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By H. F. Seifert

THE classification and preparation of non-ferrous scrap metals is a subject of interest to every individual and corporation that employs in its processes of manufacture non-ferrous metals and alloys and accumulates in such manufacture scrap from these materials for disposition in the form .of turnings, borings, short ends, punchings, clippings, grindings, washings, etc. All too frequently the disposition-of such scrap is left to individuals who have no knowledge of the subject either from a metallurgical or a commercial standpoint, or both. Much money is thus lost which with a little more intelligent effort might be saved, and in this day of fierce competition and small profits such an opportunity cannot be ignored. The Mineral Resources of the United States for the year 1925, the latest issue available (Part 1, page 221), gives the secondary non-ferrous TABLE 1.-Some. Secondary Non-ferrous Metals Recovered in the United States for the -Year 1924-25 Material Short Tons Value Copper, including that in alloys other than brass.... 250,600 8 71,170,400 Brass, scrap remelted : 242,300 56,270,800 Lead as metal : 112,420 39,477,100 Lead as alloys 112,460 Zinc as metal 61,430 11,359,000 Zinc in alloys other than brass 13,300 Tin as metal 7,950 Tin in alloys 23,000, 35,165,400 Antimony as metal 1 3,794,000 Antimony in alloys : 10,839 Aluminum as metal 17,700 24,816,000 Aluminum in alloys 26,300 Nickel as metal 191 1,518,000 Nickel in non-ferrous alloys 2,109 Total l 882,600 $243,570,700

Jan 1, 1928

By Thomas E. Howard

Tunneling is at the threshold of a new era. An exciting new technology is becoming available. And, supplying the increasing quantities of minerals required by a growing and socially advancing world population, together with providing the subsurface facilities attendant to the rapid urbanization of the more developed countries of the world, will require underground excavation during the next decades on a scale that would have seemed fantastic a few years ago. It is estimated that world mineral consumption will increase fivefold by the year 2000. Projections for the United States indicate that domestic consumption of nonfuel minerals may increase two to three times by the end of the century. Meeting these requirements will entail opening up many new underground mines, even if present trends toward surface mining continue. And, at least in the United States, new factors that are becoming increasingly important may modify these trends. We are depleting our shallow easy- to-find and easy-to-mine mineral deposits; and, if we are to avoid becoming dangerously dependent on imports, we must turn more and more toward deeper deposits that are not amenable to surface mining. Growing public concern with environmental quality is apparently leading toward increasingly stringent regulation of surface mining which also will tend to make underground mining economically more attractive. The world market for underground construction is also growing rapidly. The most conservative projections indicate that in the United States alone more than $7.0 billion will be spent on excavation for underground facilities during the next ten years. And these estimates do not include any of the bold, imaginative new applications for underground excavation that have been proposed, such as extensive underground power transmission, the Chicago Deep Tunnel plan, and the Northeast Corridor Transportation project. There can be little doubt then that the market for tunnels for conventional applications is increasing rapidly and that the trend will continue. It

Jan 1, 1970

By Elmer W. Pehrson

THE founding of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in 1871 came at an unusually significant moment in the life of our country. The industrial revolution, in which mineral production played a major role, was just getting underway. The iron industry, established several decades earlier, was reaching sizable proportions. In 1871 pig-iron production was approaching 2 million tons, and the industry had spread as far west as Missouri and Wisconsin. The chief sources of iron ore were Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Michigan. The age of steel was in its infancy; production had not yet reached 100,000 tons per annum. The gold rush to California two decades earlier and the discovery of other gold and silver bonanzas in the West paved the way for the transcontinental railways, which were then being built and which contributed much to the subsequent development of the great copper, lead, and zinc districts of the Rocky Mountain area. Regular production of copper in the Michigan peninsula and of lead in Missouri and the upper Mississippi region had been established for many years but on a scale dwarfed by the quantities later required as technical progress, invention and enterprise made possible the rapid expansion of industry. Discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in 1859, the growing recognition of the

Jan 1, 1947

By Thomas R. Couzens

This chapter covers certain aspects of open pit production planning based on experience, pointing out approaches to planning that may help produce a realistic picture for evaluation and operation The subjects discussed are roads, preproduction stripping, dump planning, dewatering, the relationship of production planning to equipment selection, and computer methods for the short-range or operational pit planning process Actual determination of ore limits, pit design, and production schedules are covered in other chapters This discussion is somewhat general. Specific problems that occur in mine planning are extremely varied, and it is not possible to cover many of them in a chapter, therefore, only some of the principles that are important in the approach to open pit production planning problems will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1979

By Donald F. Taylor

TANTALUM and columbium are newcomers in the world of metals. Many of the metals described in this volume had been known and used for centuries before either tantalum or columbium was known to exist. The scarcity of the ores and the comparative difficulty of extraction delayed their technology until specialized methods of processing could be developed. HISTORY Early in the nineteenth century, 1801, Hatchett discovered a new oxide, which he called columbium oxide, and a year later, Ekeberg announced that he had found a new element, which he named tantalum. The preparation of the metal tantalum in impure form was first announced by Berzelius in 1824, but the actual production of ductile metal did not occur until 1903, when von Bolton, of Siemens and Halske, developed a process for the production of tantalum pure enough to be drawn into electric-lamp filament wire. The use of tantalum as a filament wire began to decline when ductile tungsten was introduced in 1909. In 1921, C. W. sake, of Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation, produced the first ingot of tantalum metal in America. The first ingot of columbium was produced in 1927 in the laboratory of the same company. There are several good reasons why tantalum and columbium are often mentioned together. They occur together in their important minerals, are similar in many of their properties, and are

Jan 1, 1953

By H. D. Hoskold

As the theory and the practice of valuing mines have never been discussed in the Transactions, a paper on the subject may be acceptable, even though not exhaustive. The method here indicated is set forth, not as a model of perfection to be followed absolutely, to the exclusion of any other system based on sound scientific, commercial and equitable principles, but merely as an aid to mining engineers and financiers in estimating the value of mining-property. This paper is intended merely to point out certain financial features of the question, and not at all to go into the theories of the formation of mineral veins, extremely valuable as it must, of course, be to understand the laws of the earth's formation and of its various changes, which are the basis of such important sciences as geology and mineralogy, and highly useful as guides in determining the probable existence and extension of mineral deposits. Financial Elements of Mine- Valuation. The practice of basing the stock-exchange price of mining shares upon reports, periodically received from the mine-captain or manager, stating that in his opinion the mine is " improving " in this or that level, and is worth so much " per fathom," is, of course, absurd. Everybody experienced in metalliferous mining is aware that a mineral vein varies in thickness and also in percentage of metal in different parts of the same mine. According to the practice just indicated, a mine must have had as many values a per fathom " as there have been given reports upon it at intervals during the year,

Jan 1, 1903

By J. Richard Maier

Short-range mine planning (less than five years) previously was accomplished using contour and isopac maps, pencil and paper, an abacus, and our lucky quarter. Through the use of both micros and mainframe time sharing, Glenrock Coal Company (GCC) has been able to virtually put the old equipment away (except the problem solving quarter). In the process, GCC has saved many man-days and eliminated the more tedious parts of mine planning, such as picking elevations off a map with an engineer's scale and repetitive calculations. These savings have allowed GCC to do a more extensive job of mine planning as well as offer more alternatives, making GCC better prepared for possible economic changes. Mine planning, simply, involves looking at what has been done and deciding what needs to be done using various constraints. The application of this concept is not as easy as it sounds. The need for experience and insight cannot be replaced by a machine, but machines can supplement a person's ability by doing the bookkeeping and the repetitive work. Through the application of computers and their accessories, GCC has brought mine planning to a more modernized state. The following paper will detail the development and use of one system as used at GCC. Please note: In the figures and tables following, some of the data has been altered to protect confidential information used in mine planning.

Jan 1, 1983

By W. O. Philbrook, R. H. Spitzer, F. S. Manning

The steady-state operation of an isothermal, counter-current reactor in which a mouing bed of hematite particles is reduced by hydrogen has been modeled mathematically using a generalized single-particle kinetic formulation for topochemical reduction with formation of the intermediate oxides, wustite and magnetite. Reduction prof iles have been generated for various oper- REDUCTION of iron ore, as practiced industrially, approaches counter current, granular-bed operation. The total process is extremely complex. Quite under- ating conditions selected to demonstrate the influence of major variables such as gas and solid flow rates, bed length, and particle size. These profiles illustrate , among other things, that the reducing-gas requirement in a countercurrent bed hinges upon the iron-wüstite equilibrium or 'pinch-point" in much the same way as in a staged reactor. standably, nearly all research has been focused on reduction of single particles of oxide under controlled conditions. While this approach simplifies the problem by eliminating interparticle interactions, the remaining intraparticle transport and kinetic processes still constitute a most formidable challenge. Only within the last few years has knowledge of single-particle reactions been developed sufficiently to make modeling of counter current-bed reduction a realistic and useful study of process behavior. The authors have analyzed1"3 extensive laboratory

Jan 1, 1969

By W. J. Reagan

A SURVEY of the literature on bottom-cast practice gives but scant information as to some of the real facts concerning this most interesting method of steel manufacture, and some of the information available is very misleading.1 An exceptionally good description of this method of pouring or teeming is to be found in an English publication2 on the heterogeneity of steel ingots. Quoting from this paper: (a) With bottom teeming, the metal rises steadily and progressively in the mold with the minimum possible agitation, the main force of the stream coming from the ladle being broken down or retarded by the down gate or runner. Further, the stream of metal from the ladle, under these conditions of casting, is invariably main-tained at a much more continuous rate and is steadier than with top teeming. (b) In view of the facts referred to in (a) it follows that with bottom teeming the metal is not exposed to atmospheric oxidation to anything like the same degree as with top teeming. In this paper it is intended to detail briefly some of the advantages of bottom-cast practice and to discuss the possibilities of iron-oxide control in the basic open-hearth furnace. A description of the type of charge, ingot mold set-up, etc., is found in detail in an earlier paper.3

Jan 1, 1934

BEFORE me is a colored mining-claim map of the productive portion of the Robinson Mining district-sometimes called the Ruth-Kimberly area-that lies a few miles west of Ely, Nevada. It covers an area of 20 sq mi and at the end of 1954 had produced just under 2,000,000 tons of copper and about 2,000,000 oz of gold as a by-product. The three principal colors on the map and the meaning of each are: Red -Property of the Nevada Mines Division of Kennecott Copper Corporation, formerly known as the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company. Yellow -Property of the Consolidated Coppermines Corporation. Green --Consolidated Coppermines property under lease to Nevada Mines. The striking feature of the map is the crazy-quilt intermingling of the colors and the tendency of property lines to intersect ore bodies. For example, the westerly one-fourth of Nevada Mines' Copper Flat pit, source of most of the ore,up to date, is in Coppermines property. Nearly half of Nevada Mines' Veteran pit is on leased claims; and Nevada's new Deep Ruth shaft is on a right of way on ground originally owned by Coppermines. On the other hand, the original Ruth underground mine and the new Kimbley pit are on Nevada Mines property; and the Morris and Brooks opencut mines, the most important of Cop-

Jan 1, 1957

By W. R. Ingalls

ThE following chronology presents the history of lead-mining in the United States in a brief form and is a useful reference in connection with the statistics of production: 1621.. Lead was mined and smelted near Falling Creek, Va., to supply the local demand for bullets and shot. This was the first mining and .smelting of lead in what is now the United States. 1632. In a report made on the minerals of New England, lead-ore is mentioned. (Bishop, I., 470.) 1650. Supposed beginning of mining by Jesuits in Pima county, Ariz. 1651. Grant of lead-mine at Middletown, Conn., to Gov. John Winthrop. 1682. Lead-ore supposed to have been discovered in Wisconsin by Nicholas Perrot. (K. D. Irving, Mineral Resources of Wisconsin, Trans., viii., 498.) 1700 Discovery of lead in Missouri by Penicaut, one of Le Sueur's party. Tile same expedition discovered lead near the southern boundary of Wisconsin in August of the same year. 1712. Grant by Louis XIV. of the Crozat patents, with special privileges respecting the discovery and operation of mines in the then territory of Louisiana. Little or no mining was done under this patent until about 1720. 1717. Transfer of Crozat patents to the Mississippi Co., promoted by John Law, which prepared for active mining. 1719. First attempt to mine and smelt lead in Missouri, made by Sieur de Lochon, in behalf of the Mississippi Co., near Meramec river. Results unsuccessful.

Jan 1, 1908

By E. R. Borcherdt

IT is notable that the first large-scale mine operation equipped entirely with detachable bits was the Badger State mine of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. in Butte, Montana, just 30 years ago. This mine in 1922 was producing approximately 1200 tons of ore per day. Much of the data presented in C. L. Berrien's article1 describing the development and installation of the Hawkesworth detachable drill bit were obtained from these operations. As in any pioneering effort, no precedent existed and many difficult problems required solution, so that the changeover to detachable bits at all Butte hill mines was not completed for 6 years. There was widespread disbelief as to the probable efficiency of the new installation.

Jan 2, 1953

By Heinrich Ries

In another place,* the writer has called attention to the modern methods of the laboratory investigation of clay, and it is desired here simply to discuss one branch of the subject, which, though of considerable importance, has heretofore received little attention in this country, viz., the rational analysis of clay. In order, however, the better to point out the bearings and advantages of this procedure, it is necessary to refer briefly to the ultimate analysis as well. The remarks in this paper refer only to the use of clay for the manufacture of clay-products. Pure clay or kaolin-f is extremely refractory, possesses little plasticity, and usually shrinks aud warps considerably in burning. Even the smallest proportion of impurities changes these properties, so that the kaolin exhibits variations in shrinkage, plasticity, tensile strength, fusibility, and often color when burned. The majority of nearly pure kaolins consist of kaolinite (A1,O2 2SiO,, 2H20), undecomposed feldspar, and quartz. The kaolinite generally forms the finest particles of the clay and is known as the clay-substance, while the rest of the clay-particles are collectively spoken of as sand. In the ordinary or ultimate analysis, the substances generally determined are silica, alumina, ferric oxide, lime, magnesia, alkalies and water. An analysis of this type simply regards the clay as a mixture of elements or oxides, but gives no clue as to the actual condition in which these substances exist, i.e., whether as silicates, oxides or carbonates, etc., a point which it is of the highest importance to know; for the individual components of the clay influence its properties not only according

Jan 1, 1899

By McAuliffe, Eugene

THE TERM "engineer" has been defined in many ways by many men broadly speaking the statement that "an engineer is one versed in or practicing any brar1c.h of engineering" is sufficient. A rather close relation exists between the sciences of surgery and engineering. A successful surgeon must have the capacity to perform the most delicate work, under extremely circumscribed conditions. This portion of his education is purely mechanical and although marvellous in itself, it must remain secondary to that greater possession, a thorough knowledge of human anatomy coupled with a comprehensive understanding of human psychology. In sub- stance, the surgeon must not only know how to operate but what is more important, he must be able to decide when, if ever, the operation should be undertaken.

Jan 1, 1932

By R. R. Sayers

VENTILATION may be defined as the process by which vitiated air of an inclosed or partly inclosed space is continuously replaced by fresh air. Fresh air has been defined as invigorating pure air. Pure dry air at sea level contains the following gases:1 Analysis of Air at Sea Level PER CENT. Oxygen 20.94 Nitrogen 78.09 Carbon dioxide 0.03 Argon 0.94 Helium, krypton, neon, xenon, hydrogen, hydrogen peroxid, ammonia, ozone traces CARBON DIOXIDE LIMIT For many years carbon dioxide was used as an index of the purity of the air vitiated by the metabolism of people. It was, however, well known that the untoward effects produced on those exposed to such air was not due to the concentration of the carbon dioxide. It has been found that the untoward effects on the comfort and efficiency of those so exposed are due to the increased temperature and humidity. It has been found that men can breathe air containing many times the amount of carbon dioxide found in our worst ventilated theaters and assembly halls, which, according to Rosenau, do not contain above 0.5 per cent. carbon dioxide.

Jan 7, 1926

By Arthur Redfield

THE West Indies are the summits of a submerged, mountain chain, the continuation of which must be sought in the mountains of central Honduras. In Haiti, the chain divides, one branch passing through Jamaica and the other through Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and the Misteriosa bank. Suess divides the West Indies into three zones: The first zone is entirely of volcanic origin and includes many recent volcanic cones. It includes the arcùate string of islands, which extends from Saba and St. Kitts to the Grenadines and Grenada. The western half of Guadeloupe belongs to this group. The second zone consists of a geanticline, of which the sedimentary rocks range from the Jurassic to the Quaternary, but consist chiefly of Lower Tertiary sediments. In the west it is broad, including the whole of the Greater Antilles; but in the east it is restricted to a narrow belt, which includes the Virgin Islands (except Anegada), Anguilla, St. Bartholomew, Antigua, the eastern part of Guadeloupe and part of Barbados. The islands that compose the third zone are flat and low. Like the second, this zone is broad in the west and narrow in the east; it includes the Bahamas, Anegada, Sombrero, Barbuda, and part of Barbados. Geologically, Florida and the plain of Yucatan may be regarded as belonging to it. Trinidad and Tobago, though-geographically adjacent to the Lesser Antilles, are geologically a detached part of the South American continent. The crystalline complexes of northern Trinidad and of Barbados are a continuation, en echelon, of the crystalline axis of the promontory of Paria. The folded Cretaceous and Tertiary of the central and southern parts of Trinidad represent a continuation of the folded sediments of the Paria district of Venezuela.

Jan 6, 1922

By V. F. Marsters

THE main producing oilfields in Peru are located in the department of Piura and province of Thumbes, adjoining Ecuador on the south and west. In the department of Puno, a small field known as the Pirin or Hauncané Area was exploited some years ago by Fred Brown and associates and considerable production obtained. As. shown by the statistical table of production, this area reached its maximum production about 1909; since 1915, operations have been suspended. During the past year, however, the Peruvian Corpn. has acquired some interests in this section. It is reported to have made a few shallow tests with the hope of obtaining sufficient production to supply fuel for its railway lines, which operate between Mollendo on the coast and Puno and Cuzco in the interior. Only partial success has accompanied these efforts; nevertheless, exploitation is being continued. The petroleum of this region contains a paraffin base with small amounts of asphalt. While the gasoline content is small, the kerosene content runs as high as 30 per cent., with the fuel element varying from 50 to 72 per cent. While it is known that the structural conditions of the Huancané area are somewhat complicated, it is believed that exploitation based on a careful interpretation of the geology of the region will eventually yield commercial production of at least modest proportions. In the main fields in Piura and Tumbes, drilling operations were somewhat more active during the first half of the year, than in 1922. The latter half of the year witnessed curtailment, owing to the abnormal situation in the petroleum industry at that time. For the same reason, no attempt was made to obtain the maximum production from existing .wells. Production was pinched down and exportation of crude was correspondingly reduced during the latter half of 1923. Nevertheless, the total production of the Peruvian fields is considerably in excess of that for 1922, as is also the production of the Negritos area alone.

Jan 3, 1924

By Walter Voskuil

ILLINOIS supplies coal to seven states in the Upper Mississippi Valley -Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. In this same area are marketed large quantities of coal from West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and else-where; fuel oil from the crude petroleum supplies of the Mid-Continent fields, and natural gas from Louisiana, Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. The boundaries of this "Illinois coal-market area" are determined by competition from other coal fields and from other forms of fuel. Within the area so described 90 per cent of Illinois coal is marketed. Thus in the Southwest, an abundance of fuel-oil supplies and natural gas domi-nates the market almost to the exclusion of coal. The westward move-ment of Illinois coal in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas is met by an eastward flow of high-grade coals from Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. In the lake-shore counties of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the market is dominated by Appalachian coals, cheaply carried over the Great Lakes and reaching the ports of Lake Michigan and at the head of Lake Superior. Illinois coals find their largest market in the southern and western sections of these two lake states. Only small quantities of Illinois coals are shipped east of the state line. This market area is occupied entirely by the neighboring coal fields of Indiana and the Appalachian coal fields in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Jan 1, 1936

By Tadao Nagai, Masao Sato

Electrochemical measurements have been carried out in an auto- clave to investigate the electrochemistry of hydrogen precipitation of nickel from acetate buffered solution. After having previously obtained the rate equation for this reaction we have now made a concentrated effort to explain the rate equation electrochemically. A saturated NaC1-type Ag/AgC1 reference electrode has been improved so that it can be used in an autoclave. Polarization curves for the reaction, [H2=2H+ + 2e,] on nickel electrode were measured in solutions free from nickel ions at 185°C, and the parallel curves were obtained by changing PH2 and pH for normal and reverse reactions, respectively. Polarization curves in nickel solutions were complex, probably because the potential of hydrogen electrode is close to that of nickel and of the nickel surface altered during polarization. Then the nickel electrode potential and the reaction rate were measured simultaneously during pressure reduction at various hydrogen pressures and at various nickel concentrations. The reaction rates in terms of current density were plotted to obtain the local polarization curves for reactions Ni2+ + 2e ? Ni and H2 ?2H+ + 2e. The anodic and cathodic local polarization curves exhibit potential dependency. Therefore it is likely that the pres- sure reduction can be regarded as a coupled electrodes reaction.

Jan 1, 1973

By Ernst A. Hauser

IN a paper published three years ago,' the term "silicic chemistry" was used for the first time to emphasize the increasing importance of the chemistry of silicon in science and technology. The development through which the colloid chemistry of siliceous matter has gone since then is in itself ample proof that the coining of this new term for this branch of colloid science was not presumptuous. Until quite recently, however, silicic chemistry concerned itself only with the composition and colloidal properties of natural and synthetic siliceous matter, but had not paid much attention to the genesis of this matter, particularly to that of the clay minerals. What is even more disturbing, particularly from an educational point of view, is the fact that neither mineralogy, geology, nor metallurgy has fully realized the important role colloidal phenomena must have played in the genesis of our planet and the formation of minerals generally speaking. Considering the importance of colloid chemistry today in the fields just mentioned, it is not surprising that the theories most agreed upon by geologists and mineralogists for the origin of clay minerals are not acceptable from a strictly colloid chemical point of view for the genesis of these most important and most abundant components of the earth. Of all the theories pertaining to the origin of clay minerals, those still most accepted by geologists and mineralogists are the "residual clay" and the "transported clay" theories.15 The former is based primarily on the assumption that the formation of clay minerals is the result of surface weathering of fresh rocks, or is due to the action of solutions. Taking the action of water on orthoclase as an example, the most recent ideas have been summarized by H. Jenny13 as follows:

Jan 1, 1952