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By C. F. de Mendonca, T. Kater, R. P. de Souza

Since 1976, Cia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) has carried out tests to develop a type of pellet made with an organic binder. Peridur is one binder that showed it could be used in industrial plants. Extensive tests were run in CVRD's pilot plant. The results are presented in this paper. The decision was made to carry out an industrial production of 50 ht (55,000 st) of pellets. The results are shown in this paper. No detrimental effects of the Peridur were observed in either the process or in product quality.

Jan 1, 1985

For a nation whose mining industry has generally been floating through history in the shadows of major mining developments elsewhere in the world, Australia has in the decade of the Sixties made a convincing bid to be one of the world's great "store- houses" of minerals. In fact, at the rate things are developing Down Under and Out Back, what with professional prospecting teams crisscrossing the continent under the direction of professional exploration management, Australia may one day find itself as the world's greatest storehouse. Whereas Necessity may be the Mother of Invention, Consumption is surely the Mother of Exploration. At least this is true in Australia of today. First, the forecasted shortage of iron ore in the world led to the fabulous discoveries in the Pilbara district of Western Australia. Now, the demand for nickel has generated even more interest among mining companies in the vast, untapped potential of Australia.

Jan 10, 1968

A few years later another gazetteer said of Virginia: "The Ouasioto Mountains are 50 or 60 miles wide at the Gap. These mountains abound in coal, lime and free-stone." The Gap was the Potomac River. "Copper, iron, black-lead, coal, marble, limestone &c are found in this country."' In the Morris papers, in Louisa and Goochland Counties, some records of operations in 1797 and 1798 have been preserved. These are: [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By W. B. Mather

THE object of this paper is to record and interpret data collected during the examination of over 250 barite deposits in the Central Mineral District of Missouri. [ ] In the course of this study, the origin of the deposits, which the author believes to be hydrothermal, has been given particular attention. Economic barite deposits occur in two main areas in Missouri: (I) in the Washington County District of Southeast Missouri, from which over go pct of the state's production is derived; and (2) in the Central Mineral District, which includes portions of 15 counties in Central Missouri (Fig I). Barite in the smaller Washington County District is mined from widespread low grade, relatively shallow residual deposits, whereas in the Central District, it is mined

Jan 1, 1947

By H. J. Winters

Position of the Porphyries in US Copper Supply The United States continues to be the largest producer and consumer of copper in the world. [Table 1] shows several production statistics for 1974, the most recent year that the non-communist world copper industry might consider a good year, and for 1976 and 1977. In 1974 an estimated 24% of the non-communist world's newly mined copper was mined in the US, and 87.89% of that was from the western porphyry coppers. In 1976 US new mine production was down to 22% of the non-communist world's newly mined copper, and the percentage of US new mine production supplied by the porphyry coppers had risen to 89-91%. In 1977 the statistics remained the same as in 1976. US porphyry copper production represented about 65% of US refined copper consumption in 1974, rose to 75% in 1976, and dropped back to 61% in 1977 as imports of foreign copper into the US began to swell. The financial situation of the porphyry copper mining industry continues to be very unhealthy. To see why; we can take a quick look at costs and prices.

Jan 1, 1982

By H. H. Lowry

SCIENCE attracts the attention and interest of an individual or an industry in general only in proportion to the apparent direct application to its immediate welfare or benefit. Engineering accomplishments, as applied science, therefore receive more recognition than the scientific discoveries on which they are based. Even self-evident truth needs endless repetition before recognition: engineering as applied science cannot advance beyond the science on which it is founded. Scientific research, and discovery, is sometimes forced by the limitations recognized by those active in its development for the use of society and industry and sometimes results from an apparently superficially illogical curiosity about natural phenomena. Research has received inadequate support except in industries born in the laboratory, the chemical and electrical industries, from which many lessons might well be drawn by their elder associates. The rapid growth of these industries has been largely due to close cooperation of scientists and engineers. Most rapid advance is made when the research worker and the engineer keep in close touch with each other's ideas and problems. Many of the developments of modern industry are based on dis-coveries buried for years in scientific journals because the "time was not ripe" at their discovery. The situation with regard to utilization of coal is quite the opposite. The fundamental facts in regard to the scientific aspects of the problem of developing the energy from coal are scarcely known. The engineer, without much scientific cooperation, has accom-plished much in increasing the number of kilowatt-hours per pound of coal from 0.31 in 1919 to 0.69 in 1934, in increasing the 1000 gross ton-miles of freight hauled from 6.1 to 8.3 per ton of coal in the same period, in fuel economy in production of coke, and in developing the production of motor fuel in Germany and England by hydrogenation of coal. This lack of scientific research on the utilization of our most important natural resource, coal, has been due undoubtedly in large part to the reluctance of investigators to study the interrelationships involved in, the complicated processes in which coal is used. These complexities are made

Jan 1, 1936

By Francis P. Sinn

IN the zinc smelting industry the year 1947 seems to have been one of putting one's house in order rather than one of any material technical development or radical change in operating conditions. Labor generally has been in better supply but several plants report a scarcity of skilled workmen. Some plants continue to operate on the basis of a six-day week and will probably continue to do so until labor is more plentiful. Only one plant is known to have operated on a curtailed basis because of labor shortage, but here the difficulty was lack of proper housing facilities. Necessary materials and equipment for much-needed maintenance and modernization have been in short supply so these programs have often been delayed. Laborsaving devices of the "Payloader" type have been more generally used for handling materials. Slab zinc production was discontinued during the last months of the year at Danville, 111. and at Langeloth, Pa. Both of these plants used the Hegeler type of furnaces fired with producer gas. It is understood that the rolling mill and possibly the acid plant at Danville will continue to operate. At Langeloth acid will be produced from

Jan 1, 1948

By S. M. Moos, R. E. Dugger

In reviewing available vacuum filtration equipment in this paper, several types of filters have been included which are probably not familiar to operators in the mining industry. However, it was felt that these units might be of interest in the event that an application should arise for the filtration of a product in the future that does not exist today. In addition, exposure of our industry to equipment used in other industries might have a tendency to be thought provoking and perhaps lead to the development of equipment and/or applications in our industry which do not necessarily exist at this time. Most innovations in filtration equipment have been confined to the improvement or design change of components and accessories, particularly reflecting the availability of materials of construction that have been developed. Recent developments in the application of horizontal belt filters have been innovative. The application of this unit as a substitute for or an adjunct to thickeners in a CCD circuit can certainly be innovative and perhaps provide a basis for reduction in capital and operating costs in this area. For example, mill tails are generally pumped at the highest possible density that will adequately flow. Tailings ponds and dams with their attendant design requirements are based upon this estimated water volume.

Jan 10, 1979

By Cornelius F. Kelley

EVERY man connected with the mining industry should take a significant pride in the fact that he belongs to an industry and to a profession that, from the beginning, has been constructive. The miner digs his ore and he gives the metal to art, to industry, and to commerce. The nature of our business is destructive only in that we deal with a wasting asset. That should be a source of great pride to those who belong to the profession. But unfortunately, the product of our mines, our smelters, and our re- fineries does not always go to constructive purposes. There are times when, in the administration of the affairs of men, our product chiefly goes to purposes which are destructive. When we look upon the panorama of horror that is being enacted throughout the world today, we wonder whether any effort toward the development of civilization and culture and education and well-being has been worthwhile. We are appalled to see the things that have been developed, through the application of science, toward progress and efficiency, now used for the catastrophic destruction of those things which are the most valuable that man has built. We must find hope that this is but an episodic thing; that it must, in the infinite wisdom of the Almighty, usher in a period of peace and progress, of civilization and development that will make man's existence upon earth worthwhile.

Jan 1, 1941

By J. G. Koenigsberger

THE electrical specific resistance of rocks in the field is measured by sending a current through a medium of great volume, compared to the electrodes, whose resistivity should be measured. The whole resistance can be determined by the Wheatstone bridge and the specific resistance calculated by a well-known formula. The resistivity of some rocks in place in Germany and in Switzerland is given; first, of a rock near the surface, and especially near electrodes. Practical applications are made in the determination: (1) of the continuity of a conducting orebody; (2) of the surface area of an orebody; (3) in the detection of a water-bearing fault in a salt mine. Preliminary observations are described: (1) on the influence of the depth of ground-water table; (2) on the detection of gas under high pressure in coal seams. The observations in this paper of the electrical resistivity of rocks and soil in place are along the lines of the very interesting method and results of the Messrs. Gish, Rooney, Hotchkiss and Fisher.1,2 All the work described has been done since 1920.

Jan 1, 1928

By Clarence P. Linville

It is recognized that, in all metallurgical operations, the greatest possible uniformity in all conditions is essential to the best results. It is the constant aim of metallurgists to secure this uniformity, and their success in this respect has been in many cases the cause of great advances in the metallurgical processes themselves. Of all such processes, the production of pig-iron in the modern blast-furnace is perhaps the most complex and the most difficult of control. Notwithstanding the great progress of recent years, there is still great difficulty in obtaining anything like uniform conditions and results in the manufacture of pig-iron. The reason is not far to seek. The ores vary in composition and physical properties, often carrying a varying amount of gangue material, unevenly distributed. The coke may vary in composition, cell-structure, moisture, hardness, and other properties. The blast, the weight of which far exceeds that of any other constituent, varies in its moisture-content and consequently in its chemical composition; and its temperature, by reason of the method of heating, is not uniform, but, besides varying from time to time with atmospheric and other outside conditions, has a maximum and minimum for every changing of stoves. Now, with regard to these variations, the modern demand for uniformity has been greatly aided. Chemical analysis has made it possible to select ores so that the composition of the charge can be kept fairly constant; coal may be obtained from a given field, and coked in the same kind of ovens under conditions which make the fuel practically uniform; the Gayley

Jan 1, 1911

By R. V. Smith, M. H. Cullender

Rigorous equations for calculating subsurface pres.tures in flowing and static gas wells, and pressures along horizontal pipelines are presented in this paper. These general equations, based on the mechanical encrgy balance, contain no assumptions regarding temperature and can be used with either straight-line or curved temperature gradients. The friction factors recommended in this report are based on an absolute roughness of 0.0006 in. Flow is always considered to he turbulent. Although these general flow equations are solved by numerical means, the methods are as convenient as many of those used today to calculate pressures in gas wells and pipelines. These numerical methods are illustrated for flowing and static columns of gas in wells and for flow in pipelines. The authors believe that the use of these methods will result in more accurately calculated pressures in gas wells and pipelines and that [he methods are more flexible than any in use at the present time. Also, the methods are easily adaptable to automatic computers. INTRODUCTION The problem of calculating subsurface pressures in gas wells and along flowing pipelines has been studied by many investigators with the results that two widely-used methods have been presented in technical literature. One approximates conditions in a gas well or pipeline by assuming that temperature and compressi- bility are constants tor the entire gas column. The other method assumes that temperature is constant at some average value but permits compressibility to vary with pressure at the constant temperature. While these approximations may be justified for relatively shallow and low-pressure wells, they become more and more unrealistic as the calculations are applied to the deeper high-pressure wells. In wells or pipelines where there is an appreciable change in temperature between the inlet and outlet ends of the flow string, it is equally as important to consider the change in compressibility with temperature as it is to consider the change with pressure. Consequently, the methods presented in this paper were developed to provide a workable procedure for calculating pressures in gas wells and pipelines which makes no assumptions regarding either temperature or compressibility. The friction factors recommended for use with the equations were the result of study of published literature and extensive experimental work with gas wells. The F,. values in Appendix IV which contain the friction factor are equivalent to an absolute roughness of 0.0006 in. as calculated by the Nikuradse equation. The absolute roughness of 0.0006 in. was previously published by Cullender and Binckley2 for gas wells; it is in agreement with 0.00065 in. of Smith, Dewees, and Williams1 for gas wells and 0.00065 in. of Baker and Swerdloff4 for pipelines; it is in reasonable agreement with 0.0007 in. reported by the Bureau of Mines and the American Gas Assn.5 for large transmission lines. However, any type of friction factors may be used in the equations by a change in the F, values in Appendix [V].

Jan 1, 1957

By C. K. Leith, W. J. Mead

One of the most significant developments in the iron industry in recent years has been the discovery and opening of enormous reserves of low-grade ore in eastern and northeastern Cuba. The two principal fields are the Mayari and the Moa, situated on Nipe bag, in the Province of Oriente. A less well-known district of the same type is that of Baracoa, at the east of the island, and another is in Csmaguey Province in central Cuba. In the comprehensive estimates of the iron-ore reserves of the world, published during the summer of 1910 by the International Geological Congress in Sweden,' these Cuban deposits are estimated at about 2,000,000,000 tons. Certain it is that the reserve is a large one. The Spanish-American Iron Co., the Juragua Iron Co. (Bethlehem Steel Co.), the U. S. Steel Corporation, and others have been active in this exploration. The Spanish-American Iron Co. has established a port for the handling of these ores at Felton, has built a railway 16 miles to the ore-fields, and has operied up deposits for steam-shovel mining. Its expenditures have reached an aggregate of about $6,000,000 in preparation for the handling of these ores. Shipment of the ore to Sparrow's Point, Md., has begun and may be expected to rise to a considerable amount in the near future.

Jan 1, 1912

By C. S. Simons

Manufacturers of filtering, thickening or clarifying equipment, have been active in developing machines to meet increasingly rigid operator requirements, and the innovations resulting from this effort are moving into commercial applications. In general, the results of these applications are reported to be good. Little has been reported on progress in theory. The growing insistence on the part of pollution control agencies that waste water discharged into streams contain less and less suspended solids is being felt by a broad cross section of industry. A new clarifier, based on the often rediscovered fact that suspended solids settle more rapidly in inclined channels, is being marketed by Neptune MicroFLOC of Corvallis, Ore. This unit employs modules of inclined tubes, mounted in the upper zone of the clarifier, which carry the water flow. These were developed for light solids, such as those encountered in domestic water treatment and in paper mill waste water. In these applications, flow rates up to about three times those permissible in conventional clarifiers are reported to give comparable overflow turbidity. By combining these units with mixed media filters, high clarity may be obtained with minimum capital. Use of such units in the metallurgical industry, particularly where water reuse or effluent quality is important, should grow.

Jan 1, 1970

By Mason J. Christner

Geology has become increasingly quantitative in the last 20 years. This trend has been accelerated by computer capability in the manipulation of data. The mining industry has been relatively slow to harness computer power, but the larger companies have moved in this direction in the past few years. Among the leaders in this progression is the White Pine Copper Co., and the following is a brief description of their computer system for processing, managing, and utilizing geologic data. Geology The White Pine mine is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 6 miles south of Lake Superior and 80 miles west of the Houghton-Hancock area, center of the famous Copper country. The ore body of chalcocite, native copper, and minor native silver, is a tabular body in the basal 25 ft of the flat lying Nonsuch Shale and the top part of the underlying Copper Harbor Conglomerate. Twelve or more

Jan 1, 1972

By R. Ward Grosz

The Robinson mining district in east-central Nevada is itself a century of study in the changing economics of the mining business. It began as a boom and bust area. In the district today, just west of Ely, Nev., the hills are pockmarked with the tunnels and shafts sunk in a frantic scramble for gold and silver before the turn of the century. But as the economics of dwindling reserves, rising costs, and changing markets were stamping out the efforts of the gold and silver seekers, copper took over as the king of the Robinson district. Today, Kennecott Copper Corp. has four open pit mines in the district and is planning a fifth. From these mines, Kennecott produces nearly 40,000 tpy (tons per year) of copper. In its hundred years of history, the district has produced more than $1 billion in mineral values, a richer treasure than that from the more famed Comstock Lode of Virginia City, Nev. Prospectors had reported copper outcroppings in the Robinson district as early as 1872. But the first significant copper orebody was not discovered until 1901. In that year, Dave Bartley and Edwin Gray exposed the top of the porphyry orebody that would become the Ruth mine in a shaft at a depth of 120 ft. Subsequently, other larger orebodies were discovered nearby which have resulted in this area being one of the leading copper producers in the country for some 60 years. Following a period of development and exploration, the Ruth mine started production in 1915 and continued as a prosperous underground mining operation until 1948. The mining industry in Nevada experienced the same increasing cost of labor and supplies that all other mining areas had to contend with, and by 1948 the Ruth mine was no longer profitable. The mine was closed down on August 8 of that year. Now, two decades later, the mine is to produce again. The key factor in the case history of

Jan 1, 1969

By Harlowe Hardinge, R. C. Ferguson

Laboratory and plant data covering 12 different operations show that lower than "standard" ball mill speeds increase grinding efficiency. In the case of high pulp-level mills, the gain is so great that the increase in capital cost of the larger lower speed mill will pay for itself in less than a year's time.

Jan 1, 1950

By H. DeWitt Smith

THE disastrous effect of two major wars on foreign economic health is giving American capital opportunities which might have not otherwise developed. At a time when discovery of major orebodies in the United States awaits fuller application of new geophysical tools and technical methods, U. S. investors must seek other fields where investment may be put to work. The unsettling effects of war have made it almost impossible for foreign nationals to develop mineral wealth, permitting Americans to enter at a time when U. S. mining, with a few exceptions, is in the process of expanding known orebodies and developing only a few new ones. Available capital, however, is not the only pre- requisite for entering the foreign mineral development field. The capital must be able to work in favorable economic atmosphere, a condition not easily satisfied in a world constantly in a state of political and social flux. In many countries, the political theory changes as often as the wind direction in March. Thus, the political stability of the form of government is of prime importance to the investor. In addition, a balanced budget and a moderate tax structure are important. Because in making foreign investment it is inevitable that one will have dealings with government officials, it is basic that they must be of high integrity. In countries filling the requirements, it will usually be found that the economic initiative of the individual is respected. Newmont Mining Corp.'s three major investments in the last 15 years have been in Canada and the

Jan 1, 1952

By S. A. Swensrud

REPORTS from smelters show that all were so occupied with the in- creased production called for during the first half of the year that little time was devoted to metallurgical developments. Improvements which have been made such as gas-firing and other alterations ill the reconstructed Hayden smelter, will require time for reporting. The labor situation at all plants held the most prominent place and put all other problems in the background. Coming events of considerable importance concerti the construction of two new smelters. The Chino unit of Nevada Consolidated which has long had its concentrate smelted at the El Paso plant of the American Smelting and Refining Co. is constructing its own smelter at the property in New Mexico. The newest Phelps Dodge development of the Clay ore body at Morenci, Ariz., will call for another new smelter.

Jan 1, 1938

By Theodore Marvin

NOW that real progress is being made in building airplanes that can stand up under adverse conditions in isolated parts of the world, utilization of aviation by mining and petroleum companies is proceeding rapidly. This isolation, offering such handicaps to ordinary methods of transportation, also was the thorn in the flesh of aviation until the recent advances in plane and englue design. The accompanying illustration shows one of the six new planes just delivered to the U. S. Government for map making. The planes will be used in Department of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Navy Hydrographic, and Insular work. There is a trap door in the bottom of the hull for a Fairchild camera which takes five pictures-vertical, N60°, E60°, S60°, and W60°-at regular intervals. It is manufactured by the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., Farmingdale, N. Y.

Jan 1, 1935