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By Leo Greenberg

As one of its functions, the U.S. Bureau of Mines gathers and analyzes mine accident data, and then publishes annual reports on work injury experience in the various segments of the minerals industry- coal, nonmetals, rock. These reports contain a wealth of detailed data, with a multitude of analyses and cross-tabulations, all intended to shed as much light as possible on accidents and to suggest possible ways of reducing them. In this article, the terms, "injury" and "accident" will at times be used interchangeably to denote accidents which cause disabling injury. The Bureau bases many of its analyses on American National Standard Z16.1 for recording and measuring work injury data. This document establishes two models for measuring disabling injury experience: (1) the frequency rate, obtained by dividing the number of man hours into the number of injuries multiplied by 1 million, and (2) the severity rate, similarly constructed, with the variable of interest being the number of days lost due to these injuries. Similar computations are performed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Safety Council. Additionally, these models are used in many other countries, sometimes with minor changes.

Jan 1, 1971

By Robert L. Russell, Henry W. Zimmerman

The Bunker Hill mine in the Coeur d'Alene mining district at Kellogg, Idaho, has been a major producer of Pb-Ag-Zn ores since its discovery in 1887. The mine has produced over 29 million tons of ore from some 20 to 25 veins and ore zones and now covers an area approximately 1 mi long by 0.5 mi wide. The active section of the mine extends from 2500 ft above sea level to 1600 ft below sea level. Ore production is presently at the rate of about 1700 tpd. A 2-mi adit, the Kellogg tunnel, at the 2500 elevation provides access to the main shaft area. Ore is hoisted to the adit level through a 5000-ft. 50º-inclined shaft extending to the lowermost haulage level 1200 ft below sea level. Primary shaft service for men and materials is supplied by three major internal inclined shafts equipped with double-drum hoists. Present production requires ten levels to serve for main line track haulage. These range up to 5000 ft in length and are either 200 or 400 vertical ft apart. Also, many intermediate levels exist throughout the mine.

Jan 1, 1971

By Robert M. Abrams

The passage of an ore pulp through the froth flotation process results in the production, after dewatering, of a finely divided concentrate. This intermediate product must be handled to the subsequent process facilities via beit or other types of conveyors, hoppers, bins, chutes and feeders, and the like. Flotation concentrate has some difficult handling properties such as abrasiveness, sluggishness when moist, or fluidity when dry. These characteristics require the judicious selection or design of handling equipment and the careful engineering of transfer chutes. It is to the special problems which are encountered in this in-plant handling procedure that this paper is addressed. The methods which will be discussed have been developed primarily for the handling of the froth flotation concentrates of copper, lead, and taconite iron ores, but may be generalized, with appropriate modifications, to apply to other similar metallic concentrates. The controlled feeding of concentrates from bins and hoppers is covered along with some of the techniques used to transfer concentrates from one belt conveyor to another. Methods are described for unloading belt conveyors into bins or storage piles. The reclamation from storage piles is also treated.

Jan 1, 1979

By Henry Louis

THE work performed by, the Royal Commission on Mining Subsidence is likely to prove of permanent value, less perhaps for the conclusions it has reached and for the recommendations it has based upon these than for the admirable exposition which it affords of the law concerning mining subsidence and of the legal status of the person who has suffered damage by reason of such subsidence, as also of him whose working has caused the damage. The Commission was appointed by Royal Warrant in the middle of 1925 and delivered its final report in the middle of 1927. The terms of reference to the Commission were as follows: "To consider the operation of the law relating to the support of the surface of the land, and of buildings or works on or under the surface, by underlying or adjacent minerals; to enquire into the extent and gravity of the damage caused by subsidence owing to the extraction of minerals and the incidence of the resulting liability; and to report what steps should be taken, by legislation or otherwise, to remedy, equitably to all persons concerned, any defects or hardships that may be found to arise in existing conditions."

Jan 1, 1929

By J. C. Irvine

Meramec Mining Co., a joint venture by Bethlehem Steel Corp. and St. Joe Minerals Corp., is engaged in the mining, concentrating, and pelletizing of iron ore from the Pea Ridge mine near Sullivan, Mo., about 70 mi southwest of St. Louis. The orebody lies under about 1300 ft of sediments. It is tabular, about 2600 ft long and up to 600 ft thick, and lies in an approximate east-west delineation. The orebody dips about 80"s and is of unknown depth. The ore is primarily high grade magnetite with smaller zones of specular hematite. The Precambrian wall rock is rhyolite porphyry. The mine is serviced through two concrete-lined shafts, 19 ft 1 in. diam and 2500 ft deep. No. 1 shaft, equipped with an "A" type head-frame and conventional cylindrical drums, hoists men, materials, and waste rock; it is also the downcast air shaft. No. 2 shaft utilizes tower-mounted friction hoists to handle the two production skips, each with 24-ton counterweights, and a small man cage. The mine exhaust passes through this shaft. Ore is principally mined by sublevel stoping,

Jan 9, 1972

By Harrison Schmitt

IN the practice of ore finding the geologist is continually confronted with the question of oreshoot extension, so that the general problem seems worthy of systematic investigation. This problem appears when the reserves are estimated and when the advisability of deepening the shaft comes up. Moreover, there is need for lower development cost to keep pace with cost reductions in other departments, or even to offset a rising cost of ore finding or ore following. This can be gained by close geologic control of the development; and much of the geology involved is that bearing on the downward, upward, and horizontal extensions of shoots. Furthermore, the purchase of a mine or prospect often depends directly on the question of shoot extension; because it is seldom that the ore is fully developed and the purchase price is almost invariably based largely on "possible" and geologically prospective ore. Most current methods for estimating "possible" and the more nebulous classes of ore are crude and indecisive. In the following pages the extension of oreshoots is the major theme, although the more basic subject, the general art of ore finding, is given some space.

Jan 1, 1929

By G. K. N. S. Subasinghe

An attempt has been made to explain the behavior of a pinched sluice in terms of the established theories of fluid mechanics and mineral processing. A method has been developed to calculate the underflow discharge by assuming a logarithmic velocity distribution and free gravity fall through the discharge slot. The concentration profile of solids over the depth of flow has been shown to comply with Bagnold's theory of dispersive shear, rather than turbulent sediment transfer. Even although the results can be explained qualitatively by the Bagnold theory, their complete quantitative analysis will not be possible until more work is done. Consequently, an empirical equation has been developed to predict underflow pulp densities. It has been shown that the process of the segregation of the heavier mineral beneath the lighter can be described by a first order law. From the results obtained, a computer model of the pinched sluice has been developed. This predicts the underflow grade, pulp density and flow rate in terms of the feed and operating conditions. The model can also be used to determine the effect of a change in operating conditions, and for the optimization of rougher, cleaner, and scavenger circuits.

Jan 1, 1984

By K. N. Han, H. Lee, M. C. Fuerstenau

An investigation of the recovery of finely-divided cassiterite and silica particles less than 1 µm (1200 mesh) in size has been carried out using packed and fluidized beds. The bed particles used included cassiterite and silica particles ranging from 44 to 210 µm (325 to 70 mesh). Effects of various system parameters on the recovery and selectivity of cassiterite fines were investigated. System parameters included pH of the slurry solution, superficial velocity, slurry concentration, and bed particle sizes. High recoveries of cassiterite fines were obtained at pH 4.0 and slow slurry flow rates. In a packed bed system, recovery of cassiterite fines was greater than 95%, while that of silica fines under the same conditions was about 35%. Although the total recovery per pass is not as good as the packed bed, the fluidized bed system exhibits good recovery in general and an excellent selectivity of cassiterite fines. There is an optimum superficial velocity, vo, for the rate of fine particle uptake and the apparent rate constant has the form of Kvo1/2- K'vo, where K and K' are system constants.

Jan 1, 1985

By Bailey Willis, George Otis Smith

I. Summary of General Features. Location.—The Clealum iron-ore deposits occur on Clealum river, a tributary of the Yakima river; in the eastern spurs of the Cascade range, Washington.† Mount Stuart, 9470 feet in altitude, is a dominant peak of the district, which will therefore be referred to as the Mount Stuart district. By way of the valley and cañon of the Clealum, the ores are 18 miles from Roslyn, the colliery-town, which is reached by a short branch from the Northern Pacific Railroad. Where they occur the valley has an elevation of 2900 to 8000 feet above sea; that of the end of the branch railroad at Ronald is 2345 feet. The grade of the valley from near Ronald to the junction of the Clealum and Salmon Lasac rivers, 144 miles, is 20 feet per mile; thence to the iron-ores it is 130 feet per mile, through a cañon 241/2 miles long. Abreast of the deposits the western wall of the valley is formed by precipices of sandstone; the eastern slope is comparatively gentle, being cut in easily eroded

Jan 1, 1901

By Luis Emylnn Salas

If the ordinary wet method be attempted for silver-bullion containing tin, much trouble is experienced, varying with the amount of tin present. Even with a percentage as low as 0.05, the end-point is masked by a persistent turbidity, while with amounts ranging from 0.5 per cent. upward, the determination of the exact end-point is impossible, owing to the finely divided or colloidal metastannic acid resisting all efforts to cause it to settle, or to give a clear supernatant liquid. The object of the following experiments was to seek a remedy for these difficulties, and to find the conditions whereby the Gay Lussac method might be applied directly to these bullions. Material containing tin is met with frequently in bullion from Mexico or Bolivia; and tin is carried (sometimes in large quantities) in jewelers' sweeps. 1. A bullion was prepared containing Ag, 74; Cu, 25; and Sn, 1 per cent. A weighed amount was treated by the humid assay-method as if it were an ordinary bullion free from tin. Ten cc. of HNO, (1.21) was added, and the bottle was heated until all traces of

Jan 1, 1913

By A. M. Gaudin, D. W. Fuerstenau

By streaming potential techniques, the zeta potential of quartz has been measured as a function of the concentration of dodecylammonium salts at different pH values. These experiments indicate that adsorption of dodecylammonium ions takes place as individual aminium ions until a certain critical concentration is reached in the double layer, at which point the adsorbed collector ions begin to associate into patches of ions, called hemimicelles. Because of its effect on the surface potential of quartz, pH controls the adsorption of dodecylummonium ions. The value of cooperating agents and nonionized constituents of flotation systems is discussed. Previous investigation of the role of pH in the flotation of quartz with anionic collectors is here extended to an inquiry of how the cationic collector, dodecylammonium acetate, is adsorbed at the quartz-solution interface. The equilibrium amount of this collector adsorbed by quartz has already been measured as a function of concentration and pH. The weight of prior evidence has suggested that two mechanisms are involved in the adsorption of this collector by quartz, but with existing adsorption measurements alone it is not

Oct 1, 1955

By Henry Louis

The object of the present paper is to describe a primitive method of gold-extraction, practiced by a small colony of Chinese in the district of Tomoh, one of the Siamese-Malayan States. This district has been worked for gold about 150 years, but has been only twice or thrice visited by Europeans, who are looked upon with a good deal of jealousy by the miners. The gold-district, covering not more than 10 square miles, is situated about Lat. 5' 47l N. and Long. -101' 39 E., on the headwaters of the river Teluban. It is a very mountainous region, lying on the northern flanks of the great range that forms the watershed between the rivers Patani, Kelantan, Teluban, etc., on the north and Perak on the south. The gold occurs in narrow veins and leaders of quartz, intersect- ' ing and intercalated among irregularly upheaved and contorted, highly metamorphosed, micaceous and chloritic schists. These veins vary between 3 inches and 3 feet in thickness, and are sometimes very rich. The geology of this region is thus very similar to that characterizing gold-regions all over the world; if must, however, be.

Jan 1, 1892

By Eugene P. Pfleider, Claus Freyberger

Generally, the different methods of financing new mining projects are not well understood by the engineers and supervisory personnel. Nor are the effects of these alternatives on depletion, taxes and profitability readily apparent to even the sophisticated management personnel without the aid of cash flow studies. Fortunately, with the advent of the computer it is possible now to simulate many different combinations of 1) equity, 2) loan and 3) production payment financing with little effort. A general computer program for cash flow analysis of mining ventures has been developed and applied as a case example to a 1967 feasibility study of the Underground Mining of Minnesota Taconite. The effects on profitability as measured both in rates-of-return and present value are presented for various financing combinations. In addition, percentage depletion rates were altered so as to measure the impact of this statuatory allowance. Based on the cost data as presented in the aforementioned 1967 feasibility study, and assuming 7% loans, the rates-of-return vary from 9. 9% to [00] % on equity variations and from 9. 9% to 11.4% on total invested funds.

Jan 1, 1969

Visitors frequently put the question to Kalgoorlie gold miners; "Why don't you concentrate your mining operations?" A mine may be drawing ore from over a hundred different working places which are spread out over several thousand feet of strike and on many different levels. The answer to this question is that "finished" can rarely be written for a section of the mine. The intricate web of mineralization in faults, shears and fractures is an endless puzzle, each solution opens up new avenues to be explored. After the last ore is taken from a stope, a program of drilling may continue for several weeks on different possibilities. Perhaps no ore is discovered and drilling is abandoned, but it is not unusual for another search to begin later in that same area on a new theory with successful results. Wherever a slightly richer mineralization is found, it is needed to "sweeten" the mill heads. Over seventy years ago gold was discovered in the dry wastes of Western Australia. Rich deposits of alluvial gold were found at first and as these were worked out they led to the discovery of the lode ores, which were leaner and harder to extract.

Jan 10, 1964

By G. W. Tracy, R. D. Carter

A method based on an approach by Hurst' is developed for calculating water influx behavior. Using this method, superposition calculations may be eliminated. The principal diflerence between this method and that of Hurst is that, over finite intervals of time, constant oil-productton rates are assumed by Hurst whereas constant water influx rates are assumed in the presently described method. By adopting the assumption of constant water influx rate for finite time periods, a method is developed for calculating water influx behavior which lends itself to convenient combination with the material balance equation in the Schilthuis form. Above the bubble point, an equation is given for the explicit step-wise calculation of pressure history for a prescribed oil-production history. Use of this method of calculating water influx behavior should result in a considerable saving of time as compared to superposition calculations when the calculations must be made without using a digital computer. The connection is shown between the method described herein and the method developed by van Ever-dingen and Hursr2 (which requires superposition cal-culations). Also, results obtained using the two methods are compared.

By F. P. Haver, M. M. Wong

The Federal Bureau of Mines has developed a leach= electrolysis method for recovering lead from galena (PbS). Flotation concentrate is leached with ferric chloride (FeCl3) solution to obtain lead chloride (PbC12) and elemental sulfur, PbS + 2FeC13 -+ PbC12 + 2FeC12 + Sº. Over 99% of the P~S in the condentrate is converted to PbC12. The leach solution, composed of brine (NaC1) and FeC13, dissolves the PbC12 as it is formed, leaving a residue of elemental sulfur plus gangue. Very pure PbC12 (>99.9%).is crystallized from the leach filtrate on cool- ing and is subsequently electrolyzed in a fused-salt bath to obtain molten lead metal (>99.9% Pb). Spent leach solution (FeC12) is regenerated for further use by reaction with the chlorine obtained in the electrolysis of lead chloride, and other values, such as Ag, Cu, Zn, and Sº, are recovered by additional treatments of the leach solution and leach residue. This paper discusses results and conditions of the leaching and electrolysis operations.

Jan 1, 1976

By Mrs. V. J. DeCarlo, G. P. Salvo, H. W. Schadler, L. M. Osika

The lattice parameter of the inlerrnetallic compound Nb3Sn has been measured as a function of temperature from 80° to 1290°K. The results are compared with published data on the thermal ex- ThE recent interest in the intermetallic compound, Nb3Sn, as an engineering material for the production of superconducting devices has necessitated that certain engineering data be obtained. Because of the difficulty encountered in producing bulk pansion of niobium and indicate that the compound when made by diffusion of tin into niobium at 1000°C, would be subjected to a tensile strain of about 0.1 pct when cooled to room temperature. material which is single phase, the coefficient of thermal expansion has not been measured by dilata-tional methods. Therefore the lattice parameters of fine-grained samples of Nb3Sn produced on the surface of a niobium sheet by heating in molten tin at 950°C have been obtained as a function of temperature. The results are compared with published data on niobium2 and Nb3Sn3 and with lattice-parameter measurements made on small single crystals of Nb3Sn.

Jan 1, 1964

CHARLES SCHUCHERT,* New Haven, Conn. (written discussion?).- I embrace ace the opportunity to take part in a discussion of Mr. Woodruff's paper because a successful discerning of what actually constitutes pet-roliferous areas from the geologists' standpoint is worthy of our endeavors, not only from the intellectual side, but also because it may lead, as Mr. Woodruff hopes, to the more certain establishment of principles that can be applied to other continents in exploiting them for petroleum. This discussion will also embrace the results of two other recent papers, one by Alexander W. McCoy and one by Maurice G. Mehl.1 Sources of Petroleum.-Mr. Woodruff is agreed that petroleum comes from plants and animals, or possibly from both, and that it has ac-cumulated by migration into reservoir rocks. These reservoir rocks must of course be porous to become catch basins for the oil and gas, and then, too, their present structures are variable, as they occur in anticlines, domes, terraces, etc. , The structures, he states, are more widespread than are the oil pools, and the same is true for the reservoir rocks. Accordingly, there must be many good sands and structures

Jan 11, 1919

By Lyman H. Hart

Some of the significant facts that will affect the supply and demand for metals during the next few decades are given in this presentation. This is important because the only hope for intelligent guidance of the national destiny depends upon presenting a consistent and accurate picture of basic problems. The metals problems now fomenting are only slightly less important than those precipitating the energy crisis. Admittedly, it is difficult to generate serious thinking on this subject when the world is enjoying easy access to all metals at modest prices. This is possible because of the current world capacity to overproduce, and United States credit standing, at least up to now, has permitted buying freely on world markets. Although both these vital conditions are subject to change, there is little doubt that if the U.S. financial house is kept in order, we can muddle along for a while on a generally expanding, metalbased economy. But should our credit standing be permitted to collapse, or should there be a tightening of world supplies of metals, the nation would immediately find itself in trouble. Unfortunately, clear signals indicate that both of these conditions are threatening.

Jan 4, 1973

By N. J. King, R. F. Hadley

Alluvial valley floors constitute a valuable land resource and are important to ranching operations in the semiarid western United States. This resource may be in jeopardy locally if the alluvial deposits are disturbed by surface mining of coal deposits. Erosion problems caused by poor land-use practices can cause trenching of the unconsolidated alluvium with a consequent lowering of the water table and depletion of soil moisture needed to support vegetation. Historical evidence of this sequence of events is abundant in the geologic literature and serves as the basis for assessing potential impacts of surface mining. The potential geomorphic impacts of surface mining on alluvial valley floors with regard to fluvial processes are. (1) disruption of the longitudinal profile followed by valley trenching and high sediment yields downstream, and (2) replacement of the excavated alluvium with unconsolidated material that does not have similar physical characteristics and may be susceptible to erosion. Mining may disrupt the existing hydrologic framework affecting stream flow, ground-water levels, and water quality of both surface and ground water. Although functional hydrologic and geomorphic processes are similar, each valley represents a complex environment that does not submit to broad generalizations.

Jan 1, 1981