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By P. Barnes

Several statements have been made to the Institute, somewhat detached from each other, as to the cost of some parts of these works, but they have not included any extended description of the buildings or machinery. The general plan of the work connected with the water supply differs, in some important details, from that which has been common either in the Pittsburgh district or elsewhere, and a somewhat extended description may be of interest to the Institute, in connection with a note of the cost of the work. The plan as a whole, and nearly all the important details, were developed by Mr. William P. Shinn, C.E., the general manager of the Company. The immediate and responsible charge of the work was in the hands of Mr. John C. Lewis, C.E., to whom had been committed all the work of this general description, including the laying out of the whole of the foundations, the erection of the buildings, and the grading and laying down of the entire railroad system. The continuous operation of the machinery and other fixtures of these waterworks, for more than three years, has fully demonstrated the correctness and econonly of the plan adopted. No casualties of any moment have befallen the apparatus, and no improvements have been suggested as important except that the gate at the river end of the conduit should have been made more completely water-tight, so that the whole length of the conduit could be pumped out dry without resort to any temporary dam in the conduit itself. In general terms the works of the Edgar Thomson Company are situated on a plateau, about 52 feet above the low-water level of the Monongahela River, and about 2000 feet from its bank. The site of the works is bordered on one side by Turtle Creek, a small stream which drains a considerable area of coal mining territory. This creek is about 100 feet from the group of buildings which have been erected, but it flows into the Monongahela River at a point, about 1200 feet further up than that selected for the entrance to the waterworks conduit. It was ascertained by analysis that the water in the creek contains an important percentage of sulphate of lime, while the water of the river is of unusual purity, in respect of any salts

Jan 1, 1879

By S. S. Raymond, C. R. Hayward

In reheating quenched steel to remove part of the hardness, the softening effect has generally been considered to be a function of temperature and time. The temperature effect is well known, and long before pyrometers were heard of the blacksmith was able to do a good job of tempering, by rule-of-thumb methods and experience in judging temperatures. Modern conditions, which demand steel that will withstand the severest tests, require that the heat treatment be carried out with every possible precaution to secure the best results obtainable. Pyrometers and heat-treatment furnaces of many types are on the market and improvements are continually being made so that it is now possible to regulate the temperature in heat treatment very accurately. There is still a question regarding the time that the steel should be subjected to treatment. It is customary with all operators to insure the desired temperature throughout the specimen and it is generally supposed that a longer treatment of a hardened steel produces a further softening but there are few published figures showing the exact effect of time of treatment at constant temperature. A search of the literature disclosed several brief statements that the tempering effect was a function of both time and temperature, but in no case were any figures given. The opinion is very generally held that the well-know tempering colors are accurate indicators of the degree of tempering. This is disputed by Brearley (The Heat Treatment of Tool Steel, page 102) who states: It has been said that the result would be the same in respect to both hardness and other properties whether the colors were obtained by a shorter heating at a higher temperature or a longer heating at a lower one. This, to say the least, is a very doubtful conclusion, and is certainly not borne out by mechanical tests on oil-hardened and tempered motor car steels which, after tempering for periods varying from 15 min. to 2 hr., show no very great bifferences. The present investigation had for its object the obtaining of some definite data regarding the effect of time, which might serve as a guide to those engaged in the heat treatment of steel. The Rhode Island Tool Co. cooperated by furnishing the steel and machining the test specimens.

Jan 1, 1917

By B. G. D. Smart

An understanding of the nature of yield zones surrounding coal mine excavations is fundamental to the design of mine support systems. Various methods have been designed for investigation of underground rock masses and an extensometric technique, the Magnetic Rod Extensometer, has been developed to overcome inherent design limitations in existing equipment of this type. This paper refers to the prototype form of the extensometer and details changes designed to overcome a variety of drawbacks indicated by routine use of the equipment. The principal change has been one of manual to computerised data acquisition and presentation in the laboratory phase of the system. This has dramatically reduced the time taken to process underground measurements and produce numerical and graphical results. The revised Magnetic Rod Extensometer represents an integrated instrumentation system that combines speed and accuracy in all areas of data handling.

Jan 1, 1984

By George S. Rice

MANY studies on ground movement and subsidence have been carried on by members of the Institute during the past year, but only a few papers have reached maturity. Two of the mining schools of this country have continued their interest in ground movement research. At Columbia University School of Mines, Philip Bucky has continued his investigations, employing photoelastic methods and the use of his centrifugal apparatus for testing what he termed "the strength and behavior of mining structures." Helmut Landsberg, of The Pennsylvania State College, has developed a convergence recorder similar in principle to that used by the

Jan 1, 1936

By Wm. E. Milligan

DESPITE the zero weather of Monday, the morning meeting on nonferrous ore-reduction metallurgy got under way promptly under the efficient control of Arthur A. Center. The first and third portions of the paper on the Tri-State region were presented by B. M. O'Harra, with R. H. Lowe substituting for co-author Illidge on the second part. Attention was drawn to the compact design attainable when "Sink and Float" was employed as a means of primary concentration. The teaching profession should welcome this concise correlation of data from such a renowned center of lead and zinc production. H. R. Hanley and C. R. Hay¬ward were much interested in the mechanics of charging, manufacture, and life of the retorts.

Jan 1, 1943

By C. W. Nicolson

THE Tri-State zinc and lead-mining district is in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, the southeast corner of Kansas and the southwest corner of Missouri. The area throughout which active mining has been conducted is about 45 miles long and about 5 miles wide, extending northeasterly from Commerce, Okla., to Alba, Missouri. Although the lead ores were mined on a very small scale in the vicinity of Joplin, Mo., as early as 1848, nothing of any importance was done in the district until 1870, since when both mining and smelting have been prosecuted with considerable vigor. In the beginning the lead ores only were exploited, but within a few years extensive deposits of zinc ores were found and since that time the production of zinc ore has far exceeded that of lead. Both the surface and mineral rights in Missouri and Kansas were under individual ownership by the time ore was discovered. Although some of these rights were purchased by mining companies, most of the mining has been done under leases covering small areas, usually 40 acres, although in the past many leases were given on much smaller tracts. In Oklahoma most of the mineral land had been alloted by the Government to various Indian tribes and although the title to some of these lands had been acquired by various white men before the discovery of the rich Picher field, the title to most of the land has remained with the Indian tribes and the leasing of the mineral rights has been done by the Federal Government for the benefit of the Indians. The Indian allotments were of 200 acres each and some of the mining leases covered entire allotments, although many leases were granted for only 40 acres or even less.

Jan 1, 1938

What is a conflict, as it is understood by men of the extractive industries? And what are the circumstances out of which these conflicts arise? A start can be made with the notion of economic conflict, which can be defined as rivalry over the use of economic resources. Such rivalry is a central part of all economizing activity. It is present within the individual, within the family, and within the business firm. In each of these units there are multiple goals competing for use of a limited income. And economic rivalry is present among individuals and firms who are competing with one another for use of the limited quantity of economic resources available to us as a society.

Jan 7, 1961

By John Greenawalt

IN view of the increasing importance of sintering in the beneficiation of iron ores preparatory to their reduction in the blast furnace, the writer believes the time is opportune for an up-to-date, though brief, discussion of the general principles of sintering, as well as a discussion of some of the recent improvements and mechanical developments that have been achieved in this industry, its present trend and future possibilities. Sintering may be defined as the agglomeration of fine mineral particles into a porous mass by incipient fusion caused by heat produced by com-bustion within the mass itself. Its first successful application, in connec-tion with the treatment of lead sulphide ores, was known as blast roasting. In this process the lead ore was given a preliminary roasting in a reverber-atory furnace, then the incandescent mass was placed in a pot with a grate and an updraft was applied. It was soon discovered that much better results were obtained by cooling the ore, moistening it, and placing it upon an incandescent layer of fuel previously placed upon a grate, and then applying the updraft blast of air until the charge was converted into a more or less agglomerated mass. The fuel was sulphur and the process one of desulphurization, which was the principal result desired. The application of downdraft to blast roasting brought about tremen-dous results; the principal one of which was that an air blast of high pressure could be passed through a layer of ore deposited on a grate, or on a grate covered by a layer of coarse porous material, without disturbing the particles of which the layer is composed. The air current is compelled to filter through the pores of the charge, whereas if the same pressure applied to the top surface of the charge with downdraft were applied to the bottom of the charge with updraft, the charge would be completely blown off the grate. Another result of reversing the draft was that a flame could readily be applied to the top surface of the charge for ignit-ing purposes.

Jan 1, 1938

By H. M. Roche

MAGNETITE mining and milling in the Eastern States was sharply curtailed in 1938, production showing a decrease of 36 per cent from 1936 and 57 per cent from 1937. Six mines, one in Pennsylvania, two in New York, and three in New Jersey were in operation, either part or full time, during the year. In recent years ten Eastern magnetite mines have been more or less active but since the World War the market for Eastern ores- has been spotty. The scrapping of Eastern merchant pig iron furnaces, imports of cheaply mined duty-free foreign ore, and high freight cost have been contributing factors.

Jan 1, 1939

By William R. Chedsey

IN the last two years the E.C.P.D. committees having to do with the inspection of engineering schools for possible accrediting have been concerned with the engineering content of some of the mineral industries courses. Originally the discussion arose with regard to engineering geology, or geological engineering, afterward broadening to metallurgical engineering, ceramic engineering, agricultural engineering, and other branches not pertinent to this discussion. Some members of visiting committees took the attitude that they probably would have to accredit these types of training as included in the engineering group if they met the average standard set by the mining schools, though they questioned -whether they were really engineering.

Jan 1, 1939

By GILBERT C. DAVIS

ANY thought of Morenci naturally includes its sister town of Clifton, its gateway to the outside world. Clifton, the country seat of Greenlee County, is the terminus of a branch line of the Southern Pacific railroad from Lordsburg, N.M. Carload freight incident to the Morenci operation moves from Clifton over Phelps Dodge?s standard-gauge industrial railroad. Private freight must be hauled by truck. These two communities fell far short of supplying adequate housing for the personnel concerned with the new operations so a new townsite, Stargo, was developed adjacent to Morenci. Here 234 housing units with garages have been built and twenty similar units have been erected near the reduction works.

Jan 1, 1942

By James B. Austin

Growth of the Society When the Institute was born in May, 1871, it was given the name American Institute of Mining Engineers. Yet from its conception a few months earlier, its genetic code clearly carried the message that metallurgy was equal in importance to mining. Thus, the "call" for the initial meeting, which was sent out in April of that year by three mining engineers, Eckley B. Coxe, R. P. Rothwell and Martin Coryell, gave this first objective of the proposed organization as: "the more economic production of the useful minerals and metals." And this call concluded: "Anyone who may have devoted himself to a particular subject connected with either mining or metallurgy, and who may be possessed of new facts in reference to it, would greatly aid in furthering the objects of the proposed association by preparing a paper giving the results of his experience." In response to this call, a group of 22 men assembled in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for a 3-day meeting beginning May 16, 1871. On the first day, a set of 20 "Rules" was adopted, of which Number 8 read, in part: "The words mining engineers in these rules comprehend engineers connected with mining and metallurgy." On the second day, 18 officers were elected, of whom nine were not present. Moreover, as if to emphasize that the words about metallurgists were to be taken seriously, one of those elected in absentia was the president, David Thomas, a Welshman who had founded the Thomas Iron Co. and who built the first anthracite-fired, hot-blast furnace in this country. The second meeting of the Institute, held in Bethlehem, Pa., in August, had a more metallurgical flavor, and the third meeting, in November, was held in what was then one of the great steel-making centers of the country - Troy, N. Y. This was the home of the Albany and Rensselaer Iron and Steel Co., which held the American rights to Bessemer7s machinery patents. And it was here that the great American steel master, Alexander L. Holley, carried out a series of experiments that led to improvements in the design and method of operation of the Bessemer vessels. It was at this meeting that Holley and Henry Marion Howe, then a "student" at the Albany and Rensselaer plant, were admitted to membership. Four years later, Holley was elected president of the Institute. Clearly, metallurgy

Jan 1, 1971

By D. H. Davis

HAND picking was the earliest form of coal preparation, first practiced to improve the outward appearance of the coal being loaded and to remove any pieces that might appear objection- able to the buyer. It is still extensively practiced on the plus 1-in. sizes and particularly on the plus 4-in. and larger sizes. The percentage of ash reduction that can be obtained by hand picking depends entirely upon the amount of free impurity occurring in the coal. In a particularly dirty seam, where a considerable quantity of rock occurs with the coal as mined, hand picking produces sizable reductions in ash. If the coal is prepared clean at the working face hand picking is a final check; in some cases, on the smaller sizes, it is practiced only to show that an effort is being made to prepare a clean product. Because of the variety and different methods of handling coal, the early plants were not always adapted for efficient hand picking. At most mines an attempt is made to remove the visual impurities at one or more of the following places in the surface plant? (1) in the tipple during screening; (a) on picking band, belt, or shaking conveyors;*(3) during the loading of the coal as it goes into the railroad car. Whatever the physical arrangements of the plant may be, the usual practice is to run the coal over the screen, picking table or boom at such a rate that each piece of impurity is exposed to the view of the picker. Coal should be uniformly sized and spread out on the table so as not to exceed one particle in depth. The flow should be even in tonnage and the speed of travel should be from 30 to 60 ft. per minute and not exceed 80 ft. per minute. The dirtier the coal, the slower the speed required for a fixed number of pickers. Actually, picking capacity depends on the number of particles per minute that can be picked out and rejected. The percentage of impurity removed is determined by this and the average weight of piece rejected. Handling a mixture of sizes from nut to the largest lump over the same picking table or conveyor is not conducive to efficient separation by hand picking because the lump hides the smaller

Jan 1, 1943

K. W. Turner, Sail Francisco, Cal. (communication to the Secretary*): The recent papers in the Transactions by Vogt,' Lindgren2 and Weed: on ore-deposits that have formed as a direct result of igneous intrusions, show that deposits of this class are widely distributed over the world, and are occasionally of commercial value. This is especially true if we consider under this head all deposits in the zone of contactrnletamorphism, the origin of which may be ascribed to the gases and vapors generated by the heat of the intrusive rock. Mr. Smith's description of the Chillagoe garnet-formations containing copper, leads one to regard these depoaits as of contactrmetamorphic origin, although he gives certain reaeons for supposing them to be of igneous origin.

Jan 1, 1904

By Amitava Gangulee, Michael B. Bever

The order-disorder transition in Ag-Mg alloys in the range 17 to 26 at. pct Mg was investigated and some thermodynamic, electrical and mechanical properties of ordered Ag-Mg alloys were measured. A modification of the phase diagram is proposed on the basis of measured transition temperatures. The stability of the ordered structure is analyzed in terms of the quasichemical theory. Kinetic aspects of the order-disorder transition were also investigated. The energies of ordering at 273°K of Ag-Mg alloys were measured by liquid metal solution calorimetry. The electrical resistivities and the tensile Properties of the ordered alloys were measured. The exothermic energy of ordering increased with magnesium concentration up to the composition Ag3Mg; it is discussed in terms of the quasichemical theory. Pronounced order hardening was observed and can be explained by several strengthening mechanisms, which are particularly effective because of a change in crystal structure associated with the ordering transition. IN silver-rich solid solutions containing approximately 17 to 26 at. pct Mg, long- range ordering may occur during appropriate therma1 treatments. Clare-brough and Nicholas1 first detected such long-range order in the solid solution of composition Ag3Mg and suggested that the unit cell of the superlattice contained 256 atoms. x-ray2 and electron diffraction3 investigations confirmed the occurrence of long-range order, but indicated a shifted Ll2-type structure. On the basis of recent X-ray measurements the crystal structure of ordered Ag3Mg has been confirmed as type D023.4 The present paper is concerned with the order-disorder transition in silver-rich Ag-Mg solid solutions and some thermodynamic, electrical, and mechanical properties of the ordered alloys. The effects of short-range order on the properties of silver-rich solid solutions containing up to 26 at. pct Mg are discussed in a concurrent paper.5 1) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES 1.1) Preparation of Specimens. Specimens of Ag-Mg alloys containing from 18 to 26 at. pct Mg were prepared in the form of 1.0-mm-diam wires as described in Section 1.1 of Ref. 5. Disordered specimens were prepared by annealing at 773°K for 1 hr and quenching into iced brine. Ordered specimens were prepared by annealing at 773°K for 1 hr and slowly cooling to room temperature over a period of 15 days. The specimens were stored at 78°K. 1.2) Resistivity Measurements. Electrical resistivi- ties were measured by a potentiometric method.' Equilibrium values were obtained at several temperatures. The kinetics of ordering were investigated by following the time-dependent changes of the resistivity of initially disordered specimens during annealing. The specimens were enclosed in copper capsules and immersed in salt pots; the heating up was accelerated by injecting preheated helium into the capsules. 1.3) Calorimetry. The energies of ordering of the alloys were measured in a tin solution calorimeter as the difference between the heat effects of additions of completely ordered and disordered specimens of the same composition. The procedure and the method of calculation have been described.6 Magnesium was used for thermal compensation in most calorimetric runs in order to improve the accuracy.677 1.4) Mechanical Tests. Tensile tests were carried out with wire specimens at room temperature as described in Section 1.5 of Ref. 5. Microhardness measurements were also made.? 2) RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The characteristics of the order-disorder transition of silver-rich Ag-Mg solid solutions will be discussed first. Some thermodynamic, electrical, and mechanical properties of the ordered alloys will then be considered and compared with the corresponding properties of dis-disordered alloys. 2.1) The Order-Disorder Transition. 2.1.1) Thermodynamic and Structural Aspects. The transition temperatures Tt were determined from discontinuities in the slope of the equilibrium resistivity vs temperature curves. Normalized curves for three compositions are shown in Fig. 1. The transition temperature increases with the magnesium concentration and reaches a maximum at the stoichiometric composition Ag3Mg. The transition temperature of the alloy Ag3Mg was measured as 665° ± 2°K and compares with published values of 660°,1 663°,8 and 66°k.3 In the slopes of the resistivity vs temperature curves of alloys containing 22.2 and 22.5 at. pct Mg, discontinuities were observed at two temperatures. Such upper and lower discontinuities indicate a two-phase field. A modified form of the published phase diagram9 is shown in Fig. 2. A two-phase field was found only on the low-magnesium side of the composition Ag3Mg. On the high-magnesium side, the existence of a two-phase field could not be established because of insufficient resolution, but such a field must be present. This part of the phase diagram can be made complete by a eutec-toid-type reaction a = (a' + ß). The existence of a boundary between the two-phase fields (a + ß) and (a' + ß) is also in accord with published lattice parameters.3 The crystal structure of ordered Ag3Mg (type Do23)

Jan 1, 1969

By W. M. Reilly, Martin E. True, O&apos

A technique, equipment, and a compound have been developed and field tested for sealing tubing joint thread leaks without removing the tubing from the well. This eliminates the necessity of killing the well with possible damage to the producing formation, which could result if it were exposed to drilling mud. A thread sealing compound, developed and tested in the laboratory, is introduced into the tubing and squeezed into the joint to eliminate the leak. A high percentage of successful field applications have eflected an appreciable cost reduction in repairing leaking tubing strings in East Texas and in the Louisiana Gulf Coast area. INTRODUCTION In producing oil and gas wells the industry has been plagued with a never ending problem of tubing connection leakage. This situation is becoming increasingly more significant as more gas wells are placed on production and as higher pressures are encountered at greater depths of current drilling. Substantial progress has been made in minimizing thread leaks by careful handling and cleaning of joints and by the use of improved sealing compounds in combination with controlled makeup. But even with the use of the best known methods and sealing materials during initial makeup, occasional leaks through tubing joint threads appear inevitable. In some instances, tubing joints in high-pressure gas wells have been found to leak gas at relatively less pressure than that at which the tubing had been tested satisfactorily using liquid. Many expedients have been employed to prevent the physical replacement of tubing when leaks have developed. Perhaps the most commonly used is the sodium silicate treatment in which the solution is lubricated into the tubing to form a crystalline plug in the leak. Generally, any benefit realized is of a temporary nature. In addition to field studies on handling and makeup of tubing, extensive laboratory work has been undertaken on the development and testing of thread dopes.' Also, substantial effort has been devoted to testing tubing joints using high-pressure gas as a pressure medium.' The results of this work have emphasized that tubing joints are susceptible to occasional leaks, especially when subjected to relatively high differential pressures. To cope with the problem of leaking connections, an extensive investigation was undertaken to devise means of sealing leaks without removing the tubing from the well and without reducing the inside diameter of the tubing. The purpose of this paper is to present a technique, together with the associated equipment and compound, which have been developed for effecting a seal of leaking tubing in place. DISCUSSION Work was initiated simultaneously on two ventures: (1) to develop a satisfactory leak sealing compound and (2) to develop tools necessary to find the leak and place the compound. Leak Sealing Compound In the development of a sealing compound, tests were conducted on those compounds commercially available which include: (1) conventional thread lubricants, (2) thermo-setting resins and (3) other materials which held promise of effecting a seal. Although none proved completely satisfactory in their available form, two commercial compounds proved nearly equally effective in sealing leaks during laboratory tests after proportioned quantities of graded silica had been added. Field usage has indicated that the preferred compound is one prepared of an aluminum-stearate base thinned to the proper constituency and carrying a mixture of fine mesh graphite and graded silica. The compound developed by Humble Oil & Refining Co. is designated as Tubing Thread Leak Sealant 800. Placement Tools and Technique In developing tools to detect joint leaks and to place the sealing compound, work was done initially on wireline equipment. Preliminary designs were completed of a tool somewhat on the order of a pressure bomb to test individual joints with gas at high pressure to determine if the joint was leaking. An entirely different tool equipped with opposed packers was intended for placement of the sealing compound at high pressures in each leaking joint. The application of these tools

Jan 1, 1958

By H. L. Tedrow

FACED with a scarcity of labor in its operations at Alma, Colo., the London Mines and Milling Co. has been employing women for several months in its sorting and crushing plant. The results so far obtained indicate that women can be used successfully and to good advantage on a number of various jobs around the surface plant of an ordinary mine. Eight women are now employed as sorters to pick waste out of the ore as it passes by them on a sorting belt. After a short period of breaking in they have become adept at their work and are doing better work than that formerly done by the class of labor obtainable. They are continually warned and instructed, particularly from the standpoint of safety and their physical strength.

Jan 1, 1942

By D. C. Sisti

A technical evaluation of actual performance of the preparation facilities at Beaver Consolidated Coal Co.'s Stinson plant is presented, with special emphasis on sulfur reduction in 1-1/2 x 3/8 in., 3/8 in. x 28 mesh, and 28 mesh x 0 size fractions. Evaluation of the heavy medium section of the plant and the treatment of the 28 mesh x 0 coal is included. Design criteria considered for sizing and selection of equipment required to process 1-3/4 million tpy of raw coal on coals of divergent washability characteristics are summarized.

Jan 1, 1976

By George S. Rice

IN other countries, research involving testing in various phases of ground movement and lessening its damaging effects, as by roof control, is going on more intensively than in this country, as evidenced by official mining papers and general articles appearing- in .Great Britain, Germany, France, and South Africa. One most important bulletin, "Some Aspects of Deep Level Mining on the Witwatersrand Gold Mines with Special Reference to Rock Bursts,"' was published by the Association of Mine Managers of the Transvaal, Johannesburg, under date of June, 1933, though not received in this country until 1.934. Since the deepest mining in the world is being done on the Rand-several mines over 7000 ft. deep and the Robinson mine 8000 ft.-the studies made are of intense interest to all mining men who have to deal with heavy ground pressure. In the discussion following the papers differences of opinions are shown on a number of problems; for example, on the ade¬quacy of sand-filling to prevent rock bursts and whether compressible or rigid artificial supports are best; also whether pressure bursts are due to the doming of strata and collapse of a lag of the dome or to induced shear cracks in the hanging wall. The problem of obtaining some means of warning of an impending rock burst led to testing with height indicators to find whether warning might be obtained by the lessening of distance between hanging wall and footwall. The indicators used are similar in idea but not in detail to the "convergence recorders" developed by the Safety in Mines Research Board of Great Britain for their roof-control studies in coal mines. Success at several Rand mines is claimed in that indicator records give some degree of warning when the lessening of height is rapid, although, on the other hand, when this happens bursts do not always occur.

Jan 1, 1935

By H. S. Martin

Although it was known some years ago at the Utah Copper Co. mills that fine grinding improved flotation recoveries, no accurate data were available until recently as to just how far the grinding could be carried economically. In 1923 the ultimate degree of fineness for flotation feed was supposed to be about 10 per cent. on 65 mesh, with approximately 55 per cent. through 200 mesh, which meant that most of the mineral would pass 100 mesh. At this time Garfield and Wilfley tables were used ahead of flotation and a good deal of the coarse mineral removed prior to the ball mill regrind. Shortly afterwards, mill-scale tests developed the fact that on a feed containing not over 10 per cent. +65-mesh material flotation alone would give a copper recovery equal to that obtained by the combination of tables and flotation, but that on much coarser feed the recovery with flotation alone was lowered. This was at a time when all the sulfide minerals were floated if possible, so that the only requisite was to grind fine enough to free the mineral from gangue. Earliest Use of Microscopic Examination of Tailings As early as 1921, the writer had attempted to determine by chemical analysis the relative proportions of copper minerals in tailings from an ore that made extremely poor flotation results. Chemical analysis was not satisfactory or conclusive, and samples of these tailings were sent to the U. S. Bureau of Mines Station at the University of Utah for microscopic examination. The question at that time was to determine, if possible, which copper minerals had been lost and why, but R. E. Head, in his report, revealed other interesting data. He said in part: Briefly stated, the mineral partieles or grains may be classified into scparate groups as follows: 1. Free grains of pyrite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite and bornite, respectively, which contain 110 other included sulfides; 2. Grains in which all three of the copper sulfides are representel (the core may be of chalcopyrite, partially altered to boruite, these two minerals being cntirely surrounded by a shell of chalcocite); 3. Grains composed of equal amounts of bornite and chalcocite or chalcopyrite and chalcocite. The grains of free mineral particles are perhaps the most numerous, taking the ore as a whole, but it is noticeable that of the grains of combined or associated sulfides

Jan 1, 1930