Search Documents

By D. A. Crerar, R. L. P. Kleinmann, R. R. Pacelli

A bacterium, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, is of prime importance in the formation of acid drainage from pyritic material. Above pH 4.5, T. ferrooxidans increases initial acidification; below pH 4.5, it allows acidification to continue by oxidizing Fe2 +. Below a pH of approximately 2.5, the activity of F3+ is significant and results in steady-state cycling between oxidation of pyrite by Fe3 + and bacterial oxidation of Fe2 +. Laboratory and field tests demonstrate that inhibition of T. ferrooxidans by controlled release of anionic detergents can inexpensively reduce pyrite oxidation and acid formation.

Jan 1, 1982

By George C. Stone

AS most of you probably know, Australia has had many strikes. The two places that had the worst reputation were the Broken Hill mines and Port Pirie, where the smelter was located. About four or five years ago, the smelter changed hands. The new proprietors - immediately endeavored to get on better terms with the men and made such progress in that respect that, the men came to them and said, "There is no use giving us any more money. You have just raised our pay one- bob a day, but the store-keeper and the boarding-house keeper have raised their prices. The boarding housekeeper raised our board three bob a week and the storekeeper took the rest of it and we are no better off." Learning that what the men needed most was firewood wood the company bought the wood on a tract of ground across Spencer's Gulf and- sent men over to cut it. The wood was brought to the works and given to a man to cut up. He thought he had an easy job and loafed, but when the committee representing the men discovered that his loafing added to the cost of 'the wood, it promptly disciplined him and made -him work as he had never worked before. The next question that arose was the distribution of the wood. The committee got bids from several cartmen whose prices varied from about two to five shillings. It gave the work to the next to the lowest bidder. The fact that if delivering the wood cost more, the user would have to pay for it, was an entirely new idea to the men.

Jan 1, 1920

By Pual M. Tyler

BLIZKRIEG tactics in the present war have consumed metals on such a profligate scale that some of the best-laid procurement plans for civilian and military needs of even a year ago seem in retrospect incredibly meager. Conservation of raw materials has reached an all-time climax in Germany, where metals are worth more than human life and throwing away an empty toothpaste tube may be legally punished by death. Even the United States and the British Empire, proud masters of nine tenths of the world?s known mineral reserves and processing plants, are being driven to metals and feverishly expanding production facilities that not long ago were deemed overbuilt. After the war is over and inevitable postwar readjustments are completed, it is reasonable to expect that purchasing power ? or at least the ability to procure the comforts and luxuries of life ? will be distributed among vastly larger population than ever before, accelerating the rising trend in demand for industrial raw materials in ever greater quantity and variety.

Jan 1, 1942

By Wilbur E. Sanders

AT some period during the operation of metalliferous and other commercially valuable mineral-deposits in connection with their underground mining, when the developments therein have become so extensive that their description is tedious and confusing, some scheme for naming or numbering the various workings and their parts is necessary for convenience of ; reference.. A simple and symmetrical yet expansive system of classification must be devised, one that is capable of being extended to cover all possible exigencies and conditions of future operations within the property. Such a scheme, properly arranged, greatly simplifies communication between the various departments of the mining business, as, for instance, between the administrative and the operating departments of the concern, and is of the greatest assistance to the officers of the mine in enabling them to locate and describe particular points and parts of workings and specific kinds of work. Again, in the proper segregation and differentiation of mine-accounts, when they are carried out with that detail which will furnish ready information concerning the cost of a particular piece of work, or the various items and totals of expense connected with the, development,, operation and repair of each or all of the mine-workings, some such method of designation becomes a necessity. . Moreover, such a plan is admirably adapted to the needs of the mining engineer, who, in connection with his reports upon mining-properties, is sometimes required, in his descriptions of certain blocks of ore, to locate lists of assays of samples taken from many and various places, and to designate workings and parts of workings that are located in different parts of the mine, sometimes at points wide apart.

May 1, 1906

By E. C. Robertson

Observations of faults in mines, at outcrops, and in the laboratory lead to the conclusion that the displacement d of a fault increases irregularly but monotonically with the thickness t of its associated fault gouge and breccia, not including adjacent undisplaced jointed rock. The general trend of data points has a slope d/t of about 100. (The correlation coefficient of a logarithmic regression line is r = 0.94.) The rather wide scatter of the points can be accounted for by inaccuracies in measurement of d and t, and by variation in the conditions at faulting of confining pressure, rock type, water pressure, and deformation history. Limestone is an exception to the relation. Until the data can be corrected and refined, the relation should be used only qualitatively for estimating displacement of ore bodies in mines. The suggested relation is based on observations of 48 steeply- dipping normal and reverse faults and nine small flat-dipping thrust faults, with displacement less than 5 km (3 miles). It does not apply to large strike-slip and low-angle overthrust faults because their large displacements are poorly determined and their breccia thicknesses are widely variable.

Jan 1, 1984

Why should I pay $8.50 an hour for dealer repairs when my own mechanics work for $3.50?" The numbers vary, but that's the argument most contractors use to justify doing their own repairs. They don't realize it, but they're probably losing big money. For instance, it takes nearly a quarter of a million dollars in tools alone to equip a shop comparable to an average equipment dealer's facilities. A contractor must buy a lot of expensive, specialized tools he seldom uses, or else settle for the inefficiency of having repairs done by his mechanics with relatively unsophisticated tools. His building soaks up money in rent, maintenance insurance, taxes. His mechanics demand good wages. It even costs money when mechanics aren't repairing equipment. Mechanics get full wages for slack periods and cleanup time, too. This doesn't count as service manhours, but it's still part of the total repair cost. To help contractors uncover these hidden expenses and find out the true cost of owning a shop, some equipment dealers have devised a do-it-yourself "shop cost analysis form."

Jan 1, 1970

By GEORGE A. KIERSCH

The awesome destructive power of known and projected weapons of war presages a new need for geologists and engineers, who may be called upon to locate vital industry underground, thereby protecting it from sky-borne destruction. The Corps of Engineers is now conducting special tests to establish design standards covering the general field of underground installations as well as surveys a of construction methods and the operational hazards connected with such plants. National planning must dictate a policy that is either tactical, where surface manufactured parts; are stored underground and during art emergency assembled, or operational with both the manufacturing and assemblage completed in subsurface plants. Both plans of operation require the use of subterranean plants. Relocation of vital plants underground will probably involve only a small percentage of the production capacity of this nation. The cost of rebuilding in new location will obviously limit its adoption

Jan 1, 1949

By Warnie Flint

According to statistics that have been compiled by the National Safety Council, U.S. Bureau of Mines, American Medical Association, and other agencies, accidental injuries cause more deaths than all the leading diseases. There isn't anyone who is immune to an accident. Probably the best way to describe an accident is to say that it is an unexpected happening. The automobile driver isn't expecting a terrifying crash, the electrician isn't expected to be electrocuted, nor is the coal miner expecting the roof to fall on him. All personal injuries will not result in death. There is a multitude of victims who are living proof of what accidents can mean to an individual. These are the victims who are blind, paralytic, missing arms, legs, etc. In most instances the earning power of these individuals is gone, and they are utterly dependent upon family or welfare. For many years there seemed to be an attitude that prevailed upon industrial America that accidents were inevitable, and that so many fatalities and injuries should be expected. This, of course, was utter nonsense. Since the birth of such organizations as The National Safety Council, American Society of Safety Engineers, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines, much progress has been made in reducing accidents. The enactment of compensation laws greatly contributed to the progress that has been made. Does this mean that all accidents can be prevented? Unfortunately, it doesn't. Human psychology indicates that men will work unsafely or perform unsafe acts for the following reasons: 1) Lack of knowledge or skill. 2) Conflicting motivations, such as: (a) to be more comfortable, (b) to save time or effort, (c) to be accepted by a group 3) Physical or mental condition.

Jan 1, 1973

By W. F. Hosford

W. F. Hosford, (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) —evelopment of methods for predicting the plastic anisotropy of textured metals is an important step toward the improvement of properties by texture control. The engineering value of the present analysis is indicated by the good agreement between prediction and experimental findings. The purpose of this discussion, however, is to point out the weakness of the assumptions on which the analysis is based. The authors state that "the relative width and thickness strains are believed to depend only on the slip direction" and accordingly they disregard the orientation of the active slip plane. where E,, cW, and et are the tensile, width, and thickness strains, A,, A,, and At are the angles between the tensile axis x, the width direction w, and the thickness direction t, respectively; and G,, GW, and 4 are the angles between the slip-plane normal and x, w, and t, respectively. Therefore, the ratio of width to thickness strains resulting from slip on a single system would be These relations hold regardless of whether the slip plane is a crystallographic plane of the {110}, (1121, or (123) type or whether noncrystallographic slip occurs. If noncrystallographic slip occurs, it might be reasonable to assume that the effective slip plane is the most highly stressed plane containing the slip direction. In this case the slip direction, S.D., the slip plane normal, S.P.N., and the tensile axis, x, are coplanar (Fig. 19) and the angles are related by following expressions: where 9 is the angle between t and the projection of the slip direction in the w-t plane (igs. 1 and 2). The normal strains, Eq. [9], become

Jan 1, 1963

By Joseph C. Buchen

IN principle, production of salt from sea water is a simple operation. Sea water is trapped in ponds, the sun and wind cause evaporation of the water, and what is left is principally salt. Commercial production of solar salt, however, requires a careful consideration of many factors. Obviously, sufficient evaporation must take place throughout the making season to produce an economically adequate crop. Other factors are density of soil, contour of ground, height of ground above sea level, minimum dilution from fresh-water streams, and distance from market. Unfortunately, in the United States the localities of greatest evaporation, allowing for the other factors, are not the most suitable for the manufacture of sea salt by solar evaporation. The south end of San Francisco Bay most

Jan 1, 1937

By T. M. Girdler

IN THESE perilous days of world- wide uncertainty, this Institute and the profession represented by it take on new importance in the economic life of the nation. I have long been impressed by the fact that the objects of the A.I.M.E. are purely professional and scientific. The country has benefited from your honorable tradition of adherence to those objectives over a period of 68 years. The Institute's policy of refraining from controversial matters - has made possible the serious, balanced, and uncolored consideration of the particular problems that come before it.

Jan 1, 1939

By Walter Miller

PETROLEUM refining, like other industries in the United States in 1940, focused much attention on its duties and opportunities in the field of national defense. In counter-distinction to the situation during the World War; the industry is well constituted as LO existing equipment, processes, and capacity together with planned additions to handle any demands that may be made upon it by the defense program needs. Evident throughout was the growing sense of ability to manipulate oil molecules for the production of materials not hitherto considered as being available commercially from petroleum The development and application of catalytically-induced reactions on a broad front is one of the distinguishing characteristics of refining progress during the year.

Jan 1, 1941

By E. P. Pfleider, W. G. Pariseau

Even as the rational selection of excavation equipment requires a matching of machine performance capabilities to rock response characteristics, the functional features of transportation systems must be matched to the characteristics of the materials handled in order to secure optimum, trouble-free operation. In particular, ore passes and chutes must be designed for flow in order to insure controlled draw whenever a chute is opened. The alternative to quantitative design is, of course, the well known ad hoc procedure of freeing plugged ore passes, cleaning up spillage from flooded chutes, etc., after installation of the system. Since the voluminous empirical work sporadically undertaken through the years evidently had not led to reliable design methodology, it seemed worthwhile to attempt a rational and complete description of the movement of material through ore passes. The concepts of de- formable body mechanics applicable to gravity-induced flows of granular media or "soils" were involved. Accordingly, the mathematical theory of soil plasticity was adopted as a working hypothesis, and a two-dimensional laboratory model of an ore pass constructed in order to investigate the appropriateness of the theory. The general experimental strategy consisted of formulating the movement of material in ore passes as a boundary value problem in soil plasticity, determining the required boundary values of stress and velocity experimentally, and then using these data for the initiation of a theoretical solution for stress and velocity throughout the moving mass of material. A comparison between the theoretical and experimental constituted the test of the original hypothesis.

Jan 6, 1968

By Arnold S. Epstein

Tlze green electroluminescence occurring at liquid-nitvogen temperature in epitaxial gallium phosphide diodes is exarnined using the donor dopants silicon and sulfur. Zinc is used as the p-type diffusant. Two tt~ain peaks are found, namely til 0.56 and 0.535 p. The intensity of the gYeen peak occurring at 0.56 is found to oary as -4"' wlzere Jf is the forward current density and to first order appears to be dependent on the concet~tvation of ionized donovs. Tile vadintive lifetinze fov this process is -10-'sec. The intensity of the 0.56-p lu~ninescence is nt least several ovdevs of magnitude greate,, at liquid-nitvogen temperature than that noted jor the 0.538 radiation for current densities up to about 35 amp per sq cm. The variation oj- the intensity of. the 0.538-p peak with current density caries according to the donor dopant. With sulfur as the donor one has a J12 dependence, whereas when silicon is the donov a J1.5 dependence is noted. Tl~e above can be fitted to a In molecular process (in first order) such as a band to band recombination. The constant B fir band to band vecombination) is found from our experitt~etlt to be of the order of 2 CZI cm per sec, zcl~ereas for tlze impurity vecombination peak (0.56 p]) tile A cotzstor~t is of the order of. 7 x 10-' cu cm per sec. The structuve o/. the diodes at liquid-nitvog-en tett~peruture is oj tlze double injection type, and by carefi~lly selecting. the thickness of the structure one can regulate the onset of the 0.538-p radiation. The diode clzavaclevistics follow an I-Vx laiv where x is >1. Llregatiue resistance in these structures con be correlated with saturation of tlze 0.56- peak. ThE development of high-purity, large single crystals of epitaxially grown gallium phosphide is the ultimate aim of the studies to be reported. While a number of papers and reviews' have been presented on properties of gallium phosphide grown from gallium solution and from the melt, less attention has been paid to the properties of epitaxial gallium phosphide grown from the vapor. In the studies to be reported we have examined the effects of shallow donor impurities, primarily silicon and sulfur, at liquid-nitrogen temperature, on both the electrical and green electroluminescent properties of carefully characterized single-crystal epitaxial Gap. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES A) Material Preparation and Properties. The samules used in this investigation were single-crystal n-type epitaxial gallium phosphide. he single crystals were synthesized from the elements by vapor transport and epitaxial deposition on single-crystal gallium arsenide substrates. Typical transport agents used were chlorides. The growth procedures are described in more detail in Ref. 2. The samples were grown in the (111) orientation and had thicknesses up to 480 . Following the growth, the GaAs substrate was removed from the epitaxial Gap by etching in nitric acid. The Hall effect and resistivity of these n-type samples were measured as a function of temperature and analyzed for impurity content and compared with spectroscopic emission analysis. The results are given in greater detail in Ref. 3 but a summary is noted in Table I. In Table I, AED denotes the donor ionization energy, Nd is the donor impurity concentration, lvA is the acceptor impurity concentration, NI is the total impurity concentration, Rip vs temperature is the measured Hall mobility-temperature relationship from liquid nitrogen to about 400"K, n(77"K) is the measured carrier concentration at liquid nitrogen, and R/p(77'~) is the measured Hall mobility at liquid nitrogen. Good agreement is noted between electrical and emission analysis for the major donor impurity, silicon, in the two materials where it is a major constituent. In the case of the two samples SC90-6 and AP138-3(111) B which were sulfur-doped the ionization energy found from the electrical data is in good agreement with that reported for sulfur.4 The acceptor impurities are not known, although from the presence of magnesium in the samples as indicated by emission analysis and its known role as an acceptor in GaP,4 magnesium could be present as an acceptor. Similarly, since silicon is known to be an amphoteric impurity4 it may also be present as an acceptor in the Gap.* The *A small band has been noted at 0.625 11 in samples SC90-6, SC76-4, and SC77-4, suggesting according to Ref. 5 that sillcon could be present as an acceptor In these samples since these authors have found this peak to represent a donor-silicon emission. presence of calcium deduced from emission analysis is not correlatable with the electrical analysis and its presence as an electrically active impurity should be questioned. B) Sample Preparation and Diode Fabrication. The original slices were of the order of 2 sq cm in area witi the (111)B face up. The material was cleaved and sectioned and the best pieces selected (i.e., those which visually appeared to have the least strain and defects). The samples were polished, lightly etched, and cleaned in trichloroethylene. Zinc was diffused in a closed tube at 800°C to form a p-n junction. Diodes were made from these samples. The depth of junction varied, but did not exceed 10 p depth. The back side of the slice was lapped back and a low-resistance n-type contact was formed (at 600°C in forming gas) to an Au-Mo tab with a hole in the middle for

Jan 1, 1968

By B. D. Saklatwalla

FOR the proper understanding of the inclusion of certain elements in this review it seems necessary to state the meaning of "rare metals." Certain elements occur in deposits limited in extent or concentration, so that the extraction of the element in relation to market conditions becomes uneconomical. Others may occur in extensive and rich deposits but the reduction of the metal may be difficult and costly. Both these conditions effect the same result, namely, make the metal rare and costly. As an example of the first kind may be mentioned radium and of the second, calcium.

Jan 1, 1939

By Allan D. Taylor

INTRODUCTION From the designer's view, the installation starts with the first definition of the orebody, and progresses through a long and complex development. The design is affected not only by the characteristics of the ore, but by all of the personalities and events of the project during its development. The following discussion attempts to touch on the most important aspects which define the context in which the designer must work in apply the do's and don'ts. That context is the basis of the viewpoint. WHAT CAN GO WRONG The Project Is Going Over Budget This is a common and serious concern to the plant designer. The Project Falls Behind Schedule Another common and disturbing condition with which the plant designer must cope. Some Equipment Fails to Perform This can be due to either faulty equipment or operating deficiencies. It can be the result of a wide variety of causes, but the designer will be an interested party in the search for the cause and the cure. The Plant Isn't Flexible Enough Sometimes a plant will handle some or even most of the ore satisfactorily but is unable to treat another type properly. This can be a significant problem. An example might be a case where low capacity of a cyclone feed pump makes it impossible to accompany an increase in grinding mill throughput with a corresponding increase in dilution water. This could lead to an increase in cyclone feed density, and a loss in product grade or a limit on the plant capacity. Spillage And Cleanup Are Excessive This is one of the most common and annoying defects in metallurgical plants, and one for which the designer can rarely delegate blame. Maintenance Is Excessive Another common complaint in new plants, and also one for which the dedesigner must accept most of the responsibility.

Jan 1, 1982

By W. G. Fischer, S. R. Felde

Trona ore at the Westvaco, Wyo., mine of FMC Corp. has been obtained by room-and-pillar methods since the mine began operation. The flat- lying, 10-ft thick trona (Na2CO3.NaHCO3.2H2O) is covered by 1500 ft of weak shale and sandstone, and extraction of pillars on the retreat quite often throws large amounts of weight onto development workings. Weak shales in the roof and floor fail rapidly, and the mine ribs slough to such an extent that mining often becomes very difficult. When this occurs, efficiency goes down, costs go up, and the risk to men and machinery increases greatly. Difficult mining conditions in the early '60s forced a re-evaluation of all presently known mining techniques in bedded deposits. Many room-and-pillar mining plans were compared with the system in use at that time, but none of them offered a better solution to the roof control problem. Longwall techniques were also seriously considered, but machinery was not available that would cut the hard trona seam and still maintain the productivity obtained from room-and-pillar sections. However, since roof control in the longwall methods appeared to be more satisfactory than that found in room-and-pillar techniques it was believed that a new technique using the longwall principle and based on rock mechanics should be tried rather than previously known pillaring methods.

Jan 4, 1966

By G. H. Cutter

SAFETY in mining depends on wire rope to as great, if not greater, extent than in any other industry. Sudden failure of a shaft-hoist rope might easily result in death or serious injury to the operators and workmen, extensive damage to expensive equipment, and a loss in production while repairs are being made. A wire rope is only as good as its component parts. It must be made from wire properly drawn and treated. It must be fabricated on machines large enough and capable of imparting the necessary qualities to meet the stringent service conditions. However, unless the fundamental requirement of good ropemaking is recognized, all other operations, no matter how carefully performed, will not impart reliability and quality to the product. This fundamental requirement is steel that is homogeneous, of high resistance to fatigue, and of a type suitable for rope wire. Most wire-rope manufacturers agree that rope wire should be made from acid-open-hearth steel. It is comparatively easy to meet the same physical properties with basic steel, but such properties are only part of the requirements for good wire. It is absolutely necessary, particularly for rope service such as mining, where reliability is essential, that the wire be uniform throughout its entire length. Most manufacturers feel that this highly important requirement is better met by acid-open-hearth steel.

Jan 1, 1936

By H. E. McKinstry

LIKE nearly everything else, mining geology has been reconverting. Many geologists had been in military and other government service. Many more, with mining companies, had been working primarily toward increasing production from known reserves. All of these are turning now toward their normal peacetime endeavor-the search for new ore; for most mining companies, finding themselves with accumulated deficits in development work, are more than ready to go ahead with their postwar plans made a year or more ago but still stalled at the close of 1945 for lack of man power. These plans include not merely development in the old home camp but also wide exploration for new prospects both domestic and foreign. Most of the large concerns have geologists and engineers in the field in the United States, despite the outlook for higher mining costs here, and at least half a dozen strong American companies are already investigating opportunities abroad, notwithstanding past unhappy experiences in certain Latin-American nations which have welcomed capital but later found means of preventing investors from reaping the reward of their enterprise. A few of these new foreign expeditions are following well-planned programs, but too many, in their haste to get any sort of footing, are proceeding without well-considered policy. with the result that their geologists can do little more than desultory scouting.

Jan 1, 1946

By F. E. Bash

WHENEVER electric and open-hearth steel men discuss the relative advantages of their respective methods, the question of temperature is always discussed, so that this paper is written in the hope that definite data may settle some of the questions and encourage further investigations along these lilies. The writer has had the opportunity of taking the tapping temperatures of steel from electric furnaces of different sizes in various plants and from a number of open hearths handling the same kind of steel. All temperature measurements were made with the same disappearing-filament type optical pyrometer and the corrections for emissivity applied were those worked out by Burgess,1 which are 0.40 for steel streams and 0.65 for slag. The correction is applied by calculating the curve giving the relation between the true and apparent temperature in the following formula: Log E = CZ log e( 1 _ 1 x \T2 T1) in which E = emissivity; C2 = 14,500; e = base of Napierien logarithms; ? = wave-length of light used = 0.65/4; T2 = true temperature, in degrees absolute; T,1 apparent temperature, in degrees absolute. The curve showing the relation between true and apparent temperature for steel and slag arc given in Fig. 1. For the purpose of comparison of open-hearth and electric furnaces, there are given in Table 1 the tapping temperatures of two 25-ton Heroult electric furnaces and one 6-ton with one 50-ton acid, one 40-ton basic, and one 65-ton acid open-hearth furnace, all making nickel ordnance steel for guns. The two 25-ton Heroult electric furnaces were finishing steel refined by the triplex process and the 6-ton Heroult finished steel that was partly refined in an open hearth.. In this table, the tapping temperature and the temperature of the steel stream into the first ingot

Jan 9, 1919