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By Henry S. Munroe

THE earliest accounts we have of Japan represent the country as having great mineral wealth, especially of precious and useful metals. Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller, in the thirteenth century, writes of "Zipangu:” "They have gold in greatest abundance, its sources being inexhaustible. The king does not allow of its being exported. To this circumstance we are to attribute the extraordinary richness of the sovereign's palace. The entire roof is covered with a plating of gold. . . . The ceilings of the halls are of the same precious metal ; many of the apartments have tables of pure gold of considerable thickness, and the windows also have golden ornaments." Marco Polo also gives an account of an unsuccessful Tartar expedition against Japan, prompted by the supposed great wealth of the country. Columbus also, as well as many other explorers, were attracted and encouraged by these prevalent reports of the wealth of the islands of Zipangu. Kaempfer, writing in 1727, speaks of the great mineral wealth of Japan, and especially of the abundance of gold, which, he says, is found in many provinces. The Portuguese and Dutch, while they had trading-posts in Japan, furnished tangible evidence of the truth of the early reports. Between 1550 and 1639 the Portuguese merchants sent home from Japan nearly three hundred million dollars' worth of bullion, most of which was gold. As the relative value of equal weights of gold and silver was then six to one, while in Europe, at the same time, it was nearly twelve to one, the exchange of silver bullion for gold was by no means an unimportant part of their business. After the Portuguese, the Dutch continued the exportation of bullion, and the exchange of silver for gold, though with less profit, as the relative value of gold increased with the demand. Between 1649 and 1671 the Dutch traders sent home over two hundred million dollars in bullion, of which, however, nearly two-thirds was silver. In 1671 the Japanese government, alarmed at the rapid rate at which the precious metals were leaving the country, issued an edict forbidding the exportation of gold or silver, under heavy penalties, which had the immediate effect of stopping this trade. Besides bullion, copper formed at this time a most important article of export. According to Dr. Geerts,* who has examined the old * Transactions Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. iii, p. 41.

Jan 1, 1877

By Bertrand S. Summers

The technologist who has devoted much attention to the foundry-business will perhaps have noticed that the present scientific development of foundry-practice is in a condition similar to that of the steel-business some twenty years ago. In many cases chemistry is looked upon with suspicion, and the old cutand-try-methods are still in vogue, especially in the smaller foundries. The larger works have laboratories and more extensive means for applying science, and have devoted considerable time and attention to the improvement of foundry-practice. This is more especially true in the East, although in the West there are numerous firms devoting considerable attention to improving their metllods through the application of chemistry to work in the iron-foundry. It is hardly necessary to dwell extensively upon the effects of the different metalloids associated with iron, in pig- or castiron, in the way they are given in most text-books. The writer has thought proper to consider more particularly new developments in eupola-practice, particularly those pertinent to the discussion of the physics of cast-iron. In this connection some new ideas which recent practice has developed will be mentioned, and some results of practical tests along the same line will be described. Yet it has been deemed advisable also, by way of introduction, to outline the effects of the metalloids as they are described in most text-books, without going into detail. The question is sometimes asked, What is the most important element governing the quality of cast-iron 'for any particular purpose ? It would seem that right here lies the basis for the greatest difference of opinion. Some twenty years or more ago, silicon was regarded by foundrymen as one of their worst

Jan 1, 1899

INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY THEORY The mathematical theory of probability provides the foundation for the interpretations and inferences that can be made from statistical techniques. Probability theory is a broad field of study in itself, and can only be touched on here in order to provide the necessary back- ground for a more complete understanding of statistical analysis. Probability is concerned with the outcome of random events. It had its beginnings in the theory of games of chance which were of great interest to European mathematicians during the last half of the 17th century. The outcome of a random process or experiment is defined as an event. The collection of all mathematical points associated with each event is called the sample space for an experiment. Consider a random experiment having a finite number, n, of possible outcomes, some of which have a characteristic A. What is the probability that A will result from a single

Jan 1, 1980

By Norman Visnes

EARLY in 1954, as initial development of the Galena mine was being finished, plans for stoping operations became the foremost consideration of the operating management. The Galena is being operated under lease agreement with the owner, Vulcan Silver-Lead Corp. Started in 1947, the Galena is a deep level development of American Smelting & Refining Co. and Day Mines Inc. under the management of ASARCO, in the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Lead mineralization was found on the 3000 level in 1950. In 1953 development on the 3000 level disclosed a siderite vein, later known as the Silver vein, which contains commercial quantities of silver in Tetrahedrite. This vein was explored on the 2800 and 2400 levels and later on the 3400 level, the lowest in the mine. Work above the 2400 level to date has indicated that the vein dissipates to weak mineralization, and ore values are uncertain above the 2200 horizon.

Jan 1, 1957

By E. T. Cox

The Albion phosphate-district embraces a territory about 4 miles wide and 6 miles long, in a northerly and southerly direction, situated in Levy county, Florida. The Florida Central and Peninsular railroad, running from Fernandina, a shipping port on the Atlantic, to Cedar Keys, on the Gulf of Mexico, passes through the center of the district. The post-office and railroad station is in the town of Albion. The physical features of the district present a series of white aqd whitish-gray sand-hills and ridges, rising about 130 feet above tide-water. The sand lies in a loose body, like that seen on the ocean beaches. In places the hills have the appearance of sand-dunes, such as are seen along the Platte river, in Nebraska. Beneath the sand are found the phosphate-deposits, which are partially exposed in places, but, for the most part, lie buried to a depth of 15 feet and more. In this district the phosphate is designated as " hard rock,"

Jan 1, 1896

By H. E. McKinstry

MOVEMENT on a fracture of irregular shape can cause local widening of the fissure and thereby offer freer channelways for circulation of ore-depositing solutions. This influence, coupled with large areas of wall rock available for reacting with ore solutions in brecciated and shattered ground can account for locally active deposition of metals and the resulting ore shoots. Such irregularities in the fracture system may be caused by local variations in the strength of rocks and by pre-existing lines of weakness, especially if these stand at favorable angles to certain components of the fracturing stress. Therefore correct interpretation of the mechanics of fracturing should permit deductions as to structurally favorable places on unexplored portions of the vein system.

Jan 1, 1941

By Edgar Dunn

PART I.-DETERMINATION OF GASES IN SMELTER FLUES. IN 1907, upon arriving in Anaconda to take up work in the testing department of the Washoe Reduction Works, the. following problem was met at the car step, so to speak: complete and. exact analysis of gases, not only at the stack, but also in all departmental flues. Taken up to employ time not otherwise needed for regular testing department work, instructions were extremely liberal for a commercial plant, to the effect that accuracy should not be sacrificed to speed. In December, 1907, the work was temporarily transferred to the Great Falls Smelter, and some of the methods here given were there worked out. Differences in smelting operations at Great Falls and Anaconda, however, necessitated further investigations and the development of a new method for S03 determinations at the latter plant, where work was resumed in July, 1908, and completed about a year later. At the time of inception of the work, data (not only on percentages, but even on methods) were found to be meager in the extreme, for one or the other of two reasons: either entire lack of experiment at a large proportion of smelters, or disinclination on the part of the managements to divulge data of any description pertaining to either results or methods. In making determinations of gaseous constituents of flues, two methods are open to consideration: 1, the drawing out of a sample, and collection of the same as a whole, to be removed to the laboratory for later analysis; and 2, the absorption in situ on the flue of one certain constituent, disregarding others for the time being, or perhaps combining two or three in one determination. The first is generally the more rapid, but it is also the more inaccurate, method of analysis, even with special type absorption apparatus, being the more largely subject to error, both of reading, and also because of leakage during complicated manipulation in the laboratory. The amount used for analysis must also, because of limit of container, be small for the first method, and an average gas is very seldom obtained, necessitating for a fair average result a large number of determinations. Consequently, when we balance the time spent in a dozen determinations of short-time samples as against the time employed in making two or three long-time determinations of various constituents in situ, we are not so certain in our statement as to the relative speed of the two methods. Moreover, the method of analysis in the laboratory of 100 cc. of flue gas is satisfactory only when constituents thus determined are present in considerable quantity, results being simply approximate when determining such compounds as sulphur dioxide, sulphur trioxide, carbon monoxide and dioxide, and arsenic trioxide and water vapor, none of which are carried in all smelter flues in amounts in excess of (or even approaching) 1 per cent by volume. Special condi-

Jan 8, 1913

By Herbert Lang

Cord-wood, sawn into blocks of about a foot in length, is a regular constituent of our fuel-charge at Mineral, Idaho, our work being the matting of silver-ores by fusion in a blast-furnace. The furnace is a round water-jacket furnace, of 36 inches diameter at the tuyeres, and the charge of smelting-mixture weighs 950 Ibs., requiring 110 Ibs. of Connellsville coke to drive it. I replace half this coke with 135 lbs. of fir-wood, cut from dead and apparently perfectly dry trees. This mixtrire produces as high a sn~elting-temperature as all coke, whence I infer that the smel ting-effeot of a given weight of wood is to that of the same weight of coke as 11 to 27, or 1 to 25/11. A cord of wood sawed ready for use weighs 2840 lbs., costs $5.00, and is

Jan 1, 1892

Jan 1, 1962

By L. J. Erck

H EAVY-MEDIA separation continues to be the favored process for concentrating the coarser fractions by elimination of undesirable tailing and middling fractions. The first vessel used for heavy-media separation was the closed-top cone. Further developments then led to the Akins spiral separator which fulfilled the requirements for improving metallurgica1 separation as well as gaining mechanical advantages. During the last season there has been a substantial influx of separator designs for further improvements of metallurgical separation based on the heavy- media method as well as attempting to garner further mechanical advantages with reduction in power consumption to boot. The newest of these designs was the Hardinge counter-current separator which was introduced into the field last spring in two plants. Both Hardinge separators proved satisfactory in operation and substantiat-

Jan 1, 1950

By Leonard Greenburg, William B. Harris, Gustäv Werner

HAULAGE in tunneling operations generally has been done with electric locomotives. As a rule, on short hauls the source of electricity is a storage battery mounted on the locomotive, which, of course, must be removed and recharged periodically. Where the distance from the recharging point to the tunnel face is very long, and where loads are heavy, trolley-driven locomotives are used. Diesel engines have been used in mining and tunneling operations in Europe for a number of years. The recent reports of studies in Belgium1 and by the Bureau of Mines in this country2-4 have indicated the potentialities of this form of power for haulage, mucking, bulldozing and many other underground operations. The hazards attending the use of Diesel engines in more or less closed spaces have long been known. The exhaust constituents that may create a harmful or objectionable environment are carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, carbon dioxide, aldehydes and smoke. Lack of precise information regarding the concentration of these gases and the ventilation requirements to reduce them to safe levels has to some extent suppressed their general acceptance in tunneling and mining work. Not until the work of the Bureau of Mines referred to above, and certain experience gained in the construction of the Delaware Aqueduct,‡ has there been available the requisite information regarding the conditions under which their use may be permitted. This paper concerns itself with the successful operation of Diesel engines underground in the construction of certain parts of the Delaware Aqueduct, and describes the conditions under which Diesel engines have been found to operate with a minimum production of noxious gases. The test data reported were obtained during the operation of Diesel engines over a period of two years.* STUDIES BY THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Exhaustive tests were made by the Division of Industrial Hygiene, of the composition of the exhaust gases given off by a Diesel engine mounted on. a test block. These tests showed that certain quantities of the gases are discharged from the exhaust. On the basis of these figures, preliminary requirements of design and control

Jan 1, 1942

Kaolin deposits in Georgia lie in a belt that stretches across the central part of the state from Alabama to South Carolina. In 1977 the state's kaolin production was an estimated 4.58 million tons (5.05 million st) or 77% of US production. While mining methods vary, stripping contractor W. F. (Billy) Jackson of Wrightsville, Ga., depends on a fleet of 18 twin-engine elevating scrapers to move the hulk of overburden and clay. Owner Billy Jackson explains that the soil in this part of the state is perfect for scraper operation; overburden ranges from Georgia red clay to a sandy gumbo material. Apart from some shale, very little rock is encountered, thus eliminating any blasting re¬quirement. Most of the material can be removed with cutting edge teeth or with drop center blades.

Jan 6, 1978

By R. E. Whippo, B. L. Murowchick

The commercially exploited sedimentary apatites exhibit a number of variable lattice substitutions which affect their chemical composition. Carbonate is a major diluent of phosphorus values in sedimentary apatites. Substantial amounts of water as hydroxyl, hydronium, and tetrahedral hydroxyl ions substitute for fluorine and oxygen, calcium, and phosphate, respectively. Calcium is also replaced by several other divalent and monovalent cations. The structural formula demonstrates the substitutions in the lattice of the sedimentary apatites studied in view of the crystal-chemical relationships which have been postulated for the isomorphous apatite series. The lattice constant a. varies from 9.29 to 9.40 A for the apatites studied. Quantitative relationships between this constant and lattice substitution are complicated by the interaction of multiple substitutions whose influence is non-additive. The mineral apatite, the principal raw material source of phosphorus for agricultural and industrial applications, offers a wide area for investigation. Considerable research effort has been expended in the study of apatite crystal-chemistry by medical, biological, and earth scientists. Few of these studies deal directly with the sedimentary apatites from the major occurrences which are widely exploited for commercial uses. It is the purpose here to present chemical analyses of several sedimentary apatites and discuss their chemical composition in relation to the structural and crystalchemical principles which have been postulated for the apatite isomorphous series. THE STRUCTURE OF FLUORAPATITE The atomic structure of fluorapatite was described, independently, by Ngray-Szabd and Mehmel in 1930 and has been accepted as presented, with only minor changes,4 since that time. The hexaogonal unit cell with dimensions of a = 9.37 0.01 A and c = 6.88 0.01 A contains two molecules of the composition "There are six (PO4) groups in the cell, four calcium ions on the trigonal axes, surrounded prismati-cally by six oxygen ions and six calcium ions surrounded by an irregular polyhedron of a fluorine and five oxygens. Fluorines are at the comers of the reflexion planes, touching three calcium ions each".l7

Jan 1, 1968

Discussion of the paper of JOEL H. WATKINS, presented at the New Fork meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 98, February, 1915, pp. 391 to 411. H. Rims, Ithaca, N. Y.-It is interesting to contemplate to what extent the American pottery industry would be affected in case the English supply of china clay were shut off for a considerable period of time. The English deposits are very large, and are worked on a most extensive scale. They are more easily and probably more cheaply worked than our American deposits, which are of vein-like nature. The American producer of washed clay is not always as careful as the foreign miner and washer of this material, although he has improved in recent years. Our American washing plants are, furthermore, not as economical of material as it seems to me they might be, for the reason that more or less of the finest clay is often allowed to overflow, due to insufficient settling tank capacity. This fact is often shown by the milky character, of the streams into which the waste water is discharged.

Jan 5, 1915

By A. N. Mitinsky

Discussion of the paper of A. N. MITINSKY, presented at the San Francisco meeting, September, 1915, and at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 104, August, 1915, pp. 1697 to 1705. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Cambridge, Mass.-The author expresses the belief that steel will not fail under fatigue when subjected to ultimate stresses unless the stresses exceed the elastic limit or the limit of proportionality. I think this statement is contrary to the evidence. It is conceivable, however, that a stress ever so small does produce a permanent set, although so slight that we cannot detect it with the instruments at our disposal. Nevertheless the repetition of this small stress a great many times will finally break the piece and the nearer, we approach what we call the elastic limit, the quicker will the piece break under fatigue. J. W. RICHARDS, So. Bethlehem, Pa.-I would like to ask Professor Sauveur whether there is a similar indefiniteness about the limit of .proportionality as there is about the elastic limit. ALBERT SAUVEUR.-Yes; I believe it also depends upon the delicacy of our instruments. J. W. RICHARDS.-If that is so then we are as badly off by adopting the limit of proportionality as a criterion as we are by adopting the elastic limit.

Jan 5, 1916

By R. J. Sandrea, S. M. Farouq Ali

The results of an experimental and theoretical study of the effects of rectilinear impermeable barriers and highly permeable channels on the sweep efficiency and conductivity of a five-spot network are presented. The study was carried out using Hele-Shaw, and conductive sheet analogs for both. normal and inverted flood patterns. A functional relationship was developed which provides quantitative prediction of the above parameters; i.e., sweep efficiency and conductivity, for the nonhomogeneous system. To evaluate this, it is necessary only to measure the interference modulus of the obstacle using a simple expression. The results indicate that impermeable barriers, with an interference modulus greater than zero, always cause a decrease in the conductivity and the sweep efficiency of the pattern. On the other hand, permeability channels do not have a significant effect on these parameters, unless they are located along the streamlines. The study also discusses a method of formulating the difference equations pertaining to the two-dimensional Laplacian in a system containing rectilinear barriers. In addition, a technique is described for tracing the progress of a free surface, using marked particles, in a stream containing discontinuities SuCh as those occurring at the extremities of barriers. The above computational scheme was used in a digital computer program to simulate results of the Hele-Shaw analog. The computed values of sweep efficiency mere in good agreement with the experimental values. INTRODUCTION At the present time waterflooding remains the most widely used technique for the secondary recovery of oil. Among the numerous factors that affect the performance of a waterflood, the areal sweep efficiency constitutes one of the most critical parameters. It is a function only of the geometric distribution of the wells for a homogeneous medium and unit mobility ratio. Geological considerations, however, such as the presence of sealing faults or solution channels in the rock matrix, would generally exert an adverse effect on the areal sweep efficiency of a waterflood network. Surprisingly little information is presently available on the quantitative implications of such permeability interferences. It was the object of this investigation to consider the presence of rectilinear, impermeable and highly permeable interferences in an otherwise homogeneous five-spot pattern, and to analyze their effects on the resulting sweep efficiency and pattern conductivity. The experimental phase of the study was conducted using two different models: the Hele-Shaw flow cell and the field plotter. For experimental convenience, the geometric boundaries of the five-spot were assumed to constitute streamlines even in the case where the interference was asymmetrically placed with respect to a repeated five-spot pattern. A second object of the study was to develop a computational scheme for numerically calculating the pressure distribution in a five-spot flow pattern containing rectilinear, impermeable barriers, and to use this distribution to compute the sweep efficiency. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE HELE-SHAW ANALOG The Hele-Shaw analog was used both as a visual model and for determining the sweep efficiency for systems involving impermeable barriers. The physical limitations of this model as a means of experimentally studying the motion of a fluid in porous medium have been adequately discussed elsewhere.2,7 Likewise, it can be easily verified that the analogy remains valid when a portion of the region between the plates contains an obstacle of the same thickness as the distance between the plates. The model used in this study was composed of

By Research Staff ? Verde Copper Mines

FLOTATION is now commonly practiced in alkaline ore pulps, yet little is known regarding the action of the alkaline solutions on the ore particles beyond the fact that films of oxidized material form. We wish to chronicle our discovery of the presence of soluble reducing agents in alkaline ore pulps of the United Verde, and present some data on lime consumption. During the grinding and flotation of a pyritic ore containing small amounts of ferrous sulfate and other soluble salts, an excess of lime was added to precipitate the salts, and filtered samples of the solution were titrated with standard permanganate solution. Even in pulps of high causticity an appreciable permanganate titration was always obtained, in spite of the fact that the solutions were shown to contain little iron. Investigation of the cause brought about the discovery of several previously unsuspected compounds in flotation pulps made from pyritic ore. Not only the reducing agents present had to be identified, but also the amount of dissolved oxygen, and a survey was finally made of the free oxygen content and reducing agents of the mill pulp in the concentrating mill at Clarkdale. A great many. compounds might form, caused by oxidation of pyrite or other metal sulfides or by reaction between a lime solution and pyrite. The most probable compounds considered were calcium sulfides, polysulfides, thiosulfates, and polythionates. Later it was discovered in the literature that in alkaline pulp polythionates do not exist and if introduced are decomposed into sulfites and thiosulfates.1 Any precipitated sulfur is changed by alkali into thiosulfate and polysulfide. Sulfites and sulfides react to form thiosulfate, so that in the end it is possible to have in an alkaline solution only thiosulfate and an excess either of sulfide or sulfite. Confirmatory tests were made and it was finally established that the alkaline mill pulps made from the United Verde ore contained

Jan 1, 1929

INTRODUCTION Conditions for formation of porphyry copper deposits appear to have been propitious in the Appalachian orogen from the end of Precambrian into Middle Ordovician, and again from Middle Devonian into Mississippian. In the Appalachians we can now record the evolution of a porphyry copper province within a developing orogen, one that reached metamorphic and structural maturity by the end of Devonian. Fig. 15, after Irwin and Coleman (1972), locates that portion of the Appalachian orogen included in this study, and Fig. 16 illustrates general geology of the area. Deposits mentioned in Table 3 and in the text are shown in Fig. 16. Data presented summarize personal observations by the author, published descriptions of specific areas noted in the bibliography, and abstracts from Provincial assessment files. Sources of previously published data are acknowledged. Few comprehensive descriptions of individual porphyry copper deposits in this area exist, so much of the data presented is new to the literature. Porphyry mineralization has, for this chapter, been restricted to porphyry copper de- posits, although porphyry molybdenum de- posits (Clark, 1972) are also shown in Fig. 16 (Hollister, et al., 1974). Copper- molybdenum and tungsten-molybdenum skarns are also omitted to simplify discu sion, though each is known in the area studied. Gaspe Copper is included, however; min- eralization in this deposit is present in the intrusion as well as in the skarn adjacent (Bell and Scott, 1954). Porphyry deposits listed in Table 3 are included because of some important feature, although other deposits have been reported (e.g., Kirkham and Soregaroli, 1975 ) . Clearly, no table now compiled could be complete. The pace of exploration insures that new occurrences will probably be found. Summaries of features exhibited by intrusions shown in Table 3 should remain valid, however, since they appear representative and are based on an adequate number of deposits in the area studied. Paleozoic porphyry copper prospects (shown in Fig. 16) are more common, apparently, in the northeastern part of the orogen, rarely having been found south of Catheart or west of the Logan Line. Occurrences of molybdenum and other associated lithophile elements are, however, known to the south and west as well as further north. Killeen and Newman (1965), King (1970),

Jan 1, 1978

By John Birkinbine

Through the partiality of my fellow-members I have been able, during seven years' service on the Council of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, to note the development of technical societies, a subject which commends itself as an appropriate theme for me, in retiring from the office of President, at a time when we meet in convention with Canadian technical societies. Our next assembly, called at Chicago at the time fixed for an International Engineering Congress, offers additional reason for the selection of this topic. If subsequent statements appear to give to the American Institute of Mining Engineers greater prominence than to kindred organizations, they may be excused upon the ground of long association with and loyalty to its members, and to a personal knowledge of their work. Besides, data as to its growth and development are more accessible; and at a meeting of the Institute features connected with it may be considered as of greater immediate interest than those affecting other organizations. The purpose of this address is, however, to use the record of the Institute as indicating a similar development of other technical societies, rather than to claim preeminence for any organization; the work of each must speak for it. There is a general tendency to form associations at the present time. Organizations have been created and are active in every profession and in all branches of labor, trade, industry, commerce, manufactures, science and art. A record of such associations and their aggregate membership would be startling, and would show how large a percentage of the population of North America is connected with one or more of them; but the figures cannot be even approximately estimated. The class of associations representing national, state, or local trade interests, such as boards of trade, chambers of commerce, etc., may be used as an illustration. A late report shows that in the

Jan 1, 1893

Jan 1, 1970