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By W. Kane, M. Karmis

Roof and rib failures in underground coal mines are one of the major problems facing the industry today. In addition to safety considerations, the resulting economic impact of such failures is staggering. Uncovering and replacing buried and damaged equipment and clearing entries can account for a large expenditure in lost man-hours and machinery. Yet, because of the complex nature of its formation, geological variability, and structural characteristics, coal mine roof strata is one of the least controlable of all mine design parameters. This is especially true along the leading (southeastern) edge of the Appalachian coalfields where considerable faulting and movement has contributed to hazardous coal mining roof conditions. During this research, a detailed study of several mines, in the southern Appalachian coalfields, was undertaken to determine the most prominent geomechanical factors affecting roof stability and to evaluate their influence in promoting unstable ground conditions. In order to accomplish this task, the major geological and geomechanical features found to be detrimental to coal mine roof within the Appalachian basin were identified and mapped in four Virginia mines. Statistical processing by chi-square and regression analysis was used to determine the influence of geology, mine-layout, and support methods on roof stability. It was found that some easily determined parameters can be successfully used to predict potentially unstable areas. A simplified roof classification system was developed based on these geomechanical parameters, which can be used to assess the stability of a particular roof type. A roof rating index was also devised capable' of expressing the probability of a failure under a given set geomechanical condition.

Jan 1, 1984

By Henry Mulryan

DIATOMS are microscopic aquatic plants of the order Bacillariaceae. They are unicellular plants with skeletons made up of amorphous opaline silica. The skeletons show highly ornate, complicated geometrical designs. Diatoms live in water virtually everywhere. They are found in clean sea water, brackish water, and fresh-water lakes and ponds. When conditions are right, diatoms propagate by subdivision in huge numbers. Alkalinity, temperature, and the presence of high concentrations of silica in the water largely control diatom life. When the diatoms die the skeletons drop to the bottom of their habitat to form oozes of varying thicknesses. DIATOMITES Diatomite, or diatomaceous earth, is composed essentially of the siliceous remains of the diatoms, although other organic skeletons are also present, especially in sea-water deposits where radiolaria, sponges and silico-flagellates are common. Impurities are generally carbonaceous material, fine-grained silt, volcanic ash and dust, and occasional coarse grains of sand. Diatomites are marine, brackish, or fresh-water, depending upon types of diatoms and their method of deposition. DIATOMS More than 8000 species of diatoms have been named and classified. Some are definitely classified as to their habitat; some are so well recognized as to their living conditions that they can be stated to be diagnostic types, and when encountered in a deposit determine the origin of the deposit. Some of the commoner types of diatoms found in the fresh-water diatomites on the Pacific Coast are: [Cymbella lanceolata Agardh Fragilaria virescens Ralfs Encyonema prostratum Ralf s Diatoma vulgare Bory Surirella biseriata Brebison Eunotia major Ehrenberg Amphipleura pellucida Kutaing Stictodiscus niagarae Ehrenberg Gomphonema geminatum Lynberg Melosira granulata Ehrenberg]

Jan 1, 1939

By C. R. Hayward

THE CHAIRMAN (ALBERT SAUVEUR, Boston, Mass.).-I am sure we are indebted to Prof: Hayward for his addition to our knowledge of the influence of sulphur on steel. As he has said in this paper, sulphur has had many defenders in recent years. It seems to me, however, that, while it may be old school to believe in the detrimental action of sulphur, it is not yet old school to believe in segregation; that while it may be that 0.1 per cent. of sulphur has no very great effect on the physical properties of steel, a ladle analysis of 0.1 per cent. of sulphur may readily result in 0.2 or 0.3 per cent. sulphur being present in the segregated portion of the ingot, and that, it seems to me, might be a rather serious matter. J. S. UNGER, Pittsburgh, Pa.-Prof. Hayward has presented the results of an investigation along a line to which I have devoted considerable time and attention, and I am particularly pleased to note that his results are in accord with my own and further tend to prove the fact that the old, established prejudice against sulphur is based more on belief than actual facts. I have felt for years that tooo much stress was placed on the harmful influence of certain elements in steel such as sulphur, phosphorus, copper, etc., but it has only been within recent years that efforts have been made to, establish the truth. Practically all the investigations made to date have proven that these elements within reasonable limits are harmless and, in fact, that for certain purposes the addition of these elements is beneficial. In referring to copper, J. E. Stead, Vice-President of the British Iron and Steel Institute, said at their last meeting: "Even today one comes across steel specifications in which copper is barred, which can only be regarded as ail indication of ignorance, if not stupidity, of those who prescribe the composition of steel, for it has been long ago proved that copper in steel, instead of being an evil, is quite harmless, and is sometimes distinctly beneficial." Sulphur owes its evil name to the early days of the manufacture of steel. Chemical analyses were crude, and failure due to either poor raw materials or metallurgical treatment were many. Sulphur being a comparatively easy element to determine with reasonable accuracy, particular attention was called to the amount of sulphur, and the failure was attributed to it, without giving any consideration to other causes. A pre-

Jan 4, 1917

By McIntosh F. Galbraith

This paper describes the use of the magnetometer, under geological direction, in exploration of the Sudbury nickel district. The writer's experience at Falconbridge has led him to the belief that only through detailed work, and by careful correlation of both geological and geophysical results, can geophysical prospecting methods be applied successfully to mining exploration problems. It is hoped that the basic technique described in the paper will be found to have general application.

Jan 1, 1942

By William Braden

This paper is presented in the hope that it will be instructive in view of the future large expansion of the mining industry in the west-coast countries of South America. There is a more or less general impression that the Spanish-American workman is inferior to the American, but after some years of experience and observation I doubt the correctne~s of this view. Taking into consideration all the elements which make for efficiency of labor, it has been found, particularly in Chile, that under proper organization native labor yields as much, man for man, and more, dollar for dollar, than in the Western United States. If a manager is willing to accept unreservedly the costum-bres del pais, without combating intelligently and patiently the ones tending to inefficiency, he should expect no better results than he deserves. He must conscientiously insist that a " square deal" be given and exacted; that liquor be excluded from camp as far as possible; that comfortable quarters and other uplifting elements of life be provided; and that past and existing methods and customs shall not be over-ridden rough-

Jan 1, 1910

By E. A. Stevens

IT has been ascertained in recent years that certain rocktypes, geological formations and structural conditions may be used as fairly reliable guides, when prospecting in recognized mineral belts or mining districts, with a reasonable certainty of discovering "pay-ore;" and that such is considered as a practically established conclusion may be inferred from a perusal of the recent reports of the U. S. Geological Survey and the literature of the several scientific societies discussing minim, geology, and kindred subjects. Cripple Creek is no exception to this conclusion, and the rock-type or association, rather than the structural condition, is the most infallible guide.† These guides consist of four, possibly five, dike-rocks, three of which are extremely basic, while the fourth is an acid rock of an entirely dissimilar character. The basic rocks are nepheline-basalt, limburgite, feldspar-basalt and tephrite. There are grounds, however, for believing that the two latter are subdivisions of one type, and therefore will be described under one head. The acid rock is quartz-porphyry. Nepheline-basalt is-a rock encountered in but few localities elsewhere on this continent, and occurs in narrow dikes cutting various formations. When typical‡ it is composed of

Jan 1, 1913

By J. Norman Bulkley

As electrical power is used to a greater extent on the Rand than in any other mining center, it is thought that a short description of the methods used and results obtained may be of interest. In comparing Rand practice with that on other fields, several general factors should be borne in mind: First, the mines are all working on large tonnages of low-grade ore (average. $6.50). The annual crushing rate is about 27,000,000 tons. Second, the mines are all grouped udder the financial and engineering control of mining houses, so that the results of a group, rather than an individual mine, are open for study, and practice follows more uniform lines. Third, coal of fair quality (about 12,000 B.t.u.) can be obtained for $2 to $3 per ton., Good supplies of condensing water are, however, scarce, and have to be carefully stored. Power Supply Power is supplied by the Victoria Falls & Transvaal Power Co., Ltd., and its subsidiary, the Rand Mines Power Supply Co. Both companies, which are practically one from an engineering point of view, operate the following stations, all feeding into the same system.

Jan 2, 1916

By R. M. Waterstrat

X-ray diffraction and metallographic examination of binary Mn-rich alloys with Ti revealed the presence of intermediate phases in this system. A binary R phase has been identified and also a phase having an a-Mn type structure. The X-ray pattern of the phase TiMn3 is presented and a tentative phase diagram for the Mn-rich portion of this binary system has been constndcted. MANGANESE-rich alloys with titanium have been subjected to thermal analysis at temperatures down to 1100°C by Hellawell and Hume-Rothery.1 Their results indicate the existence of an intermediate phase TiMn3 in this binary system. This phase appears to coexist with the Laves phase TiMn2, and with terminal solid solutions based on the allotropes of manganese, at least down to 1100°C. The above investigators did not attempt to determine the crystal structure of this phase, however. Since, by analogy to the binary systems Mn-V and Mn-Cr3 one might expect to find a phase in this region of the diagram, it seemed desirable to obtain X-ray diffraction patterns of alloys in the concentration range in question, in order to ascertain whether the sigma phase or related structures occur. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Alloys were prepared by arc-melting electrolytic manganese and iodide titanium in a water-cooled copper crucible under a helium atmosphere. Excess manganese was added to each melt in order to allow for losses incurred during melting. The alloys were then wrapped in molybdenum foil and sealed in evacuated quartz tubes for annealing at various temperatures, as shown in Table I, followed by quenching in cold water. Although the inside of the tubes showed evidence for some loss of manganese from the specimen during annealing, there was no evidence of any reaction between the specimen and either the molybdenum foil or the quartz tube at these temperatures. It was later found that the manganese loss was considerably reduced by annealing these alloys in sealed quartz tubes containing one atmosphere of purified argon. As an added precaution the surface of each specimen was ground off before crushing the alloys to -270 mesh powder, using a hardened steel mortar and pestle. X-ray powder patterns were obtained using either FeKa or CrKa radiation in an asymmetrical focusing camera, which gave excellent dispersion of the closely spaced lines. Pictures were also obtained using a Debye camera of 5-cm radius which provided data in the angular region not covered by the focusing camera. The alloy specimens were polished and examined metallographically, using an etchant consisting of 60 pct glycerine, 20 pct nitric acid, and 20 pct hydrofluoric acid. The 10-g buttons were in each case broken in half and found to be well-melted and free of any gross segregation. One half of certain alloy buttons was submitted to chemical analysis in the "as-cast" condition. No appreciable change in composition seemed to occur during annealing . RESULTS The X-ray pattern of alloy Ti1.17Mn0.83 was found to agree well with that of the ternary R phase which was first found in the Mo-Cr-Co system,' and re-

Jan 1, 1962

By R. M. Larsen

The Rocky Mountain region is defined with some variations for different purposes or by different organizations. For oil and gas development, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, and Utah are included in the order of their apparent importance. Portions of adjoining states, such as North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho, arc attributary to this region, but have little or no oil or gas production. Nebraska and New Mexico are considered separately (see pp. 412 and 415), and most of the discussion in this report will be confined to Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. Utah has produced about 200,000 bbl. of oil from the San Juan and Virgin fields, which are isolated and shut in at present. The Clay Basin field in northeastern Utah produces natural gas and distillate, and the Farnham field in central Utah produces carbon dioxide gas. Other Utah areas of some interest are listed in Table I. The Cedar Creek (Baker-Glendive) field in southeastern Montana extends into North Dakota, but is listed under Montana. The other states are in the main wildcat areas, and exploration in 1944 was at a minimum. However, geological and geophysical parties are reviewing them for further testing. Oil production in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming was 459,000 bbl. more than in 1943. Increases of 713,000 bbl. in Colarado and 731,000 bbl. in Montana offset a loss of 985,000 bbl. in Wyoming. This was the first decline in Wyoming since 1938. Field production figures and state totals are given in Table I. Total drilling activities in these three states and Utah increased from 687 wells making 1,442,511 ft. of hole in 1943 to 916 wells making 2,245,803 it. in 1944. Wildcat drilling increased from 163 wells making 331,193 ft. of hole in 1943 to 171 wells making 389,144 it. in 1944. These figures include all drilling wells making footage, not starts or completions, and represent an all-time high in drilling. The year 1944 witnessed the greatest concentration of seismograph activity that the region has had. The Rocky Mountain Oil Scouts Association reported that in 1943, the previous peak year, 91 crew months of work were performed; in 1944, the time was 254 crew months. About 67 per cent of the work was in Wyoming, 18 per cent in Montana, and 12 per cent in Colorado. Twenty-three blocks totaling 400,000 acres were reported assembled in Colorado, and 161 blocks totaling 4,000,000 acres in Wyoming. Information about other states was not given. Fourteen unit agreements were approved by the Department of the Interior, as compared with 13 in 1943. The 1944 agreements were all in Wyoming. In five of the unit areas, oil or gas discoveries were made, four were dry, and five were drilling Or pending' Oil companies find it advantageous to unitize blocks containing any proportion of public domain. Units for

Jan 1, 1945

By J. B. Darby, P. A. Beck

IN a previous publication,' the 1200°C isothermal section of the Cr-Mo-CO system was surveyed. It was found that starting from the binary (Cr,Co)a, the u phase extends deep into the ternary system in the form of a narrow band, which, when extrapo-

Jan 1, 1956

By W. A. Wood, H. L. Wain, R. I. Garrod

The mechanical behavior of recrystallized chromil~m of high purity has been studied, principally in torsion and to a lesser extent in tension, at temperatures between —196oand 350oC. Depending upon the conditions of test, the material may show brittle or ductile behavior or an intermediate or subduc-tile state having some of the characteristics of each. This latter state existed at temperatures between approximately ±50°C and was characterized by a) extensive creep at stresses well below the normal fracture stress, b) nonelastic loading/unloading effects during creep, c) strain softening under cyclic loading, and d) final failure of a brittle type. Suggestions are made on the dislocation processes and interactions which give rise to subductile behavior The ductile-brittle transition in bee metals has been studied mainly by tension and bend tests. These methods, however, favor crack propagation which may follow too closely on initiation for detailed study of the transition itself. For work of this nature, therefore, other modes of deformation less favorable to crack propagation may be preferable. This paper describes a study of the ductile-brittle transition in chromium which is based mainly on torsional testing although a few subsidiary experiments were made in tension. It appears to reveal at the transition an intermediate state that cannot properly be described as either brittle or ductile. Torsional tests on chromium have been made by other workers1 but not, as here, primarily for study of this intermediate state. EXPERIMENTAL The chromium, in the form of swaged rod, was prepared by techniques already described.' The particular material used was one in which the main impurities were 0.03 wt pet 0 and 0.006 wt pet N and one in which transition from ductile to brittle states in torsion conveniently fell at about room temperature. For torsion, test specimens were from 5/16-in.-diam rod to provide test portions 1-1/4 in. long by 7/32 in. diam, a twist of 1 deg thereby corresponding throughout this paper to 0.0015 surface shear. The specimens before test were annealed for 2 hr at 1200°C in vacuo, which left them with a re-crystallized grain size of about 0.01 mm, and then electropolished. They were tested under dead-weight loading in an apparatus in which they could be surrounded by a furnace or cooling chamber, tests in practice being made at various temperatures between -196" and +350°C. For tension tests, cylindrical specimens were prepared in a similar manner and tested at room temperature under dead-weight loading. RESULTS (TORSION) Subductile State. The state described above as intermediate between brittle and ductile may be perhaps best defined by reference to torque/twist curves at various temperatures. These are grouped in Fig. 1. Below about -50°C the material was brittle, in the sense that it exhibited little plastic deformation under stress and fractured by cleavage along planes of maximum resolved tension, which in torsion produces the well-known helical type of fracture. The deformation is typified by the curves for -196" and -150°C in Fig. 1; it shows a slight but progressive deviation from linearity above a certain torque, here about 50 lb-in., until fracture occurs at about 95 lb-in. A feature to which it is desired specially to call attention is that under none of the loads did the specimens show significant creep.

Jan 1, 1964

Reducing Fusion: The impure or low grade uranium concentrate is mixed with a formulated flux of sodium carbonate, salt, and sawdust or fuel oil and heated, while being stirred, to about 950°C. This reduces the uranium to the black, water insoluble uranium dioxide and with the exception of nonamphoteric metals forms water soluble sodium salts of the vanadium, alumina, silica, phosphates, and other constituents of the cake. The cooled melt is then water leached, leaving a residue of black insoluble uranium dioxide. "Green Sludge" Digestion and Liquor Purification: The green sludge is redissolved in acid, and by selective precipitation involving pH adjustments and a final neutralization

Jun 1, 1956

By Walter C. Labys

INTRODUCTION Interest in multicommodity stabilization schemes has increased recently for several reasons, a most important one being the experienced wide swings in primary commodity prices. These prices rose sharply between mid - 1972 and end - 1974 giving commodity exporting countries an opportunity to gain sizeable increases in export earnings. But since then, prices have tumbled and these countries are searching for a means to stabilize if not to increase their earnings. While this problem is particularly serious for developing countries, the developed countries are concerned about the impending upward price swing, which would increase inflation before recovery from the world recession is assured. As a direct consequence of the emergency meeting of the U.N. General Assembly devoted to commodity problems in April of 1974, interest has been renewed in the Keynesian (4) plan for an international multicommodity buffer stock program. In particular, UNCTAD (8) is designing an integrated commodity scheme to be discussed within that body. In terms of approaches that have appeared in designing such a program, none exist which relate to the interpretation of the independence and interdependence of prices of the commodities of interest. Typical criteria for selecting commodities for the scheme have included their importance in world trade, their particular origin from developing countries, and their feasibility for storage. But the financial management of a multicommodity buffer stock requires a consideration of commodity prices, yields, and risks as does as any portfolio of assets. The approach which we take in this study is that of application

Jan 1, 1977

By Reginald S. Dean

THE widespread occurrence of manganese in low grade oxide and carbonate ores not amenable to mechanical concentration has led to extensive investigations of hydrometallurgical methods for producing a pure manganese compound suitable for further treatment. Manganese carbonate is the preferable compound. This product when fully crystalline and of not too fine crystal size is easily filtrable and stable in air. It can be converted to other compounds such as the oxides by heating in air or can be reacted with acids for producing salts. A useful hydrometallurgical process must produce relatively concentrated solutions that can be purified easily, reagents must be cyclically used, and heat requirements must be small. Neither the ammonium sulphate nor sulphur dioxide leaching processes that have been tested extensively fulfill these 'requirements. Other hereto-fore proposed processes have obvious limitations and have not been tried on a large scale. The present process is based on the discovery by the writer of a new group of aqueous manganese-ammonia complex solutions highly concentrated in ammonia, which permit rapid solution of manganous oxide to concentrations of 80 to 100 g Mn per liter and from which a fully crystalline, easily filterable manganese carbonate is precipitated by the addition of carbon dioxide and partial ammonia removal. Although the process may be carried out with many ammonium salts, commercial advantages dictate the use of ammonium carbamate, which is obtained when CO2 is passed into concentrated aqueous solutions of ammonia. If the carbamate is used, the only reagents, ammonia and C02, are volatile and may therefore be recovered from solutions and residues by heating, thus eliminating washing and extensive evaporation. Impurities are controlled easily as most metal oxides are either insoluble in the lixiviant or fail to precipitate with the manganese carbonate. Others are controlled by sulphide addition. The process has been tested extensively on a small scale on a wide variety of ores; including Three Kids, Artillery Peak, Cuyuna, and Chamberlain; as repre-

Jan 1, 1952

By D. D. Porter, C. Fairhurst

Crack propagation in the region of a statically pressurized borehole is investigated to determine a role of the sustained borehole pressure following detonation in a blast. The case of a single-hole bench blast is reduced to a plate model, which is considered both theoretically and experimentally. Based on the principle of least work, it is hypothesized that the path of any crack in the plate will coincide with one of a family of maximum principal stress trajectories. These trajectories were computed, and critical experiments in glass, designed to test the effects of controlled crack origin and of changed trajectories from different loading configurations, confirm this hypothesis. It is concluded that under ideal conditions the crack path can be predicted and that cracks can be produced in the absence of either high-amplitude stresses or stress waves. Energy considerations for crack extension are discussed, and, based on the strain energy distribution, a relationship between hole burdens and spacings is revealed, a critical burden is demonstrated, and a maximum crater width is shown to exist.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. Joseph Schlitt

The types of copper leaching and recovery operations in the United States are reviewed, along with characteristics and trends in the industry. The contribution of the various leach operations to total mine output is discussed in order to provide a perspective on the relative importance of copper leaching as a method of production.

Jan 1, 1980

By L. S. Darken, H. A. Wriedt

The equilibria at 1 atm total pressure and 600° to 1300°C (1112° to 2372°F) between gas mixtures with various partial pressures of the reactive constituents (principally sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen or carbon monoxide, and hydrogen) and coexisting solid phases (groups variously including calcium oxide, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfide, calcium sulfate, iron, ferrous sulfide, and the iron oxides) are examined. Tables and charts show the combinations of temperature, oxygen activity, and carbon dioxide partial pressure under which the various groups of the solid phases coexist and the corresponding sulfur dioxide pressures. In the presence of calcium sulfide, calcium sulfate, and calcium oxide, the partial pressure of sulfur dioxide has a peak value at each temperature which increases from 101 atm at about 800°C (1472°F) to 1 atm at about 1200°C (2192°F). With water vapor present, hydrogen sulfide may predominate among gaseous sulfur compounds, particularly at low temperatures and oxygen activities; under all other circumstances considered, sulfur dioxide is the dominant gaseous sulfur-bearing species.

Jan 1, 1974

By Sam F. Carter

FOR some time melters and metallurgists have recognized the fact that steels may be made to identical compositions as ordinarily analyzed, but with considerable variations in physical properties. Good melting practice signifies a combination of furnace operations that will produce steel with consistently good physical properties after proper consideration of cost, production efficiency, and chemical control. In acid practice, these operations may be classified fundamentally as: (I) the oxidizing boil, (2) recarburization and deoxidation, (3) slag adjustment, and (4) final deoxidation. These operations affect the properties of the steel through variations in the minute quantities of several microscopic, submicroscopic, and dissolved constituents, which are out of reach of ordinary analyses but are very influential upon the crystallographic slippage and the molecular cohesion of the structure. One of these constituents is the FeO left in solution in the steel. Herty has shown that steels high in dissolved FeO have decreased ductility and impact and increased hardness and electrical resistance. There is also much evidence that FeO in solution affects carbon solubility and diffusion, and consequently abnormality and carburizing behavior.

Jan 1, 1947

By A. E. Gorum, I. Cornet

Fatigrle of ionic crystals has been studied primarily in magnesinm oxide. under cyclic stress dislocations move irrreversibly; they multiply; slip bands form and grow; cracks mucleate and propagnte, and failure occurs. The use of ionic crystals such as MgO is advantageorus in such investigations because they are optically transparent. Individual dislocation Intersections with {100} surfaces may be observed with a standard microscope, using etch-pit techniques. Slip, deformation, crack .formation, and fracture in MgO crystals under cyclic stress are compared with cotrresponditzg processes in metals. ThE effect of cyclic loading in metals has been studied for many years. The appearance of slip lines is readily observed and the ensuing fracture may also be seen. From these observations it is possible to predict the behavior of a material and make an educated guess as to what is happening internally, but the actual changes taking place within the structure are not readily apparent. If one could obtain a material in which the individual glide components could be observed, it would be invaluable in determining the actual slip distribution resulting from cyclic loading as well as the distribution of slip in the neighborhood of a growing crack. Such a material is magnesium oxide. Dislocation arrays may be observed by means of etch pits

Jan 1, 1961

By W. A. Hustrulid, N. A. Ross

An analysis of the design of medium to hard rock tunneling machines is presented. The developed equations are used to compare performances and machine requirements using kerf and fixed pick cutters to bore a given rock. With the use of pick cutters, required thrusts can be greatly reduced and still achieve the same boring rate as with present day tooth or kerf cutters. It appears that the cutting coefficient, which for most boring machines is of the order of 0.1, should be increased to one or larger to facilitate rock removal by cutting rather than grinding. The depth of cut and the indexing distance should be greatly increased to make use of inherent rock weakness.

Jan 1, 1971