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By W. H. Triplett

Silver-lead-zinc replacement deposits occur in limestones of the anticlinal Caja range at Providencia, near Avalos, Zacatecas, Mexico. The description deals with intrusives, outcrops, preferred horizons, changes from bedding to fracture, control in depth, and variations in abundance and ratios of minerals throughout a vertical range of 500 m. THE purpose of this paper is to record a few field observations and accumulated office data concerning outcrops, relation of ore occurrences to intrusive and host rock, and mineral zoning. Reasons for some of the phenomena are not clear to the author so the facts are given with the hope that other investigators may be able to furnish the explanations. The Avalos unit of the Compania Minera de Penoles, S. A., operates the Alicante, Bonanza, Providencia, Albarradon, San Eligio, Nazareno, Leona, Salaverna, and Santiago mines situated between Avalos railroad station and Concepcion del Oro on the Coahuila and Zacatecas railroad in the State of Zacatecas, Mexico. Some of these mines are within Penoles property while others are on mining claims leased from the Compania Nazareno y Catasillas, S. A., Mazapil Copper Co., and the American Smelting and Refining Co. The main office and camp are at Providencia, about 170 km southwest of Monterrey, N. L., so the silver-lead-zinc mines of the district are usually referred to as the Providencia mines. The Aranzazu, Catarroyo, and Cabrestante copper-gold mines are situated a few kilometers to the southeast on the same mountain range near Con- cepcion del Oro, the name by which the camp is known. It is operated by the Mazapil Copper Co. The main theme in the following pages is a description of the silver-lead-zinc ore occurrences of the district. Rock Formations Sedimentary Rocks: Many competent geologists have contributed generously to an ample fund of information concerning the sedimentary columns of northern Mexico. Among them are Carlos Burck-hardt, E. Bose, L. B. Kellum, and R. W. Imlay. Carlos Burckhardt, who covered a number of extensive areas in many parts of the Mexican Republic, devoted years to mapping the geology of the Caja, Zuloaga, and Santa Rosa mountain ranges around Mazapil, Concepcion del Oro, and San Pedro de Ocampo, Zacatecas. He did most of the original mapping which has been used as a basis and amplified by others. C. E. Burbridge and, more recently, John

Jan 1, 1953

By W. H. Triplett

Silver-lead-zinc replacement deposits occur in limestones of the anticlinal Caja range at Providencia, near Avalos, Zacatecas, Mexico. The description deals with intrusives, outcrops, preferred horizons, changes from bedding to fracture, control in depth, and variations in abundance and ratios of minerals throughout a vertical range of 500 m. THE purpose of this paper is to record a few field observations and accumulated office data concerning outcrops, relation of ore occurrences to intrusive and host rock, and mineral zoning. Reasons for some of the phenomena are not clear to the author so the facts are given with the hope that other investigators may be able to furnish the explanations. The Avalos unit of the Compania Minera de Penoles, S. A., operates the Alicante, Bonanza, Providencia, Albarradon, San Eligio, Nazareno, Leona, Salaverna, and Santiago mines situated between Avalos railroad station and Concepcion del Oro on the Coahuila and Zacatecas railroad in the State of Zacatecas, Mexico. Some of these mines are within Penoles property while others are on mining claims leased from the Compania Nazareno y Catasillas, S. A., Mazapil Copper Co., and the American Smelting and Refining Co. The main office and camp are at Providencia, about 170 km southwest of Monterrey, N. L., so the silver-lead-zinc mines of the district are usually referred to as the Providencia mines. The Aranzazu, Catarroyo, and Cabrestante copper-gold mines are situated a few kilometers to the southeast on the same mountain range near Con- cepcion del Oro, the name by which the camp is known. It is operated by the Mazapil Copper Co. The main theme in the following pages is a description of the silver-lead-zinc ore occurrences of the district. Rock Formations Sedimentary Rocks: Many competent geologists have contributed generously to an ample fund of information concerning the sedimentary columns of northern Mexico. Among them are Carlos Burck-hardt, E. Bose, L. B. Kellum, and R. W. Imlay. Carlos Burckhardt, who covered a number of extensive areas in many parts of the Mexican Republic, devoted years to mapping the geology of the Caja, Zuloaga, and Santa Rosa mountain ranges around Mazapil, Concepcion del Oro, and San Pedro de Ocampo, Zacatecas. He did most of the original mapping which has been used as a basis and amplified by others. C. E. Burbridge and, more recently, John

Jan 1, 1953

To the members of the A. I. M. E., who have given much and risked all to fight "Over There" with pick, or gun, or brain, and to the members who have chosen the sometimes more self-denying duty of remaining at home to help produce metals for fighters: Your experience in foreign lands has bred in you that spirit of internationalism which will soon be infused into every corner of our country by virile lads thrilling from a great experience in an old, yet new, land over the seas. To them the East will not seem as far from the West as it was, nor the North from the South. Sectional jealousies will seen despicable to one who has fought for a great ideal shoulder to shoulder with real men of other nations. And they who have willingly sacrificed much on the altar of service will have little patience with an egotist, be he laborer, tradesman, capitalist or engineer. The problems which peace brings to us are more difficult than those of war and their solution requires not only cool heads, tolerance, and wise judgment, but the "getting together" of sections and classes and individuals. The triumph of justice over individualism, represented by the draft law, must be repeated, for there are "slackers" in peace Is well as in war, and the spirit of self-denial expressed in response to Liberty Loans, Red Cross, and Welfare drives and Food Administration appeals must live. We have only just begun to learn how to serve. It is often claimed by our members that the engineer is not given, in the community at large, the recognition which his training should merit; that his reward is not as great nor his service as welcome as it should be. Public service is generally assumed to be a logical activity for a lawyer,

Jan 12, 1918

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period June 10, 1919, to July 10, 1919. Anvil A. Anderson, Rapid City, S. D. Roy N. McBride, U. S. Army. R. Hay Anderson, Mexico City, Mex. R. S. McIntyre, Berkeley, Calif. W. A. Barnes, San Francisco, Calif. H. R. Maier, Brooklyn, N. Y. Bennett R. Bates, Denver, Colo. Wm. D. Mainwaring, Philadelphia, Pa. Harlan H. Bradt, Duluth, Minn. Wm. E. Milligan, Chrome, N. J. H. Brings, San Francisco, Calif. Willard S. Morse, Tacoma, Wash. Robert S. Burg, Ocean Park, Calif. Arthur Notman, Bisbee, Ariz. D. W. Butner, Congo Belge, Africa. P. Nugue, Chalon Sr. Saone, France. George A. Camphuis, El Paso, Tex. George A. Packard, Boston, Mass. Fred Canan, Denver, Colo. C. L. Petzel, New York City. Walter H. Coleman, Prescott, Ariz. V. Porreaud, Paris, France. Fred Crabtree, Pittsburgh, Pa. Fred S. Porter, Seattle, Wash. Ross E. Douglas, Rancagua, Chile. R. W. Prouty, Morenci, Ariz. F. A. Downes, Golden, Colo. Charles E. Prior, Brooklyn, N. Y. W. G. Eberhardt, Tucson, Ariz. Louis Ravicz, Minneapolis, Minn. Charles H. Fulton, Cleveland, Ohio. Wm. Reed, El Oro, Mexico. Wm. R. Grunow, New York City. E. J. Ristedt, Globe, Ariz. Orr R. Hamilton, Lansing, Mich. A. M. Rodgers, Middletown, N. Y. T. N. Havlin, St. Louis, Mo. J. C. Scoles, Salt Lake City, Utah. G. M. Henderson, Weston, Mass. C. E. Siebenthal, Washington, D. C.

Jan 8, 1919

By Elmer R. Kaiser

Industry Adopts Research: Seventy-Ave years ago Thomas A. Edison began in a modest way and with limited funds to gather about him men of various talents to form the first industrial research laboratory. His laboratory at Menlo Park, N. J., became famous for many discoveries and inventions, but possibly the most important of all may yet be the industrial research laboratory itself. Today, private industry operates 2500 research laboratories in which 135,000 persons' are directly and indirectly creating new processes and products and improving old ones, as well as developing new information to help keep the fountain of knowledge from running dry. In this change-making function, the scientific personnel comprises 41 pct; the technical personnel 26 pct; and the balance, 33 pct, nontechnical. The term "industrial research" has become so broad as to include almost everything beginning with the search for and discovery of the laws governing the properties of matter and energy to the development and testing of processes, methods, and equipment. These classes of investigation commonly merge so that no sharp boundary can be traced between them. The National Research Council therefore defines industrial research as "the endeavor to learn how to apply scientific facts to the service of mankind."' Currently, expenditures for research by industry are variously estimated at between $450,000,000 to $700,000,000 a year,' or about twice the expenditure for 1940. The President's Scientific Research Board" estimated that the national research and development for 1947 (excluding atomic energy) was as follows: A few companies spend as much as 5 pct of their gross receipts for research, but 1% to 2 pct is considered a good proportion by many." Shortages: Commendable as is the record of growth and accomplishment of science in industry, it is only a beginning. America and the rest of the world have merely sampled the fruits of industrial research; most industries have yet to make research the key to their future. A top research consultant, T. A. Boyd, of General Motors, states ". . . perhaps 90 per cent of all companies still have no research laboratories."Y or example, of more than 17,000 manufacturing concerns whose gross sales exceed $500,000 a year, less than 2500 have research laboratories. A still smaller proportion of the 184,230 manufacturing establishments in 161 industriese have or could afford their own research facilities. Yet, the small and mediurn-sized com,panies with less than 250 employees each, produce one half of the dollar volume of manufactured products.' How are these companies to participate in and share the benefits of research? Boyd gives two reasons for the inadequate number of laboratories in industry: Many people still do not appreciate the importance of research, nor understand its tremendous potentiali-

Jan 1, 1951

By Elmer R. Kaiser

Industry Adopts Research: Seventy-Ave years ago Thomas A. Edison began in a modest way and with limited funds to gather about him men of various talents to form the first industrial research laboratory. His laboratory at Menlo Park, N. J., became famous for many discoveries and inventions, but possibly the most important of all may yet be the industrial research laboratory itself. Today, private industry operates 2500 research laboratories in which 135,000 persons' are directly and indirectly creating new processes and products and improving old ones, as well as developing new information to help keep the fountain of knowledge from running dry. In this change-making function, the scientific personnel comprises 41 pct; the technical personnel 26 pct; and the balance, 33 pct, nontechnical. The term "industrial research" has become so broad as to include almost everything beginning with the search for and discovery of the laws governing the properties of matter and energy to the development and testing of processes, methods, and equipment. These classes of investigation commonly merge so that no sharp boundary can be traced between them. The National Research Council therefore defines industrial research as "the endeavor to learn how to apply scientific facts to the service of mankind."' Currently, expenditures for research by industry are variously estimated at between $450,000,000 to $700,000,000 a year,' or about twice the expenditure for 1940. The President's Scientific Research Board" estimated that the national research and development for 1947 (excluding atomic energy) was as follows: A few companies spend as much as 5 pct of their gross receipts for research, but 1% to 2 pct is considered a good proportion by many." Shortages: Commendable as is the record of growth and accomplishment of science in industry, it is only a beginning. America and the rest of the world have merely sampled the fruits of industrial research; most industries have yet to make research the key to their future. A top research consultant, T. A. Boyd, of General Motors, states ". . . perhaps 90 per cent of all companies still have no research laboratories."Y or example, of more than 17,000 manufacturing concerns whose gross sales exceed $500,000 a year, less than 2500 have research laboratories. A still smaller proportion of the 184,230 manufacturing establishments in 161 industriese have or could afford their own research facilities. Yet, the small and mediurn-sized com,panies with less than 250 employees each, produce one half of the dollar volume of manufactured products.' How are these companies to participate in and share the benefits of research? Boyd gives two reasons for the inadequate number of laboratories in industry: Many people still do not appreciate the importance of research, nor understand its tremendous potentiali-

Jan 1, 1951

By James Ferguson

THE fact that little if anything has appeared in the technical press or in the Transactions of the Institute on the subject of roll shells proper, used in various grinding appliances such as Cornish rolls or Chilean mills, may be taken as an incentive, if not an excuse, for the present article. No attempt is made to enter into a. discussion as to the theory or mathematics of crushing as performed by rolls, the subject being treated in a general way with respect to the manufacture of roll shells 'and some salient points touching on their adaptability and wear in service. While it stands to reason that skill coupled with judgment in the mechanical design of rolls, Chilean mills or other types of grinding machinery, with special reference to strength of parts, nicety of adjustment and other mechanical features, stand for efficiency in their operation .and satisfaction in service, the exceedingly important item. of roll shells or other wearing parts entering into their construction should not be lost sight of. In other words, a well-designed piece of grinding machinery is just as inefficient in service, when equipped with poor roll shells or shells made of the wrong or an inferior grade of metal, as good roll shells made according to the best practice the steel maker knows, working on an old or antiquated set of rolls. Unfortunately there is a tendency occasionally for the machinery builder to blame the steel maker or vice versa if roll shells do not wear well or evenly, or if they break before being worn down to their ultimate thin point. There is no occasion for this attitude, as the product, of each must stand on its own merits. But it is essential that the two work in harmony since the machinery builder usually does not furnish the shells for his rolls or grinding mills, but depends on the steel maker, who makes a specialty of this rolled product, to give the particular needed element of efficiency to his machine.

Jan 9, 1914

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Apr. 10, 1919, to May 10, 1919. Arthur K. Adams, Spencer, Mass. Ensign Floyd D. James, U. S. S. Fulton. W. T. Bates, New York City, N. Y. J. Harry Johns, Thorsden, Woking, A. D. Brokaw, Washington, D. C. England. E. H. Clausen, San Francisco, Calif. W. F. Jones, Rock Springs, Wyo. W. M. Corse, Mansfield, Ohio. E. L. Lasier, Washington, D. C. E. O. Daue, Philadelphia, Pa. John M. Lovejoy, New Rochelle, N. Y. G. D. Dub, Washington,, D. C. 2d Lieut. James F. Magee, Lancaster, S. B. Eaton, Dover, N. J. Pa., Sherman Eaton, Smethport, N. C. Ernest Marquardt, Casper, Wyo. J. A. Endweiss, La Jolla, Calif. Geo. B. Marshall, Abangarez, Costa Edgar W. Engle, North Chicago, Ill. Rica. 2d Lieut. Maxwell E. Erdofy, New York Benj. L. Miller, So. Bethlehem, Pa. City, N. Y. Major Desaix B. Myers, Camp Mills. Chas. A. Fellencer, Allentown, Pa. Edmund Newton, New York City, N. Y. Arthur Feust, Joplin, Mo. Seely B. Patterson, Jr., Allentown, Pa. Ensign Harold P. Ford, U. S. S. Radnor. Wm. R. Pearson, New York City, N. Y. A. D. R. Galloway, Accra, West Africa. Harold C. Price, Langeloth, Pa. R. C. Gosrow, Milwaukee, Wis. T. C. Roberts, East. Orange, N. J. C. A. Grabill, El Paso, Tex. P. H. Royster, Washington, D. C. Hobart A. Hanks, San Francisco, Calif. W. H. Staver, New York City, N. Y. John L. Henning, Lake Charles, La. N. L. Wimmler, Bangkok, Siam. 1st Lieut. J. Parke Hook, Philadelphia, Capt. Jay P. Wood, New York City, Pa. N. Y. An item in the May Bulletin made it appear that Frank W. DeWolf had just become connected with the State Geological Survey of Illinois. This was one of the inadvertences of war. Mr. De Wolf has been Director, or Chief, of the State Geological Survey for approximately ten years. Through the courtesy of the Governor of Illinois, lie was loaned to the Bureau of Mines for about seven months, after which period he resumed his former position.

Jan 6, 1919

[A AALSETH, EARL P GEOLOGIST. AMERADA PETROLEUM CORP. BOX 1498 BILLINGS. MONT ABADIE, HENRY G ASST TO SUP OF OPER LONG BEACH OIL DEVEL. CO. 255 S. SANTA CLARA. LONG BEACH, CALIF. ABBE. TRUMAN W. … ASST.FLD.SUP.OF PROD SUN OIL COMPANY BOX 66 STOWELL. TEXAS ABBOTT. J. L. .... GEOL. PARTNER PRITCHARD & ABBOTT 504 CENTURY BLDG. FORT WORTH, TEX ABBOTT, RICHARD H OWNER ABBOTT AND HOWARD OIL 422 W. HERMOSA DR. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. ABBOTT, SETH J.. JR PETR ENGR.]

Jan 1, 1961

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. Introduction It has long been recognized that movement on a curved or irregular fault surface is capable of separating the walls in certain portions of the fault, but until very recent years the importance of this mechanism as a factor in localizing ore shoots has escaped proper recognition. A short time ago W. H. Newhouse' presented a careful analytical study of displacements and their corresponding open spaces. For reasons that will be discussed later, it frequently happens that portions of the vein which are favorably oriented are not merely wider but also richer than the average. In many cases the widening with its accompanying richness coincides with very minor changes in the dip or strike of the vein, irregularities that commonly escape notice unless the vein is mapped in detail and a careful geometrical analysis made. While the relationship between the width of the vein and the changes in dip or strike has been recognized as a matter of observation, the irregularities have been accepted as more or less the result of accident. There has been very little effort except in isolated cases to find out the causes of these changes in dip or strike. Yet it is clear that if the causes can be recognized and expressed in terms of geologic structure the geologist will know where to look for repetitions of these favorable conditions either on extensions of the same vein or on adjoining veins. Any lack of understanding of the causes is due to the limitations of our ability to interpret our observations and not to the sheer capriciousness of

Jan 1, 1941

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. Introduction It has long been recognized that movement on a curved or irregular fault surface is capable of separating the walls in certain portions of the fault, but until very recent years the importance of this mechanism as a factor in localizing ore shoots has escaped proper recognition. A short time ago W. H. Newhouse' presented a careful analytical study of displacements and their corresponding open spaces. For reasons that will be discussed later, it frequently happens that portions of the vein which are favorably oriented are not merely wider but also richer than the average. In many cases the widening with its accompanying richness coincides with very minor changes in the dip or strike of the vein, irregularities that commonly escape notice unless the vein is mapped in detail and a careful geometrical analysis made. While the relationship between the width of the vein and the changes in dip or strike has been recognized as a matter of observation, the irregularities have been accepted as more or less the result of accident. There has been very little effort except in isolated cases to find out the causes of these changes in dip or strike. Yet it is clear that if the causes can be recognized and expressed in terms of geologic structure the geologist will know where to look for repetitions of these favorable conditions either on extensions of the same vein or on adjoining veins. Any lack of understanding of the causes is due to the limitations of our ability to interpret our observations and not to the sheer capriciousness of

Jan 1, 1941

By Ernest R. Woakes

Cana, originally called Santa Cruz de Cana, is situated in the province of Darien, in the Republic of Colombia, S. A. The river Cana is a tributary of the Tuyra, which flows into the Gulf of San Miguel, and thence into the Pacific Ocean some 80 rniles S.E. of the City of Panama. • The Espiritu Santo mine lies on the S. side of the Cana river at the foot of the Espiritu Santo range. The plateau of Cana has an elevation of 2000 feet above sea-level, and the mine is about 200 feet above the plateau. The map of the Darien accompanying this paper is the only correct one in existence. It was made by Lucien N. Bonaparte Wyse for the Panama Canal Co., and has been copied fur the present use, with permission, by Mr. L. G. Inglis. The dotted line on this map shows the route from the coast to Cana. As this mine was one of the most celebrated at the time of the Spanish occupation, it is only natural that there are a great many traditions and writings concerning its former workers and production. Dampier mentions it, though he does not seem to have been nearer to it than El Real de Santa Maria, the port on the Rio Tuyra, about 50 miles by road from Cana. Senor Vicente Restrepo's work, entitled Estudio sobre las Minas de Oro y Plata de Colombia, translated by C. TV. Fisher and published in New York in 1886, is, perhaps, the best treatise on Colombian mines. He has devoted a great deal of attention to the subject of the Espiritu Santo mine, and has had access to all that dealt with it in the archives of Bogota. It will be interesting to quote a few pasaages from the above work, which seemed like a romance to the writer of this paper some years ago, when he first came across the history. Being actually in Cana at the time, and knowing the present company had

Jan 1, 1900

By Philip Lindstrom

T he Radon mine is in the north end of the Big Indian mining district in San Juan County, Utah. Hecla Mining Co. operated the mine from early 1955 to early 1964 through an operating agreement with Federal Resources, Inc. Development consisted of a 3-compartment, 690-ft shaft, 4 main levels driven on the ore horizon and a haulage level below the ore. Evaluation of physical and economic factors showed that this flat-dipping ore occurrence could be mined by a low-cost coal mining method. The value of the deposit was high and unusual pre¬miums were possible by clean mining. Complete extraction without loss of ore pillars, minimum ore dilution and high production per man were obtained by longwall mining.

Jan 12, 1964

By H. M. Chance

The Choctaw coal-field is a direct westward extension of the Arkansas coal-field, but its coals are not like Arkansas coals, except in the country immediately adjoining the Arkansas line. From the base of the coal-bearing rocks up to the top of the coalmeasures, I find a total thickness of at least 8500 feet. This great mass of coal-bearing rocks consists of an alternation of slates, shales, sandstones and coal-beds, with their accompanying under-beds of fire-clay. Only one small bed of limestone was observed. This occurs near the middle of the series; it is about eighteen inches thick, and quite arenaceous. The formation is naturally subdivided by seven or eight thick beds of sandstone, varying from 50 to 200 feet in thickness, the outcropping edges of which form a series of more or less bold " hogback " ridges, the interbedded shales and slate forming the intervening valleys. The base of the coal-series is a massive sandstone, ranging from 100 to 200 feet or more in thickness, lying immediately beneath the Grady coal-bed, which is the lowest known coal. In the district embraced between. the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad and the Arkansas State line, this sand-rock usually forms a bold semi-mountainous ridge. This is the ridge through which the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad passes at Bryan station, where the Grady coal-bed is opened and worked, from which point it can be traced westward without difficulty, passing about three miles north of Le Flor on the same railroad, thence west to the " Little Narrows " (which is merely a gap in the ridge), 'and beyond to a point two miles west of the Thompson-McKinney place, where it swings abruptly north for a mile or more, only to resume immediately its westward course, forming for some miles the northern boundary of the valley known as the " Boiling-Springs Prairie," beyond which it trends somewhat

Jan 1, 1890

By F. L. Bosqui

Discussion of the paper of F.* L. Bosqui, presented at the San Francisco meeting, September, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 101, May, 1915, pp. 997 to 1033. SIDNEY J. JENNINGS, New York, N. Y.-I notice Mr. Bosqui says that zinc dust can be used profitably. I had occasion recently to try to ship some zinc deist to South Africa, owing to the. high price of zinc in the last six or eight months and the difficulty in getting zinc sheets We were informed that the steamship companies in England refused to accept zinc dust for shipment through the tropics on the score that it was an explosive mixture. C. W. MERRILL, San Francisco, Cal.-In the early days zinc dust was packed in wooden casks. The steamers at that time were very chary of transporting it. It was put on the deck in the wooden casks, and if the zinc dust got wet it exploded. Since that time we have used hermetically sealed cases, in which case there is no risk whatever in its transportation.. This rule of the steamship companies is perhaps another sample of their ultra-conservativeness. HENNEN JENNINGS, Washington, D. C.-Unfortunately, I have not yet read Mr. Bosqui's paper, but believing it might interest you to know something of the beginning of the cyanide process on the Rand, I will speak briefly as to my own knowledge and experience of the early initiation of this process in South Africa. I took the position of consulting engineer of H., Eckstein, the parent firm of H. Eckstein & Co., and a branch of the firm of Wernher, Belt ,C Co., at Johannesburg, in December, 1889, and at that time the Robinson Co. managed by them was the premier company of the fields. Up to this date plate amalgamation and catchment of a small percentage of concentrates by blankets, and in a few instances Frue vanners, were the main gold-saving devices used and had obtained an extraction' of only about 65 per cent of the gold contents of the ore. Also at that time the orebodies were seen to be changing from oxidized deposits to pyritic at varying depths from 50 ft. to 300 ft. below the surface, and uneasiness was felt as to future recovery. The deepest exploitation at any of the mines was not much below 300 ft.

Jan 12, 1915

Jan 1, 1967

Jan 1, 1967

By A. W. Ruff

The seismic wave produced by an explosive is very important in blasting. A true understanding of the wave is only important when considering possible structural damage to buildings located near the blast, but it is also of primary importance when considering rock fragmentation. Because of the importance of the seismic wave to fragmentation, a finda-mental study of the seismic wave and its effect was made at the Cananea Consolidated Copper Co.'s mine at Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. Strain gages were used to measure the strain in the rock when nearby explosive charges were detonated. The variance in the circuit voltage caused by changes in the resistance of the strain gage was measured with an oscilloscope and recorded with a Polaroid camera. CONFINED DRILLHOLE CHARGES To record the seismic wave from a confined drillhole explosive charge, a gage was cemented to the bottom of a 4-in diam drillhole. The horizontal gage hole and nine horizontal charge holes were drilled perpendicular to the center line of the 2-39 drift and 4 ft above the floor. The gage hole was 29 in. deep, and the charge holes were drilled so that each bottomed 1 in. deeper than the gage hole. The gage was installed with its axis horizontal and parallel to the 2-39 drift. The charge holes had the following horizontal distances from the gage: hole 3, 3 ft; hole 4, 4 ft; hole 5, 5 ft; hole 9, 9 ft; hole 10, 10 ft; hole 14, 14 ft; and hole 15, 15 ft. Figs. 1 and 2 show the relationships of the gage and the charge holes. Charges of 80 pct special gelatin, which weighed 50, 100, and 150 g were exploded in the charge holes and the seismic waves were recorded. All charges were stemmed with 200 g of mud and detonated with an electric blasting cap. Fig. 3 shows the recorded seismic waves. The reflected components of the waves were too weak to be objectional on these records. Table I shows the data taken from the wave forms. The approximate average velocity of a wave with a 9-ft travel distance was 12,900 fps. Since different charge weights were used, it was necessary to scale the data. The scaled maximum compress ion-strain data and the scaled maximum tens ion-strain data are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. Figs. 6 and 7 show the strain-distance data from Figs. 4 and 5 converted to a 1-lb charge. The results showed that the wave consisted of an initial compression pulse followed by a tension pulse. The amplitude of the tension pulse approached the amplitude of the compression pulse as the distance between the gage and the shot increased. The decay rate of the seismic wave is very important in the evaluation of the blasting characteristics of a rock. When high-amplitude stresses are produced, as in rock fragmentation, the rate of decay is much more rapid than when small amplitude stresses are produced. In underground mine blasting, the burdens are usually not greater than 6 ft and the decay is very rapid. The rapid seismic-wave decay rate in the fragmentation range means that in practice, if the minimum weight of powder is used to break a specified burden, only a very

Jan 1, 1961

By E. C. Herkenhoff

THIS subject may be controversial. Personal preferences influence the final selection of cyclones, and side issues such as costs, floor areas, head room, and ease of replacing worn parts all enter the picture, but the following comments and data should apply to most cyclone selection problems. Broadly, the uses for cyclones in wet classification may be divided into three fields: 1) Open circuit operation, for two products, in which feed rate and sizing vary and the products vary. For example, feed may be divided into a sand product and a slime product. 2) Open circuit operation, for two products, in which feed varies, one product to have constant sizing. This calls for adjustment in either the apex or the vortex aperture. 3) Closed circuit operation, the finished product to have constant sizing. Most classification jobs fall in this category.

Jan 8, 1957

By F. Rosenblum

An on-stream particle size analyzer (PSA) based on the sedimentation principle has been developed to the commercial prototype stage and tested at a concentrator. The current instrument gives a direct reading of the weight % finer than any two sizes, although the capability exists for providing a complete size distribution through the sieve and sub-sieve range. The readings obtained at intervals of about 10 minutes are derived from 0.5-L samples of slurry cut from the monitored stream. The accuracy of the PSA meets the requirements of process control.

Jan 1, 1984