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By T. Lane Carter

(Canal Zone Meeting , October , 1910.) INTRODUCTION. IT is a curious fact that while in our Transactions there are papers dealing with mining-districts in all parts of the world, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, there is not one which describes the mining possibilities of Nicaragua; our near neighbor. To be most interested in distant objects, like the moon, .and to neglect what lies at our feet, appears to be a trait of human nature. The neglect of Nicaragua is not confined to the American Institute of Mining Engineers. In no other transactions am I :able to find papers dealing with mining in Nicaragua, some parts of which are as much in need of discovery and research as the North Pole.. I hope this paper will be the precursor of many others to be printed in our Transactions, dealing not only with the mining possibilities of Nicaragua, but with the whole of Central America, where there are vast areas awaiting skill and capital for their development. Much of this capital and skill should come from the United States in the future, although it is probable that European capitalists, when they appreciate fully the possibilities, will investigate more and more the mining-resources of Nicaragua and other Central American republics. Fig. 1 is a sketch-map of Nicaragua showing the principal mining-districts. II. HISTORY. Mining in Nicaragua did not begin yesterday. It was commenced by civilized man when the Spanish conquerors penetrated into the interior and forced the natives to procure the precious metal for them. It is strange that the Spaniards did not find more gold, and work on a scale as extensive as in Colombia and other parts of South America. Probably in Nicaragua the Indians covered up most of the rich prospects

Dec 1, 1910

By Walter C, Smith

Metallic bismuth was known in the Middle Ages and the name is supposed to come from the German Wismut. The origin of the German name is uncertain. References to bismuth are found in the writings of Valentine, Paracelsus, and Agricola between 1450 and 1550. Early specimens of bismuth were very impure and often were confused with antimony, tin, and zinc. About the middle of the eighteenth century, J. H. Pott, C. J. Geoffroy, and Torbern Bergman succeeded in producing fairly pure bismuth and showed it to be an elementary metal similar in many respects to lead.

Jan 1, 1953

By W. A. STERLING

IN the opencut iron mines of the Mesabi Range in Minnesota, the trend in mining is in the development of mining equipment and mining methods which will move surface overburden and ore-bearing materials with less labor and at a cheaper cost. This is a must for most of the independent operators. Their reserves of direct-shipping ore are extremely small and their operations are being conducted in small, or intermediate pits, with a high stripping ratio in the outer fringes, or shore lines of older pits. and in ore bodies passing from direct shipping to the washing and the intermediate, or retreat ore state. The trend is toward deeper stripping, longer and steeper hauls, and the necessity of moving a total of from three to five or six tons of overburden and ore material for each ton of shipping-grade ore produced. This naturally calls for greater production, with larger shovels, or draglines. cheaper drilling and blasting costs through the drilling of larger-diameter blastholes, and cheaper haulage through the use of trucks of larger capacity and more extensive use of belt-conveyor systems. This trend is notable both in stripping and mining.

Jan 1, 1948

Who's Who in Mineral Engineering 1977 - SME Membership Directory of the Society of Mining Engineers of AIME

Jan 7, 1977

By Ellsworth Daggett

In the first paper on the Russell process presented by Mr. Stetefeldt, in May, 1884 (Transactions, xiii.), the process was treated from a purely theoretical standpoint.. 111 his second paper of October, 1886 (Transactions, xv,), the details of the plant, the chemicals used, and the manipulation in both mill and laboratory were treated. The aim of the present paper is to present economical results recently attained, new data affecting the preparation and manipulation of ore in the mill, and a more complete and systematic scheme of laboratory work. This paper is compiled mainly from Mr. Russell's notes of his own experience. Many of these notes, particularly those relating to work at Cusihuiriachic,* Mexico, have been upon work directly under the personal observation of the compiler, who takes pleasure in thus presenting to the Institute, data and considerations of much interest and value pot only to users of the Russell process, but to mill men generally. The description of the chemicals used and of the preparation of the mill-solutions being' in part the same now as when Mr. Stetefeldt's second paper was published, some use is here made of portions of that paper. No theoretical matter is here given. For a treatise containing also the theory of the process the reader is referred to Mr. Stetefeldt's complete work on " Lixiviation of Silver Ores by Hyposulphite Solutions," now in preparation. To facilitate the consultation of this paper, the following synopsis and index is prefixed. The figures in parenthesis indicate the page of this paper on which the subject is treated.

Jan 1, 1888

By Thomas T. Read

I. INTRODUCTION. WHEN so much has been written upon a subject on which so little definite information is available as upon this, some reason must needs be assigned for adding to the volume of literature. A sufficient reason is found in the probable great future importance of China as a producer of mineral wealth. The present undeveloped state of mining in the Empire is due to many causes, among which the most important are the relatively simple needs of the population, the lack of transportation-facilities, the inelastic regulations governing the industry, and the superstitious reluctance of the people to make excavations which might disturb the spirits of the earth and air, or of ancestors. Iron is the metal most in demand, yet the needs of the population, until recently, only made necessary a production of approximately 0.5 lb. of iron per capita per year. The present annual production of iron for domestic consumption, in the United States, is nearly 600 lb. per capita. The curious state of development of transportation in this interesting country has been a greater handicap upon the mining industry than upon any other. The point upon which it hinges is the absence of a road-system. Except for a few military roads, now almost impassable, there are no roads in China; that is to say, there is no land which is set aside as a right of way, belonging to the commonwealth. Throughout the agricultural districts, generally speaking, the entire area is in private ownership, and the lines of travel are between fields. There is a constant struggle for existence between the owners of the land and the traveling public, with the natural result that the so-called roads usually

Mar 1, 1912

By John D. Ridge

Here are summarized 162 papers, published between 1933 and 1967, that deal with various aspects of ore genesis. Emphasis is placed on additions to, or modifications of, ore-formation theory, no matter what type of deposit is discussed. More space is given to papers on the formation of base-metal sulfides solely because more papers are written on this subject. The final conclusion is reached that a chemically and geologically sound theory for the genesis of ore deposits can be built around the concept of concentration of ore e’ements in a magmatically produced ore fluid and around such surface processes as may act to concentrate economically valuable materials from rocks of any origin exposed at the surface.

Jan 1, 1968

By Walter J. Mead

By American tradition, if not by rational decision, publicly owned natural resources have been transferred to private industry for processing. The process of transfer requires specific determination of the price which the patentee, buyer, or lessee must pay to the government in exchange for the right to develop a resource, and selection of the patentee, buyer, or lessee from among several possible contestants. Pricing of natural resources owned by the government presents a set of problems quite different from ordinary commodity pricing. Natural resources in situ are not homogeneous commodities. Within any class of natural resources, specific leasable parcels will differ in value by reason of location and accessibility, as well as quality and quantity. Thus, there is no "going price;" every lease within a specific resource class will have a different value. To complicate further the pricing and buyer selection problems, competition may not be reliable. Natural-resource markets are characterized by oligopsony conditions. In a significant number of cases, as will be shown later, there has been only one bidder for a given lease, and in most lease sales the number of bidders is equal to or less than three. As a further complication, there is great uncertainty regarding the value of specific resources, even among the best-informed buyers, as well as within the leasing agency. In some instances, particularly with regard to oil and gas resources, there may be uncertainty about the presence of resources, as well as the quantity and quality of any resources contained in the tract offered for lease. In other cases, such as oil shale and some deep ocean minerals where new technologies are involved, the presence of the resource is clearly established. There may be a relatively high degree of knowledge about the quantity and quality of the resource, but there is great uncertainty concerning the cost of production. These problems in total make it difficult for the leasing agency to appraise accurately the resource to be leased, as well as for the potential bidder to calculate a bid price that will yield him a normal profit. The pricing goal of the federal government as the seller or lessee may be to capture the economic rent; that is, the price of a resource might equal its discounted present value. A required price substantially above this amount would either generate no bids, or, in the long run, would bankrupt the buyer. A price below this amount is a disguised subsidy to the lessee. A subsidy to mineral lessees, as to any other economic interest group, as a minimum should be justified by a clear showing of net external benefits from the economic activity. In the case of timber sales by the U.S. Forest Service, the Forest Service Handbook asserts that "the aim in national forest stumpage appraisal is to determine market value,"8 and "market value" is equated to "fair market value." Regarding minerals, there is no reference in legislation or regula-

Jan 1, 1976

By E. DeGolyer

WAR has wrought sharp and sudden changes in the pattern of the oil industry. The most obvious and most striking of such changes have been in the fields of transportation and refining. A third of the world's total oil production formerly started to market, tanker-borne, over the waters of the Gulf and Caribbean. Most of this oil went to our North Atlantic ports, supply points for the world's greatest consuming center. This tremendous traffic, disrupted by the loss of tankers as a result of requisition for military purposes and by the activity of enemy submarines, has had to be substituted largely by such lines of supply as could be improvised without loss of too much time. No single solution for this gigantic problem has been found nor is it likely to be entirely solved for some time to come. It has been solved in part, however, by rearrangement, reversals, and patching up of existing pipe-line systems; by overland transport of crude and products in tank cars on a scale never before attempted; by barging over inland waterways; and through the construction at long last of the "big-inch" line, the first leg of which is just being put into operation as far as Norris City, III. The tank-car traffic alone, reaching a peak of deliveries of 856,710 barrels per day into District 1 during the week ending Sept. 19, 1942, and accomplished at an expense of millions of dollars in extraordinary transportation costs, defrayed by the Defense Supply Corp. and by the mobilization of tank cars from all over the nation, is a story worth the telling but by some of those who directed it.

Jan 1, 1943

By Gregory M. Dexter

Recent litigation in Pennsylvania between three coal-mining companies and a private water company resulted in the payment by the coal companies of the equivalent of about $500,000 to buy a new water supply to replace that which had been damaged by acid drainage from strip mining. An investigation of the relevant facts indicates that the water could have been treated by spending about $40,000 on equipment and $15,000 yearly for chemicals, labor, and power until the contamination could be reduced about 80 pct. The water company's supply, furthermore, had deteriorated largely by reason of dry weather before stripping was begun by the coal companies. Payment to the water company should not have exceeded $300,000 and could have been as low as $100,000. Strip mining of coal is common in Pennsylvania. The most important objection to it in Pennsylvania is generally acid pollution of runoff water. An outline of the methods, therefore, that could be used to reduce such pollution, to compare acid-contaminated waters, and to treat such waters to make them satisfactory for public and industrial use is worth-while. The watershed of the West P~M Water Co. covers about 4.5 square miles, 20 miles west of Pittsburgh, and has two 90,000,000 gal reservoirs sup- plying about 1,300,000 gal daily for public and industrial use of which 450,000 gal daily are for two railroads. The pollution arises from weathered derivatives of typical "Coal Measures"

Jan 1, 1949

By A. V. De Forest

INSPECTION and test methods of great diversity have been used from the most ancient times to select raw material, control its manufacture, and appraise its finished properties and value. The "miller thumb," expert in grading flour, the vintner's sense of taste, the goldsmith's micro-wear test on a touchstone, the enquiring sniff over the doubtful egg -these are all nondestructive inspection methods, accurate and depend- able, but not readily reduced to numbers in the c.g.s. system. A horse trader inspecting a possible purchase is interested in more than age, size, weight, color. heredity, speed, or drawbar pull which can be reduced to figures. Behavior, temperament, stamina, health-past, present and future---are just as important as the numerically determinate constants.

Jan 1, 1940

By Basil B. Zavoico

CRUDE oil production in the United States during 1938 reached approximately 1,214,355,000 barrels, an average of 3,327,000 barrels per day, or 5 per cent below the 1937 record output of 1,279,160,000 barrels. The decreased production did not prevent the stocks of all products from increasing to a total of 575,954,000 barrels by Sept. 30, an increase of 10,957,000 above the total on Jan. 1, or an average daily storage increase in all products of 40,135 barrels. The increase in total stocks was made entirely in the refined products, stocks of crude oil during the first nine months of 1938 having actually declined 7,155,000 barrels to 299,671,000 barrels, or an average daily decline of 26,209 barrels. The 1937 reversal of the preceding five-year trend of discoveries totalling less than withdrawals was continued through 1938 with indicated reserve addition from both new discoveries and extensions considerably in excess of the

Jan 1, 1939

By V 9. 0 / 300 dpi

ATHOUGH turquoise mining was, so far as we know, the first large, well-organized mining operation,' gem mining, from the Roman con-quest of Egypt until the opening of the South African pipe diamond mines some 50 years ago, was largely carried on' by individuals 01' small companies in a relatively primitive way. Now" however" gem mining does not yield in efficiency or in scale of operations to the mining of other mineral products. In 1926 the diamond mines of the world milled some 9,000,000 cu. yd. and produced 0,43 cu. yd. diamonds, a remarkable example of concentration. The Premier Diamond Mining Co. up to Oct. 31, 1927, had milled 116,455,550 loads (each of 16 cu. ft.) from which 26,-217,144 carats of diamonds" worth £29,897,971 2s, 9d., were recovered. The Burma Ruby Mines, Ltd., operating sever-al alluvial mines in Burma in 1911-12, mined and milled 1,479,845 truckloads of gemmiferous earth for 15c. per load. We of the industry can there-fore, with good grace, disclose some of the myths and also describe some of the primitive mining methods of the, dark ages of our industry. The methods, so far as I know, were not patented, and if they were, the patents have expired, so that engineers in other branches of the art are free to use them if they see fit.

Jan 1, 1928

The problems confronting the development of Latin America's mineral resources have hinged largely on the political and economic climates-in short, the investment climate--existing and often changing in each nation. .The attractions and risks confronting today's investors in such mineral developments have been described and debated to considerable length during the past two decades, the arguments pro and con colored by the previous experiences incurred by the would-be investor, whether company or individual. In an effort to shed light on the investment climates existing today throughout Central and South America, the Council of Economics brought four experts together at the AIME Annual Meeting last March to give their views on this subject.

Jan 7, 1966

By D. R. Cook, W. M. Shepard, H. T. Morris

The East Tintic district in central Utah has produced ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc valued at more than $120,000,000. All of this ore has been produced from blind ore bodies in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that are concealed beneath hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks and cut by intrusive bodies of Eocene age. The Paleozoic rocks, which range in age from Early Cambrian to Mississippian form the core and limbs of a large, northtrending asymmetric anticline that is cut by low-angle thrust faults, high-angle transcurrent faults, mineralized fissures and faults, and normal faults that are both older and younger than the mineralized fissures. The ore bodies generally may be grouped into two classes: ( 1) massive replacement bodies that are rich in silver, lead, zinc and manganese and (2) fissure veins that are valuable primarily for their content of gold, copper, and silver. The replacement ore bodies are localized chiefly in the Middle Limestone Member of the Ophir Formation of Middle Cambrian age where it has been thrust-faulted against older or younger rocks and cut by northeast-trending mineralized fissure zones. The fissure veins primarily are productive only in the Lower Cambrian Tintic Quartzite. Extensive lowgrade deposits of lead-zinc-silver ore recently have been discovered in Devonian carbonate rocks in the Lower plate of the East Tintic thrust fault but as yet are unevaluated. The principal guides to ore include: ( 1) intersections of northeast-trending fissures and crossbreaking faults that brecciate the carbonate rocks; (2) zones of late-stage pyritic, calcitic, and sericitic alteration in the lavas; ( 3) primary geochemical anomalies in the altered rocks; and ( 4) mineral zoning patterns of the known ore bodies. The present development of the Burgin mine would seem to assure the continued productivity of the district for at least a decade.

Jan 1, 1968

By Elmer W. Pehrson

Minerals have played a prominent role in the affairs of man and nations since time immemorial but with the advent of the industrial revolution, expanding use of the products of the mineral kingdom became synonymous with the material progress of mankind. Individuals and business groups have recognized this fact so have been aggressive in searching for and utilizing mineral resources, with notable success. Indeed, their achievements are primarily responsible for the present Machine Age. On the other hand, until recently the body politic has failed to grasp fully the essentiality of minerals although, at times, access to mineral supplies has been an important factor in the political maneuvers of nations. This chapter is concerned primarily with the broader political and economic relationships of mineral resources to the world economy, and with the internal and external actions of nations in the field of minerals. Many factors that condition the mineral economy of regions and the world as a whole, influence the internal and external affairs of individual nations. The more important of these are: 1. The nature of man's dependence on minerals. 2. The problems resulting from the unique characteristics of mineral occurrence. 3. Geopolitical concepts. 4. Minerals and world power. Actions of individual nations affecting their mineral economy seek two basic objectives : 1. Attainment and maintenance of prosperity. 2. Military security. Other objectives may be cited but on careful analysis they become integral parts or extreme phases of the two points noted above. For example, the twentieth century aggressions of the USSR, Germany, Italy, and Japan might be considered as direct bids for world power but they also can be interpreted as exaggerated or mistaken efforts toward military security and peacetime prosperity. Similarly, trade barriers, nationalization of industries, foreign exchange manipulations, taxation, monopolistic prac-

Jan 1, 1959

How Mining Engineers Will Fare in 1977 Mining Education- The State of the Discipline Coal Mining Technologists are a New Force in the Labor Pool Trained Manpower Provided by Mining Technology Programs Putting New Engineers to Work-A Management Perspective

Jan 1, 1977

By A. M. Beebee

IN the present century the coal and manufactured gas industries have been eclipsed in public interest by oil, natural gas, and hydro- electric energy, which have had the benefit of rapid development and novelty. I sometimes wish that our social- order were such that hydro power had been developed first, that the use of gas from coal had never been seriously considered, and that our domestic energy requirements were supplied by other fuels. Sup- pose the manufacture of gas from coal should then come on the scene at the present time with the current plight of the railroads, coal regions, and labor generally, presenting the fact that it could increase the amount of coal mined and shipped by the railroads by some 16,000,000 tons, and increase the coal used at existing u plants five times. Imagine the great public interest that would be manifested; it would supply the cooking and water-heating requirements of a community with a superior character of service at a cost to the customer approximately half that which had obtained previously. Would not such a situation be heralded as the salvation of our country and all help be given it?

Jan 1, 1940

By Raymond B. Ladoo

NONMETALLIC minerals (excluding fuels) arid their primary products produced annual in the United States have a value in excess of one billion dollars, or more than that of the metals, yet the lack of expert knowledge of some of the fundamental technical and economic aspects of this most important and complicated business is astonishing. This paper will deal with the economics of this non- metallic mineral field-the business of making money from producing these minerals. The incentive behind all business activity in a capitalistic economy is to make money-to plan so that each dollar invested in property, plant, equipment, services, and so on will return more than a dollar plus simple interest. Of course, business has social, civic, and national duties and responsibilities, but the fulfillment of these is largely dependent upon financial success.

Jan 1, 1939

By Donald McLaughlin

INCREASING variety of interests among mining geologists is becoming more and more marked, as the frontier of their science and of its applications continues to expand. Each of the traditional lines of inquiry provides its crop of new and better defined problems, and answers to them are being found in far more precise terms than in the past as older uncertainties .are swept away with the sharper techniques and the even sharper ideas of modern geology. A glance over the assemblage of projects and publications in 1939 reveals conspicuous activity in many different parts of the front, such as the attack on the controversial question of the acid or alkaline character of ore-forming solutions, the place of mineral districts in the larger structural framework of continents, and the place of ore shoots in the local patterns of districts. Instructive comparisons are being made which cut across lines of older correlations or which reinforce them by pointing out heretofore ne-

Jan 1, 1940