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By G. W. Jones

THIS paper describes experiments in which eight test samples of gelatin dynamite were fired in three different types of apparatus and the quantity and composition of the gaseous products of detonation determined. The special dynamites were so prepared that the oxygen balance of the samples varied from -35.0 to +6.0 g. per 100 g. of explosive, including the wrapper. By means of this graded series of explosives, the relation between oxygen balance and gaseous products of detonation could be studied explicitly. The effect of varying oxygen balance on explosive strength has-been discussed in another paper.1 The apparatus employed in the work described in the present paper included (1) the Bichel gage, a steel bomb of 15-1 volume; (2) the Crawshaw-Jones confined detonation apparatus, a steel cannon from which the explosive is fired into a pipe of 904 volume; and (3) the Hercules tank, an apparatus in which the explosive is confined in a quartz block which is placed in a steel tank of about 4500-1. volume. A full description of the apparatus is given later. VARIABLES AFFECTING COMPOSITION OF DETONATION PRODUCTS The character of the detonation products of commercial explosives is governed in part by the same factors that affect the combustion products from explosive mixtures of air with gases or vapors. In either case, combustible materials-namely, carbon, hydrogen, and sometimes sulfur-are present and combined variously. In an exploding gas mixture the combustibles are oxidized by oxygen in the admixed air, whereas with explosives the necessary oxygen is provided by oxygen-carrying materials in the explosive ingredients.

Jan 1, 1928

By W. H. Emmons

INTRODUCTION THE deposition of metalliferous lode systems takes place at considerable depths and no one may observe the process. We see only the end results of the process and from these we seek to construct a theory that will account for them. Because there is an obvious relation between many lode systems and intrusive igneous masses, it is a natural inference that they have formed by fluids that were expelled from such masses. The metalliferous lode systems have been deposited by ascending thermal fluids that have risen mainly from great irregular bodies of intruding magmas which are called batholiths. Probably 95 per cent of such lode systems have formed in connection with acidic or "granitic" batholiths and probably less than 5 per cent have formed in connection with basic intrusives. The study of lode ores, therefore, should include the study of the intrusion and differentiation of the batholith. It was noted long ago1 that certain tin-bearing deposits are commonly associated with small stocks. That small stocks are cupolas of larger intrusive masses has generally been recognized. Butler,2 in his studies of the ore deposits of Utah, showed that the chief deposits in Utah are in and near the stocks; that is near the "apically truncated

Jan 1, 1933

By Edward Saibel

THE object of this study is to investigate the effect of prior tensile strain on the fracture stress of a metal. This is done in a theoretical manner starting from the point of view developed by the author in his thermodynamic theory of the fracture of metals. The results are compared with experimental findings and a rational interpretation is given to work that shows the variation of fracture stress with prior tensile strain. THEORY OF FRACTURE In the thermodynamic theory of the fracture of metals developed earlier,1 it was shown that a critical strain energy per unit volume exists. This is characteristic of the material and may be calculated from basic thermodynamic data. When the area under the flow curve reaches this characteristic value, fracture occurs. The general criterion for fracture is expressed in the form u ± uo = JLm?AV/V [1] where Lm, is the latent heat of melting of the unit volume, ?V/V is the ratio of the change in volume of the unit volume to the original unit volume on passing from the solid to the liquid state, [uo] is an initial energy density, and J is a conversion factor, which changes energy from heat to mechanical units. As a first approximation, it will be assumed that the stress-strain curve is the straight line that extends from the point of maximum load onward, extrapolated back to the axis of zero strain, for example, line AC of Fig. 1. If the point of intersection of the straight line with the axis of zero strain is represented by so, and the slope of the straight line is p, the analytic form of the flow curve is [s = s + pd [2]] and the strain energy per unit volume evaluated from [JvdS] becomes (vsod + pd2/ 2). When this latter term reaches the critical value JLm?V/V (designated hereafter by M), it is assumed that fracture occurs. This leads to the following expression for the fracture stress: [s1 = \/C r.2 + 2Mp [31] The strain at fracture may be calculated from Eqs 2 and 3. It is assumed in this paper that the initial energy density is either zero or that it may be neglected. Furthermore, the complicated states of stress and of strain existing in the necked region of the tensile specimen after "necking" has occurred will also be neglected for the present, so that average conditions will be assumed to prevail. FLOW AND FRACTURE CURVES Ludwig2 attributed to materials two fundamental properties: (I) a resistance to flow and (2) a resistance to fracture. He reasoned that at each instant the

Jan 1, 1947

By R. E. Head

Some mixtures of sulphide and oxide ores from the Tintic district in Utah are of a sufficiently good grade to be shipped to the smelter without beneficiation. In mining this type of ore, however, a material tonnage of ore of a similar composition but of lower grade is obtained. It is a question of economics whether such ore should be shipped with a certainty of a small return or concentrated if that would yield a sufficiently increased return to amortize plant construction and upkeep and yield a higher rate of profit than at present. It may be assumed that the tonnage of this borderline ore is constantly increasing and that eventually it will attain such proportions as to justify plans for milling on a relatively large scale. Under existing conditions, the producer of mixed sulphide and oxide ores is not greatly concerned about the physical characteristics of his ore or of its mineralogical complexities, since his contract with the smelter calls for payment on the basis of chemical analysis. When concentration is contemplated an entirely different picture is presented. Percentages of valuable metal content must then be con-sidered in terms of minerals, for it is in the form of minerals that recoveries are made and losses sustained. In describing the performance of a given flotation mill and reagent combination, it may be stated as a generality that a specific percentage recovery of valuable elements is made. Technically, however, the concentrator is really constructed and the reagents are selected to recover the valuable minerals. These considerations must be given prominence in discussing borderline ores from the Tintic district because of their physical characteristics and mineralogical composition. Because of these peculiarities they may be justly termed complex, since their lead, silver, and copper contents are each represented by two or more minerals of different chemical composition and presenting widely divergent physical properties. This paper sets forth the results of a microscopic study of a type of borderline ore from the Tintic district that is now being treated by direct smelting. A

Jan 1, 1939

By Luther Eames

THE recovery of dissolved gold from slime pulp in the cyanide process was first accomplished by intermittent decantation. This simple process consists in mixing with the pulp containing the values in solution, a solution of lower gold content, settling the mixture in a tank and decanting the clear supernatant fluid. The thick pulp remaining in the tank is pumped to a second tank together with more barren solution and again settled and decanted. After several repetitions of this operation, values are so far reduced that further washing is not profitable. The gold recovery of this process is high, but the plant required is bulky, labor cost is high and the amount of solution to be precipitated is excessive. HISTORICAL DATA As early as 1901, a plant was built in the Black Hills of South Dakota by John Randall, employing the same principles but attempting to make the process continuous by substituting for flat-bottomed tanks, cones which operated continuously, receiving a constant feed and discharging a steady stream of thickened pulp. These cones were operated in series, the thick underflow of the first one forming, with a stream of diluting solution, the feed to the second cone of the series. Barren solution was added to the tank immediately preceding the discharge tank and, after being slightly enriched by the low-grade pulp in this tank, overflowed to form a diluting solution again for the richer feed entering the third tank from the end of the series, and so on back to the richest tank of the series. Clear water was used for the wash in the final tank: This is the principle on which all successful countercurrent decantation plants operate at the present time, but Randall's plant was not successful because of mechanical difficulties in getting a continuous thick discharge from his cone tanks. A similar plant was built in South Africa although there the washes were not repeatedly used, as in Randall's case, but were precipitated after each contact with the ore. This also was abandoned

Jan 12, 1916

By George Gauci

INTRODUCTION The Broken Hill orebody was discovered in 1883. The richness of the deposit encouraged rapid development of the field and within fifteen years ten mining companies were operating. By 1940, several companies located in the centre of the field with limited reserves, had ceased operation. These leases have been acquired by Broken Hill South Limited and North Broken Hill Limited. The four companies currently operating in the field are, in order of increasing production rate:¬- Broken Hill South Limited (BH South) North Broken Hill Limited (North BH) The Zinc Corporation, Limited (ZC) and New Broken Hill Consolidated Limited (NBHC) The tonnages treated by each company since the present plants have been in operation are shown in Figure 1. The leases are located as shown in Figure 2, and an aerial view of Broken Hill showing the spread of the City on each side of the line of lode is shown in Figure 3. The present treatment plants date back to the early 1930's when the BH South plant was built. The North BH and ZC plants were built in 1939 and NBHC's in 1952. The three plants built before 1940 have similar crushing and grinding flowsheets. NBHC differs in that it includes rod mills with consequent differences in fine crushing equipment.

Jan 1, 1970

By F. L. Wolf, A. A. Grubb

There is a tendency on the part of practical foundrymen to accept with reluctance the results of tests on sands, binders, and such materials made in the chemical laboratory alone. They feel that such tests frequently emphasize and measure properties that are of minor importance and fail to take account of characteristics that are important in determining the value of the material in actual practice. Experience seems to indicate that the most thorough and conclusive test for any new foundry material is an actual run in the foundry alongside of a standard material of known value. Such a test, however, involves certain difficulties and necessitates certain precautions. It is not always easy to obtain a fail trial for a new material. We all have certain prejuclices, which unconsciously affect our judgment to a marked degree. A practical test frequently involves so many workmen, each of whom reacts in a different manner to the test, that the personal equation becomes very complex and the true results of the test are obscured. There are times, too, when a thorough experimental trial of a material would interfere too much with the. rush of work in a department or would hazard the quality of the product to such an extent as to make it inadvisable. Under such conditions a laboratory test is advisable before the material is sent into the foundry. These tests should be made as practical as possible and so closely related to foundry practice as to give a true index to the value of a product for the purpose desired. Core sands and molding sands are as numerous "as the sands of the sea" and valy as much in quality. Old sources of supply are continually failing and new ones must be opened, so that we must continually search for new and better grades of sand. During the past year, the Ohio Brass Co. has developed tests for sands, cores, and binders which bear a close relation to the particular use to which these materials are put in the foundry and which arc fairly indicative of their value. While the tests thus far have been confined to cores and core sands, it is expected that tests for molding sand will bc developed in the future.

Jan 1, 1921

By Maurice Ewing, L. Don Leet

Assuming that wave velocities in seismic prospecting increase as a continuous linear function of the depth, the authors have derived formulas for computing, from two time-distance observations, the amount of velocity increase, depth of penetration and a graphical determination of the path of the vibrations, and have discussed the ground, reflected and refracted waves. The application of the formulas is illustrated numerically. Earlier Investigations Observations of the energy propagated from the center of an earthquake disturbance have been used to give information about the velocities and paths of elastic waves in the interior of the earth. One method of accomplishing this depends on the use of the times of transmission. Herglotz(7) § and Bateman(3) obtained a solution of the integral equation involved, which determines the velocity of propagation at any point as a function of the distance from the center of the earth, with no assumption as to the manner in which the velocity of the disturbance varies with depth below the earth's surface. The expressions on which the value of the time and the form of the ray of propagation depend contain an unintegrable definite integral, involving the velocity as an unknown function of the distance from the center of the earth. Wiechert and Zoppritz(15) obtained a manageable form for this function by assuming a law of variation which required a constant curvature form for the path within each of a succession of concentric spherical layers of the earth. C. G. Knott(9) worked out the problem for the first time by an absolutely rigorous method from the data of observation (Zoppritz-Turner tables), without making any assumptions as to the functional relationship connecting the speed of propagation and the distance from the earth's center. His method is a numerical solution of an integral equation, giving each velocity and the corresponding distance from the center of the earth in figures.

Jan 1, 1932

By J. J. Gilman

WHEN a zinc crystal is immersed in liquid N, and then plastically bent, it is observed that it bends a certain amount and then fractures. This fracture occurs at a fairly reproducible radius of curvature, and the radius varies systematically with the crystal orientation. Because this phenomenon provides an unusually well-defined set of fracture conditions, it is possible to examine various possible fracture criteria and select the best one. Zinc crystals of various orientations were bent about axes lying in their glide planes (0001) and perpendicular to their glide directions [1210]. The crystals were 0.150 in. diam and had chemically polished surfaces. They were immersed in liquid N, while they were being loaded on an Instron testing machine. A three-point bending jig was used to load them. Table I lists the beam radius at which fracture occurred for each orientation. Each value is the average of at least six measurements. The normal stresses on the cleavage planes, at the time of fracture, were calculated as follows: First, from the fracture radius, R,, the orientation angle, x,, of the (0001) plane at the outer fiber was calculated. If x, = angle between the (0001) and the rod axis prior to bending, d = rod diameter, and X, = angle between the (0001) plane and a tangent to the bent crystal, then1 sinX, _ 2R, sin xn 2R, + d Since the glide shear strain is given by' y ' cot X, — Xo the glide strain at fracture, x,, can be calculated. Next, it is necessary to know the tangential stress in the outer fiber at fracture. This depends on the plastic flow curve, so a series of tensile tests were performed at —196°C on another set of zinc crystals. A curve of the average resolved shear stress versus glide strain was prepared. From this curve, shear stresses, r,, corresponding to the glide strains in the bend tests were taken. These values are listed in Table I. Then the normal stresses in the outer fibres, u,, were calculated from the relation U, = r, tan X, This analysis assumes that the fiber stresses in a bent beam are the same as the stresses in simple

Jan 1, 1959

By Morris Cohen

It has been known for several years that in certain age-hardenable alloys precipitation of finely divided particles occurs simultaneously with the changes in physical properties; while, in other alloys, these changes take place prior to, or without any, precipitation. The silver-copper alloys are generally considered to be the classical example of the first group, and the aluminum-copper alloys (duralumin) are typical of the second group. The two types of aging are explained by the precipilation theory and the knot theory respectively.‡ It is well recognized now that these theories do not conflict with each other; the one used for a given aging system depends upon which way the alloy in question happens to age-harden. However, previous work on the aluminum-copper al1oys1,2 has shown that if the aging temperature is raised sufficiently the hardening will be accompanied by actual precipitation. In fact, it is quite probable that all of the so-called knot-hardening alloys will harden by precipitation at elevated temperatures. Therefore, a combination of the knot and precipitation theories is necessary to give a complete picture of the agehardening of these alloys, and indicates that knot formation and precipitation are not independent processes. To test the generality of this concept, it is necessary to show that the alloys that commonly harden by precipitation will harden prior to precipitation if the aging temperature is sufficiently lowered. For this reason, it would be well to carefully re-examine the aging characteristics of the silver-copper alloys at aging temperatures somewhat below those used by previous investigators. If hardening can be detected prior to precipitation in these alloys, it will lend great weight to the idea that knot forma-

Jan 1, 1937

W. R. CRANE, State College, Pa.-The use of mine models for instructional purposes, both in the classroom and for more general work, as in the engineer's office, is of so much importance that I was pleased to FIG. 1.-MODEL OF A TIMBERED STOPE. see Professor Stock's paper which supplements a fairly voluminous literature on the subject. I have been interested in model making for instructional purposes for nearly 20 years and have tried my hand at practically every phase of the work, and have also employed practically every kind of material that

Jan 1, 1918

By Thomas A. Edison, John Birkinbine

The Transactions already contain many valuable papers on the subject of ore-concentration, but with reference more to the treatment of other ores than those of iron. In this country much money, labor and thought have been devoted to the enrichment of iron-ores by roasting to drive off sulphur and carbonic acid, eliminate water, or make the ore more friable, and by washing and screening to remove the clay and sand from earthy ores. In concentrating magnetites and hematites more has been done than is generally believed; but, unfortunately, the results up to the present time have not been encouraging. On the contrary, so many attempts have proved unsatisfactory that any system of concentration is now unjustly looked upon with doubt, and the problem presented to individual mines must therefore be approached with caution. For many years the magnetites of the Adirondack region of New York State have been roasted, reduced to proper size by means of gang-stamps, and jigged on screens in water. Latterly plunger-jigs and rotary-jigs have been introduced, and in some places crushers and rolls have taken the place of stamps. In one instance in that region a plant for reducing the ore by crushers and rolls and separating it by magnetism was put up to treat a titaniferous ore; but, the titanium occurring as ilmenite, the result was unsatisfactory, and the plant is now being reconstructed at another mine, where apatite and silica are to be separated from the magnetite. A large concentrating works was erected at Negaunee, Michigan, in the Marquette region, Lake Superior, to enrich the leaner specular ores. This consisted of crushers, Cornish rolls and rotary-jigs. The results ohtained weye not satisfactory, and it has been abandoned. Another plan to treat the lean magnetites from a large dump-pile at Republic, Michigan, by means of pulverizers and water-jigs also

Jan 1, 1889

By E. H. Kelton

The purposes of this paper are to describe the use of adjustable cut and draw tools as a control test of drawing properties and to point out that no other well-known test or combination of tests determines this quality in zinc and zinc alloys. Rolled zinc has been used for making drawn articles, particularly battery cans, for many years. The development of rolling treatments satisfactory for these purposes followed the usual course of trial and error experimentation depending upon cooperation with customers to determine what type of material was suitable. A quick test of drawing quality was highly desirable, of course. Scleroscope hardness and temperll having no apparent relation to drawing quality, were used simply to check the duplication of rolling treatment and grade of metal. The dynamic ductility1 test, on the other hand, was believed to be so like the drawing operation as to provide a reliable index and came to be taken as the criterion of good drawing properties. Faith in this test was strengthened by the fact that metal having the highest ductility was more satisfactory for operations, such as the manufacture of battery cups, that required several redraws. No distinction was made at that time in specifying metal as to whether it was to be subjected to simple cut and draw, redrawing or forming operations. It developed, however, that in some grades of metal the highest ductility did not coincide with the most satisfactory quality when the material was used for a single draw. When zinc-base alloys, with their wider ranges of effective rolling treatments, came into increased use, their dynamic ductility and drawing quality appeared to have no connection whatever. Furthermore, comparisons of known drawing quality with other physical properties of the metal, including tensile strength, elongation and dynamic cold bends, were fruitless in yielding any clear relationship. Almost any test value produced in one piece of metal could be duplicated by another rolling or annealing treatment with attendant different drawing characteristics.

Jan 1, 1934

By D. N. Dietz

A method for determining average reservoir pressure is presented, which is simpler to apply than that devised by Matthews. Brons and Hazebroek. For bounded reservoirs, identical results are obtained if stabilized-flow conditions prevail. The present method yields inferior results in the transient state. The method can, with a slight modification, also be used for water-drive reservoirs. INTRODUCTION In the method proposed by Matthews, Brons and Haze-broek' for determining average reservoir pressure in a multi-well reservoir, the cumulative production (the production time of each well) enters twice: once when the buildup is plotted against In (t + t)/At to arrive at p*, and a second time when the correction, p*-p is determined with one of the several formulas for differently shaped drainage areas. Once a steady state has been attained, however, the previous production history should be immaterial. The same pressure distribution could have been arrived at after different cumulative productions of the individual wells. In principle, therefore, it should be possible to determine average pressures without referring to cumulative productions. In the following paragraphs an expression is presented for the difference between the pressure in a producing well and the average pressure of its drainage area. Then the build-up time needed to overcome this difference is indicated. CASE OF A CIRCULAR DRAINAGE AREA AND A CENTRAL WELL PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION BEFORE SHUT-IN The general differential equation of radial flow (see Muskat, Eq. 10.2) may be written In the steady state, the rate of production of the well is equal to the rate of expansion of the fluid contained in the the drainage area; thus

Jan 1, 1966

By R. A. Esmonde

This paper describes the building and testing of a prototype welded aluminum truck body to a new design concept. The results of these tests are given along with an outline of further developments in the design and field application of aluminum bodies. The results of field service history are recorded with special reference to types of mining operations, service performance, wear, maintenance and economics of operation. Mention is made of current U.S. usage and predictions given as to future development of aluminum bodies in the mining industry. The use of aluminum for off-highway truck bodies in hauling rock for the mining and construction industries is by no means the novelty that it may seem. In 1932 an aluminum unit proved very satisfactory in service on the Hoover Dam project but at that time the only high strength aluminum alloys available were not weldable and with the high cost of construction, a sound economic case for an aluminum body could not be made. After World War I1 great advances in aluminum welding techniques, using the inert gas shield, combined with the development of high strength alloys with good welded properties and welding characteristics changed the whole picture. Welded aluminum bodies were rapidly developed and by 1958 attention was again focused on the use of aluminum for off-highway truck bodies. EARLY DEVELOPMENT WORK In 1959 Alcan, the Aluminum Co. of Canada, embarked on an extensive development program to prove the durability and economics of aluminum truck bodies for the mining and construction industries. The first step was to design a prototype aluminum body which took particular advantage of the fact that the modulus of aluminum is only one third that of steel. This means that within the elastic range, aluminum moves three times as much as steel which makes it more flexible and capable of absorbing much greater impact shocks. A body was built and mounted on a 22-ton truck and taken to the Jeffery Mine of Canadian Johns Manville Company at Asbestos, P.Q., Canada. Very little information was available as to the order of stresses that were set up in off-highway truck bodies and so it was therefore decided to carry out a test program to find out this information.

Jan 1, 1969

By H. R. Tunnell

Every one connected with a mine knows that it is hard to keep down the costs of moving ore from the place where it is broken to the shaft or portal. Considered broadly, the subject of handling would cover all work done in a mine, but here it has been limited to handling ore in stopes and drifts, through chutes, and on levels. Good ventilation and a strict enforcement of rules for the prevention of dust safeguard the health of the men and lower transportation costs. Handling ORe in Stopes and Drifts The object of all stoping is to mine ore of good grade at low cost. In Butte, most of the ore is mined, from veins dipping from 60° to the horizontal to those which are vertical, by means of square-set, rill, timbered-rill, and back-filling stopes. When blasted, a part of the rock is carried by gravity to the grizzlies over the chutes, the rest is shoveled. Rock, when broken in a stope, may be deflected by inclined floors or slides toward the top of a chute leading to the level below. Ore broken clean enough to ship should be carried, by the force of its fall, into a chute or.as nearly into that chute as the safety of the stope and the men permits. Ore that requires sorting, about 80 per cent. of all ore mined, is caught on a grizzly and the waste picked out. Waste rock broken in a stope is used to fill that stope and should be blasted into the gob with as little handling as possible. About two-thirds of all the ore mined in Butte comes from square-set stopes; this method was used in nearly all cases until 1912, when the rill method of stoping was introduced in the Tramway mine, of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The shoveling and timbering costs in square-set stopes are high when compared with the costs in the rill stopes. All the ore cannot be carried to the chute, in falling from place, unless the chutes are very close together or the distance from the back of the stope to the top of the chute is sufficient to slide all the ore broken. The number of chutes is limited by the tendency of the ground to cave; if carried too close together the stope is weakened. Small stopes, or blocks,

Jan 1, 1923

By C. DeWitt Smith

"It just looks like everything is doing fine but humans," wrote Will Rogers fifty years ago. "Animals are having a great year, grass was never higher, flowers were never more in bloom, trees are throwing out an abundance of shade for us to loaf under. Everything the Lord has a hand in is going great, but the minute you notice anything that is in any way under the supervision of man, why, it's cockeyed." Do these words from two generations ago apply to oil shale? The United States has been blessed with deposits that can yield synthetic crude oil at a cost competitive with natural crude oil-under present economic conditions and with existing technology. Yet, the oil shale program is cockeyed because of the artificial obstacles that have been placed in its path "under the supervision of man." But more about this later. For the moment, let's focus on...

Jan 10, 1974

By Samuel L. Hoyt

THE present report represents that part of the work that has been done by the War Minerals Investigation, Manganese Section, of the Bureau of Mines, on the use of manganese alloys in open-hearth practice. The magnitude of the work and the number of people participating in one way or another make it difficult to acknowledge adequately the services of all who have contributed to the success of the work. It would, be amiss, however, to pass to the body of the report without mentioning the hearty coöperation and willingness to assist of the various manufacturing interests. With such a sympathetic attitude toward this investigation, our work was assured of success. Inasmuch as the unhappy circumstances that rendered this investigation necessary have now passed, this report is made in 'the hope that the results may prove of some permanent value to the peace-tine operation of our open-hearth industry. Broadly speaking, the purpose of the manganese investigation was to consider the most suitable means of utilizing our domestic supply of manganese and thus relieve, to the maximum extent possible, our shipping of the burden of importing manganese ores. It was not held that any decided shortage of manganese 'was imminent but rather that every legitimate means should be utilized for making our ship tonnage available to European service. While we have considerable metallic manganese in this country, it occurs largely as a low-grade mixture with iron or silica or with both. The open-hearth investigations, therefore, were carried on to determine the extent to which domestic or low-grade alloys could properly be substituted for high-grade alloys without materially impairing the steel production as to either quality or quantity. Also, it was held that such an investigation would yield valuable results to the steel industry as well as contribute, in no small way, toward

Jan 2, 1919

By J. D. Davis, A. C. Fieldner

The older coal chemist had a much simpler conception of coal than we have today. To him coal was a mineral composed essentially of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, ash, and water, in various proportions. His studies on the constitution of coal were directed along the conventional lines of proximate and ultimate chemical analyses and making deductions from these data without any real appreciation of the fact that coal is a conglomerate of various chemical compounds, including many of the most complex structures known to organic chemistry. The view of the modern coal chemist is well expressed by Franz Fischer,' who says that while proximate and ultimate analyses are important both from the scientific and technical point of view, they tell the chemist no more concerning the number and kinds of chemical compounds that constitute coal than the reader would learn of the contents of a book if told that the printed contents consisted of 15 per cent. of the letter "e," 5 per cent. of the letter "n," 1 per cent. of the letter"g," 4 per cent. of the letter "b," etc. As the reader must have the grouping of letters into words and words into sentences, so the chemist must have the grouping of atoms into molecules and the proportion of each molecular compound in the coal aggregate before he acquires an adequate knowledge of the constitution of coal. Modern investigators2 are laying the foundation of a new chemistry of coal based on the biochemistry of plants and the chemical changes involved in processes of fermentation and decay. As

Jan 1, 1925

By N. H. Mannakee

[Secretary's Note.—At the Spokane meeting of the Institute, in discussion of President Brunton's address on "Modern Progress in Mining and Metallurgy in the Western United States," and at the request of members present, Mr. Ayres gave an oral account of his new separator, which is here published as an independent paper, partly because of its inherent importance and partly because it describes an improvement which did not originate in the Western United States, and therefore does not fall, strictly speaking, under the title of President Urunton's address.—R. W. R.] A brief history of the growth of the anthracite-coal preparation will give a better view-point from which to judge the present problem of separating slate from coal. At the beginning of the commercial value of anthracite, 70 years ago, only the pure portions, or " splits," of the veins were mined and shipped to market, and without any preparation or screening other than the selection, while loading, of the glassy lumps, and the rejection of the fine material and the slate that had strayed accidentally into the coal. The next step was the crushing or breaking of the coal (hence the name "breaker" as applied to the preparation-building), and the sizing of it by means of bars or revolving screens. This stage of its development marked the advent of the " breaker-boy " as a slate-picker, with his ever-increasing capriciousness. As the richer veins or a splits " became exhausted and the market demanded a still greater output, the less-pure " splits " and the thinner veins were utilized to produce the coal. Carrying as they do a far greater percentage of impurities, particularly when removing the pillars, it became necessary to build new and better equipped preparation-plants. Finally, we are now at the highest stage of complicatioii yet known to the art of coal-preparation. We are dealing with varying specific gravities, frictional difference, hardness, structure, and form in the pieces of coal and slate coming from many different veins, and

Jan 1, 1910