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By Albert J. Phillips

SEVERAL important changes have been' made during 1933 in the compilation and distribution of technical literature to those interested in nonferrous physical metallurgy. The Institute of Metals, of Great Britain, announced that preprints of all its papers would be distributed monthly to all members in combination with their bulletin of abstracts. The A.I.M.E. has announced that it will distribute to all members of the Institute of Metals and Iron and Steel Divisions a monthly bulletin entitled Metals, which will carry preprints of all publications of interest to the members of these two divisions. The American Society for Steel Treating has declared its intention to change its name to the American Society for Metals in order to indicate the broader scope of its activities. The abstract service of Metals and Alloys has been improved and expanded, covering practically the entire field of metallurgical literature. These changes and innovations now provide unparalleled reference service entirely in the English language.

Jan 1, 1934

By AIME AIME

LOCAL COMMITTEES. EXECUTIVE.-W. A. Lathrop, Chairman; R. V. Norris, Secretary; S. D. Warriner, Treasurer; Irving A.. Stearns, W. J. Richards, H. S. Drinker, C. D. Simpson. GENERAL RECEPTION.-Irving A. Stearns, Chairman. Archibald, James, Jr., Pottsville. Lawall, E. H., Wilkes-Barre. Ashley, H. H., Wilkes-Barre. Lentz, W. 0., Mauch Chunk. Ayres, WV. S., Hazleton. Lewis, Albert, Bear Creek. Beard, J. T., Scranton. Loomis, W. H., Jeddo. Bridgman, J. C., Wilkes-Barre. Markle, Alvan, Hazleton. Bunting, Douglas, Wilkes-Barre. Markle, John, Jeddo. Chase, F. M., Wilkes-Barre. Neale, J. B., Minersville. Coroner, Eli T., Scranton. Norris, R. V., Wilkes-Barre. Cote, E. B., Jr., Drifton. Oliver, Paul A., Oliver's Mills. Davies, W. H., Hazleton. Owens, W. D., Pittston. Davis, H. G., Dorranceton. Pardee, 1. P., Hazleton. Dodge, W. F., Wilkes-Barre. Quin, R. A., Wilkes-Barre.

Jul 1, 1911

By H. M. Fisher, R. E. Snow, S. C. Sun

RAPID colorimetric estimation of the amount of transparent minerals has been applied success- fully to instream mill products at the cryolite flotation plant of the Pennsylvania Salt Mfg. Co., Natrona, Pa. Apparatus used was a Bausch & Lomb monochromatic colorimeter. The optical assembly of the colorimeter, shown in Fig. 1, passes light from a 6-v, 32-cp, prefocus incandescent lamp through two condensing lenses, a heat-absorbing filter, an aperture-control diaphragm, an interference filter, and a sample container. The light finally strikes a barrier-layer photocell and the output current of the photocell is measured by a galvanometer. The engraved index line of the collective lens, located between the lamp and the galvanometer, is imaged upon the transmission scale of the colorimeter by the galvanometer mirror. Reflected light from the galvanometer mirror, the position of which is determined by the output current of the photocell, enables reading of percent transmission throughout the mineral sample being tested. The colorimeter, Fig. 1, was standardized as follows: 1-The colorimeter was connected to a Sola constant voltage transformer, A, of 6-v output operated from a 110-v ac supply. 2-Turning the toggle switch, C, illuminated the transmission scale, B, and the control knob, D, was adjusted with a blank in the optical system until the hairline on the scale read zero. 3-A No. 430 interference filter, E, was inserted into the filter channel, F. &--A test tube, G, containing 7 cc of distilled water was pressed into the sample space, H, and the fine adjustment knob,

Jan 9, 1954

By J. Mason

In order that the use of continuous mining machines be most economic, the equipment must be operated at rated capacity as much of the time as possible and downtime for repairs kept at a minimum. A large factor influencing any proposals for maintenance programs is the complexity of the machines—often the intricacies of the precision-built equipment requires engineering knowledge byond the scope of mine maintenance personnel. A training program is part of the answer; there are others. In addition to investigating a joint company-manufacturer equipment-design improvement program, Mountaineer Coal Co. has launched a detailed preventive maintenance program to combat extensive downtime often encountered when continuous miners are used. Everyone in the coal industry knows the importance of operating continuous miners at their rated capacity as much of the time as possible. The potential capacity of the miner is such that l-min. delay means from 3 to 8 tons of coal lost. Today's miner is a well designed, precision-built machine, complicated with hydraulic and electrical equipment and complex mechanical assemblies with all possible combinations of gears, levers, and rods. As the machine becomes more complex, the problem of maintenance becomes more acute. The transition from conventional to continuous mining has taken place so rapidly that the mine mechanic has been unable to keep pace. When there is a machine failure, the maintenance man usually employs either the trial-and-error or the play -it-by-ear method of repair, but this represents an expensive proposition. Mine mechanics, maintenance superintendents, and mine managers complain about the complexity of the machines and how difficult it is to keep them running. There is no shortage of skill in the design offices. Machines are designed by good engineers, but for engineers. What's the answer? Better trained maintenance men—better maintenance instruction—better field service. These are all good corrective measures, but the real cure is to provide for the men at the do it level. Designers have got to cooperate with men to simplify maintenance on the increasingly complex machine. The designer must be aware of how his machine can be maintained. Sometimes a simple design change in a bearing, oil seal, or a bushing will correct recurrent breakdowns. Parts such as filters, hydraulic cylinders, hoses, and pivot pins can be better arranged on the machine to make them accessible so that the mine mechanic can easily keep the machine producing. Therefore, to get our maintenance off on the right foot, the program must begin back in the design office, before the machine is delivered to the mine property. Realizing the importance of this aspect, our company set out on a joint company-manufacturer equipment-design improvement program. This is a formal program in which quarterly reports are written covering machine defects, design weakness, and general problems relating to machine maintenance and performance. The manufacturer in turn comments on each and every item appearing in these reports, indicating the action he proposes to take. In addition to the written reply, meetings are scheduled with manufacturer representatives to discuss further the outlined problems. The benefits realized from this organized program are both substantial and far reaching. Good maintenance begins with a good design. The subject of preventive maintenance is not a new one. Volumes have already been written on the subject. It consists primarily of doing the maintenance work when you want to rather than when the machine demands it. However, a preventive maintenance program can be overdone. Theoretically, if carried to ridiculous extreme, all working time could be spent inspecting and repairing the machines and no time would be left for production output. Our goal in maintenance is to maximize running time for all machines, and to prevent or at least minimize production downtime. INSPECTION AND REPORTING The center of any preventive maintenance schedule is regular and systematic inspection, but it must be

Jan 1, 1961

By M. Cross

INTRODUCTION The results of the Japanese dissective investigations have [l-4] transformed our understanding of how the blast furnace operates. These studies revealed an internal structure of the furnace burden with five main zones, as illustrated in Figure 1. In the granular zone the charged material retains its structure whereas in the cohesive zone the iron ore particles are at advanced stages of reduction and form a semi-molten mass with a relatively high flow resistance. In the active coke zone molten iron and slag flow through a matrix of loosely packed coke. The raceway is a relatively small void space generated by displacement of coke due to the hot blast momentum, whilst the hearth is packed with coke, slag and molten iron. [ ] It is now well appreciated that furnace control is largely achieved and maintained by using the burden charge distribution to determine the gas glow distribution within the furnace and, hence, the shape and extent of the cohesive zone. In fact, Wakayama et a1 [5] of Nippon Steel Corporation state that optimum furnace operation is synonomous with the formation of a desirable cohesive zone shape, which in turn is almost solely determined by the burden charge distribution and its mechanical properties [6]. Much of the development work on operating furnaces since the dissective investigations has been oriented towards the identification of external furnace measures which reliably predict the shape of the cohesive zone. Currently the most popular measures are top gas temperature, velocity and CO/CO, ratio profiles [5]. More recently pressure distributions as evaluated from a series of wall measurements down the height of the furnace are also being utilised [7] to identify the position and shape of the cohesive zone. A great deal of emphasis has been placed upon achieving a consistent quality in the burden charge materials, establishing a suitable set of operating conditions and only making changes when forced to, ie., the operation for some reason moves outside a desired operating range or the production requirements change. Operational control schemes based upon this philosophy (eg., Kawasaki's GO-STOP system [8]) have been remarkably successful at achieving both high production rates and relatively low fuel costs. Mathematical models have long been used as tools to assist in the analysis of the blast furnace process. Although, the models have been useful in post-operative analysis and for identifying trends, etc., they have not proved reliable for detailed design criteria or as the basis for effective control schemes. Such mathematical models have moved from simple statistical correlation, through overall and stagewise heat-and-mass balance calcu-

Jan 1, 1984

By HAROLD VINTON COES

THE motive for merging or consolidation today is conspicuously different from that actuating business men in the late eighties and early nine- ties. Then they combined to secure added productive capacity and to monopolize their respective industries with a view to exploiting the consumer. So flagrant were some of these cases that they brought about their own correctives via retaliation on the part of the public and the subsequent restrictive legislation and legal curbs. The objective of the present-day merger, writes W. R. Hill in Printers' Ink, December, 1927, is summarized as follows : "In the golden days when an industry was being cut to pieces, the prevailing cure was to combine. The reason for such trusts was to strangle competition and by creating a monopoly, dominate the market, raise prices, regardless of economic business methods, and simply force larger profits.

Jan 1, 1930

By Joseph Domenico

AMONG others, one of the most important duties of the accounting department is to disclose to the management the cost of production accurately and as quickly as possible after the ore has been produced and treated. A report is issued daily showing man shifts and the cost of labor, supplies, power, and miscellaneous charges to each department of the operation: mining, crushing, milling, packing and loading, and general expense. Mining costs are broken down into stoping, handling, development, exploration, and miscellaneous, and each of these subdepartmental costs are further broken down into the branches making up the subdepartment. Costs of crushing, milling, packing and loading, and general expense are detailed in the same manner. With such a detailed daily report as this, the management is able to keep in close touch with the efficiency of the entire operation. Because no expense items are deferred or spread over a period, and so that the report does not lose its comparative valve, appearances of unusual charges are explained.

Jan 1, 1946

By F. H. Deily, D. S. Rowley, R. J. Howe

By GUY C. RIDDELL

THE recent purchase by an American investment trust of a substantial block of shares in a British owned Venezuelan copper operation directs attention to mining activities that have been quietly gaining momentum in that country for a number of years. We hear so much of oil work in Venezuela that attention to its metal-mining activities is in most quarters casual. In gold and copper the country has made some interesting mining records, and two of the old districts are ,digging in for a come-back. Copper Copper production centers in the state of Yaracuy. The Aroa-Cumaragua mining region has had a long and eventful history. The Aroa mine itself, 50 miles from the coast in West-Central Venezuela, was discovered in 1605. First mined in 1632, owned at one time by Simon Bolivar, it has been reopened many times and is now , the basis of substantial operations by the South American Copper Syndicate, Ltd. of London. The latter has operated the property profitably, off and on, for a number of years, paying heavy dividends on a small investment-at times over 300 per cent annually.

Jan 1, 1929

By R. Gilman Brown

INTRODUCTION. MINES are interesting by reason of what they have done for man, or of what has been done for them by nature. Not all are interesting on both scores. Many profitable mines are commonplace to the geologist; and many presenting unique geological conditions have been sad failures commercially. The Standard group at Bodie has produced in 25 years, $14,500,000, paying $5,000,000 in dividends.' On the other hand, this output has been mined (almost wholly above the 1,000-ft. level) from a system of more than 100 veins, ranging in thickness-from 0.5 in. of "specimen rock" to 30 ft. of clay and quartz; distributed through a zone about 2,000" ft. in width, and representing from three to five distinct periods of formation. This group, therefore, by reason of its industrial record as well as its geological features, may fairly be regarded as doubly interesting. The Bodie district occupies an island of recent (Tertiary) hornblende-andesite, surrounded by a complex of igneous rocks and breccias. It lies at the summit of the eastern foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and within the Great Basin, a few miles from its western edge, marked here by Mono lake on the line of the Great Fault. The average elevation of the outcroppings of the veins may be taken at about 5,700 ft. The andesite projects from south to north in a great tongue, 12,000 ft. long and 5,000 ft. wide, reaching an extreme height at the northern end of perhaps 1,000 ft. above the adjoining small canyons. These separate it from the main mass of the foot-hill

Jul 1, 1907

By J. Kucera, J. Vreštál

DIFFERENT authors1 ' have been engaged in meas-uring the vapor pressure of pure cobalt. The results of their measurements satisfy the expected temperature dependence of vapor pressure and are in mutual agreement, with the exception of the results by De Dyk Man and ~esmejanov.~ The latter authors, by using the effusion method, have achieved considerably higher values than other workers. By using the isotope exchange method they obtained much lower values than other authors. The determination of thermodynamic functions of the binary Ni-Co system was carried out, as far as we know, only by De Dyk Man and Nesmejanov.4 This determination was based on extremely low values of vapor pressure over pure cobalt obtained by the isotope exchange method. Therefore we considered it useful to repeat these measurements. Furthermore, the reliable values of thermodynamic functions should complement the migration characteristics, the inner magnetic field data obtained by Miissbauer effect measurements, specific heat data, and the K effect and positron annihilation characteristics that have been achieved for the Ni-Co system in the Institute of Metallurgy of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Brno.5-9 The measurements in this paper were performed by the isotope exchange method. In this method, as has been shown by analysis,10-'3 the vaporization rate, w, can be calculated from the relation w = k/1oSw [1] i0Sw) [1] where L, is the activity per unit mass of the source, S is the area of evaporation, k is the tangent at the point t = 0 to the curve giving the radioactivity de-pendence of the target vs annealing time, t, and wis the probability for the tracer atom condensation on the target surface. The value for cc. can be obtained from the equation w = a + 2P(l-a) [2] where P is Clausing's coefficient and a is the condensation coefficient. In the present work the cylinder shaped containers for annealing the samples were used, characterized by the ratio 1:d = 1.06. Here 1 is the length and d the diameter of the container. For this ratio P = 0.514 and w =0.5, and w is independent of the condensation coefficient. The vaporization rate is related to the vapor pressure p by the relation where R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, and M is the molecular weight of the component investigated. Measurements of the vapor pressure of the i component over the pure metal, p!, and the alloy, pi, at the given temperature and composition enable one to calculate the thermodynamic activity of this component from the equation ai=pi/pi [4] is and the activity coefficient ri=ai/xi [5] xi where xi is the molar fraction of the investigated alloy component. EXPERIMENTAL Evaporization rate measurements were carried out with pure cobalt and eight different Ni-Co alloys, which were kindly delivered by the Centre National de Recherches Me'tallurgiques Liege, Belgium. The composition of the alloys is given in Table I. The cobalt used in these alloys contained the following impurities: 0.016 wt pct Fe, 0.014 wt pct Cu, 0.01 wt pct Mn. Other elements were present in much lower concentrations. From the melts, samples in the form of small cylinders of 12 mm in diam were ma-chined. The thickness of the targets and sources was 2.5 and 1.2 mm, respectively. The lower thickness of the sources was chosen to make their over-all ac-tivity as low as possible. Sources were activated in

Jan 1, 1970

By Marius R. Campbell

Does mine-sampling show the commercial value of a coal, and if so, how should it be done? This question is often asked, but seldom answered. During the past summer, while engaged in securing coal for the Government coal-testing plant at St. Louis, I had an excellent opportunity to obtain information on this subject, and the results seem to furnish an answer to the questions propounded above. Sampling for the Geological Survey Coal-Testing Plant. In organizing the work of the testing-plant, it was decided that coal in car-load lots only would be accepted for testing, also that this coal should be loaded under the immediate supervision of a representative of the plant, so as to be certain that the car-load sample would be representative. As an additional check on the work, two mine-samples were to be collected from each mine visited, and these samples, as well as the sam¬ple from the car when it was received at the testing-plant, were to be carefully analyzed at the chemical laboratory, which was established in connection with the plant and operated under the direction of Prof. N. W. Lord, of the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Mine-Sanmhling:-Mine-samples were collected with great care by me and my assistants, Messrs. J. Shober Burrows, John W. Groves and Frank W. De Wolf. The dominant idea in the regulations which were adopted for mine-sampling was that it should be done in such a manner that the sample would have the same composition as the commercial output of the mine. .

Sep 1, 1905

By J. J. Jakosky

The strategic importance of the metallic minerals in our industrial economy, and the declining rates of discovery have focused attention on means of exploration for new mineral deposits. A consideration of exploration techniques leads to an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of geo- physics as a tool for mining exploration. One means of evaluation will be to compare the use of geophysics in petroleum exploration with its possible uses in mining.

Jan 1, 1949

By O. E. KEOUGH

AT the Tooele custom lead-zinc ore concentrator,' two sections, each having a daily capacity of 500 to 600 tons, are operated on slightly different types of ores with but little difference in flow sheet and reagents. The ores comprising the two general classes are the coarsely crystalline type, with low pyrite and sphalerite low in iron content, from the Park City district, and the more finely disseminated higher pyrite ores from Bingham, which are more difficult to treat by flotation. Laboratory testing determines with which general class a new ore will work better. The ores are crushed to minus 1 1/4-in. size at either the Utah Ore Sampling Company's plant at Murray, Utah, the Tooele smelter sampling plant, or the crushing plant at the concentrator. The ores for each section are mixed to maintain as nearly as possible uniform lead and zinc contents.

Jan 1, 1930

By J. L. Fitch, B. G. Hurd

The presence of gypsum in samples subjected to standard core analysis introduces serious errors in the measurement of water saturation and porosity. The magnitude of these errors, depending upon the type of analysis procedure used, has been evaluated experimentally and theoretically. Water-saturated pore volumes determined by vacuum distillation or retort procedures may be too high by as much as 48 per cent of the volume of gypsum present. The maximum error in this value determined by Dean-Stark extraction with toluene is 36 per cent of the gypsum volume. If pore space is measured by a Boyle's law type porosimeter the maximum erorr due to gypsum is 38 per cent of the original gypsum volume present. The conscientious core analyst may eliminate the errors caused by gypsum by either of two methods. He may apply suitable corrections for the water of crystallization removed from gypsum, or take special precautions to prevent dehydration of gypsum during core cleaning and alzalysis procedures. These alternatives are discussed and methods for obtaining reliable core analysis data are proposed. Gypsum (CaSO4 . 2H2O) occurs as a common mineral in many of the world's sedimentary basins. In addition to its presence as primary bedded evaporitic deposits, it is often found as secondary replacement zones and pore-fillings in host rocks. That it may cause false indications in porosity, both on neutron logs and in standard core analysis, has been generally recognized. False porosity interpretations from neutron logs result because the chemically bound water in gypsum attenuates neutrons as effectively as free water. Errors in core analysis result when gypsum is dehydrated prior to or during the analysis. Vacuum retort procedures used by many laboratories to determine fluid saturation and porosity effect a complete removal of water of crystallization from gypsum. The crystal water, distilled and collected with free water from the sample, is counted as water-sat11rated pore space. Dehydration of gypsum results in a decrease in volume occupied by calcium sulfate and a corresponding increase in pore volume. Thus, if gypsum is dehydrated by sample cleaning and drying procedures, subsequent porosity measurements with gas expansion or compression instruments will be high. The qualitative effect of gypsum on porosity determinations by retort procedures was discussed in a recent article by Bynum and Koepl3. They concluded that since false porosity was interpreted as being water saturated, determinations of oil content were not affected. Others in the industry, however, have pointed out that porosity values are often used with values of water saturation determined independently, e.g., from electric resistivity logs in making reserve estimates. Values of water saturation calculated from the formation resistivity using the Archie equation, S4= are actually low if values of are high due to gypsum. In this case, false porosity values due to gypsum could cause serious errors in calculations of oil-in-place. This investigation was made to determine quantitatively the effect of gypsum on porosity values determined by different core analysis procedures. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Dehydration of Gypsum The extent and rate of removal of water of crystallization from gypsum under conditions encountered in core analysis procedures were studied. Taken for the experiments were three types of relatively pure, naturally occurring gypsum, viz. selenite, satin spar and massive gypsum. Although all samples probably contained trace chemical impurities, each type lost the theoretical amount of water upon complete dehydration. An automatic recording thermobalance, similar to one described by Mauer2, was used to obtain dehydration rate data for samples heated in dry air. Water

By Oscar H. Hershey

COMPLAINT has been made that in the literature of economic geology the work of the "company or practical" mining geologists does not get enough attention. I propose to attempt to overcome this com¬plaint in reference to one important lead-mining district, that of the Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho. Furthermore, I will assume that the reader is not so much interested in the geology of the district as in the methods of application used and incidents that have arisen in the work. All the important discoveries of ore in the Coeur d'Alene were made without benefit of geology. Certainly I would not claim the reputed discoverer of the Bunker Hill mine as a fellow geologist. It appears also that the mines were operated quite successfully for many years without geological specialists, though doubtless certain properties were visited at long intervals by such men as Waldemar Lindgren. It was known that the ores occur in quartzite, graywackes and slates as stated by J. R. Finlay in 1903. (TRANS., VOL. 33.) He described the ore as occurring in typical fissure veins that occupy fault-planes of indeterminate displacement. The Bunker Hill lode was based on a definite fissure with the mineralization all on the hanging-wall side, extending as far as 300 ft. from the fissure.

Jan 1, 1933

By Roger L. Goin

Maintaining smooth haulage roads is a key to significant cost savings at Kennecott Copper Corp.'s Bing- ham Canyon copper mine, located near Salt Lake City, Utah. The truck operations section of the mine moves an estimated 300,000 tpd of waste plus some ore to maintain a balanced production cycle. A three-year truck replacement program has produced a dramatic new look in both size and capacity of the truck fleet. Currently there are 95 haulage trucks in the Bingham fleet with capacities up to 150 t. The trend towards the larger haulage units places greater importance on overall truck availability. The impact of a 150-t truck being out of service is far more critical than with the former 65 or 85-t units.

Jan 12, 1974

By H. M. Cyr, T. F. Steele, C. W. Siller

The development of a new metallurgical roasting device is described. It consists of a refractory column into which air is injected at various levels, forming several superimposed fluidized beds with no supporting grates. When pelleted zinc sulphide concentrates are charged, the roasted product needs no further sintering before reduction to metal. WHEN a gas such as air is blown upward with increasing velocities through a loose mass of solid particles, marked changes in the physical behavior of the particles are noted. At first, when the velocity of the gas is insufficient to support any of the solid, the mass constitutes a "fixed bed." As the gas velocity increases until the pressure drop through the bed approaches the effective weight of the bed per unit area, the bed expands until the solid particles are supported by the air rather than by the lower particles. Some vibration of the particles becomes apparent, but little mixing occurs. This condition is called a "quiescent fluid bed." A further increase in gas velocity imparts more separation and more motion to the individual particles until a condition of turbulence is reached. This "turbulent fluid bed" resembles a rapidly boiling liquid with the characteristic highly agitated diffuse surface and many small eruptions of the boiling mass. Different degrees of turbulence can be generated and all produce excellent mixing. The final stage occurs when the gas velocity becomes so great as to create a "dispersed suspension." Here no surface of the mass is defined and the gas carries solid particles out of their original positions. These changing conditions of fluidization have been studied carefully and pertinent nomenclature standardized by a committee of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.' Many mathematical analyses2-3 have been made of the forces acting in a fluid bed. These analyses are invaluable, especially for the design of column sizes and selection of equipment. However, in a metallurgical process involving solids of many sizes with changing densities, varying temperatures, and changing gas compositions within the bed, calculations based on theory become approximate. Optimum operating conditions then are best determined experimentally. Many applications have been made of the principles of fluid-bed action by mechanical, chemical, and metallurgical engineers. Especially when good con- tact between reacting solids and gases is desired, very effective results are obtained from fluid beds. They permit excellent temperature control and uniformity throughout a mass of solids in fluid action. Heat transfer to walls and any coolers is high, and fast reaction rates are attained because the solid surfaces are continuously swept clean. The main disadvantages of fluid-bed operations are the danger of short-circuiting in a single bed, danger of incipient sintering which stops action, the necessity of avoiding large changes in particle size or density during roasting, and dust losses when particles of the charge are carried out with exit gases. In the metallurgical field the roasting of sulphide ores to form oxides and sulphur dioxide appears to combine several operating conditions which can be achieved to advantage in a fluid bed. Roasting involves a solid-gas reaction where a high reaction rate is necessary for high capacity, where good temperature control is important in order to prevent sintering, where good heat transfer is needed, and where the density of the solids, when changing from sulphides to oxides, is not largely changed. Short-circuiting, however, constitutes a major problem when a single fluid bed is used. Because of the turbulence of the bed, an entering particle may be in the region of the discharge before it is roasted. Hence, to attain a satisfactorily low sulphur in the calcine, a long average residence time with correspondingly low capacity is required. The solution to this difficulty is the use of multiple stages, which in the conventional fluid-bed design requires separate hearths with feed and discharge mechanisms for each stage. A further practical difficulty in fluid-bed roasting of flotation zinc concentrates is their fine particle size which makes a true fluid action without excessive carry-over of dust very difficult to attain, especially when the large air volumes necessary for high capacity are used. A New Design After considerable experimentation in the laboratory and on a semipilot-plant scale, a new method and equipment for roasting were devised which provided a unique solution to these problems. A detailed account of this development appears in the patent literature," and many of the variations of this development reported herein are the subject of

Jan 1, 1955

By Robert N. McIndoo

A good tire program must begin at the top; management must have an awareness of the tremendous potential for cost saving that tires represent. At Reserve Mining Co., tires account for 33% of the cost of maintaining its 44 tractor-trailer side-dump haulers and 22% of its 32 rear-dump trucks. In comparison, engine overhauls account for only 6% of the maintenance dollar. Doubling the present engine life would save only 3%. The open-pit mine, located near Babbitt, Minn., moves about 46 million t/y with its off highway fleet. Mine roadways total in excess of 160 km (100 miles) and about 1200 tires are in active use at any given time.

Jan 3, 1978

By Claiborne C. Van Zandt

THE heavy postwar demand for Portland Cement has created shortages that are gradually being overcome by increases in plant capacity. In the post-war period, the Lone Star Cement Corp. has expanded several of its existing 15 plants and has built 2 new plants, now in operation, with a third new plant under construction in Brazil, of design somewhat different from that of the two preceding ones. The new domestic plants are located at Lone Star, Va., near Roanoke, and at Maryneal, Tex., near Sweetwater, and went into operation during 1951. Each plant is equipped with two rotary kilns and has an initial capacity of 1,500,000 bbl per year, or 6,000,000 sacks. The total cost of each plant was about $10,500,000, and on this basis $7.00 in 1951 money are required per bbl of annual capacity; at 376 lb per bbl, this corresponds to $37.00 per ton of output. The investment corresponds to approximately $80,000 per hourly-wage earner employed. The purpose of this paper is to describe the most interesting design features of the two new and almost identical Lone Star plants. Why the Dry Process Was Chosen The two new domestic Lone Star mills employ the dry process because: 1-The raw materials at both properties are particularly suitable and can be dried very, readily. 2-The Maryneal, Tex., plant does not have water available for slurry. 3-Very substantial kiln fuel savings can be obtained. 4-Dry raw grinding reduces ball and liner wear and- general maintenance, without any sacrifice in power. Operating costs to date have more than justified the choice of the dry process for these two plants. Raw Materials The chemical composition of Portland Cement raw material after crushing, grinding, and mixing, but before burning, is about as follows: [ ] sometimes tailings from an iron ore concentrating plant. Certain objectionable materials occur in raw mix: magnesia, limited in cement to 5 pct, in excessive amounts; alkalies, as sodium and potassium; phosphorous; and sulphur, generally present in coal and oil. The Roanoke raw, materials are dense limestone and shale. The Maryneal materials are soft limestone and a hard brittle clay that can be handled much like shale. Sand and iron ore are required in small quantities. General Plant Layout and Construction The two plants are so similar that one joint description will cover both, with such exceptions as will be especially indicated. The crushing plant is located in the quarry, and raw material is conveyed by belt to the storage building, where all materials are stored and handled. Fig. 1 identifies the various structures of the Roanoke plant. The large storage building is used for the storing and handling of all materials, including limestone, shale, sand, iron ore, coal, clinker, and gypsum. Directly adjoining the storage building is a structure under a similar arched roof, containing the raw and clinker grinding departments and the electrical substation. The discharge ends of kilns and coolers, and coal or gas burning equipment are also placed at one end of the mill building. The 340ft long kilns extend away from the main buildings to form the long leg of an L, at the end of which is the feeding and kiln dust collecting equipment, and the raw blending silos are conveniently located adjacent to the feed end of the kilns. The machine shop, storeroom, electrical shop, foremen's office, service rooms, and meeting hall are combined in one structure in the center of the plant, and the office and laboratory are close by. The cement silos and packhouse do not have to be tied directly into the manufacturing process and are therefore located at a point convenient to the railroad tracks.

Jan 1, 1952