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By Will Mitchell, Ford F. Miskell, C. L. Sollenberger

THE taconites in general are hard, tough ores, difficult to grind. Liberation of iron mineral constituents usually is accomplished by grinding the ore through at least 100 mesh, and often it has been found necessary to grind substantially through 325 mesh to achieve satisfactory recovery and grade in the concentration process. Because of the fineness of grind required and the enormous tonnages of material contemplated for treatment in the future, costs resulting from grinding media wear and power consumption, together with capital investment required for comminution, approach astronomical figures. Economy in any one of these elements per ton of material ground could very well reflect a considerable saving to the ferrous industry in yearly costs. With this in mind, the Research Laboratories of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. have launched a program to discover means of effecting this economy. The initial phase of the work as described here deals with a heat treatment of crushed raw ore, followed by thermal shock in cooling, for the preparation of rod mill feed. Several investigators 1-5 have noted an improvement in the grindabilities of ores treated in this manner. One investigator2 subjected low grade iron ores to heat treatment in an electric furnace. Basing his conclusions on screen analyses of crushed products, he observed that treated ore was more easily crushed than the untreated. He reported that observation of the treated and untreated ore through a microscope revealed cracks following the grain boundaries in treated ore, whereas no cracks were present in untreated ore. However, few if any have quantified the improvement in terms of total hp hours saved, reduction of wear of grinding media, or reduction of capital costs of grinding equipment involved. By means of Bond rod mill and ball mill grindabilities6 and by comparative wear tests, the conditions maintained during this investigation have been definitely evaluated. Heat treatment experiments have been made on a batch scale in a muffle furnace, followed by continuous scale experiments in a rotary kiln under various conditions of temperature, atmosphere, retention time, and quenching to determine the combination that would give the greatest improvement in the grindability of a taconite without affecting adversely the magnetic susceptibility of the magnetite. From these data, relative costs have been calculated for grinding both untreated and heat treated ore on a basis of plant capacity of 120 tons per hour. Heat requirements for a rotary kiln, as well as the kiln capacity required for the treatment, have been estimated. For these tests 50 tons of ore were obtained from the Aurora mine of the Erie Mining Co., Hibbing, Minn. The ore was reported' to have been selected from the magnetic portion of the lower chert horizons. An average chemical analysis of this portion is shown in Table I and an approximate mineralogical analysis is shown in Table II. No attempt was made to differentiate between the various silicates because the compositions vary widely on the different horizons and depend on the degree of oxidation. Minnesotite, however, is the predominant silicate. The siderite grains were dispersed throughout the ore but were essentially associated with the rock-forming minerals. In a series of preliminary tests in which batches of -6 mesh ore were heat-treated in a muffle fur-

Jan 1, 1952

By J. J. Bodmer

Although the similarity between puzzolana, or trass, and blastfurnace slag, as seen by comparison of the analyses, is a well-known fact, blast-furnace slag has not been used commercially as a substitute for those cementing materials. The reason, the writer apprehends, lies in the fact that unless such slag is disintegrated or subdivided by rolls, the process must either be too costly, or the material is not in a fit and proper condition for the purpose. In order to produce a reliable slag cement, the slag must be ground together with the lime into an impalpable powder. The subdivided slag must, therefore, be perfectly dry, and, at the same time, friable. The stronger the hydraulic properties of the lime, the more reliable the slag cement will be, and practice has proved, that the slag from a gray-iron furnace gives the best results. The slag cement which has given the results shown in the annexed table, under pressure tests, was composed of six parts of slag, from a blast-furnace producing No. 3 foundry iron, and one part of lime, of medium hydraulic properties. The above-described class of cement bears storing as long as most Portland cements, and the cheapness of its production is self-evident.

By J. J. Bodmer

ALTHOUGH the similarity between puzzolana, or trass, and blast-furnace slag, as seen by comparison of the analyses, is a well-known fact, blast-furnace slag has not been used commercially as a substitute for those cementing materials. The reason, the writer apprehends, lies in the fact that unless such slag is disintegrated or subdivided by rolls, the process must either be too costly, or the material is not in a fit and proper condition for the purpose. In order to produce a reliable slag cement, the slag must be ground together with the lime into an impalpable powder. The subdivided slag must, therefore, be perfectly dry, and, at the same time, friable. The stronger the hydraulic properties of the lime, the more reliable the slag cement will be, and practice has proved, that the slag from a gray-iron furnace gives the best results. The slag cement which has given the results shown in the annexed table, under pressure tests, was composed of six parts of slag, from a blast-furnace producing No. 3 foundry iron, and one part of lime, of medium hydraulic properties. The above-described class of cement bears storing as long as most Portland cements, and the cheapness of its production is self-evident.

Jan 1, 1874

By Adrian Brown

INTRODUCTION The primary tool which is available to improve the stability of an open pit mine at a given slope angle is control of groundwater pressure. This paper sets out the methods by which water pressure control can be achieved in large mines in different materials. The emphasis of this paper is on large mine slopes because. these slopes exhibit the greatest need for groundwater control, the greatest economic benefit from groundwater control, and the greatest technical challenge in achieving groundwater control. STABILIZATION USING MTER PRESSURE CONTROL Groundwater pressures reduce the stability of slopes in two fundamental ways, as shown schematically in Figure 1. In the example, a horizontal failure surface intersects a vertical joint or weak zone. Water pressure acts: o On the base plane to reduce the normal force on the sliding surface and hence reduce frictional resistance to sliding, and o On the vertical back plane, to create a driving force for the system.

Jan 1, 1983

By Hisahiro Kinoshita, Derek Temple, Yoshio Higashitsuji

The zinc-lead blast furnace process has been installed by two smelters in Japan. In 1966 a unit was commissioned at Harima in Hyogo prefecture by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. and in 1969 a consortium of other Japanese zinc and lead smelters completed their unit at Hachinohe in Aomori prefecture, managed by Mitsui Mining & Smelting Go. Ltd. , the major shareholders. The special characteristics of these two plants are described with particular emphasis on their location and operation. Reference is also made to the processing of a wide range of raw materials, including residues from other processes. Both plants pay scrupulous attention to plant and environmental hygiene to meet the high standards set by the local prefectural governments; the ways in which this has been achieved are discussed. General performance data on each furnace is included, showing that this pyrometallurgical process is supplying 16% of Japan's zinc and refined lead consumption. Note - All tonnes (t) are metric of 2204 lbs.

Jan 1, 1976

By R. E. Allen

One of the most unusual oil-field engineering accomplishments of the past two years is the development and rapid advance in the directed drilling of wells. Directed drilling as referred to herein is the controlled steering of the drill stem in the required direction to a given location in the oil sand. The deliberate drifting of holes is an act so far removed from what has been considered good drilling practice that all of the old questions of correlation, drillability and production difficulties are revived. Only a few years ago, during the boom days of Seminole and Santa Fé Springs, the crooked-hole problem, as it was then called, occupied a primary position among the topics of the day in the fields of California and the Mid-Continent. The net result of all the discussion and study at that time was the conclusion that oil wells should be drilled with as little deviation from the vertical as possible and that crooked holes with elbows and dog legs were to be avoided because of the drilling and producing difficulties encountered therein, but that many nonvertical holes were slanting or angling rather than crooked and were not a serious problem.

Jan 1, 1934

By Alexander Deussen

The figures listed in a table for Gulf Coast fields given by L. P. Teas1 in 1934 are so greatly at variance with results that I have obtained from a serious study of this subject over a number of years, that I am disposed to challenge the correctness of Mr. Teas' figures as an accurate representation of acre-foot yields of Gulf Coast fields, and as regards at least two of the fields listed by Mr. Teas I desire to "put into the record" some figures that, according to my study, are more nearly in accord with what I conceive to be the actual facts. Upon investigation I find that Mr. Teas' figures, inadvertently no doubt, arc not what they purport to be. Apparently the figures were arrived at by considering as thickness of the producing formation the net thickness of producing rock corresponding "to the total of the net portions of the producing zones which actually yield oil into the drill hole"—and in following this method I am under the impression that Mr. Teas was acting under instructions of the Institute in the preparation of this paper, in order to get comparable figures from the several fields of the United States. Apparently the author interpreted these instructions to mean that in the absence of cored thicknesses of producing horizons the actual number of feet of screen set in the various producing zones was to be taken as the basis for arriving at the thickness of these zones and the "acre-foot" yields. It is obvious that in many instances only 20 ft. of screen, or even 10 ft. of screen, might be set in a well, when there might be actually 100 ft. of oil sand present. In the early operations in the Gulf Coast it was usual to set much less screen than the amount of sand. It follows that the "acre-foot yields" so arrived at would be much greater than those found by using the full amount of sand. In Mr. Teas' table, it was indicated that up to the end of 1933 "acre-foot" yields had been obtained in the several fields as listed in Table 1. A casual inspection of these yields will show that certainly they do not properly reflect the amount of oil produced from an acre-foot of the

Jan 1, 1936

By Alexander Deussen

The figures listed in a table for Gulf Coast fields given by L. P. Teas1 in 1934 are so greatly at variance with results that I have obtained from a serious study of this subject over a number of years, that I am disposed to challenge the correctness of Mr. Teas' figures as an accurate representation of acre-foot yields of Gulf Coast fields, and as regards at least two of the fields listed by Mr. Teas I desire to "put into the record" some figures that, according to my study, are more nearly in accord with what I conceive to be the actual facts. Upon investigation I find that Mr. Teas' figures, inadvertently no doubt, arc not what they purport to be. Apparently the figures were arrived at by considering as thickness of the producing formation the net thickness of producing rock corresponding "to the total of the net portions of the producing zones which actually yield oil into the drill hole"—and in following this method I am under the impression that Mr. Teas was acting under instructions of the Institute in the preparation of this paper, in order to get comparable figures from the several fields of the United States. Apparently the author interpreted these instructions to mean that in the absence of cored thicknesses of producing horizons the actual number of feet of screen set in the various producing zones was to be taken as the basis for arriving at the thickness of these zones and the "acre-foot" yields. It is obvious that in many instances only 20 ft. of screen, or even 10 ft. of screen, might be set in a well, when there might be actually 100 ft. of oil sand present. In the early operations in the Gulf Coast it was usual to set much less screen than the amount of sand. It follows that the "acre-foot yields" so arrived at would be much greater than those found by using the full amount of sand. In Mr. Teas' table, it was indicated that up to the end of 1933 "acre-foot" yields had been obtained in the several fields as listed in Table 1. A casual inspection of these yields will show that certainly they do not properly reflect the amount of oil produced from an acre-foot of the

Jan 1, 1936

By J. Wayne Erickson

One of the major problems facing today's mining industry is how to manage people and control costs in the underground mine. It is a problem with a solution. Because of the concerted effort to find and mine minerals near the surface, open-pit mine opportunities for certain minerals are becoming more limited; the mining industry will eventually be forced to produce more and more from underground mines in order to obtain those resources necessary to sustain our civilization. Although much technical progress has been made towards solving problems associated with the underground mine, such as - mine design, ventilation, rock support, equipment, and blasting techniques, little has been written on managing mining personnel. Much of what is being taught and practiced today about human relations, motivation, incentives, etc., applies to the underground miner, but the uniqueness of his group dictates a different treatment from that associated with the typical construction worker or factory employee. The difference lies with the kind of man attracted to underground mining and his working environment. Anyone who has had the responsibility of managing an underground mine would agree it is a unique problem.

Jan 9, 1976

By W. C. Maurer

Although millions of feet of rock are drilled annually, the basic drilling mechanisms involved are not well understood. The primary reason for this lack of knowledge is because the basic principles of rock failure are not well understood and rock failure is the primary mechanism in drilling. A better understanding of the drilling mechanisms would enable a more scientific approach to the design and use of drills and bits. The paper reviews several models which have been proposed to explain various aspects of the different drilling methods. These models are described and their limitations and areas of application are discussed. Drilling rate relationships are developed and related to the basic rock failure mechanisms. TYPES OF MECHANICAL DRILLS There are three basic methods of mechanically attacking rock: 1) percussive action, 2) rotary action, and 3) combined rotary-percussive action. A percussion drill applies a force perpendicular to the rock surface and the bit moves into the rock perpendicular to the surface, forming a crater beneath it (Fig. 1). A rotary drill applies a constant thrust to the bit while a torsional force moves the bit parallel to the rock surface, breaking the rock ahead of it. A rotary-percussive drill applies both a rotary force and a percussive force to the bit which moves into the rock at an angle to the surface. The commonly used drills can be classified as: rotary-drag, diamond; percussive-hammer, piston, churn; and combination-rotary-percussive, roller.

Jan 1, 1967

By R. W. Smashey, B. J. Piearcey

The structure, composition, and morphology of the carbide phases present in the nickel-base superalloy, Mar-M200, hare been determined and three carbide phases observed. The MC carbide is a solidification product, and the M23 Co and M6C carbides are both prod~icts of solid-state precipitation. The identity of each phase usas determined by both X-ray and electron-diffraction techn~ques. Compositions of all three carbides were studied using the electron beam micro-probe analyzer and by unalyszs of electrolytically extracted residues. Optical and electron microscopy were employed in order that the time/temperature -dependent behavior of the carbides might be observed. Supplementary studies were completed on thin foils and oriented single crystals to determine the mor-phology and orientation relationship of each phase with that of the matrix. MAR-M~OO* is a high-temperature, creep-resistant superalloy designed for use in the as-cast condition. The "as-cast" microstructure consists of a solid-solution matrix, referred to as gamma (y), which contains a general, coherent precipitate of the inter-metallic Ni3(A1,Ti) referred to as gamma prime (?). As a result of dendritic segregation during solidification, a degenerate, spherulitic ? -?' eutectic constituent is present at the grain boundaries and the in-terdendritic regions, which is nucleated by the y on the dendrite tips. A primary carbide phase, a solidification product, is also present at the grain boundaries and in the interdendritic areas, and an additional carbide appears at the grain boundaries as a fine discontinuous precipitate. The alloy is particularly susceptible to heat treatment. For example, the mechanical properties of the columnar grained mater- ial are substantially improved by solution heat treatment, followed by an intermediate temperature age. Metallographic examination of heat-treated material reveals, however, that exposure to elevated temperatures has a marked effect on the microstructure of the alloy; in particular, it is observed that precipitation of considerable amounts of various carbide phases occur. The following investigation was carried out to determine the morphology, composition, and behavior of the carbides in Mar-Ma00 as an aid to the determination of their effect on the mechanical properties and stability of the alloy. THE PRIMARY MC CARBIDE The MC carbide phase appears in the interdendritic interstices and the grain boundaries. In directionally solidified Mar-M200 the carbide appears as very small particles in the chilled region, Fig. l(a), whereas in material less affected by the chill, it becomes larger and develops a dendritic morphology, Fig. 1(b). Step polishing of metallographic specimens from this region shows that in directionally solidified material the individual carbide dendrites are connected in a dendritic network within the metallic interdendritic interstices, whereas in material from the chilled region and in conventional Mar-M200 they are discontinuous, isolated dendrites. No orientation relationship exists between the primary carbide and the matrix.

Jan 1, 1968

HAVING described and taught you the method of assaying silver for gold in the preceding chapter, and therein having proceeded in the order and Drover wav followed in the working of quantities of gold and silver, I could have fled this task of describing to you the first part of parting. In truth, there is no other difference in the method of arriving at the end except in respect to certain precautions that must be taken against the dangers causing loss. In order that you may guard against these, I shall repeat the procedure completely, in addition to the second part of this art, which is the method of reducing the silver to its body.

Jan 1, 1942

By Curtis L. Graversen, J. H. Hamilton, John C. Nixon, John R. Lewis

RECENTLY there has been much speculation concerning the advantages of using oxygen enriched air or pure oxygen in pyrometallurgical processes. The advantage of using oxygen in the iron blast furnace and elsewhere in ferrous production metallurgy has been given careful consideration and, as a result, several experiments have been tried and a number of papers have recently appeared on this subject.1.2 The use of oxygen in nonferrous smelting likewise poses interesting problems, therefore any experimental data obtained in this area should likewise be of general interest.3 Ashcroft4 in 1933 claimed to have obtained improved results when copper concentrates were roasted in pure oxygen. However, his' paper gives neither data nor experimental details. A few years ago a research program was started in this laboratory which had for its objective the determination of the mechanism of oxidation of metallic sulfides under varying conditions. To date we have studied the oxidation of galena, 5 sphalerite, and chalcocite. It is a well known fact that copper sulfide minerals are oxidized slowly by weathering agents, so that the sulfides of copper which find their way into a tailing pond are gradually changed into watersoluble and acid-soluble compounds. Commercially, the oxidation of copper sulfide minerals is accomplished by roasting them at elevated temperatures in air using a suitable (usually multiple-hearth) roaster. Most copper smelters are equipped with such roasters. In this phase of the study we were especially interested in determining the effect of temperature on: (I) the air oxidation of chalcocite and (2) the oxidation of chalcocite using commercial oxygen. The amount of sulphur removed as sulphur dioxide, the percentages of water-soluble copper, and of acid-soluble copper were determined for the air oxidation tests. In the tests using commercial oxygen, the percentages of sulphur dioxide, water-soluble copper, acid-soluble copper, water-soluble sulphur and acid-soluble sulphur were determined. For these experiments the temperature was varied from 250 to 700°°C. EXPERIMENTAL Preparation of Chalcocite (Cu2S) Natural chalcocite is not pure. Minerals such as bornite, covellite, and chalcopyrite may be present. It was decided, therefore, to prepare some chalcocite in our own laboratory. An intimate mixture of sulphur and finely divided metallic copper in the ratio of 4 g of copper to I g of sulphur was prepared. To this was added a slight excess of

Jan 1, 1948

By G. M. Schwartz, D. M. Davidson

THE Duluth gabbro outcrops containing sulphides of copper, nickel, and iron are located on both sides of State Highway No. 1 an airline distance of 8.5 miles southeast of Ely in northeastern Minnesota. The region of known sulphide occurrences includes parts of sections 5, T. 61 N., R. 11 W., and parts of sections 25, 26, 32, 33, and 34, T. 62 N., R. 11 W. These sections, given in Fig. 1, are all in Lake County, Minnesota. Part of the area, which lies entirely within the Superior National Forest, is shown on the topographic map of the Ely quadrangle. The original discovery was made in 1948 when a small pit was opened in weathered gabbro rubble for use on a forest access road. A shear zone had caused unusual decomposition in this glaciated area, and the resulting copper stain was noted by Fred S. Childers, Sr., an Ely prospector, who began searching the outcrops along the base of the intrusive. He was joined in further exploration by Roger V. Whiteside of Duluth. In the summer of 1951 a small diamond drill was moved into the area and a hole 188 ft deep was drilled, passing through 11 ft of glacial drift into sulphide-bearing gabbro. This paper is a preliminary report on the geology of the newly discovered ore. The Duluth gabbro is one of the largest known basic intrusives and may be defined as a lopolith.1 It extends northeastward from the city of Duluth as a great crescent-shaped mass that intersects the shore of Lake Superior again near Hovland, 130 miles to the northeast, see Fig. 2. The distance around the outside of the crescent is nearly 170 miles. The form of the intrusive is simple at Duluth where it ends abruptly north of the St. Louis River; at the east end, however, the gabbro splits into two elongated, sill-like masses separated mainly by lava flows and characterized by minor irregularities. The outcrop reaches a maximum width in the central part where it is about 30 miles across, and a maximum thickness of about 50,000 ft. It may be significant that the sulphides occur at the base of the thickest part. The lopolith has segregated into rock types ranging from peridotite to granite. The most abundant types are olivine gabbro, gabbro, troctolite, anorthosite, and granite. Of lesser importance quantitatively are peridotite, norite, pyroxenite, magnetite gabbro, and titaniferous magnetite. Grout estimates that two-thirds of the gabbro at Duluth is olivine gabbro. Variations in the percentages of plagioclase, augite, olivine, and magnetite-ilmenite constitute the only essential differences found among the basic rock types. The predominant mineral is plagioclase, mainly labradorite. Plagioclase and olivine seem to have crystallized early, and the olivine rich rocks, usually troctolite, are found in the lower part. Segregations of titaniferous magnetite are abundant near the base of the gabbro along the eastern part and also occur far above the base. These have recently been described in detail by Grout' Near the top, segregation has produced a gradation to granite, or "red rock," as it is known locally. This consists of quartz, red feldspar, and hornblende. The red rock forms a. zone with a maximum width of nearly 5 miles but is quantitatively unimportant from Duluth northward for 35 miles. In Cook county, where the gabbro splits, each of the two sill-like masses has a red rock top somewhat thicker in proportion to the gabbro below than in the main central mass. The intrusive ranges from coarse to medium in grain size and from granitoid to diabasic in texture. Throughout much of the Duluth gabbro in Minnesota banding and foliation are well developed, as Grout has emphasized! The bands are mainly a result of variation in the percentage of minerals, as in troctolite with alternating bands high in olivine and in plagioclase. A few bands may consist largely of one mineral, as is true of some segregations of magnetite. Many of the banded rocks show a clearly developed parallelism of platy plagioclase crystals, and both banding and foliation are believed to conform to the floor of the lopolith. Throughout its extent in Minnesota the Duluth gabbro dips east and south toward Lake Superior. It is generally believed to extend beneath Lake Superior and is found as a smaller mass exposed along the north side of the Gogebic district in Wisconsin and Michigan. The dip at and near the base ranges along most of its length from 20 to 40°, but at places the internal banding dips even more steeply. The dip of the upper part is much less, and if it is assumed that the flows along the north shore of Lake Superior are a dependable indication, it does not exceed 15º. The formations shown in Table I which are intruded by the gabbro range from Keewatin to Middle Keweenawan in age. They present a significant picture. At the top, the gabbro and its accompanying

Jan 1, 1952

By J. R. Finlay

THE other day, I fell into conversation with two gentlemen who desired to improve the condition of the people; so that the talk was semi-political. They seemed to agree that I was inclined to be "con-servative," "reactionary," perhaps an "evolutionist," looking upon "reform" with suspicion. Finally I rejoined somewhat in this manner: "You attach to me phrases that I have heard all my life but which convey no meaning to me. It is quite true that I do not make a fetish of terms like reform, liberty, democracy and so forth; neither do I worship the idea that `things are good enough as they are,' `leave well enough. alone' and so forth. There is more satisfaction in building something up than in tearing something down, or in just maintaining something that is already built. Progress is a popular word; but what is progress? In my opinion it is comprised, so far as public welfare is concerned, of two elements: Improvements in production of goods and knowledge; improvements in keeping order." This substitute for politics, economics, reform, pro-gress, conservatism, radicalism, democracy, socialism, monarchism and all the phrases of public welfare may seem over-simple; perhaps it is, but at least it defines something. It seems to me to be at least worth attention.

Jan 4, 1922

Jan 1, 1923

Jan 1, 1923

By AIME AIME

A REQUEST for information as to the details of activities of the Engineering Council was made by the Joint Conference Committee for the benefit of the new American Engineering Council. , This request was complied with, and the scheduled reply so succinctly sets forth the activities of the old Council as well as the scope of possible activities of ,the new Council, about whose efforts there has been much discussion, .that it' is given herewith in full, except the 'budget which is summarized.

Jan 1, 1920

By R. R. Estill

THE rank of the Ruhr coal ranges from a high volatile bituminous coal to an anthracite, depending to some extent on the original depth of the seam. The average Ruhr coal corresponds to a soft bituminous American coal of a coking quality. The average thicknesses of individual coal seams being mined are also comparable (59 in. against 65 in. in the United States). However, consideration of seam conditions and mining conditions other than those just mentioned emphasizes differences rather than similarities with United States soft coal. In general, the Ruhr seams now being mined are much more folded and inclined than American seams. Dips of 20' and 30" are common in seams now being worked, and 30 pct of the coal reserves in the district are in seams dipping more than 35". Only on the tops and bottoms of folds do we find rather flat coal seams. In addition to the folding there is extensive displacement by cross faulting plus a certain amount of strike faulting of an overthrust nature, which results locally in doubling or omission of seams. Because of the long history of mining in the Ruhr, nearly all coal lying near the surface has long since been mined out, and we find that the average depth of mining is at present about 2300 ft below the surface. Deep mining, folding, and faulting result in seam conditions requiring a great deal more roof support than one finds in American soft coal mines. In fact only in the anthracite district and the Rocky Mountain and Pacific coal fields do we find somewhat similar conditions. It is easy to say, therefore, that the problem of mechanization of coal cutting and loading in the German mines is quite different from that which we have so effectively met in America with our mobile cutters and loaders, duck bill loaders, and a room and pillar system of mining our drift and slope mines. Partly because of more limited coal reserves, the traditional German mining system is largely the longwall method, which gives an almost complete coal recovery. Backfilling must be extensively practiced to protect the longwall faces, the over and underlying seams and workings, and especially the surface industrialized areas and barge canals. The German engineers have accordingly concentrated their efforts on the design of cutters, loaders, and conveyors suitable to longwall methods rather than room and pillar methods. Undercutters with cutter bars like American models have been in use in the Ruhr since well before World War 11. In 1941 they accounted for 8.5 pct of the production. This percentage, of course, includes coal which was undercut but nevertheless had to be broken down with air hammers or with explosives. The most common of these cutters is the Eickhoff Standard cutter (see fig. 1). This machine does about 95 pct of the undercutting in the Ruhr today, and is available with either compressed air or electrical power and in at least four different sizes. A variation of the cutter is this one with two cutter bars (fig. 2). At the end of 1947 about 200 of these machines and similar cutters were accounting for 13.2 pct of the total production, a production which was, however, only 60 pct of the 1941 production rate, so that the actual cutter tonnage was only up to a small amount over 1941. In 1941 about 3 pct of the production was accounted for by shearing machines making their cut perpendicular to the longwall face. They were similar to those used in the States. These machines are today considered obsolete and now account for only 0.7 pct of the total production. They are located at only a few mines and at present do not seem to have much of a future in the Ruhr. For the future, the Ruhr miner is looking forward to rather extensive mechanization of face work, with two major types of equipment being developed almost simultaneously. On one hand there is the development of cutter loaders for use in relatively hard coal. They represent the further extension of ideas developed after relatively long experience with the Eickhoff cutter. On the other hand there has been since 1942 an intense interest in the Ruhr in the development of face-stripping methods, particularly by the Kohlenhobel (coal plow) and its modification. At the end of 1947 these cutter loaders, Kohlen-hobels and scrapers together were actually accounting for only about 1.4 pct of total production while air hammers still broke 77.1 pct and as much as 1.2 pct was actually broken by hand picks. However,

Jan 1, 1951

By R. R. Estill

THE rank of the Ruhr coal ranges from a high volatile bituminous coal to an anthracite, depending to some extent on the original depth of the seam. The average Ruhr coal corresponds to a soft bituminous American coal of a coking quality. The average thicknesses of individual coal seams being mined are also comparable (59 in. against 65 in. in the United States). However, consideration of seam conditions and mining conditions other than those just mentioned emphasizes differences rather than similarities with United States soft coal. In general, the Ruhr seams now being mined are much more folded and inclined than American seams. Dips of 20' and 30" are common in seams now being worked, and 30 pct of the coal reserves in the district are in seams dipping more than 35". Only on the tops and bottoms of folds do we find rather flat coal seams. In addition to the folding there is extensive displacement by cross faulting plus a certain amount of strike faulting of an overthrust nature, which results locally in doubling or omission of seams. Because of the long history of mining in the Ruhr, nearly all coal lying near the surface has long since been mined out, and we find that the average depth of mining is at present about 2300 ft below the surface. Deep mining, folding, and faulting result in seam conditions requiring a great deal more roof support than one finds in American soft coal mines. In fact only in the anthracite district and the Rocky Mountain and Pacific coal fields do we find somewhat similar conditions. It is easy to say, therefore, that the problem of mechanization of coal cutting and loading in the German mines is quite different from that which we have so effectively met in America with our mobile cutters and loaders, duck bill loaders, and a room and pillar system of mining our drift and slope mines. Partly because of more limited coal reserves, the traditional German mining system is largely the longwall method, which gives an almost complete coal recovery. Backfilling must be extensively practiced to protect the longwall faces, the over and underlying seams and workings, and especially the surface industrialized areas and barge canals. The German engineers have accordingly concentrated their efforts on the design of cutters, loaders, and conveyors suitable to longwall methods rather than room and pillar methods. Undercutters with cutter bars like American models have been in use in the Ruhr since well before World War 11. In 1941 they accounted for 8.5 pct of the production. This percentage, of course, includes coal which was undercut but nevertheless had to be broken down with air hammers or with explosives. The most common of these cutters is the Eickhoff Standard cutter (see fig. 1). This machine does about 95 pct of the undercutting in the Ruhr today, and is available with either compressed air or electrical power and in at least four different sizes. A variation of the cutter is this one with two cutter bars (fig. 2). At the end of 1947 about 200 of these machines and similar cutters were accounting for 13.2 pct of the total production, a production which was, however, only 60 pct of the 1941 production rate, so that the actual cutter tonnage was only up to a small amount over 1941. In 1941 about 3 pct of the production was accounted for by shearing machines making their cut perpendicular to the longwall face. They were similar to those used in the States. These machines are today considered obsolete and now account for only 0.7 pct of the total production. They are located at only a few mines and at present do not seem to have much of a future in the Ruhr. For the future, the Ruhr miner is looking forward to rather extensive mechanization of face work, with two major types of equipment being developed almost simultaneously. On one hand there is the development of cutter loaders for use in relatively hard coal. They represent the further extension of ideas developed after relatively long experience with the Eickhoff cutter. On the other hand there has been since 1942 an intense interest in the Ruhr in the development of face-stripping methods, particularly by the Kohlenhobel (coal plow) and its modification. At the end of 1947 these cutter loaders, Kohlen-hobels and scrapers together were actually accounting for only about 1.4 pct of total production while air hammers still broke 77.1 pct and as much as 1.2 pct was actually broken by hand picks. However,

Jan 1, 1951