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By C. M. Brinckerhoff

Safety work in mining at the Andes Copper Mining Company, Potrerillos, Chile, is divided into three parts: (1) accident prevention, (2) fire prevention and protection, and (3) silicosis prevention and control. In the company's operations a steady campaign has been waged to reduce accidents and silicosis, and to prevent fires. In the following pages the safety record for the past twelve years will be examined and the methods explained by which the accident rate was reduced. Table 1 contains yearly data pertaining to the scale of the mining operations and the accident record. Block caving is used for all ore production and the tonnage mined has aver- aged 30,000 short tons per day for the past seven years. Table 2 classifies 44 fatal accidents which have occurred since 1935. The leading causes of accidental death are transportation of ore and use of explosives, followed in order by per- sons falling, falls of ground, and by asphyxiation. In the case of serious accidents, however, the greatest cause is falls of ground, followed, in turn, by ore

Jan 1, 1949

By C.P. Clingerman

The recent iastallation of a combination dust catcher, gas washer and precipitator at Carrie blast furnaces of the Homestead Steel Works has given very satisfactory results. The following description of the gas-cleaning installation is based on actual operating experience. When Carrie blast furnace No. 3 was rebuilt the decision was made to fine-clean all the gas produced by the furnace, because the management wanted fine-cleaned gas for fuel in the stoves and boilers. In order to keep the installation cost as low as possible, the gas-cleaning system was streamlined. All by-pass lines and goggle valves for bypass lines were eliminated from the system. A radical departure from the use of 8-in. tubes in the Cottrell-type precipitators was made by using 12-in. diameter tubes in a single compartment, the single compartment being divided into two units by a single partition wall in the top header. The Furnace Proper A few of the characteristic points and dimensions of the furnace proper are: Hearth diameter.............. 26 ft. o in. Bosh diameter............... 29 ft. 1 3/4 in. Stock-line diameter........... 20 ft. o in. Large-bell diameter........... 14 ft. 8 in. Small-bell diameter........... 6 ft. 6 in. Height of furnace from center of iron notch to bottom of large bell, closed............ 94 ft. 4 in. Height of furnace from center of iron notch to main platform ...................... 105 ft. o in. The furnace top is equipped with a MC-Kee revolving distributor, the operation of which is electrically interlocked with the skips, bell hoists, and coke-weighing and charging apparatus through a Freyn automatic charging control. The gas leaves the furnace first through four offtakes, 5 ft. 9 in. in diameter, then through uptakes that, are approximately 85 ft. high, which feed into a single down-comer that is 9 ft. in diameter. Dust Catcher The primary dust catcher installed (Fig. I) may be described as a single-cone type. The inlet pipe at the top of the dust catchei is 9 ft. in diameter; it is flared to a conical shape as it extends down inside the dust-catcher shell, which is 35 ft. in diameter, 37 ft. high on the straight side, and has a conical top and bottom. The slope of the bottom is so0 with the horizontal. The cone-shaped pipe inside the dust-catcher shell is 42 ft. high and is 19 ft. 7 in. in diameter at its bottom lip where it releases the gas inside the dust catcher. The ratio of the area of the inside cone at its bottom lip to the

Jan 1, 1943

By C. P. Clingerman

The recent iastallation of a combination dust catcher, gas washer and precipitator at Carrie blast furnaces of the Homestead Steel Works has given very satisfactory results. The following description of the gas-cleaning installation is based on actual operating experience. When Carrie blast furnace No. 3 was rebuilt the decision was made to fine-clean all the gas produced by the furnace, because the management wanted fine-cleaned gas for fuel in the stoves and boilers. In order to keep the installation cost as low as possible, the gas-cleaning system was streamlined. All by-pass lines and goggle valves for bypass lines were eliminated from the system. A radical departure from the use of 8-in. tubes in the Cottrell-type precipitators was made by using 12-in. diameter tubes in a single compartment, the single compartment being divided into two units by a single partition wall in the top header. The Furnace Proper A few of the characteristic points and dimensions of the furnace proper are: Hearth diameter.............. 26 ft. o in. Bosh diameter............... 29 ft. 1 3/4 in. Stock-line diameter........... 20 ft. o in. Large-bell diameter........... 14 ft. 8 in. Small-bell diameter........... 6 ft. 6 in. Height of furnace from center of iron notch to bottom of large bell, closed............ 94 ft. 4 in. Height of furnace from center of iron notch to main platform ...................... 105 ft. o in. The furnace top is equipped with a MC-Kee revolving distributor, the operation of which is electrically interlocked with the skips, bell hoists, and coke-weighing and charging apparatus through a Freyn automatic charging control. The gas leaves the furnace first through four offtakes, 5 ft. 9 in. in diameter, then through uptakes that, are approximately 85 ft. high, which feed into a single down-comer that is 9 ft. in diameter. Dust Catcher The primary dust catcher installed (Fig. I) may be described as a single-cone type. The inlet pipe at the top of the dust catchei is 9 ft. in diameter; it is flared to a conical shape as it extends down inside the dust-catcher shell, which is 35 ft. in diameter, 37 ft. high on the straight side, and has a conical top and bottom. The slope of the bottom is so0 with the horizontal. The cone-shaped pipe inside the dust-catcher shell is 42 ft. high and is 19 ft. 7 in. in diameter at its bottom lip where it releases the gas inside the dust catcher. The ratio of the area of the inside cone at its bottom lip to the

Jan 1, 1943

By George Rice

THE A.I.M.E. Ground Movement and Subsidence Committee, pro-posed in 1920, held its first technical meeting in February 1923, under the able chairmanship of Mr. H. G. Moulton. The following list of papers and discussions, indicating the scope of the problems and relation to various conditions and method of mining, were given at that meeting by the distinguished mining engineers: J. Parke Channing, on Subsidence at Miami, Arizona; Howard N. Eavenson, on Mining an Upper Bitu-minous Seam after a Lower Seam Has Been Extracted; J. J. Rutledge, on Subsidence in Two Oklahoma Coal Mines; Benjamin F. Tillson, on Caving Cracks at the Franklin Mine, New Jersey; Dr. F. W. McNair, on the Dome Theory; William Kelly, on disadvantageous effects in Mining and Back-filling Working Upward a Steep-Fitching Iron-ore Bed; Eli T. Conner, on the good results of Back-Filling by Hydraulic Means in Preventing Destructive Subsidence in the Anthracite District; Thomas H. Claggett, on the merit of Systematic Pillar Drawing in Preventing Cracks in an Upper Seam; Henry H. Otto, successful results in the anthracite district in Mining Lower Seams before Upper Seams; Douglas Bunting, on Leading Factors Incident to Successful Mining of an Overlying Seam; Edwin Ludlow, on there being "less damage to buildings when there was complete removal of coal with complete packing than when room and pillar is used without extracting the pillars"; Edward O'Toole on "bumps" in eastern Kentucky mines, which he thought were the result of geologic stresses: H. A. Buehler, on Upheaval of Surface in an Illinois Case in Advance of the Face; and R. Dawson Hall, on The Mechanics of Subsidence from Mining. The author of this paper discussed various kinds of problems of ground movement and subsidence in both metal mining and coal mining; the production of great landslides by workings near an outcrop, as at Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada; and general

Jan 1, 1939

By E. D. Gardner

IN 1947 the metal-mining industry . passed through a year of readjustment; catching up on development work has caused production to suffer. Skilled labor has been short in most mining districts, notwithstanding the highest wage rate paid in the history of the industry. The trend has continued toward increased mechanization and refinements in practices and methods to increase the tons produced per man-shift. Improvements in procedures, however, have not kept pace with rising labor rates; and, in general, labor costs per ton mined have steadily increased since the war years. Prices of base metals have been the highest in a generation, but most producing companies can afford to pay the high wages. Capital expenditures have been approved for improvements to increase the output per man, both to reduce unit labor costs and to increase output. Surveys indicate a continuing

Jan 1, 1948

By Arthur L. Crawford

PLAGER gold is perhaps the most difficult of the common mineral deposits to evaluate. Not only are the erratic pay streaks a source of never-ending uncertainty, but the spotty distribution of the gold in iso¬lated nuggets is a perpetual source of error and disappointment to the sampler. Experienced engineers have long realized this difficulty and have been wary in predicting assay values except in the most general terms, and then only after extensive and usually expensive sampling. During the past year I have had the opportunity of checking a number of gold placers, and from the results obtained I believe that the microscope may be employed to advantage in placer sampling.

Jan 1, 1933

By H. William Ahrenholz

The coal industry had another prosperous year in 1966. Since the turn of the decade, production has been climbing at an average rate of 6% per annum. Although the fast pace slackened somewhat, 1966 production showed a gain of almost 3 % over that of 1965. An impressive record can be drawn from the fact that output per man-day in 1966 was more than twice that of the early 1950's, and more than three times that of the early 1940's. And even though man-power requirements lessened, those men retained by the industry worked longer hours and benefited through higher hourly pay rates. However, cost to the customer increased a little. Such statements can only be made for a healthy industry -one that is constantly improving its efficiency. Coal currently provides more than 25% of the total U.S. energy output. About 50% of all U.S.- mined bituminous coal goes directly to the electric utility market. It should be noted that, now, well over one trillion kwh of electricity is generated annually. Dependence of the giant electric utility industry on coal is based on economy and an abundant, dependable supply of this fuel.

Jan 2, 1967

By B. B. Zavoico

During 1936 the Russian oil industry made very satisfactory progress and, while not all difficulties of organization have been ironed out, the country is now assured of a supply of petroleum products in sufficient quantities and of quality demanded by modern motor equipment. The year 1937 promises to better by a wide margin the good showing of 1936. The statistics given in this paper for the first time take into consideration the varying gravities of crude oils of the several Russian oil fields instead of using a flat conversion factor of 7 bbl. per metric ton. It was found from the detailed study that the generally used average conversion factor should be increased from 7 to 7.25 bbl. per metric ton, the figure varying, of course, with the gravity of oil in the individual fields. Crude-oil production during 1936 is estimated at 201,500,000 bbl. as compared with 182,970,000 bbl. produced in 1935, an increase of 9.4 per cent. The greatest increase was again recorded in the Baku district, which increased its production by 10.9 per cent, from 141,257,000 bbl. in 1935 to 158,300,000 in 1936. Grozny district maintained its production at a level of about 23,000,000 bbl., but its old fields continued to decline and production was sustained by the development of newer fields. A great advance was made in drilling speeds and the total footage in 1936 reached 6,694,200 ft. as compared with 4,926,600 ft. drilled in 1935, an increase of 26.4 per cent. In older deep fields, producers were being completed at over 8000 ft.—a great depth for Russian drillers but two years ago. Several major discoveries were made in 1936. Northeast Caucasus.—Izberbash, east from Grozny and on the Caspian Sea, was the outstanding discovery, the initial production of the discovery well being around 3000 bbl. per day from about 5000 ft. The importance of the field is due to the large area of the structure, half of which, however, is under the sea, and also to its strategic location on the shores of the Caspian and near a trunk pipe line to the Grozny refining center. An active development program is being pursued in Izberbash and its 1937 production quota is set at 7,500,000 bbl. Achi-Su field, near Izberbash, also discovered during 1936, while not as prolific as Izberbash, is thought to cover a very large area and the small

Jan 1, 1937

By C. J. Fleisch, C. P. Clingerman

THE recent installation of a combination dust catcher, gas washer and precipitator at Carrie blast furnaces of the Homestead Steel Works has given very satisfactory results. The following description of the gas-cleaning installation is based on actual operating experience. When Carrie blast furnace No. 3 was rebuilt the decision was made to fine-clean all the gas produced by the furnace, because the management wanted fine-cleaned gas for fuel in the stoves and boilers. In order to keep the installation cost as low as possible, the gas-cleaning system was streamlined. All by-pass lines and goggle valves for bypass lines were eliminated from the system. A radical departure from the use of 8-in. tubes in the Cottrell-type precipitators was made by using 12-in. diameter tubes in a single compartment, the single compartment being divided into two units by a single partition wall in the top header. THE FURNACE PROPER A few of the characteristic points and dimensions of the furnace proper are: [Hearth diameter 26 ft. o in. Bosh diameter 29 ft. 1 3/4 in. Stock-line diameter 20 ft. o in. Large-bell diameter 114 ft. 8 in. Small-bell diameter 6 ft. 6 in. Height of furnace from center of iron notch to bottom of large bell, closed 94 ft. 4 in. Height of furnace from center of iron notch to main platform 105 ft. o in.] The furnace top is equipped with a McKee revolving distributor, the operation of which is electrically interlocked with the skips, bell hoists, and coke-weighing and charging apparatus through a Freyn automatic charging control. The gas leaves the furnace first through four offtakes, 5 ft. g in. in diameter, then through uptakes that are approximately 85 ft. high, which feed into a single down-comer that is 9 ft. in diameter. DUST CATCHER The primary dust catcher installed (Fig. I) may be described as a single-cone type. The inlet pipe at the top of the dust catcher is g ft. in diameter; it is flared to a conical shape as it extends down inside the dust-catcher shell, which is 35 ft. in diameter, 37 ft. high on the straight side, and has a conical top and bottom. The slope of the bottom is 50° with the horizontal. The cone-shaped pipe inside the dust-catcher shell is 42 ft. high and is 19 ft. 7 in. in diameter at its bottom lip where it releases the gas in-

Jan 1, 1943

By E. M. Norris

Phosphate deposits are distributed widely over the earth's surface. Of the known areas of deposit, eight fields are of particular interest because of their vast reserves of high grade phosphatic material and the volume of their production that goes to the world's great consuming areas. These fields, in the order of their present economic importance, are situated respectively in Florida, French Morocco, Kola Peninsula of U.S.S.R., Tunisia and Algeria, Tennessee, Montana-Idaho-Wyoming-Utah, Ocean and Naru Islands in the Gilbert group, and in Egypt. The Rocky Mountain deposits have a comparatively low ranking in the phosphate trade of today, but this field contains one of the largest known reserves of phosphatic material, associated with which are recoverable trace minerals, which are of increasing importance in our national economy. The first discoveries of phosphate rock in the western states were recorded in Cache1 and Rich2 counties in Utah, respectively in 1889 and 1897. Mining operations were begun on these deposits near Montpelier, Idaho, in 1906. During the latter year geological studies of the phosphate beds were started by Weeks and Ferrier of the U. S. Geological Survey. These studies have been continued to the present day by a distinguished roster of the Survey's technicians. As a result of this systematic exploratory program, the Survey has published a series of bulletins, papers, and maps, which provide the mining public with a comprehensive study of the exposed

Jan 1, 1949

By C. G. Rhodes, D. Kramer

High-field critical transport current density (J) measurements at 4.2 °K as a Junction of applied magnetic field (H) were made on samples of cold-rolled and annealed columbium with H parallel to J. Microscopic examination of the samples revealed a well-defined planar fiber structure produced by the cold rolling. J was found to he lower when fibers are parallel to the direction of magnetic field penetration than when they are perpendicular. This effect may he a consequence of the interaction of flux movement with fiber boundaries. THE severe changes in microstructure brought about by cold working superconductors leads to profound changes in their superconducting behavior. In particular, the ability of a superconductor to carry a transport current with zero resistance (the maximum value of this current density will be called "J" in the presence of large external magnetic fields (to be referred to as "H") is greatly influenced by the microstructure. In the case of columbium, LeBlanc and Little1 and Autler et a1.2 have observed an increase in J due to cold work. LeBlanc and Little also observed an anisotropy in J in cold-rolled columbium strips, which Hake et al.3-6 have shown to depend upon the angle between H (H ? J) and the rolling plane. An increase in J due to cold work has been found in a variety of high-field superconducting alloys3'4'7-9 as has the anisotropy effect.10 First explanations of why cold work raised J invoked the idea that dislocations carried the high-field supercurrents,8,11 since cold working drastically increases the dislocation density and presumably the number of supercurrent paths. However, recent ideas on the nature of high-field superconductivity together with new experimental evidence reveal that the bulk of certain superconductors can remain superconducting in high fields while carrying high transport currents. These later developments have been discussed by Berlin-court and Hake12 and a comprehensive review has been prepared by Berlincourt.13 According to the ideas of Gorter14 and Anderson,15 one would expect that the influence of microstructure on high-field supercurrent density will depend on tine interaction between microstructure and penetrating flux and on the direction of the Lorentz

Jan 1, 1965

Jan 1, 1920

By George Rice

THE A.I.M.E. Ground Movement and Subsidence Committee, pro-posed in 1920, held its first technical meeting in February 1923, under the able chairmanship of Mr. H. G. Moulton. The following list of papers and discussions, indicating the scope of the problems and relation to various conditions and method of mining, were given at that meeting by the distinguished mining engineers: J. Parke Channing, on Subsidence at Miami, Arizona; Howard N. Eavenson, on Mining an Upper Bitu-minous Seam after a Lower Seam Has Been Extracted; J. J. Rutledge, on Subsidence in Two Oklahoma Coal Mines; Benjamin F. Tillson, on Caving Cracks at the Franklin Mine, New Jersey; Dr. F. W. McNair, on the Dome Theory; William Kelly, on disadvantageous effects in Mining and Back-filling Working Upward a Steep-Pitching Iron-ore Bed; Eli T. Conner, on the good results of Back-Filling by Hydraulic Means in Preventing Destructive Subsidence in the Anthracite District; Thomas H. Claggett, on the merit of Systematic Pillar Drawing in Preventing Cracks in an Upper Seam; Henry H. Otto, successful results in the anthracite district in Mining Lower Seams before Upper Seams; Douglas Bunting, on Leading Factors Incident to Successful Mining of an Overlying Seam; Edwin Ludlow, on there being "less damage to buildings when there was complete removal of coal with complete packing than when room and pillar is used without extracting the pillars"; Edward O'Toole on "bumps" in eastern Kentucky mines, which he thought were the result of geologic stresses: H. A. Buehler, on Upheaval of Surface in an Illinois Case in Advance of the Face; and R. Dawson Hall, on The Mechanics of Subsidence from Mining. The author of this paper discussed various Winds of problems of ground movement and subsidence in both metal mining and coal mining; the production of great landslides by workings near an outcrop, as at Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada; and general

Jan 1, 1939

THE SOUTHWEST MINING SECTION of the National Safety. Council held a well attended two-day conference at Globe, Ariz., March 19 and 20; followed by two days of mine-rescue maneuvers at the Old Dominion mine in cooperation with the Globe-Miami District Mine Rescue and First Aid Association and the U. S. Bureau of Mines. C. L. Colburn of the Bureau had general charge of the arrangements and was chairman of the conference. All sessions were held in the Old Dominion Library. The program of papers was as follows: MINE FIRE PREVENTION AND FIGHTING What to do in Case of a Mine Fire. / Chas. A. Mitke, Consulting Mining Engineer, Bisbee, Ariz. Gunnite as a Fire Preventative. W. C. Browning, General Manager, Magma Copper Co., Superior, Ariz. Chemical Engineer's Part in Fire Fighting. Dr. L. H. Duschak, Consulting Chemical Engineer, San Francisco, Cal. Mine Fire Drills. A. C. Stoddard, Chief Mining Engineer, Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., Inspiration, Ariz. Notes on the Installation of Fire Fighting Equipment in Mines. Benjamin F. Tillson, Assistant Superintendent, New Jersey Zinc Co., Franklin, N. J.

Jan 5, 1923

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became. members during the period Sept. 10, 1918, to Oct. 10, 1918. ADDISON, HERBERT, Vice-pres. and Mgr., Big Horn Collieries Co., 412 Colorado Bldg., Denver, Colo. ALLAN, .ANDREW, JR A. Allan & Son, Harrison, N. J. AMI, HENRY M., Charge of War Metals and Minerals, British Embassy, Washington, D. C. ALTHAR, HOMER C., Mill. Engr., The Lorain Coal & Dock Co., Bridgeport, Belmont Co., Ohio. BASER, JOHN T Pres., J. T. Baker Chemical Co., Phillipsburg, N. J. BARBA, W. P., Lieut. Colonel, Ordnance, U. S. A., 2301 Connecticut Ave., Washington, D. C. BENSON, JOHN PATS Min. Engr., Aurora Cons. Mines Co., Aurora, Nev., BOSWELL, H. F Resident Inspector, Southern Railway System, St. Louis, Mo. BRAUCHER, PETERS., Foundry Mgr., Philadelphia & Reading Ry. Co., Sixth & Perry St., Reading, Pa.

Jan 11, 1918

By AIME AIME

A CERTAIN area in the State of Indiana seems to be a breeding place for presidents and near president about eighteen miles southeast of Elwood is the little village of Daleville, and there, on April 9, 1890, John Robert Suman, newly elected President of the A.I.M.E., was born. It was not long before he migrated to California, however, where he went to the Los Angeles High School, then for two years to the University of Southern California, after which he went up to Berkeley

Jan 1, 1940

By WILLIAM COUPER

THE completion of the excavation of the tunnels through Bergen Hill for the extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad into New York City, together with the fact that the excavation for the rest of the tunnel-line has been practically completed for some time past, arouses sufficient interest to justify a description of the engineering- and contracting-work, and the organization by which it has been accomplished. The finishing of the excavation is a long step towards the completion of the entire tunnel-project. It will be interesting to the members of the Institute, who last spring were taken through a great part of this work, to know that by the excavation now completed it is possible to walk by tunnel from a, point near Sunnyside yard, Long Island, east of the 34th Street ferry, to the central passenger station site in the City of New York, and thence by tunnel to the Hackensack meadows, and by an embankment constructed across these meadows to Newark, N. J. This New York tunnel extension is being constructed as a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system by the Pennsylvania Tunnel & Terminal R. R. Co., a corporation of the States of New Jersey and New York. It extends from a point near Newark, N. J., to the Sunnyside yard, Long Island, as indicated on the accompanying plan.

Jan 7, 1908

By Paul Billingsley

The term Boulder batholith was first applied in 1897 by W. H. Weed2 to the extensive mass of granite in western Montana within whose borders occur the ore deposits of Butte. In a general way this was known to extend from Helena on the north to the Highland Mountains near Butte on the south, and to be relatively narrow in its east-west diameter. Its intrusive relations to the surrounding sedimentary rocks, and its probable Tertiary age, were described by Weed, but in many ways his statements, based upon incomplete data, have required revision. Most notable of the errors of this description of the batholith were the failure,3 since corrected, to recognize the intrusive contact of the granite with the capping of andesite, and the complete absence of any reference to the many extensions of the granite beyond the somewhat narrow limits of its largest exposure.

Jan 1, 1915

By R. W. Raymond

The death of Louis Janin, which took place Mar. 6, 1914, at Santa Barbara, terminated the earthly career of almost the last survivor, and one of the most illustrious members, of that group of American mining engineers and metallurgists who, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, directed the development of the mineral resources of the Pacific slope. Louis Janin was born in 1836 at New Orleans. His grandfather, an officer in the French army, had emigrated to this country, with his family, at or before the outbreak of the French revolution. His father became an

Jan 1, 1915

By E. C. IBBOTSON

THIS process was reported upon by the Canadian Commission in 1904, and much detailed information was also given in a paper by Chief Engineer V. Engelhardt.1 Believing that some of the latest particulars of the process will be of interest, I submit the following data. At Gysinge in Sweden during the year ending May 31, 1906, from a fixed furnace giving 1 ton (2,240 lb.) of steel per tap, there were produced 950 tons of tool-steel and special steel ingots. . In carbon and iron tool-steels all the usual tempers were made. The bulk of this steel was made from charges composed of about 80 per cent of Swedish white pig-iron and 20 per cent. of steel-scrap. The percentage of carbon was regulated by the addition of briquettes. Other charges were made from Swedish white iron and steel-scrap. The average time taken per charge, for the year, when adding briquettes, was 7* hr., and the electric energy consumed was 1,128 units (kilowatt-hours) per ton. The average time per charge for white-iron and scrap charges was 5.5 hr., and the electric energy consumed was 886 units per ton. These consumptions include all time and energy lost from various causes, such as bad water-supply, ice, etc. It is quite ordinary practice to complete the charges with briquettes in 6.5 hr., and without briquettes in 5 hr., as shown by the following typical charges White pig-iron, 1,457; steel-scrap, 439; briquettes, 220; ferrosilicon (50 per cent. of silicon), 17 ; ferromanganese (80 per cent. of manganese), 15 lb. ; and aluminum, 1 oz.=

Nov 1, 1906