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By McHenry Mosier

This is the fourth progress report in the series on the use of detachable rock-drill bits in the metal mines of the United States. It contains comparative statistics and costs or drilling at eight mines not reviewed in previous reports, comparison of the use of detachable bits at small mines and large mines, a discussion on the life of drill rods, and general conclusions derived from an analysis of the rock-drilling practice at all the mines investigated on this survey. This paper completes the descriptions of operating practice in rock drilling at individual mines. Data on drilling practices at 28 mines are given in appendices I and II and drilling costs are shown in appendix III. Research in the fundamentals of rock drilling, including the use of detachable bits, has been undertaken by the Bureau of Mines in its testing adit at Mount Weather, Va. Reports on the progress off this investigation will be issued when results warrant their publication.

Jan 1, 1937

By James F. Magee

There is nothing new about dragline dredging for placer gold. The use of the separate unit for excavating preceded the large barge with excavator mounted upon it, which has reached a high state of perfection through use in every part of the world. But at present there is a vogue for a small, inexpensive plant combining a dragline excavator on caterpillar mounting and a gravel-washing plant on a floating barge. The most efficient ones use a bucket of 1 to 2 yd. capacity with boom from 40 to 70 ft. long. The barge varies from 20 by 30 ft. to 36 by 48, and carries the trommel screen, pump, riffle sluices and power engine. Plants in Oboville District In the Oroville district eight such plants have been built since 1933, and have been operated with varying success. The most successful of these is the plant of the Wyandotte Gold Dredging Co. This organization of six active partners constructed its first plant on Wyandotte Creek in the autumn of 1933. To September of 1935 about one million cubic yards of gravel was dredged for an output of about $225,000 in gold. The operation has been successful from the beginning, because of wise management, which was based upon good plant design and proper principles of operation. All the partners have taken a more or less active part in the operation. Usually there is one at work on each shift, and they have conducted their own prospecting and building also. They elected H. F. England as manager, with wide power of control, and he carries out this responsibility energetically and successfully. One of the other plants, started shortly before the Wyandotte, finally abandoned its operation and sold its ground to the latter company, which successfully worked it for a profit. The failure of the other plant was due principally to poor excavating equipment. Another organization that built a plant some months later than the Wyandotte company had considerable difficulty in management and was unable to keep ahead of expenses. Finally, late last summer, it entered into an agreement with the Wyandotte company to have the latter supply

Jan 1, 1937

The Institute is custodian of funds for support of numerous gold medals and prizes and has representatives on boards awarding still others. Details regarding the Institute Awards are given below. The Institute is represented on the boards of the John Fritz Medal, the Hoover Medal and the Washington Award, in connection with the three national societies of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineering; and, also, in the case of the Washington Award, with the Western Society of Engineers. The Institute is represented with these four societies on the committee in charge of the Alfred Noble Prize.

Jan 1, 1937

By Charles Morgan

AN increased demand for brown iron ore in the Birmingham district during the past 18 months has caused renewed activity both in prospecting and mining these ores. In recent years the production in Alabama has ranged from 41,559 tons in 1932 to 639,351 tons in 1928. During the last 9 years about 83 per cent of the total brown ore produced in the United States has come from Alabama (Tables 1 and 2). PROSPECTING Two methods of prospecting are used in this district: (1) test pits, (2) churn-drilling. Usually there is certain quite definite information on an area to be prospected; some of the indications are float ore such as small gravel or small and large boulders known as "dornicks" scattered over the surface, and ore exposed by erosion in gulleys and ravines, which have cut or eroded through the overburden. Often these natural erosions furnish an indication of the thickness of the ore and to some extent of the area of the ore body.

Jan 1, 1937

By J. B. Littlefield

The Greenburg-Smith impinger was developed at the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the United States Public Health Service in 1922 in the course of an investigation of dust-sampling instruments available at that time. Although it is not used extensively outside of the United States, it is now soused in this country to collect samples for the determination of any dustiness, and most of the information correlating degree of dustiness with physiological effect has been obtained by the impinger method. The chief disadvantages in the use of the regular impinger, especially in mines and other places accessible with difficulty, are its bulk weight, and power requirements. It requires a source either of electricity or of compressed air, which necessitates connections and extension of existing supply lines to each sampling point; the only alternative is the use of a relatively large pump hand-operated with considerable effort.

Jan 1, 1937

By W. G. Worcester

THE chief object in presenting this paper on bentonite is to attract general attention to one of the least known and most neglected industrial minerals of Canada, a mineral of extensive commercial possibilities, as evidenced by its development and exploitation in other countries, principally in the United States and Germany; countries upon which some of our most important Canadian industries are dependent for their supply of special clays, such as Fuller's earth and activated bentonite. It was in view of these conditions and the knowledge of the presence of large quantities of bentonite in the Canadian West that the work here reported on was under-taken. While the investigational studies have not been completed, the results indicate that among the many samples tested there are some of real merit and industrial importance. While it has been the author's privilege to examine deposits and samples of bentonite from all of the Western provinces, his chief activities in the field and in research studies have naturally been confined largely to Saskatchewan materials. Notwithstanding this, however, this paper is presented in the hope that it may stimulate a more general interest in, and study of, Canadian bentonites as a whole, a matter of such importance that provincial boundary lines should be overlooked. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BENTONITE According to Schurecht and Donda (1), bentonite is commonly composed of the mineral montmorillonite, (Mg,Ca)O.Al203 5SiO2 .nH2O, though some are known to consist of beidellite, Al2O3 3SiO2.nH2O: where n is approximately 4, and in certain cases the Al2O3 may in part be replaced by Fe2O3. For present purposes, however, it may be sufficient to state that, in general, bentonite is a "soapy' clay-like mineral or group of minerals composed largely of hydrous aluminium silicate, but frequently carrying small percentages of the alkalies, alkaline earths, and free silica, as well as silicates, gypsum, and other admixed detritus such that purification is usually necessary.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. S. Hutton

WHEN I had the honor of receiving an invitation to give the-Institute of Metals Lecture, it occurred to me that it might be of interest to review the advances which have been made in refractories, considering how important these materials of construction are in the carrying out of many metallurgical operations and what a large factor they represent in our costs of production. Frankly, I can claim no recent contact with the refractories industry and what little work I myself have been concerned with has been rather unorthodox in character. However, perhaps in consequence of this, I can approach the review without bias and include some suggestions which may prove stimulating or provocative to some of you, who have a more intimate knowledge of refractories and their uses than I Possess. It is neither possible nor necessary for me to survey the progress of industrial refractories, for this has been so thoroughly undertaken by others1-7 in recent publications. Perhaps the best way to get a broad picture of this progress is to compare the Faraday Society Symposium on Refractory Materials 20 years ago8, containing a report on one of the first attempts at standardized testing, with the American Society for Testing Materials Committee Report of February 1935. Suffice it to say, lest my provocative remarks be misunderstood, that I do appreciate that great advances have been made, particularly by companies that have established their own research laboratories and by universities and cooperative research institutes working for the common weal of groups of manufacturers or for national and international progress. The scientific study of the constitution diagrams of binary and ternary refractory oxides, which American workers have been foremost in under-taking, ? led by the work of the Geophysical Laboratory at Washington, has laid a firm foundation for the whole subject. It should be remem-bered, however, that to a much greater degree than with the constitution of metal alloys, the equilibrium conditions are so sluggishly arrived at

Jan 1, 1937

By W. E. D. Jr. Stokes

THE application of aviation to mining and petroleum operations, on the basis of economy and attainment, has become a demonstrated fact. According to Dominion Government records, 30. Canadian companies engaged in air transportation with northland mining camps, carried 13,000 tons of freight in 1935, and in 1936 carried 16,000 tons. In addition, many mining companies used planes to transport prospectors with canoes, outboard motors, gasoline drums and supplies to remote locations, and one company maintained a plane to take radium-bearing ore from its mine on Great Bear Lake nearly 1000 miles south to the rail-way at Waterways, Alberta. Heavy pieces of mining machinery weighing 2 tons are being carried by Ford trimotor planes over the Andes, at an altitude of not less than 15,000 feet. At Bulolo, New Guinea, 17,500 tons of disassembled gold-dredging equipment has been flown over inaccessible terrain, while supplies and building materials for a, community of 1000 whites have been transported by airplane. A 31..4-ton shaft was carried on one notable trip, while at another time an automobile, 2 tons of rice and a large safe went over the mountains in one plane. Fig. 1 shows an electric generator that was carried by plane to Bulolo. Many large American oil companies operated fleets of planes during 19:36, ranging from fast, luxurious air liners for executives to elaborate geological prospecting units, ambulance planes, freight carriers and pipe-line repair crews. According to the U. S. Geological Survey, commercial firms photo-graphed 16,291 square miles during 1935, while the Government compiled from aerial photographs by the Geological Survey in the United States 85,544 square miles. It was found that information could be determined in a fraction of the time required by surface methods.

Jan 1, 1937

By Charles A. Kumke

The ('slot" system of mining in use at the Golden Queen mine, Mojave, Calif., does not involve any new mining methods. It is, however, a new combination and adaptation of several stoping systems in common practice. The first plans for stoping operations at the Golden Queen mine called for ordinary shrinkage stopes. The hanging wall of the vein, where exposed, is a very hard felsite with a dip varying from 50° to 70°. The vein itself is quartz, shattered and fractured enough to make it easy to drill and blast to a clean hanging wall. There is no well defined footwall. The footwall limits had to be determined by assays as the metal content faded out into the felsite. Two shrinkage stopes, each approximately 200 ft. long, were laid out and started on the 200-ft. level. One of these stopes, varying in width from 8 to 18 ft., was carried on up to the top limits of the ore, approximately 120 ft., without a break in the operation. The shrinkage system proved entirely satisfactory and low costs resulted from this operation. In the final drawing of this stope, two timbermen followed down on the ore, scaling the hanging wall clean of small fragments and placing an occasional long stull from foot to hanging wall where it was deemed necessary. Few such stulls, however, were required. The hanging wall stood up very well until the stope was entirely emptied of ore. Waste fill was then put into the stope by the glory-hole method, through a waste raise that had previously been run to surface from the middle of the stope. The second shrinkage stope ran into difficulties about 35 ft. above the sill floor. Up to this point the maximum width of the ore had been about 15 ft. The ore suddenly widened into the footwall to a distance of 40 ft. in the north end of the stope. In extending the stoping operations over this, width, it was soon found that the vein material would not arch and support itself. Drilling in this end of the stope was then entirely too hazardous, and all operations were stopped. The ore was drawn through the chutes below as rapidly as possible and as soon as the stope was entirely

Jan 1, 1937

By Gustaf Ising

For relative gravity measurements, the author in 1918 described an instrument1 of which the essential part consists of a highly astatized, standing pendulum turning about a horizontal elastic axis. This type of instrument has been used recently in practical field work, therefore a description of its principle and technical development is given herein. Part I, describing the principle, is a direct translation of the original Swedish paper.1 Part II gives an account of the practical elaboration of the instrument, together with some description of measure-ments performed.

Jan 1, 1937

By C. W. Davis, R. S. Dean

AMONG naturally occurring inorganic compounds, magnetite has many unusual and interesting properties, and it is the purpose of this paper to call attention to these properties and review possible uses of magnetite that might be based on them; in other words, to see what uses may be found for magnetite as a physical rather than as a chemical entity, as a mineral rather than as an iron ore. The Mineral Physics Studies initiated in the Metallurgical Division of the U. S. Bureau of Mines a few years ago gathered together much information on mineral properties, and they are therefore the principal source of material for this paper. Magnetic Properties Of Magnetite And Possible Uses As A Magnetic Material Magnetite is unique among minerals for its great magnetic susceptibility, approximately one-third that of soft iron, and some magnetites are permanent magnets, or lodestones. The literature contains many measurements of magnetic properties of individual magnetite crystals, but no systematic survey of the effect of mechanical preparation and heat-treatment was available until the recent investigations of the Bureau of which included not only susceptibility but coercive force and remanence as well. For the purpose of orientation, Table 1 gives the magnetic properties of several samples of magnetite and of a few other substances3. This table indicates that when ordinary magnetite is powdered it decreases in susceptibility and increases in coercive force and remanence, approaching the properties of lodestone. The properties of lodestone are in fact probably due to the development of very large internal surface on fine grain size4.

Jan 1, 1937

By H. H. Pentz

THIS paper gives the derivation of a practical formula for the calcu-lation of slopes in seismic reflection prospecting. The derived formula is an approximation and can be used where the slope of the reflecting horizon is less than 250 ft. per 1000 and the depth to the reflecting horizon is greater than 2500 ft. The slope of sediments in oil regions is generally considerably less than 250 ft. per 1000. This is particularly true of the Gulf Coast, with the exception of the salt domes, which usually have the sediments at a greater slope than 250 ft. per 1000.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. S. Dean

In an earlier paper Dean and Hersberger5/ gave preliminary results a d discussed briefly the use in flotation of organic reagents of the type known in the textile industry as "wetting agents.? These reagents are those with a molecular structure comprising a long hydrocarbon chain attached to a. highly molar or hydrophile group in such manner that ionization is nearly complete in dilute solution and the resultant ionic grouping has a very considerable hydrophile-lipophile unbalance in the structure. As a result of this characteristic structure these reagents are more or less powerful frothers and emulsifiers. Ten the degree of bydrophile-lipaphile unbalance is sufficiently great and specific chemical factors are absent these compounds behave in flotation as noncollecting frothers insensitive to reasonable changes of pH.

Jan 1, 1937

By Charles Behre

UNDER the caption "fault," geologists intend to include all mass movements of solid rocks over adjacent rock masses. When these are studied long after their origin, however, circumstances make it possible to recognize as "fault" only formations showing clear evidence of actual movement of one side with' respect to the other. Necessarily the chief evidence consists of the offset of a vein, bed, or other key structure. Planes of movement parallel to the bedding; or nearly so, are recognized with difficulty or are overlooked and hence many important faults are wholly unrecorded. Indeed, among standard American references on structural geology, one alone emphasizes the importance of bedding-plane movements and that' one only briefly1. For some time the writer, cognizant of this difficulty, has paid special attention to such movements, both as observed in the field and as recorded in the literature. It is believed that enough data are now at hand to justify a short-discussion. Its purposes are fivefold. It is desired first to briefly classify and describe at least the more common kinds of bedding-plane faults, and second, to examine the causes and manner of their formation, at least in instances where the subject has not yet been well covered by other investigators. Third, certain by-products of bedding-plane movements are of such conspicuous importance to the economic geologist and mining engineer as to merit mention. Fourth, concrete illustrations should be placed before the reader in order to lend reality and to furnish a basis of comparison with his experience; such illustrations will necessarily be scattered through the text of this paper. They' are only in part from the writer's own field observations. The fifth and prime objective of this paper is to direct attention to the great importance of movements on the bedding planes, in the hope that the recognition of such movements and their significance may simplify mining problems.

Jan 1, 1937

By J. F. Bryson

A FULL description of past mining conditions in eastern Kentucky coal mines with reference to the cause of coal bumps and the preventive methods was given by the writer in a previous paper.1 At that time the method had been tried for a period of 13 months, successfully. The method has been enlarged add carried on for over two years, and is still successful. Recapitulating briefly from the previous paper: The No. 3 mine of the Mary Helen Coal Corporation, Coalgood, Ky., operates in the Harlan seam, and is worked by a room-and-pillar method. Cover varies from 1200 to 2000 ft. and the immediate roof over the coal is a hard, massive, sand rock, estimated to be from 70 to 90 ft. thick. The average height of coal throughout the mine is 46 inches. The reason for adopting the method were that in this mine five men had been killed by coal bumps between 1931 and 1934; many other men had been injured and coal-cutting machines had been thrown from under the cut. The morale of the workmen was at a very low ebb. Many remedies had been tried in other mines troubled by coal bumps, one method being to leave chain and room pillars in every 500 ft., to serve a bumping block; the idea being that if a bump took place it would act on the pillars left in the gob. Another method adopted was to board up a pillar, leaving a small opening at the bottom sufficient for shoveling coal. In this system the idea was that if a bump did occur on the pillar, the boards would stop flying coal so that no one would be injured. Many other methods were tried and it is safe to say that each mine troubled by coal bumps tried various remedies, none of which proved effective. On considering all that had been attempted in an effort to eliminate coal bumps, and the information gained by experience of coal bumps in various mines, it was thought that a long face with gob support would eliminate the trouble. Accordingly, on Jan. 15, 1935, a long face was started with wood cribs on 20-ft. centers. When the former paper was written on this method, the long face had been brought back a distance

Jan 1, 1937

By C. K. McArthur

THE subject of classification is so broad that this discussion is con-fined to what the author believes is of prime importance in connection with proper grinding and classification. The years passed have witnessed many noteworthy changes in fine grinding and classification, which have been accompanied by a readjust-ment of ore-dressing flowsheets for the preparation of better ground and/or sized products at an expenditure of less. power, steel and main-tenance than formerly. Nowhere in the industry is more being done in the way of experimental work to lower costs than in grinding circuits, because, at best, grinding costs are high. Recent years have indicated that, on the average, finer grinding has a real application. Without careful preparation of the process feed, no operation can be highly efficient or successful. In an earlier paper, the findings of an extensive survey at representa-tive concentrators were presented1. Also, in the year of 1935, a technical discussion was given by Dr. J. V. N. Dorr (Some Notes on Classification Trends in America) before the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa. In both papers mentioned, much has been said regarding flowsheets, grinding and classification. The author is very familiar with these papers, having had considerable to do with the actual operation of the flowsheets, as well as large mills and classifiers in the work described. Some data from the second paper have been included in the following discussion.

Jan 1, 1937

By John J. Croston

The year 1935 witnessed one of the world's oldest industries—gold mining—attain the stature of a billion dollar business. Preliminary estimates indicate that somewhat over 30,000,000 oz. of gold was produced, the largest output ever recorded and exceeding the previous year by more than 11 per cent. Of this huge total the Witwatersrand field produced about 10,800,000 oz., compared with 10,480,000 oz. in 1934. Russia was apparently the stellar performer, and from incomplete data it appears that between five and five and a half million ounces were produced by the Soviets compared with 4,200,000 last year and 2,814,000 in 1933. The United States nosed Canada out of third place with a production of 3,546,000 oz. against 2,916,000 in 1934, while Canada increased her total from 2,965,000 to 3,291,000 oz. Similarly, gains of lesser magnitude were made in Australia, the Gold Coast and other countries. As a result of great activity in developing outlying areas on the Rand, and the great number of new companies building mills in Canada, Australia, the Gold Coast and the United States, the years 1936 and 1937 should see new high records, as these new producers will more than offset any decline in the older properties. The whole world has become "gold conscious" during the past three years. It has been the subject of innumerable articles by economists and others, but, unfortunately, because of their lack of actual mining knowledge, they have treated the production of gold as a static affair, ignoring geological and technical factors. It is hardly necessary to draw attention to the fact that the world's gold-mining industry was slowly but steadily shrinking in importance, owing to the gradual depletion of known deposits that were profitable to work at costs existing prior to 1929. The International Geological Congress at Pretoria and the League of Nations Committee drew attention to the estimates of the mining experts of the various governments predicting a steady falling off in world production. On the Rand there

Jan 1, 1937

Jan 1, 1937

By G. W. Jones

In a previous report,6 results were given that showed the amount of natural ventilation in a manhole having a capacity of 74.l cubic feet when the number of ventilation openings in the cover was varied. from no openings to a maximum of 48. The results showed that the ventilation (air changes per day) in the manhole was proportional to the area of the openings in the cover, and also that the number or area of the openings was the factor that chiefly affected the ventilation.

Jan 1, 1937

By Quentin D. Singewald, B. S. Butler

Some of the broader relations between structure and ore deposition along the London fault, deduced from a thorough study of the geology of the eastern part of the Mosquito Range, should be of general interest to economic geologists. The first part of this paper is a generalized statement of the geology of the region in which the London fault is located; it may be supplemented by reference to several earlier publications by the writers and to the U. S. Geological Survey's Professional Paper 148, on the Leadville district. The second part deals with the structure of both the fault and the disturbed zone adjoining the fault. The third part discusses the salient features of the ore deposits, particularly emphasizing structural control. The two generalized maps are complementary to one another but contain too many data to show on a single small map. The London fault is between Leadville and Alma, and the ore deposits along it are said to lie in the Alma district. Field work in this district, during six summers since 1927, has been a part of the cooperative work of the U. S. Geological Survey, the State of Colorado, and the Colorado Metal Mining Board. The writers have made use of work by R. D. Butler, J. W. Vanderwilt and R. E. Landon. G. F. Loughlin and C. H. Behre, Jr., who have worked on the west side of the range, have contributed valuable suggestions. Mining men of the district have aided in many ways. General Geology Pre-Cambrian Rocks.—The oldest rocks in the district are schists, correlated with the Idaho Springs formation of the Front Range. Quartz-mica schist predominates, but other types occur locally; almost everywhere the rocks show considerable lit-par-lit injection. Intrusive into the schists are two varieties of granite, only one of which is widespread. It is a fine-grained, porphyritie, gray granite correlated with the Silver Plume granite of the Front Range. Near the head of Buckskin Gulch a

Jan 1, 1937