Search Documents

By M. F. Goudge

Production of many industrial minerals reached all-time records in 1965. In keeping with the high level of industrial activity throughout the nation, producers of many industrial minerals operated at capacity or near capacity, notably the producers of phosphate, potash and sulfur. In the case of sulfur, the demand exceeded production and orders were filled, in part, from stocks accumulated in previous years. Industrial minerals as a group continued to increase both in value and quantity at a faster percentage rate than metallic minerals and fuels, The U.S. Bureau of Mines estimated that the value of industrial minerals produced in 1963 was $4318 million vs. $2006 million for metals. Preliminary estimates for 1965 indicate that current value of production was again more than 2% times that of metals, thus making apparent their importance to the industrial life of the nation.

Jan 2, 1966

All data about shipments from the present state of West Virginia, even when it was still a part of the "Old Dominion," are shown in Table 56 together with the source of information, and all other figures are estimated. While the earliest production was undoubtedly in the extreme northern part of the state, coal having been quite largely used in Pennsylvania before any is credited to West Virginia, the largest production in the early days of the industry was along the Kanawha River where the salt furnaces used tremendous quantities for years before shipments were made by river. When we take into consideration the economic conditions existing then, it is evident that the consumption of coal by the salt industry along the Kanawha and Kiskiminitas Rivers rivalled in importance that of any industry today. There were no canals built in this state, the shipments before railroads were built being by the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, and production in the northern counties began after the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was completed from Cumberland to Wheeling. For some years after this line was completed all locomotive fuel used on it was hauled from the Cumberland region. The movement of coal from Boone County by Coal River to the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers from 1857 to 1880 is rather unique in its size and the length of movement, nearly all the coal going at least as far as Cincinnati and much of it to New Orleans. Fayette County began shipping when the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad was completed and Mercer County, when the Norfolk & Western Railroad reached there in 1884; none of the other large producing counties in the southern part of the state began producing coal in the period under study.

Jan 1, 1942

South Dakota produced very little coal in the period discussed, and little prior to 1883. The first record of the use of coal mined in the state was in 1874, and the tonnages in Table 74 are estimated. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By C. B. Auel

THE subject of this paper involves the crux of the industrial safety problem. It is not overstating the fact to say that "a plant can be made as safe as the management and the workers want it to be;" if such desire is not in evidence and it is not possible to maintain interest in the work of safety, there can be practically no headway beyond the first few steps. These first steps may be said to embrace simply the mechanical or equivalent guarding of tools and equipment and may be taken in a more or less perfunctory manner; but, it has been estimated, they will not effect a reduction of more than 25 to 35 per cent. in the accidents likely to occur in an unguarded plant. The question therefore may be pertinently asked, "Whose interest is meant in the title of this paper, employers', employees?, or both?" It has been repeatedly stated that no safety work of any importance can be carried on: in a plant unless the employer believes in the value of such work. Such statements are true, but have become threadbare with constant repetition and the public is led to believe, that employers differ from ordinary human beings, that their sympathy for their fellowmen has become dulled, and they can be awakened to a sense of the fitness of things with respect to safety, health, sanitation, working hours, etc. only by legislation. There will undoubtedly be found an employer, now and again, who measures down to such specification; but the speaker, in a number of years of close contact with large employers (and his experience has been duplicated by many others) has found that the employers are usually far in advance of the general public in matters affecting the welfare of their employees, including their safety, and not from a selfish viewpoint, but from the humanitarian, economic, etc. If, at times, there is an apparent lack of headway in the solution of some problem connected with employees' welfare, it is not so much due to indifference or a failure to be awake, on the part of the employer, as it is to a lack of knowledge of the way in which to proceed to its successful accomplishment. Further, employers are, only human and cannot follow. every one of the innumerable matters connected with an industry down to their minutest details; they must delegate certain individuals as their representatives, clothing them with the necessary authority to act. These representatives should be looked upon as the Management in their respective fields and the

Jan 6, 1925

By R. P. Brown

To gain some idea of the progress recently made in the measurement of high temperatures, we must review the temperature-measuring devices of the past. As far back as 1782, Wedgewood, a famous potter in England, attempted to measure his, kiln temperatures by means of clay trials, or test pieces, that indicated the expansion or contraction that occurred with certain changes in temperature. He also produced cones off clay, formed of various mixes, to form a whole series for the range of temperature met with, in firing clay products. These cones are still extensively used to measure kiln temperatures in the pottery industry. Cones are affected not only by time but by temperature and the rate, of firing, consequently, they are not an accurate measure of temperature. In addition it has been common practice for years to attempt to measure temperatures with fusible salts. Capsules of these are inserted in the furnace and indicate, by melting; when a certain temperature, has been attained. While' such salts cannot be considered a precision form of temperature-measuring device, they have proved reasonably accurate in checking temperature.

Jan 9, 1919

By Harold R. Bradford

EXPANSION initiated during and after the war has placed industrial plants in new areas and increased reduction and manufacturing facilities in communities already established. With added expansion interest has grown in possible area contamination from waste products. Evolved flue waste contains many chemical contaminants that may or may not cause concern; however, atmospheric pollution has always been a problem to industrial communities. For some time effects attributed to small quantities of compounds of fluorine in various waste gases have been studied by industrial, medical, agricultural, and associated interests.1,2 Aside from an article by Churchill, Rowley, and Martin in 1948,3 little has been published on the subject of fluorine in coal except by foreign investigators.

Jan 1, 1957

By Tell Ertl

TODAY'S mining industry is witnessing a transition in labor utilization. The drill-jumbo operator, the mucking-machine operator, the blasting crew, the scaling and timbering crew are all specialists. The all-around miner is rapidly disappearing. As mechanization has resulted in a higher order of underground skills; specialization of labor has been a natural consequence, as has the need for more supervision and engineering. Mines now are cleaner, neater, safer, and have a greater productivity per man-shift than ever before. Nothing spectacular like the continuous miner has yet come to the underground metal mines, but t a gradual improvement in methods, equipment, and technical knowledge is achieving the increased efficiency. With the exhaustion of the rich ores and large profits and who-cares-about-the-costs, mining has become a business; that of producing low value ores at costs below selling price. Charles A. Chase, patriarch of Colorado mountain mining men, manager of the Shenandoah-Dives, was one of the first to preach and prove his preachings that mining is a business. He has been mining a lead-copper-zinc-gold-silver ore, much from elevations above 1.3,000 ft, for a quarter century without a shutdown.-The ore is of such low value that most engineers and investors still would consider it foolhardy. Yet he has kept Silverton, Colo., alive, has paid wages without a lapse, has produced $25 million of new wealth and maintained a steady return to the investors. This type of responsibility is increasingly apparent in the mining business and is one feather that can be worn proudly. .Much emphasis is being placed on improving, the productive mining operations-breaking, loading and transportation. Breaking in underground metal mining is done by drilling and blasting. To the writer's knowledge, no chain or rotary-type machine has been developed for mining strong, abrasive rock. Drilling Percussion drills are still the standard drilling machines underground. Diamond drills, that: were the rage a decade ago for drilling long holes, are being superseded by the rock drill. The development of the hard abrasion-resistant carbide bit permits full-gage long holes to be drilled by percussion drills at a lower cost than diamonds. The change in the use of percussion drills is chiefly in the method of mounting. The column and arm are disappearing and the jackleg and rubber-tired or track-layer jumbo mountings are taking its place. At the Homestake mine .lightweight jackhammers mounted• on pneumatic legs using 7/8-in. hexagonal drill. rods and 1 1/2-in, tungsten-carbide detachable bits have been found more portable and maneuverable. They have less air consumption, lowered, dynamite consumption, and more footage and tonnage per man-shift than with 3 1/2-in. drifters on a column mounting. Drills now are mounted on longer feed carriages, drilling up to 20 ft without changing steel. These mountings result in great savings because the driller can set up quickly, drill the entire depth of the hole without changing the drill rod or bit using carbide and one-use bits, and can move his machine quickly to the next hole. One man to the machine is becoming general practice. The result is longer rounds rounds drilled at a lower cost than the previously used short rounds. A jumbo developed in the Tri-State can be extended to mine ore left in the roof up to 65 ft above the floor. Drill-rod life was formerly considered to be about 250 min of actual use. The increase in the drilling time per rod per day has gone up considerably with the development of the jumbo and the long-feed carriage, resulting in which is apparently more rod breakage., Consequently, a great deal of research is being done in the attempt to develop an alloy-steel rod with longer service life to offset the greater cost. Some reports indicate that alloy steel or Swedish steel results in cheaper drilling than conventional drill rod. However, several tests have shown only slightly increased life for alloy drill rod. Undoubtedly, the blow of the rock drill, the length of the drill rod, and the resiliency of the rock being drilled are important factors in the life of drill rod, so it follows that alloy steel might work well in some mines and result in no savings in others. The bit forged on the drill rod is seldom encountered and steel detachable bits are not as common as in the recent past. The one-use bit is gaining popularity because of. the difficulty in rehardening reconditioned steel bits satisfactorily. It is thought that the, carbie-insert bit is most applicable to drilling hard 'rock' where the steel bit is unable to drill out a full change, for instance, in extremely abrasive

Jan 1, 1952

By H. D. Kiddle

IN mining in Malaya has been a courageous ad- venture in private enterprise, attended by all the hazards of prospecting in unexplored areas of tropical jungles-jungles that still cover four-fifths of the country. To assess the contribution of an industry to a country's revenue, it is necessary to consider not only duties levied on the products, but also the revenue from all businesses and individuals directly and indirectly deriving income from the industry. Exact figures are not obtainable, but from 1850 until shortly before the first World War, tin mining in Malaya was a dominant factor in the Federation's development. Even at the turn of the century, tin export duty alone represented 45 pct of total Government revenue, while in the 40-year period up to the end of 1937, tin ore duties collected by the Federated Malay States Government amounted to 383,- 81 0,284 Malayan dollars,* approximately one-fifth of the total revenue for the same period.

Jan 11, 1957

Reports from the Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, indicate that although considerable drilling has been clone in the state of Utah, no oil has been produced in commercial quantities. Sandstone saturated with asphalt and other hydrocarbon compounds and small showings of oil in wells at several places suggest that oil may be found, in commercial quantities where the rocks are favorable for oil accumulation. In some places the structure appears to be very favorable for the storage of oil which may probably be reached by drilling to a depth of 3000 to 4000 ft. It is admitted that this will be wildcat drilling for it is not known whether the unexposed rocks carry oil and there are no surface indications of oil. This entire subject is discussed in United States Geological Survey Bulletin No. 711-A, and most of the report will be found to be contrary to the claims that have recently been advanced for oil properties in Utah.

Jan 9, 1919

By R. J. Brison, R. D. MacDonald

This chapter is written primarily from the standpoint of development of flotation processes for treatment of specific ores. However, most of the principles and techniques discussed are equally applicable to other forms of applied flotation research such as improvement of procedures in existing plants and development of new reagents or methods without reference to specific ores. Because it is not possible to cover this subject in detail here, much of the material presented is in the form of a guide to the literature, with emphasis on readily available, English language publications. Details are included only if considered to be widely applicable or not readily accessible in the literature. Related subjects which are covered elsewhere in this volume, such as flowsheet design and statistical techniques, are not emphasized in this chapter. The material presented is intended primarily for those familiar with the theory and practice of flotation, but with limited experience in applied flotation research. It may be of value to the experienced investigator as well, by calling to his attention some useful viewpoints or techniques that he may have overlooked. It has often been said that flotation is more of an art than a science. In- deed much of the knowledge of flotation behavior is empirical. However, the unsystematic, artisan approach to flotation problems results only in an ac- cumulation of unrelated data. Like any other physical or chemical process, flotation is amenable to investigation by systematic experimental methods. The experiments should be based, as far as possible, on an understanding of the natural laws that govern the process and on good experimental procedures. SAMPLING OF A DEPOSIT In working out a flotation process for a mineral deposit, no step is more important than that of obtaining a suitable sample or samples. Experimental procedures cannot compensate for the lack of a representative sample. Methods of sampling a deposit have been published elsewhere,l-4 but a few points are of special importance from the standpoint of flotation. First, the sample should be representative of the deposit, not only in respect to chemical composition, but also in respect to mineralogical composition and degree of dissemination of the valuable minerals. To help ensure

Jan 1, 1962

The earliest record of production in this county is for drilling a salt well in 1809. Some scattered data are shown in the table; the total figures are estimated. Little coal could be shipped in this period on account of lack of transportation. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By Robert M. Dreyer

Population growth in industrialized economies constitutes an automatic stimulus for expansion of the construction and chemical processing industries, which are a big market for industrial minerals. Of the total value of mineral production in the United States, excluding fuels, about 70 % results from the production of industrial minerals. The value of industrial mineral production rose more than 10 % between 1961 and 1962. A similar growth has occurred during 1963. During the decade 1952-1962, the production of industrial minerals increased in value by 98%, in contrast to an increase of 60% in the value of the gross national product. The accompanying table shows the percentage change in the production of various industrial minerals from 1952-1962, as well as from 1961-1962.

Jan 2, 1964

By S. Frederick Ravitz

FOUR liquids are ordinarily present in the lead blast furnace during lead smelting. At the bottom is the lead bullion, which is metallic lead containing about one per cent of impurities, including gold, silver, copper, bismuth, arsenic and antimony. Above this is the speiss, which consists essentially of arsenides and antimonides of iron and copper. The speiss is followed by the matte, which consists principally of sulfides of iron, copper and lead1. The top layer is the slag, of which the major constit-uents are silica, lime, alumina, zinc oxide and iron oxide. Similar products are obtained from the dross furnace, which treats the dross obtained in decopperizing lead bullion. The distribution of gold and silver among these various products is of considerable importance in the smelting of lead. In general, the matte and speiss cannot be treated in the lead smelter, and usually are sent to a copper smelter. It is usually desirable, therefore, to keep their gold and silver contents as low as possible, and to collect the precious metals in the bullion. If the bullion, speiss, matte and slag exist together in equilibrium, the gold and silver should distribute themselves among these four liquids in a definite manner, which, other conditions being equal, should depend only on the amounts of gold and silver in the charge to the furnace. It is thus apparent that a knowledge of whether such equi-librium exists is necessary before attempting to study the effects of various compositions of matte and speiss on the distribution of gold and silver among the furnace products2. Moreover, systems consisting of four liquids in equilibrium are very rare, and are of considerable scientific interest.

Jan 1, 1936

By F. A. Hill

Coal mining in the State of Washington offers many interesting problems for the mining engineer, due to the varied physical conditions occurring in different fields, and often in, the same mine. The different coal seams worked in the same mine commonly require different mining and transportation methods for economical operation. The coal measures have inclinations ranging from 5° to vertical, and in the same mine the dip of the coal may vary from 30° to 50°. In all fields, the seams are extensively faulted, folded, and sheared. The quality of the coal produced ranges from brown lignite to bituminous- coking coal, the following being typical analyses: Lignite Sub Coking Coal bituminous Moisture 23.5 14.30 0.57 Volatile hydrocarbon 31.0 33.03 23.57 Fixed carbon 37.4 41.30 65.55 Ash 8.1 11.37 10.31 100.0. 100.00 100.00 Very little of the coal contains as much as 0.75 per cent. sulphur. The brown lignites occur mostly in Lewis and Thurston Counties, and, as a rule are very cheaply mined. This coal has been successfully used in locomotives of the Oregon & Washington Railroad, after equipping them with specially designed fireboxes. The sub-bituminous coals occur in all the coal-mining counties. Their cost of production varies widely, according to the character of the formations, the pitch, and the wall conditions. This makes a fairly good steam coal, but the lump is used mostly for domestic trade, after grading into lump, nut, and pea.

Jan 4, 1918

By Leroy Palmer

ALL the domestic. production of magnesite during 1925 came from two states, California and Washington. Of a total of 120,660 tons of crude ore, 64,600 tons, or 54 per cent., were produced in California.1 Of .this quantity California produced about 99 per cent. of the caustic calcined, but only 10 per cent. of the dead-burned. The largest producer was C. S. Maltby, of San Francisco, who operated the Red Mountain mine, in Santa Clara County, and the Sampson mine, in San Benito County, under lease. These two mines have been studied by the author, and offer interesting comparisons as to mining and treatment methods and final products. GEOLOGY The general geology of the magnesite deposits of California has been described by Hess,2 Bain3 and others,4 and although a detailed discussion is not necessary here, a brief summary will assist in understanding mining conditions. California magnesite, when comparatively pure, is usually a white, fine-grained rock, with a conchoidal fracture, occurring in veins and lense-like masses in serpentine. The veins vary considerably in width, and usually occur in a series of more or less parallel veins intersected by other series or systems of veins, probably following original or secondary fissures in the enclosing serpentine. The most generally accepted theory of origin is that the magnesite was formed by the action of surface waters charged with C02 percolating downward through fissures and changing the magnesium silicates of the serpentine into magnesium carbonate.

Jan 1, 1927

By C. S. Anderson

GEORGIA, since 1829, has produced nearly $18,000,000 from her gold mines, but in late years the output has dwindled to insignificance. In view of present universal efforts to increase gold production, it seems pertinent to record some recent observations in that field, briefly review its past and weigh probabilities of reviving gold mining there. Little in this paper can be claimed as new or original, and it does not present results of a detailed or profound investigation of the whole region. The Allatoona gold mine was reopened in January, 1932, and explored at greater depth during the period from January to June of that year. A number of other abandoned mines were visited, but since the workings, in common with most such mines in Georgia, were flooded or caved, underground conditions could not be examined. For a wider knowl-edge of the subject, a search was made through available pertinent literature and statistics, a bibliography of which is appended hereto. To all the sources obligations are gratefully acknowledged.

Jan 1, 1933

By Robert G. Van Nostrand, John H. Henkel

TRANSIENT potentials obtained in resistivity prospecting can be separated into two classes. The first is electromagnetic, has a comparatively short time constant, and increases in relative amplitude as the electrode separation is increased. These electromagnetic transient potentials, of which an excellent theoretical treatment is given by Yost,1 are the result of changes in the current and can be classed as differentiated signals. The second class is electrochemical, has a comparatively long time constant, and decreases in relative amplitude as the electrode separation is increased. The electrochemical signals are generated by the current flow itself and can be classed as integrated signals. The transient potentials due to electrochemical factors are the subject of this article. The phenomenon is referred to as induced polarization. Schlumberger2 was the first worker to observe induced polarization, but he was unsuccessful in attempts to apply the principles of induced polarization in electrochemical prospecting. Other workers, notably Bleil3 have studied polarization and in some cases pointed out its possibilities, but no theory has been presented that describes polarization and its time dependence adequately. It is the purpose of this discussion to present the essence of a theory to geo- physicists and to show that it leads to results consistent with experimental evidence. The theory on which this analysis is based has existed in electro- chemical circles since 1910.4

Jan 3, 1957

By Graham Bright

METAL mines were developed long before coal mines and the early lighting of underground workings was effected by torches and candles. The early coal mines were outcrop workings and little trouble was experienced from gas, but as the mines became deeper and shaft mines were opened it became apparent that an open-flame lamp was exceed-ingly dangerous where gas occurred. No satisfactory way of lighting gaseous coal mines was found until Sir Humphrey Davy brought out his famous safety lamp in 1815. The introduction of the Davy lamp was a great step forward but it was unsatisfactory from a light standpoint because the gauze absorbed a large percentage of the light given out by the flame. Clanny corrected this by the introduction of a cylindrical glass lens, which not only per-mitted a free distribution of the light from the flame but added greatly to the safety by eliminating the possibility of the flame coming in contact with the gauze and by protecting the flame against air currents. A very complete story of the flame safety lamp since its inception is given in the U. S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin No. 227, by J. W. Paul, L. C. Ilsley and E. J. Gleim, published in 1924. A little more recent publication, known as Safety in Mines Research Board Paper No. 4, entitled "The Light Power of Flame Safety Lamps," by R. V. Wheeler and D. W. Woodhead, was published in England in 1927. The flame safety lamp was the-only lamp available for gaseous mines for about 100 years. Although the incandescent electric lamp has been in use over 50 years, it was not found safe to use this lamp from wired circuits in gaseous locations. The storage battery was advocated shortly after the develop-ment of the incandescent lamp but until the introduction of the tungsten filament in the miniature mine-lamp bulb, the battery lamp was not a real possibility because of the excessive weight of the battery necessary to produce a sufficient amount of light. The actual development of the electric-battery type of lamp took place largely between 1910 and 1915. In England and Europe, the development was almost entirely along the

Jan 1, 1935

Engineers who are in charge of industrial operations, and their number is legion, sense as much as anyone the present feeling of unrest in the' country and more than anyone else realize the present inefficiency of labor. Undoubtedly the two phenomena are closely correlated and no doubt are due to a multitude of causes which it will be impossible to enumerate. From my experience in mining I estimate that the present efficiency of labor is only about two-thirds of what it was under pre-war conditions. In the mining industry, at least, we have not a large surplus of men looking for work and usually under these conditions men are rather more independent and will not work as efficiently and faithfully as if they felt there were plenty of men ready to take their places. Wages in metal mining have advanced more than the increased cost of normal and sane living. The result is that the men often work fewer days in a month and do not seem to have very much interest in their work while actually engaged in it. Then again, they have been listening to the more or less vague propaganda of the I. W. W. and the radical wing of the socialists, who are harping on the fact that the distribution of newly created wealth is unfair and that the laborer really is not working for himself or his fellow laborers but is carrying on his exertions for the benefit of a small and lim-ited class of exploiters. A continued harping on this view is bound to influence the judgment of even a conservative workman who is not a student of economics and who hears little or nothing upon the other side. I am a great believer in the common sense of the American people and in the long run I do not think that they will be carried away by unsafe doctrines. The trouble with so many of these propagandists of industrial in-equality is that they do not differentiate between production and dis-tribution. Even if we admit that distribution is unfair, unless goods are produced there will be nothing to distribute. A great many unthinking people seem to feel that wages are paid out of a pot which is inexhaustible and do not realize that eventually what comes out of the pot can never exceed what is put into it. The workman is not paid in money but is paid in goods, money as we all know being used simply as a measure of value and a medium of exchange, and that all that can be used to pay the laborer is what he produces.

Jan 11, 1919

Data about production are very meager. In this county from the earliest days until after the Civil War, the amount of coal used locally greatly exceeded that shipped on account of the iron produced; for many years the furnaces used raw coal for melting the ore. In 1846 it was stated that in this county one ton of iron required three tons of iron ore and three tons of local coal used raw.1 In 1864, eleven furnaces in Pennsylvania using 102,230 tons of raw coal produced 44,671 tons of iron, or 2.3 tons raw coal per ton of pig iron .2 This was probably as good a record as was made, as nearly all furnaces changed to coke some years later. Neither of these figures include the coal used for steam and other purposes around an iron plant. The Beaver and Erie Canal was opened in 1845 and the shipments shown from then to 1865, inclusive, are of coal received by the canal at Erie, and do not include any used at local points along the canal. From the completion of the Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad in 1864 the tonnage shipped by canal decreased. rapidly, and, while the canal shipments after 1864 are supposed to be those received at Erie by canal only, they may include some rail tonnages. Tonnages on Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad may, and probably do, include some used locally; those on the Jamestown & Franklin Railroad do not. It is likely that both canal and Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad figures include some coal originating in Lawrence County, and possibly a little from Beaver County. These tonnages are not duplicated in the data for either of the other counties. Not all of the railroad reports can be found now.

Jan 1, 1942