Search Documents

By Elliott J. Roberts

In spite of the fact that the percentage of true colloids in an ore grind is very small,' these pulps exhibit many of the properties of true colloidal suspensions. A quartz particle, appreciably finer than 10 microns in diameter, has a settling rate so low that at a dilution of 5:l or over, the capacity of a settling tank to settle such particles would be uneconomical if the individual particle rate prevailed. However, by grouping the finer particles into aggregates or flocs, the settling rate can be increased to an economical value. The colloidal chemistry of pulp thickening is thus chiefly concerned with particles having diameters of between 1 and 10 microns, although particles as coarse as 40 microns in diameter are more or less involved. These particles must be associated in such a manner that they settle at an economical rate and give a clear, supernatant liquid or overflow. The treatment of the subject may be divided into three phases, cach phase having a more or less different colloidal aspect. The first phase is the problem of getting the pulp or suspension into the proper condition of flocculence; the second is the behavior of the flocculent pulp in its initial and intermediate stages of settling; the third is the behavior of the flocs in the find period of settling or thickening stage. Let us look first into the methods and mechanism of obtaining the flocs and then consider their behavior and properties. Flocculation Colloids are merely ordinary substances reduced to a very small particle size, the upper limit being placed by definition at 1 micron (0.001 mm.) diameter by the soil chemists and at from 0.2 to 0.1 micron by various other colloid chemists. The lower limit is reached only when the particles approach molecular dimensions. The term L'colloid" should not necessarily imply lack of crystallinity. Particles as small as 0.01 to 0.02 micron give perfect X-ray patterns, while with 0.005 micron particles the bands on the powder photograph are merely broaderled and diffused.2

Jan 1, 1935

By William H. Love

ATLAS shaft was sunk to explore at depth a portion of the eastern end of the dry belt, or silver belt, of the Coeur d’Alene mining district. The Atlas mine is a mile east of Mullan and is on the south side of the Osburn fault. Equal partners in the venture are Hecla Mining Co., Newmont Mining Co., New Jersey Zinc Co. and Atlas Mining Co., the financing being equally shared by Hecla, Newmont, and New Jersey Zinc. As outlined the project had as its goal deep exploration of prominent structures developed in the Atlas in upper levels. Plans called for deepening the shaft from the 800 level to the 2400 level with subsequent drifting, crosscutting, and diamond drilling on the 2400.

Jan 11, 1954

INSTITUTE MEDALS AND PRIZES ASIDE from the John Fritz Medal, in which the Institute partici¬pates through its representation on the John Fritz Medal Board, the Institute itself has three awards to make annually, as follows the Robert W. Hunt Medal and Prize, the J. E. Johnson, Jr. Award, and the James Douglas Medal. ROBERT W. HUNT MEDAL AND PRIZE The partners of Robert W. Hunt established a fund, which was presented to the Institute at a fitting ceremony on May 27, 1920, to establish an annual medal and a sum of money to be awarded under the following rules: 1. The award shall consist of two prizes, first of a gold medal, second of a sum of money, a certificate to accompany each prize The money prize shall not be awarded to a member over 40 years of age, but under unusual circumstances, both prizes may be allotted to one person provided that he is not over 40 years of age In general it will be understood that the Committee shall award the money prize to the younger men, rather than the medal

Jan 1, 1923

By A. L. Holley

(Read at the Amenia Meeting, October, 1877.) THE three principal mines from which the celebrated Salisbury iron ores are obtained are called respectively the "Old Hill," "Davis," and "Chatfield" ore beds, and are situated in the town of Salisbury, Litchfield County, Conn., on the eastern slope of the Tocconuc range of hills.* The Old Hill Ore Bed is a tract of land of 100 acres, originally granted by the General Court in October, 1731, to be laid out by Daniel Bissell of Windsor. It was soon after surveyed and located by Ezekiel Ashley and John Pell. The descendants of Ashley are still proprietors in the mine. The supply of ore has been very abundant, and for many years was easily obtained, but latterly the cost of raising has been greatly increased. Up to about 1840 the average yield was estimated to be about 4500 tons per annum. The production has gradually increased until the average yield at pres¬ent is estimated at 15,000 tons annually. The largest production in any one year was about 20,000 tons. The proprietors of this mine were incorporated many years ago under the style of "The Salisbury Ore Bed Proprietors." The Davis Ore Bed, named after an early owner, was originally called Hendricks Ore Bed, and was owned before the organization of the town of Salisbury by Thomas Lamb, one of the first settlers *The data from which the historical portion of these notes has been compiled were collected by the Barnum-Richardson Company, of Lime Rock (Salisbury), Conn.

Jan 1, 1878

By W. C. Lacy

A WIDE variety of metalliferous deposits in Peru shows a close and consistent relationship to intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks. This relation- ship furnishes a clue to the composition of ore-bearing fluids and to the timing in separation of these fluids from differentiation magma. Conclusions presented here are based on ten years' study of a large number of metalliferous deposits in Peru. The most important of these areas are shown in Fig. 1.

Jan 5, 1957

By R. Walker, R. J. Anslow

Today at Tampa we see the end results of a team effort: A vital link in an intermodal transportation system, the link that enables the unit-train concept to be employed with full effectiveness and the link that improves the economics of water transportation systems. Two new phosphate transfer complexes with a multi- million ton annual capacity are in operation in Tampa, Fla. Revolutionary in concept, these companion installations represent a total investment in the Tampa Bay area of $18.5 million.

Jan 1, 1970

By Sidney Wise

WHILE the installation of mine bulkheads to retain water under high pressure is y no means a rarity, the following points Which arose in the designing and placing of two of these bulkheads may be of interest: The Hibernia magnetite mine, located about 40 miles west of New York, in the State-of New Jersey, is partly filled with water. This mine is located on an ore lens, the outcrop of which is over a mile long. The ore has been mined from this lens from the surface to a depth of more than 1,500 ft. It was held desirable to- separate the old workings from the new, and to allow the former to fill to the 850-ft. level. Two weak places existed between the new and old workings below this level: namely, a temporary bulkhead on the 10th level and a rock bulkhead of indeterminate thickness on the 16th level. When the matter of allowing the old workings to fill was investigated, the fact was developed that if these old workings were filled, the bulkhead on the 10th level would be subjected to a water pressure of about 50 lb. per square inch, and that 200 lb. per square inch would act on the 16th-level bulkhead. As the above-mentioned barriers were not deemed of sufficient strength to permit of these pressures, it became necessary to design and install new bulkheads. Design As the 16th-level bulkhead was required to withstand a pressure of 200 lb. per square inch, it presented some difficulties. A careful consideration of the various types of mine dams now in use led to the adoption of a design of the form of a truncated wedge. In this, the pressure side of the dam is of greater area than the back, so that the resultant action is similar to driving the wedge. By cutting generous skewbacks in the walls, roof, and floor, this type in reality becomes an invisible arch. The wedge feature tends to compress the materials in the bulkhead, thereby adding to its imperviousness.

Jan 8, 1914

H. N. EAVENSON, Gary, W. Va.-Judging from our own experience, the statement that only 40 per cent. of the accidents are caused by the human element is very low. We have adopted all the measures that Mr. Wilson recommended, such as systematic timbering, use of permissible expolsives and practically everything that anybody has suggested or can think of, and even after all that has been done, done for several years, and a systematic campaign maintained all the time to reduce accidents, we still

Jan 4, 1918

By L. Alan Weakly

Abstract-The Bureau of Mines has pursued a program of research on mine illumination that has defined the coal miner's illumination needs. St. Joe Minerals Corporation, recognizing the need for improving the illumination of the working places in their mines, entered into a cooperative research agreement with the Bureau of Mines to utilize the Bureau's expertise in this field. Some similarity in the environment, in which coal and hard rock miners work, has allowed the application of developed coal mine illumination technology and equipment to be utilized in hard rock, room and pillar mines.

Jan 6, 1978

By A. L. Labbe

IT Is well known that the Cottrell process is more easily applied to certain kinds of smoke than to others. The successful Cottrell installations are those treating smokes that carry dust of a mechanical nature; also smoke carrying fume dust that contains an excess of sulfuric acid over that required to combine with the oxides in the dust. But up to the present time the process has not reached a satisfactory economical basis of operation, in the treatment of smoke' containing basic dust. It is not impossible to make a smoke containing basic dust suitable for the process by. humidifying or acidifying. A number of Cottrell plants use these two methods of conditioning smoke previous to Cottrell treatment, which are quite successful, but the use of either results in expensive operation and a substantial loss in metals.. For these reasons, I would say that the baghouse process has not been replaced by the Cottrell process in the treatment of smelter basic smoke. Basic smoke must be given a. preliminary conditioning treatment because the dust is not a conductor of electricity; the water or acid treatment imparts some conductivity to the dust.. The rate at which dust is recovered depends on the proportional amount of power transmitted to the, treater and on the rate at which the smoke passes through; therefore to maintain a maximum constant amount of power across the electrodes of the treater, the same degree of conductivity should prevail, at all times between the surface of the electrodes. For all practical purposes, in the application of this process to lead and copper-smelter smoke, we can consider that the conductivity of the gases is a .constant. The variations in temperature of the smoke have a much greater effect on the solids than on the gases; the only instance where the temperature of the gases plays an important part in the process is at plants using humidifying: The temperature does not affect the conductivity of mechanical dust because such dust has natural conductive properties. However, in the case of smoke carrying acid-fume dust, where the conductivity is imparted to the dust particles by coming into contact with the acid fumes, the temperature is of importance.

Jan 8, 1925

By Robert Glass Cleland

[MINING DIVISION GENERAL WESTERN ADMINISTRATION Harrison M. Lavender, Vice-President and General Manager Charles R. Kuzell, Assistant General Manager Walter C. Lawson, Assistant to Vice-president and Genera1 Manager]

Jan 1, 1952

The production of petroleum in India (including Burma) increased from 334,811,624 gal.' ill 1936 to 350,322,222 gal. in 1937, the highest figure in the history of the industry. The increase in 1937 was clue to an increase of some 20 million gallons from Singu, 51/2 million gallons from Attack, 11/4 million gallons from Thayetmyo, and 1 mi1lien gallons from Digboi, accompanied by decrcases of 91/2 million gallons from Yenan-gyaung and 2 million gallons from Yenangyat,. The amount of gasoline produced from natural gas during the year was 10,616,313 gal. in Burma and 456,780 gal. in the Punjab. Yenangyaung Field.—The Yenangyaung field maintained its reputation of being one of the most wonderful oil fields in the world. The total production during 1937 was less than in the previous year but the resources of the field as a whole are sufficient to ensure an adequate supply of oil for many years. At the end of 1037 there were 2910 wells producing in the field. Besides a large number of ells drilled to shallow sands, this total includes 180 hand-dug wells, whose continued existenice is one of the interesting features of the field. During the year the deep drilling activities of 1936 in the southern part of the field died down, owing to the disappointing results obtained. On the eastern flank the limit of present economic extension of the oil sands was approximately demareated. Satisfactory results continue to be obtained from gas drives in the leased blocks; gas is also injected for repressuring and storage. Casing policies continue to be carefully designed to protect the oil sands against the danger of flooding by water and, in general, production methods throughout the field are characterized by a realization of the importance of the conservation of oil and gas and the prevention of waste, whether simple or underground. Singu Field.—-In 1937 the increase in the output from the Singu field was continued. This increased production was due not only to the rapid development of the valuable area in the southern part of the field but also to the successful results obtained from the first wells to produce from behind the practically completed river training wall of the Burmah Oil

Jan 1, 1939

The production of petroleum in India (including Burma) increased from 334,811,624 gal.' ill 1936 to 350,322,222 gal. in 1937, the highest figure in the history of the industry. The increase in 1937 was clue to an increase of some 20 million gallons from Singu, 51/2 million gallons from Attack, 11/4 million gallons from Thayetmyo, and 1 mi1lien gallons from Digboi, accompanied by decrcases of 91/2 million gallons from Yenan-gyaung and 2 million gallons from Yenangyat,. The amount of gasoline produced from natural gas during the year was 10,616,313 gal. in Burma and 456,780 gal. in the Punjab. Yenangyaung Field.—The Yenangyaung field maintained its reputation of being one of the most wonderful oil fields in the world. The total production during 1937 was less than in the previous year but the resources of the field as a whole are sufficient to ensure an adequate supply of oil for many years. At the end of 1037 there were 2910 wells producing in the field. Besides a large number of ells drilled to shallow sands, this total includes 180 hand-dug wells, whose continued existenice is one of the interesting features of the field. During the year the deep drilling activities of 1936 in the southern part of the field died down, owing to the disappointing results obtained. On the eastern flank the limit of present economic extension of the oil sands was approximately demareated. Satisfactory results continue to be obtained from gas drives in the leased blocks; gas is also injected for repressuring and storage. Casing policies continue to be carefully designed to protect the oil sands against the danger of flooding by water and, in general, production methods throughout the field are characterized by a realization of the importance of the conservation of oil and gas and the prevention of waste, whether simple or underground. Singu Field.—-In 1937 the increase in the output from the Singu field was continued. This increased production was due not only to the rapid development of the valuable area in the southern part of the field but also to the successful results obtained from the first wells to produce from behind the practically completed river training wall of the Burmah Oil

Jan 1, 1939

By C. A. Crawford

NICKEL and the nickel-copper alloy, the latter generally referred to as monel metal, are available in a variety of wrought and fabricated forms, of which the following are regular commercial products: [ ]

Jan 1, 1928

By Wm. Reuben Webster

THE greatly enlarged demand for small sizes of seamless copper tube which has recently occurred, due particularly to the rapid growth of the electric household-refrigerator industry, has emphasized the superiority of phosphorized to tough pitch copper for the purpose of producing this commodity. In the manufacture of this material exceedingly heavy reductions by cold drawing are employed, customary practice involving as much as 90 per cent. reduction of cross-sectional area in four runs without intermediate annealing. Although this superiority has long been recognized by tube makers, no quantitative expression of it has heretofore been published. It is believed that the data herewith presented will serve this purpose. Recent investigators are not in agreement as to the relative mechanical properties of copper containing small amounts of oxygen as compared with copper containing sufficient oxygen to produce that condition known as tough pitch. Hanson, Marryat and Ford' found that "oxygen has a relatively small effect on the properties of copper." Johnson,2 on the contrary, states "it cannot be denied that it (tough pitch copper) is inferior, to deoxidized copper where severe mechanical manipulation is concerned." These authorities in the reports of their investigations, as might be expected from their conclusions, do not present data of a character requisite to a conclusive determination of the question.

Jan 1, 1927

By Henry N. Toler

Development in the Jackson gas field, Hinds and Rankin counties, for 1935 continued at a slow pace, there being only nine wells drilled on the structure, of which five resulted in gas producers and four in dry holes. There were no wells drilled deep enough during 1935 to test any of the horizons below the producing Selma chalk. There are 113 producing gas wells in the Jackson gas field, with three wells on the southeast edge of the field making some oil with a large quantity of salt water; this oil comes from the same horizon as the gas. The combined open flow of the 113 gas wells is about 4,100,000,000 cu. ft. The proven area of the field is approximately 8000 acres. The production of 10,291,000,000 cu. ft. for 1935 represents the largest yearly pull from the field by almost a billion cubic feet. The total production from the field to date is 45,104,000,-000 cu. ft. It is interesting to note that the rock pressure has dropped from 1010 lb. per sq. in. initial to 943 Ib. at the end of 1935, a decline of only 67 lb. in 6 years. There is a difference of opinion as to the age of the deepest formation tested on the Jackson structure; some people holding that it is Tuscaloosa, others, Trinity, and still others that it is Paleozoic, probably Pottsville. The production of the Amory gas field, Monroe County, continued to decline and the capacity was far under the demand. Originally there were four producing wells in the field with a combined open-flow capacity of approximately 15,000,000 cu. ft. and a rock pressure of 680 lb. per sq. in. At the end of 1935 only two wells were producing with a combined open-flow of less than 1 million cu. ft. and the rock pressure down to 100 lb. or less. No attempt has been made to drill new wells in the immediate field but three wells are being drilled in the county in an effort to secure new supplies of gas. The wildcat operations for 1935, with only 11 wells drilled, were the lowest since 1932, just about one-half the number drilled during 1934. None of the wildcat wells drilled in 1935 resulted in producers and, so far as the writer is aware, did not uncover any large structures. The 11 wells drilled were abandoned or junked at comparatively shallow depths, except the well drilled in George County to 6928 ft. by the United Gas

Jan 1, 1936

By A. Hasbi Hassan

Stibiotantalite is a relatively rare mineral not commonly found in the major tin districts of the world, and its separation characteristics have not been documented adequately in the literature. The investigation described here has been carried out on a sample taken from a commercial tin concentrate containing a significant amount of stibiotantalite which would have to be substantially removed before the tin concentrate was smelted. The sample originated from Greenbushes, Western Australia. A mineralogical analysis was performed on the sample with the aid of the Frantz Isodynamic separator 1 and the results presented in Table 1. A screen analysis was also performed, and the results presented in Table 2. The minerals were found to be substantially liberated.

Jan 8, 1979

Masjid-i-Su1aiman.—There have been no new developments in the Masjid-i-Sulaiman field during the year. Drilling, deepcning and acidizing operations for maintenance of production havc continued normally. Reservoir conditions have been unchanged, the rate of fall of dome prcssure remaining very low—at about 0.4 lb. per sq. in. per million tons net production. Drilling on the Lali structure northwest of Masjid-i-Sulaiman has continued but oil has not been encountered in commercial quantities. Haft Kel.—The progressive drilling program extending the production capacity of the Haft Kel field was completed carly in the year and the field is now on a routine maintenance basis. Drilling has continued on the white-oil springs structurc northwest of Haft Kel. Naft-i-Shah.—No developments of interest have occurred in Naft-i-Shah field. Offtake is for local markets only. A further large produeer was completed during the year. Gach Saran.—By the end of 1939, work on plant and pipe lines to put, the field on a production basis was approaching completion. Two substantial producers were also drilled in the initial production area. Pazanun and Agha Jari.—No further drilling was carried out on the Pazanun structure during the year, gas only having been obtained to depths exceeding 8000 ft. On the adjacent Agha Jari structure, however, a second satisfactory oil producer was completed.

Jan 1, 1940

Masjid-i-Su1aiman.—There have been no new developments in the Masjid-i-Sulaiman field during the year. Drilling, deepcning and acidizing operations for maintenance of production havc continued normally. Reservoir conditions have been unchanged, the rate of fall of dome prcssure remaining very low—at about 0.4 lb. per sq. in. per million tons net production. Drilling on the Lali structure northwest of Masjid-i-Sulaiman has continued but oil has not been encountered in commercial quantities. Haft Kel.—The progressive drilling program extending the production capacity of the Haft Kel field was completed carly in the year and the field is now on a routine maintenance basis. Drilling has continued on the white-oil springs structurc northwest of Haft Kel. Naft-i-Shah.—No developments of interest have occurred in Naft-i-Shah field. Offtake is for local markets only. A further large produeer was completed during the year. Gach Saran.—By the end of 1939, work on plant and pipe lines to put, the field on a production basis was approaching completion. Two substantial producers were also drilled in the initial production area. Pazanun and Agha Jari.—No further drilling was carried out on the Pazanun structure during the year, gas only having been obtained to depths exceeding 8000 ft. On the adjacent Agha Jari structure, however, a second satisfactory oil producer was completed.

Jan 1, 1940

By Lawrence F. Schubert

Instrumentation is not a stranger to the minerals processing industry. In fact, very few plants now exist that haven't to one extent or another adapted operations to instrumentation. But with the rapid growth of such controls has come the need for effective departments composed of men trained to maintain and repair the instruments; here is where many firms fall short. The importance of the role an instrument department should play is underscored by the omnipotent effects which instruments often exert over an operation. Reserve Mining Co. is an example: while instrumentation at this taconite plant represents approximately 2% of the process equipment cost, a breakdown of instruments may result in the ineffective use (or complete shut-down) of the other 98% of plant investment.

Jan 7, 1966