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By J. D. Price, W. M. Bertholf

In preparing a paper on coal washing in Colorado and New Mexico, it is difficult to refrain from entering into a discussion of the historical aspects of this subject, for the story of coal washing in these states goes hack well into the last century. This phase of the subject could well make a complete paper in itself, and of necessity this present discussion must be limited to current operations. Therefore, we are taking into consideration only those washing plants which have operated for some period during the years of 1947 and 1948. Summary Of the eight million tons of coal mined in the two states in 1947. ap- proximately two million tons were washed in wet washing plants, using concentrating tables or jigs. The one table plant accounted for 70 pct of the output of washed coal, and two large Baum jig plants accounted for an additional 26 pct, leaving only a small residual tonnage to be accounted for by other types of jigs The necessity for washing coal is occasioned by the desire or necessity of reducing the ash content of the coals— sulphur is not a problem in this area. All washeries, except the table plant, are at or near the tipple, hence wash only one kind of coal. At the table plant a large number of different coals are washed. Only at the table plant is there any occasion for drying any considerable quantity of fine coal— other plants size and/or dewater on shaking screens. The results of washing at the smaller plants are judged by the number (or lack) of complaints about the quality of the washed coal. This is probably as good a system as can he devised for small, intermittent operations. The efficiency of the Baum jig ap-pears to be quite high. This is to be expected as long as the automatic control of the refuse gate operates properly. The efficiency of the concentrating table is not as high as that of the Baum jig, especially when the "difficulty" of washing is taken into consideration. When dealing with coals in which the "bone" is larger than the "coal," the table appears to be at a definite disadvantage, because of its sizing action.

Jan 1, 1950

By AIME AIME

The Washoe plant, 1 in Anaconcla. Mont., together with the local street-railroad, ranches a. foundry and machine-shop a brick-plant and the Montana hotel, form a property under one management; to which should be added the mines in Butte owned by the company, from which part of the ore-supply of the plant comes. The Anaconda Copper Mining Co., controlled by the Amalgamated Copper Co., was reorganized under the laws of Montana in 1893. A map of the plant, showing the numerous departments and illustrating the details of tracks, pipe-lines, and charging-stations for compressed-air locomotives, is given in Fig. 1.

Jul 1, 1906

By H. 0. HOFMAN AND W. MOSTOWITSCH

I. INTRODUCTION. THE mineral gypsum, CaSO, + 2 H2O, has been used for many years as a sulphurizing and basic flux in several smelting¬operations. Thus, in smelting oxide nickel-ore in the blast furnace, it is commonly added to the charge to furnish the sulphur necessary for collecting the metal in a matte, and a base for slagging the siliceous gangue. In the concentration of lead-copper matte in the reverberatory furnace it has been used for years at Freiberg, Saxony1 for a similar purpose, and for producing at the same time a copper-matte with less than 0.15 per cent. Fe. The latest use gypsum has been put to is in the blast-roasting process of Carmichael-Bradford.2 The term "blast-roasting," given by A. S. Dwight3 to the Dwight-Lloyd method of roasting and agglomerating ,I is a happy generic term which covers the ground better than the " lime-roasting" of Ingalls' or the " pot-roasting " of Austin,6 in that it leaves the operation independent of the character of the flux and the form of apparatus, and retains the characteristic feature of this class of processes-namely, that of using forced draft. In the Carmichael-Bradford process the dehydrated material, mixed with galena-concentrate, acts as a diluent and a flux. The process differs in this from the Huntington-Heberlein7 and the Savelsberg8 processes, in both of which limestone is used.

Jan 1, 1909

By N. F. Dyson, T. R. Scott, M. R. Thornber, W. E. Ewers, M. Bussell

Leach liquors derived from the processing of nickel ores are generally highly contaminated and contain appreciable free acid. Methods are described for obtaining a commercial grade of concentrate from such solutions using pyrrhotite as the seed material to abstract nick- el, cobalt, etc. from solution. At temperatures in excess of 160° C., recoveries of 99% can be obtained from contaminated solutions where the free acidity is as high as 0.5 M in sulphuric acid. At lower temperatures down to 80° C., high recoveries can also be obtained either by adding H2S to the system with appropriate adjustment of the free acidity or by using "activated" pyrrhotite or artificial FeS in the system without prior addition of H2S. The methods are applicable to liquors derived from either oxide or sulphide ores, and the products are suitable for smelting or other known processes used to obtain pure metals. The mechanism of the reaction appears to vary with the operating temperature, and the results ye therefore discussed in the light of electron probe and optical microscopic studies.

Jan 1, 1973

By C. MeCulloch

A NOVEL practice in the bituminous coal industry is the accelerated method of burning coal to ash used in the laboratory of the Fidelity washery of the United Electric Coal Companies, Du Quoin, Ill. Development of this method has supplanted the tedious float-and-sink process for plant control at this plant. In normal operation the plant operators have available within thirty minutes the accurate ash percentage of the coal loaded in the railroad cars and can therefore make adjustments to maintain a practically uniform quality of washed coal, regardless of the variations in washery feed.

Jan 1, 1937

By Y. Nakada, U. F. Kocks, B. Chalrners

THE orientation dependence of work hardening has previously been studied over the entire range, i.e., including special orientations of high symmetry, in aluminum1-3 and silver.* The differences between various orientations are substantial, and the trend is the same in all fcc crystals. However, there are quantitative differences in behavior between aluminum and silver at room temperature, particularly in the (100) orientation. While many experiments on gold have been reported,5'9 none included the special orientations. We therefore undertook tension tests on gold crystals of the axial orientations (100),(110), (Ill), (211), and, as a representative of single slip, one whose Schmid factor was 0.5 (hereafter referred to as m = 0.5). Single crystals of dimensions 1/4 by .1/4 by 6 in. were grown from the melt1' at a rate of 4 in. per hr, using gold of 99.99 pct purity obtained from Handy and Harman. A growth rate of 1/8 in. per hr, or a purity of 99.999 pct,ll produced no difference in results. The crystals were annealed at 1000°C in air for 24 hr and furnace-cooled down to room temperature, after which they were electro-polished in a solution of potassium cyanide (40 g), potassium ferrocyanide (10 g), soda (20 g), and enough distilled water to make 1 liter of solution, at a current density of 0.02 amp per sq mm. After 2 or 3 hr, a very smooth surface was obtained by this method. Nine m = 0.5, two (loo), one (110), three (Ill), and one (211; crystals were tested at room temperature in a floor-model Instron machine at a tensile strain rate of 0.5 pct per min. The accuracy of the stress measurement was k10 g per sq mm up to 500 g per sq mm, k2 pct for higher stresses. The strain measurement was accurate to t2 pct. The scatter of stress at a given strain among the crystals of the same orientation was small, *5 pct being the largest. The representative stress-strain curves for various orientations are shown in Fig. 1. Table I summarizes the work-hardening parameters as used by seeger.12 Results of other investigators are also included in this table for comparison. There are no previous data for the corner orientations. Values for m = 0.5 crystals agree fairly well with those of Berner. Tm is defined as the stress at which the stress-strain curve begins to deviate from linearity of Stage 11. However, in practice this is a very difficult value to estimate because each investigator has a different idea of linearity. Therefore, the comparison with the values of other investigators may not be valid. In the present experiment, (100) crystals had the highest 111, followed by (111) crystals. The work-hardening rate in Stage I1 was highest for the (111) crystal followed by the (100) crystals. Our value for 0x1 of m = 0.5 orientation agrees very well with those of other investigators. 1) Single-Slip orientation (m = 0.5). These crystals were oriented so that the primary-slip vector was contained in one side face. The dimension perpendicular to this side should then not change if single slip indeed takes place. Within the accuracy of measurement, this dimension did not change during the deformation. Since the accuracy is k0.2 pct, the amount of secondary slip is less than 0.7 pct of the slip on the primary-slip system at 30 pct tensile strain. This is in conformity with the results obtained by Kocks" for aluminum crystals. The tensile axis moved toward (211) during the deformation. Slip bands, Fig. 2(a), were very fine and closely spaced. Some deformation bands were observed. There were no clear-cut cross-slip traces such as the ones observed on aluminum m = 0.5 crystals. 2) (111) Crystals. The orientation of the tensile axis was stable during the deformation. From this observation, one can deduce that at least three slip systems must have operated, and probably all six because the remaining three all have cross-slip relation to one of the first three.' It was very difficult to observe the slip markings. Consequently, we could not confirm by this method that six systems were operative during the deformation. At high strains (above 50 pct shear strain), this orientation had the highest stress-strain curve. At 80

Jan 1, 1964

By Sir Albert E. Kitson

The manganese ore deposits of the Gold Coast, British West Africa, occur in very ancient rocks, of both sedimentary and metamorphic types. In certain respects they have a strong resemblance to those of India and Brazil, as contrasted with those of Tertiary age in Georgia, but in this paper no careful comparison with them can be made. Viewed from the present condition of the manganiferous rocks, the oldest deposits are in the sediments. Later than these are the progressively metamorphosed representatives of these sediments. Youngest are the products of decay and degradation with the concentration of manganese oxide in the rocks of both groups. The oldest occurrences are in argillaceous and siliceous phyllites and slates, which show only a moderate degree of metamorphism. They belong to a series which also includes mudstones, sandstones, grits, conglomerates and subordinate limestones, with tuffs and lava-flows, largely of basic types. This has been named the Birrim System. Its age is unknown, for no definite fossils have been discovered in it. Since these non-fossiliferous strata at many plaees are of a character which in many parts of the world are suitable for the preservation of fossils, and which contain them, it is assumed that the Gold Coast deposits are pre-Cambrian. These rocks of the Birrim System have normally a northeast-southwest strike, and are folded, but not to any very great degree except in certain belts. From the Eastern Province of the Gold Coast they may be traversed diagonally across their strike for upwards of 600 miles, to the extreme northwestern corner of the Northern Territories. Thence they probably extend much farther into French territory.

Jan 1, 1927

By AIME AIME

THE STANDARD herewith submitted is the result of several years of research and consideration by the A.I.M.E. Technical Committee on Milling Methods. In the early work of this committee it was found necessary to undertake the development of a standard laboratory method for screen testing of ores. During the research stages the desirability of having this standard, when completed, approved as American Standard was brought out. In accordance with this idea, its initiation as a project of the American Standards Association (then the American Engineering Standards Committee) was approved by the latter body and the A.I.M.E. designated as sponsor. In 1929, the A.S.A., on recommendations of its advisory committee, the Mining Standardization Correlating Committee), authorized the A.I.M.E. to be sole sponsor for this project. The personnel of the Institute's Committee on Milling Methods was then increased to make it thoroughly representative of all diversified interests in the mining field. Two years ago the standard was circulated and has been given wide distribution. Early in 1932 the committee voted unanimously, with 38 affirmative votes, that the standard be recommended to the Board of Directors of the Institute for submission to the American Standards Association for approval as American Recommended Practice. This was accordingly done, at the Feb. 1.6, 1932, meeting of the directors, and the American Standards Association approved the standard on July 6; 1.932, designating it as ASA M5-1932.

Jan 1, 1932

By S. S. Nosseir

INTRODUCTION General Quebec Cartier Mining Co. (QCM) , Canadian subsidiary of U . S. Steel Corporation, operates two iron ore concentrators at the North Shore of Quebec, Canada. In its own operation at Mount-Wright, over 45 million tons per year of crude ore are ground, fully autogenous in six 32' x 11-1/2 Dominion Engineering mills. At Fire Lake/Lac Jeannine operation, property of Sidbec Normines Incorporated (SNI), over 11 million tons per year of crude ore are now ground, fully autogenous, in twelve 18' x 5' Hardinge mills. The Lac Jeannine concentrator was originally constructed by Q.C.M. in 1960 and. was since operated, in beneficiating the Lac Jeannine ore deposit until fully depleted in 1977, at an annual capacity of 18 million tons of crude per year. In 1976, the new company, Sidbec Normines, was incorporated by Sidbec Corporation, British Steel Corporation and Quebec Cartier Mining Co., in proportional holding of approximately 51 to 41 to 8 percent respectively. Since the acquisition of the Fire Lake ore deposit and Jeannine concentrator by the new company, QCM has continued managing the mine and concentrator operaions for S idbec Normines Inc . Flow-Sheet Design Jeannine concentrator comprises twelve identical mill lines grinding the ROM from 8" top size to 14 mesh nominal size range. Driven by 600 H.P. motor at 13.4 RPM corresponding to 73% critical speed, each mill is operated in a closed circuit with two 5' x 12' vibrating screens dressed with 2.5 x 25 mm slot opening cloth. The ground product or screen undersize at an average grade of 33.4% Fe is beneficiated by gravity separation to produce 66.5% Fe concentrate grade at 42.7% weight recovery. At the rougher stage, each mill line con-tains 128 Humphrey 13- 1/2" pitch spirals which produce a final tailing, middling and concentrate products. The rougher concentrate - so produced - is classified by 64 Humphrey pocket sizers into an underflow, which is a final concentrate product and an overflow which is further upgraded by 64 cleaner spirals. The cleaner concentrate together with the pocket sizer 's underflow are dewatered on a 13'[6] horizontal filter. The rougher middling together with the cleaner tailing are recycled in a closed circuit with the spirals. The rougher tailing after dewatering by hydrocyclones is disposed of by a

Jan 1, 1982

By E. Ray Webb

A interest to geologists and to mining and petroleum engineers is a laboratory method for determining the dip and strike of sub- surface structures, as well as the direction of fault planes traversing them. The information is derived by making use of the magnetic properties of borehole cores which must show visible representations of bedding or fault planes. Complete knowledge of these factors aids greatly in the successful exploitation of both ore and petroleum deposits.

Jan 1, 1940

By Thomas T., Read

IT will be recalled that the first professor of metallurgy in the United States, appointed in 1855, never really gave any instruction in metallurgy and gradually turned into a professor of mineralogy. Metallurgy was included with. mining in the early curricula, two students who took the B.S. in mining engineering from the Polytechnic College of Pennsylvania in 1862 wrote their graduation theses on the metallurgy of copper and zinc, respectively. Even after Columbia School of Mines established, in 1868, a separate curriculum leading to the Ph.B. degree in metallurgy, very few students elected it,* preferring to take the mining degree, since they received in its curriculum nearly all the metallurgical instruction they would have in the metallurgical curriculum. For many years a large proportion of the men who attained prominence in metallurgical enterprises had taken mining rather than metallurgical degrees. METALLURGY Clifton Sorby's study of thin sections of rocks under the micro¬scope, beginning in 1850, and its subsequent development by Zirkel and others, had made microscopic petrography a recog¬nized department of geological research as early as 1873. . It was inevitable that the idea of studying polished metal surfaces-¬under the microscope by reflected instead of transmitted light would occur to investigators. Sorby himself did it in 1864, and Adolph Martens and Floris Osmond may -be especially named among the many European workers who, by the late eighties, had so developed the, necessary techniques that they were able to photograph polished metal surfaces at magnifications as high

Jan 1, 1941

By George A. Hill

WE of the oil industry, devoted to freedom of initiative, free competitive enter- prise, and free American institutions, applaud, with one voice, affirmation by the President of the national will and purpose to preserve and to protect, against all aggressors, "our American way of life with our individual and national freedom." We subscribe utterly and completely to this guiding declaration and seek its further definition as applied to the oil industry. Fortunately for all, the policy of the Government, after adequate study and deliberation, has been given precise definition. The National Defense Advisory Commission, with its patriotic, highly qualified, and distinguished personnel, has unanimously agreed to and adopted twelve general principles governing national defense contracts and also fair labor standard requirements. The President of the

Jan 1, 1940

By W. H. Porter, M. E. Wadsworth, J. R. Lewis, K. L. Leiter

The oxidation of Cu2S in oxygen and the sulfating of Cu2O in oxygen-sulfur dioxide atmospheres was carried out under a variety of conditions. The oxidation of Cu2S was found to be retarded by entrapment of SO, and O2, which stabilized internal sulfates for long periods of time. The course of the reaction was followed by measuring weight changes and also by SO, evolution. Sulfating of Cu2O was a maximum at ratios of SO, to O2 approximating maximum SO, production. At elevated temperatures SO, was found to increase the rate of oxidation of Cu2 O to CuO even though sulfates did not form. All sulfating reactions followed the parabolic rate law indicating diffusion. MANY studies of the roasting of copper sulfides have been reported in recent years. Diev et al.1 investigated the roasting of chalcocite (Cu2S) in air, and oxygen enriched air. Lewis et al.2 also studied the oxidation of natural and synthetic chalcocite in air and oxygen atmospheres and their studies indicated that the maximum formation of water soluble sulfates occurred at approximately 450oC. Ashcroft3 reported that oxide production during the roasting of chalcocite resulted only from secondary decomposition of sulfates which were formed as primary products. peretti4 refuted this claim by showing that a layer of Cu2O appeared directly adjacent to the Cu2S during roasting of cylindrical briquettes of cupric sulfide, CuS. The linear advance of the Cu2S-Cu2O interface was used as a measure of the kinetics of the roasting reaction. The reactions proposed were: 2 CuS—Cu2S + 1/2 S2 [4-1] 1/2 S2 + O24 SO2 [4-2] cuzs +3/2 O2 4 Cu2O + SO2 [4-3] cu2o + 1/2 O2—2 cuo [4-4] At temperatures above 663oC, CuO was the only final solid phase reported. Below 663" C increasing amounts of sulfate were found mixed with the CuO. McCabe and Morgan5 investigated the roasting of discs of synthetic chalcocite and reported the following sequence of products beginning at the sulfide surface: Cu2O, a mixture of Cu2O and CuSO4, Cum,, CuO . CuSO4, and CuO. The principal reactions were reported to be: Cu2S + 3/2 O2-Cu2O + SO2 [5-1] CU2O + 2 SO2 + 3/2 O2—2 CUSO4 [5-21 2 CUSO4— CUO . cum, + SO3 [ 5-31 cuo . cuso4—-2 cuo + SO, [ 5-41 Eq.15-11 supports the claim of Peretti, Eq. [4-31, that CuzO is formed directly from Cu2S rather than as a secondary product from a sulfate as suggested by Ashcroft. On the other hand CuO was found to form as a secondary product from the decomposition of copper sulfate and basic copper sulfate, Eqs. [5-31 and [5-41. The formation of sulfates was explained by McCabe and morgan5 to be a direct reaction of Cu2O with 0, and SO, or SO, at distinct regions in which the partial pressures of each were such as to form the sulfate. Thornhill and pidgeon6 roasted both natural and synthetic chalcocite grains in air at temperatures between 420" and 550° C. They found a dense primary oxidation layer in contact with the sulfide. A secondary layer of porous oxidation products was found to expand with roasting time. The oxide products were leached away and the remaining core was studied by X-ray diffraction. The X-ray patterns showed an increased conversion of chalcocite to digenite with time. Digenite,7 a defect structure of cuprous sulfide, occurs naturally as Cu,-,S where x = 0.12 to 0.45, with an average analysis of Cu, ,S. The mechanism of digenite formation was proposed as: Cu2S + oxygen—Cu1-8S + 0.1 Cu2O [6-1] Cuj.eS + oxygen—0.9 Cu2S + SO2 [6-2] It is apparent from the above studies that the oxidation of Cu2S, ultimately ending in CuO, may be divided into ihree general stages (all of which may occur simultaneously): 1) primary oxidation to Cu2O; 2) secondary sulfate formation; and 3) sulfate decomposition. Consequently reactions of O2 and SO, with Cu20 constitute important aspects of the roasting of chalcocite. Virtually no studies have been made regarding sulfating reactions involving Cu,O. Mills and Evans8 noted the effect of sulfur dioxide on the oxidation of copper at low temperatures and low SO, partial pressures. They reported a measurable increase in the oxidation rate of copper when SO2, was present. Interest in the Cu2O-CuO-0, system has been limited predominantly to misciblllty studies and determinations of heats of formation by

Jan 1, 1961

By Virgil Miller, F. B. Petermann, S. F. Ravitz

The Cle Elum nickeliferous iron deposit is in Kittitas County, Washington, in a rugged, mountainous region about 23 miles north of the town of Cle Elum. The Biewett Pass deposit, which is similar in character and occurrence, is in Chelan County, about 18 miles east of the Cle Elum deposit. A more or less continuous ore zone may extend between the two deposits, since iron ore is reported to have been discovered at Iron Mountain, which lies directly between them. The ore probably was formed by meta-morphism of laterite resulting from Ieach-ing of serpentine derived from peridotite. It consists largely of magnetite grains distributed through a matrix of limonitic material containing a small amount of hematite and chromite. Many of the chromite grains have shells and inclusions of magnetite. The magnetite grains range in size from 1200-mesh to 1/4-in., the average size being 48 to 65-mesh; the chromite grains range from 20 to 150-mesh. The gangue minerals are olivine and serpentine with a small, amount of chlorite, and appear both as very thin bands in the ore and 's minute fragments in the limonitic matrix. The nickel is present as minUte inclusions of a nickel silicate mineral within the magnetite and gangue par- ticles, varying in size from 1500 to about 280-mesh. Detailed analyses of 3000-lb. lots of Cle Elum and Blewett Pass ore are given in Table I. TABLE i.—Analyses of Ore Samples Per Cent Ore from Constituent cle Elum' Blewett Pass Cr....................... 2.23 2-12 Ni...................... 1.43 0.9s Fe...................... 52.9 41.4 SiOz.................... 5.6 13.4 CaO.................... 0.3 0.8 MgO................... 4-1 7-5 AI2O3................... 7.0 2.g P...................... 0.022 0.034 S....................... O.O1 o.oa Mn..................... I.I 0.4 Ba..................... nil co..................... o.oa 0.02 CU..................... 0.02 0.03 As...................... 0.03 Au..................... nil Ag°..................... O.58 Pt...................... ml Fe++.................... 8.9 5-9 Fe+++.................. 44-0 35-5 « Ounces per ton, 1 sr,cte,so,","&&$ally absent: B, W, M~, T~, V, ~i, Bi, Pb. Sb. Sn. Be, In, Hg. Zn, Zr. Cd. Preliminary Tests Attempts to beneficiate the ore by ore-dressing methods, including various 'cornbinations of sink and float, tabling, jigging, flotation, and magnetic separation, were consistently unsuccessful. A wide variety of roasting and leaching tests were made on both raw and reduced ore, but in most of the tests little or no nickel was extracted, and in none did the extraction exceed 50 Per cent. No nickel could be volatilized as the carbonyl. by treating reduced ore with carbon monoxide. Fairly good sepa-

Jan 1, 1944

By William Gilman

IN the past five years, and without much fanfare, Turkey has emerged as a significant figure in the world mining picture. This has been accomplished by a five-year plan now in its last year. A second five-year plan is already under way, ahead of schedule. It will concentrate even more than the first in developing Turkish mines in order to increase present exports of coal, chrome ore, and copper, and to develop new mineral exports as well. To be fully understand the republicic?s mining program should be considered as something more than merely tapping rich resources in the East along the Aegean Sea, in the North among the mountains descending to the Black Sea, and in the West at the foot of the Taurus Mountains. It should also be viewed in the light of a strong nationalist policy with many aspects of state socialism. Turkey declares frankly that all mineral re- sources belong to the nation and all exploitation should be by the state for the twin purpose of modernizing the state and securing foreign exchange for the state by exports. Accordingly, the principal mines are state-operated and a few lesser enterprises, although not state-owned, have at least been put in the hands of Turkish capital.

Jan 1, 1938

By Charles Albert Ashburner

The coal-fields of the United States have been variously classified as to their geographical positions. In 1887 I proposed slight changes to the classification generally used, for more convenient description of our coal-fields in my report on the statistical history of coal in the States during 1886 for the United States Geological Survey. This new classification seems to meet all practical requirements and has been generally adopted. The coal-areas are grouped in two divisions—the anthracite division and the bituminous division. The anthracite division, in a commercial sense, may be said to include the anthracite districts of Pennsylvania alone, although small amounts of anthracite are mined in Colorado and have been

Jan 1, 1890

By Hugh P. Nicholson

IN view of the many articles that have been written on the proper classification of mining systems without so far having produced any particular tangible results it might seem that the subject is hopeless of solution. I do not believe that is so, and my intention in contributing the following outline is to present a slightly different viewpoint. Too much attention is often focused on unnecessary details and not enough on general principles. Too much attention and emphasis is often given to the system employed at one particular mine or in one particular district. In addition, names that are entirely misleading are applied to mining systems, and their adoption by the coming generation perpetuates a condition that needs clarification badly. The following classification is the result of several years of practical experience in mining and also several years' practice in teaching the same subject. It therefore represents a broad picture of the entire field of mining systems from the viewpoint of the miner as well as the teacher. It seems that the difficulty in the past has been in reconciling these two viewpoints. The need of such a reconciliation requires no explanation.

Jan 1, 1934

By E. G. Bailey

PLANTS that normally burn coal now able too obtain a substantial increase over their normal supply for their greater power needs, and also additional tonnage for extra storage against the uncertainties of the future. Many plants previously burning oil or gas have already been converted to coal, and those which must yet change to coal will undoubtedly be able to obtain ample tonnage of coal of standard quality at reasonable prices. What a contrast this is to the conditions of 25 years ago, when the shortage of coal and transportation led to prices of $5 to $6 per ton at the mines, and degradation of quality, until the already overburdened railroads were called upon to haul 100,000 ton per day of extra ash alone. This was the result of a runaway market and the loading of gob, slate, and sub-quality coal amounting to an estimated increase in ash of 5 per cent of the total tonnage hauled. The problem of getting increased steam output from inferior coal caused unbelievable reductions in the low normal boiler efficiency of that time and untold labor in firing the hand- and stoker-fed furnaces of that day.

Jan 1, 1942

By Karl J. Benecke

Though the first patent on a bucket wheel excavator (BWE) was granted in 1881 in the US, this technology was developed in Germany to the high standards of today. However, this development was only possible in parallel with development of shiftable belt conveyors and boom stackers. The combination of these three types of equipment in the open pits of the Federal Republic of Germany has made lignite the cheapest energy source for power generation, despite the low heating value of German lignite on the order of 8500 kJ/kg (3600 Btu/lb) only. Comparing the costs for fuels used in power generating on the basis of their heating value, the relation between lignite, high quality black coal, and imported crude oil is on the order of 1 to 1.5 to 2.5, hence highly in favour of lignite. These cost advantages for lignite in Germany are due mainly to the concentration of lignite mining in a few high-output mines. The largest one, Fortuna mine in the Cologne district, produced a total of 45 million tons of lignite in 1976. That equals the annual fuel need of a 5750 MW power plant running 7000 hours per year at full capacity. Altogether 95.2 million bank m3 equal to 200 million tons of overburden had to be removed to accomplish this lignite output. The largest BWE ever built is working in the Fortuna mine [(Fig. 1)]. At a digging height of 51 m above crawler level, the total vertical reach in relation to the face conveyor level is 98 m by means of its conveying bridge and loading unit. The hourly output is 10 400 bank m3. Its weight in operation is 13 000 tons and its wheel diameter 21.6 m, as high as a seven-story building. Major reasons for the development of BWE technology in Germany were: ? Lignite deposits with moderately consolidated, alluvial-type overburden (gravel, sand, loam, marl, clay, etc.) ? Great overall depth of the deposits, ranging far beyond 100 m, requiring a wide opening of the mine, hence not permitting direct overcasting of overburden. ? Multiple-seam deposits of poor-quality coal divided by reject partings, which demand a perfectly selective digging tool for clean separation. In general, these conditions are almost identical to those prevailing in the lignite deposits of Texas and neighbouring states: The type of overburden suitable for BWE digging, the overall deposit depth ranges down to around 100 m, and finally, the multi-seam occurrence with partings between seams, the latter ranging from just 1 m to a few meters in thickness. Technique As the Texas-type lignite deposits come into focus more and more as a possible fuel source in power plants to replace natural gas and crude oil, the following will deal with the BWE technology for mining a typical Texas lignite deposit under the aspect of producing enough fuel for a 500-MW power plant located at the mine mouth.

Jan 1, 1980

The Jeffrey operation of Canadian Johns -Manville Co. , Ltd., at Asbestos, Quebec, is considered to be the world's largest asbestos mine. It accounts for approximately 37% of Canadian production of chysotile asbestos and about 13% of world production. Rated capacity is over 600,000 stpy (540,000 mtpy) of fiber, of which well over 90% is exported to the United States and seventy other countries. During the early 1970's the company completed a five-year modernization and expansion program which included the installation of a unique 72 in. by 93 in. gyratory crusher to handle the extremely blocky serpentinized peridotite ore. Because of the large diameter of this crusher the top ring of the shell was made in two halves which were bolted together. Hundred-ton trucks dump from two sides of the crusher into the 200 st (180 mt) dump pocket which is equipped with dust collecting ducts in the walls of the other two sides. The installation was designed to accommodate the eventual use of 200 -ton trucks. Crushed ore at a. size of 7 ½ in. (191 mm) falls into a uniquely designed crushed ore pocket equipped with three sloping steel sides and one vertical side, which make it totally live. Infrared heaters installed in back of the hopper sides prevent the ore from sticking to the steel. Another interesting feature is an eccentric removal bridge which is permanently mounted inside the crushed ore pocket. The two halves of the bridge are let down by electric winches to form a platform on which the eccentric cart travels and from where maintenance is done. Level indications in the crushed ore pocket are by radioactive indicators. Under the crushed ore pocket is a 72 in. by 28 ft (1.83 m by 8.5 m) apron feeder which operates at 7. 2 to 50 fpm (2. 3 to 15. 3 mpm). Crushed ore is discharged to a picking belt for tramp removal. A crossbelt magnetic separator is also mounted over this belt. Permanently mounted belt reels are also situated over the picking belt to facilitate the changing of this unit. A 60 in. (1. 52 m) wide takeaway belt then elevates the crushed ore to t.he surface facilities. Instead of discharging to a crushed ore stockpile, the takeaway conveyor delivers the ore to a 300-ton distribution bin. The ore is then screened and secondary crushed; and the plus ¾ in. (19 m) is "stored in a 3,000 ton bin while the minus ¾ in. is dried and then sent to storage. This system of directly screening primary crushed ore is similar to that used at both the Endako molybdenum and Gibraltar copper operations in British Columbia. While it would seem connecting processing equipment directly to a primary crusher would have an adverse effect on the crusher availability, the 94% of scheduled time this crusher

Jan 1, 1978