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By M. C. Fuerstenau, D. W. Fuerstenau

Long-Chained aliphatic amine salts have been used for the separation of sylvite (KC1) from halite (NaC1) by flotation. It is puzzling how these two minerals, which are so similar chemically and crystallographically, can be separated by this method. Gaudin as postulated that the difference in floatability of halite and sylvite with salts of primary amines depends on ionic size: In the case of amine flotation, the cation would attach itself to the chloride. I have a speculation there, which I cannot prove, that the ammonium group, that is the –NH3 group in the amine, floats potassium chloride because the dimensions of this group as it has been measured in other compounds is almost identically the dimensions of the potassium ion, quite different from the sodium ion, and so it fits where potassium had been, in place of it and not attached to it.

Mar 1, 1956

THE Directors of the Institute at the May meeting voted to take a referendum of our members on the subject of licensing engineers. At the June meeting, this action was rescinded, it being felt that the proportion of the members of this Society who would respond to such a referendum at the present time would not be large enough to give the data for which the referendum was intended. It was deemed advisable in its place to publish in this issue of Mining and Metallurgy arguments in favor of and against licensing. Two arguments by proponents of the movement follow. Many articles against licensing have appeared in these columns, in the last two years, covering most of the arguments on the negative side so that the sole contribution herewith is a summary of a referendum taken by the Mining and Metallurgical Society in 1920-21.-EDITOR.

Jan 7, 1923

B. R. Coil (Electrical Installations at the Miami Mine are Cheaper with Flexible Cable, P. 356) was born in Higginsville, Mo., and attended McKinley High School and Missouri School of Mines. He received a B.S. in mining engineering. Mr. Coil has worked for the Braden Copper Co., Rancagua, Chile as junior engineer and foreman. He was employed by Miami Copper Co. as a jigger boss, shift boss, development engineer and mine foreman. He worked as mine superintendent and general superintendent of the Castle Dome Copper Company, Inc. Mr. Coil may be reached at Box 100, Miami, Ariz. He is an AIME Member. Mr. C. R. Ross was co-author with Mr. Coil in the preparation of this paper. His paper covers the present installation of electrical equipment in block caving stopes along with background data. In this paper he has given one solution to wiring problems in heavy stopes.

Jan 1, 1952

By J. W. Downey, A. E. Dwight, R. A. Conner

THE MgCu2 type Laves phase has been observed in the thorium-osmium and thorium-iridium systems. Two alloys corresponding to ThOs2 and ThIr, were prepared by arc melting a 5-g charge in a water-cooled copper. crucible. Both alloys were very brittle. X-ray diffraction patterns were obtained using filtered Cu and Co radiation with a Straumanis-type DeBye-Scherrer camera. The a,, values as shown in Table I were obtained by a Nelson-Riley extrapolation. The structure belongs to space group Oh7-Fd3m. Relative intensities for each of these compounds were calculated on the assumption that 8 thorium atoms occupy (a) positions and 16 osmium or irid-ium atoms occupy (d) positions. The calculated intensities are the product of the Lorentz-polarization factor, the multiplicity factor and F', the structure factor, neglecting the absorption and temperature

Jan 1, 1959

By G. W. P. Rengstorff, L. E. Olds

PREVIOUS research has shown that cast molyb-denum has good ductility at room temperature if the metal is sufficiently pure. In practice, however, it is very difficult to reduce the impurity content of molybdenum to a few parts per million—the maximum content of impurities allowable to obtain reasonable ductility in coarse-grained molybdenum. Also, subsequent fabrication may reintroduce enough impurity to damage ductility greatly, unless extreme precautions are taken to protect the metal during working. The major impurities which embrittle molybdenum are oxygen, nitrogen and, to a lesser degree, carbon. It is reasonable to assume that the harmful effects of such impurities might be neutralized by small amounts of alloying additions. The desired alloying elements would be those which might fonn stable metal oxides or nitrides that would not be harmful to ductility, or thosewhich might increase the tolerance of molybdenum for oxygen and nitro-

Jan 1, 1958

J. T. LITTLETON, JR., ? Corning, N. Y. (written discussion?).-This. discussion will add little that has not been brought out but will show how the problems encountered in the Corning Glass Works were overcome. The chief points of consideration in any equipment are, first, the work the equipment is called upon to do; second, the installation; and, third, the man who will use it. These three points should determine the type of apparatus adopted. If only rough measurements, merely a little better than the eye, are desired, the cost of the instruments should be considered; but if accurate temperature control is necessary, the cost of the equipment deserves only small consideration. There is no question that the real problem for any factory is the installation, making sure that the elements really give the temperatures desired; also, the instruments must be so designed that any man can use them.

Jan 12, 1919

BOSTON SECTION R. L. AGASSIZ, Chairman, - JAMES G. CARLETON, Vice-Chairman, E. E. BUGBEE, Sec.-Treas., Mass. Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. W. E. C. EUSTIS, G. A. PACKARD. The forty-fifth meeting of the Boston Section was held, at the Engineers' Club, on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1917. Mr. F. C. Carstarphen, tramway engineer of the American Steel and Wire Co., was the guest of the evening. After dinner, Mr. Carstarphen gave a most interesting illustrated talk on the subject of aerial tramways. The views-showed the various forms of aerial tramways and three' unique installations, one carrying 285 tons of coal an hour, undoubtedly the maximum quantity transported by any tramway up to this time. The second installation is that of a lumber-carrying tramway, 5 miles long, operating in California. The last views illustrated a 13 ½ -mile tramway for carrying salt over the

Jan 2, 1918

By Paul A. Hodges

With plant start-up slated for early 1966, Palabora Mining Co. will take its place among the large copper mining properties of the World. Located near the town of Phalaborwa in the Lowveld area of Transvaal Province, approximately 250 air miles northeast of Johannesburg, Palabora is the result of a cooperative project between Rio Tinto-Zinc Corp. and Newmont Mining Co. Other large shareholders are American Metal Climax, Inc., Union Corp. Ltd., and Selection Trust Ltd. Earliest known mining activity in the area is thought to date back about 400 years, when the Bantu tribes were migrating southward from the great lakes of Central Africa. Old workings and hand tools have been found in numerous places on the flanks of Loolekop, the hill that contains the outcrop of the Palabora orebody. Nearby ruins of small furnaces give added evidence of the knowledge of copper smelting possessed by these natives.

Jan 3, 1966

By A. Blake Caldwell

In 1936 the Ertsberg story began and its development is a classic example of the courage it takes to discover one mining prospect and bring it into production. Truly, the finding and working of this mine is a modern exception to the overwhelming odds every modern prospector must surmount to be successful. Today, it takes lots of time, plenty of money and the tenacity of a bulldog to whip the laws of nature. Ertsberg ("ore mountain" in Dutch) is literally an elliptically shaped plug of magnetite which erosion has exposed for 560 ft above ground level. The deposit has been likened to an ice cream cone with the outcrop the ice cream, which is above ground, and with the cone buried below the surface. Assaying about 2.5% Cu, the 33 million tons of ore also carry 0.025 oz Au and 0.265 oz Ag per ton.

Jan 1, 1970

By Seishiro Hirakawa, Hiroshi Tokunaga, Hironori Nakamura

Two unique processes of reclaiming zinc from various secondary materials were developed and have successfully been operated for years by Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. These processes were established based on the characteristic and local energy conditions; i.e., (1) at Miike Smelter, located above the largest coal deposit in Japan, a combination of slag fuming and semi-blast furnace (MF)processes takes advantage of using coal and the carbon bearing briquette residue from the vertical retort plant as reducing agents, (2) on the other hand, at Kamioka Smelter, a direct reduction of zinc-bearing lead slag by using electric furnaces is of advantage in view of cheap electric power supply from our own hydraulic power plants. The former also consumes lots of zinc bearing fines and drosses from various steel plants, fabricators and secondary zinc smelters, while the latter, zinc leach residue from its own electrolytic plant

Jan 1, 1976

By High Archbald

It is possible to construct a simple diagram of the earnings, or the production, of the men employed at a coal mine that will show not only if the conditions tend toward contentment among the men, but if the operating distribution of the work is correct. As earnings are the greatest cause of discontent, even exceeding all the other causes, if contentment exists in the matter of earnings, the likelihood of other discontents flaring up is greatly lessened. The basis of such a diagram would be the Gaussian curve of the normal variation in human ability. Such a curve has long been recognized. H. L. Moore,' in discussing the quantitative relation between wages and ability says: "It has been pointed out that industrial efficiency is dependent upon physical, mental, and moral qualities, and these qualities . . . there is good reason for regarding as being distributed according to the Gaussian law.

Jan 1, 1925

By Hugh Archbald

IT is possible to construct a simple diagram of the earnings, or the production, of the men employed at a coal mine that will show not only if the conditions tend toward contentment among the men, but if the operating distribution of the work is correct. As earnings are the greatest cause of discontent, even exceeding all the other causes, if contentment exists in the matter of earnings, the likelihood of other discontents flaring up is greatly lessened. The basis of such a diagram would be the Gaussian curve of the normal variation in human ability. Such a curve has long been recog-nized. H. L. Moore,1 in discussing the quantitative relation between wages and ability says: "It has been pointed out that industrial efficiency is dependent upon physical, mental, and moral qualities, and these qualities . . . there is good reason for regarding as being distributed according to the Gaussian law..

Jan 7, 1924

By R. C. Amero

FULLERS earth is a general name applied to claylike minerals that have high natural adsorptive powers. They are usually distinguished from ordinary clays by a higher content of combined moisture and a lower apparent density. The definition is based on the ancient use of the material for fulling, or cleansing woolen cloth of oil and grease; a more modern definition should mention the ability to decolorize oil and should differentiate between fullers earth, which is naturally active, and certain bentonites which only develop decolorizing power after being leached with strong mineral acids. The distinction between fullers earth and activable bentonite is not a sharp one, since all types of intermediate clays can be found that are more or less naturally active, yet more or less responsive to acid treatment. The differences seem to depend somewhat on the amount of leaching that has been effected by natural ground waters.

Jan 5, 1951

By T. A. O’Hara

SINCE May 1948, when tungsten carbide bits were introduced at the Flin Flon mine, they have been popular with the miners because of their fast drilling speed and low gage loss. The high cost of commercial carbide bits and tipped drill steel, however, prevented their use except for the hardest rock. In an effort to extend the use of tungsten carbide on a basis economically competitive with detachable steel bits, experimental work was begun in 1950 to test the feasibility of making tungsten carbide tipped drill steel in the mine drill steel shop. This work showed that tipped drill steel could be made locally at less than half the cost of the commercial product. The performance of the local tipped drill steel was comparable to that obtained with commercial carbide bits and tipped drill steel and the cost per foot drilled was much lower.

Jan 3, 1954

PROF. Henry Louis, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England (communication to the Secretary): I have read this paper with much pleasure. It presents a very accurate summary of a very interesting district. Like the authors, I was struck by the extreme General View, near French Co.'s Cyanide Works, Showing Horse-Whims, etc. flatness of this region, which looks strange to a gold-miner accustomed to other reef-districts. This prevailing absence_of relief in the contours is shown in Figs. 1 to 4, from photographs taken in August, 1897, some of which also show the horse-whims used here for hoisting. The flatness of contour is due, no doubt, to the fact that the rocks are similar in structure over large areas and are easily decomposed. I am quite at one with the authors in looking upon the so-called " placers " as the result of decom-

Jan 1, 1899

More than 400 members and guests registered for the 146th General Meeting of the Institute held in Mexico City Nov. 9 to 15, inclusive. Of these, 250 came by special train or automobile from 24 states of the Union, and the others were resident in Mexico. Mexican Government officials, headed by Manuel Santillan, Sub- secretary of the Department of National Economy, acting in. behalf of the President of the Republic, and including the Secretary of Foreign Relations and the Governor of the Federal District, were most hospitable in their official welcome and provided splendid entertainment of various kinds. A reception was tendered by Hon. Josephus Daniels at the U. S. Embassy. Among other hosts were officials of a number of large operating companies, including M. H. Kuryla, of the Real del Monte company; Jules Lacaud, of the CompaiLia Minera de Chontalpan; and Harry Wright, of the Consolidated Steel company.

Jan 1, 1937

By John McCaslin

ONE of the most common technical terms in the U. S. today is automation-a word not listed in the 1946 dictionary. The influence of automation on the national economy has been tremendous. It has even been the subject of congressional investigations. Automation, writes Aronson, substitutes mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, and electronic devices for human effort and decision? Automatic devices and instruments are used extensively in some industries, but many others have yet to take full advantage of these great discoveries. The petroleum industry has been a leader in using automatic controls-some refineries are almost completely controlled by automatic devices. The field of geophysics is entirely dependent on instruments and has progressed at almost exactly the same rate as improvements in instrumentation. In metallurgy and mineral dressing use of instrumentation is increasing very rapidly. Mining engineers throughout the country are beginning to think in terms of instruments and controls.

Jan 3, 1958

By F. J. Menzer, E. M. Schern

The Morenci/Metcalf porphyry copper mining operation, located in southeastern Arizona, currently processes approximately 91,000 tonnes of ore per day and has copper ore reserves estimated to be in excess of one bill ion tonnes. Functional groups within the Geology Department (currently staffed with six professional and two support personnel include mine geology, project geology, and hydrogeology. The primary task of mine geologists is daily preblast bench face mapping with grade and mill amenability estimates. Auxiliary duties include detailed in-pi t metal distribution evaluation, mineragraphic work and flux quarry geology. Project geologists conduct exploration and preliminary development projects both within and outside the Morenci district and provide support to ore reserve block modeling and geotechnical work performed by the Morenci mine engineering group. Hydrogeologists handle exploration for and development of groundwater resources and groundwater flow modeling, mine dump leach solution penetration and recovery evaluation, and tailing dam water reclamation.

Jan 1, 1984

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

Activation of sphalerite with copper salts has long been thought of as a chemical reaction of the following form: ZnS + Cu++ [=] CuS + Zn++ [ 1 ] Early experimentation1-3 showed that the reaction seemed to be stopped by the coating of insoluble copper sulfide, but since the analytical methods were crude, it was only surmised that the reaction could proceed by diffusion. Probably the most conclusive evidence for reaction (Eq. 1) was obtained by Cooke,4 who found a stoichiometric replacement of Zn++ by Cu" after 50 days' reaction at about 100°C. Cooke also found the sphalerite to be covered with a rather thick coating of covellite, which in¬dicates that activation is a continuing replacement of Zn++ by Cu" rather than diffusion of Cu" throughout the sphalerite lattice. However, the occurrence of diffusion at high temperatures has been observed.5,6

Jan 4, 1959

By K. Osseo-Asare

The presence of carbonaceous matter in gold ores presents a two-fold problem: (1) The poor release of gold from the carbonaceous matrix and (2) the uptake of dissolved gold by the carbonaceous leach residues. A critical review is presented of the published information from various parts of the world pertaining to the nature of the carbon-containing components of these ores and their different roles in the gold extraction process. Included in this paper are new results based on the authors' research on carbonaceous ores from the Prestea goldfields of Ghana. Methods for isolating and characterizing the carbon-containing materials are given and a discussion is presented of the interaction of the carbonaceous ores as well as the fractionated components with aurocyanide solutions. Emphasis is on basic physico-chemical phenomena, investigated with the aid of X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, adsorption, and electrophoretic mobility studies.

Jan 1, 1984