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By L. A. Morley

Electricity is a major cause of lost-time accidents and fatalities in the mining industry. Major hazards and unsafe practices that contribute to electrical hazards are identified in this paper. Recommendations for reducing electrical accidents in surface mining are given and are directed toward the following three areas: preventing equipment contact with overhead lines, preventing maintenance related accidents, and defining system protection techniques.

Jan 1, 1986

By A. Onozaki

The Iijima Refinery was put into operation in 1972 and today has an annual production capacity of 156,000 tons of SHG electrolytic zinc. At the Iijima Refinery, the recoveries of gold and silver are 98.0% and 98.2%, respectively. Gold contained originally in the zinc concentrates reports in the Cu-Pb-Ag residue produced in the residue treatment process. Silver contained in the concentrates is distributed between the Cu-Pb~Ag residue and the copper cake produced in the purification process. The Cu-Pb-Ag residue, which contains gold and silver, is sent to the Oyachi flotatfon plant of the Kosaka Smelter; about 82% of the gold and about 85% of the silver are recovered in the copper flotation concentrate.. In this paper, the distribution of gold and silver in the Iijima. Refinery is discussed and operational results of the Oyachi flotation plant are presented.

Jan 1, 1990

By Wayne N. Marchant

Introduction The issue of coal mining safety plays an important role in the United States' growing dependence on coal to supply its future needs. This article will address the federal government's role, principally the US Bureau of Mines, in meeting this challenging growth and demand while reducing the social and economic costs attributed to injuries and fatalities in underground mining. Some interesting facts and projections with respect to the nation's energy picture will be discussed. This includes the distribution of its reserves and the projected role of coal in the energy and economics of the nation's future. Underground mining will continue to be an important means of providing this coal. The author will discuss how the Bureau of Mines' research program addresses the problems of health and safety that grow out of the demand for more coal. Future projections First, a synopsis of salient facts and projections concerning the US's situation with respect to energy and the economy. Figure 1 depicts the relative quantities of recoverable energy reserves in the United States by their type. Most people are aware of the nation's use of oil. We hear a lot about natural gas. And we are aware of the controversy over the use of nuclear energy. But, while looking at Fig. 1, the question becomes, "Where will our fuel to meet the demand for energy in the future most certainly have to come from?" With 82% of the nation's recoverable fuel reserves being coal, the answer is irrefutable. Coal will be that source. Figure 2 is the present market for coal. It shows that 77% of the coal mined goes to supply electric utilities. Therefore, the coal industry as a whole is most sensitive to the trends and demands for electricity. It is less affected by what happens in other markets, such as export and direct industrial use. In fact, the coal industry is three times more sensitive to the electric utility market than to all other markets combined. Therefore, the trend in the demand for electricity must be examined. Electricity demand is expected to increase steadily over the next 15 years. It is projected to grow from its present 2.3 trillion kWh per year to 3.5 trillion kWh per year by the year 2000. The fuel to supply this increase in demand must come from somewhere. The question is "How much of this extra fuel will be coal?" Although the demand for electricity is predicted to increase, the demand for coal does not necessarily follow. Coal must maintain its fraction of the energy sources used for electricity generation if its demand is to increase at the same or greater rate as electricity. Except for a near-term dip in demand due to a slight increase in nuclear capacity, the domestic electric generation accruing to coal will go from 56% in 1985 to more than 60% in 2005. Thus, the predicted trend is for coal to become a larger part of the fuel mix for electric power generation. Similarly, looking at the most recent forecast for total coal consumption trends, it can be seen that for electric power generation alone, the coal industry must be able to supply an additional 316 Mt/a (348.5 million stpy) by the year 2000 (Fig. 3). It must be stressed here, though, that without significant improvements in mining safety, it can also be easily predicted that injuries and fatalities will increase in proportion to the increase in coal production. Will society consider that acceptable? This author does not believe so. Figure 4 examines the effect of coal prices on the price of electricity. The projections show that the already high proportion of fuel cost will become a greater fraction of the consumer price for electricity. Specifically in 1985, 36% of the price of electricity was the cost of the fuel. In 1995, 46% of the price of electricity will be the fuel cost. That implies that the price of coal will have an increasing influence on the consumer price for electricity. Thus, as coal is used more to generate electricity and as fuel becomes a greater

Jan 4, 1987

By N. M. Levine

WHETHER the United States and its allies can W meet the challenge of a war brought by the Communists will depend largely on who wins the battle of steel production. At the present stage of the world situation, the United States and the other members of the Western family of nations have the lead on iron curtain countries. But we have no sure way of knowing what is happening at Magnetogorsk and other Russian iron and steel producing centers. We must also face the possibility that we may have to meet the challenge alone. The fortunes of war and world politics can strip us of friends and co-fighters quickly. The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are indicative of what the world can expect if war-madness ever grasps the earth again. Our domestic supply of high grade open-pit and underground iron ore is dwindling because of the drain of three wars and higher than ever civilian consumption. The production of iron ore and its eventual use in blast furnaces are the critical problems of an armed democracy today. The world crisis has led to efforts towards beneficiation for increasing ore supplies. The huge reserves represented by the magnetic taconites at the eastern end of the Mesabi, once in production, should provide us with a substantial portion of our native ore for many years. The estimated 10 to 20 million tons of concentrates annually can be increased in an emergency. If we had a certainty of peace for the next 50 to 100 years, the situation would be a stable, hopeful one, aided by importations of high grade ore from sources such as Canada and Venezuela. The hard truth is that we have little surety of peace tomorrow morning. Let us assume 'the U. S. could build sufficient processing plants for increasing production of magnetic taconites under the pressure of national emergency. We must also recognize the power of atomic warfare to contaminate an area as large as the Eastern Mesabi. Thus, it becomes imperative to seek some means of protecting our ability to produce the steel we may one day need to survive. The nonmagnetic taconites, completely dwarfing the magnetic taconites areawise as well as tonnage-wise, might provide us with this insurance. Present indications are that they will be considerably more expensive to treat, but in a desperate situation we might be very grateful for ores yielding 40 to 50 pct Fe recoveries at grades of 53 to 58 pct Fe carrying low phosphorus. The University of Wisconsin, because of the difficult iron ore situation in the state, has been working on the nonmagnetic taconite problem for the past three years in the hope of making a contribution toward its eventual solution. In Wisconsin, the Western Gogebic Range has been the state's most effective iron producing area. Today however, only two mines are in operation, both underground and approaching depths of more than 3000 ft. The range, however, does have a large supply of nonmagnetic taconites and presents a promising field for study. While the Gogebic offers one large source of nonmagnetic taconites, Michigan and Minnesota have even greater supplies of such material. Alabama, the northeastern states and the West all have low grade iron ore sources which might be utilized under extreme conditions. The Gogebic Range located in northeastern Wisconsin and northwestern Michigan has a total length of about 70 miles, about 45 of which are in Wisconsin. The iron formation averages 500 to 600 ft in width, dips 70' to the north and strikes at approximately N 63° E. The formation is sedimentary and consists of six distinct members characterized by alternating divisions of ferruginous chert and ferruginous slate. The footwall is generally quartzitic and the hanging wall of a sideritic slatey character. The iron minerals are mainly hematites with some magnetites, goethites, limonites and small amounts of siderite. In the area studied, very small amounts of iron silicates were observed. The magnetites occurred mostly in the Anvil-Pabst and Pence members, mixed with hematites and representing roughly about 10 to 20 pct of the total iron in the formation, thereby characterizing it as nonmagnetic. The gangue is of various forms of silica such as chert, opal and flint. Complete liberation of iron and gangue minerals is rare. There is always some iron present in the chert ranging from jasper-like solutions to fairly coarse iron oxide specks. Likewise, one always finds finely dispersed silica within the iron minerals. In late 1943 the Bureau of Mines carried out a trenching and sampling program in the two mile stretch between Iron Belt and Pence in Iron County, Wis. Preliminary work was based on samples from one of the four trenches cut by the Bureau of Mines. More detailed work following the preliminary analysis was then undertaken on samples composited from all the trenches, thereby giving a wider and more representative coverage of the area. A study of the

Jan 1, 1952

The second special war meeting of the New York Section was held on Thursday evening, Aug. 23,-preceded by is an informal dime The topic for discussion -was the supply of sulphur and pyrite, the raw materials for the manufacture of one of the most important of till war materials-sulphuric acid. The first speaker was William Young Westervelt, the Institute's representative on the War Minerals Committee. Before taking up the subject of the evening, Mr. Westervelt briefly described the organization and plan of operation of the War Minerals Committee.

Jan 10, 1917

NAME "Utah" is derived from the name of the Indian tribe, variously spelled "Yuta," "Ute," "Youta." "Uta." "Eutaw," and finally "Utah." It means "in the tops of the mountains," or "on the heights." The state emblem is the "Beehive," typical of industry. State nickname is "Beehive State." AREA Utah is the tenth state in area. It contains 84.990 square miles, of which 2.806 miles are water. When admitted as a territory in 1850. Utah included all the area from the east line of California to the summit of the Rocky Mountains between the 37th and 42nd parallels, which embraced practically all of the present state of Nevada, all of western Colorado, part of Idaho and part of Wyoming, in addition to the present area of Utah.

Jan 1, 1925

By C. O. Browner

Dados los altos costos que implican la explotación de una mina a tajo abierto, se ha previsto excavar los taludes de las minas lo más erguidos posible. En este sentido, el objetivo del texto describe los métodos actuales para evaluar la estabilidad de los taludes en roca. Para ello, se revisa la influencia de las estructuras rocosas, el agua subterránea y la voladura sobre la estabilidad de los taludes de los tajos. Asimismo, se consideran las condiciones de roca intemperizadas, las lluvias y los temblores presentados en algunas áreas del Perú. Producto de esta revisión, se analizará los problemas típicos de estabilidad para diversos proyectos mineros.

Nov 20, 1972

By David S. Robertson, Richard F. Douglas

"Uranium is a lithophile element of relatively low natural abundance. Concentrations of uranium form through processes of erosion and sedimentation, and over 90 per cent of the western world's uranium ore reserves are in sedimentary rocks.Proterozoic quartz-pebble conglomerates contain about 60 per cent of the known uranium reserves. These are all similar in appearance, in mode of distribution and in manner of origin. They carry uranium minerals and/or gold and abundant pyrite. Their unique distribution in Huronian time required a pre-existing crust well enough evolved to have plentiful quartz and abundant gold, uranium and pyrite. The materials of value were deposited as detrital heavy minerals prior to the appearance of an oxidizing atmosphere in late Proterozoic time.Epigenetic uranium deposits occur in arkosic sedimentary rocks through the entire geological column. About 30 per cent of the western world's known ore reserves are in _these rocks. This type of deposit is particularly prominent in semi-arid parts of the United States, having yielded most of the uranium ore produced and containing nearly all of the known reserves.The Western States type"" of deposits occur in lenticular, permeable stream-laid sedimentary rocks. The de-posits are believed to have been precipitated from moving ground water at locations where plant debris or other organic matter had accumulated. The uranium may be derived from volcanic sediments, which are commonly associated with the units containing the ore, or it may be leached from exposed granite surfaces or from granitic debris which forms the sediments.A significant part of the world's uranium resources are in black shales and lignitic rocks. The lignites that contain uranium are virtually valueless as potential sources of heat. Uranium concentrations at levels such as to be potential sources of by-product uranium occur in many phosphorites.Reworked sediments may provide uranium in pegmatites and vein-like deposits."

Jan 1, 1970

By Matthew Russell, Bobby Randhawa, Leopoldo Mariscal Samaniego, Jose A. Puente, D. Brosig, Paykan Safe

The La Caridad copper smelter, located in Nacozari, Mexico, have started a multi-year plan to reduce sulfur dioxide and particulate matter emissions into the environment. In 2014 the smelter completed a voluntary plant-wide SO2 process emissions inventory as part of the smelter’s proactive environmental stewardship policy. In turn, this triggered the development of several environmental projects to alleviate these emissions. A strategy consisting of improved capture efficiency of the sources with greatest impact has been followed to maximize cost-effectiveness. The reduction of secondary emissions from the Teniente Converter, as well as of primary and secondary emissions from the Peirce-Smith Converters have been key areas of priority. Additionally, a new system to capture and recover particulate matter from the Anode Refining Furnaces off-gas is also in the process of being implemented. This paper presents an overview of the work developed behind this effort and the smelter’s vision towards a greener future. INTRODUCTION The La Caridad copper smelter is owned and operated by Metalurgica de Cobre S.A. de C.V. (a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico). Currently, the smelter has a production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of anodic copper per year. The smelter is coupled with a 300,000 t/y electrolytic refinery. Other by-products (such as precious metals and sulfuric acid) are also generated as part of an integrated process. The original smelter started operating in 1986 with one Furukawa concentrate dryer, one Outokumpu Flash Smelting Furnace (FSF), two slag cleaning electric furnaces (SCFs), three Peirce-Smith Converters (PSCs), two Anode Refining Furnaces (ARFs) and one casting wheel. In 1997, a plant expansion project was concluded with the installation of one steam dryer, one Modified Teniente Converter (MTC), one additional ARF, one additional casting wheel, and the electrolytic refinery [1]. Over the years, the smelter management has implemented numerous environmental projects to alleviate SO2 and particulate matter (PM) emissions. The smelter process gas handling system captures the process gases from the FSF, MTC, and the three PSCs. The process gases are cleaned and conditioned and sent to the two acid plants. The first acid plant (with a capacity of 226,000 Nm3/h, wet basis) was commissioned in 1988 to process the FSF and PSC off-gases. A second acid plant (with a capacity of 195,000 Nm3/h, wet basis) was commissioned as part of the smelter expansion project [1]. The PSCs also have a secondary gas handling system with a dedicated baghouse and stack. The Furukawa dryer off-gas reports to a dedicated electrostatic precipitator (ESP) for dedusting before venting via a local stack. Process gas from the two SCFs, along with hygiene ventilation from various sources inside the smelter (including matte and slag tapping hoods from the FSF) report to a baghouse-based gas handling system and vent to atmosphere via a local stack. The original ARFs do not have an off-gas handling system, however, each ARF has a post- combustion chamber which naturally vents the process gases to the atmosphere via a dedicated stack.

Jan 1, 2019

By G. P. Halliwell, C. R. Austin

The investigation described in this paper deals with the development of high-temperature alloys of the Konel series over a considerable period of time at t,he Research Laboratories of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. The word ''Konel" has been coined to designate a class of alloys which are essentially nickel-cobalt-iron with other elements added, usually in small quantities. Most of these alloys contain titanium, usually about 2.5 per cent. The main consideration related to strength at high temperatures but the thermionic characteristics of the alloys was also of considerable importance. It is, however, with the mechanical properties at elevated temperatures that we are herein concerned. Much attention has also been devoted to their age-hardening characteristics. There is little need to stress the utilitarian aspect of this subject, as it has been discussed frequently. Alloys exhibiting superior properties at normal or elevated temperatures rapidly find many suitable applications. There may be some question, however, as to what constitutes a "superior alloy," or an alloy that may have good service possibilities at high temperatures. The problem is complex and various means have been employed to predict the useful life that may be expected of a material. In recent years the "creep limitJ' has been used as the best means of evaluation. Such tests necessarily are prolonged and hence collection of data is very slow. In a general survey of many alloys therefore the creep test is not desirable and recourse must be had to much shorter time tests in order more rapidly to select alloys which appear to show promise. For this reason the present survey has been made using the high-temperature tensile test and a bend test developed by Howard Scott.' In the tensile test the conditions have been standardized for all tests, so that values obtained are at least comparable, one alloy with another, although the absolute values recorded merely indicate the mechanical properties at the given temperature under a definite rate of loading.

Jan 1, 1932

By John C. Branner

Stratigraphic Position of the Deposits.—During the progress of the geological survey of Arkansas, in the northern part of that State, it was found that the interval between recognizable Lower Silurian rocks below and recognizable Lower Carboniferous rocks above contains no representatives, or but poor representatives, of the whole Upper Silurian and Devonian series. In some places one passes in the space of a foot from Lower Silurian rocks to the Lower Carboniferous—the Boone chert of the Arkansas survey, or the " Burlington " beds; at other places this interval is 3 or 4 feet thick, but it is generally concealed by the ready decay of the black shale—the Eureka shale—which fills it, so that for a long time it was passed over undetected. It was only after considerable work in the region lying north of the Boston mountains, and by the valuable palzeontologic work of Dr. Henry S. Williams, of Yale University, who kindly accompanied me on a trip through this part of the State, that the importance of this interval came to be recognized, and the thin beds occupying it to be critically studied. It then appeared that this interval was occupied, for the most part, either by a greenish or black shale or by a sandstone; and eventually the sandstone was found to have a maximum thickness of 40 feet on South Sylamore creek in 15 N. 11 W., Section 21. It was, therefore, called Sylamore sandstone. The shale of this interval is generally from 3 to 10 feet thick; it is a constant feature of the geology through Carroll county, and is well exposed in the streets and cuts in and about Eureka Springe, and was for this reason named the Eureka shale. Its maximum thickness is 50 feet in the northwestern part of Benton county. The relations to each other of the Sylamore sandstone and the Eureka shale I have never determined satisfactorily; for

Jan 1, 1897

By V. R. Degner

En las últimas décadas la declinación en los contenidos metálicos de los yacimientos mineros se ha constituido en un aporte para el desarrollo progresivo de máquinas de flotación de gran tamaño. En este sentido, las máquinas de flotación de las décadas del 50 y 60 fueron reemplazadas por máquinas de mayor capacidad, potencia y simplicidad en los controles del proceso, adquiriendo ventajas económicas y operativas que pueden ser aplicadas a los diseños de plantas de gran tonelaje en el futuro. Por ello, el objetivo del texto es revisar los procedimientos seguidos en el desarrollo sistemático de las celdas de 1000 pies3 de capacidad y la evaluación de su performance en el beneficio de minerales metálicos.

Oct 14, 1980

By John J. Sammarco

Abstract- Emergency shutdown systems (ESDs) for mining machinery provide critical functions to safeguard miners. Traditionally, ESDs were realized with simple hardwired circuits; today, there is a growing trend to use programmable electronic technology such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs). This paper describes an analytical study to quantify the safety integrity of a PLC-based ESD and a hardwired ESD. The safety integrity level of each design approach was determined by quantifying the average probability of failure on demand (PFDavg) as described by the recommendations for programmable electronic mining systems published by NIOSH and the IEC 61508 international standard. The safety analyses addressed system architecture, hardware failure probability, proof test interval, diagnostic coverage, and human error probability. The results indicated that a same level of safety, safety integrity level 3 (SIL 3), could be attained when evaluating random hardware failures. Neither approach could attain SIL 3 if manual activation was used. Human error was the limiting factor where, using human reliability analysis, PFDavg < 1 x 10-1; thus, the ESD does not meet SIL 1. It is apparent that automatic verses human¬activation of the ESD is a very important safety consideration. Manually actuated ESDs can only achieve SIL 1 regardless of the technology; therefore, additional independent safety layers of protection are needed to exceed SIL 1. Secondly, it is apparent that the technology choice is very important. The PLC-based ESD was much simpler to design and to validate safety1.

Jan 1, 2007

By Phillip E. Deering, Robert M. Cox

A model pillar study was conducted in which the engineering principles of dimensional analysis were applied to the problem of coal mine pillar design. The paper reviews the theory of similitude as applied to the model pillar study conducted in the investigation. An example solution of a design problem is included to indicate how the results of the study may be used as a first approximation in the design of coal mine pillars. The design of mine pillars for adequate support with minimum loss of valuable raw materials has always presented a problem to the mining engineer. Most often, for lack of a better method, past practice has influenced the design of new mine pillars. This process has always left doubt as to the safety factor of the pillars. The work presented in this paper is an initial attempt toward adapting the engineering principles of dimensional analysis to the problem of pillar design in underground mines. The use of the dimensional analysis technique is advantageous because all the variables associated with the problem are considered, and by systematic analysis the relative influence of each variable is determined. The model material utilized in this study was taken from the Helena seam of the Cahaba coal field located in central Alabama. The research study was sponsored by The Southern Electric Generating Co. as part of an over-all rock mechanics investigation of the Helena seam area. THEORY OF SIMILITUDE Model analysis is used extensively in engineering today, particularly in the solution of design problems that defy the classical methods of analysis. Such problems arise when materials with a nonlinear stress-strain relationship are involved, when geo- metric boundaries are difficult to define in simple form, when strains become large, or when partial failure occurs. All of these difficulties usually exist in pillar design problems. Those principles which underlie proper design and construction of models, and the interpretation of test results, comprise the theory of similitude. That is, the theory of similitude includes a consideration of the conditions under which the behavior of two separate entities or systems will be similar, and the techniques of accurately predicting behavior of one from observation of the other. The theory of similitude may be developed by dimensional analysis. Dimensional analysis, as a powerful analytical tool, is developed from a consideration of the dimensions in which each of the important quantities involved in a phenomenon is expressed. It is based on two axioms: 1) Absolute numerical equality of quantities may exist only when the quantities are similar qualitatively. 2) The ratio of the magnitudes of two like quantities are dependent on the units used in their measurement, provided that the same units are used for evaluating each. Dimensional analysis, developed from these two axioms, differs from other types of analysis in that it is based solely on the relationships that must exist among the pertinent variables because of their dimensions, rather than on the relationship of natural laws. In itself, dimensional analysis ~rovides qualitative, rather than quantitative relationships, but when it is combined with experimental procedures, it may be made to supply quantitative results and accurate prediction equations. APPLICATION OF THEORY The design of an adequate mine pillar requires the determination of a design equation and the selection of a dimensional system with which to work. Since force plays an important part in the design of mine support, the FLT (force, length, time) system has been used. The factors involved in the dimensional analysis of mine pillars and their dimensions are: A = cross-sectional area L Cp = design strength FL- E, = tangent modulus of elasticity FL

Jan 1, 1969

By James T. Kemp

Some interesting and, to American eyes, rather unusual processes for refining impure aluminum derived from scraps were found by American and British investigators who went into Germany in 1945 for the Technical Industrial Intelligence Committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. What was found was recorded in a series of reports (see page ), many of which have been released for general reading. This paper gathers under one title and summarizes the German work in refining light metal scrap. Reference must be made to the original reports for greater detail. Basically, the occasion and stimulus for the German developments in treating light metal scrap were hard necessity. Germany needed the metal for a rapacious war industry. Adequate supplies of new aluminum from reduction works were not assured. Great quantities of airplane and other light metal war scraps were forecast. It was evident that the scrap metal would have to be reabsorbed by the producing industry and would have to be kept of good quality. The normal current production of manufacturing scrap was being and could be consumed as generated. It offered no technical problem. The mixed scraps, especially those arising from crashed and decommissioned airplanes, however, presented problems of another kind. Airplane Scrap The recovery of usable aluminum alloy from the mixed assemblies that made up the piles of airplane scrap was attacked in different ways by different groups and with differing degrees of success. Three procedures actually were used on a commercial scale, one was in pilot-plant stage and another had come to a halt in the laboratory a year before Germany collapsed. Four of these five processes actually involved "refining"; that is, some measure of purification of the metal after melting. Sorting and Separation on a Sloping Hearth The simplest procedure for utilizing airplane scrap involved no refining in the strict sense of the word. This was the practice adopted by two representative plants visited by the author, the Leipziger Leichtmetalle Werke, Rackwitz, Saxony, and the Vereinigte Leichtmetalle Werke, Hanover. These firms did essentially the same thing that was done in England but not with equal success, to judge by their shorter experience, the smaller tonnage handled and by the number and quality of alloys produced. The two German firms named rough-sorted scraps by their easily recognizable alloys, essentially by part and shape. They used hand labor to chop and hack and tear apart. The easily separated heavy metal and nonmetallic scraps were discarded as they were found. Steel and the higher-melting-point metal parts riveted to aluminum or built into

Jan 1, 1947

By R. K. Devala

In this paper, numerical approximation schemes, for solution of the mass transfer problem in mine ventilation have been developed by using three implicit finite difference schemes. Results from these schemes have been compared with the analytical solution for spatial and time increments, using the concept of Root Mean Square error. For implicit finite difference schemes, in general, the modified central difference scheme is better than the two other schemes at lower velocity. Also, at lower air velocities, implicit schemes underpredicted the concentration values. At higher air velocities, the Crank-Nicholson and Laasonen schemes provided better results than the Modified Central Difference scheme.

Jan 1, 1994

Jan 1, 1971

By M. Fooladi Mahani, M. R. Izadpanah

The knowledge of the thermal shock resistance of refractory materials is of outmost importance due to their wide range of applications in various industries, namely; ceramics, oil refinery, thermal insulation, nuclear power, chemical and petrochemical industries. Thermal shock resistance is measured in terms of the number of cycles that a refractory material can withstand when subjected to sudden temperature changes. This property is measured experimentally by heating a sample of the material and cooling it in a known environment then the number of cycles it withstands this treatment without spalling is a measure of its thermal shock resistance. Although this method of experimentation has long been the practice, but it is both expensive and time consuming. Various studies have been carried out to predict this vital property, however, the rang of applications are limited. The present study employs a test rig by which temperature distributions in magnesite samples are accurately measured. This information plus other results obtained from relevant tests on related properties are used to develop a model which predicts the number of quench cycles withstand by different materials when subjected to sudden temperature changes. The comparison of the theoretical values using the solution of the presented model with experimental data for different materials having different thermal resistance shows a closed agreement.

Jan 1, 2004

By Galen H. Clevenger

Equipment for treating lead ores was added in 1905 to a copper plant which the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Co. had built in 1902 at Midvale, Utah, about 12 miles to the south of Salt Lake City. By 1906 the lead section of the plant had been rounded out and consisted of a 90-ton gravity concentrator, fifteen hand-rabbled reverbera-tory roasting furnaces, six blast furnaces, a briquetting plant for handling flue dust and fine ores, a regulus furnace for concentrating the low-grade matte made in the blast furnaces, and a baghouse. The copper section was later abandoned and the plant has been operated for many years exclusively as a lead smelter. Some 45 years had elapsed at the time this plant was built since the first attempts to smelt lead ores in the West, and lead smelting had become a large and profitable industry but fundamentally little that was really new had been developed, which could be embodied in a plant built in this period. Principles and tools to work with had remained much the same as those borrowed earlier from European practice. Capacities had been increased and there were mechanical improvements but hand charging was still in vogue and there was little attempt to recover suspended particles carried out with the furnace gases, beyond settling in flues, which usually was only partly effective for recovery of the coarser particles. Satisfactory roasting and preparation of the fine components of the charge were still partially solved problems. The Midvale plant of 1906 may be regarded as more or less typical of the smelting plant of this period for treating complex western lead ores as distinguished from the recovery of lead from the simple lead ores to the eastward. The operation of a concentrating mill directly in conjunction with a lead smelter was, however, not common practice. The ores treated in this plant have from the beginning come from mines owned and operated by the company or have been custom ores purchased in the territory tributary to the plant. The treatment of custom ores is an important service to the small producer who does not have sufficient tonnage to warrant a plant, and serves to increase the tonnage of the operator of large properties, thereby helping to reduce

Jan 1, 1937

By M. L. Goble

"Inco Metals Ltd. (Manitoba Division) operates a mining, milling, smelting and refining complex, 500 miles north of Winnipeg in central Manitoba. The Thompson Mill is presently operating at 12,000 S.T.P.D. on ore from both underground and open pit mines. The ore is treated in two separate milling and flotation circuits utilizing a common crushing system which is located inside the main mill building. The milling facility employs approximately 43 operating employees, 30 maintenance employees and 20 staff in supervisory or process development roles.In recent years an increasing awareness of the potential hazards of contaminants in the work place has made it mandatory that all employers maintain careful and accurate records of the work environment to which each employee has been exposed during his working career.The importance of this record keeping and general observation of the work place cannot be over emphasized. Proper monitoring of the work place provides an accurate and complete record of the contaminants and physical agents to which an employee is exposed during his work career. This can aid in studies which might be conducted in the future and can also be used as a basis for instituting improvements to the workplace."

Jan 1, 1980