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By John Birkinbine

Mr. Neilson was born Aug. 12, 1842, at Philadelphia, Pa., where he died Dec. 30, 1906. His business career began with his graduation, in the class of 1862, from the Polytechnic College of the State of Pennsylvania. For a short time after graduation he was instructor in mathematics at the college, and then became associated with Messrs. Booth & Garrett, chemists, of his native city. In 1867 he was sent to the Adirondack mountains to care for mining interests of the late Jay Cooke, and spent about three years there, operating the forges at Elizabethtown, Essex county, N. Y. He also prepared an interesting monograph on Catalan forges and their operations. In 1868 he published a chart showing the material progress of the United States, and the cost of certain staple products during a series of years, which is believed to be the first of its kind issued in this country. In 1870 he made a trip to the Pacific Coast, prior to entering the service of the Pennsylvania Steel Company.

Jan 1, 1908

By Frank Firmstone

IT is proposed to consider here only comparisons made between results obtained when the materials employed are precisely the same, two furnaces at the same works for example, or the same furnace under different conditions as respects temperature of blast, method of charging, etc. With this limitation, the most important point in the comparison is the amount of fuel consumed per ton of iron. This, in fact, is the only item in the prime cost of the iron which can properly be said to vary in consequence of changes in the furnace process ; for of the other principal items, the ore used per ton of iron, and also the amount of fluxing material, will depend on its richness, which, under the assumed conditions, will be practically invariable when taken over any considerable period; the labor cost also, from its nature, should be very nearly constant when estimated on the ton of iron. Moreover, as it consists principally in handling and moving material, it is greatly affected by circumstances quite independent of

Jan 1, 1876

By Jack Fox

Last time there was a Take Five in these pages, it dealt largely with the matters considered by your Board of Directors at the meeting on October 20, 1970, in St. Louis, Mo. It was impossible to cover all the points worthy of discussion in the space available. So, at the end of the Take Five in the December issue of [i=], I promised to continue in the next installment. Unfortunately, I was unable to keep that promise. On December 2 your humble servant joined the ranks of those who have suffered a coronary occlusion. While I was away from the office, the very excellent SME staff team that we have built up over the years kept things going without bothering the "old man" unnecessarily. Assistant Executive Secretary, John V. Beall, Mrs. Lillian E. Donaldson, Assistant to the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ruth Orologio, Administrative Assistant, and Mrs. Alice Ruiz exceeded even their usual dedicated efforts. As a result, the SME came up to the Centennial-Annual Meeting in great shape.

Jan 1, 1971

No. 230. Two engineers, technical graduates, three to five years, experience. One to take charge of 'pyrite mining in Canada; the other to assist in the mining work at the head office in New York. Salary for the right man, $5000. No. 231. Two young engineers, preferably men who have just graduated from college who are looking for an opportunity to work up with a reputable mining company. Men who have had some practical experience will be considered. No. 232. Assayer. Wet analyses, principally of lead, zinc, sulphur and insoluble. Assayer will also have some mill sampling and experimental work in a new flotation installation, as well -as control of regular mill operation and development-work samples front the mine. $75 to $100 per month and board, according to experience of candidate. No. 233. Engineer to lay out, erect and operate calcium carbide and ferrosilicon plant in the State of Washington. One furnace, 1500 hp. No. 234. Professor of metallurgy for school of mines in western state. $3000 per year to man properly qualified for the work.

Jan 9, 1917

By Eugene Ayres

This study is concerned primarily with a backward look at the projections made in the Report to the President by the President's Materials Policy Commission issued in June 1952. Only a few years have elapsed since the date of this report, but definite statistics available then were often not later than 1947. Today we have figures for the intervening years through 1957-virtually a ten-year span. What, if anything, has happened during this decade that was unexpected or wrongly appraised? In the light of more recent data and trends, will we be justified in modifying the longer-term predictions made in 1952? This study will attempt to answer such questions. Major sources and forms of energy will be considered from the standpoints of ultimately available amounts and the rates of production and demand. Electricity: The PMPC projections were made on the basis of an unexpected growth of about 10 pct per year. This was at a time when some experts in the field were assuming growth rates of not more than 8 pct.

Jan 1, 1960

By H. Rumfelt

Surface excavators for mining coal and such non- metallic minerals as quarry stone, gypsum, phosphate and the like have advanced tremendously in the last 50 years, and their advancement has paralleled that of excavators used in the construction industry during the same period. Up to a certain stage, the construction industry led the way with this development and even pioneered in how the equipment was used. Afterwards, however, new mining machinery and related operating techniques progressed along a different path than their construction counterparts because of the different demands of the two industries. The word "stage" as used above quite generally connotes a transition period, possibly of several years' duration, during which mining development followed the construction industry. Later, mining branched out and responded to its own needs. Most readers are familiar with the events which led to the development of the power shovel. The first dredge was recorded as having been used in England in the latter 1700's and was no doubt developed along the lines of some notes written in the late 1400's by Leonardo da Vinci.

Jan 1, 1971

I have the honor to submit herewith the report of the Secretary for the year 1915 showing the principal activities of the Institute: Meetings.-The 110th Meeting, including the Annual Business Meeting, was held in New York City, Feb. 15 to 17, 1915. The full report of this meeting is given in Volume LI of the Transactions. The number of papers presented was 53, and the attendance was 357 members and guests. The 111th Meeting was held in San Francisco, Cal., Sept. 16 to 19, 1915. Sixty-eight technical papers were presented, and the attendance was over 400 members and guests. The full report of this meeting is given in the Bulletin for December, 1915. Local Section.-A new, strong Local Section of the Institute, with head-quarters in Arizona and known as the Arizona Section, was formed during 1915. Affiliated Student Societies.-Three new Affiliated ,Student Societies were recognized in 1915 consisting of the Pick and. Hammer Club of the University of Oklahoma, Mining and Metallurgical Club of the Univer-

Jan 2, 1916

By A. G. Allten

EXAMINATION by metallographic and X-ray diffraction means of an austenitic steel containing 0.06 pct C, 1.26 pct Mn, 0.38 pct Si, 21.15 pct Ni, 18.72 pct Cr, 3.07 pet W, and 9.14 pet Mo indicated that a - phase, which had not been reported in the literature, existed in this steel. Both the s and car-bides of the M6 C type were present in the as-forged steel. The carbides dissolved completely in the aus-tenite at approximately 2200°F (1205°C). The s, however, was present at all temperatures up to the solidus temperature of the steel at approximately 2375°F (1300°C). Ferrite was not found in any condition of the steel. The faintness of some of the s lines in X-ray patterns obtained from samples of the steel made it desirable to isolate the s prior to verification of its entire pattern. It was found that the s phase could be separated from samples of the steel which had been water quenched from 2250°F (1230°C) by dis-

Jan 1, 1955

By J. K. Brooke, R. M. Dreyer

For mining engineers and geologists accustomed evaluating metallic mineral deposits, the problems inherent in determining the worth of non- metallic industrial minerals deposits for the chemical processing industry often comes as a rude shock. These difficulties lead to different, and often much greater, problems in financing the development of such deposits than would normally be anticipated for economic sources of copper, molybdenum, iron, nickel and other metallic minerals. The chemical processing industry is one of the two principal consumers of non-metallic mineral production, the other being the construction industry. In the last decade, the volume of industrial minerals consumed by chemical processers has in- creased by 30%, and further increases are forecasted. To satisfy this growing demand, many new sources of these minerals must be found and developed. For those of us who will become involved in such work, the following brief analysis of the major problems to be expected may be of help in developing a realistic approach to evaluating and financing such a deposit and selling the product to consumers.

Jan 8, 1962

A mine in the mountains of southeastern British Columbia is fast earning a reputation as the safest metal mining operation of all time. Already officially proclaimed as the safest mine in Canada, the H.B. mine of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada (Cominco) continues to advance its safety performance far in the lead of average accident frequencies in mines across the country. Official recognition came its way again this spring when the Cominco mine was awarded the John T. Ryan trophy for the fourth time in the last five years. This award is emblematic of top national safety performance of a metal mining operation. The H.B. mine is its only four-time winner. The Ryan award is based on a frequency of accidents involving lost time of more than six days. In each of the years that the H.B. has won the award-1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962-its frequency was zero, with no accidents involving a time loss of more. than six days

Jan 12, 1963

By H. I. Aaronson

THE TTT-curve for the beginning of transformation in hypoeutectoid steels containing appreciable amounts of relatively strong carbide-forming alloying elements often exhibits a "bay" at intermediate temperatures. In many of these steels, proeutectoid ferrite is the initial product of the decomposition of austenite not only at temperatures above the bay but also in an appreciable temperature range below the region of the bay. Hultgren has postulated that ferrite formed above the bay, termed "orthoferrite", contains the equilibrium concentration of alloying element at temperatures above the eutectoid range, and the extrapolated metastable equilibrium concentration at lower temperatures. The ferrite formed below the bay, on the other hand, termed "paraferrite", was assumed to inherit completely the bulk alloy content of the austenite without regard for the compositional requirements of equilibrium. As shown schematically in Fig. 1, the two types of ferrite were taken to have different Ae3 temperatures and different C-curves on a TTT-diagram. Their different kinetic behaviors were thus considered responsible for the bay in the TTT-curve for the proeutectoid ferrite reaction in this type of alloy steel.

Jan 1, 1962

By R. W. Wittkopp, J. D. Stephens

In a device known as the electron-beam microprobe, the mining industry has lately acquired a sophisticated new analytical tool that can dig out answers to a broad range of questions spanning all phases of mining activity. Essentially, the microprobe is a specialized X-ray fluorescence unit that makes it possible to obtain chemical analytical data for volumes as small as 1 cup. With this capability, it can be used both for determining the composition of small inclusions in rocks or metallic products and for monitoring changes in composition that proceed from a reacting surface. At the Research Center of Kennecott's Metal Mining Division, this versatile probe has successfully solved problems in mineral operations ranging from exploration through refining. A few instances of how the probe has been applied at the Center are presented here. In Mineral Exploration-A Good Look Before Leaping Since the objective of mineral exploration is to locate deposits of materials which can be processed at a profit, the mode of occurrence of elements or minerals in the deposits is important.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. M. Aubrey

Lying approximately 110 miles east of Toronto, Canada, the Marmora mine produces iron ore with a content of about 40 pct Fe, primarily in the form of magnetite. Operated by the Marmoraton Mining Co., a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Co., the orebody is mined by open pit methods. The ore from the pit is crushed, cobbed, ground to -100 mesh, magnetically concentrated to 67 pct iron, and then pelletized in shaft furnaces. The pellets are normally shipped by rail throughout the year from Marmora to Picton on Lake Ontario where they are unloaded and stored. Subsequently, during the navigation season, the pellets are shipped to Bethlehem Steel's Lackawanna plant in Buffalo, New York, for use in the blast furnace. At Marmora, the pellet plant demand and the concentrator output are not usually equal. To counter this problem, surge capacity in the form of storage pits in combination with a 30-ft diam thick¬ener has been provided between the concentrator and the pellet plant. Two sets of controls have been installed on this thickener, one controlling the…

Jan 9, 1960

By Peter N. Calder

This paper deals with the reinforcement of igneous rock slopes at three open pit iron ore trines in northern Canada. The pits involved utilize overall slope angles in excess of 60º with ultimate depths in the order of 250 m. Three case studies are described. The first concerns the reinforcement of a 300,000 Ton undercut rock wedge, approximately 70 m in height. This was accomplished using 20 cm diameter steel bales, installed in 25 cm diameter vertical holes, and a cement-sand grout. The second involves the reinforcement of a 40 m wide diabase dyke which had been continuously failing as the pit deepened. A unique form of rock reinforcement was used in that the entire mass of the undercut dyke was not pinned to the wall. Rather an interlocking effect between individual blocks within the dyke was relied upon. A third concerns the reinforcement of a berm which was undercut by the contact between the ore and waste. This reinforcement was also accomplished using a combination of steel bales, rods and cement grout.

Jan 1, 1982

By A. Bruce Matthews

Of the many opportunities in the mining industry to invest funds to improve operations, there is always some limit in every company as to how much can be spent each year for the acquisition of capital assets. Generally, there are many more opportunities for investment than funds to make the investments. As such, one of management's goals is to select the most profitable of all the opportunities available. Each opportunity must be carefully analyzed for its potential percentage rate of return. This percentage return or return on investment concept is an accepted financial yardstick of business profit- ability. For today's mining engineers, this problem resolves itself in the job of determining how to in- vest most productively the cash that is flowing from their operations so that it will multiply in value. There are four basic types of capital investments: Strategic investments, such as selecting a plant site, are those that affect virtually all long-run plans of a company. Change in a company's product line and expansion of company facilities are two other types of capital investments.

Jan 3, 1963

By J. R. Thoenen

THE proper classification of mining methods has received the earnest study of many mining engineers and has resulted in much technical con-troversy, depending no doubt upon the point from which classification is viewed or the use to which it is put. So far as the writer is aware, the discussion has invariably centered around the classification of under-ground mining methods, and only superficial attention has been directed to surface methods. Volume 72, page 10, of the Institute TRANSACTIONS, presents such a classification, sponsored by the Mining Methods Committee of the Institute. A similar classification by Prof. Hugh P. Nicholson appeared in MINING AND METALLURGY in October, 1934. The two classifications are quite different in their treatment of underground methods but are identical in classifying surface methods, although Professor Nicholson does suggest possible further divisions for surface mining and admits that such subdivision is more difficult than appears at first. Surface subdivisions as given by these two authorities are as follows, showing that in spite of rearrangement the two classifications are identical:

Jan 1, 1935

By William B. Plank

THERE are 19 pct fewer undergraduate and graduate mineral engineering students enrolled in the ECPD accredited schools of the United States this year than there were a year ago. The figures are: 8727 this year and 10,674 last year. The entire engineering group in both countries numbers 171,070, as compared with 184,547 last year and 252,250 in 1947-48, the peak year. This is a decrease of 7.3 pct since last year, less than half as much as the decrease in the mineral engineering group. These figures on engineering enrollment for the current year, 195.1-52, in colleges of the United States and Canada were prepared jointly by the U. S. Office of Education and the American Society for Engineering Education. The seriousness of the situation is shown. by the reported demand for 60,000 to 90,000 engineers this year for civilian and defense industries and only 35,800 will graduate next June. Many of the 1952 graduates are subject to Selective Service, having been granted deferments while in college, and ac- [ ]

Jan 1, 1952

By Frank S. Hurley

To comply with the California Mine Safety Orders pertaining to transportation of mine workers over mine railroads, the management of the New Idria mine in San Benito County, Calif., designed special man-cars. The new regulations, dated October 1958, make it mandatory for mine man-cars to be designed for carrying five or more men to and from the mine workings. At the New Idria mine, largest single producer of mercury in the U.S., each shift normally employs about 70 men. However, with the possibility of a future increase in the work force, seven man-cars were constructed with a total carrying capacity of 84 men. The general design of the mine man-cars was dictated by safety regulations plus the physical characteristics of the mine-low headroom, limited side clearance in haulageways, and track irregularities due to ground swells. The cars measure 10 ft long, 44 in. wide, and 50 in. high and were built at an average cost of $450 per car. All assembly work was done at the mine site.

Jan 7, 1960

By Franc R. Joubin, D. H. James

Uranium exploration in the North Shore area of Lake Huron goes back to 1847 when J. L. LeConte, a distinguished American geologist, identified a pitchblende-like mineral which he called coracite from specimens sent from a locality north of Sault Ste. Marie. In 1948 a search for the LeConte occurrence resulted in discovery of the Camray field, some 70 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie. Prospecting the Camray field yielded about 30 pitchblende occurrences spread over approximately 200 sq miles. Almost without exception these discoveries consisted of narrow, short, pitchblende-filled fractures, within or along the contacts of diabase dykes cutting pre-Cambrian Archean granite and gneiss. Eight discoveries were diamond drilled and three were explored underground, but none proved to be of economic value. Uranium prospecting at this time spread far afield, and it was in 1949 that radioactive conglomerate was discovered in Long Township of the Algoma district midway between and 90 miles from Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. F. Joubin examined this discovery at that time but could not interest capital in its development.

Jun 1, 1956

By L. J. Trilli

RECENT studies have indicated that there may be considerable difference in the cleanliness of the central pipe cavity of open top ingots. It has been speculated that some of this difference arises becausk of reactions that occur during reheating in the blooming mill soaking pits. In this respect, it has been recognized that an oxide coating or flow of slaggy material in the cavity could inhibit welding during hot rolling and thus reduce the amount of sound product which may be obtained. This note is intended to summarize some observations on the structure of a split ingot top which may be useful in describing a mechanism whereby the shrinkage cavity could be oxidized during reheating. A 221/2x241/2 in., big-end-down, test ingot was secured from a routine production heat. The chemical analysis representing this ingot is as follows: 0.08 pct C, 1.04 pct Mn, 0.062 pct P, 0.315 pct S, and 0.02 pct Si. The deoxidation practice used on the heat from which the experimental ingot was

Jan 1, 1957