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By Andrew L. Mular, K. K. Humphreys

Introduction Estimates performed on potential future plants must by their very nature be either order-of-magnitude or budget (preliminary) estimates. Of the three types of estimates recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Standard Z94.2), order-of-magnitude and budget estimates are the least accurate. Order-of-magnitude estimates have an expected accuracy of plus 50 percent to minus 30 percent. In other words, it is anticipated that actual project cost will be no more than 50 percent above the estimate and no less than 30 percent below the estimate. Budget estimates, or preliminary estimates as they are often called, have an expected accuracy of plus 30 percent to minus 15 percent. The reason that greater accuracy cannot be expected in performing estimates on proposed new facilities is simply that insufficient data is generally available to permit performance of a highly accurate estimate. As stated in ANSI Standard Z94.2, a definitive estimate, i.e., an estimate with an expected accuracy of plus 15 percent to minus 5 percent," . . is an estimate prepared from very defined engineering data . . . (including). . .as a minimum, fairly complete plot plans and elevations, piping and instrument diagrams, one line electrical diagrams, equipment data sheets and quotations, structural sketches, soil data and sketches of major foundations, building sketches and a complete set of specifications." In other words, the engineering of the project must be fairly well underway to permit a definitive estimate to be performed. Such is the case only after the construction decision has been made, all potential alternatives evaluated, and major expenditures committed for a particular course of action. This situation is beyond the scope of this chapter. The chapter is directed to comparison of various technological alternatives for which site specific engineering data is not generally available. Accordingly, such comparisons can be made only by utilizing preliminary or order-of-magnitude estimating techniques.

Jan 1, 1982

By Chung Yu Wang

During the time I was in charge of this mine, from 1914 to 1915, I had occasion to read the interesting papers by T. T. Read and C. M. Weld about these deposits, to find how far their observations corroborated mine. To quote from the paper on "The Mineral Production and Resources of China" by T. T. Read:' "The iron ores at Tayeh * * * * lie along the contact between a marble and an intrusive body of a dark gray syenitic rock. * * * * At one place it is slightly magnetic, apparently having been partly reduced to the magnetic oxide by the action of reducing solutions, which have deposited small amounts of copper and iron sulphides along the foot wall." To quote from the paper on "The Tayeh Iron Ore Deposits"2 by C. M. Weld: "I find the orebodies described as occurring along an approximately E-W contact between hornblende-granite and limestone. * * * * The granite is a granitoid rock consisting essentially of quartz, potash-feldspar and hornblende."' These quotations show the differences of opinion entertained by two observers. My own study of these interesting deposits has been intermittent amid the manifold duties devolving upon a superintendent. General DescriptLon of the Deposits The deposits are situated to the west of the Yangtse River, being connected with the river by a standard-gage railroad of 66 li (18.16 miles, 26 km.) in length, as shown in Fig. 1. The general topography of the region is of mature age, showing broad valleys with sluggishly meandering streams. These deposits are worked as two mines, named the Tieh Shan Mining Department and the Teh Tao Wan Mining Department; the former consisting of three orebodies more or less connected, named Tieh Man Kan, Sha Mau Tze and Lung Tung, and the latter consisting of Chang Pei Shan, Sze Tze Shan, Ta Shih Men, Yeh Chih Ping and Tsin Shan, also more or less connected, as shown in Fig. 2.

Jan 1, 1918

By Chung Yu Wang

DURING the time I was in charge, of this mine, from 1914 to 1915, I had occasion to read the interesting papers by T. T. Read and C. M. Weld about these deposits, to find how far their observations corroborated mine. To quote from the paper on "The Mineral Production and Resources of China" by T. T. Read:' "The iron ores at Tayeh lie along the contact between a marble and an intrusive body of a dark gray syenitic rock. * * * * At one place it is slightly magnetic, apparently having been partly reduced to the magnetic oxide by the action of reducing solutions, which have deposited small amounts of copper and iron sulphides along the foot wall." To quote from the paper on "The Tayeh Iron Ore Deposits"2 by C. M. Weld: "I find the orebodies described as occurring along an approximately E-W contact between horn-blende-granite and limestone. * * * * The granite is a granitoid rock consisting essentially of quartz, potash-feldspar and hornblende." These quotations show the differences of opinion entertained by two observers. My own study of these interesting deposits has been intermittent amid the manifold duties devolving upon a superintendent. General Description of the Deposits The deposits are situated to the west of the Yangtse River, being con¬nected with the river by a standard-gage railroad of 56 li (16.16 miles, 26 km.) in length, as shown in Fig. 1. The general topography of the region is of mature age, showing broad valleys with sluggishly meandering streams. These deposits are worked as two mines, named the Tieh Shan Mining Department and the Teh Tao Wan Mining Department; the former consisting of three orebodies more or less connected, named Tieh Man Kan, Sha Mau Tze and Lung Tung, and the latter consisting of Chang Pei Shan, Sze Tze Shan, Ta Shih Men, Yeh Chih Ping and Tsin Shan, also more or less connected, as shown in Fig. 2.

Jan 3, 1917

By Andrew W. Jenike

STORAGE AND FLOW Introduction The layout and design of a bin or stockpile for bulk solids should assure reliable feed at the required time and rate without spillage and, when required, without segregation and degradation. The typical procedure in the design for gravity flow follows these steps: 1. The bulk solids to be stored are identified and the range of moisture content, temperature, feed rate and time of storage at rest, as well as the storage capacity, are specified. The materials of construction of the hopper, that is of the converging part of the bin, are decided upon. Hopper liners and coatings to reduce wall friction are considered. 2. The flow properties of the bulk solids and the friction angles against the wall materials are measured for the expected range of conditions. 3. The width of a slot outlet needed for reliable flow of each solid under the full range of conditions is determined from the tests. This dimension is an explicit measure of flowability of a solid. The widest slot determines the critical solid and the critical conditions. 4. A suitable feeder of size sufficient for the widest slot outlet is selected. 5. On the basis of the measured wall friction angles, a suitable wall material is selected and a mass flow hopper is designed to ensure reliable and uniform flow of solid into the feeder and to minimize the load on the feeder. The mass flow hopper may extend upward to the intersection with the cylinder thus producing a mass flow bin. Alternatively, the hopper may terminate at a height equal to a few widths of the outlet and then expand at a less steep slope in its upper part in order to save headroom, or it may terminate in the flat bottom of a bin or stockpile. The choice depends on the flow properties of the solids and the size of the bin or stockpile. 6. The design of the bin is completed for the specified storage capacity. Multiple hoppers and

Jan 1, 1982

By Maurice Ewing, L. Don Leet

Assuming that wave velocities in seismic prospecting increase as a continuous linear function of the depth, the authors have derived formulas for computing, from two time-distance observations, the amount of velocity increase, depth of penetration and a graphical determination of the path of the vibrations, and have discussed the ground, reflected and refracted waves. The application of the formulas is illustrated numerically. Earlier Investigations Observations of the energy propagated from the center of an earthquake disturbance have been used to give information about the velocities and paths of elastic waves in the interior of the earth. One method of accomplishing this depends on the use of the times of transmission. Herglotz(7) § and Bateman(3) obtained a solution of the integral equation involved, which determines the velocity of propagation at any point as a function of the distance from the center of the earth, with no assumption as to the manner in which the velocity of the disturbance varies with depth below the earth's surface. The expressions on which the value of the time and the form of the ray of propagation depend contain an unintegrable definite integral, involving the velocity as an unknown function of the distance from the center of the earth. Wiechert and Zoppritz(15) obtained a manageable form for this function by assuming a law of variation which required a constant curvature form for the path within each of a succession of concentric spherical layers of the earth. C. G. Knott(9) worked out the problem for the first time by an absolutely rigorous method from the data of observation (Zoppritz-Turner tables), without making any assumptions as to the functional relationship connecting the speed of propagation and the distance from the earth's center. His method is a numerical solution of an integral equation, giving each velocity and the corresponding distance from the center of the earth in figures.

Jan 1, 1932

By Frederic Benard

The treatment of Balbach-Thum slimes at Copper Cliff by the Ontario Refining Co, is of interest because it differs considerably from methods usually employed for the recovery of fine gold from parting-plant slimes. Owing to the comparatively high percentages of palladium and platinum, wet methods are used to remover the greater proportion of these metals before electrolytic refining in the Wohlwill cells. The Plant The platinum-metals department, Wohlwill room, and gold-melting room extend along the north side of the silver refinery and are separated from the parting plant by a glass partition (Figs. 1 and 2). The platinum-metals department resembles a laboratory built on a large scale, with the various pieces of equipment laid out on terraces to facilitate handling. Because of the corrosive nature of the solutions, chemical stoneware is used throughout. Elevation of acids is accomplished by means of Mariotte bottles. On the top level are three steam-jacketed stoneware kettles of 50-gal. capacity, also a packed tower. One kettle is used for digesting the slimes while the remaining kettles are used for precipitating the gold. The dissolver is equippcd with a treated concrete hood, which is connected to the flue system. Gases are drawn off through the packed tower by means of a 6-in. stoneware exhaust fan. A 15 per cent solution of sodium carbonate is continually circulated through the tower. On the intermediate level are two suition filters, one for removing silver chloride and the other for the gold sand. The filter medium consists of an asbestos pad covered with a filter paper on which is a layer of twill. On the bottom level are two rectangular cementation tanks, 24 by 48 by 24 in. deep, and a suction filter used for removing the platinum-metal concentrates. The circulating pump for the packed tower is also here. Suction is provided by a vacuum pump having a capacity of 8 cu. ft. at 20-in. vacuum.

Jan 1, 1944

By William Glenn

The taking of proper samples of crude ores seems to he less thoroughly understood, or less carefully practiced, than its impor tance requires. We all know how often we encounter the reports of very accurate assays and analyses, the weight of which as evidence wholly depends on the method of obtaining the sample, and is very probably nil, because there has been no proper sampling. Pissages might be cited from technical books, and from current technical literature (all the work of writers whom we delight to honor) to show that even among high scientific authorities there is too little acquaintance with the practical art of the sampler. There is no metallurgical or chemical establishment which does not frequently receive samples truly representing nothing. They consist usually of bits of ore, or what not, selected because they are worse or better than the average of what they are meant to represent. And they are worthless, no matter who made the selection. Where conscious choice is permitted to enter into the operation, a fair sample will not result, unless by a miracle. The work of sampling is often looked upon as within the realm of boys and of pensioners only. At least, though the manual labor be left to subordinates, the principles on which it is conducted and the safeguards with which it is surrounded are not unworthy of the study of experts; and experts should he ready to teach these principles and enforce them in practice. For exact sampling is the indispensable first step towards learning the value of any boxful, carload or shipload of ore. I propose to give a simple account of the method of sampling by hand, such as I have always pursued. There is nothing new about it. So far as I know, it is the immemorial old method, as old at least as Cornish copper-mining. Perhaps my fellow-members in the Institute may suggest improvements in it. If not, it will constitute a record in our Transactions to which laymen and beginners may be referred.

Jan 1, 1892

By C. A. Heiland

The new geophone described herein was developed by Charles H. Hull, instrumentmaker of the Colorado School of Mines, and the writer. The first geophone was invented during the war for the purpose of detecting enemy sapping or underground mining operations and for locating enemy artillery. It is based on the principle of the seismograph—a heavy lead mass suspended by one or two diaphragms, which are clamped to an air-tight case. When the ground vibrates during the transmission of sound waves, the case moves with it while the so-called steady mass remains practically motionless. Attached to the top of the casing is a hose leading to an earpiece shaped like a stethoscope. When the mass and the diaphragm move up and down in the case, the air is compressed and rarified in the inside; thus the vibration is communicated as sound wave to the human ear. The geophone combines a surprising simplicity of construction with an extreme sensitivity. Other listening instruments were developed during the war, adaptations of the telephone and the microphone—that is, instruments operating through the medium of electricity—of which the so-called seismicrophone, an adaptation of the carbon-granule microphone receiver, probably has found the greatest application, but such instruments apparently have not proved as useful as the simple geophone despite obvious advantages arising from the use of electricity. The carbon receivers were more subject to extraneous noises and to what is called "frying," and they did not offer the advantage possessed by the geophone; namely, the simultaneous use of two receivers, which makes it possible to determine the location of the source of sound. During the war, the U. S. Bureau of Mines made a study of the geophone and of the propagation of sound waves through rock. These studies have been continued, as the earlier results proved the possibility of using the geophone in various non-military ways, principally in mining, and the results of these studies have been published.'

Jan 1, 1932

By C. M. Young

This is an attempt to bring together some of the knowledge of the coal-forming conditions obtaining during the Pennsylvanian period in the Western Interior Coal Province, to sketch briefly the present extent and character of the coals produced, and to show the beginning of correlation of beds over wide areas. Coals of later age than the Pennsylvanian are not included and, for reasons that will appear later, little attempt is made to cover the districts of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, and northern Texas is omitted entirely. Geological Conditions The conditions that made possible the formation of large coal beds in the United States were most favorable in the Pennsylvanian period, formerly known as the Upper Carboniferous. The geological conditions can be determined from the records, but not the reasons for them. Preceding the Pennsylvanian was the Mississippian, formerly known as the lower Carboniferous and still later as the sub-Carboniferous. During this time, large bodies of limestone were deposited and at the close of the Mississippian they were warped upward and for a long period were eroded. Then there began a period of subsidence, more or less interrupted at times, during which the Pennsylvanian strata were deposited (see table on next page). These consist of sandstones, limestones and shales, with occasional coal beds. At the beginning of the Pennsylvanian there was subsidence, which allowed the sea to extend over the eroded Mississippian surface to the north and east. It passed over eastern and central Texas, a large part of Oklahoma, with a projection into Arkansas, over Kansas and part of Nebraska, all the northern and western part of Missouri, a large part of Iowa except a strip in the north, most of Illinois, practically all of Kentucky, northern Tennessee, most of Indiana, all of the eastern part of Ohio, practically all of West Virginia, western Maryland, the west end of Virginia, and a large part of Pennsylvania. The Ozarks were already up and separated the main body of this sea, which covered the northern

Jan 1, 1936

By R. Thiessen

The question whether the kind, rank and grade of coal is in any way determined by the kind or type of plant from which it originated has been a problem since coal was first studied. Some investigators claim that the kind of plants has contributed none of the attributes that characterize the differences found in the various coals; others claim that all differences are caused by the contributing plant; and others hold that only a few characteristics are inherited from the kind of plant from which the coal originated. Most coalologists, however, give this matter no thought. It can easily be shown that the kind of plant which contributed to a coal had a marked influence on its kind and type. A number of factors enter into this problem, and all unrelated ones must be carefully eliminated, including metamorphism caused by the pressure of the cover, earth movements, mountain building and higher temperature. Only the fundamental substance—the plants out of which coal was formed—• and the causative conditions that gave rise to a peat swamp and the conditions imposed upon the plant and the plant substances during the formation of the peat swamp can be considered. Everything else being equal, the question then is, how far do different classes and types of coal owe their differences to different kinds or types of plants? Geologic Age of Coal Coal has been laid down in almost every geological period since the Devonian era. Even as early as the middle Devonian some coal was formed; although of no value it has great scientific significance. The most valuable coal was deposited during the Carboniferous. The coals of England were formed during the Mississippian, and most of the valuable coals of America, Europe and China during the Mississippian and chiefly the Pennsylvanian. From the Permian come the coals of France, Saxony, Thuringia and Schwarzwald in Germany and of Bohemia and of the Ural districts of Russia. From the Mesozoic come the coals

Jan 1, 1930

By C. M. Young

This is an attempt to bring together some of the knowledge of the coal-forming conditions obtaining during the Pennsylvanian period in the Western Interior Coal Province, to sketch briefly the present extent and character of the coals produced, and to show the beginning of correlation of beds over wide areas. Coals of later age than the Pennsylvanian are not included and, for reasons that will appear later, little attempt is made to cover the districts of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, and northern Texas is omitted entirely. Geological Conditions The conditions that made possible the formation of large coal beds in the United States were most favorable in the Pennsylvanian period, formerly known as the Upper Carboniferous. The geological conditions can be determined from the records, but not the reasons for them. Preceding the Pennsylvanian was the Mississippian, formerly known as the lower Carboniferous and still later as the sub-Carboniferous. During this time, large bodies of limestone were deposited and at the close of the Mississippian they were warped upward and for a long period were eroded. Then there began a period of subsidence, more or less interrupted at times, during which the Pennsylvanian strata were deposited (see table on next page). These consist of sandstones, limestones and shales, with occasional coal beds. At the beginning of the Pennsylvanian there was subsidence, which allowed the sea to extend over the eroded Mississippian surface to the north and east. It passed over eastern and central Texas, a large part of Oklahoma, with a projection into Arkansas, over Kansas and part of Nebraska, all the northern and western part of Missouri, a large part of Iowa except a strip in the north, most of Illinois, practically all of Kentucky, northern Tennessee, most of Indiana, all of the eastern part of Ohio, practically all of West Virginia, western Maryland, the west end of Virginia, and a large part of Pennsylvania. The Ozarks were already up and separated the main body of this sea, which covered the northern

Jan 1, 1936

By Lancaster Jones

The gravity magnitudes obtained by means of observations with the Eötvös balance in the field are necessarily resultant or total effects due to all abnormalities of mass distribution, including even the effects due to the ellipticity and rotational motion of the whole earth. Since the object of the survey is to isolate the effects which arise solely from some particular subterranean feature, and to deduce therefrom the configuration and extent of this feature, the first step is to eliminate from the observed effects all those due to "disturbing" (i. e., unwanted) features, whether above or below the surface of the ground. The disturbing features have different characteristics, according to their situation relative to the center of the balance and to the horizontal plane through the foot of the balance, or station point; this diversity was recognized by Eotvos, who divided the total effects into so-called Normal, Terrain, Topographical, Cartographical and Subterranean effects. This classification has been adhered to by most subsequent investigators, but the writer prefers to employ the term "three-dimensional," which really indicates the essential character of the class of effect known as "Subterranean," at any rate from the standpoint of the computer of effects. Before disturbing effects can be eliminated, the features must be measured up or surveyed, whether by topographical, mining, or boring methods, and then the effects of each feature calculated and subtracted from the total observed effects. After this the problem of interpreting the residual effects will itself necessitate the computation of the assumed feature, or even a series of trial features. The task of computing gravity effects is therefore of great importance. In the early work, by Eötvös himself, the computation practically ceased when the terrain and topographical effects had been calculated, but later surveys have demanded an ever-increasing extension in the technique of computation. Certainly in surveys designed to locate minerals, particularly ores, the calculations have to be extended far beyond those of Eötvös, while his methods of computing both terrain

Jan 1, 1929

By W. W. Gerberich, P. L. Hemmings, V. F. Zackay

ThE strain-induced martensitic transformation may be used to attain desirable combinations of strength, ductility, and fracture toughness. One of the parameters is the relative stability of the austenite. For example, it has been shown by Zackay et al.1 that the volume percent of strain-induced martensite is related to the combination of strength and elongation obtained. It has also been shown that the degree of transformation is an important factor in the crack propagation resistance of metastable austenitic steels.2 Considering both tensile and crack-propagation tests, it was of interest to see if there was any functional relationship between the amount of strain and the volume of strain-induced martensite. Previously,9 it had been shown that at room temperature, there was a relationship between uniaxial tensile strain and the volume percent of resulting martensite given by The data were obtained by plastically elongating tensile samples to a certain strain and then measuring the field strength to determine the strain-induced ferromagnetic volume. This was accomplished for two conditions having yield strengths of 229 and 233 ksi. The nominal composition of this material was 9Cr-8 Ni-3 Mo-2 Mn-2 Si-0.25 C-0.09 N. In evaluation of the strain-induced martensite at a crack tip: the question arose as to whether Eq. [1] would also be valid under triaxial stress conditions. Tests were conducted on 1/2-in. thick plate material having a composition of 9 Cr-8 Ni-4 Mo-2 Mn-2 Si-0.27 C. It was found that sectioning, polishing, and etching of fractured specimens could reveal the strain-induced martensite occurring at a crack tip. Care had to be taken to minimize the final polishing steps so as to avoid a smeared layer of strain-induced martensite. The method for taking metallo-graphic samples from fractured crack-line loaded type samples is shown in Fig. 1. Observations of the strain-induced martensite occurring at room tem-

Jan 1, 1970

By George J. Bancroft

Western Australia (often popularly called Westralia) comprises all of the Australian continent west of the 129th meridian. The latest census, that of 1895, gives it a population of 101,235 persons. It includes within its bouiidaries 975,920 square miles. About half the colony lies within the tropics. The climate varies but slightly, considering the vastuess of' the area. The interior is dry and hot, and subject to very sudden changes. The coasts are warm, and the rainfall abundant, varying from 20 to 40 inches per annum. Perth is the capital and principal town, having a population of 20,000. Fremantle (pop. 9000), distant 12 miles, is the port of Perth, but because it is out of the track of the mail steamers, the mail and passengers are landed at Albany (pop. 3000) on St. George's Sound. A railroad, 338 miles long, connects Pert11 with Albany, and the running time of trains is about fifteen hours. Kalgoorlie is only about 200 miles from the coast at the little village of Esperance; but to reach Kalgoorlie one must land at Albany, travel to Northam, within 66 miles of Perth, and then east at an acute angle 325 miles to Kalgoorlie; in all about 600 miles. From Perth a railroad also runs to the Murchison gold-fields by way of Mingenew, Mnllewa and Yalgoo, to Cue. A branch goes down to the port of Geraldton. The government operates all the railroads and telegraph lines, and has been very energetic, all things considered, in extending them into the gold-fields. As to the accommodations afforded by the railroads, the less said the better. The comforts of travel are conspicuous by their absence. Of the 975,920 square miles of Westralia, the government, in its magnificent way, cleclares 256,060 to be gold-bearing. There are the Kimberley fields in the north, of 47,000 square miles; the Pilbarra on the northwest coast, of 45,600 square

Jan 1, 1899

By Raymond E. Birch, Oscar M. Wicken

THE mineral magnesite, formerly the source of nearly all magnesia, now shares this role with brucite, dolomite, and the world's natural and artificial brines. The mineral magnesite is the normal carbonate of magnesium, MgCO3, composed when pure of 47.6 pct MgO and 52.4 pct CO2. It is one of the calcite (CaCO3) group of rhombohedra1 car- bonates, which also includes dolomite, CaCO3.MgCO3, and siderite, FeCO3. Magnesite does not form an isomorphous series with calcite or dolomite; consequently, these lime-bearing carbonates commonly present in magnesite deposits are there only as mechanical mixtures. Magnesite and iron carbonates form a continuous isomorphous series and therefore are inseparable mechanically. The variety of magnesite known as breunnerite is an isomorphous mixture of iron and magnesium carbonates. Magnesite may be either crystalline or amorphous (cryptocrystalline). The former, which includes breunnerite, is often termed spathic magnesite. Crystalline magnesite varies from finely to coarsely crystal- line in texture and has a hardness of 3.5 to 4. The color is white, yellowish, blue-gray to drab, red, pink, black, or mottled. It is seldom found pure but usually contains variable amounts of iron, lime, silica, and sometimes manganese. The color cannot be used as an index of purity. The cryptocrystalline variety is perhaps the more common type but the crystalline variety usually occurs in larger deposits. The amorphous type is fine grained and compact, showing no cleavage. It is usually snow white but sometimes is light to pale orange yellow or buff, owing to impurities. The fracture is conchoidal to uneven and the hardness 3.5 to 5. Silica may be present as inclusions of serpentine, quartz, chalcedony, or other minerals. The lime and iron contents are usually low. In general, amorphous magnesite is somewhat purer than the crystalline variety. The specific gravity of cryptocrystalline magnesite is 2.90 to 3.00. Pure crystalline magnesite has shown a specific gravity of 3.02 but iron

Jan 1, 1949

By Frederic Benard

THE treatment of Balbach-Thum slimes at Copper Cliff by the Ontario Refining Co, is of interest because it differs considerably from methods usually employed for the recovery of fine gold from parting-plant slimes. Owing to the comparatively high percentages of palladium and platinum, wet methods are used to remove the greater proportion of these metals before electrolytic refining in the Wohlwill cells. THE PLANT The platinum-metals department, Wohlwill room, and gold-melting room extend along the north side of the silver refinery and are separated from the parting plant by a glass partition (Figs. 1 and 2). The platinum-metals department resembles a laboratory built on a large scale, with the various pieces of equipment laid out on terraces to facilitate handling. . Because of the corrosive nature of the solutions, chemical stoneware is used throughout. Elevation of acids is accomplished by means of Mariotte bottles. On the top level are three steam-jacketed stoneware kettles of 50-gal. capacity, also a packed tower. One kettle is used for digesting the slimes while the remaining kettles are used for precipitating the gold. The dissolver is equipped with a treated concrete hood, which is connected to the flue system. Gases are drawn off through the packed tower by means of a 6-in. stoneware exhaust fan. A 15 per cent solution of sodium carbonate is continually circulated through the tower. On the intermediate level are two suction filters, one for removing silver chloride and the other for the gold sand. The filter medium consists of an asbestos pad covered with a filter paper on which is a layer of twill. On the bottom level are two rectangular cementation tanks, 24 by 48 by 24 in. deep, and a suction filter used for removing the platinum-metal concentrates. The circulating pump for the packed tower is also here. Suction is provided by a vacuum pump having a capacity of 8 cu. ft. at 20-in. vacuum.

Jan 1, 1938

By Noah Fields Drake

This paper is devoted chiefly to the coal-fields of the western part of the province of Chili and the eastern part of the province of Shansi; but the outline of this belt will give some idea of the extension of the coal-fields over northeastern China. This part of China is topographically divided into: (1) the mountainous peninsula of eastern Shantung; (2) the coastal plains, extending W. and SW. from the gulf of Pechili; and (3) the mountains and table-lands N. and W. of the coastal plains. The plains extend N. and W. from the gulf to within from 10 to 25 miles of the Great Wall, while their SW. extension covers western Shantung and reaches W. along the Yellow river almost to the southern boundary of Shansi. A line joining the mapped coal-fields, shown in Fig. 1, almost gives the western boundary of the plains; since these areas lie on the border of the plains—except the Tsê Chou field, which is on the table-land, 20 to 25 miles from that border. The coal-fields which have been mapped and investigated by the author are shown in Fig. 1. The one at and around Tongshan is known as the K'ai-p'ing coal-field; the one W. of Peking has been called the Wang-p'ing coal-basin; the one SW. of Pao-ting and N. of Chêng-ting may be called the Lingshan coal-field; and the one at and around Tsê Chou is known as the Tsê Chou coal-field. I. The K'ai-p'ing Coal-Field. As is shown in Fig. 2, most of this field lies in the coastal plains, and is therefore covered by alluvium and loess, which have buried the older rock-beds, and the more gentle and older topographic outlines, to such an extent that most of the re-

Jan 1, 1902

By J. M. Donkers, R. de Groot

The various objectives of dredging at sea require different methods and radically different equipment for their optimum fulfillment. In the majority of cases, sea dredging is done by means of dredging equipment connected to a pontoon or ship floating at the surface. As the supporting hull is subject to the influence of waves, swells, currents and wind, the connecting point of the dredging equipment to the hull will generally move relative to the sea bottom with 6° of freedom. The more important hull motions are surge, heave, pitch and roll. Depending on the actual sea and weather conditions and the size of the hull, some of these motions can be so large that dredging equipment of rigid construction (normal or inland dredges) cannot be used. In those cases where mechanical disintegration of the bottom is necessary and where accurate dredging is required, the designer must find a solution for this problem. For cases where the bottom consists of soils that can be handled by plain suction, highly sophisticated dredging equipment such as the trailing suction hopper dredge permit dredging under all but the most severe sea state conditions. This type of dredge picks up the soil from the sea bottom while slowly underway. The drag suction head is fitted on a suction pipe of such flexibility that the supporting ship can carry out all six movements in relation to the draghead (heave, pitch, roll, sway, yaw and surge), while the draghead remains in firm contact with the bottom. The suction pipe is fitted with flexible hoses, a universal hinge, a horizontal hinge, axial turning gland and sliding turning gland with horizontal axis and is suspended flexibly from the ship incorporating swell compensating buffer gear, keeping the wires taut and the draghead bottom contact pressure fairly constant while the dredge moves up and down. Due to the fact that the draghead has a low bottom contact pressure and has little tendency to sink into the bottom, this compensation is not difficult to realize.

Jan 4, 1974

By John C. Draper

The principal object of an underground coal mine transportation system is to move coal from the face where it is produced to the outside of the mine where it is prepared for market. In addition to the movement of coal, a transportation system must also move supply materials to the inside; it must move men in and out of the mine; and it must move rock and other debris out of the mine for disposal. Usually, mine haulage is divided into three categories named for the various areas of the mine served : 1) Face Haulage. This is used at face from the mining machine to the intermediate transport system. 2) Intermediate or Secondary Haulage. Generally this is used between face haulage and main haulage. Sometimes this is merely an extension of the main haulage. 3) Main Haulage. This extends from the secondary haulage to the outside and is usually either a track or conveyor system, sometimes a combination of both. Transportation modes of coal in the various areas pose different problems, but the whole system must be synchronized. For instance, at the face the coal should be removed quickly from the various places to facilitate the movement of machines, whereas the intermediate system just passes the same coal on to the main transportation system. Selection of the transportation system must be based on the seam height, mining methods used to extract the coal, capacity required, ease of coal handling, and haulage efficiency. When driving rooms, mine cars can be used. They often simplify supply haulage and rock handling because they can also handle these items. Conveyors could be used and would have a greater haulage capacity but they cannot handle supplies easily or segregate the rock. When using a different mining method, such as longwall, mine cars cannot be used because there is not sufficient space to move the cars at the face nor can the cars haul the coal without delays which would cause excessive losses in production. As for ease of handling

Jan 1, 1981

By J. D. Prater, H. R. Spedden, E. E. Malouf

With the expansion of copper leaching of the various mine wastes at the Kennecott properties, additional copper recovery facilities have been required. A research and development program has been pursued to determine a suitable economic approach to the processing of the additional leach solutions contemplated. lnvestigations on laboratory and pilot plant scales covered electrowinning, solvent extraction, launder and vat type cells, activated launders, precipitation drums, and precipitation cones. This paper contains information on the development and use of a new precipitation-cone-type copper recovery plant, which provides many advantages over older systems. The application of research findings to the old art of leaching copper from copper-bearing mine waste has resulted in a significant contribution of copper to over-all copper production. For example, at the completion of the current expansion program at the Kennecott properties in the United States, copper produced from waste dump leaching will amount to about 25% of the total production. Formerly only 2% was derived from this source. This planned expansion of copper leaching focused attention on the problem of developing more efficient methods for the recovery of copper from greatly increased volumes of copper-bearing solutions.1 The detailed investigations which have been made in laboratory pilot plant and plant tests for the recovery of copper from copper-bearing solutions have included electrowinning, solvent extraction, ion exchange and cementation with iron in launders, precipitation drums, activated launders, and precipitation cones. The results of these investigations have led to the development of a new precipitation cone-type copper recovery system providing many advantages over older methods. ELECTROWINNING OF COPPER FROM COPPER-BEARING SOLUTIONS The direct electrowinning of copper from relatively dilute solutions of copper-bearing mine water, namely solutions containing 10 to 20 lbs of copper per 1000 gal, has always been an attractive possibility.2,3 By this method, high-purity copper powder can be recovered with a power consumption of 3.5 kwh per Ib of copper. However, once the solution strength de-

Jan 1, 1967