude. They occupy a large part of the area between the Vosges Mountains and the River Rhine, from Col¬mar on the North to Mulhouse on the South. Indeed a few borings on the East bank of the Rhine indicate that the deposits may extend under the river and to some distance beyond Buggingen Linken, Baden, though it has not been Shown as yet that this extension is of commercial significance.As is well known, the Stassfurt potash occurs as potassium chloride or potassium sulphate or both salts, intimately mixed with salts of sodium, magnesium eau& calcium (lime) and contaminated with substances. insoluble in water such as ferric oxide, clay etc. The potash salts are segregated in more or less extensive 'pockets' throughout the salt mass, these segregations departing usually from the horizontal. But the main ""potash region"" is a stratum varying from 30 to 150 feet in thickness and at a depth requiring shafts 5000 feet."

Jul 1, 1919

By C P. de Jager, J J. Taljaard

Over the past 75 years, the mining of platinum has predominantly focused on the Merensky Reef horizon in the western Bushveld region of the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) of South Africa (Figure 1). The orebody is relatively flat dipping at 10¦ to 25¦, narrow tabular in shape and has been mined to a maximum depth of some 1600 m within Anglo Platinum. This has resulted in the installation of up to four generations of shaft systems as mining progressed into reserves at greater depth. In recent years, with the improvement in processing technology and improved economics, in particular with the improved price of palladium, the mining of the UG2 Chromitite Reef is proving economically viable. The UG2 Chromitite Reef occurs below the Merensky Reef in the succession and the normal separation varies from 15 m to 400 m, with the largest separation between the reefs occurring in the eastern region of the BIC. The UG2 Chromitite Reef horizon is now being accessed from existing Merensky mining infrastructure by cross-cutting back through the stratigraphy where appropriate, or by establishing new decline cluster systems from surface, along the extensive strike length of the various mining properties. These declines are generally established utilising mechanised mining techniques. This paper gives an overview of the techno-economic approaches considered and evaluated for the selection of the optimum mining and shaft systems. More specifically, the paper reviews the design parameters used, techno-economics, conveyor versus haul alternatives, logistics simulations, capital costs, system performance, time to market or ramp-up success, important system differences and lessons learnt.

Jan 1, 2005

By A Scott, S Kanchibotla, J Segui

The æMine to MillÆ concept is not new. In fact, it is the underlying objective of every mine. Unfortunately, in many operations the management structure and reporting systems have created independent æbusinessesÆ within the overall mining enterprise. This has created incentives to optimise the performance of each component of the operation rather than the enterprise as a whole. The Mine to Mill Conference organised by The AusIMM in October 1998 documented a number of case studies where run of mine ore was not presented to the mill in the best possible form for subsequent stages of comminution and processing. A number of examples were quoted where modest expenditure in the mine had a very significant impact on downstream process efficiency and hence costs. Examples included:the minimisation of fines in the mining and handling of iron ore; the management of fines in blasting and crushing for a copper heap leach operation; the control of blast damage, mining recovery and dilution in open cut coal operations; and the optimisation of mine fragmentation to increase mill throughput in gold and copper operations. The latter topic has been trialed at a number of mines and is referred to as æMine to MillÆ fragmentation. A number of æMine to MillÆ type investigations have been reported in the literature including Pease et al, Simkus and Dance, Nielsen, Scott et al, Kojovic et al, Kanchibotla et al, Bulow et al and Hawkes from the 1998 Mine to Mill Conference. In addition, a number of studies are in progress or the results have yet to be published. These studies have demonstrated the feasibility of obtaining the data required to characterise the breakage behaviour of ores and to model the impact of changes to blasting practices on process efficiency. Characterising the breakage behaviour of ores is a vital step in the management of fragmentation and comminution in mines. The characteristics of importance to fragmentation fall outside the parameters conventionally required to describe the economic geology of a deposit. æMine to MillÆ optimisation of fragmentation means that the mining engineer needs information from the geologist in order to be able to help the metallurgist. Providing this information requires close interaction between these groups.

Jan 1, 2000

By A. Ismail

"The paper takes its material from three peat mining and power project feasibility studies sponsored by CANMET and conducted by Montreal Engineering Company Ltd. in the years 1976 to 1980. The role which peat may play in the Canadian energy prospectus is outlined, estimated and measured fuel peat resources are tabulated, and the economic and technical feasibility of mining peat for power generation is reviewed Recommendations are made for future work, and construction and disbursement schedules are developed for a combined peat mining and power generation project. The relationship between the mining of moss and fuel peat is discussed.IntroductionWhereas moss peat has long been produced in Canada, and exported for horticultural use , the underlying fuel peat has received little attention until fairly recently.In the seventies, however, the deepening oil crisis spurred Canadian interest in Irish, Finnish and Russian experiences in the utilization of fuel peat. Among others, Energy, Mines and Resources Canada had long been alive to the possibilities which indigenous peat offers, and in 1976 the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET encouraged a proposal from Monenco to carry out a preliminary study and submit a report on the "" Assessment of Canadian Peat as an Alternative Fuel for Power Generation"". The report was submitted in April 1977. This was the first of a series of studies, and the authors of this paper were involved in its preparation.The escalating price of oil and the increasing problem of relying on its availability have combined to make alternative fuels more attractive. Peat, like other fuels previously uneconomic because oil was cheap, is now progressively gaining in viability. In addition to these factors, the utilization of peat has the following advantages: improvement in the country's balance of payments, by virtue of burning an indigenous fuel;creation of local employment for the mining of peat; improvement in land utilization;peat is a relatively clean-burning fuel, with low sulphur and ash contents."

Jan 1, 1980

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period June 10, 1918 to July 10, 1918. F. C. Alsdorf, Tucson, Ariz. Emory M. Marshall, Camp Raritan, N. J. Juan F. Brandes, Santa Barbara, Cal. Jacques S. Negru, Camp Niagara, Ont. .H. Smith Clark, Kansas City, Mo. Arvid E. Nissen, High Bridge, N. J. J. S. Cunningham, Charleston, W. Va. Richard G. Place, So. Strafford, Vt. W. G. Eberhardt, Tucson, Ariz. Frank H. Probert, Berkeley, Cal. M. Eldredge, Bombay,. India. Martin A. Roudabush, Osterburg, Pa. A. D. R. Galloway, Accra, W. Africa;. P. H. Royster, Minneapolis, Minn. F. Hanst, Harrisburg, Pa. J. L. Schueler, Peoria, Ill. B. B. Hood, Chrome, N.. J. Henry B. Smith, New Britain, Conn. Paul S. King, Wilmington, Del. W. G. Sommer, Peoria, Ill. E. D. Kinney, Anaconda, Mont. A. L. Toenges, Roanoke, Va. E. W. Kohl, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa. G. D. B. Turner, Butte, Mont. James W. Love, Knoxville, Tenn. A. T. Ward, Bellefonte, Pa. Edwin A. Austin, formerly with the Yukon Gold Co., is superintendent of the Elkoro mine at Jarbidge, Nev. John W. Beard is now with the Cia Minera de Penoles, Ojuela, Dgo., Mexico, via Mapimi. R. S. Bonsib has accepted a position with the United States Emergency Fleet Corporation as District Safety Engineer, San Francisco, Cal. Albert Burch has been appointed by the Bureau of Mines to encourage the mining of chrome. F. B. Caldwell is working for the U. S. Bureau of Mines, under Albert Burch, in the investigation of chromite deposits. W. A. Carlyle has taken over the duties (in addition to his own) formerly assigned to E. P. Mathewson with the British America Nickel Corporation, at Sudbury, Canada. R. M. Catlin received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science at the recent commencement of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J. S. K. Dahl is giving up his position as mill superintendent with the Messina Mines, which have been suspended, and is returning to this country. Algernon Del Mar has become manager of the Techatticup mines, El Dorado Canyon, Nev. Robert Dye has succeeded D. L. Forbes as manager of the Teck-Hughes at Kirkland Lake, Ont., Canada. J. O. Elton, superintendent of the Anaconda company's electrolytic zinc plant at Great Falls, Mont., is doing special work with the U. S. Bureau of Mines. R. B. Caples takes charge of the plant in his absence. George H. Gibbs has resigned his position as engineer at Messrs. T. & 1. Bradley & Sons, Ltd., Darlaston blast furnaces, Darlaston, and is now located at "Belmont." Litchfield Road, Rushall, Walsall, England. William D. Gordon, for the past 7 years manager of The Mine & Smelter Supply Co. at El Paso, has been elected president of Camphuis, Rives & Gordon,. Inc., and has opened American headquarters for the company at 81 New Street, New York, N. Y. E. Harms, for the past 16 years inn charge of metallurgical operations of the Torreon, Mexico; lead and copper smelter, has resigned and is now located at El Paso, Tex.

Jan 8, 1918

A Study on Process Mineralogy and Mineral Processing of Complex Carbon-Bearing Cu-Pb-Co-Ni Multi-Metal Sulfide Ore by Bulk Flotation

Sep 13, 2010

By Paul Soros

The Conneaut, Ohio, terminal of the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad was the first rail-to-ground-to-water coal terminal on the Great Lakes. Compared to the traditional method of holding coal in railroad cars at the ports for dumping their contents into vessels, it provided for: a. Immediate train turn-around independently of vessel arrivals. b. Winter storage of coal at the port, permitting year round shipment by the mines and year round operation of the railroad.

Jan 1, 1969

By Francis Kendorski

The Skyline #3 Mine of Canyon Fuel Company in Utah was planning longwall mine development adjacent to and downdip of older mine workings known to be flooded. Barrier pillar geometries and widths were proposed by mining company personnel. Hydraulic conductivity testing suggested that the general characteristics of the local coal seam, dikes, and faults are only weakly conductive and that leakage through the barriers, if any, would be minor. The mechanical performance of the proposed barrier pillar design was evaluated according to (1) published empirical design methods and (2) numerical stress modeling. Comparison of the proposed design, with the range of barrier widths derived from the empirical methods, served as a first-order check on the adequacy of the proposed design. Numerical modeling was used to evaluate conditions site-specific to the Skyline #3 Mine and barrier geometry. Models were developed to quantify the relationship between barrier width and the abutment stresses onto the future workings. The models were also used to estimate the stress distribution within the barrier pillars. The hydraulic performance of the proposed barrier pillar design was evaluated according to (1) published empirical design methods for hydraulic impoundments, (2) empirical method estimates of seepage through coal barrier pillars, (3) numerical hydrogeologic flow modeling, and (4) numerical strain modeling. Using the techniques described above, and based on relevant industry experience, underground observations, knowledge of local geologic conditions, hydrogeologic measurements, and analytical results, the level of geomechanical risk associated with the barrier design as proposed was considered low and the level of hydraulic risk was considered moderate. The largest uncertainty that remained was the possibility that unfavorable geologic structures, such as faults and dikes, would act as conduits for leakage of impounded water into the new workings. Although the study indicated only minor steady-state leakage would occur through a small number of known structures, the presence and full leakage potential of threatening structures in the barrier could not be reliably known until the barrier was mined. One longwall panel has been completed adjacent to the barrier with no evidence of water flow even in fractured zones. Thus, as predicted by the modeling and analysis, it appears that abutment stresses imparted on the barrier during mining did not substantially alter the natural hydrogeologic characteristics, or leakage potential, of the barrier. The longwall coal mine water-barrier pillar design and performance are considered a success.

Jan 1, 2007