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By C. H. Gerould

I would like to take a moment to consider our polystyrene-silica replica technique, which was developed at the Dow Chemical Co. and which was mentioned in the paper just given by Mr. Thielsch. He stated that he feared that our replica technique would cause difficulty due to deformation of the metal as a result of the application of pressure during the molding process. We at the Dow have never had any reason to suspect that any deformation of the metal was occurring during the molding process. Our procedure has been to heat the polystyrene to a temperature of 160°C. before applying any pressure, at which temperature the polystyrene is a viscous liquid. By so doing the pressure of the polystyrene against the metal is essentially hydraulic and is therefore applied equally in all directions, which we feel should not cause deformation. Our work using this replica technique has brought forth several indications that deformation of the specimen is negligible. These indications are: I. Direct comparisons have been made between the light and electron microscopes when studying a specific spot on a metal surface. These "same spot" studies were obtained by first taking micrographs at high magnification, with a light microscope, of a specific structure that could be readily recog-

Jan 1, 1947

M.S. Azun I have many objections to the content of the author's paper. Before discussing it, however, I would like to repeat the property of semivariogram function. Second order stationary properties of regionalized variables (ReV's) such as semivariogram function y(h) are perfectly known in geostatistics. Also, the kriging equations in the language of mathematical statistics using second order stationary properties are well understood. However, the way to use the sample (estimated) semivariogram function in any one of the kriging procedures is vague. The sample semivariogram function is given as follows: [ ] where N is the total number of samples, Xi is the sample value at the i - th location, Xi+h is the sample value at the i + h - th location, and h is the distance among the samples. An estimation variance of sample semivariogram function of first lag is smaller than that of higher order lag. The theoretical semivariogram function reaches the variance of samples asymptotically. But this is not easily observable because of the larger variation involved in the estimate of semivariogram function. In general, an estimation procedure is done for h = 0, 1, 2, up to the greatest integer less than N/2, even though sample semivariogram function can be computable through N-1. After estimating semivariogram function, the critical question of how to model sample semivariogram function arises. As seen in the above equation, sample semivariogram function is discrete and can be smoothed by the model being selected. Therefore, modeling of sample semivariogram function is the most important step in geostatistics. It not only smoothes a discrete function but also affects the results of the kriging procedure. When the only aim is to model the semivariogram function, which is the basic point of the author's paper, one can employ any fitting techniques, such as curve fitting, or any arbitrary functions, which are called submodels in the paper. The term "arbitrary function" is used rather than "submodel" because there is no basic understanding of developing them. The author suggests that the sum of those submodels can also be used for the modeling of sample semivariogram function. The combination of any arbitrary functions brings many problems instead of giving an insight of the domain structure considered. The author used two arbitrary functions and the nugget effect in response to sample semivariogram function (Fig. 10). For the same example, he stated that the parameters involved in the mixed arbitrary function model can be accepted when the discrepancy between sample semivariogram function and the model is small visually. For verifying the fitting behavior of any selected model, one should not be contented with the visual satisfactory. Some statistical measure such as goodness of fit has to be used. The author's practice is no more than an exercise in curve fitting without any fundamental understanding or conceptualization of the underlying physical mechanism. Furthermore, the selection of any model is not an easy task if the purpose is the search for the "best" response to the observed second order properties of ReV's. I suggest that the Markovian model (Azun, 1983), on the basis of a theoretical understanding of underlying mechanism, which gives more information about the occurrence of regionalized variables, is used to respond all properties of ReV's. There are a lot of problems for modeling of one-dimensional sample semivariogram function. Thus, it is not appropriate to go to higher order dimensional sample semivariogram function modeling. In the meantime, I would recommend that one can connect the values of standardized sample semivariogram function rather than simple values of semivariogram function in the two-dimensional estimation. The standardized values can be computed in dividing the semivariogram function value by the number of sample pairs involved in each lag regardless of the directions. In conclusion, geostatistics is an interdisciplinary area in mining that uses the principles of mathematical statistics. Thus, it should not violate any probabilistic and statistical rules. When Matheron was developing the theory of geostatistical study in the early years of geostatistics, many mining people had a reservation accepting the geostatistical tools. However, this does not mean that we, the geostatisticians, might try to convince those people using some "strange" tools or rules as some authors implied (Baafi and Kim, 1984). Instead, we have to develop and explain the geostatistical tools staying only in the framework of statistical concepts and properties. References Azun, M.S., 1983, "Stochastic Process Modeling of Spatially Distributed Geostatistical Data," Columbia University, Ph.D. Thesis. Baafi, E.Y., and Kim, Y.C., 1984, "Discussion - Comparison of Different Ore Reserve Estimation Methods Using Conditional Simulation," Mining Engineering, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 280. Reply by J.M. Rendu The interactive method proposed by Rendu allows practitioners to develop semivariogram models that take into account not only the numerical information obtained by sampling, but also highly significant additional information that often cannot be quantified. The geology of the deposit - including hypotheses concerning its genesis, sampling methods, assaying methods, and mathematical methods used to calculate the semivariograms - all have an influence on the numerical results obtained and on how these results should be interpreted. If all the information concerning the spatial distribution of values in a mineral deposit was contained in the sample values, it could be argued that statistical techniques alone would produce optimum models. However, this is rarely, if ever, the case. Methods that allow the user to take into account his experience and his geologic understanding of the deposit should not be rejected for the sake of theoretical statistical purity.

Jan 11, 1985

By M. S. Azun

M.S. Azun I have many objections to the content of the author's paper. Before discussing it, however, I would like to repeat the property of semivariogram function. Second order stationary properties of regionalized variables (ReV's) such as semivariogram function ?(h) are perfectly known in geostatistics. Also, the kriging equations in the language of mathematical statistics using second order stationary properties are well understood. However, the way to use the sample (estimated) semivariogram function in any one of the kriging procedures is vague. The sample semivariogram function is given as follows: [1 N-hy*(h) = 2(N h) i21 {Xi-Xi+h}Z, h=0, 1, N-1] where N is the total number of samples, Xi is the sample value at the i - th location, X i+h is the sample value at the i +h - th location, and h is the distance among the samples. An estimation variance of sample semivariogram function of first lag is smaller than that of higher order lag. The theoretical semivariogram function reaches the variance of samples asymptotically. But this is not easily observable because of the larger variation involved in the estimate of semivariogram function. In general, an estimation procedure is done for h = 0, 1, 2,…., up to the greatest integer less than N/2, even though sample semivariogram function can be computable through N-1. After estimating semivariogram function, the critical question of how to model sample semivariogram function arises. As seen in the above equation, sample semivariogram function is discrete and can be smoothed by the model being selected. Therefore, modeling of sample semivariogram function is the most important step in geostatistics. It not only smoothes a discrete function but also affects the results of the kriging procedure. When the only aim is to model the semivariogram function, which is the basic point of the author's paper, one can employ any fitting techniques, such as curve fitting, or any ar¬bitrary functions, which are called submodels in the paper. The term "arbitrary function" is used rather than "submodel" because there is no basic understanding of developing them. The author suggests that the sum of those submodels can also be used for the modeling of sample semivariogram function. The combination of any arbitrary functions brings many problems instead of giving an insight of the domain structure considered. The author used two arbitrary functions and the nugget effect in response to sample semivariogram function (Fig. 10). For the same example, he stated that the parameters involved in the mixed arbitrary function model can be accepted when the discrepancy between sample semivariogram function and the model is small visually. For verifying the fitting behavior of any selected model, one should not be contented with the visual satisfactory. Some statistical measure such as goodness of fit has to be used. The author's practice is no more than an exercise in curve fitting without any fundamental understanding or conceptualization of the underlying physical mechanism. Furthermore, the selection of any model is not an easy task if the purpose is the search for the "best" response to the observed second order properties of ReV's. I suggest that the Markovian model (Azun, 1983), on the basis of a theoretical understanding of underlying mechanism, which gives more information about the occurrence of regionalized variables, is used to respond all properties of ReV's. There are a lot of problems for modeling of onedimensional sample semivariogram function. Thus, it is not appropriate to go to higher order dimensional sample semivariogram function modeling. In the meantime, I would recommend that one can connect the values of standardized sample semivariogram function rather than simple values of semivariogram function in the two-dimensional estimation. The standardized values can be computed in dividing the semivariogram function value by the number of sample pairs involved in each lag regardless of the directions. In conclusion, geostatistics is an interdisciplinary area in mining that uses the principles of mathematical statistics. Thus, it should not violate any probabilistic and statistical rules. When Matheron was developing the theory of geostatistical study in the early years of geostatistics, many mining people had a reservation accepting the geostatistical tools. However, this does not mean that we, the geostatisticians, might try to convince those people using some "strange" tools or rules as some authors implied (Baafi and Kim, 1984). Instead, we have to develop and explain the geostatistical tools staying only in the framework of statistical concepts and properties. ? References Azun, M.S., 1983, "Stochastic Process Modeling of Spatially Distributed Geostatistical Data," Columbia University, Ph.D. Thesis. Baafi, E.Y., and Kim, Y.C., 1984, "Discussion - Comparison of Different Ore Reserve Estimation Methods Using Conditional Simulation," Mining Engineering, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 280. Reply by J.M. Rendu The interactive method proposed by Rendu allows practitioners to develop semivariogram models that take into account not only the numerical information obtained by sampling, but also highly significant additional information that often cannot be quantified. The geology of the deposit - including hypotheses concerning its genesis, sampling methods, assaying methods, and mathematical methods used to calculate the semivariograms - all have an influence on the numerical results obtained and on how these results should be interpreted. If all the information concerning the spatial distribution of values in a mineral deposit was contained in the sample values, it could be argued that statistical techniques alone would produce optimum models. However, this is rarely, if ever, the case. Methods that allow the user to take into account his experience and his geologic understanding of the deposit should not be rejected for the sake of theoretical statistical purity. ?

Jan 1, 1986

By R. E. Crater

Brown, Gaudin, and Loeb in their study of intergranular comminution by heating attempt to find one explanation for all types of rock in terms of the properties of the phases present. The only necessary condition for intergranular cracking by heating is the setting up of high stresses at the grain boundaries. Such stresses may be set up in multiphase isotropic mixtures if the thermal expansions of the phases are different, in non-cubic single phases because of the anisotropy of thermal expansion in the various crystallographic directions, and in materials containing quartz because of the a-ß transformation at 575°C. In addition, for intergranular comminution by heating, the cooling and not the heating is most important.

Jan 3, 1959

By R. D. Longyear

[Some Problems Involved in the Interpretation of Diamond-drill-hole Sampling and Surve ing (paper by J. J. Collins, Mining Tech., Jan. 1946). ............... I Geologic Interpretation of Magnetic Exploration on the Mesabi Range, Minnesota (paper by R. H. B. Jones, Mining Tech., July 1946) ................... 2] DISCUSSION R. D. LONGYEAR.*-Mr. Collins is to be commended very highly for the brief summary he has made of the currently used methods of taking diamond-drill sludge samples and the principles involved in evaluating the results. This paper should stimulate further discussion and research on this vitally important problem. It is particularly imperative that geologists and engineers know when assay results on sludge recovery can be accepted quantitatively and when they must be considered only qualitatively. In most cases where the sludge recovery is less than 95 per cent or more than 125 per cent, it is safest to consider the assays as of qualitative value only. Certain cases, however, are known where a relatively small proportion of the sludge sampling will give a reasonably accurate measure of the value of the total sample. One such case is ore in which the valuable mineral is of approximately the same specific gravity as the waste mineral, such as chalcopyrite in a massive pyrite body. The essential point is to determine the degree of accuracy of sludge sampling in any given drilling project and to weigh the results accordingly. It should be emphasized, however, that sludge sampling can be made reliable in many localities where careless practice produces unreliable results. In many instances, it is desirable to empty the core barrel in the core shack instead of at the drill, so that the engineer can examine the core as it first comes from the core barrel. It should be pointed out, however, that the drill * E. J. Longyear Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota. runner should be permitted to study the core to guide his future drilling. It is hoped that with the return of more normal conditions after the war geologists, engineers, contractors, and manufacturers will be able to carry on more research along the lines of improved core-barrel design and drilling technique with the objective of increasing core recovery so as to eliminate as far as possible the necessity of relying upon sludge samples. H. M. ROBERTS.*-Whoever in the future will have to do with the search for ore bodies and their exploration will have frequent occasion to refer to the clear and comprehensive summary on diamond-drilling methods by John Collins. His review of the experience of the last 40 years in this technique is invaluable. As Dr. L. D. Ricketts wrote in 1932, "The principles on which an art is founded are usually few and necessarily basic in nature, but he who wishes to achieve the power to select his aides and give success to important undertakings that may be intrusted to him in the future must ordinarily undergo years of drudgery in order to gain the experience that will enable him to distinguish such fundamentals through the haze of reinforcing detail that clothes and tends to disguise them."[t] Ricketts went on to say that since the beginning of the century there has been much

Jan 1, 1946

Joseph K. Stone, Jr. (Kaiser Engineers, Oakland, Calif.)—I would like to compliment the authors on their clear presentation of the results of their study of the pneumatic processes. We hope that the Inland Management decision to make this information available to all will induce others to release additional valuable fundamental data which they have accumulated in the field. There are two points upon which we would like to comment. In the discussion of Table VII it was indicated that the "oxygen consumptions were about the same as has been reported for other oxygen steelmaking processes". This conclusion is apparently based upon the consumption of 2100 cu ft per ton shown in Table VII. The data in Table IV also permits calculation of 2520, 2280, 2250 and 2700 cu ft per ton in heats 1 to 4, respectively. These figures are in the same general range as those reported for the Kal-Do and Rotor Processes using Thomas iron, but considerably above the following figures for four of the operating L-D Process Plants while using iron which is similar to American basic iron: Donawitz 1760 cu ft per ton Adapted from Cuscoleca' LinZ 1900 cu ft per ton Trenkler & Hauttmann2 Dofasco 1850 cu ft per ton D. O. Davis:3 In addition to the differences between the consumption of gaseous oxygen in the Inland operation and in the L-D Process, there is another closely related difference. The L-D plants for which data are cited are using approximately 1 pct ore while the authors' process used about 7 pct of sinter. Assuming 65 pct Fe in the sinter, the difference amounts to 400 to 500 cu ft

Jan 1, 1959

R. Schuhmann, Jr. (Purdue University)— Fulton and Chipman's results on rate of silica reduction from slags are analogous in many was to the results of Parlee, Seagle, and Schuhmann10 on rate of alumina reduction from alumina crucibles. Both investigations have given comparably low rates of reduction and slow approaches to equilibrium. Accordingly, we may hypothesize that the rate-determining step is the same in both kinds of experiments; that is, oxygen diffusion across the stagnant boundary layer on the liquid-metal side of the interface between the liquid metal and the oxide phase (slag or solid oxide). I suggest that silica reduction involves the following consecutive steps: I) At the slag-metal interface: SiO2(slag) Si+ 20 II) Transport of oxygen from slag-metal to gas-metal interface: a) diffusion across liquid-metal boundary layer at slag-metal interface. b) convection within the body of liquid metal. c) diffusion across boundary layer at metal-gas interface. 111) At the metal-gas interface: C +O- CO (gas) Iv) At the graphite-metal interface: C (graphite) -C At steelmaking temperatures it is reasonable to assume that equilibrium is attained in all three chemical reactions (I, 111, and IV) right at the respective interfaces. Convection within the stirred liquid metal (step IIb) is also rapid. Transport of Si and C should be orders of magnitude easier than transport of 0, because of the relatively high concentrations of Si and C. Accordingly, we might expect the overall reaction rate to be determined by boundary-layer diffusion of oxygen, either IIa or IIc. Fulton and Chipman's demonstration that bubbling CO through the system had no major effect on reaction rate indicates that IIc is not the slowest step. Therefore, it becomes logical to estimate the maximum rate for step IIa and to compare this theoretical estimate with Fulton and Chipman's experimental data. If oxygen diffusion across the liquid metal boundary layer at the slag metal interface (step IIa) is rate-determining, In this equation, dn sio, /dt is the rate of silica reduction in moles per sec,A is the area of slag-metal interface in sq cm, Do is the diffusivity of oxygen in sq cm per sec, 6, is the boundary layer thickness in cm, c,* is the oxygen concentration right at the slag-metal interface in moles per cubic cm, and co is the oxygen concentration in the body of the liquid metal, also in moles per cubic cm. Equilibrium data" on the silicon deoxidation reaction in liquid iron and steel at 1600°C indicate that the oxygen contents of the liquid metal in Fulton and Chipman's experiments at 1600°C probably fell in the range of 0.5 x10-3 x10-3wt pct. That is, the maximum conceivable value of co*-co for the system under consideration was on the order of 10"5 mole oxygen per cubic cm. On the basis of previously published data,1O,11 it is estimated that Do/0 will fall somewhere in the range from 10-3 to 10-1 cm per sec. The surface area A in Fulton and Chipman's experiments was approximately 20 sq cm, and the weight of metal involved was about 500 grams. Combination of all these figures with the above rate equation leads to an estimate that the rate of silica reduction should fall within the range from 0.002 to 0.2 wt pct Si per hr. This estimate is consistent with the experimental data. For example, Fulton and Chipman's Fig. 2 shows a change of about 0.3 pct Si in 10 hr, corresponding to an average rate of 0.03 pct per hr. According to the proposed hypothesis, increasing the temperature will increase the reaction rate ill two ways: 1) by increasing oxygen diffusivity and 2) by increasing the oxygen concentration (oxygen solubility) in the liquid metal. The combination of these two effects accounts for the high value of the observed activation energy. Summarizing, I propose that the rate of silica reduction, like that of the carbon-oxygen reaction, is diffusion controlled and that low oxygen concentration in the liquid metal is the major factor accounting for the very low observed rates of silica reduction. John Chipman (author's reply)—The authors thank Professor Schuhmann for his interesting contribution. His proposed explanation may well prove to be the correct one. There is clearly a need for much further experimental work on this problem, and further research is in progress.

Jan 1, 1961

The apparent small effect of skimming on desulphurization is somewhat misleading because the data was collected during the first months of use on the skimmer. During this period of time, the operators were, of course, just learning to use the equipment and, consequently, in many cases a so-called skimmed heat may have only been partially skimmed. In addition, during this period, the percentage of sulphur in the blast furnace slag was gradually increasing because of the increasing oil injection rates being employed at the blast furnace. An additional factor that cannot be disregarded is the apparent slower slag formation rate obtained in the BOF when the blast furnace slag is removed. This is evidenced at our shop by a much stronger tendency toward sparking and related lance skulling problems with deslagging, in spite of satisfactory manganese levels in the hot metal. Naturally, slower slag formation could account for poor desulphurization which would partially offset the beneficial effect of a lower sulphur input.

Jan 1, 1972

1. What Effect Has Sulfur Or Vanadium (In The Oil) On The Steel With Your Burner? 2. Also, what is the decibel rating on the floor when your burner is on? AUTHORS' REPLY 1. There is no effect. 2. The decibel rating is 98-99 decibels.

Jan 1, 1972

By B. Beatty

Discussion by B. Beatty This is a response to M.J. Hrebar's paper, which tracks in detail the highly productive stripping capabilities of modern large bulldozers at two separate installations. It proves the old adage "economies of scale" and quantifies the advantage of being able to move large loads of dirt over comparatively short haul distances by sliding rather than carrying the load. This discussion examines whether a bulldozer is the most efficient way of using this geotechnical principle. Case 1 - Study eastern US: Contour coal stripping application The energy consumption for the Case 1 mining method (eastern US contour stripping operation) shows the D11 averaged 117 L (31 gal) of diesel fuel per scheduled hour, and produced 333.3 bank m3 (436 bank cu yd) per scheduled hour (0.351 L/m3). Assuming 1 L (0.26 gal) of diesel fuel contains 10.4 kW-hr of energy, the unit expenditure of fuel energy for Case 1 Study was 3.66 kWh/m3. Another way of shifting this material is by using an overburden slusher (OS), as shown in Fig. 1. The OS as shown in Fig. I. The OS is electrically powered and consists of a manned low wall winch (LW ), a remote controlled (radio telemetry) highwall winch (HW) and a hoe. The winches operate to pull the hoe back and forth across the pit. The hoe carries load in the forward direction ahead of a rear mounted blade and returns empty. A spreadsheet (Lotus 123) simulation package, BOSSIM, models the OS operation on a load by load basis over a wide range of pit configurations. The geometry shown in Fig. 2 of the paper was modeled using BOSSI M and the results are summarized in Table1. Table 1 shows a LW with 150 kW (200 hp) and a HW of 120 kW (160 hp) installed power, towing a 15-m3 (19-cu yd) hoe, would accomplish the Case 1 stripping task at about the same scheduled stripping rate (D11=333 m3/hr or 433 cu yd/ hour, OS=342 m3/hr or 447 cu yd/ hour). It was assumed the winches in this equipment have an electromechanical efficiency of 90%. This gives an average electrical energy expenditure rate of 151 kW-hr, and a unit energy expenditure level of 0.44 kWhr/m-3(0.57 cu yd/kWh)-an improvement of 8291%- over the D11 alternative. The energy comparison illustrates the importance of using more efficient electric power if possible, ahead of the internal combustion engine, and delivering power from a fixed ground position rather than through a moving track system. Another important energy observation is the comparative action of the dozer blade and the OS hoe. The former implement continuously digs and spills as it works the load forward. The OS hoe digs the load until full, the blade then lifts due to the contained load pressure and a shear plane forms under the mass, enabling it to slide forward in a force reduced - transporting mode. Economic comparison Table 2 operating cost per scheduled hour and unit cost comparison follows a format used in Tables 2 and 3 of Hrebar's paper and compares Case 1 Study with the OS alternative. Drill and blast costs are kept constant in both cases, although when larger OS units are considered, it is expected these costs will reduce because bigger hoe sizes will permit larger rocks to be transported efficiently.

Jan 1, 1995

L.R. Bower In regard to the paper by J.B. Gwiazda, it makes a highly technical approach to show that the µ factor used by designers of lemniscate-guided roof supports has never really been confirmed as a maximum and assumes that convergence is vertical. Also, the paper does not appear to take into account deflection of structures, which occurs when the lemniscate and base members are fully loaded to their maximum stress level, nor the front to back line of the support in relation to differential roof to floor movements caused by strata movements under pressure. It is not unusual for differential movements to be slightly diagonal to the line of the support, particularly in faulted areas and on gradient faces. The paper also does not take into account consolidation of fines immediately above and below the support. Generally speaking, any differential movement is from face to waste and under these conditions the µ of 0.3, which appears to be an international standard, has worked in practice. However, if the face end of the support is lower than the waste end, then the µ of 0.3 can be considerably increased, giving rise to the damage mentioned in the paper. The ideal design should aim for a slightly forward bias in the lemniscate guide so that the last increment of setting is toward the face, tending to close any fissures that may have developed during the support advance cycle. The support should also be fitted with positive set valves to ensure that a high setting load density is attained to minimize bed separation. As far as powered supports are concerned, convergence is irresistible and all powered supports converge at their rated yield load. A similar principle can be applied to the differential roof to floor movements to drastically reduce the very high forces that would otherwise be applied to the lemniscate structures and pins and that, in turn, are transferred to the base arrangement and floor loading. Any differential movements are usually catered for by the 0.3 µ factor or deflection of structures in the lemniscate guide arrangement and consolidation of the floor. The floor loading, due to differential movement, is in addition to the support convergence load and requires additional bearing area to avoid possible floor penetration. Some seven years ago, Fletcher Sutcliffe Wild Ltd. (FSW) introduced a lemniscate-guided shield support where the lemniscate linkage is connected to the roof bar through two horizontally converging rams to allow differential movement to take place above a given rated figure. This is a known force and can be guarded against, whereas with rigid connections the forces, as yet, are unconfirmed. By careful design, a horizontal force in excess of 6 MN (60 tons) opposes differential movements for a total ram loading of only 2.5 MN (25 tons), or 1.25 MN (12% tons) each. This principle can considerably reduce the length and weight of the support in comparison with a rigid pin-type structure ; also, the yield load rating can be increased without affecting the lemniscate forces. The graph shows the tensile and compressive forces in a lemniscate linkage of a support with and without hydrostore. These forces react into both the roof beam and base members and, as can be seen from the support height to linkage load graph, a considerable reduction in these reactions is gained by the use of the FSW patented hydrostore system. Floor loading is considerably reduced under maximum µ conditions, and by allowing the roof bar to move with the strata, some degree of improvement to strata control is achieved in line with the assumptions in the paper. In practice, these movements have only been in the region of a few millimeters, which, in turn, reflects on the improvements to strata control by the addition of positive set valves. Supports to this design of both 450- and 280-t (496-and 309-st) rating have been successfully used in the United Kingdom for several years, negotiating many faulted areas without one single reported need for repair or maintenance. This includes supports left unattended during the year-long strike, proving the reliability of the system.

Jan 8, 1986

By J. B. Gwiazda

S. Budirsky J.B. Gwiazda's article deals with an interesting problem that has not been studied thoroughly up to now. Gwiazda has proposed a technical solution that eliminates horizontal load imposed by the supports on the roof. That load is due to a discrepancy between the trajectories of the canopy and the overlying strata. It is true that the improved lemniscate guidance system proposed by Gwiazda could eliminate the horizontal load but, on the other hand, it would represent a higher cost of the supports, and it would complicate the already complicated mechanism of powered supports. That is why we must be convinced that the proposed improvement is actually needed. From that point of view, the following questions should be elucidated. As shown in Fig. 1, the point 0 travels along the curve a, which produces horizontal load on the roof in the direction of the coal face. As stated by Gwiazda, "such a high load is capable of destroying the roof above the support, causing rock debris to be scattered around the face." The results of our measurements carried out in coal mines of the Czechoslovak part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin show that the convergence in the modern type of powered supports does not exceed several millimeters (not more than 10) per hour. Similar conclusions were drawn from field measurements performed in the Polish part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (see S. Romanowicz and H. Szopka in Proceedings, Scientific and Technical Symposium Simmex'85, Katowice, Poland, pp. 73-83). The small vertical closure of the supports also induces a small horizontal displacement of the canopy. In addition to this, the transmission of forces between the roof and the canopy is influenced by the layer of debris on it, i.e., the canopy slides without imposing a greater horizontal load on the roof. This was deduced from field measurements of Voest-Alpine F 4/4500 powered supports equipped with rams instead of the common front lemniscate links (denoted as 1 in Fig. 5). In these supports, the pressurizing of the space of piston rod (1a in Fig. 5) causes the rams to close, which induces horizontal load on the roof in a direction toward the coal face. After the setting of a support unit, the pressure in the piston rod space was found to drop, frequently to zero, because the small horizontal sliding between the canopy and the debris or inside the debris caused the horizontal reaction from the roof to fall to zero, although the debris were pressurized by vertical setting load. As a consequence, there was no horizontal load imposed by the canopy on the roof. A rise of the horizontal load was recorded only after the passage of the shearer and during lowering of the adjacent units. Thorough information on the results of the aforementioned field measurement is given in the paper, "Analysis of the performance of shield powered supports installed in a thick seam," published in Mechanizacja i automatyzacja gornictwa, 1982, No. 12, pp. 38-46. An English translation of the paper is available from the author. We have deduced from our observations that horizontal load imposed by the canopy on the roof in the direction toward the coal face is useful for roof control because it limits the displacement of the immediate roof toward the gob particularly during the rise working. We came to the conclusion that horizontal load on the roof toward the coal face should be induced on purpose. Could Mr. Gwiazda prove with the results of field measurements his contrary opinion? Has the small horizontal displacement of the canopy toward the face actually had an adverse effect on the roof? As shown in Fig. 2, during the setting of a support unit, the canopy imposes a horizontal load on the roof in the direction of the gob. In this case, I share Gwiazda's opinion that the horizontal load could have an adverse effect on the roof. Nevertheless, two important circumstances were neglected - the horizontal compliance of the supports and the interaction of adjacent units. The question of the compliance was analyzed precisely by I. Krumnacker in Gluckauf-Forschungshefte, 1984, No. 5, pp. 219-223. He found that due to the clearance between the hinge pins and the eyes of the sheild and due to the elasticity of the steel structure,

Jan 1, 1987

By J. B. Gwiazda

S.S. Peng The highlights of this paper are : • The shield supports with lemniscate links will exert a tangential force on the roof strata, causing unnecessary and harmful roof movements, thus damaging the roof structure. The principal source of the tangential force is the horizontal movement of the point O, the pivotal joint between the canopy and the caving shield. When the support height is changed during setting, the point O will move along a curve upward and rearward toward the gob. As a result, it produces a vertical movement, causing the roof to move up a distance of ?d, and a horizontal movement toward the gob, creating vertical fractures in the roof. • The major purpose for employing the lemniscate-link system is to protect the hydraulic legs against the action of the bending moments induced by the tangential force that causes deformation or destruction of the legs. • Based on these two points, the author suggested that, in order to eliminate the harmful effects of the lemniscate-link system and strengthen its advantageous features, a shield support with a new design of that mechanism has been developed. With the new design, the conventional rigid lemniscate links are replaced by hydraulic rams. When the pressure inside the rams reaches a certain level, the ram will yield.

Jan 12, 1986

By G. W. Heunisch

G.A. Carmody and L.B. Anderson We wish to comment on the paper by G.W. Heunisch (MINING ENGINEERING, January 1987), which raised several important points regarding treatment of acidic waste waters. This paper confirms, in part, tests carried out by Allyn Corp. Allyn is the manufacturer of the proprietary product Alka-Ment, one of the materials that Heunisch tested. The first point is the extreme sensitivity of the sedimentation rate on the nature of the treatment material used. This apparently results from differences in nucleation of the metal hydroxides, and is consistently higher for Alka-Ment. This decreased sludge volume is also observed when Alka-Ment is combined with flocculants, such as organic polymers (see Table 1). Our second point is to emphasize that Heunisch's work shows how dependent the sludge volume is on pH. It is common practice to overtreat AMD by raising pH to 9 or 10. This practice, in addition to being wasteful of material, actually decreases the density of the resulting sludge, probably by creating charged particles that do not readily coalesce. When treating with Alka-Ment, we recommend that the treatment be monitored by testing both pH and dissolved iron. For both tests, it is important to allow adequate time to elapse between treatment and measurement, so that dissolution of alkali, aerobic oxidation of iron, and precipitation of the metal hydroxides are nearly complete. Our tests have indicated that from 30 minutes to one hour is commonly required. Only in this way can a minimum pH be attained, with adequate treatment, denser sludge, and lower treatment rates achieved. Thirdly, Heunisch correctly recognizes that ASTM titration of Alka-Ment does not reflect the true treatment value available in a unit of Alka-Ment. Our work at Allyn indicates this is a most important consideration when evaluating various materials for the treatment of acidic waste waters. While we were unaware of Mr. Heunisch's work, we welcome comparisons between Alka-Ment and any competitive products readily available for field use. Allyn has hundreds of hours of laboratory and field data we are ready to share with interested parties treating acidic waste water.

Jan 9, 1987

By Stephen Royce

[PAGE Ground Movement Adjacent to a Caving Block in the Climax Molybdenum Mine (TP 2000 by JOHN W. VANDERWILT, Min. Tech., May 1946. Discussion by STEPHEN ROYCE and the Studies of the Design of Shaped Explosive Charges and Their Effect in Breaking Concrete Blocks (TP 2157 by GEORGE B. CLARK, Min. Tech. May 1947. Discussion by PHILIP B. BUCKY, V. H. CLARK, E. D. GARDNER, M. H. HAWKINS, H. L. WALKER, and the author) 2 See TP 2377, Min. Tech., May 1948 for discussion of San Manuel ProsPect (TP 2255 by H. J. STEELE and G. R. RUBLY, Min. Tech., Sept. 1947. Discussion by L. KENNETH WILSON, ELDRED D. WILSON and the authors)] Ground Movement Adjacent to a Caving Block in the Climax Molybdenum Mine STEPHEN ROYCE•-It is interesting to note from B, Fig 2, how closely the subsidence limits approximate to the 60° angle of draw, which is so commonly found to rule in large scale rock subsidence. The tension cracks shown at B are commonly found in the initial stages of subsidence movement and spread like a halo about subsidence limits as movement extends. These tension cracks usually grow into escarpments later on. Apparently from the illustrations and description given, a system of vertical fractures is the predominating weakness in the wall rock at Climax, and therefore both tension cracks and escarpments are prevailingly vertical in attitude. The illustrations in Mr. Vanderwilt's article seem to conform to the general rule that yield by subsidence is heralded by tension cracks which foreshadow the appearance of the subsidence scarps which are both described in the paper and shown in Fig 2. The difference between the B side and the A side of Fig 2 is apparently caused mainly by the vertical fracturing which controls subsidence at Climax as compared to the relatively homogeneous rock formation at A upon which the original figure in Peele's Handbook was based. The draw at B is exactly 60°, while the draw at A is a little flatter. The influence of the vertical fractures explains the difference. The surprising feature is the relatively small deviation from the general 60° draw line, which is about the average of rock subsidence experience. The influence of local fracture systems, faults and bedding in controlling subsidence all the way from extremely low angles of draw to vertical is rather fully discussed in the Peele's Handbook article referred to. The more illustrations of subsidence there are published the better will be our knowledge. The general principles are pretty well established. The wide local differences reflect the effect of local conditions. This paper is a very valuable contribution to the subject, and for the benefit of the mining industry, it is to be hoped that there will be many more such clear and concise presentations. Particularly block caving is apt to be of greatly increasing importance in the future of a mining industry that must meet high labor costs. More examples of block caving from small scale to large scale operations like those at Climax will serve a vital need. JOHN W. VANDERWILT (author's reply)-I would like to thank Mr. Royce for his discussion; however, in his comments the meaning of subsidence, draw and tension cracks is not entirely clear. As used in my discussion of subsidence at Climax, subsidence refers to movements involving appreciable downward displacement. Tension cracks indicate only

Jan 1, 1947

By W. J. Locher

One important means of reducing steel consumption in grinding mills is not mentioned in S.G. Malghan's paper. It is simply to reduce the oxygen content in the mill and pulp. While oxygen dissolved in pulp is not readily reduced without additives, reduced aeration and reduced ventilation of grinding mills are often feasible. It is not necessary to completely eliminate the oxygen to achieve substantial benefits, since corrosion rates vary with oxygen content in a manner analogous to combustion rates as oxygen content increases. It is difficult to generate indisputable quantitative data on the relationship of oxygen reduction in a milling system to changes in consumption of grinding steel. Perhaps this accounts for the absence of technical papers on the effects of reducing oxygen content in grinding mills by reducing aeration of pulp and ventilation of grinding mills. One qualitative observation is that mills operating at a lower percent of critical speed will tend to have lower media consumption for similar fineness of grind without necessarily having an equivalent reduction in power consumption per ton of product. Reduced mill speed would also tend to reduce both ventilation of the mill and entrainment of air in the pulp. Larger grinding mills tend to be more media efficient because they operate at a greater ratio of charge volume to pulp surface area, which will tend to reduce the aeration per unit of pulp volume. The mechanical steps required to reduce aeration of grinding mill pulps depend on the configuration of the grinding circuit and related process. Reply by S.G. Malghan Mr. Locher stated that my paper did not mention the reduction of oxygen content of the pulp as a potential method of decreasing the steel consumption. I would like to bring to the attention of Mr. Locher that an indirect reference was made to the fact that pulp oxidation potential controls the corrosion wear of steel. Though dissolved oxygen is one of the factors that controls oxidation potential, additional discussion was deliberately avoided for the reasons mentioned by Mr. Locher. The most important reason being the difficulty of decreasing and controlling the oxygen concentration of the pulp in a commercial mill.

Jan 1, 1984

By S. D. Michaelson

[CONTENTS PACE See TP 2377, Min. Tech, May 1948 for discussion of A Technique for Photographing Difficult Subjects through a Petrographic Microscope (TP 2092 by DONALD W. SCOTT, Min. Tech., Nov. 1946. Discussion by HORACE WINCHELL). Metallurgical Efficiency-a Yardstick in Lead-zinc Flotation Metallurgy (TP 2141 by R. A. ....... PALLANCH, Min. Tech:, March 1947. Discussion by S. D. MICHAELSON). I Symposium on Milling Devices and Practices. (TP 2162 by J. F. MYERS and R. J. TOWER, Min. Tech., May 1947. Discussion by HARLOWE HARDINGE). ............ 2 Rod Milling-Plant and Laboratory Data. (TP 2175 by J. F. MYERS, S. D. MICHAELSON and F. C. BOND, Min. Tech., July 1947. Authors' supplement and discussion by HARLOWE .......................... HARDINGE, and B. H. IRWIN) 2 A New Separating Vessel for Sink-float Concentration. (TP 2182 by E. C. BITZER, Min. Tech., May 1947. Discussion by E. H. CRABTREE, JR.) .................. 5] Metallurgical Efficiency-a Yardstick in Lead-zinc Flotation Metallurgy S. D, MICHAELSON*-The method of determining the efficacy of a separation described in this paper, gives the metallurgist a most useful guide for keeping his ship on an even keel When the ore Waves vary from placid seas to high breakers. Now that such a method of evaluating metallurgical efficiency has been developed and proven practical, it Would seem logical to introduce the next, and more final, factor of Economic Efficiency. I choose to define this term as the percentage ratio of net return from milling to the theoretical maximum net return. The actual operating cost subtracted from the actual mill return represents the net actual amount received for the material treated. Experienced operators of most plants Would ordinarily have enough data on hand to estimate a theoretical milling cost per ton, based on labor, power, supplies and maintenance When operating at maximum tonnage With minimum trouble and under ideal ore conditions. When this theoretical estimated cost is subtracted from the theoretical maximum ore return (calculated by Pallanch's method) the resulting figure is the maximum theoretical net amount the mill operator could hope to realize in processing the ore. The percentage ratio of these sums, of actual to theoretical, is the economic efficiency of the operations. This economic efficiency, if determined on the basis of a fixed market price for metal and similarly fixed base rates for labor, power and supplies, Will reflect the effect of changes in milling practice, labor efficiency and equipment condition. When computations made on the basis of actual current rates for labor, power and supplies are compared With similar actual figures for past periods they will show forcefully how energetic our hunt must be to develop man saving controls, more effective metallurgy, and better equipment to maintain profitable operations. Such computations also offer a simple means of determining how much more labor, supplies and power can be put into the mill operation to obtain an increase in metallurgical recovery at a profit.

Jan 1, 1947

By Harlowe Hardinge

[Crushing Tests by Pressure and Impact (T.P. 1895, by F. C. BOND,, Min. Tech. Jan. 1946). Discussion by H. HARDINGE and the author 1 Pumping Sands, Slurries and Slimes and Installation and Performance of Sand Pumps (T.P. 2013, by W. B. STEPHENSON, Min. Tech., May 1946 and T.P. 1978, by C. G. SOUTHMAYD, Min. Tech., March 1946). Discussion by OSCAR LEE, G. J. HOLT, L. D. ANDERSON, and the author 2 Rapid Polarographic Method for Determination of Copper, Zinc and Lead in Flotation Tailings (T.P. 2010, by G. A. CROWE and W. T. BISHOP, Min. Tech., March 1946). Discussion by E. H. ROSE and the authors 4 Ball Wear and Functioning of the Ball Load in a Fine-grinding Ball Mill (T.P. 1984, by W. I. GARMS and J. L. STEVENS, Min. Tech., March 1946). Discussion by J. F. MYERS, E. W. DAVIS, F. M. JARDINE, H. HARDINGE, F. C. BOND and the authors 5 Correlation between Mineral Behavior in Cataphoresis and Flotation (T.P. 2005, by A. M. GAUDIN and S. C. SuN, Min. Tech., May 1946). Discussion by 0. C. RALSTON, G. L. SIMARD and D. J. SALLEY 7 Accident Experience in Milling (T.P. 1981, by J. F. MYERS and S. E. SHARP, Min. Tech., May 1946). Discussion by C. E. MCKNIGHT, C. H. BENEDICT, T. S. WILSON and S. POWER WARREN9 Mill Design for Labor Economy (T.P. 1997, by NORMAN WEISS, Min. Tech., May 1946). Discussion by R. S. HANDY and the author13] Crushing Tests by Pressure and Impact (0.C. Ralston presiding) HARLOWE HARDINGE.*-Has the impact method described in the paper been used to compare the resistance to reduction in size of various materials with actual operation results of mills in the field? Is this impact method a better index of the true resistance to grinding under actual field conditions than other methods the author has reported in the TRANSACTIONS? F. C. BOND (author's reply).-The impact crushing device was designed to measure relative resistance to crushing, or what may be called the crushability, and is not used for comparing the resistance to grinding, or grindability. The correlation between crushability and grindability of different materials is not at all close, since fractures, zones of weakness, and structural features of rock have a much greater effect upon the crushability than upon the grindability. We still depend upon our standard grindability tests for measuring resistance to grinding, and use the impact crushing tests only in relation to crusher installations. The impact crushing device has several advantages over the measurement of crushing strength in pounds per square inch as an index of crushing resistance.

Jan 1, 1946

By C. W. Hunt

I wish to register strong disagreement with the choices of drilling sites chosen by the Continental Scientific Drilling Committee, while endorsing the stated objectives. Of special significance is the lack of any site involving the metals most needed today in the US, while 9 to 13 km of drilling are allocated to gold and silver districts and 11 to 17 km to base metal (mainly copper) districts. Why is nothing proposed for platinum group or chromite? Is this because the committee did not know of such a site? If so, I offer such a site in California (see Fig. 1). The mineralization shown in Table 1 occurs in a large peridotite body in western Tehama County, CA. Petrography has demonstrated unequivocal evidence of migrated PGE deposited in peridotite and chromite of hypabyssal nature. Active diapirism (due probably to serpentine buoyancy) above a reactivated mantle to surface conduit marks the position of the conduit. Young explosion breccia cemented loosely by volcanic glass and tuff demonstrates the significance of the conduit as the prime source of the various emissions. Deep drilling could result in major metals discoveries as well as shedding light on the grand questions of platinum group mineralization. What role water has played in this occurrence is not yet certain; but chlorine and asphaltite have been detected in and adjacent to native PGM, suggesting a major role for water. The explosion breccia suggests that this excellent site could overlie entrapped geothermal steam.

Jan 1, 1988

By C. Meyer, J. J. Eidel

C. W. Hunt I wish to register strong disagreement with the choices of drilling sites chosen by the Continental Scientific Drilling Committee, while endorsing the stated objectives. Of special significance is the lack of any site involving the metals most needed today in the US, while 9 to 13 km of drilling are allocated to gold and silver districts and 11 to 17 km to base metal (mainly copper) districts. Why is nothing proposed for platinum group or chromite? Is this because the committee did not know of such a site? If so, I offer such a site in California (see Fig. 1). The mineralization shown in Table 1 occurs in a large peridotite body in western Tehama County, CA. Petrography has demonstrated unequivocal evidence of migrated PGE deposited in peridotite and chromite of hypabyssal nature. Active diapirism (due probably to serpentine buoyancy) above a reactivated mantle to surface conduit marks the position of the conduit. Young explosion breccia cemented loosely by volcanic glass and tuff demonstrates the significance of the conduit as the prime source of the various emissions. Deep drilling could result in major metals discoveries as well as shedding light on the grand questions of platinum group mineralization. What role water has played in this occurrence is not yet certain; but chlorine and asphaltite have been detected in and adjacent to native PGM, suggesting a major role for water. The explosion breccia suggests that this excellent site could overlie entrapped geothermal steam.

Jan 6, 1987