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POSITIONS VACANT Engineer to take charge of construction of smelter and mill. Experience with blast furnaces, roasters, belt-conveying systems and general machinery, essential. Salary $250 per month up according to experience. No. 129. Mine Engineer.-Man with experience, ability and initiative wanted to handle an organization, direct sampling, surveying, mapping and record keeping.. Experience in laying out development work, haulage-ways, shaft pockets and ore-handling systems, particularly desired. No. 130. Recent technical graduate for experimental work with a metal refining company. Laboratory work first to acquaint worker with methods, then research work. Good opportunity for advancement. Beginning salary $100 a month. No. 132. Mine superintendent. Man of experience and energy wanted in mine being developed to produce 5,000 tons of iron-ore per day from open-cut and underground. About to start underground operations. Expect to follow methods of low-grade copper mines of Southwest. No. 133.

Jan 9, 1916

By AIME

A NATIVE son of Salt Lake City. David Douglas Moffat has contributed greatly to both the mineral industries and civic progress in the State of Utah. He was born in 1880 and his whole life bas been intimately associated with mining and milling. His father, one of Utah's pioneer mining men, was superintendent of a mill at Park City. When Moffat was only 18 years of age he went to Philipsburg Mont., where he spent several years as a machinist, and later as master mechanic for the Granite Bi-Metallic Mining Co. He returned to Park City in 1903 as master mechanic and night mill foreman for the Ontario Silver Mining Co. After a few years of varied experience he became, in 1910. general foreman of the Boston Consolidated Will at Garfield, Utah.

Jan 1, 1947

By V. L. Elliott, C. L. Meyette

The conditioning of semifinished steel products such as billets, blooms, and slabs to remove surface defects before further processing to finished products is a necessary accompaniment to steel mill rolling operations. A knowledge of the kinds of defects which occur and of the conditions in melting, teeming, and rolling that may lead to their occurrence is favorable to the production of quality products. Surface defects may be classed as either of mechanical origin such as those that occur in the heating and rolling operations and include breaks, tears, guide marks, mechanical laps and the like, or they may have been in the ingot before heating and rolling. Examples of the latter are ingot cracks, blow-holes, scabs, and inclusions which lead to the numerous known types of seams and surface flaws. Most of the common types of surface defects and methods for their identification by visual examination or by the aid of macro-etch tests are well known. The conditions which caused their formation are also appreciably understood and this knowledge has been instrumental in the establishment of methods for metallurgical control. There are, however, defects of doubtful origin. In any endeavor to trace the causes for their occurrence, the question of first concern is: I. Whether they were formed in the rolling procedure. 2. Whether they existed in the ingot prior to rolling. In the case of semifinished products which are rerolled to finished products there is also the question of whether they were formed in the primary or in the secondary rolling. In metallurgical laboratories where numerous or routine examinations of the quality of rolled products are made over the course of time, there will doubtless be many puzzling cases of defect origin. Microscopic examination of the defects may, however, reveal a characterizing condition that can be used to classify them broadly with respect to their origin. Such a condition has been observed and, after detailed investigation, is described here with the thought that it may offer a usable and relatively simple solution to a bothersome problem. Basis For Classifying In this discussion the term "mechanical type defects" will be used to designate those that have occurred as a result of the rolling operations such as in rolling from the ingot to billets, blooms, or slabs or in rerolling to finished products. The term "steel type defects" will be used to designate those that were present in the ingot prior to primary rolling or that were in the semifinished product prior to secondary rolling to finished product. The basis for distinguishing between the two types of defects lies in the relative degree of subscale formation surrounding them. Subscale is defined1 as a zone of

Jan 1, 1949

By V. L. Elliott, C. L. Meyette

The conditioning of semifinished steel products such as billets, blooms, and slabs to remove surface defects before further processing to finished products is a necessary accompaniment to steel mill rolling operations. A knowledge of the kinds of defects which occur and of the conditions in melting, teeming, and rolling that may lead to their occurrence is favorable to the production of quality products. Surface defects may be classed as either of mechanical origin such as those that occur in the heating and rolling operations and include breaks, tears, guide marks, mechanical laps and the like, or they may have been in the ingot before heating and rolling. Examples of the latter are ingot cracks, blow-holes, scabs, and inclusions which lead to the numerous known types of seams and surface flaws. Most of the common types of surface defects and methods for their identification by visual examination or by the aid of macro-etch tests are well known. The conditions which caused their formation are also appreciably understood and this knowledge has been instrumental in the establishment of methods for metallurgical control. There are, however, defects of doubtful origin. In any endeavor to trace the causes for their occurrence, the question of first concern is: I. Whether they were formed in the rolling procedure. 2. Whether they existed in the ingot prior to rolling. In the case of semifinished products which are rerolled to finished products there is also the question of whether they were formed in the primary or in the secondary rolling. In metallurgical laboratories where numerous or routine examinations of the quality of rolled products are made over the course of time, there will doubtless be many puzzling cases of defect origin. Microscopic examination of the defects may, however, reveal a characterizing condition that can be used to classify them broadly with respect to their origin. Such a condition has been observed and, after detailed investigation, is described here with the thought that it may offer a usable and relatively simple solution to a bothersome problem. Basis For Classifying In this discussion the term "mechanical type defects" will be used to designate those that have occurred as a result of the rolling operations such as in rolling from the ingot to billets, blooms, or slabs or in rerolling to finished products. The term "steel type defects" will be used to designate those that were present in the ingot prior to primary rolling or that were in the semifinished product prior to secondary rolling to finished product. The basis for distinguishing between the two types of defects lies in the relative degree of subscale formation surrounding them. Subscale is defined1 as a zone of

Jan 1, 1949

By Charles R. Fettke

In connection with the gathering of data for a report on the geology of the Humacao district of southeastern Porto Rico during the summer of 1916, under the auspices of the Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands, conducted by the New York Academy of Sciences, the writer had an opportunity to make a brief examination of the magnetite deposits of the eastern portion of the island. Inasmuch as these deposits have attracted some attention as possible future sources of iron ore, and as there is only scanty reference made to them in literature,' a short description based on this reconnaissance survey was deemed to be worthy of record. The magnetite deposits of eastern Porto Rico occur in association with a belt of limestone, trending approximately S 53° E, which begins 11/2 miles east of Juncos and can be traced for about 6 miles toward the coast. Four outcrops of magnetite were observed, which are designated as Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, on the map shown in Fig. 1. Others are probably present, but escaped notice on account of the thick mantle

Jan 1, 1924

By J. Rogers. K. L. Sutherland, E. E. Wark, I. W. Wark

Soaps have hem used as collectors for many years, but only in the last eight years have other long-chain paraffin salts been used. It may be anticipated that these newer collectors will be used mainly with nonsulphide minerals, for which the xan-thates and similar compounds are of little value. On the other hand, the xanthates are both cheap and effective for sulphide ores and seem likely to retain their present cminence in this field. During 1938 and 1939 two of us (E. E. W. and I. W. W.) commenced a comprehensive investigation of the principles underlying the use of paraffin chain salts as flotation reagents. This research was sponsored jointly by the University of Melbourne and a group of Australian mining companies. † A broad, semiquantitative survey was then made of the field covered in the present paper. This was followed in 1940 by further work by one of us (K. L. S.). In 1941 the investigation was taken over by the Division of Industrial Chemistry of the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Australia. Discovery of some principles upon which are based the flotation of minerals by paraffin chain salts was followed by their application in the development of processes for the recovery of certain strategic minerals from their ores. Promising results in the flotation of cassiterite from various ores will be described in a subsequent paper. The Paraffin Chain Salts 'he basic requirements for a "collector " in flotation are that it should form a film over the surface of the mineral to be floated, and that this film should be orientated so that hydrocarbon (nonpolar) groups form the effective surface. When modified in this way, the mineral surface possesses some degree of air avidity. All investigators would agree with Taggart, Taylor and Ince23 that such a film can be produced only if the collector compound contains an active (polar) group to attract it to the mineral surface as well as the nonpolar group. One section of this large class of polar-nonpolar compounds is the paraffin chain salts: CH3(CH2)nX where .X signifies a polar group that ionizes in aqueous solution. Though the compound can ionize, it may be a weak or a strong electrolyte, and the hydrocarbon chain may be in the cation or the anion (Table I). Many compounds of similar constitution are available, but the usual polar groups are: -Co2Na, -So3Na, -So4Na, — PO4Na2, or an aminonitrogen group, the

Jan 1, 1947

By E. E. Wark, I. W. Wark, J. Rogers. K. L. Sutherland

Soaps have hem used as collectors for many years, but only in the last eight years have other long-chain paraffin salts been used. It may be anticipated that these newer collectors will be used mainly with nonsulphide minerals, for which the xan-thates and similar compounds are of little value. On the other hand, the xanthates are both cheap and effective for sulphide ores and seem likely to retain their present cminence in this field. During 1938 and 1939 two of us (E. E. W. and I. W. W.) commenced a comprehensive investigation of the principles underlying the use of paraffin chain salts as flotation reagents. This research was sponsored jointly by the University of Melbourne and a group of Australian mining companies. † A broad, semiquantitative survey was then made of the field covered in the present paper. This was followed in 1940 by further work by one of us (K. L. S.). In 1941 the investigation was taken over by the Division of Industrial Chemistry of the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Australia. Discovery of some principles upon which are based the flotation of minerals by paraffin chain salts was followed by their application in the development of processes for the recovery of certain strategic minerals from their ores. Promising results in the flotation of cassiterite from various ores will be described in a subsequent paper. The Paraffin Chain Salts 'he basic requirements for a "collector " in flotation are that it should form a film over the surface of the mineral to be floated, and that this film should be orientated so that hydrocarbon (nonpolar) groups form the effective surface. When modified in this way, the mineral surface possesses some degree of air avidity. All investigators would agree with Taggart, Taylor and Ince23 that such a film can be produced only if the collector compound contains an active (polar) group to attract it to the mineral surface as well as the nonpolar group. One section of this large class of polar-nonpolar compounds is the paraffin chain salts: CH3(CH2)nX where .X signifies a polar group that ionizes in aqueous solution. Though the compound can ionize, it may be a weak or a strong electrolyte, and the hydrocarbon chain may be in the cation or the anion (Table I). Many compounds of similar constitution are available, but the usual polar groups are: -Co2Na, -So3Na, -So4Na, — PO4Na2, or an aminonitrogen group, the

Jan 1, 1947

By Alfred James

John Stewart MacARthUr, born in 1856, was the son of Robert MacArthur of Glasgow, and came of Scots stock distinguished for character and religious conviction. His election as elder of the Free Kirk gave him greater pride than the receipt of the gold medal of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. The former honor was for character— it marked him as a son worthy to follow in his father's footsteps; the latter was awarded for his life work of eminent service to the gold industry. Cheery optimism, resolution, tenacity of purpose, and industry ever characterized his actions. Apprenticed to the Tharsis Sulphur & Copper Co., his work on the chemical staff brought him to the notice of the Cassel Gold Extracting CO.,. at that time struggling with an unworkable electrolytic process..He was engaged by that company, in 1886, as technical manager and before long brought out the perchloride process, which was speedily followed (in 1887) by the epoch-making cyanide process. This process revolutionized gold mining and directly led the way to the elevation of the mining engineer to the most broadly trained product of the engineering profession. A noteworthy feature of the cyanide process was its completeness when introduced. Over thirty years have elapsed and the use of the process has been worldwide, but no suggested improvement has stood the test of time. The extension of the process to the beneficiation of silver ores—containing far more metal per ton and thus requiring the employment of stronger solutions—has brought us the Merrill and Crowe improvements in precipitation and the Nipissing desulfurization process for certain silver-hearing minerals. Roasting apparatus, fine crushing, filtration, and settling equipment have all aided the extension of the process in and from its original field. As Hennen Jennings put it,, the cyanide process today is essentially that of 1890. This self-containedness of the cyanide process arose from no mere chance; it was directly due to MacArthur. It was he who personally investigated every known method of precipitation and then every form of zinc from sheet, punchings, filings, millings, rods and shaving down to fume; it was he who investigated the effect of protective alkalies, of so-called accelerators, and of the addition of lead salts; he was determined to leave nothing to chance.

Jan 1, 1921

By E. E. Wark, J. Rogers, I. W. Wark, K. L. Sutherland

SOAPS have been used as collectors for many years, but only in the last eight years have other long-chain paraffin salts been used. It may be anticipated that these newer collectors will be used mainly with nonsulphide minerals, for which the xanthates and similar compounds are of little value. On the other hand, the xanthates are both cheap and effective for sulphide ores and seem likely to retain their present eminence in this field. During 1938 and 1939 two of us (E. E. W. and I. W. W.) commenced a comprehensive investigation of the principles underlying the use of paraffin chain salts as flotation reagents. This research was sponsored jointly by the University of Melbourne and a group of Australian mining companies.[t] A broad, semi quantitative survey was then made of the field covered in the present paper. This was followed in 1940 by further work by one of us (K. L. S.). In 1941 the investigation was taken over by the Division of Industrial Chemistry of the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Australia. Discovery of some principles upon which are based the flotation of minerals by paraffin chain salts was followed by their application in the development of processes for the recovery of certain strategic minerals from their ores. Promising results in the flotation of cassiterite from various ores will be described in a subsequent paper. THE PARAFFIN CHAIN SALTS The basic requirements for a "collector" in flotation are that it should form a film over the surface of the mineral to be floated, and that this film should be orientated so that hydrocarbon (nonpolar) groups form the effective surface. When modified in this way, the mineral surface possesses some degree of air avidity. All investigators would agree with Taggart, Taylor and Ince23 that such a film can be produced only if the collector compound contains an active (polar) group to attract it to the mineral surface as well as the nonpolar group. One section of this large class of polarnonpolar compounds is the paraffin chain salts: CH3(CH2) „X where X signifies a polar group that ionizes in aqueous solution. Though the compound can ionize, it may be a weak or a strong electrolyte, and the hydrocarbon chain may be in the cation or the anion (Table I). Many compounds of similar constitution are available, but the usual polar groups are: -CO2Na, -SO3Na, -SO4Na, - PO4Na2, or an aminonitrogen group, the

Jan 1, 1946

By AIME AIME

EUGENE AUSTIN STEPHENSON, better and affectionately known as "Steve," has long been an active and enthusiastic member of the Petroleum Division of the Institute. As its Secretary-Treasurer for several years, he was the spark plug that so successfully carried the Division over the trying period of the early thirties. "Steve" was born at Franklin, Mich., July 27, 1883; graduated from Adrian College in 1905, and later received his Doctor's degree from the University of Chicago where he was an instructor for two years. From 1917 to 1925 he was chief geologist for the South Penn Oil Co. and from 1925 to 1930 he was associated with Ralph Davis, Inc., of Pittsburgh, consulting engineers. In 1930 the Missouri School of Mines called him to Rolla to head a department of petroleum and natural gas engineering. and in 1938 he was invited to build up a similar department at the University of Kansas.

Jan 1, 1941

By Eugene A. Stephenson, Leon J. Pepperberg

The natural gas industry is essentially a byproduct of the oil industry. When first discovered the gas was usually regarded as a nuisance, and even when found immediately associated with oil, or suspected to be so, it was customary to blow it freely into the air, in the hope that gas would shortly be replaced by a flow of oil. The early methods of production,' transportation, and utilization were neither economical nor efficient; the chief value of gas was based on its use as a fuel, with no regard to (1) its effect. upon the oil with which it was associated, (2) its importance as a lifting agent, or (3) to its possibilities for the manufacture of byproducts. The spread of scientific research among major gas and oil companies, manufacturers, and academic groups, has gradually brought recognition of the fact that many of the technical problems bearing on production, transportation and utilization are common to both the gas and the oil industry. A few of the problems that have received serious study, and from which highly gratifying results have been obtained, are: (1) gas measurement, (2) oil well and gas well capacity tests, (3) elimination of field waste, (4) design of pipe lines and compressor stations, (5) extraction of constituents which might interfere with the normal flow of gas through the line, (6) control of reservoir pressure, (7) estimation of reserves of both oil and gas, (8) control of water encroachment, (9) measurement of factors which influence fluid movement through sands, (10) solubility of gases in oils, (11) effect of dissolved gases upon the properties of the solution. These investigations have demonstrated that almost every problem relating to oil production also involves some phase of natural gas engineering. During the past 15 years the use of experimental methods for the discovery and measurement of obscure, influencing factors, which cannot be determined purely by hydrodynamic or thermodynamic analyses, have contributed much towards the progress made in solving the problems of the oil and gas industries. Most of the experimental work on

Jan 1, 1934

By Leonard Obert

The structural stability of any mine or under- ground opening in rock is dependent on the stress field, that is, the state of stress in rock before mining, the stress distribution in the rock created by the opening, and the in situ strength of the rock. In the past mine design problems have been considered by assuming that the stress field is due only to the weight of the overlying rock, the stress around the opening can be calculated from elastic theory using laboratory-determined elastic constants, and the in situ strength of the rock can be determined from laboratory tests on small specimens. Solutions to hypothetical problems using this procedure are given in a report by Obert, Duvall, and Merrill.' Because of the uncertainties of these assumptions, this method can give only a rough approximation to the solution of actual structural problems. Obviously, this approach to determining the stability of underground openings would be greatly improved if the rock stress could be measured in situ, and it is undoubtedly for this reason that in recent years many investigators have spent considerable effort on the development of procedures for measuring rock stress. In this report a method is described for determining in situ the absolute stress in rock. The method requires the measurement of the deformation of a borehole before and after the rock is stress-relieved. The magnitude and direction of the applied stresses are calculated from the borehole deformation and modulus of elasticity of the rock. Also, the results of absolute stress determination made in the walls and pillars of underground openings in five rock types are presented. From these results a number of conclusions are drawn regarding the accuracy and limitations of this method and the problem of stress measurements in general.

Jan 8, 1962

By C. E. Cannon, R. C. Craze

This paper discusses the results of a study of reservoir pressures in the Gulf Coast area of Texas and Louisiana, showing the general relation of the reservoir pressure to its subsea depth, as well as excessive reservoir pressures that have been encountered. The latter are particularly important in mud-control work, and the data show why it is necessary to use muds having a relatively high density in many of the deeper wells drilled in this area. Only a comparatively few of the wells drilled in the Gulf Coast that have encountered excessive pressures are discussed, but as far as is known those omitted fall within the range of pressure observed by the writers. Measurement of Pressures The following methods were used to determine the values of the original pressures: 1. Estimation of original pressure from subsequent pressure behavior of fields. This method is not precise, and was used only in a few of the older fields in which better methods of obtaining original pressures were not available. Only normal pressures were determined by this method. 2. Measurement of shut-in pressures soon after completion of the first producing well. With one exception, all pressures measured by this method were normal, this well having a pressure slightly higher than normal. 3. Measurements of pressure in connection with drill-stem tests. 4. Estimates from the maximum hydrostatic head of mud that failed to prevent flow from the high-pressure formations into the hole. This method is not exact, tending generally to indicate low pressures. Normal Pressures All pressure measurements available are plotted in Fig. 1, with original pressure at the water-oil contact as abscissa and subsea depth as ordinate. All producing fields fall close to the solid line, which passes through the origin and has a slope of 0.465 lb. per sq. in. per ft. By way of compari-

Jan 1, 1938

Albert Ladd Colby, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary†):—I observed (Trans., xxxvii., 585) that to obtain tenders from several American mills, the foreign engineer should modify his maximum phosphorus to 0.10 per cent., not as Mr. E. Windsor Richards quotes me, that no American rail-maker can produce rails under 0.10 per cent. of phosphorus. Mr. Richards claims that no English engineer would agree to accept 0.10 per cent. of phosphorus on any terms whatever. Mr. Webster writes that only after an engineer has .been convinced that rails can be made in America equal in every respect to those he is getting abroad, should he be asked to modify ally conditions in his specifications. I know it to be a fact that during recent years in many cases, as, for instance, When delivery could be secured more promptly in the United States than in Europe, the consulting engineers of several British and colonial railroads have frequently agreed to modify their phosphorus requirement to a maximum of 0.10 per cent., and the rails delivered' under these modified specifications have, under like conditions, given just as satisfactory service and proved to be no more brittle than similar sections of 0.07 per cent. phosphorus rails, rolled in England under the same specification except without modification as to phosphorus. Furthermore, it would appear from the analyses of British rails, quoted by E. A. Dancaster,2 in his discussion of Mr.

Jan 1, 1908

By M. I. Jacobson, M. L. Hammond

The solid solubilities of high-purity silver, aluminum, chromium, copper, and iron in zone-refined beryllium have been determined. Diffusion couple sandwiches of beryllium with aluminum, copper, and silver foil and diffusion couples of beryllium with two-phase alloys in the Be-Cr. Be-Fe, and Be-Ag systems were analyzed by electron beam micro-probe techniques. This paper describes the material used, the experimental methods for preparing the diffusion couples and the alloys, the analytical techniques, and the results obtained. The results are compared with those of previous investigators who used materials of lower purity. ~NVESTIGATORS of beryllium phase diagrams have often been hampered in their interpretations of certain phase boundaries because of the relatively low purity of the beryllium used. This has sometimes resulted in the appearance of three phases in the regions where only two should exist. Advances in purification methods, specifically zone refining, have made available beryllium that is considerably purer than the material previously used for phase diagram studies. The primary object of this investigation was to reex-amine portions of the beryllium-rich end of the binary systems of beryllium with silver, aluminum, chromium, copper, and iron to determine more accurately the limits of terminal solid solubility. The five elements—silver, aluminum, chromium, copper, and iron—include some which are commonly found as the major impurities in beryllium, some of which are being used as solid-solution alloying elements, and some of which are used in ductile matrix alloys. They are thus of considerable importance to physical metallurgists who must work with beryllium but who must rely on the present inaccurate or incomplete diagrams. The determination of more reliable diagrams would aid researchers concerned with the problems of alloying, heat treatment, and ductility. MATERIAL The beryllium was acquired from the Franklin Institute in the form of a single-crystal, 6 in. long by 1 in. in diam, zone-refined in three passes from Pechiney SR-grade beryllium bar. The principal impurities, as determined by mass spectrography at Battelle Memorial Institute, are shown in Table I. Vacuum-melted copper, silver, and aluminum, and electron-beam zone-refined iron were obtained from the Materials Research Corp. in the form of 1/2-in.- diam bars. Iodide chromium was obtained as flakes from the Chromalloy Corp. Analyses supplied with these metals are shown in Table 11. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Preparation of Diffusion Couples. Two types of dif-fusion couples were used in this study. For the copper, silver, and aluminum systems, the couples were sand-

Jan 1, 1969

By S. M. Wu, R. L. Stone, T. D. Tiemann

The dissolution of silica from quartz in sodium hydroxide solutions was investigated by statistical methods. A second-order predicting equation was developed with 28 experiments expressing the dissolution of silica as a function of the variables quartz size, time, temperature and sodium hydroxide concentration. With this equation a comprehensive picture of the dissolution reaction was gained which included the effect on extraction of each variable and their interactions, fractional extractions, reaction rates and activation energies. A previous investigation of the extraction of silica from low grade siliceous iron ore by digestion in sodium hydroxide solutions presented the extraction as a function of time, temperature and sodium hydroxide concentration.' The present paper is an outgrowth of the previous work and develops by a mathematical analysis the functional relationship between the extraction of silica and time, temperature, sodium hydroxide concentration and particle size. Relatively pure quartz was used in this study in order that the basic quartz-sodium hydroxide reaction could be studied without the influence of other constituents that are commonly found in iron ores. The functional relationship between the dissolution

Jan 1, 1965

By Robert Laurich

Chuquicamata pit was opened in 1915 with steam shovels and steam locomotives brought down from the Panama Canal excavation project. With expansions in the early years, more steam locomo¬tives were brought into the mine. IMPROVED LOCOMOTIVES During the period 1927 to 1937, electric locomo¬tives were purchased and main line and bench tracks were electrified. Third rail was installed up to the working areas. At first, the locomotives were equipped with batteries for service at the shovels, but charge life was too short and they were con¬verted to use the third rail and a reel with 3000 ft of trailing cable for service in the loading area.

Jan 11, 1959

By Newell G. Alford

At its meeting in the fall of 1937, the Executive Committee of the Coal Division considered the growing scarcity of young engineers entering coal mining with serious intentions. This scarcity was the cause of considerable alarm and a committee consisting of C. T. Hayden, E. A. Holbrook, C. E. Lawall and L. E. Young, with the writer as chairman, was appointed to gather factual data on the current trend. A questionnaire1 was designed and mailed to the heads of the 60 mineral technology schools listed by Prof. W. B. Plank in his article in September 1937.2 Replies were received from 46 institutions, not all from heads of coal-mining courses but all from men that at one time or another have had experience with some kind of coal-mining curricula and know current student impressions. Our committee is indebted to all of these gentlemen for their cooperation. Our committee hoped by this means to quickly reach the root of the trouble and make a set of comprehensive recommendations to the Coal Division for relieving the industry immediately from the growing dearth of youth who yearn for coal-mining careers, but the condition is more serious than at first diagnosed. We must now refer the question back to the Coal Division, with the recommendation that the Division get the industry's permission for still another major operation on its frame of mind. In addition to 10-year statistics on the first pay received by graduates in coal mining and other technical work, we requested enrollment data for 20 years from all schools with either mining engineering or mineral technology curricula. Nine leading questions were also plied, as shown in the Appendix. Every one of the answers was significant and interesting. Fortunately, we encountered positive frankness that was extremely helpful.

Jan 1, 1938

By Newell G. Alford

At its meeting in the fall of 1937, the Executive Committee of the Coal Division considered the growing scarcity of young engineers entering coal mining with serious intentions. This scarcity was the cause of considerable alarm and a committee consisting of C. T. Hayden, E. A. Holbrook, C. E. Lawall and L. E. Young, with the writer as chairman, was appointed to gather factual data on the current trend. A questionnaire1 was designed and mailed to the heads of the 60 mineral technology schools listed by Prof. W. B. Plank in his article in September 1937.2 Replies were received from 46 institutions, not all from heads of coal-mining courses but all from men that at one time or another have had experience with some kind of coal-mining curricula and know current student impressions. Our committee is indebted to all of these gentlemen for their cooperation. Our committee hoped by this means to quickly reach the root of the trouble and make a set of comprehensive recommendations to the Coal Division for relieving the industry immediately from the growing dearth of youth who yearn for coal-mining careers, but the condition is more serious than at first diagnosed. We must now refer the question back to the Coal Division, with the recommendation that the Division get the industry's permission for still another major operation on its frame of mind. In addition to 10-year statistics on the first pay received by graduates in coal mining and other technical work, we requested enrollment data for 20 years from all schools with either mining engineering or mineral technology curricula. Nine leading questions were also plied, as shown in the Appendix. Every one of the answers was significant and interesting. Fortunately, we encountered positive frankness that was extremely helpful.

Jan 1, 1938

By Joseph G. Franzone, Alan K. Kuhn, Jerry J. Oliver

INTRODUCTION Tailings produced by many uranium milling operations consist of fine sands with some silt and slimes. When fine sandy materials are placed by hydraulic methods behind an impermeable dam, they are deposited in a loose state and some portion remains saturated. These saturated, loose fine sands are highly susceptible to liquefaction, the phenomenon in which a monotonic or cyclic disturbance causes excess pore water pressure and, concurrently, a total loss of strength in the sand. Once liquefied, the fine sand flows, causing collapse of supported structures. The potential for such a liquefaction failure was identified and successfully treated at Sohio Western Mining Company's L-Bar Uranium Operations near Seboyeta, New Mexico. The Sohio tailings dam is an earthfill starter dam with tailings raises constructed upstream of the starter dam crest. Beginning with the start of mill operations in 1976, tailings were deposited hydraulically in the impoundment behind the starter dam. As the tailings level approached the crest of the starter dam, beached tailings were excavated and placed in lifts by a dozer to form two raises above the crest of the starter dam. As the impoundment has gradually filled with tailings, the decant water pond level has risen. Correspondingly, the water level in the tailings dam, upstream of the chimney drain, has also risen. By August 1980, the phreatic surface was above the crest of the starter dam and stability analyses indicated that the tailings dam did not have the safety factor of 1.0, under static loading with liquefaction, implicit in the 1980 New Mexico State Engineer's requirements. The problem related directly to the high phreatic surface in the loose sandy tailings behind a dam structure that was not capable of resisting failure which might develop in liquefied tailings. Two methods of stability enhancement were considered for the Sohio dam. One method was reinforcement of the dam using a clay buttress placed against the downstream slope. The other method was installation of horizontal drains through the starter dam to drain decant water and lower the phreatic surface. Either method would increase the stability of the dam. However, the comparative analysis of the methods indicated that horizontal drainage offered significant advantages in cost and could provide a more direct remedy of the source of the problem, the saturated section of tailings. In addition, a drainage system would be more amenable to modification and more quickly installed than a buttress. On the other hand, a clay buttress could be more directly controlled, would involve routine earthwork, and has successful precedent. Therefore, the buttress approach would involve less risk. After weighing the advantages of both methods and the costs versus risks, the horizontal drainage approach was selected. Consequently, a horizontal pipe drain system was recommended and designed (D’Appolonia, 1981a). This paper describes the design and installation of the drainage system and its initial performance. PIPE DRAIN SYSTEM DESIGN Design Criteria and Parameters To increase the stability of the dam to acceptable levels, the drainage system had to lower the phreatic surface behind the dam to the level calculated to give a minimum safety factor of 1.0 under conditions of liquefaction. In addition, the system needed to be essentially self-operating, easy to maintain, and economical. To accomplish these objectives, the following design criteria were established: 1. The pipe drains must lower the phreatic surface at least 4.3 m (14 ft.) at the midpoint along the dam (the deepest section) and by proportionately smaller amounts toward the abutments to satisfy safety factor requirements.

Jan 1, 1982