Search Documents

By P. A. C. Wilson

Instantaneous outbursts of carbon dioxide in coal mines have occurred in Germany only in one part of the Waldenburg-Neurode mining district.' This mining region comprises the northeastern fold of the "Innersudetian" coal basin. The basin (Fig. 1) is in the form of a geologic trough approximately 60 km. (37 miles) long and 30 to 35 km. (19 to 22 miles) broad and is enclosed on three sides by ancient truncated mountain ranges—the Riesengebirge, the Bober-Katzbachgebirge and the Eulenge-birge. Only the southeastern part of the trough is not enclosed by mountains of older rock formation. The floor of the basin before the building up of the coal measures was formed on the western, northwestern and northeastern borders by the material from Archean rocks (gneiss and mica schists); in the northern part over this was deposited the Silurian formation. The carboniferous period is represented both by the Lower ("kulm") and Upper Carboniferous, with an unconformity between the stages; that is, the kulm was tilted up and partly eroded before the Upper Carboniferous was deposited. The kulm is a salt-water formation (with marine fauna) but Upper Carboniferous rocks are nonsaline water deposits, with fresh-water flora only. The Lower Silesian coal measures were thus formed in a lime basin fed by the running water coming down from the mountains. As already indicated, the bottom series of the Upper Carboniferous formation, termed "Waldenburg strata" were laid down unconformably on the Lower Carboniferous. Over the Waldenburg strata there are the "Weisstein strata," an intermediate barren stage without coal beds, 400 to 500 m. (1300 to 1600 ft.) thick. Another unconformity followed, which is overlain by the '(Saarbrucken" series, which contain the upper coal measures, and the ('Ottweil" strata. In the last named, it is only on the southwestern fold that beds of coal are developed.

Jan 1, 1931

Joseph G. Butler, Jr., who represented this Institute on the American Industrial Commission to France, has presented a report to the Chairman of the Commission regarding the steel industry of France in war time. In this report Mr. Butler calls attention to the fact that only a few steel works were visited and that he thinks it probable that there are many plants in France more up-to-date than these. He noticed especially in the plants visited a dearth of labor-saving devices and not very great attention to the safety of the employees. He also noticed that the whole of the iron and steel interests in France are being used at the present time by the Government for war purposes, and he was told on good authority that the production has doubled since May, 1915. When the war is over, it is thought that France can send large quantities of iron ore from Algeria to the United States and take in return American coal to France, an interchange which would doubtless be of mutual advantage. In Mr. Butler's opinion the shortage of coal in France may be overcome to some extent by the use of water-power and by electrical processes for steel manufacture, and lie believes when the war ends France will be able to compete with other countries in exports of general iron and steel products, this trade being facilitated by the port improvements at Bordeaux and Marseilles. The French labor situation is much better than that in the United States from the standpoint of labor unions, but the wages are less and many women are now being employed to do men's work. This has a tendency to keep wages low, but is probably a war expedient only. The cooperation among manufacturers in France is at a high level and both local and national organizations exist for the discussion and voicing of trade problems. The national body which is a combination of the individual organizations is the Comite des Forges de France and it is an interesting fact that many of the members of this body are office holders under the Government, or heads of Government Committees which are organized to look after the very business in, which the individuals are engaged.

Jan 12, 1916

In the examination of an undeveloped prospect a decision must be arrived at from an inspection of the outcrops and the exposures in a few shallow pits. Prospects that are offered for sale rarely expose any important quantity of good ore, work having usually been stopped when the immediate exploration no longer yielded favorable results. It should be borne in mind, furthermore, that a great majority of prospects have been examined many times, and if of conspicuous promise, would have been acquired-for development. In most cases the problem for the engineer, therefore, is to discover the traces of a valuable mineralization that has disappeared through solution, or the conditions that indicate the possibility, or probability, of underlying secondary enrichments. The available data being meager, every feature should be the subject of careful study-the condition of the outcrop, the structural relationships, the associations of minerals, the alterations of wall rocks, the chances for underlying enrichments, and so forth, as well as the actual assay value of the material exposed. It is frequently advisable to spend the time and money necessary to have trenches dug at various significant points along a promising outcrop; such exposures, even if the depth attained is slight, often disclose conditions that are not apparent at the actual surface, as for example, the existence of soft minerals and the distribution of the various minerals through the mass of the deposit. Trenches also permit samples to be taken from points that were not accessible during former examinations. Strong, persistent outcrops of uniform width may be taken to indicate the probable size and character of the underlying vein,

Jan 1, 1932

By C Gunther

The classification here used is one of convenience only; it is not intended to include all known types of ore deposits. The characteristic features of the several well-marked types of primary mineralizations are described without reference to the ultimate source of their metals. The minerals of many deposits of obscure origin were probably introduced through fissures that are now healed, or are due to the migration of metals from such deposits. It is not within the scope of this book to enter into a general discussion of the genesis of ore deposits but, in view of the progress being made in our comprehension of the conditions under which ore deposits were formed, mention should be made of recent work. J. E. Spurr's two volumes, "The Ore Magmas," are recommended as crystallizing the views of those who are inclined to ascribe the origin of most ore deposits to a differential precipitation from magmatic rock masses and to the migration and precipitation of the viscous, liquid or gaseous exhalations from those masses. He has especially emphasized the role

Jan 1, 1932

Jan 1, 1969

By R. F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1936

By Lloyd Emory

THE region known as. Guyana or Guiana stretches along the north coast of South America from the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela to the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. Politically, it is divided into British, Dutch, and French Guiana, extend¬ ing into Venezuela on the north and into Brazil on the south. Because the area is within the sweep of the northeast trade winds and of approximately the same latitude, plant' and animal life are fairly uniform throughout. The geology is very similar as far as the northern coast is concerned. The drainage is taken care of by a number of large rivers that flow northward directly into the sea. The Courantyne River, which roughly divides the area into half, is the eastern boundary of British Guiana.1 The lower reaches of this river are also the center axis of an ancient bay that at one time indented the coast-line at this point. The old shore-line and, in fact, successive shore-lines can be traced from near the present coast-line in, the northwest district of British-Guiana, south-east and inland, crossing the Essequibo River near Dahli, the Demerara near Christianburg, the Berbice at the mouth of the Kuruduni River and the Courantyne at Vaka-Kuyaha Falls. The line then swings around to the northeast and again approaches the coast near St. Lau-rent in French Guiana. This article will be confined to British Guiana and largely to the valley of the Demerara River, but for geographic names .and topographic details it might, however, apply to Dutch Guiana as well. British Guiana, which comprises about 90,000 sq. mi. and is as large as England, Scotland, and Wales combined, may be divided into three belts, the alluvial belt or coastal plain, the foot-hill area (often spoken of as the sand clay belt), and the hinterland.

Jan 1, 1928

By M. Baeyertz

SINCE 1915 many papers and books have covered industrial applications of X-rays from various angles. Two of the more recent are a paper by Fink and Archer1, which describes in detail the technique of radiography, and a paper by Clark2, which embraces the whole field of X-ray metallography. This paper, therefore, is confined to work of the X-ray Laboratory of the Western Electric Co., which naturally divides into two categories: radiography and diffraction patterns of various types.

Jan 1, 1930

COMMITTEES. Iron and Steel. Albert Sauveur, Chairman. A. A. Stevenson, Vice-Chairman. Herbert M. Boylston, Secretary, Abbot Bldg., Harvard Sq., Cambridge, Mass. LOCAL COMMITTEES. Program Committee.-A. A. Stevenson, Chairman. Herbert A3. Boylston, J. E. Johnson, Jr., Henry D. Hibbard, E. Gybbon Spilsbury. Reception Committee.-J. R. Johnson, Jr., Chairman. Felix A. Vogel, William R. Walker. Dinner Committee.-E. Gybbon Spilsbury, Chairman. The opening session was held on Thursday morning, Oct. 16, 1913, at the Institute Headquarters in the Engineering Societies Building, 29 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y., and was called to order by President Rand, who addressed the meeting briefly before presenting Albert Sauveur, who responded to the President's address, and presided at the meeting. The following papers were then presented in oral abstract by their authors or authors' representatives: The Cleaning of Blast-Furnace Gas, by W. A. Forbes. Discussed by S. K. Varnes, H. N. Diehl, F. H. Wagner, Joseph Hartshorne, S. B. Marshall, J. W. Richards, J. E. Johnson, Jr., W. A. Forbes, and others.

Jan 12, 1913

By Walter S. Tower

IN making comparisons of steel industries, one country with another, the convenient common denominator is annual capacity to make raw steel in the form of ingots. It is always necessary, however, to remember that there are different methods of figuring such capacity. For most countries no official figures on capacity are available, and the only authentic data on production are now six or eight years old. But in spite of those limitations on the accuracy of statistical comparisons, any flaws in the figures are probably not serious enough to alter materially the larger conclusions which may be drawn from them.

Jan 1, 1944

By Samuel M. Dunaway

INTRODUCTION ASARCO Incorporated purchased the East Tennessee Zinc Mines of the American Zinc Company and commenced operating on November 29, 1971. Presently, three mines are operating producing 6620 t/d (7300 stpd). The ore mined is sphalerite which occurs In lower Ordovician carbonates of the upper Knox Group and occurs in open space and fracture filling. Orebodies range from 3 to 46 m (10 to 150 ft) thick with dips from flat to 20º. The mining method is random room and pillar modified by shrinkage and bench stoping. Like other mining departments, the mining group at the Tennessee Mines Division is constantly looking for methods to improve productivity and safety and to reduce mining costs. This involves testing new equipment, trying new ore extraction ideas and making mining plant alterations to meet changes in operating conditions. The areas of change that will be described in this paper are longhole raising, jumbos and LHD loading, shaft sinking, conveyor transport of ore and sublevel haulage developments. LONGHOLED RAISES Raise driving has always been a hazardous occupation for miners and today it is becoming more difficult to get competent people for this kind of work. This problem has led us to seek an easier, safer way in which to excavate raises. The first longhole raises were excavated in the early 1970's using a Gardner-Denver air trac equipped with a PR-123 rock drill. The machine used 38 mm x 244 cm (1 ½ in x 8 ft) round rods with rope

Jan 1, 1977

By R. J. Lloyd

INTRODUCTION The Mount Isa Mine is a large modern underground mine located in North-Western Queensland, Australia. Two ore types are mined and treated separately. Currently silver-lead-zinc ore is mined at the rate of 2.6 million tonnes per annum and copper ore at the rate of 4.6 million tonnes per annum. The silver-lead-zinc orebodies are mined by sub level open stoping and cut and fill methods whilst all copper ore is extracted by various forms of sub level open stoping. The mining operations are highly mechanised and utilise diesel powered load-haul-dump units of various sizes, two and three boom face drilling jumbos, electric-hydraulic rotary-percussive ring drills, in-the-hole hammer drills, rotary blasthole drills, raiseborers, battery/trolley locomotives, a large fleet of rubber tyred service and supply vehicles plus light rockdrills mounted on airlegs, rail mounted overshot shovels and battery and diesel powered locomotives. All stoping production ore is extracted with diesel powered load-haul-dump units. The ore is tipped into orepasses which connect to the main rail haulage levels. On the haulage levels electric battery/trolley locomotives are used to pull rakes of bottom dump or side dump trucks which feed the ore into primary crushers. Following two stage crushing the ore is conveyed to the shaft and hoistod to surface in bottom dump skips. Each ore stream has its own rail transport system, crushing stations and hoisting shaft feeding separate concentrators. This paper will consider some aspects of the role of equipment and machinery in the growth of the mine, will discuss in some detail the machinery and equipment in use today and will conclude with a look at some possible developments in mining equipment for the future, with particular reference to the Mount Isa Mine. A summary of mining equipment in use at Mount Isa is given in the Appendix. THE PAST Silver-lead-zinc ore was discovered at Mount Isa in 1923 and within a very short time many small mines were being developed. However the rich surface ore traces did not continue and by 1928 Mount Isa Mines Limited had acquired sufficient leases to plan for a large scale mine to exploit the low grade orebodies. At this early stage it was recognised that the mine would need to adopt the most mechanised mining techniques then available in order to overcome its twin disadvantages of low graaes and extreme remoteness. The Company introduced bar mounted drifters and overshot shovels to replace hammer and tap and hand shovelling in development work and by 1930 headings were advancing at the rate of 30 metres per week. In keeping with the concept of mechanisation the early engineers designed the Man and Supply shaft with a very large, for those days, cage compartment measuring 3.8 m x 3.4 m. This shaft was the main means of access into the mine for 36 years until the K57 shaft (now R62 shaft) was commissioned in 1966. Man and Supply is still in regular use. Production commenced in 1931 at an annual rate of approximately 660 000 tonnes of silver-lead-zinc ore. The mine was mechanised to an extent which was previously unknown in Australia; whilst the concentrator, smelter and power house utilised the most modern and efficient equipment available. Even so, the mine was very near to closure on several occasions and did not return a dividend to its shareholders for many years. Production levels remained at or slightly below 660 000 tonnes until a separate copper ore streani and mill was commissioned in 1953, doubling the existing production levels. The first underground crushers were installed at this time. Production rates expanded in the years between 1953 and 1973. By 1960 production reached 2740 000 tonnes of ore. In 1965-66 total production was 3650 000 tonnes and in 1973 the production rate plateaued at the current level.

Jan 1, 1981

Paper withdrawn from publication September 8,1977, after book was printed. Pages 258.272 are therefore omitted.

Jan 1, 1977

By Shun-ichi Satoh

A NEW method of treating steel by ammonia has recently been intro¬duced into the metallurgical industry, by means of which piston cylinders of internal combustion engines, shafts and other similar steel products can be made more resistant to wear than formerly. In 1929 the writer' published the historical notes and some experiments upon nitrification. He believes that the corrosion of nitrified steel is a matter of importance and worth studying; and as there have been few studies thereof, he has conducted experiments in this respect. L. Guillet,2 in 1927, reported corrosion tests made on nitrified and cemented steels with acid and salt solutions. In 1928, 0. Hengstenberg3 reported the high resistance of nitrified steel to water vapor and air. V. 0. Homerberg4 stated that nitrified steel has high resistance to water, air and salt solution; and G. Hagg5 studied nitrified layers of iron by means of the X-ray. Though F. Hanaman6 in 1913, measured the single potential difference of steel treated with ammonia at above 650° C., no one, it seems, has ever measured the single potential difference of the so-called nitrified steels having extraordinary hardness. The writer measured the single potential differences of nitrified special steels in various solutions with the object of studying the corrosion problem and, if possible, of knowing whether any new physical property would be caused by nitrification.

Jan 1, 1932

Jan 1, 1881

By Keijiro Nishio

At a time of great antiquity when our Yomato tribe had not yet found its way throughout the country, there lived in Japan barbarous tribes of the stone age, whose dwellings were vertical caves covered with roof's of twigs and weeds. In a cave lately discovered at the village of Morita, 10 miles west from the port of Aomori, there were found pieces of micaceous iron-ore and psilomelane, with oval holes pierced from both sides. Apparently these objects were regarded as ornaments or curios, without being applied to any practical use. Among the traditions given in the Nihonshoki, an ancient history of Japan, there is one relating to the mining industry. According to this tradition, in the mythological age Izanami-no-Mikoto gave birth to Kanayamahiko-no-Mikoto, god of mines, and Amaterasu-Okami (the sun-goddess) was armed with swords. It came to pass at one time that she concealed herself in Ama-no-Iwato ("Heavenly Cave"), and several gods made contrivances to entice her out. Among them, Ishikori-dome, a smith, made a mirror with copper obtained from the Ama-no-Kagoyama, by means of a pair of bellows known as the Ama-no-habuki, which was made of a deer-skin. It is recorded also that Susanb-no-Mikoto, her younger brother, observed the abundance of gold and silver in Korea, where his descendants were to reign, and urged them to provide themselves with boats to convey them across the Sea of Japan. In the course of time he accomplished his object, proceeding to Korea with his son, Isotakeru-no-Mikoto. These accounts

Jan 1, 1913

By F. F. Poland

The purpose of this paper is to describe a new process for the refining of secondary copper-base metals and a specially designed high-temperature electric-resistor furnace used in the process for the distillation of zinc from these metals. The process was used for the conversion of nickel silver to cupronickel and to recover the zinc content in metallic form. It also proved applicable and economical for the treatment of scrap brass for separating and reclaiming the copper and zinc. The relatively large furnace developed for the distillation of zinc is described in detail, for it made economically possiblc the direct recovery of metallic zinc from scrap brass, which is a new step in the processing of such material. Considerable interest has been shown in the utilization of the distillation furnace for other metallurgical processes, where it is of advantage to operate in a controlled neutral or reducing atmosphere, or to avoid having the processed metal in contact with refractories other than carbon, or to operate at temperatures between 3000 and 4000°F. Purpose of Development It was recognized early in the war effort that nickel would become a critical metal. therefore all nickel stock and alloys containing relatively high percentages of nickel were frozen immediately. Among these alloys were considerable quantities of various grades of nickel silver, an alloy containing copper, nickel, zinc, and in some grades lead, also minor amounts of iron, manganese and other constituents. At the time there was no existing plant or process to eliminate the zinc, lead, and minor constituents so as to convert this metal to cupronickel, one of the important alloys needed by the U. S. Navy for condenser parts. Therefore the Bureau of Industrial Conservation of the War Production Board requested the executives of the leading nonferrous metal companies to have their metallurgical staffs study the problem of converting this metal to cupronickel conforming to U. S. Navy Specification 44T40. The composition specified therein is as follows: nickel, 29 to 32 per cent; zinc, 1.00; iron, 0.00 to 0.60; lead, 0.05; tin, 1.20; manganese, 0.00 to 1.00; total of other elemcnts (maximum). 0.50; copper, remainder. The problem in converting these alloys to cupronickel was the elimination of zinc, lead, iron, manganese, and other elements without appreciable loss of nickel to slags or other by-products. Revere Copper and Brass Incorporated, through its Research and Development Department, undertook to solve this problem. A Government-owned plant was built at Rome, N. Y., and there the conversion was made successfully.

Jan 1, 1949

By John W. Bell

The aim of the laboratory experiments described in this paper was twofold: 1. To measure as accurately as possible the maximum amount of crushing that can be effected by 1 hp. acting for 24 hr., by the two proposed methods for measuring the amount of crushing, namely: (a) by Rittinger's method; (b) by Stadler's method, based on Kick's law. 2. To show, if possible, that by one of these methods, the amount of crushing produced by 1 hp. in 24 hr. is a constant amount throughout a wide range in the diameter of the piece crushed, and that by the other method, the amount of crushing is a variable quantity over the same range of diameter; or else show that neither of the proposed methods for measuring the amount of crushing indicates a fixed relation between power and crushing and consequently a new method for computing this amount will have to be found to permit the establishment of a law of crushing. Experimental Methods Testing machines, calorimetric methods and commercial types of rock-crushing machines were considered with reference to their value for measuring power used in crushing. The following electrically driven crushing machines, installed and available in the McGill Ore-dressing Laboratory and which had been used in previous rock-crushing tests, on the whole seemed especially suited to the investigation: (1) Comet "A" crusher; (2) 7 by 9-in. Dodge crusher; (3) 10 by 16-in. rolls. In later tests a 3 ½-ft. Huntington mill was used.

Jan 1, 1918

By Howard Willey

Mining operations of the Charcas unit at present are limited to the Tiro General mine at Charcas, in the State of san Luis Potosi, Mexico. The Tiro General mine was first operated during the Spanish occupation of Mexico for rich silver ores in an oxidized zone along the outcrop of the principal vein. In depth the ore is a complex sulfide with widely varying proportions of sphalerite, argentiferous galena and chalcopyrite ; and until recent years, it was economically impossible to carry on mining otherwise than irregularly in sections of the veins richest in galena and chalcopyrite. The advent of selective flotation brought the orebody as a whole within the field of economic interest, and a flotation mill of 650 metric tons daily capacity was constructed in the year 1925. The mining of partly worked-out sections of the mine, as well as the very heavy ground in most of the stopes opened in virgin ore, presented an unusually difficult problem. This paper describes the so-called "filled top slice" stoping method finally adopted as the standard system. Physical and Geological Conditions The principal orebody of the mine is an oreshoot about 1400 ft ng in a fissure vein striking about east and west and with an average lip of 70" to the north. The footwall of the orebody is fairly cleancu and regular both longitudinally and vertically and generally shows a dell-marked post-mineral slip. The footwall rock varies from a fairly strong limestone to a broken, metamorphosed limestone which requires heavy timbering. In some sections it is an altered, crumbly porphyry, which swells badly and necessitates frequent renewal of drift and raise tirnber. The hanging wall is irregular and frequently an assay wall. The stopina width ranges from a few feet up to more than 90 ft.; it averages about 30 ft. For the most part the hanging-wall rock is a shattered and altered monzonite porphyry, nearly aways requiring heavy timbering. The orebody is greatly fractured by post-mineral movement, which usually followed the footwall and left it as a smooth surface frequently covered with a slippery clay gouge. Two well marked transverse faults

Jan 1, 1931

By A. T. Shurick

WHATEVER the outcome of the Industrial Recovery Act, it has currently injected the first hope and optimism into the coal industry for more than a decade. Compared with the recent drab years the results are impressive: Bituminous production for the first ten weeks, 78,000,000 tons, may be compared with 63,000,000 last year; anthracite, 14,600,000 tons and 9,600,000 tons for the same periods, respectively, bringing the heaviest payrolls in ten years with individual checks reminiscent of former boom times. Hurried calls for long deferred new equipment and replacements have stimulated foundry and machine works and the -invigorating effect on the railroads is indicated by the first actual car shortage in a decade. And even in the welter of confusion over code prices, this heavy tonnage has moved at the most profitable figure the coal man has realized for many years, though with the large volume on old contracts, profits were not as large as many think.\

Jan 1, 1934