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FROM north to south activity is picking up through- out the Labrador Trough-already shown to be one of the world's great iron ore provinces. Center of current activity and interest lies in the mid-southern part of the trough as drills, equipment, and . . . money start to pour into the area near Mt. Wright and Wabush Lake. First major announcement in the area came early this spring when J&L and CCI outlined an estimated billion-ton deposit for "future" operations. Later impetus came from rumored railway for US Steel's Quebec Cartier projects in the Mt. Reed area slightly to the south. As this issue went to press US Steel's request for bids on railway and hydroelectric construction, plus IOCC's decision to step up the time- table on its program in the Wabush Lake area east of Mt. Wright, triggered a flurry of other announcements involving many of the top U. S. and Canadian iron ore firms. Do not look for most of these place names in the average atlas . . . they aren't there yet, but they soon will be.

Jan 6, 1958

By C. H. Wayman, D. W. Fuerstenau

THE gas phase is one of the indispensible ingredients in flotation operations. Flotation depends on the collision of an air bubble and a mineral particle in a pulp and their ability to remain in contact long enough for adherence to take place. Before it is possible to understand the mechanics of air bubble-mineral particle encounter, it is necessary to learn more about the nature of bubbles themselves before collision with a mineral particle has taken place. To date, little work has been done on air bubbles in flotation systems. In 1945 Fahrenwald1 presented a study of the role of frothers on air bubbles and on aeration in flotation, and recently Wark and Sutherland2 discussed the work of Rosenberg3 in relation to flotation. The research reported in this present article was undertaken to investigate systematically the effect of bubble size and the concentration of certain reagents on the terminal velocity, shape, path, and drag coefficient of single bubbles in distilled water. Most of the work is concerned with the effect of a-terpineol on bubble motion in water, but studies were made with potassium chloride, potassium hydroxide, potassium ethyl xanthate, and potassium amyl xanthate.

Jan 6, 1958

By J. E. Castle

THE title of this article is descriptive, but not complete, for psychological evaluation is almost as important as rigid economic evaluation. This refers to those human traits that cause people to be too optimistic about the projects they are sponsoring, to overlook obvious weaknesses, to base decisions on incomplete and inaccurate data, and to gloss over embarrassing problems. Investment of capital in a new industrial mineral project is warranted only after rigorous economic analyses based on unquestionable facts. A plunge into production cannot be justified solely because these minerals have been deposited in the ground and are therefore free. There are no specially favorable economic laws that make the business of industrial minerals more attractive than any other. The factors of supply and demand, marketing, technological changes, taxes, competition, and fluctuating prices apply as much to industrial minerals as to other business enterprises. What is more, industrial minerals are subject to the higher risks that all mining enterprises face.

Jan 6, 1958

By C. L. Sollenberger, R. B. Greenwalt

PERHAPS the most widely used dispersants or gangue depressants in nonmetallic flotation are sodium silicates, which vary in silica-to-soda ratio from 1 to 3.75. Typical manufactured silicates in order of decreasing solubility and increasing amounts of silica are Metso, silica-to-soda ratio of 1.00; D, 2.00; RU, 2.40; K, 2.90; N, 3.22; and S-35, 3.75.* References in flotation literature's to the use of sodium silicates are often weak because they fail to mention the type of silicate used. Metso and silicate N have occasionally been mentioned, but when the type of silicate is not mentioned, it is usually assumed to be N, the cheapest of the soluble silicates and the one recommended by sodium silicate manufacturers as a flotation agent.

Jan 6, 1958

By A. H. Shoemaker

THE shutdown of Homestake by Government order L-208, with its consequent disruption of a very stable and trained working force, coupled with postwar inflation and the coincidence that a mining depth had been reached that posed problems of ventilation, access to exploration areas, and choice of mining methods that would be applicable to zones of greater rock pressures made a very searching analysis of every phase of Homestake's operations a necessity. Any changes to be made had not only to meet the problems of deeper mining but also had to provide greater efficiency so that the mine might operate at a substantial profit until such time as a gold price adjustment might be forthcoming that would offset post-1945 inflation.

Jan 6, 1958

This symposium is based on material presented at the AIME Annual Meeting in New York, February 1958. Co-Chairmen of the panel discussion were Truman H. Kuhn, Colorado School of Mines, and J. E. Monroe, Freeport Sulphur Co. Panel members are listed above. In opening the meeting Chairman Monroe pointed out that both industry and education have their special problems and that the purpose of this and similar discussion groups is to bring together members from both industry and education in order to help solve their problems.

Jan 6, 1958

By F. Newton Parks

SOUND management organization is as essential to a mining operation as sound mining practices, exploration methods, concentration processes, or marketing methods. In fact, if a mining company is well organized, with the right people in the right management positions, it can be reasonably assured of the adequacy of its operating practices. Management problems in mining are unique, but certain principles of organization are universal. These principles should be used as ground rules in mining as they are in other industries.

Jan 5, 1958

By Forbes Wilson

IN February 1952 Freeport Sulphur Company started exploration work on a group of lateritic deposits at Moa Bay, Cuba. As a result of successful exploration work and a vast amount of metallurgical research over the past five years, these deposits will soon become a new Free World source of nickel and cobalt. Moa Bay lies on the north coast of Oriente Province, the easternmost part of the island, about 600 miles east of Havana and about 40 miles east of the U. S. Government nickel plant at Nicaro.

Jan 5, 1958

By Ossi E. Palasvirta

The authors are to be congratulated for their interesting article, which thoroughly illustrates the variables inherent in filtration of taconite concentrate. The work and the conclusions based thereon largely parallel the test work done by the writer at the Pilotac plant* and the experience gained with a commercial size agitating disk filter in the same plant. At Pilotac, however, a thorough study was also made of the effect of depolarizing (demagnetizing) the filter feed, and it is the purpose of this discussion to comment on the merits of depolarization of the magnetite concentrate prior to filtering. The work at Pilotac was done in three phases: 1) preliminary laboratory testing with a circular filter leaf of 0.047 sq ft, followed by 2) plant testing using a 4-ft diam, single-disk agitating filter that was purchased on the basis of the pilot tests on the 4-ft model. In the laboratory tests depolarization was achieved by slowly withdrawin4 batches of thickened concentrate from a coil producing an alternating field of about 300 oersteds. In plant tests the standard Pilotac procedure1 was employed, wherein the pulp falls freely through the depolarizing coil.

Jan 5, 1958

By A. E. Himebaugh

A SEMI-AUTOMATIC hoist has been installed at the 2966 station of the Copper Queen mine, since neither the bulk of supplies handled nor the number of men engaged in developing the 3100 level justifies the constant attendance of two cagers and two hoist operators. The connecting service shaft between the 2966 and 3100 levels is actually a two-compartment raise. Below the 2966 level the shaft is 7x13 ft-slightly oversize to permit downcast ventilation and provide space for the 16-conductor flexible control cable. The raise extends 52 ft above the 2966 level for a 3-ft diam head sheave. Another 3-ft sheave is mounted as an idler between the hoist and head sheave, eliminating the need for an inclined cableway. The main compartment serves as a cageway; the other compartment provides a manway and space for service lines. Since vertical travel is limited, rope speed is of minor importance.

Jan 5, 1958

As reported in Drift last month demolition of old buildings on the 47th St. site has been completed, and detailed plans and studies for the new structure are well underway. As this issue was being sent to press the $5 million industry- business phase of the fund campaign had passed the half- way mark toward its goal. Target date for the building program is 1960.

Jan 5, 1958

By A. D. Mutch

This contribution is prompted by the fact that the writer has recently published an article" which has in part the same general conclusions as B. S. Butler's, namely, the form of the standard mineral paragenesis in hypogene deposits and the parallel transition from early high temperature acid to late low temperature alkaline or neutral solutions. Since the writer also recognizes that he is not fully qualified to discuss the formation of ore deposits as a chemical problem, this discussion will be limited to summarizing other observations and will suggest how Butler's Table II might be made more effective. The form of Butler's table is not unlike that widely used by European geologists30 in which the various minerals are related to the types of ore fluids-pegmatitic, pneumatolic and hydrothermal. Thus the decrease in temperature and change in pH of the ore- bearing fluids as recognized by Butler may also be paralleled by perhaps even greater changes in composition, density, and character.

Jan 5, 1958

By H. A. Wilmeth

IN 1955, before planning an accelerated stripping program, Chino Mines Div. began an engineering study to improve data for estimating truck haulage costs for any future haulage layout. The study aimed to develop: 1) significant unit costs, 2) a method of estimating travel time from which truck needs and future stripping rate could be determined, and 3) yardsticks of performance to measure haulage efficiencies. It was suggested that to provide significant unit costs, expense accounts should offer management two types of cost control information-unit cost yardsticks with which monthly unit costs could be compared and unit costs for estimating future expenses for any haulage layout.

Jan 5, 1958

By Gilbert H. Cady

Those coal mining and preparation engineers and operators who read this article will probably be most concerned with those parts which deal with the applied aspects of coal petrology in the fields of mining and technology. Actually the two categories overlap to such a degree that they are essentially one. The article appears to suggest that there are two points of veiw in the field of applied coal petrology. From one viewpoint the interest is in the attributes of the various macerals (Fig. 4)-vitrinite, exinite, and inertinite-in terms of utilization (when the coal is burned, coked, gasified, hydrogenated, etc.). From the other point of view, assuming that the macerals do possess individuality in behavior, interest attaches to the possibility that coal of a particular type (maceral composition) can be prepared by discriminating methods of preparation and blending. Most of the 29 items listed for mining and technology can be assigned to one or the other of these two categories.

Jan 5, 1958

By C. F. Cigliana

TO accommodate a large tonnage at high speed from a single level at San Manuel, a very flexible haulage system was designed to give maximum access to stoping areas, minimize delays, and pro- vide for safety. With these requirements as a guide, the haulage was laid out as a simple double loop with one-way traffic of continuous pull. These loops consist of two parallel drifts 100 ft apart, center to center. Haulage drifts are numbered from north to south, the northernmost being the No. 1 drift. This holds true on both the North and South haulage loops. Haulage drifts are connected at 1000-ft intervals with crossovers so that it is possible to bypass any given section that may be inaccessible. Two of these turnouts are double diamonds, one located on the approach to the rotary dumps at the hoisting shafts and the other on the departure from the dumps. The turnout on the approach or North haulage is 835 ft in front of the rotary dump, and the one on the departure, or South haulage, is 1058 ft from the dump. This type of turnout allows trains coming down either haulage drift No. 1 or No. 2 to be routed into either shaft and expedites movement by avoiding delays due to congestion in the dumping area. The double diamond on the return haulage loop facilitates returning empty ore trains to the panels.

Jan 5, 1958

By R. T. Hukki

IT is no great exaggeration to say that present grinding practice and economics are largely determined by lining design. A record of outstanding liner wear can be achieved with any liner surface pattern that will positively lock the outer layer or layers of grinding media. With no slippage, lining wear is bound to be slight. At the same time, popular practice calls for tumbling loads of about 50 pct of mill volume to obtain maximum grinding capacity. Innumerable parallel grinding investigations have verified that optimum speed for such a mill lies within 70 to 85 pct of theoretical critical speed. If the mill is speeded up to 100 pct of critical, little or no grinding can be accomplished. Earlier Work on Supercritical Grinding: First investigations concerning grinding at supercritical speeds seem to be very old. Remarkable work on the subject has been performed by White,1 and his experiments have been described and summarized by Richards1 White's contributions seem to have passed unnoticed by Fahrenwald, 2,3 whose extensive experiments have been well presented, yet apparently very little appreciated. Additional work on grinding at supercritical speed has been reported, e.g., by Lewenson and Tscherny,4 USSR; Anselm5 and Grunder,6 Germany; and Rose and Evans,[6] Great Britain.

Jan 5, 1958

By Fred C. Bond

SIZE of grinding media is one of the principal factors affecting efficiency and capacity of tumbling-type grinding mills. It is best determined for any particular installation by lengthy plant tests with carefully kept records. However, a method of calculating the proper sizes, based on correct theoretical principles and tested by experience, can be very helpful, both for new installations and for guiding existing operations. As a general principle, the proper size of the make-up grinding balls added to an operating mill is the size that will just break the largest feed particles. If the balls are too large the number of breaking contacts will be reduced and grinding capacity will suffer. Moreover, the amount of extreme fines produced by each contact will be increased, and size distribution of the ground product may be adversely affected.

Jan 5, 1958

With one shaft almost completed and another shaft being sunk, the scope of the Saskatchewan potash area is beginning to come into focus. Some 18 companies have reportedly leased more than four million acres to explore potash possibilities. PCA, farthest along, is located about 15 miles southeast of Saskatoon, and IMC has its project underway near Esterhazy in the eastern edge of the province. U. S. Borax and Chemical Corp. is also reported exploring the area. The field lies in the middle Devonian geological formation which was probed by oil companies along the 200-mile area across the province. Extensive examination began after World War II and deep drilling was started a few years later.

Jan 5, 1958

By Fred C. Bond

This article is interesting because it deals with the fundamentals of grinding in a novel manner. However, it is somewhat reminiscent of Mark Twain's famous evaluation of science as the production of pounds of conjecture from ounces of fact. Extrapolations abound, and some cases they are treated with a seriousness that is undeserved. Tests should undoubtedly be made of wet grinding at supercritical speeds, using smooth mill lining and mill charges of large grinding balls as well as pebbles. However, the performance predicted in the article needs more qualification than it has received.

Jan 5, 1958

By Harry M. Callaway

IN times of a falling metal market the mine operator attempts to remain in competition by lowering his overall cost and raising the grade of ore he processes. But these adjustments can be made only within narrow limits imposed by inherent characteristics of the operation. Is there some additional method whereby the break-even point can be lowered? One approach, perhaps the only one, to lower a break-even point is careful cost analysis considering both fixed and variable costs in relation to mining rate. The following is an analysis of cost distribution and its significance in determining the most economic combination of the factors of ore grade and tonnage output applicable to a given mining operation.

Jan 4, 1958