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By AIME AIME

T HE appointment of Herbert Hoover to the portfolio of Commerce in the President's Cabinet is to engineers the fulfillment of a long deferred hope to have an engineer in high political office and is a matter of congratulation to us for three reasons; because he is a mining engineer who represents the highest type of idealistic engineering effort; because he is a past president of the Institute; and because he has probably a broader grasp of world problems than any other living engineer. Frank A. Vanderlip in the preface to his book "What Happened to Europe" tells of the many interviews he had with the most prominent men in Europe which were made possible for him by his eminence as a banker and by the courtesy of the American ambassadors. He cites by name such well known figures as Austin Chamberlain, Sir Auckland Geddes, Monsieur Delacroix, Monsieur Briand, Mr. Padkrewski, Mr. Venizelos, Colonel House, General Pershing, Mr. Baruch, and many others and says :

Jan 1, 1921

By Frank Sames, Brad Terhune

In many construction projects and in most quarrying operations drilling and blasting remains the only feasible method of loosening rock in the removal of rock or overburden, the development of the quarry and in the production process of crushed stone. Often, a blasting plan is required for the project or the quarry’s permit with primary concerns over safety and site security, and compliance with environmental regulations or standards. From this plan, a blasting program has to be developed considering the varying requirements of production, the advance of the mineral extraction and the environmental impact. The actual blast design requires a planning and optimization process. This optimization process is driven by the blasting technicians/engineers, project or mine management and often by community concerns. The blast design process comprises the selection of blast parameters, including the explosives, and the actual layout of the blast. Design tools and controls range from conventional methods based on established blasting practices to advanced design tools or computer models. Blast monitoring and evaluation can also range from empirical to advanced blast assessment. The data and information from each blast or a series of blasts can further be used in the optimization process. Its success depends upon recording the data, the timely transformation of the data to relevant information, and the development of process oriented knowledge. The elements of the blast design process are summarized and described with examples of state-of-the art engineering controls. The reporting and monitoring of individual blasts is discussed with respect to data management and information systems. A conceptual overview of the components and interfaces of a blasting program is given and discussed on the background of technical, management and community concerns.

Jan 1, 2004

The Engineering Council met on October 11 in the rooms of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Engineering Societies Building, New York. The Rules Committee submitted a draft of rules for the admission of other societies to the Council and progress was made in their consideration. The Committee on Public Affairs reported on a number of requests that the Council support pending or proposed legislation. Remedial laws intended to promote hydro-electric development were favored and Council voted to offer its cooperation to the United States Chamber of Commerce which is interesting itself in this matter. A movement to coordinate, unify and strengthen the work of various engineering committees cooperating with the federal authorities at Washington was favorably considered. Messrs. H. W. Buck and Charles. Whiting Baker were appointed Council conferees. CALVERT TOWNLEY, Secretary.

Jan 12, 1917

REORGANIZING AMERICAN ENGINEERS There are in America approximately 500 engineers' organizations of various kinds, and yet it is estimated in many communities that 30 to 50. per cent. of the resident engineers are not members of any society of engineers. There is no enumeration of the engineers of the country, but estimates range from 100,000 to 300,000, the latter number probably including assistants, such as instrumentmen, draftsmen and inspectors, together with professional engineers. These local, state, regional and national organizations are for the most part independent and have no means for cooperation. Steps toward the improvement of these conditions are being taken in a number of localities and have already been taken in others. Many engineers are giving the matter serious attention. American Society of Civil-Engineers took an important action at the June meeting of its Board of Direction, by, authorizing the creation of a Committee on Development of Am. Soc. C. E. This action is now well known to all representatives on Engineering Council. Other Founder Societies axe reported to be considering similar action. Engineering Foundation, at its meeting on Sept. 12, adopted the following resolutions: Survey of Engineering Organizations BE IT RESOLVED: that the Engineering. Foundation is prepared, the four Founder Societies concurring, to devote its strength and its' income, so far as this may he required, to a study of existing engineering organizations, and from information thus developed to formulate a series of constructive recommendations which may he serviceable in guiding the further development of local and national engineering organizations in their relations to the profession of engineering, to the public and to each other, to the end that a foundation may he laid upon which to establish a broadly planned procedure, which, while recognizing and preserving all that has already been accomplished, shall increase the power of American engineers in upbuilding their profession and in the service they render to society; and RESOLVED: that in accepting the responsibility for such an undertaking, it will be the purpose of the Engineering Foundation to organize the proposed research along the broadest possible lines, to call to its aid highly qualified experts, and to avail itself of the help of agencies which may be willing to cooperate; and RESOLVED: that in proposing this research the Engineering Foundation has no desire or purpose to intrude upon the domain of individual organizations; that it does not propose to control the action of any individual or organization; nor to ask the acceptance of its conclusions; but that its purpose shall he to develop a possible procedure, or a series of such procedures, of such evident, merit that they will appeal to those who are likely to be most interested; it will do this in the belief that in so far as its work may justify the confidence of engineers and of engineering organizations, it will bear its own fruitage.

Jan 11, 1918

By Ira N. Holli

A meeting of Engineering Council was held on Thursday, Jan. 22, 1918, at the Engineering Societies Building, New York. Present: Chairman Ira N. Hollis (A. S. M. E.); Dr. Charles Warren Hunt, Alex. C. Humphreys and F. H. Newell (A. S. C. E.); B. B. Lawrence and .J. Parke Charming (A. I. M. E.); Charles Whiting Baker, D. S. Jacobus, and George, J. Foran (A. S. M. E.) ; H. W. Buck, E. W. Rice, Jr., N. A. Carle, C. E. Skinner and Comfort A. Adams (A. I. E. E.) ; Clemens Herschel and Calvert Townley (United Engineering Society); also, by invitation, D. W. Brunton, Chairman, War Committee of Technical Societies of Engineering Council. Of the several actions taken at this meeting, the following are selected as being of most general interest. Chairman-Baker-presented a resolution on the conduct of the war, to which objections were made. It was referred to a special-committee; Charles Whiting Baker, Charles Warren Hunt, and Calvert Townley, for re-drafting and presentation later in the meeting. The revised resolution submitted by this committee led to further discussion and as no agreement could he reached, the matter was laid on the table.

Jan 3, 1918

By AIME AIME

Council may deal with any matter of general interest, for which joint action of two or more of its member societies would have been appropriate, if Council had not been established. Council may initiate and carry through projects of the general character defined in the By-Laws, for which the necessary financial provision has been made. Council may take up, and in its discretion act upon, any matter of general interest referred to it by any member society or by any other society, national, state or local, or by any branch of Government, or by any individual or group of individuals.

Jan 1, 1920

By J. Parke Channing

IT, HAS been my privilege to be Chairman of Engineering Council for very nearly three years, during which time Mr. A. D. Flinn, the. Secretary, and myself, have seen the organization develop until it is functioning smoothly and accomplishing what it can with the money at its disposal. The earliest attempt at what may be called an Engi¬neering Council, of which. I have any knowledge, was made six or seven years ago when the four Founder Societies each appointed two men, who occasionally met to discuss matters submitted to them which were of importance to, the, profession as a whole. I was one of the representatives of the American Institute of Mining Engineers.

Jan 1, 1920

Engineering Council has been elected to membership in the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. Its representative will be Mr. Harold W. Buck, of Viele, Blackwell & Buck, Consulting Engineers, New York City, Past-president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, his alternate being Mr. Irving E. Moultrop, of the Edison Electric Illum-inating Co., Boston, member of American Society of Mechanical Engin-eers and American Institute of Electrical Engineers. The Chamber of Commerce of the United States was formed in 1912 and now consists of more than 1100 organizations in every state of the union, in the out-lying possessions, and of all the principal American chambers of commerce abroad. One of the chief aims is to obtain the best business thought on national questions that concern business. Members of the National Chamber have the privilege of using all the facilities of the Chamber's offices in Washington when information is desired.

Jan 12, 1919

By R. A. May, P. J. Brooks, W. M. Smith

"Neill and Gunter Limited (NGL) has prepared a preliminary design and a cost estimate for a ferric chloride leach plant to recover copper, lead, zinc, and silver from a typical complex sulphide ore. This plant design is specifically intended to treat unconcentrated ground ore (flotation feed), but can be readily adapted to treat bulk concentrates. Samples of ground ore and bulk concentrate were obtained from Heath Steele Mines, Miramichi, New Brunswick, laboratory testing, and preliminary process flow sheet preparation was carried out by the Research and Productivity Council in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Approximately thirty drawings have been produced, including process and equipment flowsheets, process piping and instrumentation drawings, and preliminary general arrangements. Preliminary capital and operating cost estimates were prepared for a plant that would treat 1000 t/d of crushed and ground ore to produce about 30 000 tpy of zinc. Capital and operating cost estimates were also projected for plants up to 4000 t/d of processed ore. Recoveries of 99% for zinc, 98% for lead, and 96% for copper were achieved in laboratory tests on unconcentrated ore. These recoveries were higher than the overall recoveries obtained from bulk concentrate, yielding approximately 10% more revenue.A 1000 tonne per day plant was determined to have a low return on investment, however, depending on the size and type of mining operations employed and the FCL plant throughput. DCF-ROI projections of 20% to over 30% were calculated for 100% equity financed “green field” mine, mill and FCL plant operations of 2000 t/d and higher"

Jan 1, 1997

By Roger M. Nendick

The recovery of precious metals from heap leach solutions can be accomplished by two processes: 1. The Carbon Adsorption Process 2. The Merrill-Crowe Zinc Precipitation Process A brief review of the relative process economics is made. Each process presents certain design considerations that must be addressed during the evaluation and engineering design for the project. Discussion is presented on the design criteria for each process.

Jan 1, 1984

By A. P. E. Dirige

In order to maximize the recovery of ore and to save on costs in undercut mining, backfill of low cement content is used to fill the mined out excavations. This backfill mass is supported by a sillmat structure cast from cemented backfill of very high strength. The stability design of sillmats must be carefully studied to provide very effective, safe and economic mining operations. This paper presents a methodology and procedures for sillmat design based on three engineering modeling approaches: analytical, numerical and centrifuge modeling. Application of the design approach is demonstrated from a design study conducted for an underground gold mine, aimed at minimizing backfill binder content and at producing cost efficient paste fill recipes for sillmat construction. Application of the engineering design recommendations was projected to result in substantial annual cost savings to the mine operation.

May 1, 2007

By Thomas W. Turk

The water treatment industry has historically been involved with reducing or inhibiting the inherant scale forming or fouling tendencies of natural waters associated with large industrial cooling water systems. Fouling is an extremely complex phenomenon. From a fundamental point of view, it may be characterized as a combined momentum, heat, and mass transfer problem. Chemical reaction kinetics is involved, as well as the solubility characteristics of salts in water and corrosion technology. It is a routine practice to over size pumps, piping and heat exchangers to compensate for fouling.

Jan 1, 1983

By T. W. Turk, S. A. Sass

The engineering design features of the Mercur Gold Project crushing, grinding, carbon-in-leach, bullion, reagent, and tailings disposal areas will be discussed in this paper. It presents a project overview and flowsheet along with selected design alternatives. During the engineering phase, major equipment and other features were selected to optimize design within site location and environmental constraints. The project team organization and procedures were adopted to accommodate multiple optimization studies while maintaining a tight engineering schedule.

Jan 1, 1985

By T. W. Turk

In May 1984, Davy McKee Corporation was awarded a contract for engineering design, procurement assistance, project management and startup services for two gold recovery plants? in the People's, Republic of China (PRC). The basic design of these two projects was to be accomplished by a combined effort of the Chinese and Davy McKee Corporation (DMC). The, design goals were to provide a state-of-the art plant while maintaining Chinese standards and design practices whenever possible. Chinese-manufactured equipment was to be used as much as possible. This paper discusses the project organization and procedures developed to accomplish the design goals, the process selection and design, and the selection and procurement of equipment outside of the PRC. Design development for grinding, leaching and carbon adsorption, and gold recovery are discussed in detail. The major goal of process selection and design was to provide common criteria for both plants. Equipment .sizing and selection was identical for carbon-in-leach adsorption, gold recovery, acid washing, and carboo regeneration for both plants. Of special importance is the design of the wastewater treatment system. Due to the cl0se proximity of a major population area, slurry discharging from these mines must be treated to meet drinking water standards. The process development and design of this system is also discussed in detail.

Jan 1, 1989

By R. M. Raymond

RECENTLY one of the Welsh coal companies, which has an excellent plant of up-to-date ma-chinery both on the surface and underground, operated under modern methods, sent one of its engi-neers to the United States to study actual operations in the mines. He visited several of the most important and best conducted collieries, went back, and reported that the greatest difference between operations in England and in the United States was. the closer con-tact between management and workmen. By manage-ment he meant management all the way through; close cooperation between office management, superintend-ents, foremen, shift-bosses, etc., and the workmen. A visit to some of the coal mines in that country by the writer made this fact rather impressive. The feel-ing on this side of the water that the methods in use in the coal mines in England are not up-to-date was found in many cases to be quite erroneous. Many mines, particularly those with very thin beds, in which profitable operations are doubtful under the best con-ditions, have necessarily had to adhere to old methods instead of making mechanical improvements. The Powell-Duffryn mines, in the center of the South Wales district, are certainly operating successfully, and have planned their business excellently. Sufficient areas of contiguous land have been leased for extended opera-tions. Mine plants are laid out in the valley, for work-ings on both sides, on a reasonable tonnage of 1500 to 3000 tons to each operation. The beds are from 30 to 48 in. thickness, and a 3-ft. seam is considered an ex-cellent thickness of coal; in fact, the miners prefer to work on the thinner beds rather than the thick ones, where they consider it more difficult to control the backs. This company is making use of its fine coal for produc-ing electric power, which is distributed to its own operations, and for use in the communities adjoining. For this purpose methods of cleaning the fine coal are being put into use. Compressed air is generated at the central power plant and is transmitted over long dis-tances to various mines in each valley. A byproduct coke plant uses more of the fine coal and gives further returns from non-commercial coal. The long-wall system applied in sections of limited size is popular in working the small seams, and me-chanical cutting is used, also handling either by shaking chutes or belt conveyors, or a combination of both. In some mines mechanical cutting is not necessary. The backs are so handled that in the softer or somewhat crushed seams hand cutting can be carried on effec-tively.

Jan 10, 1927

By B. Y. Wong

In April 1989, Southern Company Services signed a 3.5 year contract with DOE-PETC for generic engineering development of an advanced physical fine coal cleaning technology known as selective agglomeration. This technology offers the potential for significantly higher pyritic sulfur removal (90% +) than conventional coal cleaning (30 to 50%) while maintaining high Btu recovery (90% +). Engineering development will include bench-scale process development; component development; adaption or modification of existing unit operations; proof-of-concept (POC) module design, fabrication, testing and evaluation; and small commercial facility conceptual design. The information obtained during POC operation will be sufficient to result in a technical and economic design base that can support construction and operation of a small commercial plant. The major goal of the research is to develop selective agglomeration technology to achieve 90% pyritic sulfur removal while operating at Btu recoveries above 90% based on run-of-mine quality coal. This objective will be accomplished in two phases: Phase 1 -bench-scale and component development, and Phase 2 -POC module operation and conceptual design of a small commercial plant. Currently, work is proceeding under Phase 1 (Tasks 1-7) of the project. A review of the status of Tasks 1-7 is presented in this paper.

Jan 1, 1991

By N. Duda, W. Koperska, S. Anufriiev, P. Stefaniak

In mineral processing plants ore extracted from mines is processed to obtain a concentrate with the highest possible concentration of this valuable product. It is a complicated multi-stage process. Usually, the first step is sieving the ore, which is typically done using vibrating mining screens. There is often only a limited number of these machines in the technological chain, which is why their continuous operation, and proper maintenance is crucial for the whole process. Predictive maintenance is the best strategy in this case because it allows for minimising the number and duration of unexpected stoppages. It consists of the prediction of future failures based on available real-time data, and predictive models built upon this data using, for example, machine learning techniques. In this paper we concentrate on feature generation for future predictive maintenance model development for a vibrating screen, based on an example of a KGHM ore processing facility in Polkowice-Sieroszowice. We focus on two types of measurements: bearings temperature and vibrational data. Based on the raw data, the process of more advanced feature engineering is described. By transforming the temperature data we calculate characteristics of bearing cooling and heating dynamics, while based on vibrational data, the aggregated characteristics of the vibrations are derived. Such features are calculated on a long-term basis, and then they are compared to the data related to vibrating screen maintenance to estimate their significance for the prediction of particular failures of the machine.

Sep 1, 2021

By Greg Brown

The underwriting of professional negligence has proved to be an evolving science. As with most insurance products coverage offered in the past was very broad but as legal precedent demonstrated to Insurers areas of unforeseen exposure policy documents per se have become more restrictive until today the insurance market through attrition have produced a basic policy structure with various purchasable extensions which together provide insuring professionals with coverage that has proved to be adequate for their needs. The basic policy provides indemnity and protection for fortuitous negligence. In a practical sense, however, professional indemnity policies are really a defence document in so far as policy holders are relying upon the expertise of Insurers to protect them in the event that a claim is made upon them. Whether damages are awarded is in many respects a secondary consideration, the most important factor is to ensure that policy holders are protected in terms of the legal defence mechanism. By way of illustration we are currently in the process of defending a large professional firm which purchased from us a policy with a limit of indemnity of $10M. The case has been running in a Supreme Court now for 14 months and the defence costs which we have incurred on their behalf are rising close to $8M as I put pen to paper. Defence costs of that magnitude would in effect terminally cripple all but the very largest professional operations in Australia. In more recent times coverage has been provided in Australia for breaches of the Trade Practices Act and similar legislation enacted in various States. No-one really appreciated the comprehensive impact which the Trade Practices Act would have on commerce in Australia. Most professionals thought that indeed they would be exempt from prosecution under this Act. The passage of time has clearly indicated that this is not the case and we have found that it is much more difficult to defend a claim involving breaches of the Trade Practices Act than it would be to defend a claim for breach of tortuous liability.

Jan 1, 1995

On June 1, the offices of the Engineering Division of the National Research Council were moved from Washington to the sixteenth floor of the Engineering Societies Building, 29 W. 39th St., New York City.

Jan 7, 1919

By Edgar G. Hill

MUCH has been written and said recently about the methods used and materials and equipment employed in building the long tubes that criss-cross a great part of the [ ] united States, like the pattern of a spider's web. This paper will discuss the fundamentals of design of these lines from the economic as well as the engineering view-point, pointing out the effect of the volumes transported, and the load factor at which they are operated, on the unit costs of transportation, as well as the effects on costs of the character of the fluids the lines are called upon to handle. Generally speaking, crude-oil pipe lines carry oil from the producing fields to the [ ] refineries. Sometimes part of the journey is by pipe line to a coastal point and tank ships are employed for the rest of the trip. The main lines of directional flow of crude oil through pipe lines in the United States are shown on Fig. I, but this, of course, does not always show individual pipe lines. BASIC FORMULA FOR FLOW OF CRUDE OIL The laws governing the flow of crude oil through pipes are well known. The basic

Jan 1, 1942