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By Bahne C. Cornilsen, X. Shan, David H. Carlson, John H. Johnson

The air in three U.S. underground coal mines has been sampled. The data developed show the relative importance of the various pollutants and quantify the need for control. Total respirable particulate matter (TRPM) was found to be the critical pollutant (the one requiring the most dilution for control). TRPM is considered to be "respirable coal dust" by procedures approved for sampling in U.S. underground coal mines. However, this "respirable coal dust" also includes diesel particulate matter (DPM) and particulate from other sources. While "respirable coal dust" was the critical pollutant, Raman spectroscopic analysis showed that more than half of this "respirable coal dust" was DPM. The DPM in the samples ranged from 22 to 152% of the 2 mg/m3 limit for respirable coal dust. Thus DPM was the critical pollutant using the 2 mg/m3 respirable coal dust limit. SO2 gas produced by the combustion of diesel fuel containing sulfur was the second-most critical pollutant. Characteristic curve slope (CCS) values were calculated to determine the quantitites of the various pollutants generated per unit of diesel haulage activity. Mine 1 had the highest TRPM CCS values with 29 mg/m3/%C02 for the Ramcar and 57 mg/m3/%C02 for the Haulageway location. The highest coal particulate CCS measured was 30 mg/m3/%CO2 and the highest diesel particulate CCS measured was 27 mg/m3/ %C02. Both of these high values were measured in the Mine 1 haulageway location. Calculations were made to determine the controlling CO2 concentrations (CCC) at which all other measured pollutants would be within their limits. These CCC values, which, for the mines sampled, were based on TRPM, varied from a low of about 0.07% for the Mine 1 haulageway location, to a high of about 0.15% for the Mine 2 Ramcar and haulageway locations. Weekly average CO2 concentrations measured in these mines ranged from 0.09 to 0.11 % for the Ramcar, from 0.05 to 0.09% for the haulageway, and from 0.08 to 0.11 % for the return. The concentrations of TRPM ranged from 1 and 2 mg/m3 in mine areas frequented by personnel, and to greater than 4 mg/m3 in returns where personnel are not exposed.

Jan 1, 1991

By Sidney Swensrud

ABOUT a year ago, I attempted in a general way to trace the origin and development of some of the marketing problems of the petroleum industry, and to describe certain trends which it then seemed possible to foresee. To summarize briefly, it was pointed out that the consumption of gasoline, after increasing for more than a decade at an almost unbelievable rate, was slowing down, but that the two factors which determined the supply of gasoline-namely, the production of crude oil and the percentage of gasoline derived therefrom-were tending steadily to mount. It was suggested that, while the increase in gasoline outlets began with and probably was justified at the start by the rapidly increasing demand, long after all reasonable requirements as to number of outlets had been met the number continued to increase-if anything, at a still more rapid rate-because by that time the overproduction of crude had begun to exert an impelling urge upon the owners of that crude to seek assured outlets for it in the form of gasoline. As more and more companies became integrated all the way from crude oil to marketing, there took place an ever-increasing competition among them, not only for the existing outlets but for new ones. The wide margin between wholesale cost and retail price, which is characteristic of the early stages of most new industries, persisted in the oil industry longer. than in most industries, for various reasons. The existence of that wide margin provided in large measure the means of attracting new outlets, for as the gallonage per outlet declined with the increasing number of outlets, competing companies simply offered the dealers a larger part of the total margin. The very nature of competition suggests that such a process would continue until practically all of the available margin was thus given away, and such was clearly the, tendency. It was a system that in turn produced increasing marketing expense per gallon on account of the -diluted gallonage per outlet; this increased expense might seem to have provided a justification for continuing wide margins. Economics, like its parent, nature, however, progresses by mutations and so began to throw out new types of marketers, in the form cf tank-car service stations, cut-price jobbers, and the like-heretics or

Jan 1, 1932

By L. L. Newman

PUBLIC UTILITY GAS PRODUCTION IN 1802, William Murdock first used retort coal gas to light his house and the Boulton and Watt plant where he was employed. For the next three quarters of a century coal served as the principal raw material for the manufacture of city gas for general distribution. Coal continued to hold its predominant position for another half century after Prof. Thaddeus C. Lowe developed the first practical method of enriching water gas with cracked-oil vapors in an integrated operation. This position, however, was no longer maintained through the medium of direct carbonization of coal in retorts but as a result of using anthracite or coke as the generator fuel in carburretted water-gas machines. The early water-gas machines were extremely crude and the consumption of both oil and generator fuel was very high. However, the cost of installation was considerably lower than for any coal-gas system having the equivalent gas-making capacity, the labor involved was small, and the water-gas machine could be started up and shut down quickly. It thus proved very useful as standby equipment and in taking peak loads from the coal-gas plants. The flexibility of the water-gas machine, furthermore, made it possible to change the candlepower of the gas readily to suit the required conditions. Later, when calorific value replaced candlepower as the standard of gas quality, the water-gas machine was found to be equally flexible in keeping the city gas under complete and convenient control. No basic improvements were made in the Lowe carburetted water-gas process until 1898, when means were added to provide for regular reversals of the flow of steam through the fuel bed. By judicious proportioning of the quantities of up-run and down-run steam, it became possible for the operator to control the hardness and position of the clinker to a degree that previously had been unattainable. Also in 1898, the first by-product coke plant in America to supply city gas was built at Everett, Massachusetts. Later many other by-product plants, of greatly improved design and capacity, were built, but not primarily for city-gas production, chiefly because of the relatively high investment cost per unit of gas made. Cheaper plant construction has been the subject of serious study, and some progress is expected, but other factors, such as plant life,

Jan 1, 1953

By James Kemp

IN THE Alumni catalogue of Amherst College and with the Class of 1848 is recorded the name of Louis Palemon Ledoux, who on graduating studied for the ministry at the Union Theological Seminary in New York and was ordained by the Presbyterian church. Louis Palemon Ledoux entered college from Louisiana and, as his name implies, was of French ancestry. His departure from the traditions of his forebears in register-ing in a Protestant college and later becoming a Presby-terian minister brought about some alienation from his family which, however, softened with the passage of years and disappeared between later generations. In time the Rev. Louis P. Ledoux was married to Kate C. Reid of New York City and was stationed for a year at Newport, Ky., where on Nov. 2, 1852, his oldest son Albert Reid Ledoux was born. The next year, the family moved to Monroe, Mich., where for two years the young clergyman was pastor of the Presbyterian church. A call to Richmond, Va., then led them to live from 1855-1858 in the, Virginia capital, but the father became afflicted with what was then regarded as a mysterious ailment, malaria, and to escape it migrated in 1858, when the young boy Albert was a little over five years old, to Cornwall-on-Hudson, and became pastor of the Presbyterian church in the lower village near the river. In 1861 he was honored with the degree of D.D. from the State Uni-versity of Indiana. Some years later throat trouble compelled the Rev. Dr. Ledoux to give up preaching and led him to establish a school for boys, known as the Storm King School, above Cornwall, on the slopes of Storm King Mountain. As a boy Albert Ledoux roamed the woods of Storm King and became deeply attached to this .wonderful hillside, commanding as it does an extended view of Newburgh Bay to the north and the remoter reaches of the Hudson. In his later years he built his home on its slopes and continued to roam its woods for his recreation. In later years, also, the writer used to look each October for the fringed gentian which Dr. Ledoux gathered in some secret nook to wear in his lapel. In the Storm King school, Albert Ledoux and his brother Augustus Damon, seven years younger, were educated and entered the School of Mines of Columbia College.

Jan 12, 1923

By W. H. Emmons

THE exploration of deposits of the metals will never become an exact science. There will always be an element of uncertainty in prospecting and developing mines. In countries where the surface has been closely scrutinized, most of the deposits whose outcrops contain valuable metals have probably been discovered. Many metalliferous deposits, however, are normally so much altered at the surface that the true significance of their outcrops is likely to be obscured. If a deposit is not exposed, its presence may become known by some one of its characteristics that is different in kind or in degree from a similar feature of the associated rock. Thus, a deposit that is not exposed may be discovered because of its magnetic property. So few minerals are strongly magnetic that the value of magnetic surveys is limited, but the dip needle has nevertheless proved of great aid in locating magnetic belts, and these in some regions are associated with workable iron ores. The Cuyuna Iron Range of Minnesota, which does not exhibit any outcrop of iron ore, was discovered by drilling "areas of attraction" that are due to belts of magnetic rocks associated with the iron ores. In some regions the use of the clip needle is justified, even if it does no more than reveal the strike of the rocks, since a knowledge of the latter enables the driller to locate and point his holes to advantage. The measures of gravity by the use of the pendulum are so accurate, or the limit of error is so small, that one might detect the presence of a concealed tabular deposit approximately at the surface, 34 ft. (10.36 m.) thick, having a density double that of the surrounding rocks. However, not many deposits have a density twice that of ordinary rocks and a thickness as great as 34 ft.; if they lie a short distance below the surface the density or the thickness must be even greater. Consequently, there is not much hope of sufficiently developing the gravity method of detecting deposits of heavy ores to make it of practical value. If the limit of error could be reduced to about one-tenth the present factor, and if the rather tedious and painstaking methods of determining gravity that are now in use could be simplified, the method would promise some degree

Jan 3, 1917

T. A. Rickard, Denver, Colorado: The observations made by the author concerning the treatment of gold-bearing ores, deal with the subject only briefly and in a general way; but, coming from an authority, they invite comment. In stating the fact that a " finely-divided condition " is a necessary characteristic of ores containing free gold, the author must be refer ring to those mining districts only with which he himself is ac quainted. The statement would not be true of certain gold-mining regions in America and Australia. The ores of some Californian mines and the mill-stuff treated at certain of the mills of Clunes and Ballarat in Australia, and of Otago in New Zealand, contain the gold in a free but in a coarse state. Moreover, "reduction to fine sand and flour" is not required by certain ores, even though the gold be in a finely-divided condition. In such cases the gold becomes de tached from the quartz before the gangue has been pulverized into particles as small as those in which the gold occurs. The dry-crushing of free-milling gold-ores is onknown in the new mining regions of the world. It is not clear whether the author has in mind any European district in which such a process is in actual use. If he has, a description of the method and the results obtained would be very valuable. Dry-crushing is, other things being equal, twice as slow and twice as expensive as wet-crushing. In the case of free-milling gold-quartz it serves no purpose, since such ore does not carry sulphides which contain any large percentage of value, and which, by being slimed, may carry away part of that value. The dry-crushing of a free-milling gold-quartz would be considered an absurdity by an American metallurgist. If the ore contain "free gold only," why submit it to a further treatment, such as concentration, after its passage over the amalga mating-plate ? What does the author propose to concentrate ? Again, why anticipate the treatment of tailings by the McArthur Forrest, or some other process ? The satisfaction felt by a mill-man in saving gold by a subsequent treatment of the tailings from his mill appears to me to be like that of the man who shoots at a rabbit,

Jan 1, 1894

By A. J. Lyon

THE stability and permanence of any structural material used in aircraft are of paramount importance. The spontaneous hardening, or age-hardening; which takes place in some of the aluminum alloys under ordinary conditions of temperature and atmosphere, is accompanied by an increase in tensile strength and proportional limit and a decrease in elongation or ductility. Within the last few years the introduction of a number of strong and ductile casting alloys led to a study by the Materiel Division, Air Corps, of the permanence of the physical properties in several of these alloys. It has been found that even though some alloys have good properties directly after casting or heat treatment, they are not satisfactory for stressed parts that require a combination of strength and ductility. It has also led to the conclusion that all alloys that can be hardened by artificial aging-heating in a temperature range below 170° C. (340° F.)-will harden spontaneously if allowed to stand for a sufficient length of time. It follows that, in aircraft work where the factors of safety are limited on account of the necessity of keeping the weight of the structures as low as possible consistent with their safe operation, the properties of the alloys in the stable or final condition should be used as a basis for design rather than the properties obtained on the material directly after casting. The work of Wilm in Germany, Hanson and Gayler at the National Physical Laboratory in England, and Merica, Jeffries, and others in the United States, has shown that the spontaneous hardening is characteristic to a greater or less extent in all aluminum-base alloys in which the solubility in the solid state of the alloying constituents decreases with the temperature. It has been shown that, by heating to a temperature as near as possible to the melting point of the material and soaking at that temperature for a sufficient length of time and then quenching or cooling rapidly, a maximum amount of the soluble constituents can be retained in solution and the condition of maximum hardening effect upon aging can be obtained. Also, in ordinary sand and chill castings, without heat treatment, a sufficient amount of the alloying constituents is held in solution to cause important changes in the final physical properties.

Jan 1, 1928

By Thomas Egleston

The uncertainty of finding the exact equivalents fortechnical expressions in different languages has led me to think that a glossary of furnace-terms would be useful to members of the profession. I was led, some years ago, to prepare a small one, which has been found so very useful, that I have arranged one for presentation to the Institute, for four different 'types of furnaces, in the hope that it may prove of use to those who are in the habit of consulting foreign technical journals, I was further induced to make the attempt in the hope that it might tend to make the terminology less complicated than it now is, and also to make it more uniform over larger districts. The idea of referring to a drawing which expresses exactly what is meant, resulted from the necessity of presenting such subjects to students, and will, it is hoped, prove much more useful than the mere dictionary arrangement in alphabetical order. The drawing of the blast-furnace was prepared for me by Mr. J. P. Witherow, of Pitsburgh ; the drawing of the open-hearth furnace by Mr. S. T. Wellman, of Cleveland, and the reverberatory furnace by Mr. John Fritz, of Bethlehem. The bloomary-furnace is taken from my own paper* on Bloomaries, but, in order to have a complete furnace, I have introduced into the drawing of those used at Saranac the guard-plate used at Ironville. The interest which has been taken in the preparation of this paper by those gentlemen who have contributed the drawings, has been supplemented by gentlemen in Europe who have taken the trouble to read the proof. In France it has been read by Mr. Lodin, of the School of Mines, and by Mr. Chaper, of Paris, and in Germany by Dr. Wedding, of Berlin, and Mr. Luhrman, of Osnabruck. The preparation of the paper has been much more difficult than was anticipated, and its value has been very much enhanced by Dr. Raymond's kind assistance and cooperation; and to him, as well as to all the other gentlemen, Iam very much indebted. It was at first proposed to add to the paper the names of all the tools used in these various furnaces. It was found, however, that this would make such

Jan 1, 1888

By W. H. Emmons

The exploration of deposits of the metals will never become an exact science. There will always be an element of uncertainty in prospecting and developing mines. In countries where the surface has been closely scrutinized, most of the deposits whose outcrops contain valuable metals have probably been discovered. Many metalliferous deposits, however, are normally so much altered at the surface that the true significance of their outcrops is likely to be obscured. If a deposit is not exposed, its presence may become known by some one of its characteristics that is different in kind or in degree from a similar feature of the associated rock. Thus, a deposit that is not exposed may be discovered because of its magnetic property. So few minerals are strongly magnetic that the value of magnetic surveys is limited, but the dip needle has nevertheless proved of great aid in locating magnetic belts, and these in some regions are associated with workable iron ores. The Cuyuna Iron Range of Minnesota, which does not exhibit any outcrop of iron ore, was discovered by drilling "areas of attraction" that are due to belts of magnetic rocks associated with the iron ores. In some regions the use of the dip needle is justified, even if it does no more than reveal the strike of the rocks, since a knowledge of the latter enables the driller to locate and point his holes to advantage. The measures of gravity by the use of the pendulum are so accurate, or the limit of error is so small, that one might detect the presence of a concealed tabular deposit approximately at the surface, 34 ft. (10.36 m.) thick, having a density double that of the surrounding rocks. However, not many deposits have a density twice that of ordinary rocks and a thickness as great as 34 ft.; if they lie a short distance below the surface the density or the thickness must be even greater. Consequently, there is not much hope of sufficiently developing the gravity method of detecting deposits of heavy ores to make it of practical value. If the limit of error could be reduced to about one-tenth the present factor, and if the rather tedious and painstaking methods of determining gravity that are now in use could be simplified, the method would promise some degree

Jan 1, 1918

By V. Patarini, D. Kuehl, F. Galasso, M. Salkind

In recent years, a great deal of research has been directed toward the production of continuous low-density, high-strength, high-modulus boron fibers for aerospace applications. A technique which has proven to be quite successful for forming these fibers involves the reaction of boron trichloride and hydrogen on a hot tungsten wire. In this process, a boron fiber is produced which consists of a tungsten boride core covered with amorphous or crystalline boron depending on the temperature of the preparation.2,3 The purpose of this paper is to present the properties which have been obtained to date from measurements and observations on these fibers. Selected samples of boron filament produced by reacting boron trichloride and hydrogen on a 0.5 by 10-3 in. diam tungsten wire substrate using different reacting temperatures were cross-sectioned, polished, and photomicrographed with cross-polarized light. The temperature of the wire was measured using a two-color optical pyrometer. Photomicrographs of these samples are shown in Fig. 1. Three general types of boron, in addition to the tungsten borides, have been identified by means of X-ray powder diffraction techniques: a) at low temperatures (below 1400°C) the boron is deposited in the amorphous form; b) at temperatures between 1400° and 1500°C the boron is deposited in the ß tetragonal form; and, c) above 1500°C the boron is deposited in the B rhom-bohedral form. In the depositing range of 1400" to 1500°C the boron initially deposits as amorphous and becomes crystalline as evidenced by the large equi-axed grains which then merge into columnar grains in later stages of boron deposition. This can be seen in Fig. 1 and has been observed in the X-ray patterns of these fibers, which contain both halos from the amorphous boron and lines from the ß tetragonal form. Above 1500°C the only boron reflections observed in the X-ray patterns were those of the ß rhombohedral form and only columnar grains are seen in the photomicrographs. Photomicrographs of the surface in Fig. 2 show the smooth-surface kernal-type deposition which corresponds to the amorphous form and the rougher surfaces which correspond to the crystalline form. Mechanical measurements were made on amorphous boron produced at 1300°C rather than the crystalline boron because the strengths of these filaments were greater and were more consistent. A tensile tester consisting of a fixed crosshead containing a double

Jan 1, 1967

By A. H. Lindley, R. Shorr, Frazier M. Stewart, F. Crerie

The mineral industry, so important to industrial development, faces a major challenge in creating the most effective financial structure to provide funds essential for seeking, evaluating, developing, and extracting minerals. The acquisition of funds for mineral development and plant erection do not differ greatly from fund-raising in nonmineral ventures because risks are essentially comparable. High-risk exploration funds, however, are more difficult for the mineral industry to acquire. With the world's ever-increasing appetite for minerals, the internally generated cash of major oil and mining companies cannot be expected solely to maintain the world's mineral supply. The augmented costs, risks, and difficulties of exploration have been shared increasingly by the smaller independent operator and by private and public participation drilling programs within the petroleum industry over the past 30 years. Only recently has the mining industry awakened to the need for utilizing exploration and development funds derived from sources other than established mining and banking circles. Almost from its inception, the oil industry was forced to drill deep holes through overburden without the aid of a mineral "outcropping" which required geological, and in subsequent years, geophysical interpretation. The poorly financed, nontechnical prospector, who depended on a mineral outcrop, was not to play an important role in oil exploration as he did in mining. Because of the high cost of drilling and the demands for technical judgment to locate an exploration drill hole, corporate and sophisticated private funds generally financed oil discoveries. When external funds were subsequently required, these financially sophisticated explorers would turn to the banking community from which came numerous ingenious innovations, taking cognizance of existing tax laws. Like the oil explorer, the miner is now faced with probing below the surface, relying solely on regional geology and geophysical anomalies. The day is gone, for practical purposes, when the prospector discovers a deposit from a mineral outcrop. There is little doubt that the mining industry will now follow the course taken by the petroleum industry in acquiring external funds if it is to meet the future raw material requirements of the world. The oil industry has been able to attract bank funds more readily than the mining industry after a mineral discovery has been made because: (1) with few exceptions, an oil discovery can be placed into commercial production and will generate cash at much less expense and time than a mine; and (2) generally, costs of oil production, the value

Jan 1, 1976

By C. Chiou, D. P. Seraphim

The effect of clustering on the superconducting properties of Al-Zn alloys has been studied by the ballistic induction techniques. The superconducting critical temperature, T,, changes when zinc-rich clusters are formed. The change in T, depends on the concentration and may be positive or negative, but always correlates with an effective decrease in the solute concentration of the alloy. Reversion after clustering effectively returns a 5 at. pct Zn alloy to the quenched state. These methods might be use&lly extended to the Al-Mg system, where X-ray data are difficult to obtain. In very dilute Al-Zn alloys, as in other tin,' indium, aluminum,2 or tantalums base solid solutions, there is a decrease in the superconducting critical temperature, Tc, roughly proportional to the temperature independent resistivity, i.e., -0.2°K per pS2cm. With increasing solute concentration, the T, generally reaches a minimum and then increases4 to a value well above that for the pure solvent. The change of T, with solute concentration follows an empirical formulation involving two constants which correlate with the scattering cross section of the impurities. As will be shown below, the Al-Zn alloys more concentrated than 1or2at. pct do not follow the empiricism, probably because they are unstable even when rapidly quenched.5 However, it seems possible to study at least the later stages of solute clustering by precise measurements of the 1', following various thermal treatments. A few experiments on quenched alloys, aged alloys, and tests on reversion are reported here. The heat treatments selected for obtaining the quenched and aged states were mainly deduced from the work of Dash and Fine.6 For the quenched state, specimens were homogenized at 480°C, quenched to -160°C, and immediately transferred and mounted in liquid nitrogen. Measurements on the superconducting properties and residual resistivities were then made at helium temperatures, after which the specimens were aged at room temperature for 3 to 5 hr, i.e., much longer than the time required for clustering to be essentially completed. The superconducting properties and residual resistivities were once again examined. To reach the reverted state of the A1-5at. pct Zn alloy, the aged specimen was heated for 5 min at 200°C and then tested as above.

Jan 1, 1963

By R. Dawes, B. R. Davis, T. LeBel, C. Pelow

Settling of copper, lead, and other metals in slags is an important part of overall recovery of metals, both in primary and secondary operations. The impact of slag reduction on settling is not well known. This is important since the cycle time for slag cleaning can be significantly changed with reduction of slag, through a decrease in slag viscosity and growth of metal/sulphide particles. KPM has worked with a number of primary and secondary recyclers to better understand how reduction of slag can improve overall operation. In this presentation, we describe the type of test work and analysis done and how this information can be used to guide improvements in metal recovery from slags. INTRODUCTION Typically, copper smelter slags contain about 1-2% copper, both in the form of copper and copper sulphide beads and dissolved copper oxide in the slag (converter slags are recycled to the smelter). With the average grade of world copper deposits close to 0.7%, it is practical to recovery copper from these slags. This is done routinely by one of two methods. The first method uses slow cooling in large ladles or beds to grow particles of copper sulphide. The slag is then crushed, milled, and floated for copper recovery. The slow cooling promotes precipitation and growing of the sulphide particles from the solution and then, the slag can then be milled to recover the copper through froth flotation. A consideration of this process includes the energy cost related to grinding, the use of water, capital cost for ladles, and the availability of tailing dumps. At the same time, the retreatment of the Cu concentrate produced in the mill will displace fresh concentrate, which ultimately results in a reduction of the throughput. The second method is the so-called “slag cleaning” and is based on the settling of copper and copper sulphides particles dispersed in the slag. This is achieved by decreasing its viscosity by increasing the slag temperature and reducing the iron spinel solid phases (magnetite) that increase the apparent viscosity of the slag. Typically, the reduction does not extend to the reduction of copper, and soluble copper (mainly as oxide) and fine matte particles remain at concentrations typically at or above 0.5% (Cardona et al., 2011; Cardona, 2011). This is an improvement on 20 years ago when slag was sent to dumps at 1% or less (Demetrio et al., 2000).

Jan 1, 2019

By T. Egleston

THE manufacture of charcoal in kilns was declared many years ago, after a series of experiments made in poorly constructed furnaces, to be unprofitable, and the subject is dismissed by most writers with the remark that in order to use the method economically the products of distillation, both liquid and gaseous, must be collected. It is asserted with truth that the number of kilns required for a large production of iron would be so great that it is doubtful whether any works would be justified in making the necessary outlay for their construction, but it can also be asserted with equal truth that for any such production in a given locality the use of charcoal as fuel would be equally unjustifiable. It appears to have been forgotten that there were other manufactures besides iron in which large amounts of charcoal were used, but these consumers seem to have been guided entirely by the results of the experiments of the iron men, who necessarily made the largest quantity of it. Some authors speak in a doubtful way of the quality of the charcoal produced, and a few concede that with great care good charcoal can be made in kilns, but that most of the workmen do not like kiln charcoal. This is the real secret of the opposition to this method of manufacture. Most of these objections were written when charcoal was the most important fuel used by the iron manufacturer, and when what was a large production of iron for several furnaces was less than that produced by a single modern one, in localities where other fuels can be had. Almost all that has been written on the subject related to the use of the fuel for the manufacture of iron in the blast furnace, where very peculiar properties are required, and where the quantity produced is limited by the height of the furnace, and this in turn by the crushing resistance of the charcoal. A large production was, therefore, only possible when the best and hardest woods were used. Of all these objections there is not a single one which is not equally applicable to any method of charcoal manufacture, whether it be meilers, pits, or furnaces. Until recently, therefore, the manufacturers of charcoal iron * Read at the Pittsburgh meeting, May, 1879.

Jan 1, 1880

By W. J. Taylor

It is, perhaps, more important to put on record the particulars of experiments that are derided failures than those that are successful, as those of the latter class are certain to live, while the former may be lost sight of in a short time, and repeated by others. TO this end, I propose to give the particulars of a straight or no-bosh furnace just tried at the Chester (New Jersey) works, which was such a decided failure as to leave no doubt of the plan being wrong, and determining the necessity of a bosh of some kind, as of old. Some experiences during the past year led me to suppose that the bosh or belly of a furnace was unnecessary, and that the contraction of the walls toward the bottom for the stock to wedge in, in its descent, facilitated dirty walls and scaffolding; hence, irregularity and high fuel. I concluded, however, that a very shallow bosh for a skew-back support to the stock would be necessary, and that the proper place for this was in the tuyere-section, beginning just below the tuyeres and ending just above them, where there is nothing in the solid state but fuel, which is consuming, and no slipping or travel of stock takes place. The cubical capacity of a furnace of this design would necessarily be much less than in the old style, unless it was made very much higher. But I assumed that the loss of room for reduction could be overcome by making the size of the ore and stone charged much smaller, so that the gases would act more quickly. The next point was, what should be the size of the shaft, crucible, tuyere-circle, and tunnel-head for a given quantity of air? My first design was 12 feet diameter of shaft for 7000 feet of air, with a 9-foot crucible and 8-foot toyere-circle. This I soon reduced to 8-foot shaft diameter, which I concluded was large enongh for economical work, if regular travel of the stock on the walls could be maintained. I consulted with a number of experienced furnacemen and furnace-engineers, and the plan was well thought of by many of them; and, as I had also some offers of financial aid from them toward the risk of trying the experiment, my firm concluded

Jan 1, 1885

In 1991, US mine production of barite decreased 3.4%. Barite consumption, sold or used by grinding plants, decreased by 11.7%. Imports also decreased by 15.4% over 1990. World mine production increased I%, according to the US Bureau of Mines. The value of domestically produced barite, f.o.b. mine, increased 3.3% according to the Bureau. The declared value c.i.f. US port of all imported crude barite during 1991 increased from $40.61/t ($36.84/st) in 1990 to $42.35/t ($38.42/st), the Bureau stated. Nevada was the leading producer of barite with 78% of the total, followed by Georgia and Missouri. It is estimated that 75% of the domestically mined barite was used as a weighting agent in drilling fluids. The remaining 25% was used in barium chemicals, glass or as a filler. Most of the production from Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee was used in the non-oilfield sector. Of the total barite used by grinding plants and chemical manufacturers, it is estimated that 93% was used in drilling fluids. The remaining 7% was in the non-oilfield sector, including barium chemicals and fillers in paper, plastics and glass. Tonnage consumed in the drilling fluids market decreased due to the lower average rig count during 1990. The average number of rotary rigs operating was 860. That was 14.9% less than the 1990 average of 1010 in the US. Crude barite imports were 138 kt (152,000 st) less than 1990 or 15.4%. Imports accounted for 70% of the (ap¬parent) barite consumed in the US. During 1991, China continued to be the leading exporter of crude barite ore to the US with 85.1 %. India followed with 14.8%. About 97.5% of the imported barite ore was used in the oilfield sector. Ground barite imports decreased from 56.7 to 46.2 kt (62,500 to 51,000 st) 1991. Mexico was a major exporter to the US, accounting for 75.3% of the total ground barite imports. Canada shipped 23.7%, while other countries accounted for less than 1 %, primarily for the nonoilfield market. During 1991, the number of grinding plants supplying the drilling fluids market along the Gulf Coast was reduced from 12 to 10. Baroid Drilling Fluids completed its mining program at the Rossi Mine near Dunphy, NV.

Jan 1, 1992

By D. P. Harris

This paper surveys a few of the quantitative exploration models that might be of interest to an ex-plorationist seeking to apply methods of operations research to mineral exploration. A general development of each model is presented, and the model is evaluated relative to the exploration activity. Finally, a philosophy of exploration and mineral resources is presented, and a possible exploration strategy incorporating concepts of some of these models consistent with this philosophy is proposed. The high cost of conducting an effective exploration program has generated an increasing interest in methods of optimizing the allocation of the resources of a firm engaged in mineral exploration. As a step towards this, mathematical models have been formulated which are designed to quantify those variables of mineral exploration in such a manner that they can be integrated with all phases of the firm's operations so as to optimize its profit objective. QUANTITATIVE MODELS General: Exploration models express at least two concepts: mineral occurrence and effectiveness of search. In simplest terms, an exploration model might be formulated mathematically as follows: P(X) = F(X) . G(X), where P(X) = the unconditional probability of discovery of X deposits, F(X) = the probability of occurrence of X deposits, and G(X) = the probability of discovery of X deposits, conditional upon their existence in the search area. With these general models as a basis of reference, some of the specific exploration models are examined below. The Allais Model: DEVELOPMENT - M. Allaisl performed the first study in which a philosophy of exploration was formulated into a probability framework. His objective was to estimate the economic profitability of the exploration of the Algerian Sahara. Allais divided the Algerian Sahara into blocks of land (called cells) 10 km square and defined the random variable, X, as the number of mining districts per cell. Thus, F(X) would describe the probability of 1, 2, or n mining districts occurring within any cell of the search area. Allais reasoned that his best information as to the form of the distribution, F(X), was the number of mining districts per cell that had been found in well explored areas in the world, such as the Western States of the U.S. He found that the Poisson function produced a reasonably good fit to the distribution of districts in these explored areas: where? is a parameter, such as the average number of districts per cell. Thus, by determining the value

Jan 1, 1968

By A. J. Lyon

The stability and permanence of any structural material used in aircraft are of paramount importance. The spontaneous hardening, or age-hardening, which takes place in some of the aluminum alloys under ordinary conditions of temperature and atmosphere, is accompanied by an increase in tensile strength and proportional limit and a decrease in elongation or ductility. Within the last few years the introduction of a number of strong and ductile casting alloys led to a study by the Materiel Division, Air Corps, of the permanence of the physical properties in several of these alloys. It has been found that even though some alloys have good properties directly after casting or heat treatment, they are not satisfactory for stressed parts that require a combination of strength and ductility. It has also led to the conclusion that all alloys that can be hardened by artificial aging—heating in a temperature range below 170" C. (340" F.)—will harden spontaneously if allowed to stand for a sufficient length of time. It follows that, in aircraft work where the factors of safety are limited on account of the necessity of keeping the weight of the structures as low as possible consistent with their safe operation, the properties of the alloys in the stable or final condition should be used as a basis for design rather than the properties obtained on the material directly after casting. The work of Wilm in Germany, Hanson and Gayler at the National Physical Laboratory in England, and Merica, Jeffries, and others in the United States, has shown that the spontaneous hardening is characteristic to a greater or less extent in all aluminum-base alloys in which the solubility in the solid state of the alloying constituents decreases with the temperature. It has been shown that, by heating to a temperature as near as possible to the melting point of the material and soaking at that temperature for a sufficient length of time and then quenching or cooling rapidly, a maximum amount of the soluble constituents can be retained in solution and the condition of maximum hardening effect upon aging can be obtained. Also, in ordinary sand and chill castings, without heat treatment, a sufficient amount of the alloying constituents is held in solution to cause important changes in the final physical properties.

Jan 1, 1929

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

INTRODUCTION The maximum yield of washed coal and the required ash and sulfur contents are the only performance factors of direct, immediate interest to any operator. Yet since the turn of the century coal preparation engineers have repeatedly sought more sophisticated performance criteria that could be used to draw comparisons between different cleaning operations and to permit generalizations about types of cleaning equipment or kinds of coal. Proliferation of efficiency formulas resulted. Hardly a year goes by, and certainly not an International Coal Preparation Congress, without the introduction of some new formula or some new concept of an existing criterion. This is merely the usual quest for improvement, because the performance criteria available today, although highly useful, are imperfect. Moreover, they are not as widely understood as they might be. The First International Coal Preparation Conference, which was held in Paris in 1950, accomplished a great deal toward establishing uniformity in terminology and methods of expressing cleaning results; the proceedings of that conference provide a wealth of detailed information on the various performance criteria, their uses and their limitations. For ease of discussion, the various performance criteria can conveniently be classed according to the degree to which they are dependent on the density composition of the raw coal treated. Some are directly dependent, some are only indirectly dependent, and some are, under certain circum- stances, essentially independent. DEPENDENT CRITERIA The yield and ash content of a washed coal are directly dependent on the washability characteristics of the raw coal from which it is derived. Thus, they are manifestly unsuited to comparing the performance of different plants, because no two plant feeds are the same. In fact, yield and ash content, by themselves, are inadequate for even routine day-to-day control. The continuous variation that occurs in the amount of impurity in raw coal, and sometimes in the float ash, make it impossible to tell whether a reduction in yield or an increase in the ash content of the washed coal results from any malfunction or misadjustment of the cleaning equipment. Recovery Efficiency For many years the most popular performance criteria that are only indirectly dependent on the washability characteristics of the raw coal have been efficiency formulas. Of the many that have been proposed, the one advanced by Fraser and Yancey in 1923 has had the widest accept-

Jan 1, 1968

By D. U. Deere, F. D. Patton

Introduction A close relationship exists between the geologic investigation and the stability analysis of the slopes of an open pit mine. One significant result of this relationship is that the stability analysis is no better than the assessment of pertinent geologic factors that enter into the analysis. In some slope stability problems the engineering solution becomes obvious once the geologic framework is established. In other cases, establishing the geologic framework is only the first stage in the process of analysis. However, even in these cases the geology should not be neglected once the analysis is made. The geology should be periodically reviewed when new slopes are excavated. This will help ensure that the basic assumptions for the analysis have not changed and will permit changes when new conditions are encountered. In recent years improved methods of stability analysis have been accompanied by advances in laboratory testing techniques and new knowledge of the shear strength of rock discontinuities. At the same time there have been improvements in field geological descriptions. As more experience is gained in analyzing and predicting the stability of rock slopes, the importance of certain geologic factors has become more apparent. Some of these factors were described in a paper given at the Open Pit Mining Symposium in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 1970 (I). This paper includes many of the points covered at that meeting but with additional emphasis on the significance of the major geologic structures. Other papers given at the South African symposium also considered geological and hydrogeological factors in slope stability analysis (2) (3) (4) (5) (6). This paper first describes the approach to a slope stability problem including assessment of the relative roles of field geology studies, laboratory testing, stability analyses, and continued slope monitoring studies. Next, is described a framework which has been found useful for classifying or separating the several types of slope stability problems encountered in open pit mines. The principal geologic factors in slope stability problems in rock are discussed and brief comments are made on how these factors distinguish stability problems in rock slopes from those normally encountered in soil slopes. The over-riding control of major geologic structures, especially faults, in most slope stability problems is emphasized. In this regard the relative importance of statistical studies is contrasted with knowledge of the positions of key structural

Jan 1, 1971