Search Documents

Q: It is May 1961 at Bill Wrather's Washington house. Bill, think back to your first job after college. Wrather: Perhaps I ought to go back a little bit further than my first job. I entered the University of Chicago with the idea of studying law. My intention was to take a 4-yr liberal arts course and superimpose a law degree on that. But during my undergraduate work I fell under the influence of R. D. Salsbury. He decided I had some talent as a geologist and influenced me to take a geological course. Nevertheless, I did not give up the idea of law. While in school I took a spell of typhoid fever and almost died. The doctor recommended outdoor exercise, so a geological job seemed logical. W. H. Emmons was a graduate student in the University and he interceded with Dr. Hayes of the USGS. I went on the payroll as assistant packer at $60 a month. I had one of the most glorious summers I ever spent in my life. That fall and the following year I took law courses and became thoroughly convinced that I was cut out for a geologist rather than a lawyer. I finished up my law work in 1908 while waiting for a job with Bill Emmons, who was doing a careful study of Goldfield and Tonopah.

Jan 4, 1964

By AIME

A GEOLOGIST --one versed in geology, the science which treats of the history of the earth and its life, especially as recorded in the rocks; that is Webster's definition. William Embry Wrather-one of the country's foremost geologists who heads the U. S. Geological Survey; this is the 1948 President of the Institute. He has studied the geology of areas on the face of the earth as far-flung as Texas and the Balkans, and now heads the world's largest staff of geologists. Vital statistics on Dr. Wrather would show his place of birth as Brandenburg, Ky., the year 1883. He will celebrate his threescore and five years of full living the twentieth of this month. As is usual in biographical sketches of this nature, the formative years of youth, and in many ways the most important years of one's life (since professional tendencies as well as many important personal decisions are evidenced before the teens are left behind) are passed over with the mere fact noted that a degree was earned at such and such educational institution. And so we note that Dr. Wrather received his Ph.B. degree at the University of Chicago in 1907, and followed up that degree with two years of graduate study.

Jan 1, 1948

By William H. Bassett

COPPER is the world's most important non-ferrous metal, and brass is the most widely used non- ferrous alloy. Much of the utility of each may be credited to the work of metallurgists who have constantly improved the quality of the metals and alloys and the methods of fabrication. Standing in the front rank among these is William Hastings Bassett, the newly elected president of the Institute. Mr. Bassett, ,who is technical superintendent and metallurgist for the American Brass Co.,

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

FOR constructive research in copper and brass and other non-ferrous metals and their alloys, and his contributions to the establishment of the present accepted high standards of quality William H. Bassett, technical superintendent and metallurgist of the American Brass Co., has been awarded the James Douglas Gold Medal for 1925. Mr. Bassett was born in New Bedford, Mass., on March 7, 1868, and was graduated in chemistry at the - Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1891. In the same year he went to Pope's Island Manufacturing Co., at New Bedford, as chemist where he remained until 1895, where he became a teacher in chemistry at the Swain Free School, which position he retained until 1900. He then became chemist for the New Jersey Zinc Co., at Newark N. J., and in 1902 went to the Coe Brass branch at Torrington, Conn., as Chemist. In 1903 he became chief chemist and metallurgist and since 1912 has been technical superintendent and metallurgist of the American Brass Co., with head- quarters at Waterbury, Conn.

Jan 1, 1924

By Debbie Marshall

Process water is an important consideration in the development of a nickel laterite project. Depending on the location of the ore body, sufficient fresh water may not be available and it may be necessary to use seawater (or saline groundwater) for ore preparation. This introduces various species, which have major effects on materials of construction and leaching chemistry. This paper summarizes batch testwork completed at the Falconbridge Technology Center. The leaching behaviour of eleven different laterite ore samples were compared using seawater and fresh water. For brevity, six of the eleven samples are reported here-the other five samples showed similar results. Each ore type was leached under identical conditions in both freshwater and seawater and the leaching chemistry compared. The batch test results were confirmed in a continuous pilot plant, and leach kinetics for the two systems were compared. Keywords: high pressure acid leaching, laterites

Jan 1, 2004

By Larry Southwick

This Peirce-Smith Converting Centennial symposium is celebrating the contributions of two men, William Peirce and E.A.C. Smith, in advancing technology allowing the copper industry to realize its full potential. However, theirs is representative of a larger story: New, simpler technology releasing the stranglehold of older, more complicated technology, new developments in vessel configuration and design finding alternate routes around dead ends in operability, advances in technique and concepts removing roadblocks of cycle time and capacity, and overall innovation opening up vast new reserves around the world to those companies willing to embrace those improvements. Our story is also one of personalities, stubborn smeltermen versus the innovators, those inside the industry versus those from outside. It is a story of an initial borrowing from the steel industry, but also Peirce and Smith, from the refining end of the copper business, taking the ideas of Baggaley from Pittsburgh’s steel and airbrake industry, who built on what Hollway, Manhès and David, Douglas, and others had done in smelter tests, further to compete with the previous primacy and closely held expertise of the copper smeltermen in Wales. These advances have been well recorded in photographs taken over the last 150 years. A number were submitted especially for this symposium. Many others were published in the mining and metallurgy press of the times. Several mining schools also retained copies of photos either taken during field trips, or donated to the school by alumni and operating companies. This presentation will provide a selection and discussion from these sources of “converters in action”, describing the various designs, operations and developments depicted. The focus here will be on the first roughly 60 years of copper converter development, from Bessemer’s days at the dawn of this new idea, up to and slightly past the time of initial adoption of Peirce and Smith’s designs.

Jan 1, 2009

By AIME

WILLIAM WALLACE MEIN, known to his intimates as "Will" or "Billy", is a mining engineer who has taken the fundamentals of successful mining--operating, engineering, and financial-and applied them to the founding of new industries. Born in Nevada City, Calif., in 1873, Will Mein grew up in an atmosphere of mining, and began to develop his sound judgment in a practical way before starting his formal technical education. As a young man he supplemented his early observations by helping his father, Captain "Tom" Mein, on mining work in California and Alaska. He then went with his father to the Rand, and after a period of milling experience as operator and shift boss he became, in 1894, manager of the chlorination of gold ores at the Robinson mine.

Jan 1, 1947

By Olliver J. G

Over 400,000 tonnes of kaolin, sillimanite, mica, kyanite, feldspar and rutile have been mined from the unique Williamstown orebodies since their discovery in the early 1900's. Numerous companies; both large and small were associated with the early development of these deposits but since the formation of Australian Industrial Minerals in 1947, this company has been the only significant producer. A combination of mining and management problems almost forced closure of the mine in the late 1970's but this was averted by a changed attitude towards mine planning. Mine development is now based on detailed geological and technical investigations, exploration for additional ore reserves is being conducted and laboratory and pilot scale studies are being undertaken to utilise both low grade ores and waste materials. The professional approach to mine and market development will ensure that Williamstown mineral products will continue to be available for many years.

Jan 1, 1989

By James M. Tantalla, Jr. Ellman

"Construction of the powerhouse for the Willow Island Hydroelectric Project, located at the Willow Island Lock and Dam, required a 120-ft deep temporary excavation inside the limits of a cellular cofferdam on the Ohio River side of the excavation and a soil-bentonite seepage cut-off wall on the landward side of the excavation. Stability analyses were performed for critical sections to evaluate the stability of the soil slopes and rock cuts using limit equilibrium, tension crack, and buckling analysis techniques. The stability analyses indicated adequate factors of safety through the landside embankment sections, and for the weighting berm soil slopes in front of the riverside cellular cofferdam. However, the results of deep-seated stability analyses through the rock supporting the riverside cellular cofferdam indicated marginal factors of safety for the 100-year flood condition. Consequently, the riverside portion of the excavation required enhanced stability measures, namely the installation of long, high-capacity rock anchors. Also, the dewatering system was modified to lower the site piezometric head to near the top of rock to improve the stability of the rock cuts.Thirty high-capacity rock anchors were installed on the upstream, riverside, and downstream sides of the cofferdam rock cut. The rock anchors consisted of multiple, seven-wire strands designed to provide the full-required design load at 60% of the strand capacity. Rock anchor loads varied from 1,968 to 2,074 kips. The maximum number of strands per anchor was 59. Bond lengths assumed an allowable bond stress of 100 psi based on the rock bond from pull-out tests.Project DescriptionAmerican Municipal Power, a nonprofit organization that owns and operates electric generation facilities for its member communities, has been in the process of constructing hydroelectric power plants adjacent to existing navigation locks and dams along the Ohio River. The Willow Island Hydroelectric Plant was recently completed on the West Virginia bank of the river adjacent to the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) Willow Island Lock and Dam. The plant is on the opposite river bank to the locks, and includes two turbine generating units with FERC rated capacity of 44MW at a 20-foot head differential. The Ruhlin Company of Sharon Center, Ohio was awarded contracts to construct both the cofferdam and the powerhouse. Construction began in mid-2011, and was completed in early 2016."

Jan 1, 2016

Willyamite from the type locality, Consols mine, Broken Hill, N.S.W., has been re-examined, and found to consist of zones with widely different Co:Ni ratios. The name willyamite is redefined to include the portion of the (Co, Ni)SbS series with cobalt in excess of nickel. Willyamite is pseudo-cubic, with the three axes equal to within 0·001 A.

Jan 1, 1970

Background A recent development in many industries,' including the mining industry, has been ever increasing acceptance and adoption of extended (12-hour) shifts and compressed work cycles compensated by more time off work by employees between cycles. In the Western Australian mining industry development of `long-distance-commute' (LDC) coincided with adoption of 12-hour rotating shifts. Preludes to LDC were the `construction-style' rosters with two crews plus allowance for annual and sick leave relievers working the statutory 13 consecutive shifts followed by one shift off. Crews rotated day to night shift weekly or at fortnightly intervals. Average hours of 72 to 78 per week were common. The author had personal experience working these rosters in the East Pilbara of Western Australia from 1977 to 1982. Workers tolerated these rosters until a suitable combination of frustration, boredom, despair and the `Five Grand Fever' triggered them to `pull the pin' and head for relaxation in Bangkok, Manila, Nimbin, or Margaret River according to their personal tastes.

Jan 1, 1996

A combination of the needs of business, employee desires and safety and health considerations is stimulating increasing attention to the time spent by people at work and the timing of that work. Particularly we are seeing: - innovative work schedules for 24-hour mining businesses; and - response from industry to accommodate the needs, even the desires, of employees in return for systems which are more productive and more capital efficient. There appears to be an evolutionary trend for business management to become more sophisticated and responsive to the need for achieving close to best cost work schedules to sustain continuous improvement. The underlying motivating forces driving this trend for improved techniques in organising attendance at, and time spent at work, is the seemingly inseparable combination of technological advance and ever-increasing accumulation of capital. The mining industry has not remained untouched by this thrust for ever-increasing need for best use of labour, to adopt advances in technology and to provide attractive opportunities for putting accumulated capital to work. An essential component of this on-going thrust is a substantial effort by the mining industry to improve the performance of labour by providing most-productive work schedules.

Jan 1, 1996

By P. Sharma

Longwall panels facing wind blasts have been investigated at both Newstan and Moonee Collieries in the Newcastle Coalfield under the Wind Blast Project of the School of Mining Engineering, The University of New South Wales. The fluid mechanics involved in the compression and expulsion of air during wind blasts have been defined and the overpressure and air velocity time histories utilized to determine the wind blast parameters and define the relationship between them. The characteristics of wind blasts pressure pulses in mine roadways show some similarity with transient phenomenon like air blasts from explosives and shock waves from the failure of pressurized vessels. The peak wind velocities in roadways, however, exhibit marked deviations from theoretical predictions based on compressible fluid flow and Rankine-Hugoniot relationships applied to goaf air displacement and panel geometry. Peak overpressures and wind velocities have shown a positive correlation with the areas of goaf falls, with the values peaking off for larger areas. The field investigations have helped the mine management in risk assessment and in evaluating the success of induced caving by hydrofracturing to mitigate the hazard.

Jan 1, 2004

By Torabi S. R, Daly C. R

Wind blast is the sudden movement of air displaced by the massive collapse of roof rock in underground openings and is experienced as a high velocity flow of air through adjacent workings. The initial flow in the outbye direction is often followed by 'suck back', that is a reverse flow of air towards the newly created void. As part of the Wind Blast Project, undertaken by The University of New South Wales, Department of Mining Engineering, a physical model was constructed. One of the functions of the laboratory wind blast model is to provide insight into the dynamics of the interaction between the falling strata and the air being compressed below. During a collapse, some air is expelled into the surrounding roadways while the remainder penetrates towards the top of the roof elements. In this paper two aspects of the rock mass properties which influence the phenomenon are considered: - Flow paths through the falling roof element, ie the permeability of the roof element; - Bed separation prior to the fall which introduces a void above the roof element. A series of tests was carried out utilising the physical model in order to investigate the relationships between the flow of air through the simulated roadways, the variations in gauge pressure above and below the falling roof element, and the acceleration and terminal velocity of the latter, all as a function of the flow paths through the roof element and of the extent of the void above. The results of comprehensive tests using the wind blast physical model suggested that the time history of outbye air flow in the simulated roadway comprises two distinct phases. a) A primary phase, characterised by a high velocity flow of air which exhibits a peak and corresponds to the period during which the roof element is accelerating. The peak air velocity is related to the acceleration of the roof element. b) A secondary phase, characterised by a residual air flow of a lesser velocity than in the primary phase and corresponding to the period during which the roof element is falling at its terminal velocity. The velocity of the residual air flow is directly proportional to the terminal velocity of the roof element. In a monolithic collapse of a roof element it was shown that the presence of flow paths in the roof element increased the air velocity in the roadway in both the primary and the secondary phases. The presence of an air-filled void above the roof element, on the other hand, influenced the air velocity only in the primary phase by increasing the peak air velocity. The overall duration of the process was however decreased as a result. 'plug type' collapses, where roof failure extends to the ground surface, potentially generate the highest peak air velocities likely to be encountered during wind blasts.

Jan 1, 1995

By G. E. Blight

Wind erosion can be a major cause of the loss and dispersion of tailings material from a tailings dam into its surrounding environment. Such dust dispersion can be a serious nuisance, as well as a health hazard to inhabitants in nearby settlements, and can also damage the health of animals, degrade crops, making them less marketable, and cause soil and water pollution. The problem of wind erosion can affect tailings dams in all types of climate, but becomes worse as climatic aridity increases. Because clouds of dust are often observed billowing across the top surfaces of tailings dams in dry windy weather, there is a common misconception that the dust arises from wind erosion of the top surface. As a result, much effort and money is vainly spent on treating the tops of tailings dams to prevent dust generation, whereas the slopes of the dams are the true major dust source. This paper briefly reviews what is known of erosion of tailings dams and then proceeds to describe the mechanics of wind erosion in general, and how it affects tailings dams in particular. Finally, recommendations are made for mitigating wind erosion of tailings dams and the resulting blowing dust.

Jan 1, 2007

By A. Duerksen

"Surface coal mining in West Virginia has supplied energy to the eastern coast of the United States for over a century. Over the years, the coal mining industry has been forced to adapt as societal demands regarding health, safety, and environmental impacts have changed. More recent pressure has called for another iteration of change: long-term post-mining sustainability. The research discussed in this paper investigates one potential solution - or component of a solution - to improve the sustainability of surface coal mining in West Virginia: post-mining wind power. The paper begins with an introduction to the Appalachian region of the U.S. and the role that mining has played in its history, followed by a discussion of the need for sustainable mining and how post-mining wind power may help fulfill it. Data processing methodology of field data from monitoring locations is then explained. The results are then used to estimate the electrical output of a wind turbine. This data is then utilized in a case study discussion of one of the monitored sites. The paper concludes with an analysis of the broader implications of the research and a discussion of future work."

Jan 1, 2011

By Jianliang Li, Xi Peng, Guorong Lu

This paper describes a wind tunnel modelling study on airflow and pollutant concentration in a large open pit mine located in southern China. A 1:1000 scale model of the surface mine was fabricated and placed in a wind tunnel. Airflow velocity in the test section of the wind tunnel can be continuously adjusted from 0.3 m/s to 6.0 m/s. In this study, both the present pit condition and the projected final pit condition were modelled. Airflow direction and velocity profiles were obtained. The impact of wind direction and velocity on airflow was also studied. The pollutant concentration distribution in the open pit was simulated using smoke, and a distribution profile was obtained. Respirable dust concentrations at the mine site were measured, then its concentrations at the projected final pit condition were estimated using the obtained pollutant concentration distribution profile. Under normal meteorological conditions, it is expected that the respirable dust concentration for the final pit should not exceed the government standard. Key Words: wind tunnel modelling, open pit, surface mining, scale model, mine ventilation, airflow profile, point source.

Jan 1, 1993

Introduction The mine winder is an essential element in the mining of ore in deep level mines and therefore requires a high degree of reliability to avoid interruption of production. Failure of any component on a winder may also be dangerous and expensive to repair. The larger the failure the larger the stoppage. The failure of a winder drum is the ultimate catastrophe, not only because of the cost of replacement, but also because of the lead time in procuring a new drum. Today these types of failure are not as common but many failures have occurred in the past and even today many an old winder is con- sidered for a new and often more arduous duty. As far back as the turn of the century a lot of information had been gathered to try and clear up the complexities of the multi- layering effect of coiling rope under tension onto a drum. Before comparing results obtained by various researchers the nature of the pressure distribution between rope and drum due to multi-layering will be discussed briefly.

Jan 1, 1987

By W. L. Wilson

This article could be entitled "The Rediscovery of the Windfall Mine," since it was originally discovered early in this century. The "Rediscovery" was made by personnel of Idaho Mining Corp. during the course of an investigation of the Windfall mine beginning in 1967. There had been historic production from the Windfall mine sporadically from 1908 until 1951 and there was present during much of this time a mill that vat leached crushed ore. Mining was underground to a depth of 91 m (300 ft). Prior to Idaho's activities, the mine had been inactive since the early 1950s. Idaho Mining Corp. was an "exploration company," privately owned and based in Reno, NV. The writer was at that time manager of exploration for Idaho Mining. The company held interests in the Cortez Gold mine, then being readied for production, and had conducted exploration for various mineral commodities in Nevada for several years. Idaho's attention was first directed to the Windfall mine in the Eureka District, Eureka County, Nevada (see Fig. 1, Nevada map) by a search of published geologic literature of the state of Nevada. An attempt was made to acquire a library consisting of all of the published geo-data for the state of Nevada as well as to obtain as much of the unpublished material as could be acquired. A study of these data, and in particular Tom Nolan's Professional Paper 406 (1962), indicated that the Windfall mine was anomalous for the Eureka District in that it contained deposits of disseminated gold. This source and other sources indicated that the Windfall had produced from underground operations approximately 59 kt (65,000 tons) grading 12.6 g/t (0.368 oz per ton) gold ore that was processed in a vat leaching operation and that the gold was "invisible" to the naked eye and could not be panned. It was ascertained that there were no active operations near the mine and a geologic reconnaissance was made and a few samples were taken to attempt to determine if the mineralization was indeed disseminated. The initial group of samples around the mine area averaged 1.25 ppm [11.5 g/t gold (0.036 oz per ton)] and the mineralization did appear to disseminate into the wallrock. The next step involved researching the ownership of property in the immediate area of the mine, and [ ] a property map was constructed that showed six or seven different ownerships of patented and unpatented claims, as well as some open ground, in the target area. Negotiations were commenced with the claim owners, ultimately resulting in the acquisition of all of the desired property, although some of

Jan 1, 1990

In the Bendigo district, with its large number of comparitively small leases worked by separate companies, we might naturally expect to find many different arrangements of winding machinery and, as a matter of fact, there are steam winches, old portable engines, single and duplex geared engines, twin engines on the first motion, and in one instance a single engine on the first motion, all employed for hauling purposes from depths of 1000 feet and over.It would be impossible in the compass of this paper to discuss at all fully the various arrangements of winding gear employed on the field the writer can simply refer to some of the more prominent features, in the hope that the information may prove of interest and benefit to the mining community. In criticising our machinery it must be remembered that when many of the plants in use at the present time were erected, they were not intended to wind from more than one third of the depths now common on the field; but so long as the machine could be made to haul a tank of water from the bottom of the shaft it has remained, the greater power required being obtained by increasing the piston speed and altering the gear wheels to suit. The consequence is, of course, that in some of our mines the speed of winding is painfully slow this feature, however, though certainly not consistent with modern ideas of economical mining, does not so seriously affect Bendigo as it would other fields, for the comparatively small quantity of stone to be raised from a given reef by some...

Jan 1, 1902