Search Documents

By George W. Maynard

In the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute for the year 1878, in the account of the proceedings of the annual meeting in March of that year, when Mr. Bell read his paper On the Separation of Phosphorus from Pig-Iron, occurs the following statement, as part of the reported discussion of that paper: " Mr. Sidney Thomas stated that he had succeeded in effecting the almost complete removal of phosphorus in the Bessemer process. Experiments had been carried on at Blaenavon, with the co-operation of Mr. Martin, on quantities varying between 6 lbs. and 10 cwt., and some hundred analyses made by Mr. Gilchrist (who had the conduct of the experiments from the first) showing the removal of from 20 per cent. to 99.9 per cent. of phosphorus in the converter. He believed the practical difficulties in the way had been overcome, and that Cleveland pig might be made into good steel without any intermediate process. He hoped on a future occasion to lay full details before the Institute." I was present at that meeting, and I doubt if any one in the hall knew, either by sight or name, the young man who had dared to rise in that august body and claim that he had accomplished that after which the great metallurgists of Europe had been unsuccessfully striving ever since Mr. Bessemer's great discovery. I remember distinctly the pitying smile of derision and the stony stare

Jan 1, 1885

By A. Kounosu, T. Fujita, J. Shimoiizaka, K. Nakatsuka

Stable aqueous dispersion of magnetite colloid of about 10 nm in diameter was obtained by allowing an anionic or nonionic surfactant to adsorb on the hydrophobic surface of magnetite particles prepared by monomolecular adsorption of oleate. Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, sodium oleate and poly (oxyethylene) nonyl phenyl ethers whose hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) are higher than 12 were suitable for giving a second adsorption layer to obtain a stable dispersion. Stability of the colloidal suspensions depends upon pH of the solution and is controlled by the dissociation of the adsorbed surfactant in the second layer. The addition of ethyleneglycol, which was used for lowering the freezing point of the dispersion, did not affect the stability when used in amounts smaller than 60% of water. Preparation of diester-based ferrofluids was also attempted by the same procedure using a nonionic surfactant as second layer molecule. Hydrophobic magnetite colloid, which had been preliminarily coated with mono-molecular oleate, was suspended in di(2-ethylhexyl) agipate, azerate, and sebacate respectively, and dispersion stability was investigated by adding various poly (oxyethylene) nonyl phenyl ethers of different HLB values. It was found that those with HLB values between 10.9 and 13.3 were suitable for this purpose. Stabilities of the dispersions in a magnetic field were investigated up to 1 T by applying an electromagnetic field. No separation of dispersant was observed and each magnetite dispersion displayed the characteristics of a magnetic fluid.

Jan 1, 1980

By Emery C. Olsen

Most coal mining areas of the Western United States are characterized either by thick beds, steep pitches or heavy cover. Individually, each of these may present inherent safety hazards that influence mining. When all are met at one location, the combined effect is to make the safe operation of the mining property a challenge to management. These combined conditions are met in the coal mines of the Columbia-Geneva Steel Div. of the United States Steel Corp., in southeastern Utah. This coal bed measures up to 16 ft in thickness, the pitch is as much as 25 % and mining is under a cover approaching 3000 ft. The Sunnyside coal bed is found in the Book Cliff Mountains, a great escarpment extending from west of Castle Gate, Utah, some 180 miles to Grand Junction, Colo. West of Green River, Utah, the Book Cliffs swing sharply to the north because of the domelike uplift of the San Rafael Swell to the south- west. It is in this northerly extension of the Book Cliffs that the Sunnyside coal in the Blackhawk Formation of the Mesa Verde Group, Upper Cretaceous Age is found. The strata are transected by numerous faults with from a few inches to as much as a hundred feet of displacement. All of these faults have had some effect on the mining operation, either in roof control or, in the case of major faulting, the pattern of mine development.

Jan 10, 1963

By J. S. Johnson, W. C. McCulloch

All phases of plant operation must be synchronized so that the A number of interruptions in the flow of material may be reduced to a minimum. In the majority of plants operating under a labor agreement, time lost during the operating shift cannot be made up with overtime. With the work week restricted to 35 hr., the ratio of productive time to total time justifies extra effort in keeping the plant operating at capacity during the productive shift. This does not apply when central plants with adequate storage are operated by multiple shifts. In such installations the problems become similar to those of any factory or mill where added units, parallel circuits, or excess capacity serve to maintain the average production during intervals of maintenance shut- down. These plants, by special agreement, may run continuously, barring mechanical interruptions. The control of plant operation is in those procedures that are practiced to obtain from the run-of-mine product a high recovery of clean coal products to meet adopted trade standards and consumer specifications at the lowest possible cost. Correlation of all factors for continuous operation requires more than mechanical perfection in the plant. The run-of-mine coal must be delivered to the preparation plant without delays and the clean coal and refuse products taken away. Power supply and water requirements must be adequate. Signal systems must be established for emergency stops and to facilitate resumption of coal flow.

Jan 1, 1943

By William E. Souder, Eugene R. Palowitch

INTRODUCTION The longwall method of mining coal underground is now a highly developed and accepted mining technology. However, it was only through a long history of successes and failures that this technology now has the potential for reversing the declining trend in underground mining productivity in the United States. From its early beginnings in the United States during the 1800's, several species of longwalls have evolved. The evolutionary record consists of a series of overlapping birth-death eras, with each era giving way to another unique longwall technology. Typically, an era begins when some new longwall technology appears in response to a new technical opportunity or economic need. This new technology is adopted initially by only a few innovators. Later, other imitators get on the bandwagon and the technology diffuses throughout the user population. But evolving technical demands and socio-economic circumstances eventually cause many of the adopters to discontinue its use. This paper chronicles seven eras in the history of the evolution and utilization of longwall technologies in the United States. Some of the important factors that have influenced this history are discussed. Some distinctions are drawn between the operators who were first to adopt longwalls (innovators), and the imitators who followed. Statistics are presented which show that longwall mining is being adopted at an exponentially increasing rate, substantiating the forecast for a significant number of new longwall installations in' the future. Potential barriers to this increased utilization of long- walls are noted.

Jan 1, 1981

By F. B. Speaker

MUCH of White Pine's success is due to the mechanization of mining operations and the development of an efficient beneficiation process to extract usable copper from the low-grade ore (averaging slightly more than 1 pct copper content). When the mine was first opened, all ore was trucked to a conveyor system installed in the slope leading out of the mine. But as new mining areas have been opened up at increasing distances from the slope, conveyors have replaced the trucks for much of the haulage. This conveyor program is expected to continue as mining progresses. Here is how the present underground system functions: Run-of-mine ore is dumped into two truck hoppers and withdrawn from the bottom of each hopper by a 60-in. apron feeder 22 ft long (see diagram). Collecting conveyors 54 in. wide and 44 ft long receive the material from the apron feeders and discharge to two main-line 54-in. conveyors, one 2000 ft and the other 2600 ft long. Operating at 312 fpm and handling 1200 tph, the main-line conveyors converge near the bottom of the tunnel leading out of the mine and discharge into two 72x168-in. Vibrex screens. Ore under 8 in. goes directly to the bin beneath. The oversize is fed to two 32x40-in. jaw crushers and after crushing joins the 8-in. material in the bin.

Jan 12, 1957

By W. G. Fischer, S. R. Felde

Trona ore at the Westvaco, Wyo., mine of FMC Corp. has been obtained by room-and-pillar methods since the mine began operation. The flat- lying, 10-ft thick trona (Na2CO3.NaHCO3.2H2O) is covered by 1500 ft of weak shale and sandstone, and extraction of pillars on the retreat quite often throws large amounts of weight onto development workings. Weak shales in the roof and floor fail rapidly, and the mine ribs slough to such an extent that mining often becomes very difficult. When this occurs, efficiency goes down, costs go up, and the risk to men and machinery increases greatly. Difficult mining conditions in the early '60s forced a re-evaluation of all presently known mining techniques in bedded deposits. Many room-and-pillar mining plans were compared with the system in use at that time, but none of them offered a better solution to the roof control problem. Longwall techniques were also seriously considered, but machinery was not available that would cut the hard trona seam and still maintain the productivity obtained from room-and-pillar sections. However, since roof control in the longwall methods appeared to be more satisfactory than that found in room-and-pillar techniques it was believed that a new technique using the longwall principle and based on rock mechanics should be tried rather than previously known pillaring methods.

Jan 4, 1966

By A. L. Field

A. W. FAHRENWALD, Socorro, 'N. M. (communication to the Secretary*).-When asked to discuss Mr. Feild's paper, I felt most highly complimented to have the privilege of commenting on such a worthy and needed piece of apparatus. In consideration of the importance of the viscosity of blast-furnace slags and the relation existing between the' melting point of a slag and its viscosity, the introduction of this apparatus should be a welcome means or assistant in the study of the physical properties of a slag. Up to the present time, it is A fact that this side of the practical working of the blast furnace has been sadly neglected by those investigating slags. It is easily seen that the fluidity of a slag is of as great importance as its melting point. It is not necessarily true that a slag having a low melting point will have a correspondingly low viscosity or be highly fluid. For example, a slag having a melting point of 1,100° C. may have to be superheated to, say,1,300° C., in order to have as high a fluidity as another slag whose melting point is, say, 1,250° C. The latter in this case would be the more economical. This point has been brought out very nicely by Mr. Feild. Before discussing this paper further, I think it will be well to outline some of the points, a discussion of which may be in order:

Jan 3, 1917

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, the Institute's new presi-dent, continues the long tradition of close asso-ciation between the organization and economic geology. Several preceding presidents have been eco-nomic geologists, and a gen-erous share of space in the TRANSACTIONS has always been devoted to that subject, one of critical importance to the miner as well as the seeker for ore. Mr. Smith has long served the Institute, hav-ing been a director since 1921 and first vice-president since 1927. He was born in Hodg-don, Me., on Feb. 22, 1871, and graduated at Colby College, where he took his A.B. and A.M. He did graduate work at Johns Hopkins, where he re-ceived a Ph.D. in 1896. Meanwhile he had engaged in field geological work in Michi-gan, Utah and Washington with the Geological Survey. In 1896 he joined the regular staff of that organization, be-coming director in 1907. He has been with the Survey con-tinuously since he first joined, with the exception of one year when he was furloughed to serve as a member of the U. S. Coal Commission. His special interest for many years has been in the eco-nomic aspects, in the larger sense, of the mineral in-dustry, matters that are necessarily the subject of strong differences of opinion, but which he has dis-cussed with good temper though with full adherence to his strong con-victions.

Jan 3, 1928

By C. M. Loeb, A. M. Gaudin, J. H. Brown

THE object of most size reduction operations in the mineral industry is to liberate the grains of valuable minerals in the ore from those of the gangue. This is usually accomplished by crushing and grinding the entire mass of ore until there is only a small probability that any single particle contains more than one mineral. During this size reduction only limited control exists over size or composition of the particles exposed to the breaking action, and there is no control over the paths followed by cracks generated during the operation. This lack of control usually results in overgrinding and in production of large quantities of very fine material. The first detriment, overgrinding, is costly in itself, but when combined with the second factor it is doubly so. Not only is the fracture of a free particle unnecessary-the fracture of these particles may also make subsequent separation operations difficult, inefficient, and wasteful. It has been pointed out' that if the object of size reduction is to liberate the valuable mineral component of the ore then, ideally, fracture should follow intergranular paths to the exclusion of trans- granular ones. This would result in liberation of the valuable minerals with as little size reduction as possible. This ideal comminution operation is referred to as intergranular comminution, and it was the object of the investigation to determine the extent to which it could be developed by heat treatments.

Jan 4, 1958

It has been stated, by Sir James M. Barrie, that "the man of science appears to be the only man who has something to say, just now-and the only man who does not know how to say it ". The friendly jibe of the novelist contains enough exaggeration to make it humorous to the followers of Huxley and Spencer; but could any litterateur poke similar fun at the exponents of the avowedly utilitarian branches of science-the men of technology-without suggesting an unpleasant truth? Indeed the engineer does bungle language deplorably. He makes a fetish of efficiency, yet he shows no regard for the effective use of one of his most important tools-the pen; he believes devoutly in accuracy, yet he employs an instrument of precision as carelessly as a small boy handles a gun. This inconsistency may be due to causes such as were indicated by the Academic Senate when it undertook to explain the defective writing of the students in this university.* The Senate suggested that the student is "constantly subjected by his environment to the unedifying influence of myriad examples of poor English", and that he is also affected by "a certain public prejudice against correctness of expression". With these statements most of us will agree. Our local newspapers, for instance, tend to spoil the student's taste for good English; later in life, as an engineer, his daily contact with illiterate men inclines him to careless speech and slovenly writing. As

Jan 1, 1931

By William G. Gates

INTRODUCTION The Heath Steele mine is located in the Bathurst-Newcastle area of northern New Brunswick. It is jointly owned by American Metal Climax, Inc. and the International Nickel Company of Canada who hold a 75% and 25% interest, respectively. The ore deposits of lead, zinc and copper sulphide occur in very fine grained pyrite and/or pyrrhotite masses. A consistent spatial relationship with a quartz feldspar porphyry is characteristic of these deposits and the many other similar sulphide deposits in the district. The two principal mineral assemblages of pyrite-sphalerite-galena, and pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pyrite, occupy characteristic positions relative to the enclosing rocks. This feature and the nature of the sulphide mineralization are described and the variations in metal content are noted .with special emphasis on the lead-zinc ore zones. The mine product ion rate is 3,000 tons per day of a mixed lead- zinc and copper ore which is extracted from the B-1 zone. The complex nature of the ores presents many metallurgical problems. Optimum metal recoveries are achieved when milll feed grades are relatively consistent and proportions of the contained metals are with in acceptable limits. Ore outlines and stoping blocks are delimited by close spaced diamond drilling. From this information it is possible to forecast the grade of any portion of a stoping block. Production from the various stopes may then be scheduled so as to achieve an acceptable mill feed grade.

Jan 1, 1970

By Frank Milliken

IN September 1937, the Ohio Copper Co. inaugurated the treatment of its copper-bearing mill tailings at Lark, Utah. These tailings had been accumulated during the regular operation of the Ohio Copper mine and mill over the period 1007 to 1019. Gravity concentration had been employed except for a comparatively short period in 1919, when flotation was used. The ore milled during that period assayed about I per cent Cu. The chief copper mineral, chalcocite, was dissemi-nated in a shattered quartzite, mainly along fracture or cleavage planes. The quartzite gangue was extremely hard and grinding to liberation resulted in excessive sliming of the "sooty" chalcocite, with consequent high tailings losses. Recovery on the seven million tons treated was prob-ably less than 6o per cent of the total copper content. As early as 1918, attempts had been made to sample the dump. In 1928, a com-plete sampling program was undertaken. The sampling consisted of seventy-four 5-in. post auger holes drilled to the full depth of the dump at regular intervals of 250 ft. Each 10-ft. portion thereof com-prised a sample for analysis. Each sample was screened, rolled, divided into three parts, dried and assayed. The reject was retained for testing purposes. From the depth of the auger holes a contour map of the dump was plotted, Fig. 1, which gives percentages of tonnage and copper content.

Jan 1, 1940

By John Carter Anderson

The theory of a zonal deposition of ores from ascending solutions which were differentiation products of a cooling magma, first propounded by Spurr,l in a measure explained by Lindgren,2 and recently re-emphasized by kemp,3 while perhaps accepted in principle by many mining geologists, so far has not been accepted as capable of practical application in the study and development of ore deposits. From his observations, the writer is convinced that there are laws governing the primary deposition of ores which, when properly worked out, will be of greatest economic value; and that the application of this knowledge to the development of new mines will mark an advance in the mining industry similar to that following the working out and application of the theory of secondary enriehiment. That there has been a tendency to a zonal distribution in the formation of ore deposits, by which the ores of one metal have been precipitated from tile mincralizing solutiolis at a greater distance from the source than those of another, cannot be disputed; and the nature of this zoning in a given deposit or district has been frequently described.4 But that a selection precipitation of the ores of two or more metals, other than lead and zinc, in successive zones may have taken place in a single deposit within limits economically possible of exploration is not generally recognized or admitted.

Jan 1, 1923

By S. L. Crouch, C. Fairhurst

The general term "coal mine bump" refers to the sudden and violent failure of in-situ coal. Coal bumps occur in most countries where coal is worked by underground methods. They are related to geological factors and mining techniques. Coal bumps can be characterized as unstable releases of energy associated with yielding that occurs with progressive mining. Unstable releases of energy occur when the coal is able to absorb less energy than is released by the surrounding rock mass during the yielding process. At any stage of mining, the amount of excess energy so released is governed by the mining geometry, the overburden stress, the elastic properties of the rock mass, and the stress-strain characteristics of the seam material. If the coal in the vicinity of the working face is crushed, the peak abutment pressure occurs at some distance into the intact portions of the seam, and mining takes place in essentially destressed coal. With subsequent mining, additional yielding occurs, excess energy may be released, and the peak stress is again shifted into the solid. This process continues until the mining geometry is such that the zone of peak stress is effectively surrounded by yielding coal, at which point it can be anticipated that further mining will produce dramatic redistributions of stress and be accom¬panied by large releases of energy. On this basis, the differences between several alternatives for mining a given block of coal may be pronounced.

Jan 1, 1975

By George A. Packard

WHEN, in April, 1892, the writer began experimenting with the cyanide-process, it had already proved a success in the treatment of tailings, but had not become an important factor as a primary method of ore-treatment. The Livingston, Colorado, mill was running a few small agitators; the Mercur mill, in Utah, was said to be a success, but was " closed down to increase capacity; " and Mr. A. B. Paul, in Shasta county, California, was running ore'through a stamp-mill into leachingvats, using a weak cyanide solution in the battery. Mills had been, or were being, erected in Arizona; on the Comstock lode; and in South Dakota. Some of these never started, and several were shut down or remodelled for other processes. Altogether, the outlook was anything but favorable. Many of these mills were planned to make use of agits tion, and a cyanide solution containing at least 1 per cent. of potassium cyanide was employed. Since then the improvement of the process, both chemically and mechanically, has placed it among the recognized successful methods of oretreatment. Within the past year I have visited a large number of cyanide-mills, and have collected considerable data, of which I publish enough herewith to give an idea of the development of the process and of the methods followed in the principal mills. I would say, however, that nearly all of these plants are experimenting, most of them employing experienced chemists,

Jan 1, 1897

By E. J. Rapperport, J. P. Pemsler

Proton irradiation of high-purity distilled berylliuwz was utilized to introduce various hydrogen contents from 0.00075 to 0.075 at. pct (0.83 to 83 ppm) in a band 0.004 cm wide. After irradiation, the specimens were heat-treated to effect hydrogen agglomeration. Observations of agglomerates in all specimens of the lowest hydrogen content indicate a hydrogen solubility of less than 0.83 ppm in the temperature range 350" to 1050°C. Estimates of the inter diffusion coefficient in the hydrogen solid solution of beryllium were obtained from measurements of the dimensions of hydrogen-depleted zones survounding agglomerated bubbles. A value of (approximately) 3 xlo-' sq cm per sec is obtained for the diffusion coefficient at 850" to 900°C. PREVIOUS investigators found that We solubility of hydrogen in beryllium is very small. Gulbransen and Andrew' state that beryllium does not react with hydrogen at 23 mm Hg between 300" and 900°C. Cotter ill et a1.' report that as-machined beryllium has an adsorbed hydrogen layer of 0.007 cu cm per sq cm of surface. No additional hydrogen is picked up in hydrogen at 0.1 mm Hg and between 200" and 80O°C, or when hydrogen is bubbled through molten beryllium. Beryllium hydride has been reported to exist in an ether solution,394 but decomposes at about 200°C; there is no substantial evidence for the existence of the hydride in the solid phase.

Jan 1, 1964

By Henry M. Howe

in Cast-Iron. It has been generally accepted that the presence of silicon in cast-iron leads to the formation of graphite; and this has been explained by saying that the silicon lowers the solvent power of iron for carbon at and somewhat below the freezing-point, so that, in the presence of silicon, the iron is unable to retain in solution or combination the whole of the carbon with which it has united while molten, and therefore expels the excess of carbon in the form of graphite, during and immediately after solidification. Probably the best way to study this question would be to examine pure cast-irons, i.e., those containing nothing but iron, carbon and silicon, which at the same time should have been saturated with carbon when molten. But the data for such a study are not at hand; so we must turn to commercial pig-irons as they are made in the blast-furnace, and before their composition has been changed by remelting. Much evidence has been offered of late, tending to oppose the theory of the action of silicon above set forth. Some of this evidence will be examined here. 1. Mr. Bachman's Results. In particular, Mr. F. E. Bachman† has published a collection of analyses of cast-iron, in which the proportion of graphite at first appears to be nearly independent of the proportion of silicon present. Thus, in his Table LI., we find that with pro-

Jan 1, 1901

By K. L. Ludeke, A. D. Day

For many reasons, it appears that deep rooted, perennial shrubs offer potential for improved stabilization and provide maintenance free vegetative cover to harsh sites where perennial grasses have not been successful. The major objective was to select various shrub species of arid plants for initial soil stabilization of disturbed mining areas. The very fact that a drought-adapted shrub has a massive root system that can use moisture from a greater volume of mineral waste soil materials suggests that arid environment disturbed soils may be vegetatively stabilized using desirable forage shrubs. A secondary effort is underway to assemble information and plant materials of promising species from many arid regions of the world for reclamation of mined lands. Surprisingly, many of the better plants for arid sites are quite high in protein content. With proper management, breeding, and selection, they may prove to be very desirable livestock feed when mined lands are used in range land areas. Advancements in arid land solid waste stabilization hold favorable promise for many industries that mine and mill in arid regions for effective reclamation of disturbed areas. Particularly exciting is the possibility of establishment of high density maintenance free vegetative cover of climax vegetation that reclaims the disturbed area back to its original land use. Due to high shrub productivity, stabilization potential, nutritional quality, and reclamation success, greater use should be made of shrubs in disturbed land reclamation associated with mining and milling operations in harsh aril environments.

Jan 1, 1986

By Oliver C. Ralston, Foster Fraas

Electrostatic methods of separation are used only when some peculiar advantage is gained. Such cases are minerals that are not separable by differences in specific gravity or magnetic response and that are desired in particles as large as 10-mesh, a size on which flotation separation is inefficient. This paper covers several separations of this type and others. It includes studies in the electrostatic behavior of kyanite, sillimanite, and zircon, simple silicates that cannot be called either acid or basic but are more nearly neutral. Kyanite and sillimanite are both desired in 10-mesh size and are difficult to bene-ficiate from low-grade ores to give that type of concentrate. A separation of garnet from diopside was studied because this mixture had been removed from a wollas-tonite product by drying and magnetic separation, and no special or extra-preparation for electrostatic separation was necessary. The Separator The separator used in these tests is of the nonhomogeneous field type shown in Fig Ia. It consists of a 11.4-cm-diam rotating metal roll 2 at ground potential over which the dry mixture of minerals is fed. The roll serves as one electrode of the separating field, and the other electrode is that of 3, a smaller 5-cm-diam rotating metal cylinder which is held at a high direct-current potential. In this paper the term "electrode" will be confined to the electrode at 3, roll 2 being designated only as "roll."

Jan 1, 1949