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In the- past, at Great Boulder Gold Mines Ltd,, ,' s.. number of attempts ' ha'tre been made to remove water ' `solublo copper and' iron sa'lt's from calcined pyritic concentrates, but various problems have arisen and the methodsi ve been abandoned. A method of rapid washing has now been developed,, and although some problems still. exist,, a workable `process has boreh established .which. has; resulted in 'substantial savings of 'reagents used for. the. cyanidation of calcine

Jan 1, 1964

Jan 1, 1964

By Thomas G. Murdock

ALTHOUGH the contribution of Algeria, including the Sahara, to the local economy and to world mineral supply was small for many years, the spectacular development of an important petroleum and natural-gas industry has changed the position of the country. In 1963 there were decreases in output of most mineral commodities, however oil and gas production forged ahead and established new records. The impact of adverse market conditions and especially the competition from lower cost producing areas was felt by both the metals and nonmetals industries. This and the general economic conditions related to the recovery of the country following the years of strife attending its emergence as an independent state combined to hold back production and development commensurate with resources. The principal events of the year were in the petroleum sector and included the first commercial production from several new fields, some new discoveries, the virtual completion of the first petroleum refinery in the country, and installation of additional pipelines. Progress was made toward the further utilization of the vast resources of natural gas and the provision of additional transportation and refining facilities. In the mining domain the government took over two iron-mining operations, and progress was made towards expanding production of phosphate rock and determining methods of upgrading the Tindouf Iron ores. Completion of the iron and steel plant near Bone was further delayed. The only coal mine reportedly closed down in late 1963.

Jan 1, 1964

By J. G. Craig

This paper initially was to be on the design, construction and operation of the Lucky Friday mill. However, this subject has been pretty well covered in some of the mining publications in the past few years - specifically Mining Congress Journal for April, 1961 and Mining World for March, 1962- : In order to avoid too much repetition, we decided to present in this paper a comparison of the Lucky Friday mill constructed in 1959, and the Mayflower mill built by us in 1962. During the past three years Hecla Mining Company has constructed two relatively small mills: The Lucky Friday mill at Mullan, Idaho 750 T/day; and the Mayflower mill at Heber, Utah - 450 T/day. These mills were engineered, designed and constructed by Hecla, using principally our own personnel, with very little outside (contractor) labor employed. This paper presents a comparison of some of the interesting features of these mills, and where differences occur, it discusses the reasons for the various differences. It compares such points as the testing program, physical layout of the plant, construction costs, the grinding section, the flotation section, tailings disposal, metallurgy, recovery, grades, operating costs, etc. To help illustrate, and to compare these features, we will project pairs of slides showing each of the two mills. First a little background and history on the properties ---

Jan 1, 1964

By J. C. Cook

In solution-mining of underground salt and similar minerals, using drilled wells for access, it is desirable to monitor the lateral growth pattern of the resulting fluid-filled cavern. Therefore, a process of seismic surveying from the surface of the ground has been conceived in which the amplitudes of waves reflected from and transmitted through the soluble formation are measured. The large acoustic impedance contrast between solid and fluid should produce striking amplitude anomalies, especially if shear waves are employed, since thick fluid bodies are opaque to shear waves. Horizontally-polarized (SH) shear waves are best for preventing conversion to P waves at the numerous horizontal interfaces in the ground. Field tests to date have shown that a truck-mounted, half-ton hammer striking horizontally against the end of a trench produces usable SH-wave energy at lateral distances up to about 850 ft. Horizontally-directed explosive wave sources were effective to about 2000 ft. Conventional magnetic-tape recording and processing were used, but with the detecting geophones oriented to favor SH waves. An irregular solution cavity in bedded salt at 500-ft depth has apparently been located by SH-wave and SV-wave reflections. Further field work is planned to corroborate and extend this result. The Brine Cavity Research Group, an association of 11 chemical and salt producing companies, is supporting this work. Major deposits of salt in tabular beds lie beneath some 300,000 sq miles of land in the central and northeastern U.S. This salt is a basic source of soda ash and chlorine, and has been extracted as brine from drilled wells for about a century. During the past two decades, the U.S. solution-mining industry, following the lead of European operators, has greatly improved the extraction process through the application of engineering and science.' In 1957, the Brine Cavity Research Group, an association of 11 chemical and salt producing companies, was formed. This group proceeded to attack certain common problems through the support of research. An outstanding problem has been that of determining the shape and location of the growing solution cavities in the underground salt, so that measures can be taken to maintain operating efficiency. The problem has been partially solved by the Dowel1 sonar mapping service, which employs a pulse-echo device lowered into the cavity through the well.2 However, the working range of this equipment is at present insufficient for large cavities, and echoes are not returned from highly sloping walls nor from behind such obstructions as rock debris. Therefore, an independent means of mapping the cavity, for example, from the surface without interfering with operation of the well, would be desirable. THEORY OF THE METHOD Seismic waves are the only physical agent known to be capable of sufficient resolution and penetration to define typical solution cavities from the surface of the ground. The geometry is unfavorable: cavity widths are generally less than half their depths below the surface; resolution and lateral location of boundaries and channels to within 50 ft at depths of 500 to 3000 ft is desirable. Conventional seismic surveying, as used for petroleum prospecting, is probably not the answer: isopach mapping, for example, is not thought accurate enough to define the cavity by the slight additional delay time it would introduce (of the order of 0.005 sec for a 50 ft-thick cavity in hard Paleozoic rocks). Refraction surveying has also been considered, but seismic specialists see little promise in it for this problem. In 1957, in correspondence with industry personnel, the writer suggested a seismic method based upon careful measurement of reflection amplitudes. As Table I illustrates, seismic reflection coefficients r for typical brine-rock interfaces are considerably higher than those for typical interfaces between different kinds of solid rock. This fact can be utilized in two ways, illustrated in Fig. 1: 1) If the cavity roof is reasonably flat (which it may sometimes be since the unsaturated top brine will be in contact with an insoluble rock stratum), extra-strong seismic reflections will be received from the salt stratum where the solid has been replaced by liquid.

Jan 1, 1964

By Craig R. Barrett, Alan J. Ardell, Oleg D. Sherby

It is shown that the apparent activation energy for creep of pure poly crystalline metals increases with increasing temperature in the temperature range 0.5 to 1.0 of the absolute melting temperature. This increase is probably associated with the influence 0-f the elastic modulus on the creep rate. By accounting for the variation of Young&apos;s nodulus with temperature, the true activation energies for creep of pure cadmium and aluminuvl are shown to be equal to the activation energies for self-diffusion in these metals, within experimental error, at all temperatures above 0.5T,. New creep parameters are proposed for cmrelation of steady-state creep rate and time-to-rupture data. These are respectively, where u is the creep stress, E is Young&apos;s rrodulus, i,is the steady-state creep mte, t, is the time -to-rupture, and D is the self-diffusion coefficient [equal to Do exp (-QSd/RT)] . It has been established experimentally1 and theoreticallyZm4 that high-temperature creep of poly-crystalline pure metals is a thermally activated process and may be represented by the general expression where <, is the steady-state creep rate, A is a constant dependent on the internal structure of the material, f is some function of the applied stress (0) and test temperature (T), and D is the self-diffusion coefficient. If D is separated into its temperature-dependent and independent portions, then it is possible to rewrite Eq. [I] as where Qsd is the activation energy for self-diffusion. Assuming a simple Arrhenius-type relationship between creep rate and temperature at a given constant stress, the apparent activation energy for creep, Q,, is given by the expression It is obvious that if is not a function of temperature It has been shown that the steady-state creep rate for pure polycrystalline metals1 can be represented by where S is a constant, L is the grain diameter, E is the isotropic polycrystalline (unrelaxed) elastic modulus, and n is a constant equal to approximately 5 over a wide range of stress. The apparent activation energy for creep calculated from this expression at constant grain size and stress is given by

Jan 1, 1964

By Lester G. Morrell

UPTREND in value of mineral production in the Commonwealth of Australia continued in 1963, again pacing the country&apos;s general economic growth rate. Increases occurred in output of most raw and processed mineral products, including bauxite, copper, iron ore, pig iron, steel, lead, zinc, cement, gypsum, pyrite, coal, and refined petroleum products. Although the economy of Australia has been traditionally based on wool and agricultural products, in recent years the country has become highly industrialized. Nearly one-third of the 3.6 million total civilian labor force is engaged in manufacturing. Employment in mines and quarries occupies 1.4 percent of the national labor force.

Jan 1, 1964

Updraft sintering of lead concentrates was introduced at Port Pirie in 1955 and since that time a considerable amount of investigational work has been carried out in the laboratory and on the plant with the objective of improving both the understanding of the process and its practical application.From this work it is now possible to predict trends in design and operation, which should result in capital savings and increased efficiency of future updraught plants.INTRODUCTIONOver the last 70 years a remarkable advance has been made in the method of preparing lead concentrates for smelting in the Port Pide blast furnaces of The Broken Hill Associated Smelters Pty. Ltd. (RH.A.S.). Beginning in 1889 with heap roasting, the process progressed to Ropp roasters and Huntington-Heberlein pots in various combinations, then to multiple small Dwight Lloyd (D.L.) downdraught machines. In 1940 two large 10 ft by 50 ft D.L. downdraught machines were installed, and finally in 1955 updraught sintering was ,introduced with the installation of the present 10 ft by 99 ft sinter machine.At the time this last machine was built it was the first unit of its type and thus, of necessity, an experimental machine. During the eight years it has been operating a considerable amount of investigational work on sintering has been carried out both on the plant and in the laboratory.It is now felt that sufficient information is on hand to predict at least tentatively, some of the future developments in lead sintering, whereby both the quality of the sinter and the rate of production may be improved. This will result in a considerable reduction in smelting costs.

Jan 1, 1964

By Hindmarsh J. W, McCoy A. E R

Instantaneous outbursts of coal and gas have occurred at various times in several working districts of Metropolitan Colliery, N.S.W.They have occurred in headings only, under both hand and mechanised conditions, and with seam gas ranging from mainly methane to nearly pure carbon dioxide. A modification of inducer shotfiring using a shear cut was introduced in 1955, and in 1961 full face firing both to a machine cut shear and off the solid was introduced. The current series of outbursts -1961 to 1963 - has been induced under these systems with full control of the time of outburst, but without prediction, and with some disappointing production features.Various aspects of current conditions and practices at Metropolitan are considered singular, such as the coarse granulometry of outburst coal, the prevalence of floor heave, the absence of strong structures at outburst sites, the possibility of outburst at any stage in pillar formation up to the last few yards, the effect of rate of advance on outburst occurrence, and the mildness of many outbursts experienced.It is concluded that inducer shotfiring is a reliable control but it suffers by comparison with outburst-free conditions, and that control by preyention would be preferable.INTRODUCTIONThe phenomenon of instantaneous outbursts of coal and gas has been described in detail previously (Hargraves, 1958). Briefly, it is a combined gas and stress hazard of deep coal mining, usually occurring in virgin work and during active face advance, when coal and seam gas burst from the face into the workings.Instantaneous outbursts have occurred sporadically at Metropolitan Colliery, N.S.W., since 1895. Early outbursts were recorded as firedamp and recent outbursts are of blackdamp.Mining methods used have been conventional hand work, with progressive and relatively complete mechanisation over the past 25 years to substantially conventional...

Jan 1, 1964

By P. Hadzeriga

There are two places in the world where potash, trade name for potassium chloride, is economically recovered from naturally occurring brines by solar evaporation. One is at the Dead Sea and the other at Wendover, Utah. American Potash and Chemical at Trona, Calif. recovers potash from natural brines, but uses fuel to accomplish evaporation. Solar evaporation is always desirable, because of low costs, however artificial evaporation may be economical if a group of very valuable salts are recovered. This is the case for the American Potash operations at Trona. Solar evaporation is limited by low working temperatures, which in most areas of the world is between 18 and 45°C. In many cases the average working temperature is about 25°C. However, solar evaporation will have to accommodate itself to the highs and lows of each 24 hour period, and to the different average temperatures during the months of the year. Therefore, solar evaporation, although more economical than artificial evaporation, has a tem- perature limit which greatly reduces the chances of its application. The feasibility of solar evaporation as a means of recovery of values from a particular brine, may be evaluated by the use of phase diagrams showing the several components present. This paper is restricted to the five component system: C1-, SO4=, Na+, K+, Mg++, and H2O, which correspond to brines found at Wendover, Utah, the Great Salt Lake, and sea water bitterns. THE BONNEVILLE OPERATION AT WENDOVER, UTAH For more than 25 years Bonneville, Ltd., now a division of Standard Magnesium and Chemical Co. (recently acquired by Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp.), has been recovering potassium chloride from the brines found in the desert area just east of Wendover, Utah. Solar evaporation of the brines is possible as a consequence of relatively low precipitations (year average: 4.8 in.), and of dry and hot summer months. The brine, collected by a series of approximately 67 mi. of ditches crossing the desert, is fed into solar evaporation ponds. Evaporation which takes place from around the middle of May to about the end of September, permits the crystallization of approximately 90% of the originally present NaCl on what is called the "General Pond Area". Further evaporation,

Jan 1, 1964

By Warren E. Morrison

This study was prepared in response to the need for a series of data that reflect the basic flow pattern of energy resources in the United States. To effectively measure and analyze energy,2 it is necessary to prepare balances that reflect both production and consumption, and the various forms energy resources take at different stages of utilization. Before energy can be measured it must also be put into a common unit. In this study the common unit used is the British Thermal Unit (Btu). The ideal point to survey energy is at the stage of final ultimate use, representing the useful work derived from the interaction of energy inputs and the prime mover. Unfortunately this concept of efficient or useful work from energy output cannot readily be measured in the aggregate. With the present available official data, energy measurement can be carried to the point of calculation of net inputs of energy3 into the economy at various stages of utilization. However, preparation of energy balances, on a net basis is hampered by the fact that this can only be done for years when the censuses of Mineral Industries and Manufactures are taken, usually at 5-year interval.

Jan 1, 1964

By C. G. Durdaller, W. H. Robinson, G. M. Pound

The nucleation rate of the a (pay) to 0 (white) tin transformation was measured as a function of temperature and a tin particle size using an X-ray diffraction technique. The powder specimens of a tin were essentially monodisperse and the small dinzension of the particles of these specimens was varied from 13 to 75 p. Several types of nucleation sites of differing potency were fbund to be operative in the nucleation process, but it could not be determined whether these sites were on the free surface of the tin particles or within the volume. Assuming that they were on the free surface, the average density of the most potent sites was calculated to be 2.5 to 5.3 x 10&apos; sites per sq cnz through the application of a Poisson distribztion finction to the isothermal data. Analysis of the temperature dependence&apos; of the rate constmts at a given fraction transformed suggests that the active sites are regions of higher free energy and not catalytic interfaces. Appreciable induction periods were observed at the lower temperatures of transformation. Experimental studies1 of solid-solid phase transformations have led to the belief that the new phase nucleates at structural imperfections. The purpose of the present work was to learn more about the mechanism of nucleation in solids and the nature of the singularities at which nucleation occurs. In this investigation nucleation rates in the isothermal transformation of gray to white tin were measured by an X-ray diffraction technique using essentially monodisperse powders of gray tin. This particular phase transformation was chosen for study because it presented fewer experimental difficulties than most others. The experimental temperature-control problems were minimal because the two phases coexist in equilibrium at 13.3"C, and measurable transformation rates occur at temperatures only slightly above room temperature. The growth rate of the P phase into the a2 is sufficiently fast to make the measured transformation rate equivalent to the nucleation rate, provided that the particle size of the samples is small enough; for the experimental temperatures used in this study, the particle diameter must be less than 100 p. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE The P tin used in this study was obtained from Capper Pass and Son Ltd., North Ferriby, Yorkshire, England, and was of 99.999 pct purity. It was transformedS to the a phase and ground into a fine powder in an agate mortar. This powder was separated by a Roller air classifier into seven fractions whose dimensions, as determined by microscopic measurement of many thousands of particles, are given in Table I and whose distribution of size within each fraction is given in Figs. 1 and 2. The shape of the particles was roughly that of an oblate spheroid,

Jan 1, 1964

By Melvin P. Silverman

The literature on methane-oxidizing bacteria is reviewed in regard to (1) the growth and isolation of cultures by special techniques; (2) the distribution of these organisms in nature and descriptions of individual species; (3) the physiology of methane-oxidizing bacteria as influenced by temperature, light, pH, aerobiosis versus anaerobiosis, and carbon and nitrogen sources; and (4) the biochemistry of methane oxidation revealed by studies with intact cells and subcellular systems. Present practical applications of methane-oxidizing bacteria are limited to prospecting for natural gas and petroleum deposits. Desirable areas for future research are discussed as well as some possible applications such as (1) the removal and/or early detection of methane gas in coal mines by intact culls or enzyme preparations; (2) the generation of electrical energy by microbial fuel cells using methane as fuel; (3) the growth of methane-oxidizing bacteria on methane fur their food value; (4) the purification of hydrocarbon gas mixtures using methane-oxidizing or other alkane-oxidizing bacteria; and (5) the synthesis of methane from mixtures of H2 and CO or H2 and CO2 by methane-forming bacteria.

Jan 1, 1964

By D. D. Todd, W. A. Oates

THERMODYNAMIC data for solutions are best derived from a combination of equilibrium and calorimetric studies. However, the accurate measurement of heats of mixing of metallic solutions at high temperatures presents considerable experimental difficulties, simple calorimeters1-3 giving

Jan 1, 1964

By W. Rall, A. J. Birkle

The effect of fast-neutron irradiation on the micvo strcture of a common reactor pressure-vessel steel, A212 Grade B, was studied using thin-foil transmission electron microscopy. The dislocation density of the irradiated material is considerably greater than that of the nonirradiated control material. Annealing studies indicated that dislocations and hardness ill the irradiated material annealed out—as docs the radiation-induced embrittlement according to other- investigators— at temperatures STEELS in nuclear reactors are affected by neutron irradiation. In the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) A302B and A212B steels commonly specified by designers for reactor vessels, between 650° and 800°F. However, the dislocations and hardness in control samples cold-worked to 9 and 70 pct did not anneal out readily, and a high dis -location density was observed, even after a 1-hr anneal at 850°F. Based on the hypothesis that cllrster defects, rather than the increased dislocation density, are primarily responsible for mdicltiotz-iudziced e)nbriftlen7ent, reconzmendations are made for reducing the susceptibility to such ernbrittlement. exposures at a temperature of 550°F or lower to neutron dosages encountered during a 20- to 30-year life (-3 X 10&apos;&apos; nvt, >1 mev) may increase the nil-ductility transition temperature (NDT) as much as 300" or 400".&apos;9 Therefore, to prevent brittle failures in reactor structures, extreme caution is required to reduce thermally induced stresses during all reactor shutdowns and startups when the temperature is below the NDT of the pressure vessel.

Jan 1, 1964

By G. Asai

The Bureau of Mines has been engaged in a program to increase the utilization of chromium by providing samples to individuals and institutions requesting chromium for research investigations. This report consists of a tabulation of the disposition of chromium samples distributed from July 1953 through June 1961; 109 requests for chromium were answered by providing chromium as electrolytic plate, powder, or wrought forms. The demand for samples reached a peak in fiscal year 1959 and declined to a relatively low level in fiscal year 1961. The largest number of requests came from individuals engaged in mechanical property studies; there were also many requests from those concerned with vaporized metal and physical properties studies. Most noteworthy application for chromium was the experimental use of the radioactive form, Cr61 in radiotherapy of cancer.

Jan 1, 1964

By Evan Just

Government aid, regulation, and participation in the mineral industry are not new; they date back to the time when man first adopted communal living. Even in primitive tribal life, the obtaining of arrowhead or ceramic materials, washing of gold, or mining of copper were specialized activities, under tribal sponsorship. Later, when kingdoms, dynasties, and hierarchies developed, titles to mining properties were held by the sovereign or the state, work usually being done by slaves. Title acquisition through denouncement developed in Europe in the late Middle Ages and spread to the Western Hemisphere with the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Denouncements still recognized the rights of the sovereign in the requirement to pay royalties, which practice continues in many places today. Thus, anyone who views government participation in mineral activity as "encroachment" has no historical perspective. Only in a few countries and for a few generations have private interests enjoyed the right to exploit mineral deposits without the specific consent of the sovereign or without payment of royalty. Governments and the mineral industry have been linked together by other factors. Governments have had special interest in metals and minerals as stores of value and for armaments. Spanish conquests in the New World were energized by the lure of gold and silver. Pursuit of gold led to the American seizure of California in the days of the Forty-niners. The strategic importance of minerals in our own times has called for special steps to stimulate production in national emergencies and to prevent the enemy from acquiring mineral supplies. Our export controls to deny certain minerals to unfriendly countries, purchases for Government stockpile, and subsidies for domestic production are examples. Production regulation by state governments of oil and gas has become a well established routine. In brief, the mineral industry has never lacked aid, regulation, and participation by governments. The entrepreneur who wishes to explore for or develop minerals must deal with governments in most areas before he can begin, because mineral rights are reserved by them. He can proceed through discovery and de-

Jan 1, 1964

George B. Brennan, Secretary-Treasurer, Imperial. Coal Company, Denver, Colorado, opened the third session of. the Sixtieth Regular Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute at 8:30 a.m., and introduced the first speaker of the morning with the following remarks: It is a pleasure to welcome you here this morning. We are indeed fortunate to have such excellent speakers this morning, some of the outstanding people in the mining industry. I know I express the feelings of the entire RMCMI when I say thanks to these excellent speakers for all of the time and trouble they have taken to prepare such talks and come here to give these presentations of some of the more modern developments with which we in the coal mining industry are concerned. The first speaker this morning is going to give a paper on a subject which has only recently caused one or two of unfortunate accidents. It hadn&apos;t, prior to this, been considered such a serious problem. However, the. Bureau of Mines is hot on the trail to insure there will be answers to this previously somewhat unrecognized difficulty.

Jan 1, 1964

By I. J. Polmear

Earlier work revealed that small amounts of silver (< 0,l at. pct) may exert a marked effect on the structure and aging characteristics of certain a1loys based on the Al-Zn-Mg system. Silver additions have now been made to other age-hardening aluminum alloys, and significant effects have been observed in the Al-Mg system and in several Al-Cu-Mg and Al-Mg-Si alloys. Similarities exist between the behavior of alloys from all four systems, notably that in each case silver stimulates nucleation of an intermediate precipitate which forms when the alloys are aged in the medium temperature range (-120" to 220°C). The mechanism for this effect is uncer- IT has been shown that small additions of silver (<0.1 at. pct) may have a marked effect on the structure and age-hardening characteristics of tain although it is suggested it originates in a preferred affinity between magnesium and silver atoms. There is evidence to indicate that the effects of silver are unique to that element. It is suggested that silver atoms interact with vacancies during low-temperature aging of Al-4 pct Cu and certain Al-Cu-Mg alloys. Silver had little effect on Al-8 pct Zn aged at any temperature. Preliminary observations indicate that silver may have interesting effects on the strength properties of Al-Mg alloys, md a the commercial Al-Cu-Mg alloys designated as 2024 and 2618. many alloys based on the Al-Zn-Mg* system.1"&apos;*

Jan 1, 1964

The treatment of beach sands in&apos;&apos; the Bunbury/Capel&apos; area for the extraction of ilmenite is a very recent development in the mining industry in&apos;J7estern Australia. Nevertheless since the commencement of production in 1956, ilmenite has become the sixth most important mineral produced. The increasing world recognition of W.A. as a major&apos; Iiroducer of ilmenite is due primarily &apos; to its low chromic oxide. ; (Cr203 content,, 0,03% to 0.04%, combined with a medium to high grade TiO2 content, 54% - 6 , supported by large reserves, a&apos;. stable government with close access to good shipping facilities.. Ilmenite is produced from-these deposits at low-costs, enabling the industry to compete on world markets despite high rates for sea freights because of the distance from.major markets.

Jan 1, 1964