Search Documents

Alfred E. Hunt, Pittsburgh, Pa. (communication to the Secretary): Mr. Blue's statement (page 576) that, " owing to the presence of iron and other impurities, makers of aluminum. assert that native corundum is unsuited for the production of that metal," is somewhat incorrect, at least so far as it may refer to any objection made by the officials of the Pittsburgh Reduction Co. to the Canadian corundums. We recognize corundum as among the richest and purest of the ores of aluminum, and the material furnished from Canada would offer for us the advantage of a supply near to our works for the manufacture of aluminum at Niagara Falls. The real difficulty which we find in the use of corundum for this manufacture is the cost of the raw material as compared with that of native bauxites. In this item we include not only, the price of the corundum as it has been offered to us, but also the expense of grinding it to an impalpable powder, which must be done before it can be used directly in the manufacture of aluminum, and the cost of preliminary chemical treatment for purification—which latter operation, however, is also required for bauxite. I agree with Mr. Blue that the introduction of new and irnproved processes has greatly reduced, during the past ten years, the cost of manufacturing aluminum; but I am inclined to believe that any further improvements, facilitating the use of corundum for this purpose, would apply, in equal or greater degree, to the common clays (silicates of aluminum) which exist in all parts of the world, are more easily mined and handled, and are likely to be always cheaper per unit of aluminum than any corundum.

Jan 1, 1899

By G. P. Moore

BOLIVIA still remains among the oil countries that have proved oil acreage but no production which is being marketed. No steps have been taken during the past year to provide facilities for transport of Bolivian oil to market nor are any known to be contemplated for 1930. The only active operator to date is the Standard Oil Co. of Bolivia, subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey. The potential production from completed wells is practically unchanged from the 1928 figure of 6000 bbl. daily. As far as is known, there has been only one completion during the year 1929. This is the Machareti well, which is about 50 km. north of Villa Montes along the road to Charagua. The well is reported at about 250 bbl. daily initial production. The gravity of the oil is not known but is presumed to be about 40" Bé., the average for the region. The Standard Oil Co. of Bolivia has five strings working on various parts of its concession. No new locations have been made definitely. Company Activities There was no change in the situation of American holdings in Bolivia during 1929. The oil rights of an English company, acquired under a special colonization contract with the Bolivian Government, are being negotiated in New York and may mean the entrance of another of the large American oil companies in Bolivia. The Sucre Syndicate sold its holdings to the Standard Oil Co. of Bolivia during the past year. .A local company called the "Aguila Doble" was formed during 1929 to drill a well or wells near the town of Cochabamba on structures mapped by a local geologist. It is reported that the Government is buying about one-fourth of the capital stock of this company for 500,000 Bolivianos (about $180,000). The company has not yet raised sufficieht funds to buy drilling equipment so that no operations have been started. According to the statements published in La Pas, this company has acreage on seven anticlinal structures near Cochabamba. This area lies about 8500 ft. above sea level on the eastern Hank of the Andes Moun-

Jan 1, 1930

By P. L. De Bruyn

The behavior of collectors at the mineral-solution interfaces is usually explained in terms of an ionic adsorption process. Through the distribution of collector ions between the solid surface and the co-existing solution phase the mineral is believed to acquire a water-repellent surface coating. Quantitative adsorption studies have been made on simple flotation systems only within the last few years. Such investigations were made possible by the adoption of the radiotracer method of analysis. As a consequence of these studies a new parameter has been added to aid the understanding of the flotation process.

Jan 3, 1955

By Larsen. Edward P.

The principle of "bed blending" in the agglomeration of materials is about 56 years old, but de- spite all education via technical papers, operating reports and results from functioning installations, the concepts of blending are still somewhat vague. Confusion exists between "mixing", "blending," and the basic role of each. The terms "blending" and mixing" are often used interchangeably, yet they describe two different processes. As properly understood and applied, a blend is a combination of different varieties of material which produces a desired quality, or the mingling of different elements to form a harmonious whole. In other words, blending is a process of combining granular materials by mechanical means, wherein the final product, or a portion thereof, must contain an exact proportional amount of every one of the several different materials which contributed to the mass and wherein all particles are so thoroughly intermingled with each other as to have lost their individual identities and become a part of the whole so that when a portion of the blend is taken at any time it will be substantially identical, chemically and physically, to any other portion taken throughout.

Jan 1, 1962

By H. S. Drinker

I. The Mines THE first discovery of zinc on the property now worked by this company was made by the celebrated mineralogist, Prof. William Theodore Röpper, in 1845. Different claimants kept the property in continual litigation till 1861, when everything was satisfactorily settled by the purchase of the land by the company, who have worked it ever since. The mines are situated in a valley, four miles south of Bethlehem, Pa., in Lehigh County. The valley is from two to three miles broad, and is bounded on the north and south by syenitic hills. Syenite underlies the valley, and upon this is deposited the Potsdam sandstone, then a layer of slate, and, finally, a dolomitic limestone, belonging to the Chazy or Black River formation, in which the zinc deposits are inclosed. The rocks occur in folds, and have evidently been subjected to tremendous pressure from below, the zinc deposit being found in an anticlinal axis, in nearly vertical veins. It is supposed that the zinc was originally disseminated through the

Jan 1, 1873

C. W. WASHBURNE, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary *).-We are indebted to Mr. Pack for his detailed description of a rapid method of estimating the oil reserves in large fields. Although his method will give only a rough approximation of the reserves, nevertheless it is much more reliable than the saturation method. The saturation method should not be used when any other method is available. The paper describes a generalized method, which is especially useful in estimating the total resources of a Nation or State. Properly it is a method of estimating the oil that can be extracted by common methods within a given period of time. It does not account for

Jan 10, 1917

By Takuski Stanislaw, Alfons Krawiec

Rock bursting is a particular hazard in the pit-coal mines of Poland due mainly to the physical-mechanical properties of the rock and the geological-tectonic structure of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Mining and geophysical methods of predicting and preventing rock bursts are discussed. These include: seismologic methods, various kinds of shock blasting, torpedoing, and injecting water under high pressure.

Jan 1, 1978

By D. B. Barker, D. C. Holloway, J. F. Cardenas-Garcia

Tround International Inc. is currently developing a hard rock drill that uses a salvo of three frangible projectiles to prefracture the rock ahead of a conventional tri-cone bit. This paper reports on a series of experiments conducted for Tround to study the fragmentation enhancement possible through the use of an optimally timed and spaced salvo of projectiles. In this study the complex three-dimensional problem was simplified to a two dimensional salvo impact problem in a transparent brittle plate of glass. The use of high speed photography and dynamic photoelasticity was then used to study the development of the impact damage zone and the various interactions of the stress waves.

Jan 1, 1982

By Thomas J. Almy

The Ontario croppings were struck July 19th, 1872, by Herman Budden, who, together with his partners, at once began to prospect their claim. Within five weeks their development work enabled them to sell it for $30,000 to R. C. Chambers, who represented the

Jan 1, 1888

By O. L. Kowalke

During the last few years the use of base-metal thermocouples has increased very considerably in various industries, due to the necessity for more precise control of temperatures. The base-metal couple has the advantages of being robust to a surprising degree, cheap as compared with platinum couples, sufficiently accurate for most operations, rapid in indicating changes in temperature, easily renewed or repaired, and of generating a much higher electromotive force than the noble-metal couples. There are, however, some factors, such as indicating and recording instruments, the insulation on the elements, the constancy and homogeneity of the wires, and the resistance to oxidation in the furnace, that limit the. Usefulness of the temperature-measuring device. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss in what manner these factors affect the usefulness of the couples.

Jan 9, 1919

By M. S. Klima, P. T. Luckie

An evaluation of the operating performance of a recently designed pneumatic centrifugal classifier is presented. This classifier has been modified from a separate air and feed input design to an entrained solids in air feed input. The evaluation first required determining the size distributions for the three streams (feed, fine, and coarse). Using size distribution data and mass flow rates, a size selectivity curve was calculated for each operating condition tested. This curve, in turn, was characterized by appropriate selectivity parameters (i.e., the equiprobable or cut size, the sharpness index, and the apparent bypass values). The variation of these parameters with classifier operating conditions was examined. From these evaluations, the "best" operating conditions for the classifier were then determined.

Jan 1, 1985

[ ]

Jan 1, 1938

By H. E. Nold

High-volatile coals are most desirable for kiln firing. Low-volatile and even anthracite coals can be used successfully. Most periodic kilns use coal and are hand fired. A few stoker installations have been economically successful. Continuous tunnel kilns reduce fuel consumption 40 to 55 per cent. They are rapidly replacing periodic kilns in the manufacture of the finer wares. They have found great favor in the refractory industry and are successfully used in firing almost all kinds of heavy clay products. Fuel oil has found rather wide application in the Southwest and West. Natural gas is a satisfactory fuel for kiln firing. It is the principal competitor of coal and has largely replaced it for firing the finer wares but cannot compete with it in firing heavy clay products except in regions where cheap gas is available. Figures are given showing the relative thermal efficiency of coal and natural gas as used for firing ceramic ware. The ceramic industry uses from 12,000,000 to 12,500,-000 tons of coal per normal year. The principal use of coal is in firing the heavy clay products. This potential market amounts to about 9,250,000 tons per year. Coal producers could increase sales by furnishing expert firing instruction.

Jan 1, 1934

By L. L. McDaniel

ROLLER—As one who has been privileged to read Mr. Poland's paper before its publication, I wish to express high praise for it and the record which it gives of the work done by the Research and Development Department of Revere Copper and Brass Inc. in developing a satisfactory furnace for the recovery of metallic zinc from secondary metals by distillation. I have also had the opportunity of studying the operation of the furnace when running on scrap brass at the Detroit plant of Revere, and I can therefore say from knowledge gained first-hand that the unit is efficient and economical when used in conjunction with distillation. However, when I read what Mr. Poland has to say in reference to the possibility of using the furnace for melting copper cathodes for the production of oxygen-free and tough-pitch copper shapes, I am constrained to be somewhat skeptical. No doubt the furnace can readily be modified so as to make it possible to melt cathodes, but that is only a part of what is required to produce refinery shapes. Because of its construction the atmosphere in the furnace is highly reducing and even without protective gases such as nitrogen the copper cathodes which are

Jan 1, 1950

By A. Lubinski, J. E. Hansford

Jan 1, 1965

By David M. Hopstock, Jose M. Pastrana

The magnetic susceptibilities of samples of natural and artificial hematite and natural goethite were measured by the Faraday method as functions of temperature, magnetizing field strength and particle size. All samples showed weak ferromagnetism, which accounted for large variations in susceptibility with field strength and particle size. Three probable sources of the weak ferromagnetism were identified.

Jan 1, 1978

By Peter J. Huck, Madan M. Singh

IIT Research Institute has investigated the potential of high pressure water jets for rapid rock excavation. During this study, an attempt was made to correlate the extent of breakage effected to the mechanical properties of rocks. Six rock types were used in these experiments and nine properties were determined for each rock variety. A regression equation using the two most significant rock properties and one jet parameter (pressure) was established. Although tests were conducted to specific pressures of 35, no minimum in the specific energy consumption was noted.

Jan 1, 1971

Attention! Engineers! Geologists! Here is your Opportunity to be of Professional Service The war has interrupted the supply of many minerals, which were normally imported. In view of present transportation conditions, a serious shortage exists in certain materials and will soon develop in others. Some immediate action is imperative. The first thing is to take a careful inventory of American resources. We must know where the ore deposits are, what has hitherto hindered their utilization, what methods must be used, and what equipment will be needed if an emergency demands their rapid development. Many properties must be re-examined from a new point of view, that of present necessity rather than of normal profit. When the shortage is realized, the preliminary steps for relief should have been completed. It is a necessary and patriotic form of mineral insurance. Will you have a part in it? Do not forget that these are war times, and that what may have been valueless a year ago may be a "life-saver" now; an abandoned copper prospect of 1913 might make a successful pyrite mine in 1917. We are fighting an autocratic enemy who knows his resources to the last pound, and uses them with most efficient organization. We have no Kaiser, so each of us must do his share to put our Government in the same situation. The Government needs your facts.

Jan 8, 1917

By G. R. Green, R. C. McDonald

The International Nickel Co., Ontario Div. mines, faced with rising production requirements, short labor supply, and ever increasing labor costs turned to mechanized mining for a solution to its problems. The degree of mechanization of ore removal has increased from 1966 with the purchase of the first diesel-powered load-haul-dump (LHD) machine to the present, with over 53% of all underground production handled by these units. Keeping pace with mechanized ore removal, there has been a parallel development of drilling equipment to complement the mucking units. This paper deals with the applications and economic advantages of mechanized drilling at the underground mines of Inco, Ontario Div. It covers the use of various types of mechanized drills in such mining methods as cut-and-fill, induced block caving, and sublevel caving. The economics of raise boring are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1974

By J. P. Smith

Permian salt measures carry extensive lenses of soluble potash salts in north central Germany. Potash deposits of Oligocene age are found in the Upper Rhine Graben of Alsace (France), and in the Catalonian Basin of Spain. These deposits are found in a wide range of structural settings. Reserves are large, and the production of potash salts is an important phase in the economy of each of these countries.

Jan 1, 1950