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By D. M. Bondurant

AT the present time, the coal industry is greatly interested in any method or machine that will cut the cost of producing a ton of coal, while at the same time producing a product of quality and grade suitable to the customer. Comparatively new and, as yet, little known, auger mining is proving a profitable method of coal recovery. It may be used for the production of low-cost, high-quality coal with equal success from both the hard-to-mine seams, those with banded impurities and bad roof conditions, and the more easily mined seams as classified according to conventional mining methods. A number of units are now in operation and production information is available that should be of particular interest to coal operators and of general interest to anyone associated with the coal-mining industry. Auger mining refers to coal extraction with large size augers capable of drilling to great depths and having a high capacity. Consideration of the equipment and methods used in drilling an ordinary shot-hole will give a picture of auger mining on a smaller scale. At present, auger mining is used largely for recovery of coal from the highwall after strip mining becomes uneconomical because of the type and the thickness of the overburden which must be moved. Coal augers have many of the advantages of present continuous mining machines, along with many more. The four distinct operations of conventional mining-—cutting, drilling, shooting, and loading— are eliminated and replaced by the combined operation of boring and conveying of the coal. The coal recovery auger is an adaptation of the horizontal rock drill used for drilling shot-holes to shatter and loosen overburden in strip mining operations. During the war the Becker County Sand and Gravel Co. of Summersville, W. Va., experimented with drilling coal with 6 and 9-in. rock augers. The results led to the successive development of the 20, 24, 30 and the 36-in. machines, the latter having appeared in the coal fields within the past six months. Because of the great success of the smaller size

Jan 1, 1952

Today, the employment of the modern hammer drill, using hollow steel, with air or water to expel the cuttings from the drill hole, is the rule rather than the exception in practically all rock-drilling operations. There is considerable carelessness in the matter of keeping the hole in the drill steel properly opened. Plugged steels wholly or partially, prevent proper operation of the drill, whereby drilling speed is retarded, water tubes are bent or broken, and time is lost in tink-ering, or, as often happens, the drilling gang is idle while someone makes a trip to the shop after another drill steel or water tube. To relieve this condition, the Ingersoll-Rand Company has developed, as an auxiliary to the Leyner sharpener, a new device-the Leyner shank and bit punch.

Jan 4, 1918

THE British Industrial Fatigue Research Board has issued its annual report covering the year 1925, and a nine-page review of it, by George E. Shepard, was published in this country in the November, 1926, Bulletin of the Society of Industrial Engineers. The report gives results of three different investigations, all of which indicate that rest-pauses, where the spells .of work are 41/2 hr. long or more, not only increase the contentment of the workers, but often bring about an increase in output. A report on the physiology of ventilation is about to be published, and one on the theory of ventilation has been issued. These seem to add but little to the work being done in this country by the Bureau of Mines and the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers. Other studies made are on atmospheric conditions in cotton weaving, on lighting in composing rooms, on repetitive work, the teaching of muscular skill, the energy expenditure in heavy work, the metabolic processes involved in violent exercise, the relation between oxygen intake and lactic acid in the blood, and fatigue in localized groups of muscles. Most of this material is intended for advanced workers in these fields, but will be of interest to engineers who desire to keep up with cur-rent progress in the determination of the facts involved in fatigue resulting from industrial work.

Jan 2, 1927

The Manufacturer's Viewpoint A prominent manufacturer of mining 'machinery not long ago expressed himself as being confident that he was securing the best kind of publicity for his product through the advertising pages of the monthly Bulletin of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. Such an expression coming from such a man is highly gratifying; yet it is justifiable when the high quality of reader and subscriber is taken into consideration. In fact, the majority of those using our advertising pages feel the same. It is to be regretted, of course, that others catering to our field do not realize the means at their disposal for presenting the points of interest of their product to the mining man. The question has been asked, " Do your members read their Bulletin?" They not only read the editorial pages, but they "admit being up-to-date enough to peruse the advertising section to "see what is new." The next question the prospective advertiser asks is, " Will the Bulletin bring inquiries?" The answer to this question holds good for any publication having as subscribers those who have purchasing or recommending power-yes, if the article advertised is not a stock one, that has been before the public for any length of time. To secure inquiries on, say, a standard centrifugal pump or any other standard product, the features of which are well known, is a most difficult proposition. Yet, of course, some inquiries are secured, but mostly from those having use for the catalogue or trade literature for reference purposes. It is safe to say that the traceable returns from advertising in trade publications hardly, if at all, pay for the advertising. The real returns are intangible, and result from the constant publicity, and keeping ?everlastingly at it." Who can say what subconscious effect is taking place when an advertisement is "glanced at," to say nothing of the effect produced when the copy is attractive and interests the reader. Time after time it has been proved that sales have been secured as a result of an advertisement, yet no inquiry had been made directly traceable to advertising.

Jan 8, 1915

By J. M. Roberts, N. Brown

The stress-strain behavior of zinc single crystals was measured over a strain range of 10-6 to 10-2. The phenomenon of macroyielding was observed in detail and plastic strains were detected at almost zero-stress. Closed hysteresis loops were observed during loading and unloading in the strain region of about 10-5. From the hysteresis a frictional stress on the dislocation of about 6 psi was obtained. A preliminary analysis indicates that impurities are primarily responsible for the friction. Nonelastic Strains as much as 10 -4 were recovered depending on the amount of prior deformation. Part of the recovered strain occurs instantaneously upon unloading and the remainder occurs at zero stress. The time dependence of the recovered strain was measured. THIS investigation is concerned with the details of plastic deformation preceding the ordinary yield point as measured with the usual strain sensitivity of about 10-4. The approach leads to internal friction observations in the hitherto neglected frequency range below 10-1 cycles per sec. It is believed that if the phenomenon of macroscopic yielding is to be understood, then the stress-strain curve in the neighborhood of the macroyield point should be greatly magnified. It may then be possible to determine whether macroscopic yielding is a unique event or whether it is a process which begins gradually at a lower stress. In the case of low-carbon steel a unique event obviously occurs at the macroscopic yield point as indicated by a drop in the load, but copper appears to exhibit a gradual transition from the elastic to the plastic state. In zinc the yield point is rather abrupt although the data indicates that some plastic deformation precedes large scale yielding.' One of the purposes of this investigation is to determine whether there is an abrupt transition from the preyield microstrain region to the region of macroscopic deformation. Such a rapid transition would support the concept that there is a critical stress for yielding. The concept that yielding is a unique event associated with such phenomenon as activating a Frank-Read source, freeing the dislocation from solute atoms, dislocations cutting through dislocations, or dislocations moving freely by one another, has been expounded widely on theoretical grounds. It is hoped that highly sensitive measurements of strain in the neighborhood of the macroscopic yield point will shed some light on the event known as the "Yield Point". EXPERIMENTAL METHOD 1) Specimens—High-purity zinc was cast into spherical graphite moulds in air and grown into spherical single crystals by the Bridgman method under a positive pressure of Argon gas. Spectro-graphic analysis of cleaved sections from four crystals showed a purity of 99.994 pet Zn. The specimens were acid machined with an 1/8 in. gage section in a form similar to those used by Parker and co-workers.2 Bausch type grips were fastened to the specimen by Epon VI adhesive. The specimens were oriented so that only [1120] (0001) slip occurred. Fig. 1 shows two of the specimens in the grips. Prior to each test, the gage section of the specimen was given a concentrated HNO3 chemical polish followed by alcohol rinsing and air blast drying. 2) Test Method- The shear tests were performed on an Instron testing machine and the experimental set-up was made very "hard". Strain could be measured to a sensitivity of 10 -6 by means of a capacitance gage extensometer. The design and calibration of this type of extensometer to measure microstrain, as applied to pure shear and tensile tests of metals, will be the subject of a separate paper—therefore, only a brief account will be presented here. The method essentially consists of attaching a

Jan 1, 1961

By George Otis Smith

A YEAR ago, ,at the Institute's dinner, I closed my A remarks with the words: "The scientist devotes his life to the advancement of learning; the engineer gives his to the advancement of living." May 1 begin tonight where I left off then and speak first of the distinction between science and engineering? This difference is a difference both in purpose and in method: it is the sharp contrast between theory and practice; it marks the broad gap between dream and attainment. Sometimes it happens that the investigator is also the builder and applies what he discovers, yet the distinction between science and engineering serves to point out the broad dependence of the engineer upon his brother the scientist. You remember .the old - saying that "where there is no vision the people perish" translate this into modern experience and we may say that "where there is no science, the engineer fails."

Jan 1, 1929

By John B. Goddard, David R. Brosnahan

Leaching of uranium in situ from sandstone deposits with ammonium carbonate solution containing dissolved oxygen occurs rapidly compared with the leaching of the bulk of the sulfur present as FeS2. However, because of their high reducing capacity and their relative abundance, the FeS2 minerals consume the bulk of the oxidant. A pressure leach apparatus was constructed that permitted measuring oxygen consumption by FeS2, best described by a first-order reaction. The experimental rate constants for various cores are roughly proportional to their FeS2 contents.

Jan 1, 1983

June was the month in which AIME was founded in the year of 1871. For some reason, February was selected as the month for the legal Annual Meeting. One can't help thinking wistfully of Annual Meetings in June but of course this is not the reality. Because the Centennial Ceremonies are taking place in February, that month has been chosen as the one in which MINING ENGINEERING, the monthly magazine of the Society of Mining Engineers, a constituent society of AIME, is publishing its Commemorative is- sue to celebrate the event. SME and ME take a proprietary air about AIME. This is mostly because AIME started as the American Institute of Mining Engineers. Metallurgy was added to the name in 1919 and Petroleum in 1956. The official abbreviation of "AIME" has been retained, however.

Jan 1, 1971

By T. J. Whalen, M. Humenik

The liquid surface tension of copper-nickel ad copper-nickel-titanium-carbon alloys and the wettability of titanium caybyde by these alloys have been measuhed. It was found that the surface tensions of the binary copper-nickel alloys Lie on a smooth curve between the end members, copper and nickel. The addition of small amounts of titanium and carbon has nO effect on the surface tensions of copper-nickel alloys. Small additions of nickel to copper significantly reduce the contact angle of Ike alloy with titanium carbide. From a Gibbs treatment, nickel is shown to be adsorbed at the titanium carbide-alloy interface. X HE microstructure of two-phase materials has been shown to be influenced largely by the interfacial energies between the phases present.' , In systems prepared by powder metallurgy techniques and densi-fied in the presence of liquid phase, a precise analysis of microstructure and interfacial energy relationships requires a knowledge of the solid-solid interface energies and liquid-solid interface energies. However, marly metal-nonmetal systems are characterized by the "sweating" of the liquid during sintering, and in these systems wettability is a principal consideration. The wetting in turn is dictated by the various interface energies of the system, as shown in Fig. 1 for a liquid drop formed on a solid substrate. The equation which expresses the vectorial balance of surface forces in the horizontal plane, at the point of contact, A, is given by: where ssv = solid-vapor interface energy sSL = solid-liquid interface energy sLV= liquid-vapor interface energy 6 = contact angle measured through the liquid phase. The angle and the surface tension, slv, can be measured accurately by the sessile drop method.3, The absolute value of the surface energy of the solid cannot be determined by this method, but with reasonable changes in the composition of the liquid only, the value of ssv can be considered constant. The changes in contact angle, then, can be attributed to changes in sSL and sLV and since sLV can be measured, the changes in sSL can be determined. Several studies have indicated that the surface and bulk properties of solid alloys can be correlated with electronic structure. The catalytic activity of copper-nickel alloys was reported to follow the dband vacancies in these alloys.5 Nickel has been considered to have 0.6 holes per atom in the d-band. The addition of copper to nickel is thought to bring about a filling of the d-band of nickel, since each copper atom contributes one electron. Thus, at an atomic concentration of 60 Cu-40 Ni (62 wt pct Cu-38 wt pct Ni) the d-band is believed to be full, and magnetic measurements support this view.6 If the electronic structure is influencing a property of the alloy, this property should show some sort of discontinuity as the composition changes from one side of the 60 Cu-40 Ni composition to the other. Since the catalytic activity can be considered as a surface property of the alloy, it is logical to assume that other surface properties, such as surface tension, may also be influenced by electronic structure. The suggestion has been made that there is a correlation between the solid titanium carbide-liquid Cu-Ni alloy interfacial energy and d-band filling.7 One purpose of this investigation was to determine if the changes taking place in the electronic structure with compositional changes in the solid copper-nickel alloys were reflected in the surface tension values of the liquid alloys. Such a change, if present, would lend support to the suggestion that one can refer to discrete energy bands in the liquid state. Other purposes of the present study were to investigate in detail the wettability in the system copper-nickel-titanium carbide, and to discuss the possible processes which take place during wetting in this system.

Jan 1, 1961

CHICAGO SECTION CHAS. H. MACDOWELL, Chairman, LUTHER V. RICE, Vice-Chairman, HENRY W. NICHOLS, Secretary-Treasurer, GEO. P. HULST, ALEX. K. HAMILTON, FREDERICK T. SNYDER, HENRY P. HOWLAND. The Field Meeting of the Chicago Section proved to be the most enjoyable meeting ever held by the Section. It took the form of a visit to the Northern Indiana Industrial District where the day was spent inspecting metallurgical plants in Indiana Harbor and East Chicago and in amusement at the Hammond Country Club. The weather was perfect and about 50 members and ladies attended the meeting. An inspection of the plant of the Inland Steel Co. occupied the morning. The plant was decorated in honor of the occasion and the company provided attractive souvenirs. It was noticed here that many of the ladies displayed an interest in the inspection and an understanding of the processes that would not have shamed professional metallurgists. While the members of the Section seemed to be most interested in the by-product coke ovens and the by-product recovery plant, the ladies enjoyed especially watching the snake-like antics of the red-hot rods in the wire mill. Leaving the steel plant, the Section enjoyed a ride through the district by automobile and arrived at the Hammond Country Club in time for lunch. In the afternoon some of the members inspected the plant of the International Lead Refining Co., at East Chicago, while the rest spent the time at the Country Club in golf, tennis, trap shooting, bridge and other amusements. During the dinner at the Hammond Country Club an informally organized male quartette led the singing in real college boy style. In the evening, E. E. Billow talked on the use of oil burners in metallurgical furnaces, Mr. MacDowell told of the present status of the Potash Industry and the Secretary told of some of the happenings at the Arizona Meeting. HENRY W. NICHOLS, Secretary.

Jan 12, 1916

By Bengt Helmerson

A new tankhouse was started in January 1959 at the Copper Refinery of the Boliden Co., Skelleftehamn, Sweden. In early 1961 a semiautomatic machine for looping and straightening of starting sheets was introduced to substitute previous manual operations. The machine as well as consequent, racking and handling is described. Finally, economic benefits achieved and new constructions for the future are discussed. HISTORY Tankhouse operations at the Boliden Co. 's Smelter in Skelleftehamn started in 1932 on a scale that since then has been gradually increasing. In order to rationalize the operations, a new tankhouse was erected. It went into production in January 1959 and was designed for a yearly production of 35,000 metric tons at a current density of 16 amps per sq ft. Already from the beginning, however, the tankhouse has been run with a current density of 21.5 amps per sq ft, corresponding to a maximum capacity of 50,000 tons a year. During the time of planning of the new tankhouse, due consideration was given to the possibilities of mechanizing the operations. New ideas could be and were actually tested on full or pilot plant scale in the old tankhouse. In that way we developed a system for the cathode handling including washing, weighing, and transportation. A system using forklift trucks in combination with trailers and overhead cranes has been developed for transportation and racking of anodes and also for handling of anode scrap. With respect to the electrolyte, circulation and temperature control are partly automatic. Special attention was paid to the production of starting sheets, which operation normally requires a great number of man hours, and it was made the object of a particular survey as to the best ways of straightening starting sheets, attaching loops to the sheets, and so forth. As a result, a machine was designed during 1957-58 and built in our own shops. After a period of tests, the new equipment was put in operation commercially on the 10th of April, 1961. Since this date the machine has produced about 2 million starting sheets without interruption and has been the only source of looped starting sheets for the tankhouse. GENERAL DESCRIPTION Fig. 1 shows all the major parts of the system. These parts are: slitting machine with feeding table (I), standard roller leveler, type Ungerer (2), tilting roller table (3), conveyors for sheets and suspension bars (4, 7), storage of suspension bars (51, punching and stitching machine (6), two lift-turn-tilt tables (8) for discharging the starting sheets, two rack conveyors (9) for sheet assemblies. Included are a hy-daulic pump station and panels for pneumatic and electric controls. SLITTING AND STRAIGHTENING The machine is fed by hand by a man sitting in front of the slitting-machine table, Fig. 2. This operator inserts one sheet at a time into the slitter. After being trimmed, the sheet is automatically conveyed to the following step of handling, straightening. The slitting machine cuts away about 8 mm of the upper and lower parts of the sheet (in relation to its original position in the stripper section) for two reasons. The first one is to give the machine sheets of uniform dimensions; the second one is a matter of quality. Normally the starting sheets as stripped have a thick edge at the bottom end. This part would collect anode slimes and might also cause short circuits when inserted in the cells without trimming. The straightener used is of German construction

Jan 1, 1967

By James A. Barr

The writer's first experience with flotation was during World War I, in the bene-ficiation of Alabama graphite schist ores. One plant used a cone with a peripheral overflow; dried ore was distributed by a rotating disk onto the surface of the water. No reagents were added' The flake-graphite film floated along with some fine silica. Dewatering screens separated the flake. Naturally unit capacities were low but results were satisfactory. Minerals separation mechanical flotation machines were used in another graphite mill. pine oil was added directly to the head cells, with very good results. All the graphite concentrates from both types of flotation were carefully refined after drying by passing through burr mills, followed by very close sizing on sifters. In March 1927, the writer ran a very successful flotation test on minus 28-mesh, deslimed, Tennessee brown phosphate "sand,"† using a mechanical laboratory machine built in the shops of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., through the courtesy of Ernest Klepetko. The machine was soon converted to a subaeration type, with improved results. This phosphate research program was greatly enlarged and led to the formation of the phosphate Recovery corporation. The development of nonmetallic flotation followed rapidly. The first flotation machine for bene- ficiation of phosphate was installed in January 1928, in a pilot mill, by International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, at Mulberry, Florida. These machines were Minerals Separation, 24-in., sub-,,,tion types, with weir control of pulp between cells. The sand bleeders were very small—about 1¼-in. diameter. As the feed flake. Is to 25 per cent plus 28-mesh material, the cells choked up frequently. This was corrected by cutting a 2 by 6-in. bleeder opening above the impellers, at grid level, which short-circuited the coarse fractions directly into the feed of the next cell. The matter of size classification and grinding was a considerable problem, which does not come within the scope of this article. Because of the troubles noted above, cascade-type roughers were installed in the second flotation plant, built about 1930. Experimental cells had been tried in 1928. General plant layout is shown in Fig. 1 and details of the cascade construction in Fig. 2. The cascade installation in plant NO. 2 gave good results and eliminated troubles due to choke-ups and coarse feed. The capacities and metallurgical results equaled those of the modified 24-in. Minerals Separation flotation machines in plant No. I The objections to the cascade installation are the floor space and mill height required. In 1939 an improved Minerals Separation machine was tested in parallel with the cascades. Extensive tests indicated

Jan 1, 1947

By James A. Barr

The writer's first experience with flotation was during World War I, in the bene-ficiation of Alabama graphite schist ores. One plant used a cone with a peripheral overflow; dried ore was distributed by a rotating disk onto the surface of the water. No reagents were added' The flake-graphite film floated along with some fine silica. Dewatering screens separated the flake. Naturally unit capacities were low but results were satisfactory. Minerals separation mechanical flotation machines were used in another graphite mill. pine oil was added directly to the head cells, with very good results. All the graphite concentrates from both types of flotation were carefully refined after drying by passing through burr mills, followed by very close sizing on sifters. In March 1927, the writer ran a very successful flotation test on minus 28-mesh, deslimed, Tennessee brown phosphate "sand,"† using a mechanical laboratory machine built in the shops of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., through the courtesy of Ernest Klepetko. The machine was soon converted to a subaeration type, with improved results. This phosphate research program was greatly enlarged and led to the formation of the phosphate Recovery corporation. The development of nonmetallic flotation followed rapidly. The first flotation machine for bene- ficiation of phosphate was installed in January 1928, in a pilot mill, by International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, at Mulberry, Florida. These machines were Minerals Separation, 24-in., sub-,,,tion types, with weir control of pulp between cells. The sand bleeders were very small—about 1¼-in. diameter. As the feed flake. Is to 25 per cent plus 28-mesh material, the cells choked up frequently. This was corrected by cutting a 2 by 6-in. bleeder opening above the impellers, at grid level, which short-circuited the coarse fractions directly into the feed of the next cell. The matter of size classification and grinding was a considerable problem, which does not come within the scope of this article. Because of the troubles noted above, cascade-type roughers were installed in the second flotation plant, built about 1930. Experimental cells had been tried in 1928. General plant layout is shown in Fig. 1 and details of the cascade construction in Fig. 2. The cascade installation in plant NO. 2 gave good results and eliminated troubles due to choke-ups and coarse feed. The capacities and metallurgical results equaled those of the modified 24-in. Minerals Separation flotation machines in plant No. I The objections to the cascade installation are the floor space and mill height required. In 1939 an improved Minerals Separation machine was tested in parallel with the cascades. Extensive tests indicated

Jan 1, 1947

By J. Visman

A simplified method of assessing the characteristics of a cleaning unit, including washability curves, yield figures, ash error, separating gravities, and error curve. FOR more than 25 years evaluations of coal cleaning units have appeared in many publications, and during this time considerable progress has been made in developing the theory and techniques of calculating washery results. A variety of characteristics have been defined over the years, many receiving general recognition during the first post-war Coal Preparation Conference in Paris in 1950. Coal preparation has become a science, and the approach to preparation problems is being revolutionized. Formerly, for example, if a coal operator wanted to know the performance of a given cleaning unit for a particular grade of his run-of-mine, he either shipped a carload to the manufacturer for a test run or relied on a report of a test carried out on a coal similar to the one he intended to clean. In modern practice the expensive, time-consuming test work generally can be avoided if the washability curves of the coal in question and the error curve of the cleaner are known. Normally a guarantee can be given on the strength of this information. General acceptance of modern standards has thus reduced the need for pilot-scale models of existing types of coal cleaners. Needless to say, the method requires exhaustive and accurate information on the cleaning unit and on all the additional circumstances affecting its results, information that ultimately can be secured only from actual tests made in the laboratory or in the washery. It is not the purpose of the present discussion to compare the merits of various characteristics, but to describe the general method of calculation, including a method of obtaining data with a minimum of laboratory work. All data presented here were derived from tests made at the plant with portable field equipment, using small quantities of varsol, carbon tetrachloride, and bromoform. It will be explained later that the use of standard fractional ash contents designated normalized ash contents aids considerably in reducing the routine testing of coal cleaners. Like any other statistical procedure, this method has limitations, and it is not recommended for any work in connection with guarantees. Even a varying commodity such as coal, however, will follow the law of large numbers, which is the basic law of statistics, thus allowing simplification of test work without appreciable loss of accuracy. The characteristics needed for evaluating cleaner performance are normally derived from a float-sink analysis of samples of the clean coal and the refuse, followed by ash determinations of the various fractions. Usually a sample of feed is also collected to find its ash content and to make a single specific gravity cut, both in connection with determination

Jan 1, 1955

By E. R. Palowitch, P. H. Broussard

The United States aims to achieve some modicum of energy self-sufficiency through means such as conservation, increased domestic oil and gas production, substitution by the electric utilities of coal or coaloil mixtures for oil and gas, and development of a viable synthetic liquid fuels industry. Coal's role in attaining this goal will necessitate doubling coal production by the end of the 1980's. And if the United States does in fact become the World's Saudi Arabia of coal, the total annual production to meet these domestic needs and export markets could double again by the year 2,000. As only a small portion of our Nation's reserves are recoverable by state-of-the-art surface mining methods, most of the coal produced in the future will have to be mined underground (Averitt, 1975). But this projected increase in coal demand is occurring in the face of a decade of radically decreasing productivity. Specifically, average worker productivity in underground coal mines has decreased from 14.2 tonnes (metric tons) per workershift in 1969 to 7.2 tonnes per worker-shift in 1979; and 95 percent of coal produced underground during this period was produced by room-and-pillar methods (U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1980). Although there is no complete agreement on the impact of recent Federal legislation, there is strong correlation between the dramatic decrease in productivity in underground coal mining and the implementation of the recent Federal mine health and safety regulations (U.S. Congress, 1969). A review of the wide range of coal mining research, development, and demonstration projects currently being funded by the federal government and by industry gives little encouragement for increasing worker productivity on room-and-pillar sections underground in the immediate future (Palowitch, 1978). Conversely, the opportunities for increasing production/productivity underground with longwall methods appear somewhat more encouraging. Although at least one longwall face in the U.S. did produce more than one million tonnes of coal in a single year, the national two-shift average production from one hundred or so longwall faces is about 1,000 tonnes per day (Huwood-Irwin Co., 1978 and Consolidation Coal Company, 1976). Clearly, there exists some real opportunities for improvement. One of these opportunities is to automate the cutter-loader.

Jan 1, 1981

By J. C. Bayles

Jan 1, 1886

By M. Cepak, K. Donovan, W. G. Pariseau

This paper examines the difficulties of applying the finite element (FE) method of analysis to quantitative design of cable bolt systems. Cable bolt systems are in general use for ground control in VCR (Vertical Crater Retreat) topes throughout the world. However, despite their widespread use and importance, design of cable bolt systems is highly subjective. Two difficulties with the FE approach are examined: (i) the use of standard elements with a high aspect ratio (slender elements) to represent bolts, and (ii) the influence of cable bolts on hanging wall stability of a VCR study stope. Analysis results indicate that the use of slender elements for bolts is practical in large scale finite element analyses of VCR stopes. There are significant advantages in this approach to the engineering design of cable bolt systems in underground mining.

Jan 1, 1984

By E. O. Lilge, H. Siebert

A design of a multiple-bomb leaching unit particularly suited for the study of heterogeneous reactions, i.e. sol id-liquid-gas interfaces at high temperatures and pressures is presented. The component parts and overall design are described and illustrated in detail. The system has been tested by a limited number of experiments and found to work satisfactorily. Heterogeneous reactions at solid-liquid-gas interfaces, at high temperatures and pressures, are studied in either autoclaves1'4 or bombs5'9. Autoclaves are usually fairly large vessels which have a stirring arrangement incorporated in the design. Mechanical design limits the use of these vessels to relatively low temperatures and pressures. They are particularly well suited to rate or kinetic studies. Bombs can be designed to be operated at high temperatures and pressures, and are smaller vessels; because of this, stirring arrangements are not easily incorporated. In this paper a multiple-bomb system is described, that has been designed to incorporate the desirable features of both the autoclave and the bomb. The described unit has flexibility for an over all study of leaching. Most of the component units in this assemblage are standard equipment, designed and produced by well known manufacturers. No claim is made to the design of this equipment, and although described in some detail, this is done merely for clarity in the elucidation of the system presented. The general layout of the multiple-bomb assemblage is shown in Fig. 1A and 1B. The basic units in this system are: 1) 6 stainless steel 100 ml bombs (Fig. 4)

Jan 1, 1964

By Ionel I. Gardescu

In connection with some of the experiments carried out by the writer on the behavior of gas and oil in a sand reservoir,' an interesting phenomenon was observed which may throw some new light on the problem of recovery of oil from a natural reservoir. The experiments are intended to show the effect of the surface area of the occluded gas masses, originally present in a reservoir, on the further evolution of gas from the oil and its consequent effect upon the rate of production of oil. The apparatus used in the experimental work is shown in Fig. 1. It consists primarily of a sand reservoir R and a displacement chamber D, which is used to induce small variations in volume. The reservoir and displacement chamber form a unit, and a lowering of the plunger D is equivalent to increasing the volume occupied by the oil and gas in the reservoir. The reservoir was first filled with dead oil and maintained under pressure until it was ascertained that most of the free gas had gone into solution. The volume of free gas present in the reservoir was computed from the coefficient of compressibility of the fluids by means of the displacement chamber D, reading to 0.005 c.c. and a special gage J reading to 0.02 lb. per sq. in. The oil was saturated with gas under pressure in reservoir S by circulating the oil for a long period of time through the gear pump B. Subsequently, the saturated oil was circulated through the sand reservoir following the circuit S6, B, S6, R4, the sand reservoir R, R1, R², F4, F1, back to reservoir S. In the following experiments the sand reservoir R was filled with gas-saturated oil at a pressure of 415Ib. per sq. in. with no free gas present. This was ascertained by closing off all the outlet valves and determining the coefficient of compressibility of the system by means of the displacement chamber D. Much difficulty was encountered in eliminating all of the free gas masses from the oil reservoir. The dead oil originally present in the

Jan 1, 1932

By Grover J. Holt

Open-pit mining on the iron range has been in a stage of transition for several years from the standpoint of mechanization. The most radical change in open-pit mining methods was started in open-pit haulage in 1937 with the departure from the then standard system of locomotive and car transportation and the advent of the heavy duty truck as a replacement. The initial use of trucks was followed shortly by the first installation of a conveyor belt for open-pit ore haulage. The growth of the combination of trucks for gathering units delivering to a conveyor system for transportation out of the pit, has been rapid and this transition appears to have reached a peak in 1949 with locomotives and cars now being used in only a few of the largest open pits. One point which must be considered, if we assume that the maximum equipment change- over point has been reached, is that the largest pits have probably passed their peak of production. Future ore replacement must come from smaller pits wherein the truck conveyor system has done an outstanding job.

Jan 1, 1950