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By Ahmad Ghahremaninezhad, Noelene Ahern, Yeonuk Choi

Arsenic (As) is a toxic element and is a major contaminant in the extraction processes of some metals (e.g. gold and copper). Due to the toxicity of arsenic species, its removal from As-containing streams from extractive metallurgy processes and safe disposal is absolutely necessary. For nearly complete removal of waste arsenic species from metallurgical process streams, it is required to have arsenic in its pentavalent state (As5+ species). This study presents an oxidation process for arsenic species with air or oxygen gas as oxidant. Activated carbon (AC) or other carbon based materials are used to catalyse the oxidation reaction. Air or oxygen gas is the only consumed reagent which makes the economy of the process very attractive. The oxidation reaction can be carried out at ambient conditions (room temperature and atmospheric pressure) in less than 24 hours.

Jan 1, 2014

By Samuel B. Rombeger

The behavior of gold in hydrothermal systems is evaluated as a function of pH and oxygen and sulphur activities at temperatures to 250°C. Under conditions of stability of pyrite and argillic alteration as emblages, gold will be transported as bisulphide complexes. In systems containing significant amounts of arsenic, thioarsenide complexes may be important. Oxidation, dilution and reduction in sulphur activity would cause gold deposition from saturated solutions under these conditions. Gold chloride complexes will predominate under oxidized conditions where hematite or other oxides are stable and depo ition would result from increase in pH and/or reduction . Absorption and coprecipitation are po sible mechanisms of deposition for gold in certain low grade depo it . Low concentrations of gold in the transporting solution combined with the ignificant solubility of gold as bisulphide complexes, sugge t hydrothermal solutions rarely may be saturated with gold and coprecipitation with sulphides may be an important initial depositional process. Recrystallization of the sulphides in the presence of the hydrothermal solution would be re ponsible for release of gold to more table ite . Thi mechani m i supported by the close association of gold with pyrite in many hydrothermal gold deposits.

Jan 1, 1986

The sixth international symposium on mining with fill nearly coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Jubilee Symposium on Mine Filling. That symposium, held in August 1973 in Mount Isa, in part to commemorate the 80th anniversary of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, was the first in what has turned out to be a very successful series of symposia. Subsequent symposia were held in Sudbury, Canada (1978), Lulea, Sweden (1983), Montreal, Canada (1989) and Johannesburg, South Africa (1993). The series of symposia has now become an established part of the mining industry calendar, and it will be interesting to see which country is given the honour, and accepts the challenge, to organise the next symposium.One way of predicting the future, or some small part of it, is to revisit where we have already been with a view to determining the existence of any trends that may impact on the future. An historical review of filling practice and research, with special emphasis on Australian experience in particular and worldwide in general over the previous 25 years, will enable me to address the historical and predictive objectives. Controversy can always be achieved by producing a best of list; it can be guaranteed that everyone will disagree with at least one of the nominations. On this occasion, the best contributions by individuals or groups in a number of areas of mine fill technology, over the last 25 years, will be the basis for the nominal awards. The controversy can be increased by posing a number of questions that, hopefully, some of the authors will address during their presentations. I imagine the social functions will be busy enough, but the questions may just add to the cut and thrust of the debate.

Jan 1, 1998

By V. C. Allison

Large-scale testing of the explosibility of coal dust as conducted by the Bureau of Mines in its Experimental Mine involves a large initial investment, and a high charge for maintenance and conduct of the test; in addition the work is necessarily slow because of the time required for the preparntion of the tests and the cleaning and repairing of the mine after each test. These tests have been made along practical mining lines that admit of a range of mixtures of dust varying from 5 to 10 per cent. and with gas as low as 0.5 per cent. increments. Because of the time and expense involved, efforts have been made to devise a type of gallery for laboratory use in which the results obtained in the Experimental Mine may be correlated as an aid in a study of dusts, the explosibility of which might be approximately determined quickly and at a minimum of expense. The explosibility of coal dust has been studied by a number of European investors, using small laboratory devices; among these may be mentioned the experiments conducted by Galloway, Vital, Hall and Clark, Abel, Mallard and Chatelier, Thorpe, Bedson and Widdas, Engler, Holwartz and Meyer, and Taffanel, results of whose experiments have becn reviewed by the Bureau of Mines.' The Bureau has conducted many tests with the Frazer-Cle1ncnt5 apparattus, which gives the pressures set up when the dust cloud within is ignited with a platinum coil or tube, heated to different temperatures, but for these tests the sample must be especially prepared as to size (200 mesh) and must be dry. Need for a Dust-testing Apparatus An attempt has been made to design an apparatus that may be used for checking and correlating the expcrimental tests. The first design was a wooden gallery, 8 by 10 in., inside cross section, and 12 ft. long, and having a number of strips along each side for creation of turbulence. The wooden gallery did not get beyond its period of calibration; it mas difficult to make the gallery sufficiently tight, for it was necessary that the top be removable in order that the gallery could be cleaned. In the use of the wooden gallery, however, sufficient operating data were obtained to be a guide in the design of a steel gallery having a circular cross-section. One of the features was a flap valve, at the closed end of the gallery, that would open inwardly thus preventing a reduced pressure within, caused by the cooling of the gases of combustion, and the explosions propagated much better than when the valve was not used; another feature was the determining of the best method for getting a cloud of dust simultaneously in all parts of the gallery, which was accomplished by the use of the concussion wave of a small quantity of powder or by the use of compressed air.

Jan 1, 1927

By M R. Asef

Although generation of environmentally harmful hydrogen sulfide is considered to be related to sour gas fields, sweet gas reservoirs and waste fluids, travertine springs and geothermal fields may also produce acid gas (H2S and CO2) under certain conditions. The potential parameters influencing such a possibility need to be fully investigated to evaluate the extent of the consequences and predict hydrogen sulfide generation accordingly. Reports on hydrogen sulfide production at different regions and fields were gathered worldwide for the cases when some of them did not have such a problem previously. In order to inspect different aspects of these case studies, some other regions with no hydrogen sulfide content were selected as control. In all cases water samples were taken carefully for chemical analysis in the laboratory. Besides, mineral compositions were characterised in some cases for better evaluation. In order to give a thorough prospect of hydrogen sulfide production, a geochemical model was prepared. In situ engineering geological conditions, especially pressure and temperature, were assigned in the model to investigate the possibility of H2S generation using PHREEQC software. The results of modelling revealed that although many similarities existed between mineral compositions of the cases, certain formations were particularly prone to hydrogen sulfide generation. For better evaluation, important exchangeable cation ratios such as potassium/sodium, calcium/magnesium and ion proportions like sulfate and chloride were calculated as trends of the formations. As expected, the model could successfully monitor a higher ratio of SO42- and Cl- in potential H2S generator formations. Wide variation in percentage of HCO3- was considered as a secondary observatory parameter for better estimation. In addition, it was noticed that higher anion content created an environment ready to absorb any cations and this makes H2S generation easier. Finally, using correlations between predictors and estimators for low depth and deep samples defined the degree of effectiveness for every sample.

Sep 26, 2011

The sixth international symposium on mining with fill nearly coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Jubilee Symposium on Mine Filling. That symposium, held in August 1973 in Mount Isa, in part to commemorate the 80th anniversary of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, was the first in what has turned out to be a very successful series of symposia. Subsequent symposia were held in Sudbury, Canada (1978), Lulea, Sweden (1983), Montreal, Canada (1989) and Johannesburg, South Africa (1993). The series of symposia has now become an established part of the mining industry calendar, and it will be interesting to see which country is given the honour, and accepts the challenge, to organise the next symposium. When the chairman of the conference organising committee invited (or was it instructed?) me to prepare and deliver one of the keynote addresses, his request was for me to be in parts historical, controversial, predictive and entertaining. The mix was left to me, with one proviso - that an early pioneer of mine filling in Australia be given due recognition. The chairman of the organising committee alone will be able to determine if I fulfilled the last objective. My success, or otherwise, with the other objectives will have to be judged by my fellow delegates. One way of predicting the future, or some small part of it, is to revisit where we have already been with a view to determining the existence of any trends that may impact on the future. An historical review of filling practice and research, with special emphasis on Australian experience in particular and worldwide in general over the previous 25 years, will enable me to address the historical and predictive objectives.

Jan 1, 1998

By John J. Sammarco, Alan G. Mayton, Elaine N. Rubinstein

Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed a light-emitting diode (LED) area luminaire called the Saturn and conducted a laboratory study using a Fletcher High Dual-boom Mast Feed (HDDR) roof bolting machine. The Saturn luminaire was designed to (1) enhance floor illumination to enable better detection of trip hazards in the interior spaces of a roof bolter and (2) reduce glare that has typically been an issue of concern on roof bolters. This paper reports on the results of achieving the second objective. The existing roof bolter lighting was the baseline and was compared with three versions of the Saturn luminaire relative to light intensity (100%, 75%, and 50%). Discomfort and disability glare data were obtained from 30 participants that comprised three age groups. Discomfort glare perceptions were obtained using the De Boer rating scale, and disability glare was quantified by using Mars Letter Contrast Sensitivity tests. Discomfort glare was reduced at least 3 levels with all Saturn versions. Also, a predictive model was used to estimate discomfort glare, and the results were similar. Disability glare was the least for the Saturn’s 50% intensity, and all Saturn versions had significantly less disability glare than with the baseline lighting. Veiling luminance was calculated and used as another indicator of disability glare. Veiling luminance was 28 to 42 times greater with the baseline lighting as compared with that of the Saturn lighting. Lastly, visibility levels were calculated. The Saturn versions were 4 to 6.5 times better in terms of visibility level.

By Yuanbo Zhang, Yikang Tu, Zijian Su

Stainless steel swarf is a typical by-product produced from stainless steel processing, which contains a significant level of valuable metals, such as iron, chrome, and nickel. About 1 million tons of stainless steel swarf are generated in China annually, but as mixed with impurities such as Al and Si, stainless steel swarf is not suitable to be directly smelted into stainless steel through refining process. In this study, stainless steel swarf was applied as a strengthening agent during limonitic laterite sintering process. The effects of adding stainless steel swarf on green bed permeability, the yield and quality indexes of the sinters, and the microstructure of the sinters were evaluated systematically. The results showed that the concentrated distribution degree of granules and green bed permeability were improved after adding stainless steel swarf. As the additional amount of stainless steel swarf increased from 0 to 3%, the tumble index and yield of the sinters rose from 50.07 to 54.69% and from 62.04 to 67.35%, respectively. The addition of stainless steel swarf would not change the phase compositions, and had little adverse impact on the metallurgical properties of the limonitic laterite sinters.

Aug 23, 2023

By C. Moctezuma

Since the start up of the IMMSA electrolytic zinc refinery in 1982, the dissolved iron coming from the acid attack of the ferrites has been precipitated by the jarosite process. At the beginning of operations, sodium jarosite was produced; however, the plant was converted to ammonium jarosite in 1990. The final storage of the residue is on the company&apos;s property adjacent to the plant, over the natural surface of the land. Before the construction of the refinery, several studies were done in order to evaluate the characteristics of the ground, such as, permeability, underground water localization, etc. The results showed that the site was adequate for the storage of this kind of material. For several years, the jarosite residue was filtered on rotary drum filters and was sent as a pulp to the storage area for settling. The water from the storage pond was recycled to the re-pulp tank for the jarosite residue. These filters were replaced in 1999 by an automated filter press. Since then, the jarosite residue has had a lower water content, and the zinc recovery improved. At present, a second filter press for the jarosite circuit is in the acquisition process to diminish the soluble zinc content in the residue from the present value of 2% to < 1% Zn.

Jan 1, 2006

By Hongling Wang, DI WU, Shuai Li, Hui Shu

Isothermal reduction experiments on carbon-bearing pellets of copper slag were investigated by the thermogravimetric method with biomass carbon as a reducing agent. The results indicated that the reduction process of copper slag‑biomass composite pellets was dominated by gas phase diffusion, and the apparent activation energy was 88.44 kJ/mol. In the temperature range from 1000 to 1200 °C, the metallization rate of pellets increased with increasing temperature, and the maximum metallization rate was 78.4%. The optimal reduction temperature of CSBCP (copper slag-biomass composite pellets) was 1200 °C.

Nov 23, 2022

By D. A. Temple, G. O. John

Until recently, the approach to the problem of treating complex ores bas been to produce, insofar as is possible, mono-metal concentrates which are treated in traditional zinc, lead and copper smelting circuits, with the residues and by-products from some of these circuits being retreated for the recovery of contained values either by a separate residue treatment process or along with the primary feed to the appropriate circuit. The continued development of the Imperial Smelting Process, with its ability to treat poly-metal concentrates, calls for a re-examination of the traditional approach to this problem, and this the paper attempts to do. A survey of recent progress in the technical development of the process is made and a summary of current operational performance is included.

Jan 1, 1971

By S. G. Hardcastle, C. K. Kocsis

Ventilation is an expensive prerequisite for underground mining. Current mining trends, including increasing depth and mechanization and more stringent health regulations would generally dictate that more air volume is required in order to provide good working conditions underground. However, any increase in the mine’s intake airflow can produce a disproportionate increase in power consumption and hence operating costs due to the cubic relationship between the sup-plied air power and the airflow (Power a Flow3). Furthermore, forecasts of significant increase in energy prices and new commitments with regard to reductions of greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions, determined the mining industry to look into developing new concepts, design tools and incorporate the latest mining technologies in order to lower capital and operating costs while meeting commitments regarding GHG emissions. The advances in computing power and modelling software now make it possible to design, model and schedule a mine from opening to closure. A developing trend is to design and plan the mine by means of orebody modelling software, followed by using discrete-event simulation techniques to predict production rates and evaluate various operating scenarios throughout the life of the mine. The authors are currently evaluating how such process simulators could be adapted in order to forecast the need for materials or a specific resource, and one of these would be the mine’s “life-cycle” airflow demand as a function of scheduled production rates and mine operating characteristics. Further to this, based upon the mine’s life-cycle airflow demand schedule, the ventilation system could then be designed using a mine ventilation simulator. This new design approach would integrate in parallel the development of the ventilation system with the current mining conditions, therefore, heading towards “develop-as-you-go” as opposed to developing the system for final requirements with high upfront costs. This new ventilation system design criteria would also incorporate the use of the “ventilation-on-demand” technology, which will further lower development and production costs and implicitly, the mines’ GHG emissions.

Jan 1, 2004

By Henry A. Wentworth

(New York Meeting, February, 1912.) ELECTROSTATIC separation of ores in its present form is generally known as the Huff&apos; process from the name of Charley H. Huff, of Boston, Mass., through whose constant and persistent labors (with the invention of Clinton E. Dolbear as a basis) the successful commercial process embracing separative machinery and the various electrifying devices has been developed step by step, and the finances for the long period of development provided, and the method finally established and recognized throughout the world as an important and successful addition to the ore-dressing department of metallurgy. The permanent field-success of electrostatic separation began in 1908 with a 20-ton Huff experimental mill built specially for the purpose by the American Zinc, Lead.& Smelting Co., in Platteville, Wis., a plant which was a success from the start and was gradually increased in capacity as the market-conditions warranted to 100 tons of concentrates per day. Much credit is due to the above-mentioned company for its initial venture, and for its assistance in applying the process to field use. Prior to 1908 electrostatic separators had been installed and operated (but for a comparatively short time, however) in a number of places; some under the patents of Mr. Dolbear by himself and associates, and some under the patents of Lucien I. Blake and Lawrence N. Morscher, by W. G. Swart, mining engineer, of Denver, who has always been a courageous advocate of electrostatic separation. Due to the difficulties experienced in the generation of the electrical charges, the primitiveness of the separators, the wooden construction instead of iron as at present, the lack of control of the electrical fields and other difficulties overcome by the later inventions of the Huff Electrostatic Separator Co.,

Jun 1, 1912

By Frank E. Cash, John A. Johnson

"INTRODUCTION The operators of the Lake Superior district iron-ore mines have made tremendous progress in the past 25 years in the transportation of broken ore from the working places to the surface. This progress has paid divi¬dends in increased production and in lower accident-frequency rates. The trend has been toward more efficient use of mechanical and electrical power and abolishment of many of the backbraking tasks formerly required of min¬ers and trammers.ScopeTransportation of iron ore as described in this paper covers (1) movement from the working place to ore raises by scrapers, shaker,conveyors, and belt conveyors, and, loading underground cars from chutes or-by scraping from loading drifts; (2) underground haulage, which includes underground cars trains, locomotives, and tracks; (3) shaft station's and hoisting shafts, which. Includes dumping cars, storage-pockets; auxiliary storage trenches, and shafts; (4) hoisting, which consists of skips, cages and hoists; and (5) head frames, loading into railroad cars, and stock-pile haulage.The 19 underground iron-ore mines discussed in this paper, situated in the Menominee, Marquette, Gogebic, Guyana, Mesabi, and Vermilion iron ranges of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota., shipped about 9,000,000 tons of iron ore in 1945, which constituted 56 percent of the underground iron ore taken from the Lake Superior district."

Nov 1, 1947

By Anette Mueller, Thomas Schnellert, Sérgio C. Angulo

"The use of automatically sorting technique, to separate gypsum components from recycled material of processed construction and demolition waste (C&DW), is motivated by environmental and economical aspects. Only if the gypsum can be separated the aggregates can fulfill the environmental requirements and also the structural characteristics according to the standards. Furthermore, the separation of red brick can also improve the quality of the aggregates.This paper aims at analyzing the separation of gypsum components and red brick by using the color sorting technique. The impacts on the composition and the envelope density of recycled aggregates are described. Depending on the gypsum content the application of two processing stages (rougher-cleaner) can be necessary to produce aggregates with sufficiently low gypsum content. Additionally, the separation of red brick and concrete is successful. So, the color sorting may be a promising technique to upgrade the quality of mixed C&DW aggregates.IntroductionConstruction and demolition waste (C&DW) is a mixture of different materials. Such mixtures can be used only in low grade applications. If the material is used as certified material for road construction or as aggregate in concrete the concrete particles must be separated from the other building materials. This paper aims at analyzing the separation of gypsum components and red brick by optical sorting. The needed stages of sorting for getting a product quality according to the German Standards are deduced.Gypsum is a building material that is increasingly used for interior works in Germany like it is shown in figure 1 [1]. At present the content of gypsum in C&DW is estimated at about 1 %. Assessments on the basis of material streams of gypsum and concrete and their life spans show that higher gypsum contents of about 3 % must be expected in future [2]. Also in other countries the use of gypsum has grown considerably in the last decades. From the characterization of C&DW available in some cities in Brazil, 4 to 15 % of total amount of C&DW that may arrive at the recycling plant to be processed is excessively contaminated by gypsum. In one of these cities, the average content of gypsum in the C&DW before processing was as high as 2.1 % [3]."

Jan 1, 2008

By R. W. Ballmer

Prior to initiating construction of a new mineral development project, sponsoring organizations must be convinced that the operation will be viable. Proof is typically provided by the feasibility study. Considerable man hours will be spent in assessing and evaluating data on the deposit, its environment, and the means of development. Impact studies must be made for various scales of operation, inclusion of by-products, new methods of treatment, deferent levels of integration, and infrastructure configuration. Examples of current materials handling cost estimates are provided from the ongoing investigation in which Amoco is a participant at Ok Tedi in Papua New Guinea and Gag Island in Indonesia.

Jan 1, 1979

By Manuel M. Reyes, Thuraisamy Thavaraj, Alex Sy

"The new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bridge features a single tower self-anchored suspension (SAS) bridge. During construction of the SAS bridge, a temporary bridge was used to support the box girders until erection of suspension cables was completed. The transfer of deck load from the temporary bridge to the suspension cables was achieved in November 2012 and the SAS bridge has become the largest of its kind in the world. The new bridge will be in service in Fall 2013.Large diameter driven steel pipe piles were used for the temporary bridge foundations at Towers D, F and G located in San Francisco Bay. At Tower D, the large diameter steel pipe piles were driven through thin overburden into bedrock using a large Menck MHU500T hammer with a rated energy of 550 kJ. As there was no precedence in driving open-ended pipe piles into the Franciscan Formation bedrock, challenges were faced with uncertainties in drivability, driving stresses, pile embedment in bedrock and pile capacity. These uncertainties were addressed by incorporating additional measures into the pile design, and by the use of dynamic pile monitoring during initial driving and re-strike. Pile relaxation was observed during pile installation.At Towers F and G, setup effect was a key issue for the piles driven into the deep soft marine sediments. Drivability analyses were conducted to predict pile run, driving stresses, selection of hammer and refusal criteria. The piles were dynamically monitored during driving to estimate pile capacities. Due to the set-up effect in the Bay Mud, the piles gained up to 3.3 times the initial capacity during the re-strike and were in excess of the design capacity.This paper presents details of the design, construction, testing and performance of the driven pipe piles at temporary Towers D, F and G. Settlement data of the temporary tower foundations while in service confirmed the satisfactory performance of the pile foundations.INTRODUCTIONThe new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge features a single tower self-anchored suspension (SAS) bridge, the largest of its kind in the world. The new east span replaces the existing double-deck steel bridge built in the mid-thirties. A span of the existing bridge had collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake but was repaired. Construction of the new east span commenced in 2008 and is expected to be completed for the Labour Day opening in 2013. Figure 1 shows a schematic (looking north) of the new bridge with its 160 m high main tower T1 in the middle, and Piers W2 and E2 at the west and east ends, respectively. The west and east spans of the SAS bridge are 180 m and 385 m, respectively.During construction of the SAS bridge, a temporary bridge, complete with towers and trusses, was used to support the box girders of the new permanent bridge until the loads from the box girders were transferred through suspension cables to the permanent bridge. The transfer of deck load from the temporary bridge to the main cable was completed in November 2012."

Jan 1, 2015

By J. George Gregr

INTRODUCTION This part contains field case studies of typical mishaps, accidents, equipment damage or post installation failures resulting from mistakes in design, manufacturing and construction, as well as improper storage, handling and installation procedures of the equipment covered in Part 1. GENERAL Certain mistakes are repeated and common rules violated on almost all industrial equipment installations, with the inevitable consequences of additional cost, construction delays and aggravation of all parties involved. The most common failures are in the following areas: Cleanliness of all components during installation and later in operation. Adherance to manufacturer&apos; s recommendations and tolerances for equipment installation. Comprehensive, properly identified installation and maintenance records. Handling of the components. Adequate tooling and auxiliary equipment in working order. An inoperable hydraulic power unit for torque wrench or for jacking of the mill, or faulty crane can be a very costly proposition. A special area in comminution circuits are wear components. Apart from the mill liners, the wear components such as, feed chutes, rock boxes, mill trunnion liners, discharge sumps, etc. are designed to the best theoretical configuration, based on experiences in similar installations. However, each process is different to a various degree, mainly because of various types of ores and grinding requirements. Consequently the first generation of wear components is very seldom the ideal one. Based on operational experience, the shape and material of wear components should be modified, until the optimum, most economical design is achieved. SHIPPING AND STORAGE Considerable damage to the equipment can be done by careless packing, shipping or storage.

Jan 1, 1982

By D. A. Dukelow

By using the U. S. Steel oxygen sensor to measure the oxygen content of the steel, deoxidation practices have been developed for silicon-killed fine-grain steel produced by the basic oxygen process. Measurements of oxygen content taken at final turndown are related to the amount of the aluminum addition to the ladle necessary to obtain the desired aluminum analysis for proper grain refinement. In comparison with heats deoxidized by the standard approach, which is based on carbon content, the heats deoxidized according to the oxygen-sensor-based schedule showed a 25 percent decrease in variability from the desired aluminum content. As more heats of a particular grade are made, it is expected that improved quality will result in decreased rejections and better analysis control. Sensor-based deoxidation schedules are also being developed for semikilled, rimmed, and capped steels.

Jan 1, 1972

By L. C. IlsLey

"During the last eight years there has been a noticeable increase in the use of permissible equipment in gassy and dusty coal mines. This trend has undoubtedly been toward greater safety in mining, but in spite of this all is not well ""along the front.""In many mines those in charge, either through ignorance or supposed economy, have neglected to install sufficient copper and maintain good bonding on the rails used for return circuits to have a safe working voltage for the permissible equipment which is intended to afford them safety.Low voltage, when properly analyzed, is not economy but frequently is an expensive oversight. Burned-out armatures, controllers, rheostats, and switches are costly in themselves to repair or replace, but the greatest cost in many instances is the loss of production resulting from idle and broken-down equipment.From a safety standpoint, excessive low voltage where permissible equipment is necessary is almost criminal negligence. A burn-out of any kind is liable to cause an arc that may burn its way through a casing wall and bring about a hazardous condition if gas or dust in explosive proportions should be present. Again, all wiring, both interior and exterior to the apparatus, is subject to the extra heating consequent upon low voltage. It should be remembered that if the voltage drops the current must increase a corresponding amount in order that the same work may be accomplished; and as the heating effect is as the square of the current, an enormous overheating of the electrical parts and wiring often takes place. This heating effect is especially detrimental to trailing cables used on portable equipment, because under the most favorable conditions the size of cable selected is only barely sufficient to do its work properly at a safe working temperature; therefore, when the extra current load is added because of poor voltage, overheating is sure to result, with consequent deterioration of the insulation, This effect greatly increases the liability of cable failures in service, and in turn adds to the hazards incident to the use of portable equipment of the permissible type involving the use of trailing cables.Some manufacturers have tried -to protect their equipment from low voltage, especially below a certain point, by -installing low-voltage relays which will trip when the voltage falls to a predetermined value. It is understood that some operators have hesitated or refused to install such low-voltage protection because they were aware that the voltage conditions were so poor that the equipment could not operate under the safe limits set. It is difficult to understand how any progressive company that is willing to go to the ex-pense of installing permissible equipment could be so shortsighted in this phase of common sense, safety, and economy."

Dec 1, 1929