Search Documents

By M. A. Bryant, J. C. Goodwin, T. B. Faddies, L. D. Kornze

The Mercur Gold Mine is located 56 km (35 air miles) southwest of Salt Lake City in north central Utah; In July 1981 Getty Mining Company made the decision to put Mercur into production. The first gold bar was poured in April 1983. This paper provides details on: 1) the history of the camp, 2) past production, 3) geology of the deposit, 4) the exploration and development program, 5) ore reserve estimates, 6) detailed geologic pit mapping, 7) production blasthole sampling techniques and 8) the use of geostatistics (kriging) in handling assays and gold extractions to produce the required mill feed.

Jan 1, 1985

By Henry W. Brandt

In a proposal submitted by Fenix & Scisson International, Inc., of Tulsa, Okla., conversion of an abandoned mine for underground storage of crude oil proved to be all effective storage technique. The conversion was done on an abandoned coal mine for S. F. F. Association, an agent of the South African Government, Johannesburg, South Africa. The mine was found to be structurally stable and appeared capable of retaining this stability over a long period. Surrounding formations were relatively free of fractures and were found to have low permeability. Slight problems appeared in the hydrostatic test, but were quickly stabilized. Additional information was positive, and conversion and filling were completed in 1969. Total puchasing, testing, and coverting cost was less than $0.20 per barrel of oil stored or 15% of conventional steel tank cost. Operating and maintenance costs are about 2% of those at two large tank farms owned and operated by the Association.

Jan 1, 1975

During the last 15 years, the bucket wheel has become increasingly popular as a mining tool. Being a large-capacity continuous mining excavator, the machine offers low actual operating costs and low unit costs. Of German origin, the bucket wheel has now appeared on the American mining scene as well as in such other places as Australia, Northern Rhodesia, South Africa, Congo, Indonesia, and India. Patented in 1913, the first practical application waited until 1920 when a bucket wheel excavator was placed in operation at an open pit lignite mine in central Germany. This initial experiment met with little success due to difficulties in solving the technical problems of the machine's construction rather than to the design of the wheel itself.

Jan 9, 1960

By C. E. Capes

A number of novel but increasingly-important methods of size enlargement in liquid systems are reviewed. These techniques use relatively strong bonding and specialized equipment to form dense and substantially permanent agglomerates directly from particles in liquid suspension. In addition to separation of particles from suspensions, these methods have other broad objectives, including the production of granular (often spherical) materials, displacement of suspending liquid from the product and the selective agglomeration of one or more components of a multi-particle mixture. The underlying principles of the methods discussed include agglomeration by immiscible liquid wetting and by polymeric flocculants. Other procedures to produce granular, free-flowing products based on dispersion and solidification in liquids are also noted briefly. Applications in a variety of fine particle systems are considered with emphasis on minerals and fuels beneficiation and on waste treatment.

Jan 1, 1980

By Earl A. Gulbransen, Kenneth F. Andrew

DRY oxidation of zirconium has been studied by several groups.'" The present work extends our early study1 to the high-temperature studies of Cubicciotti2 and Belle and Mallett.8 ulbransen and Andrew1 showed that the parabolic rate law fitted the 2-hr experiments between 200" and 425°C after an initial deviation. An energy of activation of 18,200 cal per mol was calculated. Cubicciotti,' in a study between 593" and 880°C, showed that the parabolic rate law fitted the data and an energy of activation of 32,000 cal per mol was calculated. In contrast to these studies on sheet specimens, Belle and Mallett3 studied the oxidation reaction on rod specimens and found a cubic rate law to fit the data.

Jan 1, 1958

By Sharon Brady, Catherine O’Donoghue, John V. Beall, Paul C. Merritt

Between 1950 and 1965, more than 80% of all phosphate rock produced in the world each year was used as fertilizer, either directly applied to the soil or processed into mixed chemical fertilizers. Of the potassium salts produced, 95% followed suit. A variety of uses in industrial chemicals and consumer products absorbed the remaining percentage of each. Future trends in these two commodities will be dominated by what happens to the fertilizer market. Farming is much the same as mining the soil. Plants remove the minerals little by little. Phosphate and potash comprise two of the three primary nutrients removed in this way, the third being nitrogen. Phosphate stimulates early root formation and growth, whereas potash is a salt necessary to root strength.

Jan 10, 1966

Jan 1, 1918

By W. J. Sharwood

(San Francisco Meeting, September. 1915) THE assay or estimation of the total gold content of an ore presents little difficulty, when circumstances permit of securing a thoroughly representative sample. The general practice has been fairly standardized, and such errors as occur in the results obtained are for the most part attributable to the methods of sampling rather than to those of assaying, while duplicate assays made by skilled workers usually agree closely. When it is a question of estimating the "free" or amalgamable gold of an ore, as opposed to the total gold, there is but little uniformity in the methods employed by different workers, and often equally little in the results obtained when duplicate determinations are attempted, no satisfactory standard method having been generally adopted. The methods in use are of two general types-"panning" and "amalgamation."

Jan 8, 1915

By N. Lilienberg

The success of European experiments in melting iron and steel with gases resulting from the decomposition of steam by incandescent coal, has encouraged me to design, with the valuable assistance of Mr. George S. Dwight, a plan for producing and burning these gases in a manner economical and efficient for metallurgical purposes. That this direction is the right one, is demonstrated by the repeated efforts made in practice, to introduce as much steam as possible with the blast in ordinary producers, thus displacing a certain amount of nitrogen. Such attempts, however, must always be limited by the cooling influence of the steam. The accompanying drawings represent the producers and the steel-melting furnace, arranged according to our first ideas which may be susceptible of improvement in details when put into practical

Jan 1, 1885

By Dol Duwez, R. H. Willens

A technique is described by which metastable alloy phases can be obtained by very rapid cooling from the liquid state. The results obtained so far have lead to; 1) extension of solubility limits beyond their equilibrium values, 2) new phases not found under equilibrium conditions, and 3) amorphous alloys. MANY new nonequilibrium phases have been found in alloys rapidly cooled from the liquid state. The technique used in these investigations essentially consisted of propelling a small molten globule of an alloy against the inside surface of a rotating copper cylinder. Since these original experiments were performed, the technique has been greatly improved. The purpose of this paper is to describe in detail, for the first time, a simple and efficient apparatus for producing foils of alloys which are rapidly cooled from the melt and to summarize some of the observations made on these alloys. I) FAST COOLING APPARATUS In the original fast cooling apparatus used by Duwez, Willens, and Klement,' the alloy was melted in a graphite container having the shape shown schematically in Fig. 1. A shock tube was attached to one end of the graphite part to supply the pressure for ejecting the molten globule. The globule was received on the inside of a rotating cylinder located about 0.5 in. from the exit of the graphite container. The globule trajectory made an angle of about 15 to 25 deg with the tangent to the cylinder at the point of

Jan 1, 1963

NEW, MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period July 10, 1916; to July 31, 1916: BOYD, ROBERT RUSSELL Supt:,-Arizona -Commercial Min Co., Globe, .Ariz. BRADLEY, HENRY FRANKLIN, Chem, American Smelt & Ref. Co. Murray,:Utah: BROWN, THOMAS ELLIS, JR..:'. L .:.::..55 Hill, St;; Morristown, N. J. CARY, WEBSTER P., Expert Operator,-General Engineering. Co:, Salt Lake City, Utah. CLARK, ALONZO WEBSTER 3223_ Scottwood Ave., Toledo, Ohio. CORP, CLIFFORD Old Dominion Copper Min. & Smelt. 60., Globe, Ariz. CROMBIE, W. RANSOM, Min. Engr Detroit Copper Min. Co., Morenci, Ariz. DELANEY, EUGENE A., Chief Engr., Berwind-White. Coal Mining -Co., Windber, Pa ELBELT, WILLIAM HENRY, Dept. Foreman., Chino Copper Co., Hurley, N. Mex. FOSTER, L. JULIO, Mgr., Minas i Fundicion ; ?La Junta," San Bernardo, Chile, South America. GASKILL, JAMES PHILLIPS, Genl. Mgr.,.Ajo Cons. Copper Co., Ajo, Ariz., via Gila, Ariz. .

Jan 9, 1916

By B. Mueller

Altered concepts regarding the raw material used in conventional blast furnace plants as well as new technologies for the reduction of iron ores make it necessary to reconsider the design of pelletizing plants. The incorporation of a pelletizing plant within a conventional integrated steel mill involves considerations of the problems of using in-plant fines. A modern pelletizing plant in Mexico serves as an example of the technical solution. In recent times, pelletizing plants are also being integrated within steel mills based upon direct reduction processes. The design of such pelletizing plants must take into account special product quality requirements.

Jan 1, 1977

By L. M. Cathles, W. Joseph Schlitt

A mathematical model describing the leaching of low grade industrial waste dumps in developed and solved by finite difference techniques. The leaching behavior of model dumps of different sizes, permeabilities, and waste characteristics, under different operating conditions, is then investigated using the model. It is shown that leaching is fastest for dumps 50-100 feet (15-30m) high, that permeability is very important for the effective leaching of large dumps, that slow leach kinetics of the waste may not be detrimental, and that the leaching of large dumps may be facilitated if leach solutions are preferentially applied to the hot, near-edge portions of the dump.

Jan 1, 1980

Covering resources, production, uses, defense impact, and future outlook of nickle, Mining Engineering presents the third in a series of articles on strategic minerals. Preceding it are "Cobalt" in January and "Sulphur" in May.

Jan 8, 1951

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period of May 10, 1918, to June 10, 1918. ABEEL, GEORGE H., JR., Cons. Min. Engr., .4111 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis, Mo. ALLEN, CARL A Metal Min. Engr., U. S. Bureau of Mines, Butte, Mont. BECKER P. FRANK Engr., Lightner Min. Co., 35 Nassau St., New York, N. Y. BOCK, JAMES H., Steam Shovel Foreman, Chino Copper Co., Santa Rita, N. M. CARRON, FRANK X., Civ. and Min. Engr Rock Springs, Wyo. CROWE, THOMAS B., Mill Supt., Portland Mill, Portland Gold Min. Co., Victor, Colo. DOBSON, PERCY GRENSIDE, Min. Engr. and Geol., Crow's Nest Pass Coal Co., Fernie B. C., Canada. ESTABROOK, W. H., Capt., 3d Bat. 20th Engineers, A. E. F., Care postmaster, N.Y. FRASER, 0. B. J., Engr., International Nickel Co. of Canada, Ltd., Port Colborne, Ont., Canada. GARRIDO,. MANUEL F., Min. Engr 109 W. Myrtle St., San Antonio, Tex. GRODSKY, VLADIMIR ALEXANDROVITCH, Cons. Engr., Motor Products Corpn., Detroit, Mich.

Jan 7, 1918

The regular activities of the Institute are financed mainly by income derived from members' dues, from advertising in MINING AND METALLURGY, and from the sale of publications to the public. In addition, collateral activities and special projects are financed each year by means of income from endowed funds controlled and administered by the Institute. In the aggregate, the amount of these endowments totals more than $684,000. An active effort is being made to increase the endowment funds of the Institute through a standing committee, of which Henry Krumb is Chairman, and of which the other members are: George D. Barron, Cleveland E. Dodge, John V. N. Dorr, Howard N. Eavenson, D. %. Jack- ling, Harvey S. Mudd, Wallace E. Pratt, Milnor Roberts, and Wilfred Sykes. This committee believes that there exists a tremendous opportunity for the Institute to be of evergrowing service to the public, to the mineral industries, and to the profession. It welcomes suggestions as to names of men of means who are vitally interested in the mineral industries, and to whom the opportunity to make a contribution or bequest might appeal favorably if presented in the proper light.

Jan 1, 1946

By E. Morgan Massey

Located in virgin coal acreage near Gilbert, W. Va., Massey Coal Mining Co.'s Ben Creek No. 2 mine afforded the company's engineers the opportunity of designing and laying out the entire mining operation from the mine faces to the railroading loading site. However, the topography of this region posed difficult problems in haulage of coal for, in this extremely rugged terrain the uppermost coal seams lay in the mountain-top ridges, approximately 1400 ft above the valley floor. The decision for mining equipment naturally leaned to the new high-capacity continuous miners where seam conditions permitted: otherwise, to the new super-high capacity conventional cutting and loading machines. Since the coal seams lay in ridges and points of considerable outcropping, the decision was to keep the transportation on the surface and mine the coal with multiple entries into the outcrop. This way, the major problems of underground haulage, drainage, and ventilation are eliminated, and the opportunity to take advantage of a-c underground power becomes a much simpler proposition.

Jan 10, 1960

By Philip D. Pearson

IN recent years, there have been many changes in mining operations in the Lake Superior district. To follow these trends on the Menominee Range of Michigan, information has been assembled from all of the iron mining operations in the area. There are 15 operating underground mines in the Iron River-Crystal Falls area of the Menominee Range. Within the past two years, two idle properties were re- opened and are now producing, and a third and fourth are being reopened. Also, there are two siliceous openpits operated by independent companies outside this immediate area. Six companies operate the underground mines, employing some 1850 employees. Table I shows pertinent facts about these properties.

Jan 4, 1951

By M. D. Voegele, C. Fairhurst

INTRODUCTION A computer study of excavation support loads in tunnels and other excavations in discontinuous rock masses was undertaken with the distinct element method introduced by Cundall (1971). In the distinct element method the rock mass is modeled as a composition of individual blocks of rock defined by the joint planes. Normal and shear deformation laws are ascribed to the joint surfaces; the blocks of rock themselves are considered to be rigid. The particular version of the program utilized in this study ran a mini computer and used inter, active techniques for the input of geometrical data such as joint orientation and spacing and subsequent display of rock mass deformation and other data. Two major aspects of the behavior of excavations in jointed rock masses are examined in this paper: i) the behavior of unsupported excavations in rock masses with varying joint configuration, joint properties and in situ stress fields; and ii) the modification of the behavior of similar excavations when support is provided. In the latter case the excavation behavior was examined through the use of ground reaction curves. THE DISTINCT ELEMENT METHOD The Distinct Element method introduced by Cundall (1971) is a computer based analysis that simulates the behavior of a system of discrete, semi-rigid rock blocks. Block interactions are governed by realistic friction and stiffness laws; each block may undergo unlimited displacement and rotation while progressive failure is modeled.

Jan 1, 1982

By E. Northcott, I. M. LeBaron

Before describing the electrostatic processing of feldspar, it might be well to review some of the basic definitions and terminology of feldspars. The feldspar minerals constitute a group of alumino-silicates of potassium, sodium, and calcium. Barium feldspar sometimes occurs naturally but is very rare. Hardness varies between 6 and 6.5 and specific gravity between 2.5 and 2.8. Color is generally white or pale shades of red, yellow, or green. The approximate chemical composition of the principal feldspars is given in Table I. The albite (sodium aluminum silicate) and an orthite (calcium aluminum silicate) feldspars are the end members of a series called plagioclase. These two molecules form a complete solid solution series ranging from pure soda feldspar at one end to the pure lime feldspar at the other end. Intermediate solid solutions are known as oligoclase, andesine, labradorite, and bytoconite. The general structure throughout this series is the same. Sodium and calcium may replace each other and silicon and aluminum may replace each other in the structure.

Jan 10, 1958