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New GSP Trade Status Approved.--President Carter, by Executive Order effective March 30, has approved Generalized System of Preference treatment for imports of nonferrous metal products and other imports from Ecuador, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Venezuela. As of May 2, Afghanistan and Ethiopia will be taken off GSP status. Under the Generalized System of Preferences, certain imports from developing countries are provided duty-free treatment. A country can lose its GSP status if its shipments of the product exceed $41.9 million or more than 50% of total U.S. imports during the preceding year. However, the President can waive the 50% rule in cases where total U.S. imports of an item in 1979 were less than $1 million. Certain nonferrous imports from Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Zambia are already covered by GSP. Hearings April 10 on International Tin Agreement.--The Fifth International Tin Agreement of which the United States is a signatory, which entered into force on July 1, 1976, will expire on June 30, 1981. A negotiating conference for a Sixth International Tin Agreement will be held under auspices of the United Nations at Geneva from April 14 to May 16, 1980.

Jan 1, 1980

During the period January 1, 1977 through July 31, 1977, 5 percent (264,000 tons) of U.S. capacity was closed due to power curtailments in the Pacific Northwest because of the shortage of water. During July, one plant in Tennessee cut production by 50,000 tons annually due to a power reduction by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Full capacity production was resumed at a West Virginia smelter during September. If demand for aluminum is strong it seems likely that aluminum supply during the remainder of 1977 and in 1978 will be tight. The price was increased 3¢ per pound to 51¢ per pound effective March 28, 1977, and by an additional 2¢ per pound to 53¢ per pound, effective July 5, 1977. New projects and expansion of existing facilities are planned by Australian aluminum companies over the next 2 to 3 years. The companies listed have committed themselves to spending approximately A$801 million: Alcoa of Australia Ltd. -New alumina plant at Wagerup, south of Perth. Darling Ranges bauxite is located near the proposed project. A$650 million. Coma 1 co Industries Pty. Ltd. -Increase bauxite mining capacity and upgrade or replace other facilities at its Weipa mines on Cape York Peninsula region of Northern Queensland. A$81 million. Alcan Australia Ltd. -Expansion program that will increase capacity of the Kurri Kurri aluminum smelter north of Sydney about 50 percent, and improvement of other facilities at the plant. A$70 million.

Jan 1, 1977

By Hewitt Wilson

A review is given of the nomenclature, sources, imports, statistics, common methods of preparation, and testing of mineral pigments. A description of the Deer Park-Spokane colored-clay district and the laboratory methods of preparation of these colored clays, others, and siennas follows. The mineral pigments were prepared by washing or grinding the original material as received and by calcination of the yellow ocher and brown sienna with and without manganese dioxide to produce red, brown, and black colors. These prepared powders were tested for fineness, oil absorption, and color as compared with well-known brands of commercial pigments. Similar tests were made with several basalt red clays occurring in the neighborhood of Salem, Oreg., and Kalama, Eatonville, and Clay City, Wash. The color particularly was studied, since this property is the most important commercial characteristic of the minerals. PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION Since the development of the clay industry in the Pacific Northwest, some curiosity and interest have been aroused by the red and yellow clay or ocherouslike material that has often been found associated with the commercial clay deposits. These include the red and yellow "paint pots" near Deer Park and Spokane in eastern Washington, a red clay at Clay City, another close to Eatonville in western Washington, and red basalt earths near Salem, Oreg., and along the Columbia River near Kalama, Wash. Several companies have been organized to produce pigment colors from two of these deposits but have either discontinued or never started operations.

Jan 1, 1929

By Arne Paus-Jenssen

The potash industry in Saskatchewan has recently been the focus of much new legislation at the provincial level and, along with other mining industries in Canada, also subject to changes in tax legislation at the federal level. As a result, the industry presently operates under (a) provincial production controls, a prorationing scheme; (b) a new provincial reserve tax on potash only and; (c) a new federal income tax applicable to all mineral industries. The prorating scheme dates back to 1970 and emerged as public policy because of the excess supply situation faced by the international potash industry towards the end of the sixties. This caused special problems for new mines in Saskatchewan and the provincial government decided to intervene. The new tax legislation at provincial and federal levels, both introduced within the last four years, reflects a belief that insufficient revenues accrue to the public sector from natural resources. All mining industries in Canada, including the potash industry, have had their tax positions completely reversed during these four years. Traditionally the mining sector in Canada has been a recipient of substantial tax incentives and has enjoyed low tax rates. This has changed and the mining sector is now one of the most heavily taxed sectors in the economy. In addition, the mining sector has moved from a situation where its rapid development was favoured by governments to a situation where this is no longer the case.

Jan 1, 1976

Electric power curtailments resulting from the coal strike, required Noranda Aluminum, Inc. to shut down its 140,000 ton-per-year (tpy) primary aluminum smelter at New Madrid, Mo., and layoff 308 workers. Other primary aluminum production facilities affected by the coal strike included the Aluminum Company of America plant at Evansville, Ind. which shut down half of one potline; the Eastalco Aluminum Co., smelter at Frederick, Md., which cut production by 7 percent; and the National-Southwire Aluminum Co. plant at Hawesville, Ky. which cut production by 6 percent. Alumax, Inc. announced that construction had started on a 91,000 tpy potline at the Eastalco primary aluminum smelter. The new potline will be owned 65 percent by Alumax and 35 percent by Mitsui & Co. Ltd. Howmet Aluminum Corp., which currently owns 50 percent of the existing 176,000 tpy facility, has the option of becoming a 50 percent owner of the third potline in 1982. Construction of the new line was scheduled to be completed in 1980.

Jan 1, 1978

A new mine has begun production of antimony ore and concentrates in Serbia, Yugoslavia. The mine is operated by the mining and metallurgical enterprise "Aajaca." Initial production is running at approximately 45 thousand tons of ore per year, yielding about 1,500 tons of concentrate. The mine is located on the mountain Kopaonik-Raiceyoj Gori. It is planned to expand production eventually to approach the level of 300,000 tons of ore per year. This level will be a significant addition to the world supply of antimony and will place Yugoslavia among the world's major producers. Currently the United States produces only about 6 percent of its primary requirement for antimony. COBALT -Anglo American Corporation, Ltd. reportedly is considering restarting the Tenke-Fungurume copper-cobalt project in Zaire. Construction on the project was suspended in January because of inadequate financing and political uncertainties. Technical feasibility and financing on a smaller scale than previously envisioned are now being considered. However, an increased copper price may be necessary before any decision to proceed is made.

Jan 1, 1976

Law of the Sea. - The Ninth Session of the Law of the Sea Conference resumed July 28 at Geneva and will run for 5 weeks. The 160-nation Conference began in 1973. Two of the major factors to be discussed are the transfer of technology to the UN-controlled Enterprise or mining authority, and how the 36-member Council will make decisions. As the session completed its third week, delegates expressed little hope of completing a treaty text this year. There was a feeling, though, that substantive issues might be settled so that a treaty text can be completed next year. The Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act signed by the President on June 28, provides an interim regulatory procedure for ocean mining activities conducted by U.S. nationals that may be superseded by a law of the sea treaty.

Jan 1, 1980

By D. W. Dareing

Multiple branch wellbores and horizontal holes, when applied to deep lying ore bodies, have the potential of significantly reducing well costs by reducing total footage drilled per acre of well pattern. In addition, horizontal holes may increase sweep efficiency. Well completion is a major problem. They must be cased to contain leaching solutions within the underground portion of the production loop. Several drilling and completion concepts are given and evaluated in the report. Our evaluation shows that there is economic incentive to further develop these concepts for field application to ore bodies 1,500 feet. Multiple branch concepts are the most attractive. They can reduce well costs by as much as 30° when applied to 2,000 feet ore body depths (44%, at 5,000 feet) and can accommodate a lamer pump than conventional vertical wells. We recommend this concept be developed further to accommodate either dual or triple branches.

Jan 1, 1980

By M. J. Gavin

Within the past three years numerous inquiries for information on oil shale have been received by the Bureau of Manes. These inquiries have been increasing to such an extent that it has seemed advisable to issue a short paper prior to the publication of a bulletin on the subject, giving a, general discussion of the subject and a comprehensive list of references, so that those interested in the details of obtaining oil from shale can find additional information without much difficulty. Some of those who desire information are interested only in a general discussion of the subject, or are not in a position to refer to books and' articles describing the industry. The material for this paper is largely derived from published information on oil shale. Much of the information is obtained-from the books and articles mentioned in the list of references, and has been compiled with the intent of furnishing information to those not interested in all the details.

Jan 1, 1921

By D. I. Bleiwas

Bureau of Mines personnel evaluated the potential availability of nickel from 151 deposits in 18 market economy countries and selected 126 for detailed analyses. An evaluation was made of tonnage-cost relationships indicating the quantity of nickel available at various total costs of production expressed in dollars per pound nickel, including a 15-pct rate of return on the invested capital. The 126 deposits studied contain approximately 73 million metric tons (t) of nickel. An estimated 52 million t is available from laterite deposits, of which less than 2 pct could be produced at $3.50/lb Ni, about equal to the average published price of nickel in 1981. Approximately 21 million t of nickel is available from sulfide deposits, of which about 10.0 million t can be produced at $3.50/lb. Sensitivity studies performed for both laterite deposits and sulfide deposits indicate that the total cost of nickel from laterites is most sensitive to increases in energy costs, and that sulfides are most sensitive to increases in labor costs; sulfides are also sensitive to changes in byproduct revenues. In 1983 the Nickel Mountain mine in Oregon was the only U.S. producer, though development continued on the Gasquet property in California. Of the total 5.1 million t of recoverable nickel in the United States, about 20 pct is available at or below $3.50/lb.

Jan 1, 1984

By C. A. Stetefeldt

FoR the convenience of those who do not care to enter into the details of this long essay, I begin with a summary of the most important results it presents. The extraction of silver by the lixiviation-process from ores which have been subjected to a chloridizing-roasting, is based upon the fact that silver chloride is easily soluble in solutions of sodium or calcium hyposulphite, and that silver is precipitated from such solutions by an alkaline sulphide, with regeneration of the hyposulphite salts. In case the ore contains lead a large portion of the latter is and dissolved, lead sulphate being soluble in hyposulphite solutions. If, at the same time, copper is present, the sulphides precipitated from the solution, contain silver, copper, and lead, a combination of metals not desirable for subsequent treatment. Mr. E. H. Russell, of Park City, Utah, is the inventor and the patentee in the United States and several foreign countries of a new lixiviation-process, based upon the chemical facts discussed in this paper. Mr. Russell has discovered that lead can be completely separated from a sodium hyposulphite solution, as lead carbonate, by sodium carbonate or purified soda-ash, without precipitating any copper or silver. After decanting the solution from the lead carbonate, silver and copper are obtained from it in the usual way. This method of separating lead prohibits the use of calcium poly-sulphide as a precipitant for the sulphides, because any calcium entering the regenerated lixiviationsolution would also be precipitated as a carbonate with the lead by soda-ash. Hence, a sodium sulphide must be employed. A full investigation has demonstrated that this is by no means detrimental. Sodium sulphide and hyposulphite are more advantageously used in the lixiviation-process than the corresponding calcium-salts. Another defect in the lixiviation-process consisted in the necessity of a very perfect chlorination of the silver in the ore, because silver in

Jan 1, 1885

By IPMI Educational and Scientific Foundation

It is with great pleasure that we announce the availability of this fourth issue of the IPMI Journal, a publication of the International Precious Metals Educational and Scientific Foundation. This digital peer reviewed publication has been created as a vehicle for the sharing of technical information related to the science and technology of precious metals. Since 1976, the International Precious Metals Institute has championed the exchange of information of critical importance to the precious metals scientific and commercial communities through its various communications vehicles. This has included instructional videos, annual conference symposia, special topic committee meetings, regional seminars, and professional and student achievement awards. Due to the breadth of important topics related to all aspects of precious metals, it has been the vision of the IPMI to provide a publication available to the general public that would become a key source of pertinent topics containing high quality publications by experts in their fields of study. Historically, the IPMI has attracted world renowned experts in many fields (including Nobel Laureates Henry Taube, Ei-ishi Negishi, Robert Grubs, Professor Ben Feringa, and David MacMillan) in the dissemination of discoveries, inventions, and industry proven practices. Such information has a total value greater than the sum of its parts as seemingly unrelated innovations from distinct focus areas can be adapted to solve problems. Because of this important characteristic of information exchange, we have decided to create a digital journal, available to the general public, that will not only communicate state of the art discoveries and sound practices, but will also review historical communications from the IPMI’s archives that have value and use even in today’s environment. On behalf of the members and leaders of the IPMI, we hope you will find value in this new publication.

Dec 1, 2023

By Edward P. Barrett

SPONGE IRON has been defined as the metallic product formed by the reduction (removal of combined oxygen) of iron ore or other iron oxides at temperatures below the fusion point of iron. This product probably derived the name "sponge iron" from its porous nature. When the reduction proceeds at slightly higher temperatures and the particles of metal weld together or finally even melt to yield pellets or balls that lack the porosity and low-density characteristic of sponge iron, the product might more correctly be called "direct iron."

Jan 1, 1954

1. Domestic Production and Use: In 1974 twelve companies operated 31 primary aluminum reduction plants, three firms accounting for 64% of production. Washington, Oregon, and Montana accounted for 32% of the total production; Gulf Coast States, 24%; Northern States, 33%, and other Southern States 11%. Output of primary metal in 1974 was valued at $3.4 billion. About 80% of the secondary recovery was from new aluminum base scrap and 20% was from old scrap. Aluminum consumption by 25,000 firms was centered in the East Central United States. Of aluminum consuming industries in 1974, building accounted for about 27%; transportation 19%; electrical, 13%; packaging, 15%; and consumer durab1es, 9%.

Jan 1, 1975

By Michael Radnor

The purpose of the study was to 1) examine the social and economic impacts of surface mine blasting in relation to variations in conditions of terrain and geology, population density and type, levels of ground motion and air blast; 2) consider technical, legal and government policy issues; and 3) examine the potential, nature and extent of surface mine blasting impacts and its regulations upon both communities and surface mining companies. Phase One designed the empirical research and technical analyses of Phase Two, focused upon surface coal mining and quarrying in the Eastern U.S. Several broad conclusions are evident: 1) blasting is not the major issue for communities or surface mine companies; 2) while the number of instances of severe cracking or annoyance are relatively small, the impact can be severe for individuals immediately involved; 3) blasting/drilling cost curves tend to rise significantly at intervals below 1.0 particle velocity, in/sec, dependent upon the size of a permit area and the size of a mine; and 4) the legal, complaint, cost and density analyses do not suggest the need for a general lowering of present regulations.

Jan 1, 1981

By Fred N. Kissell

This handbook describes effective methods for the control of mineral dusts in mines and tunnels. It assumes the reader is familiar with mining. The first chapter deals solely with dust control methods, regardless of the application. It is a brief tutorial on mining dust control and will be of help to the reader whose dust control problem does not conveniently fit any of the mining equipment niches described in later chapters. The subsequent chapters describe dust control methods for different kinds of mines and mining equipment. This includes underground coal and hard-rock mines, as well as surface mines, stone mines, and hard-rock tunnels. Because dust sampling has so many pitfalls, a chapter on methods used to sample dust is included. For those occasions when there is no practical engineering control, a chapter on respirators is also included. Except for those listed as ?future possibilities? in the longwall chapter, the dust control methods described are practical and cost-effective for most mine operators. If controlling dust were a simple matter, dust problems in tunnels and mines would have been eradicated years ago. Unfortunately, most underground dust control methods yield only 25% to 50% reductions in respirable-sized dust. Often, 25% to 50% reductions are not enough to achieve compliance with dust standards. Thus, mine operators must use several methods simultaneously, usually without knowing for sure how well any individual method is working. In fact, given a 25% error in dust sampling and day-to-day variations in dust generation of 50% or more, certainty about which control methods are most effective can be wanting. Nevertheless, over the years, some consensus has emerged on the best dust control practices. This handbook summarizes those practices.

Jan 1, 2003

By W. I. Watson

The study considered all the institutional, resource reserve, technological, and economic factors relevant to the industry's present and future status, such as markets and marketing techniques, competition from other producers both domestic and foreign, federal and state regulations affecting the industry, quarrying and processing technologies, slate reserves and resources, and industry structure and economics. Constraints to the growth of the industry were assessed and scenarios proposed to solve some of the problems.

Jan 1, 1980

By Joseph A. DeCarlo, Eugene T. Sheri dan

The process of converting coal into coke is known as carbonization. Essentially, carbonization is destructive distillation in which the volatile matter of coal is released when coal is heated above its decomposition temperature and passes through a plastic stage before solidifying and forming coke. The mechanics of coke formation are complex, and the specific properties of certain coals that allow them to "cake" or form coke are still unknown. Coke is a hard, cellular, carbonaceous mass, formed by heating coal in the absence of air. It is porous, irregular in size and shape, and is similar in appearance to wood charcoal. Coke, however, is denser, more porous, and more abrasive than charcoal. Coke has been in use for several thousand years. History has recorded its use in Greece before the birth of Christ, and it is thought to have been used in China even before that time. It was not until the l6th century, however, that a method for coking was developed in Europe that subsequent ly evolved into the coking process that is known today. The coke industry in the United States began in the latter half of the 19th century when beehive-coke ovens were built to supply fuel for iron blast furnaces. Before this time, an iron industry fueled principally by charcoal had been in existence for several hundred years. With the depletion of timber resources, coke gradually replaced charcoal as blast-furnace fuel, and by 1875 more iron was made with coke than with any other fuel. Before 1893 a 11 coking was done in beehive ovens. These ovens are refractory kilns with arched roofs, sometimes joined together to form batteries.

Jul 1, 1964

On November 9, the Reynolds Metals Company cut production by 12 at its primary aluminum smelters at Troutdale, Oreg., and Longview, Wash., as a result of an earlier 25% power cutback by the Bonneville Power Administration due to lower than normal stream flow in September, the Aluminum Company of America had closed one potline at its Vancouver smelter because of the power cutback. Nearly 700 union workers at Anaconda Aluminum Company's primary aluminum smelter at Sebree, Ky., walked off the job when their contract expired or, November 15, after rejecting a proposed 3-year contract. The smelter has an annual capacity of 180,000 tons mid accounts for 50% of Anaconda's aluminum production. No talks are scheduled.

Jan 1, 1979

By C. M. Diaz, S. W. Marcuson

In the late 19th century, the discovery of rich nickel-copper sulfide ore bodies in Sudbury and the need for tonnage quantities of the metal to be used in nickel steel armor provided the foundation for establishing the Canadian nickel industry. For almost 50 years, International Nickel was the key player. In 1930, Falconbridge Nickel entered the field. These two companies remain the key Canadian nickel producers. This paper discusses the factors that have influenced the evolution of nickel smelting processes. The initial Sudbury ore smelting and nickel copper separation technologies were imported from abroad. It was only in 1937 that International Nickel established a process research laboratory in Copper Cliff The explosive post WW II industrial development created a strong demand for a broader variety of nickel products. For both International Nickel and Falconbridge, R&D became an essential business tool to succeed in the new market scenery. In the last few decades, new technologies were developed and commercialized to respond to the raising cost of energy, society pressing environmental concerns, the advent of nickel laterites as an important source of new metal, the incorporation of new nickel producers to the market, and, therefore, the need to increase productivity. Canada thus became an important exporter of technology. In this paper, the authors review this history with the objective of highlighting the forces that have triggered the most important changes in Canadian nickel smelting.

Jan 1, 2005