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By L. M. Barker

THE New Cornelia Branch of the Phelps Dodge Corporation is at Ajo, Pima County, Ariz. It is at the southern terminus of the Tucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend Railroad, which connects with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Gila Bend, Ariz., approximately 43 miles to the north. HISTORY Early history of the Ajo district has been related by A. W. Allen1 and by T. A. Rickard.2 Briefly, steps looking to the large-scale development of the ore body were instituted as early as 1912. This work culminated in the equipment of the property for open-pit mining by steam shovels. Ores initially mined carried economic amounts of copper carbonates as the principal copper-bearing mineral. Treatment methods developed for the extraction of the copper content involved leaching and a 5000-ton leaching plant was constructed and placed in operation in early 1917. Description of methods and equipment employed in this plant has been given by A. A. Tobelmann and James A. Potter.3 As exhaustion of the carbonate ore body neared, and mining oper-ations exposed an adequate tonnage of sulphide ores, a 5000-ton con-centrator was constructed for their treatment. That plant has been described by H. Kenyon Burch.4 Construction was completed and the plant was placed in operation in early 1924. Changes made in the original plant to improve practices and increase production will be the subject of subsequent paragraphs of this paper.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. M. Callow

THE results obtained by pneumatic flotation throughout the country on all classes of ore, and. the tonnage now being treated by this particular method, speak for themselves. Its advantages over the so-called agitation process are now established by facts and data from practice. The comparative efficiency of a rapidly revolving paddle, as a means for aerating an ore pulp, and of a cycloidal or turbine blower for the same purpose, would seem to be so obvious as to leave no room for discussion. Practitioners in this art are to be congratulated on the acquisition of the valuable literary contributions that have recently been made on the theory of. flotation by Messrs. Ralston, Van Arsdale, Taggart and Beach, and others, and the very valuable and able articles, by Messrs. Laist and Wiggin on "Flotation Concentration at Anaconda, Mont.," by, Dr. Rudolf Gahl- on the "History of Flotation at Inspiration," and by David Cole on "The Advent of Flotation in the Morenci District." It is not within the province of this article to attempt an answer to the various issues raised in regard to the theory, or to defend the one advanced by me a year ago. But since discussion usually benefits the profession, a reply will be made to some of the statements made by the last-named writers. COMPARATIVE SENSITIVENESS AND ATTENDANCE Concerning 'the article, "Flotation Concentration at Anaconda, Mont.," by Laist and Wiggin, a little explanation is in order. It should be stated that; with the exception of about 24 days at the end of the testing 'period, the Callow experimental plant at Anaconda was not run under my direction. This perhaps accounts for some of the conclusions drawn on page 562 of the descriptive paper. The conclusion that the use of acid seems to be of considerable advantage, calls, for some comment. While the tests conducted by the Anaconda Copper Co. do show acid to be, of considerable benefit, this is a consequence of using acid sludge as a flotation agent. My belief has always been that the Anaconda

Jan 2, 1917

By R. P. McNitt

TITANIUM hydrides have received considerable study in recent years because of the adverse effects of the hydrides on mechanical material properties such as ductility and tensile strengths. Generally speaking, as the hydrogen content increases, ductility and strength levels decrease. While the amount of hydrogen present in commercial titanium is negligible, hydrogen may enter the material during welding, electroplating, and so forth. The hydrogen will then precipitate, in the form of titanium hydride. If the material

Jan 1, 1968

By A. F. Taggart, Nathaniel Arbiter

The chemical reaction occurring in collection of nonmetallic minerals with amine-type collectors was early postulated by students of flotation phenomena to be metathesis between the mineral and the collector, involving exchange between the amine-bearing (aminium) ion and the cation of the mineral, and formation at the mineral surface of an oriented film of the amine salt of the mineral anion. Qualitative evidence of exchange has been obtained on several occasions at Columbia. Thus 1000 C.C. of a solution containing 495 mg of laurylamine hydrochloride was shaken 17 min. with 100 grams of barite and ground in a porcelain mill to pass a 200-mesh screen; the mixture was then set aside for 48 hr. Filtrate therefrom analyzed 476 mg. per liter of laurylamine hydrochloride. There was no substantial loss of chloride ion (78.4 mg. per liter in the original; 74 in the filtrate). No successful analyses were concluded for barium ion. Earlier, confessedly rough work with scheelite indicated a solution gain in Ca++ equivalent to about one-half the aminium ion lost. Real quantitative roof of the exchange, in the form of an established stoichiometric balance, is unknown to the authors. The data of the present paper, however, obtained from experiments designed on the basis of the exchange hypothesis, constitute strong evidence of its truth, and at the same time point the way to economic utilization of the expensive nitrogen-bearing collectors in concentration of the low-priced nonmetallic minerals. The basic postulate underlying the experiments performed was that, if the collecting reaction is of the type R+ + Y- + MX = RX + M+ + Y- where R = aminium ion, Y = the anion of the amine salt, and M and X are, respectively, the cation and anion of the mineral, the reaction should obey qualitatively the implications of the mass-action and solubility-product laws. This is to say that coating and collection should be aided by the addition to the solution of either ion (R+ or X-) of the collector-coating compound, and hindered by the addition of either of the ions M+ or y-. Experimental work comprised determination of (,) the relative solubilities of the laurylammonium salts of a variety of nonmetallic-mineral anions; and (21 the contact angles' of various minerals in solutions containing different concentrations of the postulated controlling ions. Semiquantitative flotation tests were run With barite as checks on the diagnostic character of the contact angles. The amine

Jan 1, 1947

By Nathaniel Arbiter, A. F. Taggart

The chemical reaction occurring in collection of nonmetallic minerals with amine-type collectors was early postulated by students of flotation phenomena to be metathesis between the mineral and the collector, involving exchange between the amine-bearing (aminium) ion and the cation of the mineral, and formation at the mineral surface of an oriented film of the amine salt of the mineral anion. Qualitative evidence of exchange has been obtained on several occasions at Columbia. Thus 1000 C.C. of a solution containing 495 mg of laurylamine hydrochloride was shaken 17 min. with 100 grams of barite and ground in a porcelain mill to pass a 200-mesh screen; the mixture was then set aside for 48 hr. Filtrate therefrom analyzed 476 mg. per liter of laurylamine hydrochloride. There was no substantial loss of chloride ion (78.4 mg. per liter in the original; 74 in the filtrate). No successful analyses were concluded for barium ion. Earlier, confessedly rough work with scheelite indicated a solution gain in Ca++ equivalent to about one-half the aminium ion lost. Real quantitative roof of the exchange, in the form of an established stoichiometric balance, is unknown to the authors. The data of the present paper, however, obtained from experiments designed on the basis of the exchange hypothesis, constitute strong evidence of its truth, and at the same time point the way to economic utilization of the expensive nitrogen-bearing collectors in concentration of the low-priced nonmetallic minerals. The basic postulate underlying the experiments performed was that, if the collecting reaction is of the type R+ + Y- + MX = RX + M+ + Y- where R = aminium ion, Y = the anion of the amine salt, and M and X are, respectively, the cation and anion of the mineral, the reaction should obey qualitatively the implications of the mass-action and solubility-product laws. This is to say that coating and collection should be aided by the addition to the solution of either ion (R+ or X-) of the collector-coating compound, and hindered by the addition of either of the ions M+ or y-. Experimental work comprised determination of (,) the relative solubilities of the laurylammonium salts of a variety of nonmetallic-mineral anions; and (21 the contact angles' of various minerals in solutions containing different concentrations of the postulated controlling ions. Semiquantitative flotation tests were run With barite as checks on the diagnostic character of the contact angles. The amine

Jan 1, 1947

By E. Beril

This may be a most unnecessary paper—from what does crude oil come and how was it formed. Many people, inside and outside of the petroleum industry, believe that we have actually enough oil, and that we can easily produce very important products from this extremely valuable raw material. The writer believes, however, that the answer to this question concerning the parent material and the formation of oil is of broader interest, because it may be that from the answer to these problems it would be possible to get answers to other important industrial questions. Therefore, a study in this line seems to be justified, and the writer will submit some of the results which he has collected during more than ten years with many very capable collaborators, to whom his thanks may be expressed on this occasion. Older Theories There is no doubt that plants were the parent material of coals, but opinion is divided as to the parent material of crude oil and asphalts. One group of specialists believed that they were formed from dead fish. The hydrocarbons of crude oil were formed by the splitting off of CO² from fatty acids formed by the saponification of the fat (glycerides) of fish. Enormous quantities of crude oil are present in many places on the earth, very often in several nonconnected horizons at the same location. This could hardly be explained by the so-called "catastrophe theory," which states that fish died through the entrance of salt water into fresh water, and vice versa. Furthermore, this theory cannot explain the presence of aromatic hydrocarbons, which can be found in nearly all oils, especially in the oil of the Netherlands Indies, which has more than 50 per cent of aromatics. Geological and chemical observations both lead to the belief that the temperature of formation of asphalt, crude oils and coals, perhaps with a few exceptions, did not exceed 200° C. Chlorophyll and haemin derivatives, which decompose above 200° C., have been found in all these materials by Treibs and others. Thermodynamic considerations show that the temperature necessary for the conversion

Jan 1, 1938

By J. L. Gregg

RECENTLY there has been considerable interest in the production and use of, extra hard alloys composed primarily of tungsten and carbon. Dr. Hoyt's recent paper1 gives a good description of these alloys and describes their performance when used as tools. There are a number of these alloys on the market sold under various trade names, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the results of an investigation of the structure of five of these alloys by means of microscopic and X-ray methods. The samples studied were in the form of small tools or wire-drawing dies, which were either purchased or supplied as samples. They were in some cases not supplied by the original makers but were furnished by the agents in this country, and we wish to call attention to the fact that they may not be truly representative of the materials supplied under the various trade names. No performance data are given and no inference as to the inferiority of one alloy as against any other is made K Schröter2 recently described methods for polishing alloys of this type for microscopic examination and has presented photomicrographs of several alloys. However, he did not identify their constituents or describe methods for their identification.

Jan 1, 1929

By Robert W. Hunt

There are certain physical characteristics of steel resulting from its treatment while being formed into useful products which have been, and are, well known to its manipulators ; but under the stress of business competition and other controlling influences, all knowledge is not always given either full sway, or even full acknowledgment. Such has been the case in the making of steel rails. It is universally acknowledged that steel rails of heavy sections, made during the last tell years, have not given as good service as the rails of lighter sections produced before that time. While certain fundamental principles of steel-making have been acknowledged, their application to the steel-rail manufacture has been, if not actually denied, completely ignored.

Jan 1, 1902

By William S. Dershowitz

INTRODUCTION Numerical methods commonly used in rock mechanics, such as finite element, displacement discontinuity, and boundary integral equation methods, offer solutions to problems which can be described by differential equations subject to boundary conditions. These numerical methods use approximations leading to solutions in terms of matrix algebra and numerical integration. Many rock mechanics problems which are beyond the scope of such approximations can be treated effectively by application of techniques developed in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Among the possible applications are: site characterization (Duda, 1975), geological interpretation (Smith and Baker, 1983), solution of problems involving rock joint networks, and underground construction. Each of these applications utilize particular features of Al. Here we shall present results of AI applications which utilize primarily search and to lesser extent learning or pattern recognition. Specific examples presented are in the field of rock fracture network problems and underground construction. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Artificial intelligence techniques attempt to achieve human-like reasoning and learning capabilities. This reasoning capability is valuable in applications where repetition, complexity, or tediousness makes human-like intervention impractical. In rock mechanics this occurs, for example, in stochastic rock mass modeling applications where some complex decision-making is required for each of a large number of iterations.

Jan 1, 1984

Discussion of the paper of CHARLES H. MACDOWELL, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 98, February, 1915, pp. 103 to 114. GEORGE S. RICE, Pittsburgh, Pa.-I am especially interested in the mining side of this important question. In 1911, when in Europe investigating mining matters, giving special attention to subsidence clue to mining, for there is a very big problem of that kind, as many of you know, in the Pennsylvania anthracite region, I visited Stassfurt, which is one of the chief centers of potash mining, and which was pointed out as the place to see surface subsidence. We found the town much askewsome of the streets having sunk from 15 to 30 ft., leaving many ancient buildings pitching at various angles. One old church, 500 or 600 years old, has been sunk about 20 ft., cracking it badly. I understand that this condition came about because in early mining clays they were careless about leaving proper supports and used no filling or packing. The Stassfurt mines work along a buried anticline the sides of which pitch at 45° on the average. Through this careless mining they had a break of the hanging wall which let in water from the overlying marls and sands. The water rapidly dissolved the salts in the pillars, and spreading through the entire chain of mines, caused their complete loss, with serious trouble for the old city. They had to start new mines some distance away, and take care to prevent roof caves. The packing system is of interest. They were driving large rooms into the rock-salt foot wall and using the rock salt as dry filling. The application of hydraulic filling, using a saturated solution, was under contemplation at some plant nearby. Whether 6r not the plan was carried out I do not know. I was reminded of the plan by Mr. MacDowell's remarking on the use of a saturated salt solution in the core drilling. His reference to the apparent breakdown of the potash syndicate raises an interesting question. We have had the German system of syndicates pointed out as perhaps one means of solving our troubles in the soft-coal mining industry due to overproduction. It seems to have worked out admirably in the case of the Westphalian coal-mining syndicate and also in the syndicate of Upper Silesia; but apparently the syndicate plan did not work in the potash industry. .

Jan 5, 1915

By George K. Foster, Charles D. Borror

THE Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Limited, is in the town of Asbestos, situated approximately 100 miles northeast of Montreal and about the same distance southwest of Quebec, in Richmond County, Quebec. Mining operations were started in 1881 on outcrops on a hill, as a side-hill cut, followed by a second and third cut. This development was the forerunner of the present large open-pit operations, the mine now ranking as the largest openpit asbestos mine in the world. Operations were first carried on by hand, then by horsepower and later by stem cableways. By 1924 the derrick spans, 2000 ft. or more long, became unwieldy. To overcome this, and also to eliminate hand labor as much as possible, steam shovels and railroad haulage were introduced. The steam shovels were replaced in 1928 by larger electric shovels of the full-revolving type. THE ORE BODY The ore body is a serpentinized peridotite rock mass. The chrysotile fibers form a network of veins throughout, varying from microscopic width to two or more inches measured across the veins (Fig. I). These veins may be continuous for a few or many feet; they may increase or decrease in width within a few feet. The veins in which the fibers occur perpendicular to the veins are known as cross fiber. Those in which the fibers lay parallel to the veins are known as slip fiber. The cross fibers are of better quality, and more in demand. The majority of the fiber [ ]

Jan 1, 1946

By Charles D. Borror, George K. Foster

The Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Limited, is in the town of Asbestos, situated approximately 100 miles northeast of Montreal and about the same distance southwest of Quebec, in Richmond County, Quebec. Mining operations were started in 1881 on outcrops on a hill, as a side-hill cut, followed by a second and third cut. This development was the forerunner of the present large open-pit operations, the mine now ranking as the largest open-pit asbestos mine in the world. Operations were first carried on by hand, then by horsepower and later by stem cableways. By 1924 the derrick spans, 2000 ft. or more long, became unwieldy. To overcome this, and also to eliminate hand labor as much as possible, steam shovels and railroad haulage were introduced. The steam shovels were replaced in 1928 by larger electric shovels of the full-revolving type. The Ore Body The ore body is a serpentinized peri-dotite rock mass. The chrysotile fibers form a network of veins throughout, varying from microscopic width to two or more inches measured across the veins (Fig. I). These veins may be continuous for a few or many feet; they may increase or decrease in width within a few feet. The veins in which the fibers occur per- pendicular to the veins are known as cross fiber. Those in which the fibers lay parallel to the veins are known as slip fiber. The cross fibers are of better quality, and more in demand. The majority of the fiber

Jan 1, 1948

By George K. Foster, Charles D. Borror

The Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Limited, is in the town of Asbestos, situated approximately 100 miles northeast of Montreal and about the same distance southwest of Quebec, in Richmond County, Quebec. Mining operations were started in 1881 on outcrops on a hill, as a side-hill cut, followed by a second and third cut. This development was the forerunner of the present large open-pit operations, the mine now ranking as the largest open-pit asbestos mine in the world. Operations were first carried on by hand, then by horsepower and later by stem cableways. By 1924 the derrick spans, 2000 ft. or more long, became unwieldy. To overcome this, and also to eliminate hand labor as much as possible, steam shovels and railroad haulage were introduced. The steam shovels were replaced in 1928 by larger electric shovels of the full-revolving type. The Ore Body The ore body is a serpentinized peri-dotite rock mass. The chrysotile fibers form a network of veins throughout, varying from microscopic width to two or more inches measured across the veins (Fig. I). These veins may be continuous for a few or many feet; they may increase or decrease in width within a few feet. The veins in which the fibers occur per- pendicular to the veins are known as cross fiber. Those in which the fibers lay parallel to the veins are known as slip fiber. The cross fibers are of better quality, and more in demand. The majority of the fiber

Jan 1, 1948

By Reno H. Sales

EVERY mine manager, mine geologist, and every prospector in the field who appraises the future of mining properties does so on the basis of a theory of ore deposition whether he recognizes this fact or not. Wherever the ultimate value of a mine or prospect is dependent upon undeveloped ore, any estimate by an engineer or geologist necessarily involves a theory of origin of the deposit. In view of these facts the importance of a thorough understanding of the genesis of ore deposits cannot be overestimated. It well may be that the greatness of our country will depend upon finding reserves of natural resources as yet undiscovered. The genesis of ore deposits offers a fascinating field for study and investigation. This is attested by the large number of geologists who have written at length on the subject. For progress made toward a better understanding of ore genesis we owe much to Kemp, Lindgren, Ransome, Vogt, Emmons, Spurr, Graton, and a host of others. Within my own experience, I have attempted to apply in practice the various concepts and theories that have been advanced by these men.

Jan 5, 1954

By Frederick Laist

ABOUT six years ago the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. decided to investigate the possibility of extracting zinc from the ores of certain mines in the Butte district. These ores are of a complex character and contain so much iron and lead that the concentrate contains only 33 to 35 per cent. zinc. Investigations showed that while a high-grade concentrate could not be obtained by ordinary methods, such as tabling and magnetic treatment, a fair grade could be made by the Horwood process. In this method, the concentrate resulting from the flotation of all of the sulfides is given a light roast and this calcine is subjected to flotation in the presence of a large amount of sulfuric acid; the resulting concentrate contains most of the zinc and a residue contains most of the iron. The fact that the lead, copper, and silver are divided approximately equally between the zinc concentrate and the iron residue and the large consumption of acid, which ranged from 50 to 100 lb. (22 to 45 kg.) per ton of concentrates, were serious objections to this plan. The zinc recovery, moreover, was low, as a considerable percentage invariably accompanied the iron. While a profit might be made on the ores by the use of this process, it was thought that other and more promising methods might be devised. After carefully studying the field and doing some laboratory work on various processes that had been suggested, it was decided that the electrolysis of sulfate solutions was the most promising. We soon found, as have other investigators, that the only way to obtain a good zinc deposit is to have the electrolyte free from all metals more electro-negative than zinc, such as copper, cadmium, lead, arsenic, antimony, etc. Arsenic and antimony are particularly injurious, causing very poor current efficiency and small yield per horsepower when present in amounts so small as almost to defy detection-1 mg. or less per liter.

Jan 10, 1920

By R. B. Mears, G. F. Sagar, R. H. Brown

There are well recognized procedures for determining the various tensile, fatigue, and other mechanical properties of the common structural materials. This makes it possible for engineers to design structures of various materials which have adequate initial strength to stand the stresses to which they are subjected in service. There is also considerable general information about protective measures suitable for protecting the usual structural materials from the effects of ordinary environments. However, often insufficient quantitative information is available on the combined effects of stress and corrosion to permit the designer satisfactorily to appraise the structure from the stress-corrosion standpoint. This situation is further complicated by the fact that the stresses causing stress¬corrosion failures are usually not the design stresses but rather the residual forming and assembly stresses which are generally of unknown magnitudes. Thus, tests which will rapidly evaluate the susceptibility of materials to stress-cor¬rosion failures are extremely useful. Of particular value are tests which can be applied to built-up structures as well as to simple specimens, since, as mentioned above, residual stresses often are caused by fabricating procedures and assembly operations. The present paper contains

Jan 1, 1945

By V. Runolinna, R. T. Hukki

Preliminary separation of precious metals by flotation can offer a simplification of the conventional method of treatment of anode slimes. Laboratory flotation experiments show that rich gold and silver concentrate can be obtained with excellent recoveries. THE purpose of this paper is to present the results of an investigation into the possibilities of separating precious metals from anode slimes by selective flotation. The work was carried out at the State Research Institute in Helsinki, Finland. The sample of anode slimes tested was submitted by the Outo-kumpu Co. in Finland. In 1947 the average assay of filtered and dried anode slimes in the Outokumpu refinery in Pori was as follows: Au, 0.50 pct; Ag, 9.38 pct; Cu, 11.02 pct; Ni, 45.21 pct; Pb, 2.62 pct; Fe, 0.60 pct; Sn, 1.00 pct; Sb, 0.04 pct; As, 0.70 pct; Se, 4.33 pct; S, 2.32 pct; SO,, 2.17 pct; SiO2, 2.25 pct. The daily assay naturally varies considerably from the figures presented above. The present conventional method of treatment of anode slimes consists of the steps shown in the flowsheet in fig. 1. As seen from this simplified flowsheet, the present method of treatment involves many steps by which the components of the anode slimes are removed one after another until the main products, gold and silver, may be separated. Due to the small scale of operations, the above procedure is carried out in small batches requiring considerable amount of manual labor. If, however, the anode slimes could be treated in

Jan 1, 1951

By V. Runolinna, R. T. Hukki

Preliminary separation of precious metals by flotation can offer a simplification of the conventional method of treatment of anode slimes. Laboratory flotation experiments show that rich gold and silver concentrate can be obtained with excellent recoveries. THE purpose of this paper is to present the results of an investigation into the possibilities of separating precious metals from anode slimes by selective flotation. The work was carried out at the State Research Institute in Helsinki, Finland. The sample of anode slimes tested was submitted by the Outo-kumpu Co. in Finland. In 1947 the average assay of filtered and dried anode slimes in the Outokumpu refinery in Pori was as follows: Au, 0.50 pct; Ag, 9.38 pct; Cu, 11.02 pct; Ni, 45.21 pct; Pb, 2.62 pct; Fe, 0.60 pct; Sn, 1.00 pct; Sb, 0.04 pct; As, 0.70 pct; Se, 4.33 pct; S, 2.32 pct; SO,, 2.17 pct; SiO2, 2.25 pct. The daily assay naturally varies considerably from the figures presented above. The present conventional method of treatment of anode slimes consists of the steps shown in the flowsheet in fig. 1. As seen from this simplified flowsheet, the present method of treatment involves many steps by which the components of the anode slimes are removed one after another until the main products, gold and silver, may be separated. Due to the small scale of operations, the above procedure is carried out in small batches requiring considerable amount of manual labor. If, however, the anode slimes could be treated in

Jan 1, 1951

By Junnosuke Yamamoto

Substituting sodium hydroxide for sodium carbonate as a binder in a glass batch yields harder pellets with a lower melting point. This paper explores the degree of NaOH substitution that is feasible, and compares pellet hardness, and amount of dusting with the degree of NaOH substitution. The effects of the the amount of soluble silicate in the pellet and residual hydroxide concentration in the pellet on pellet hardness are also studied.

Jan 1, 1977

By Joseph D. Weeks

The primary problems of civilization are material ones; their answers are writ in fire. When these problems in their higher aspects have pressed for solution, it has been out of the burning bush that the Divine voice has spoken, or in the cloud and smoke that the Divine finger has traced the rules by which these problems shall be solved. It is with the material problems, however, that we, as engineers, have to deal.

Jan 1, 1896