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By Carin Laubscher, Francis W. Petersen, Jaap P. Smit

"Waste streams, such as acid mine drainage, are often characterised by low pH values and high concentrations of heavy metals, dissolved solids, calcium and sulphates. Although lime remediation effectively removes most of the heavy metals as hydroxides, it is less effective at lowering levels of sulphates. Various methods of removing sulphates from effluents exist, such as precipitation with lime, precipitation with barium salts, co-precipitation with calcium carbonate, reverse osmosis, and ion exchange. Mintek developed a chemical precipitation (SAVMIN) process to treat acid mine drainage, which entails the addition of lime to precipitate the metal hydroxides, and the subsequent formation (precipitation) of calcium sulphoaluminate or ettringite. The key to the viability of the new technology lies in the correct use, regeneration and recycling of Al(OH)3 used to precipitate the ettringite. The water produced by this process is suitable for disposal to watercourses or for agricultural, domestic or industrial consumption. No brines are produced as the salts are converted to solid hydroxides, gypsum and calcium carbonate.The SAVMIN process has been tested successfully during several laboratory scale operations, and during two pilot plant operations at Stilfontein Goldmine for Anglogold and Navigation Plant, Witbank for Anglocoal. During the pilot plant campaign at Navigation Plant, metal and mineral precipitation was achieved with lime addition. The sulphate concentration in the water was reduced from 2136 mg/L to an average value of 102 mg/L and the calcium concentration was reduced from 727 mg/L to an average value of 70mg/L.The SAVMIN process generates a number of different waste streams including metal hydroxide sludge from neutralisation, gypsum sludge from the gypsum crystallisation steps, and calcite sludge from carbonation. The metal hydroxide sludge is composed of Mg, Ca, Mn and Fe hydroxide, and could be disposed of on a slimes dam. Gypsum sludge was greater than 99% CaSO4.2H2O. This gypsum could be used for dump or road capping, underground backfilling, production of wallboard and cement. The calcite sludge is pure CaCO3, which is recycled back to the neutralisation stage."

Jan 1, 2003

By E. H. Dix

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the subject of Stress-Corrosion Cracking at the Joint Symposium of the American Society for Testing Materials and the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. In this Symposium we are concerned with spontaneous cracking which results from the combined effect of high, prolonged stress, and corrosive attack. Stress-corrosion cracking may be considered a specific phase of the more general subject of the effect of high constant stresses in accelerating the rate of corrosion of metal products. The kindred subject of corrosion fatigue in which the life of a metal part under repeated stresses is reduced by corrosive attack is not a part of this Symposium. Likewise "creep," the failure of a metal part by high constantly applied stress, in the absence of a corrosive environment, is not to be included. How- ever, corrosive influences may have more effect on creep failures than is sometimes realized. The penetration by molten metals such as often occurs during tinning or soldering operations, or by mercury, frequently causes cracking when the part is stressed. Strictly speaking this is not stress-corrosion cracking. However, the committee has decided that this phenomenon should be included in the Symposium. The penetration by molten metals such as often occurs during tinning or soldering operations, or by mercury, frequently causes cracking when the part is stressed. Strictly speaking this is not stress-corrosion cracking. However, the committee has decided that this phenomenon should be included in the Symposium.

Jan 1, 1945

By Thomas O. Glover

The mining industry of Cameroon continued to be dominated by crude petroleum. Crude petroleum production has become the most important facet of Cameroon's economic development. Oil production was estimated to be 6.3 million tons in 1983 compared with 5.2 million tons in 1982 and 4.3 million tons in 1981. Over two-thirds of its export income was attributed to crude oil. The country's only refinery, dedicated in 1981, has a production capacity of 2 million tons. Cameroon has become self- sufficient in petroleum products since commissioning the refinery. The oil sector contributed approximately 13.5% to Cameroon's gross domestic product in 1982-83. Oil production was expected to rise from 125,000 barrels per day in 1983 to 156,000 barrels per day in 1985 when output peaks. Cameroon's ultimate recoverable reserves have been calculated at 100 million tons, or 750 million barrels of oil.

Jan 1, 1985

IF a straight line should be drawn on the map (See 1, page 96) through the northern half of the South Island of New Zealand, from Mt. Domett in the north to Arthur's Pass in the south, and another line drawn parallel to it and at a distance of ten miles to the west, according to the topographic scale, it will be found that within the belt thus drawn across the country all the most important mines, past and present, of the South Island are situated, with the exception of a few in Otago.The most important product of this tract being gold, and Reefton, the most important southern mining field, being situated at about its central portion, the zone may aptly be termed "The Great Reefton Gold Belt." The occurrence of so many gold mines along this particular strip of country is not at all a matter of chance, but is the outcome of cause and effect. Running along the eastern side of the gold belt are the Brunner and Victoria Ranges, which are chiefly composed of crystalline schists and metamorphic granite of probably Cambrian or Silurian age; between these and the gold-bearing series there are interposed at one or two places some beds of slates, limestones, and...

Jan 1, 1910

By Tom Brady

A major focus of ground control research presently being conducted by the Spokane Research Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is to incorporate weak rock masses (such as are associated with operations in the Carlin Trend in Nevada) into existing design relationships. The original database that led to most of the empirical design relationships presently employed in hard-rock mining was derived from fair-to-good-quality rock. In this study, the relationship between weak rock quality and opening design (nonentry/entry methods) is being investigated. The common factor in all mines is a weak back or wall. This work attempts to provide tools that will enable a mine operator to make economic decisions that will also ensure a safe working environment.

May 1, 2003

By Martin Irving

Adding Value to Canadian Diamonds - A Changing Diamond Industry - Diamond Mining - Diamond Manufacturing - Diamond Jewellery Markets - NWT Diamonds Changing Diamond Industry - De Beers ? privatization - Oppenheimers (45%), Anglo-American (45%), Botswana (10%) ? going retail - LVMH joint venture - New Players ? jurisdictions - Canada ? companies - BHP-Billiton - Aber Diamonds

May 1, 2002

By M. H. Gaskell, D. C. Lindley

Small, steeply inclined reservoirs without natural water drives often are found associated with salt domes or other highly faulted structures. Frequently, only one well may be economically justified in these reservoirs, from which oil is produced by an expanding gas-cap drive or by a dissolved-gas drive. Although a large fraction of the oil upstructure from the well may be recovered during primary depletion, only a small fraction of the downdip oil can be produced because of gravity effects. This downdip oil has been defined as cellar oil991 in contradistinction to "attic oil" which is the oil above the structurally highest well in reservoirs where a natural water drive is present. In this study, two methods of producing cellar oil by water flooding a one-well reservoir were investigated by means of a laboratory model. This model was scaled to represent a prototype reservoir having an area of 30 acres, a permeability of 500 md, and a thickness and dip of 30 ft and 30°, respectively. One method considered, the simultaneous injection of water and production of oil from a single well, would require that the lower portion of the productive interval of a well be completed for water injection and the upper portion for oil production. The other method considered, intermittent injection, would involve alternate injection of water into and production of oil from a single well. Injection of water into the formation would repressure the reservoir, causing gas to go back into solution. Since some of the injected water would flow updip from the well, water injection usually would be followed by a waiting period during which the water could drain from above the wellbore. Production of oil by gravity drainage and gas-cap drive could be initiated when water drainage became sufficiently complete. The amount of water produced along with the oil would naturally depend on how soon after water injection ceased that production was started. This process could be repeated in cycles until oil could no longer be produced economically. Of these two methods, the intermittent injection technique would be simpler to put into operation since it does not require a dual completion. Also, it is probably more generally applicable than the simultaneous injection-production method. It is to be expected that in some reservoirs the rock and fluid properties would be such that practical oil-production rates could not be achieved by the simultaneous technique. However, in reservoirs where the simultaneous method will result in practical rates of oil production, it does have the advantage of permitting immediate, continuous oil production; whereas in the intermittent method, oil production is interrupted by periods of water injection and drainage. It was the objective of this study to determine whether these two methods of cellar oil production are practical for the representative prototype investigated and to evaluate their relative merits. DESIGN OF LABORATORY MODEL SCALING REQUIREMENTS The prototype reservoir and fluids were selected to have the dimensions and physical properties shown in Table 1. The laboratory model was then designed in accordance with well known scaling criteria, as discussed by Croes, et al,2 except for one modification. According to Croes, et al, one requirement of scaling a laboratory model to a reservoir prototype is that both the relative permeabilities and dimensionless capillary pressure be the same functions of water saturation for the model and the prototype. Since unconsolidated sand packs are used in the laboratory model to represent the consolidated porous media of the prototype, it is virtually impossible to satisfy this requirement. Much of the difficulty stems from the fact that unconsolidated sands usually exhibit lower residual oil and connate-water saturations than do reservoir rocks. To satisfy the scaling requirement as nearly as possible, Perkins and Collins' have suggested that the relative permeabilities be re-defined as

By J. Kuipers, R. W. Lawrence, P. B. Marchant, W. Brooks, J. T. Chapman

"Bioleach testing and piloting was conducted on refractory gold sulphide concentrate from Austin Gold Venture in Nevada during 1988. The objective of the test programme was to determine the technical and commercial viability of bioleaching as a concentrate pretreatment step prior to gold extraction by cyanidation. Baseline CIL cyanidation typically resulted in < 20% gold extraction from the Austin concentrate. Bioleaching enhanced gold extraction up to 95% using conventional CIL techniques. This paper summarizes the bioleach test programme and results, including pilot plant studies onsite, and describes the commercial design details for a possible retrofit of the Austin flotation tailings leach circuit to accommodate 20 tpd and 40 tpd capacity concentrate bioleach facilities.INTRODUCTIONBioleach testing on a refractory carbonaceous sulphide concentrate from Austin Gold Venture (AGV), was initiated in late 1987 as part of an ongoing programme at Austin to investigate alternatives to concentrate smelting. Preliminary batch biooxidation tests at Coastech indicated that over 90% gold extraction by carbon-in-leach (CIL) cyanidation of the bioleach residue could be achieved, compared with less than 20% gold extraction on untreated concentrate by similar CIL processing.Subsequently, a more rigorous laboratory study was undertaken at Coastech to establish continuous biooxidation operating criteria on a bench scale. The objective of continuous testing in the laboratory was to provide confirmation of enhanced CIL response based on continuous bioleach products and to determine key process operating and design parameters for pilot testing. The success of the laboratory test program led to the installation of a mobile pilot plant at Austin Gold Venture. The plant was operated by Coastech and AGV during 1988 to provide scaleup data and design criteria for commercial design and feasibility analysis. Based on pilot plant operating data, a detailed commercial bioleach plant was designed as a possible retrofit to the existing 1000 tpd CIL plant. Capital and operating costs were estimated to provide a commercial feasibility study of bioleaching as an oxidative pretreatment for Austin refractory concentrate."

Jan 1, 1989

Keywords: Pyrometallurgy, Wits University, research Wits Metallurgy celebrated its centenary in 2004. The department has been at the forefront of education and research and has contributed greatly to the metals and minerals industry, both in South Africa and abroad, in terms of human resources and knowledge generation. A significant number of industry and academic leaders worldwide are Wits Metallurgy graduates. Since its early beginnings, pyrometallurgy has always been part of the curricula and research offered by the department. Pyrometallurgical activities started to expand tremendously from the middle of the 1960s, especially by the formation - together with Mintek - of the Pyrometallurgy Research Group, which continues its internationally recognised research activities today. The research efforts have been concentrated on problems associated particularly with ferroalloy, steel, stainless steel production, and PGM/Cu-Ni sulphide smelting. In recent years, research has been further expanded to physical modelling of pyrometallurgical reactors. Almost all of the specific research projects were handled from a fundamental point of view, and hence a large number of MSc(Eng) and PhD degrees were achieved by candidates under the supervision of the Pyrometallurgy Research Leaders. Moreover, a significant portion of the research results were published in internationally recognized journals and conference proceedings. Among these, Infacon and the Molten Slags, Fluxes and Salts Conference series are worth mentioning. The studies from a fundamental point of view include thermodynamics, phase equilibria, transport phenomena, kinetics, and process dynamic aspects of high temperature processes and systems, both in the solid and liquid states.

Jan 1, 2006

There are bound to be changes with age, so I should not have been surprised or disappointed when what I had considered as high ad- ventures were much fewer and more widely scattered in the last 20 years of my long and active business life. But such adventures came until I was past 80 years of age and no one could expect more than this. Frequent visits to mines in this country and Canada and directorships in Bralorne and its subsidiaries, Homestake Mining Co., Bradley Mining Co., and the Bunker Hill Co.; and Copper Range Co. and its great new White Pine mine in Michigan, lasted far beyond the usual retirement age. The least happy part of my last two decades of active life was the death or sickness of many of my old friends. Hubert d&apos;Autremont, whose friendship no one could replace, died suddenly in 1946. Henry Carlisle and Temple Bridgeman, for many years office associates, had heart attacks that cut down their activities far too soon. Many other less intimate friends died or became ill, but I knew that with advancing years such losses were inevitable. These memoirs would be endless if they covered all of the unusual work and associations I found in the last 20 years. So I must confine the rest of my recollections to expeditions that would have thrilled any engineer at any time. Masaro Mine, Mindanao, Philippines The first of the four "high adventures" came late in 1949, when I was 65 years old. For over a month I had been discussing reported rich lead-silver-copper properties in the Philippines with Thayer Lindsley and other officers of Panaminas. A competent and agreeable "Elderly" (not as old as I was) engineer named Ward Williams had talked with Thayer about high grade mines in a remote part of the

Jan 1, 1976

By Rosana Vilarim da Silva

Uma das linhas de pesquisa de destaque na vasta área dos compósitos poliméricos é a da utilização de fibras naturais como agentes de reforçamento. Apesar das inúmeras vantagens essas fibras apresentam limitações, como alta absorção de umidade e baixo desempenho mecânico, que restringem sua utilização em aplicações estruturais. Buscando minimizar estes problemas foram desenvolvidos neste trabalho três compósitos híbridos associando uma fibra natural (sisal, coco e bucha vegetal), com a fibra de vidro. O objetivo foi avaliar o processo de absorção d’água e seu efeito nas propriedades mecânicas em tração dos compósitos. A técnica de fabricação foi a moldagem manual seguida de compressão. Os compósitos são laminados de cinco camadas; três camadas de fibras de vidro intercaladas com duas camadas de fibras naturais. A matriz é a resina poliéster ortoftálica. A caracterização destes compósitos foi feita por ensaios de absorção d’água e ensaios de tração em duas condições: seco e após saturação por água. O híbrido sisal/vidro foi o que apresentou o melhor desempenho mecânico, seguido dos híbridos coco/vidro e bucha/vidro. A absorção d’água causou redução das propriedades mecânicas. O híbrido bucha/vidro foi o que apresentou o menor percentual de redução após a saturação, apesar de absorver o maior percentual d’água.

Aug 16, 2017

By J. Torma-Krajewski, C. Hipes

Although many mining companies apply ergonomic principles, it is usually done either informally and/or reactively. An example of an informal approach is replacing worn equipment (such as seats) with models that have ergonomic features. Another example is modifying a task to eliminate safety hazards. Such approaches reduce risk-factor exposures that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). A reactive approach is followed when modifying a task/ equipment after an MSD occurs. However, neither of these approaches involves a systematic method of proactively applying ergonomic principles to actually prevent injuries or illnesses. This paper discusses how Vulcan Materials Company applied ergonomic principles and implemented interventions to reduce risk-factor exposures.

By I. R. Dunlap, R. F. Burdyn, F. D. Patchen

The composition and properties of a new type of cementing mixture are discussed. In these compositions, API Class A or C cements are added to n stable water-in-oil emulsion instead of the crsual water. The cement disperses in the oil phase and remains out of contact with the water under normal conditions of mixing and storage. At higher temperatcrres, such as those encountered down-hole during placement, the emulsion breaks and cement hydration can then proceed. An extremely low filtration rate is obtained; the major part of the filtrate is oil. Thickening times of the mixture may be increased to meet the 18,000-ft casing cementing schedule by varying the amount of emzilsifier. As in conventional Portland cement mixtures, high-temperature strength retrogression can be overcome by addition of silica flour. Results of several field app1ication.r show that mixing presents no diffculty if emulsion blenders are used and the emulsion is prepared beforehand. INTRODUCTION Water-in-oil emulsions., in which oil is the continuous or external phase and in which water exists as discrete droplets, have for some time been used successfully in drilling muds to reduce filtration loss.1,2 Applied to cement slurries, the same results are obtained; i. e., the fluid-loss is greatly reduced. In addition, thickening times may be extended, lower densities and strengths obtained, and water-base borehole fluids more easily displaced without contamination of the cement. A low filtration rate is often a desirable property in oil well cements since loss of fluid increases placement difficulties and may also cause damage to water-sensitive producing formations.&apos; In the casing cementing operation where the cement slurry is pumped into the narrow annulus between open hole and casing, rapid loss of fluid to a porous formation can cause the slurry to thicken and plug the annulus before the desired fill is obtained. Where a casing or a liner is cemented against a productive formation and the well completed through perforations, the fluid lost between the time the cement first contacts the formation and the time a set is obtained may invade the zone past the depth of the perforations. If the sand contains a material which will swell upon contact with cement filtrate, permanent damage may result. Previous methods for reducing the fluid-loss of cements have employed bentonite4 as an additive, usually with a lignosulfonate as a dispersant, or a derivative of some naturally occurring polymeric material such as cellulose ether." Oil emulsion cements have also been proposedv or fluid-loss reduction, but these have been of the oil-in-water type. Bentonite cements have been used most widely and have been successful in reducing incidence of premature setting of cement attributable to loss of water by filtration. It is the purpose of this paper to describe preparation and properties of a water-in-oil emulsion cement and to relate procedures followed and results obtained in several field applications. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM AND MECHANISMS A water-in-oil emulsion cement is prepared by adding an API Class A or C cement to a stable water-in-oil emulsion. Fig. 1 is a photomicrograph of this emulsion before addition of cement. Here the droplets are water and the surrounding medium is diesel oil. High emulsion stability is indicated by the small droplet size [1-5 microns], and by their uniformity.&apos; To form a stable water-in-oil emulsion as illustrated, several conditions must be met. A predominantly hydrophobic emulsifier must be present in sufficient concentration to produce a strong interfacial film; initially, the phase volume ratio (the water-to-oil ratio) must be low;

By W. H. Bassett

IN the commercial annealing of cartridge brass there are four points regarding which definite data are essential. They have to do with the correct interpretation of grain count in its relation to annealing temperature and, incidentally, to Brinell hardness. These points are: 1. The comparison of the grain sizes of two cartridge-brass mixtures: 69 copper, 31 zinc, 0.376-in. (9.5-min.) gage; and 68 copper, 32 zinc, 0.130-in. (3.3-mm.) gage. 2. The comparison of the grain sizes of annealed metal that had previously been reduced by rolling varying amounts; for instance, 20.0, 36.6, 50.9, and 59.1 per cent. 3. The determination of standards for grain sizes on annealed brass of the composition 68 per cent. copper, 32 per cent. zinc and 69 copper, 31 zinc. 4. The comparison of grain size with Brinell hardness on identical samples of annealed metal. In their comprehensive and thorough investigation of the recrystallization of cold-worked alpha brass on annealing,1 Mathewson and Phillips have discussed the relations between temperature of anneal, degree of deformation, and structural alteration in alpha brass. They have also shown certain comparisons between the ordinary physical properties and the grain size of annealed brass. The purpose of the present investigation is mainly concerned with the grain size of cartridge brass, its relation to Brinell hardness, and the publication of sufficient data to enable those engaged in the inspection of such material to have a correct foundation upon which to work.

Jan 1, 1919

By G. R. Struble, J. R. Marks, A. B. Brown

The center of mining at the Homestake gold mine in Lead, SD, is moving deeper every year. As a result, it has become necessary to upgrade the ventilation system. This paper describes the first phase of a scheduled two-phase upgrade - installation of a 2.2-MW (3000-hp) centrifugal fan. The higher pressure fan is required to route larger airflows into the deeper production levels. Selection of the fan began by specifying the necessary operating point to provide these larger airflows. Special site work had to be done on the surface to accommodate the new fan structure as well as underground to reroute airflows.

Jan 1, 1987

By R. D. Lawrence

Suggestions have been made that the appraisal of mining assets using discounted cash flow techniques should be based solely on proven and probable reserves in reliance upon the widespread international recognition of uniform resource definitions. Following a review of general accepted valuation principles, a survey of the literature and, most importantly, a review of real transactions in the open market, it is clear that valuators should not be constrained by the growing acceptance of modern mineral resource codes. On the contrary, valuation practitioners should be encouraged to examine all classes of mineralization and, after making due allowance for risk, to utilize all mineral resources as a basis for determining fair market value.

Jan 1, 2000

By A. Hiltunen, R. Hiltunen

The utilization of blast furnace and BOF slags has long traditions and well-known applications in the building and road construction industries and in soil conditioning. The starting point for product development has been the basic physico-chemical properties of slags. This development has led to the almost 100% utilization of blast furnace slags and also considerable amounts of steel slags. While new methods and applications are continuously being looked for and developed in order to recycle and utilize all types of slag, there is at the same time an increasing debate over the exact nature of the slags, whether they are products or waste material, and whether they should be considered substances or preparations. These questions have emerged as a consequence of the environmental effects of the slags and current environmental legislation. The environmental effects of slags can be seen to be both beneficial and less beneficial. There is no doubt about their benefits in the road construction industry, as they allow significant savings in terms of natural materials and in transportation. It is also a known fact that using slags as fertilizers and in the cement industry leads to reduction in CO2emissions. The less favourable effects are the possible harmful emissions into the soil and groundwater. In this paper we describe the properties of slag products and their environmental effects according to investigations carried out in Finland. Keywords: utilization, blast furnace slag, steel slag, properties, solubility, environment

Jan 1, 2004

By Onur Kacar

A numerical approach has been implemented to assess the settlements of pile groups bearing in clay. A three-dimensional finite element program has been utilized to model a vertically loaded spread footing, a single pile and a pile group. The soil-pile interaction was modeled with elastoplastic soil and interface elements. The model has been calibrated using a full scale load test results of the spread footing. The load transfer between the pile cap and the piles was assessed and compared with the measured load transfer. The predicted settlements for the pile group were compared with the settlements measured in the load test. Two analytical methods were adopted to predict the pile group settlements and they were compared with the measured values. The group effect determined from the analysis and load tests was compared with the interaction factor approach. It was shown that three-dimensional finite element approach can be successfully utilized to assess the soil-structure interaction and hence the load transfer between the piles and pile cap. Also, it was shown that the interaction factors method and equivalent footing method work well in the working stress range, however they underpredict the settlements at larger loads. INTRODUCTION The settlement and stress distribution of pile groups have been traditionally estimated based on load test results of single piles and accounting for the group effect using various approaches. The most widely used approaches are group interaction factor method, equivalent footing method and equivalent pier method. These approximate solutions are used very commonly in practice as full-scale load tests on pile groups are very expensive and time consuming. These approximate solutions are also adopted in design guidelines such as AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Guidelines (2014) and FHWA Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations (2016). In this paper, a full-scale foundation load tests performed by Nagai et al. (1961) and reported by Koizumi and Ito (1967) is modelled using a three-dimensional numerical method. The settlements and the stress distribution on foundations were then compared with the traditional equivalent footing method and interaction factor methods.

Jan 1, 2018

The compilation of the sampling nomogram is an essential tool in the optimization of a sampling protocol and allows the operator to track the change in relative variance of the sampling error (the Fundamental Sampling Error) during steps of comminution and mass reduction in the process of recovery of the aliquot for analysis. The data required for the compilation of the nomogram are centered on the sampling constant K and the exponent, alpha (a), of the nominal fragment size. Five methods for establishing K have been identified, but two of them, the duplicate sampling analysis (DSA) method and the heterogeneity test (HT) method purport to provide such a constant. The step by step procedure for each of these two methods was examined using broken ores from three mines, Mponeng mine, Kloof mine and Lily mine. Two of these mines (Mponengand Kloof) are typical Witwatersrand-type gold mines, while the third is an Archaean-type, shear related gold deposit situated in the Barberton Greenstone belt. The results suggest that the factor K derived using the heterogeneity test is very accurate, but applies only to a single size fraction in the spectrum of comminuted materials. The calculation of gold grain sizes using this method appears to be too small and does not conform with the results from detailed mineralogical studies. The factors K and alpha derived using the duplicate series analysis, are appropriate for use across a wide spectrum of comminution sizes and also provide realistic gold grain sizes, comparable with the equivalent circular diameter of gold grains identified in mineralogical studies of the ores.

Jan 1, 2009

MR. HARRINGTON: I would like to ask Mr. Bottomley if they fire their shots while the men are in the mine? MR. BOTTOMLEY: No sir; the shot-firing law in our State requires the shots to be fired after the men are out of the mine. We fire more shots than we did under the hand method of loading. Where formerly four holes were drilled, now we drill eight, using the same amount of powder as we did formerly, perhaps a little more, but we use a slower grade of powder. CHAIRMAN LITTLEJOHN: Any further discussion, gentlemen? MR. GIBSON: Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask Mr. Bottomley, if, in his shot-firing system, as I understand it, he has a very high coal and is working something like eleven feet? MR. BOTTOMLEY: Something like that. MR. GIBSON: I read the article that you referred to. Did you use both the first and the second delay explo¬ders in shooting the coal? MR. BOTTOMLEY: We use the ordinary fuse. MR. GIBSON: That is what I wanted to find out; whether you use the delay exploders and the detonators. In Utah, we are getting away from the fuse altogether, because we do not think it is accomplishing anything to use the electric light on the cap, and&apos; at the same time shooting with fuse. We are defeating the object we might gain in using the electric safety lamp. That is a point that might be discussed a little further. MR. E. H. JOHNSON, The Coloder Company: I would like-since it is a general opinion that mechanical loading breaks up the coal, to ask Mr. Bottomley, if he finds a larger percentage of small coal, or how much, through the use of the mechanical loaders? MR. BOTTOMLEY: We do not find any great difference. In fact, we have succeeded in improving our lump coal percentage, and that is important, because it is largely domestic. At first, when the machines were installed, the boys shot the coal too hard, and we fell down a little, about two or three per cent, the first month, in our lump percentage, and we tightened up a little and changed our methods in shooting and got on to the stunt of drilling more holes and getting a slower grade of powder. We could not load as much coal in one day as we could before, but we did succeed in in. creasing our lump coal percentage four and a half per cent over the hand method, and that is quite a factor-quite an important factor and since our domestic trade is over with, we loosened up on the shooting and we are running about the same as we did with the hand loading, maybe a half per cent more, or one per cent, but pretty much the same. MR. SHUBART: Your coal is very high? MR. BOTTOMLEY: Yes. MR. SHUBART: Have you tried sunbbing the coal before shooting? MR. BOTTOMLEY: No, we have not tried that. It is very hard coal to shoot; we have no defined cleavage in our coal. It is the worst coal I ever saw to shoot. We do not try to snub it. Formerly, as I said, the miners drilled four holes, pretty well up near the top, and then four holes down, within about three feet of the bottom. It is the same thing as a snub shot, and that we find is the best method for shooting the coal. We have not tried any mechanical device for snubbing as yet. SECRETARY SHUBART: At one mine I saw snubbing tried with a Jeffrey undercutter with a seven-foot Jeffrey bar. This mine, by the way, is very similar to Mr. Bottomley&apos;s condition. They have very high coal, so the snub cut is a small percentage. They cut a seven foot undercut and raise the machine on an eight inch tie and undercut five feet to give the effect of a snub cut, 14 inches at the front of the cut, and then six inches at the back of the cut. They made a very marked increase in lump. (The bug dust would be a small percentage of the total coal), and they increased the percentage of the slack at the same time. They found a decrease by reason of the easier shooting of about 15 per cent in their slack. In other words their nut and lump coal ran considerably higher and their slack decreased 5 per cent with the snubbing cut. Mr. Bottomley, I believe, understands those conditions.

Jan 1, 1926