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By D’Arcy A. Shock, J. G. Davis

Continental Oil Co. has spent more than four years of research on the fundamentals of recovery of potash by solution mining. This work included laboratory investigations of salt solution, brine flow, selective extraction of KC1 from sylvinite, and control of cavity geometry. Laboratory results were expanded by means of a series of field tests, and subjects such as well completion and hydraulic fracturing were added to the investigation. Both single-well and multiwell mining systems were studied in the field work. This paper discusses one field test in which potash was solution mined from a thin sylvinite ore zone in the Carlsbad Potash Basin. A two-well mining system was used for this test.

Jan 1, 1970

By Robert H. Weber

Increasing acceptance of perlite products, chiefly in the fields of lightweight structural aggregates and thermal and acoustic insulation, has led to expanding market demands that have encouraged many new producers to enter the field. In some instances, however, the failure of these producers to anticipate the variable response of perlite to conventional processing methods has led to difficulty in establishing an economical flowsheet by which a predictable specification product could be obtained. It is not the writer's intent to provide a solution to these problems, but rather to summarize their nature. It is to be hoped that members of the industry who have hurdled some of these obstacles will document solutions arising from their experience.

Jan 2, 1955

By R. W. Raymond

Some months ago I heard from a party of returned tourists an amusing story of a Chinese laundryman in the National Park who had included in his cabin a hot spring, of which he was accustomed to avail himself in his business, and who, on one occasion, having thrown a lot of linen into this spring to soak overnight, had added a piece of soap to facilitate the process, and had been considerably surprised when, stimulated by this soap, the spring had suddenly become a geyser and wrecked his establishment. The story went on to say that the practice of "soaping" geysers to make them, active had become general, but had been forbidden by the authorities.

Jan 1, 1889

By O. W. Walvoord

To those working in the mineral industry, the flowsheet is a familiar and valuable tool, seldom used, unfortunately, to its fullest advantage. As with so many other commonplace and simple items, there is little or no attempt to expand on the forms, and types of flowsheets. A flowsheet or flow diagram may be defined as an illustration showing circulation of the ore stream in a concentrating plant. It may be further described as an explanatory graphic design or picture. A flowsheet is obtained by interpreting the metallurgists' research and ore test data, usually with some adjustments to suit the economies of the project. It brings together, in compact form, information from a number of sources.

Oct 1, 1956

By Robert N. McIndoo

A good tire program must begin at the top; management must have an awareness of the tremendous potential for cost saving that tires represent. At Reserve Mining Co., tires account for 33% of the cost of maintaining its 44 tractor-trailer side-dump haulers and 22% of its 32 rear-dump trucks. In comparison, engine overhauls account for only 6% of the maintenance dollar. Doubling the present engine life would save only 3%. The open-pit mine, located near Babbitt, Minn., moves about 46 million t/y with its off highway fleet. Mine roadways total in excess of 160 km (100 miles) and about 1200 tires are in active use at any given time.

Jan 3, 1978

By John J. Elango

Strain gage load cells, the most widely used type of nonmechanical weight sensor, are capable of taking measurements between 0.45-4.5 million kg (1-1 million lb) with an accuracy of 0.05%. They are available in a wide range of standard capacities, configurations, and accuracies, and special load cells may be custom-manufactured to meet unusual requirements. Typical applications include automated batch processing, process monitoring and control, mixing of powders and liquids, weighing coal or other materials in silos, and in large platform systems that weigh trucks and railcars. Because the strain gage load cell produces an electrical signal proportional to the applied load, it readily interfaces with readouts, keyboards, computer terminals, and alarm systems.

Jan 6, 1979

By M. E. Wadsworth

"For his creative efforts in explaining the electrochemistry of sulfide mineral leaching systems." Leaching reactions that occur during the dissolution of selected base metal sulfides and metals are considered in terms of surface reactions and the influence of intermediate or final products formed. These products may be solid layers, requiring solid phase diffusion for the reaction to proceed, or ions in solution that can influence the kinetics by controlling the mixed potential of the solid. Three general types of reactions are proposed to explain observed rates of reaction. Examples are presented for non-oxidative and oxidative leaching of galena (PbS), anodic dissolution and oxidative leaching of molybdenite (MoS2) and cyanidation of silver and gold.

Jan 1, 1986

By W. M. Duncan, F. S. Kendorski, C. V. Jude

After shotcrete had been in use for a short time al the Climax Mine of the Climax Molybdenum Co., Climax, Colo., it was noted that regular longhole undercutting blasts would severely damage or detach slusher drift shotcrete linings. If this were to be a usual occurrence, the widespread application of shotcrete would have to be reexamined or abandoned. Concrete drift linings are affected less by blasting because of occasional significant gaps between the placed concrete and rock and the greater thickness of poured-in-place linings. Research Project Organized A research project was organized to determine: 1) the seriousness of the problem, 2) more complete in-use shotcrete strength data, and 3) possible solutions.

Jan 12, 1973

By Milton E. Wadsworth, Edward M. Eyring

Better understanding of solid surfaces and their associated adsorption products is of both academic and practical value. The study of detergents and their behavior in cleaning surfaces is fundamentally related to the nature of the products adsorbed and their ability to compete for certain surfaces. Similarly in flotation, the nature of the adsorbate before and after adsorption is basic to clear understanding of the process. The recently developed pellet technique employing infrared spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for the study of solid surfaces. Absorption bands, which are infrared-active, may be observed for adsorbed products. Also any changes in the surface substrate that occur as a result of adsorption may be detected by means of differential spectra

May 1, 1956

By Henry A. Pohs

It is a rare work of art that attains the proportions of a major construction project. One instance of such a phenomenon is Bartholdi's Miss Liberty, which was designed and built section by section in Paris and then erected in New York Harbor. Another is Borglum's massive presidential quartet hewn from the granite of Mount Rushmore. Now, however, there is a new monument in the making which will completely dwarf all others. The sculptor of this supercolossus is Korczak Ziolkowski, a colorful, bearded genius who assisted Borglum on Mount Rushmore and is now carving his own granite masterpiece from Thunderhead Mountain near Custer, S. D., just ten crow-flight miles away from Rushmore.

Jan 11, 1966

By P. Somasundaran Discussion by Knut L. Sandvik

Knut L. Sandvik (Mining Engineer, Mineral Dressing Laboratory, Technical University of Norway, Trond-heim, Norway) — The discovery that adsorption at solid-liquid interfaces is influenced by adsorption at other interfaces may prove very fruitful in the further development of flotation theory. Having reached the same conclusions as P. Somasundaran in some experiments with amine hydrochlorides, I would like to offer more direct evidence of the interfacial adsorption mechanism based on surface tension measurements and adsorption studies.' This evidence was derived from flotation tests carried out in a Hallimond tube at neutral pH and 60°C. The amount of amine solution and quartz surface were chosen to insure measurable concentration changes during flotation due to adsorption. Adsorption data for

Jan 1, 1969

By Graham MacFarlane

The eastern coal-field of Kentucky covers about 11,000 square miles of territory. On the east and south it extends to the State lines of West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. Its western boundary may be roughly described as an irregular line beginning at the Ohio river, in Greenup county, thence through the counties of Carter, Menifee, Wolfe, Estill, Jackson, Rockcastle, Pulaski and Wayne, to the Tennessee line. The changes in the rock-intervals and in the coal-seams from the northeastern end of the field to the south and southeastern end are so great that no satisfactory identification of the coals has yet been made, and the correlation of the Kentucky coals

Jan 1, 1896

The Anglovaal Group has released details concerning its new processes for recovering platinum group metals, stating that the Group's system, which involves batch processing and precipitation methods for these metals (PGM's), leads to faster recovery times, increased recoveries, and higher purities than the conventional process. Insofar as South Africa's Merensky Reef is concerned, the Anglovaal method of recovering palladium first (as opposed to platinum in the conventional process) enables it to use a much simpler process in the subsequent recovery of platinum and other metals. Because the processes give cleaner separations, the volume of material to be recirculated -and therefore the total volume of material in the recovery circuits- is reduced substantially.

Jan 3, 1976

By A. F. Meger

REPRESENTED here are the ideas and varied experiences of many people in the Hanna Coal Co. who have helped develop, over a number of years, an efficient and flexible method for spraying con- trolled amounts of oil on coal. Since the George- town preparation plant began operations early in 1951, oil treatment of coal has received special attention. It is believed that oil treating will satisfy present customers and also attract new markets. The first step in developing the new method of oil spraying was the construction of a dust cabinet for testing 50-lb samples of treated coal with the available oil sprays on the market. Tests results were tabulated for both indoor and outdoor storage.

Jan 7, 1954

By N. J. Feola, E. P. Klier

NOTCH properties of titanium materials have been extensively investigated in the impact test.'-" For the most part the impact strength meas- ured suggests a ductile-brittle transition that lies at relatively high temperatures, thus indicating a possible notch sensitive condition at ambient temperatures. Recently it has been shown' that the impact strength for unalloyed titanium, as for aluminum alloys, may be a nonsensitive index of notch sensitivity as provided by the notch strength as measured in the notch tensile test. The notch strength for unalloyed titanium was found to depend on the nitrogen and carbon contamination levels. In the present work the levels to which oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon contaminants can be tolerated without leading to excessive em-

Jan 1, 1958

By D. O. Rausch

The economic relationship between steepening slopes and decreasing waste removal requirements ahead of ore mining is one of the most important factors in the design of open-pit mines. The steepness and stability of the pit slopes often spells the difference between ore and waste profit or loss in low cost open-pit operations. Unfortunately, the technology necessary for designing stable rock slopes is still in the early stages of development. Past and current pit-design methods have been, and still are, empirical, with rock slopes frequently made too steep or too shallow. As such, large expenditures are often made for correcting slopes after failures occur, or for unnecessarily removing more waste material than required.

Jan 6, 1965

By John A. Church

In a recent paper read before the Institute it was said of faults that "the sensible expression of the fracture is an earthquake." This notion, which has been expressed before, though usually as a theory and not as an admitted conclusion, is based upon the early belief that faulting is a violent rupture of the earth's crust. Faults are of different kinds, from great dislocations of the earth —hundreds of miles in length—down to the still more mysterious displacements with which miners have to deal. The latter are usually quite short, from 1000 to 20,000 feet in length, but are distinguished even above their greater brethren by the excessive pro-

Jan 1, 1893

By Frederick Prime

In this supplementary list no titles to which an * is prefixed have been seen by the compiler; and he will be most thankfu1 to have any omissions or inaccuracies in the list sent to him to be published as a second supplement in the next volume of the Transactions. The author is indebted to Messrs. Robert Clarke, of Cincinnati; Thomas Macfarland, of Towanda; Professor F. W. Simonds, of Chapel Hill; and Professor J. J. Stevenson, of New York, for valuable assistance. Cedar Point IRON Company, Baltimore, July 31st, 1880. Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama. Report of Progress for 1877 and 1878; by Eugene A. Smith, State Geologist. Montgomery, 1879. 8vo., 139 pp., and 4 maps.

Jan 1, 1880

By W. B. Frank

Events of the mid-1970s have materially affected US coal production and transportation by railroad. Coal, as a replacement or substitute for petroleum fuels, has been hauled in significantly increased tonnages. Concurrent with the new demand, the railroad regulatory environment has undergone major changes, especially in deregulation activity. Those two events have produced considerable litigation regarding coal rates. This paper discusses the factors involved with railroad rates and topics such as revenue adequacy, Ramsey Pricing, stand-alone cost, and differential pricing. In addition, an update on the western railroad merger situation and the implications for coal transportation are presented. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the current regulatory climate and future prospects.

Jan 1, 1985

By Colin Fink

TANTALUM and columbium occur together in tantalite and columbite ores, which may be considered as ferrotantalate (FeTa206), with part of the iron and tantalum replaced by manganese and columbium respectively, the general formula, therefore, becoming (Fe, Mn)O.(Ta, Cb)205. The ratio of tantalum to columbium is not fixed; the amount of tantalum may vary from one-third to three times that of columbium. Minerals having a high content of tantalum are called tantalite, while those possessing larger amounts of columbium are classified as columbite ores. These minerals are found in pegmatites and often occur in veins associated with cassiterite and wolframite, and may contain small amounts of tin, tungsten, titanium and silica.1

Jan 1, 1931