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By Frederick Laist

ABOUT six years ago the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. decided to investigate the possibility of extracting zinc from the ores of certain mines in the Butte district. These ores are of a complex character and contain so much iron and lead that the concentrate contains only 33 to 35 per cent. zinc. Investigations showed that while a high-grade concentrate could not be obtained by ordinary methods, such as tabling and magnetic treatment, a fair grade could be made by the Horwood process. In this method, the concentrate resulting from the flotation of all of the sulfides is given a light roast and this calcine is subjected to flotation in the presence of a large amount of sulfuric acid; the resulting concentrate contains most of the zinc and a residue contains most of the iron. The fact that the lead, copper, and silver are divided approximately equally between the zinc concentrate and the iron residue and the large consumption of acid, which ranged from 50 to 100 lb. (22 to 45 kg.) per ton of concentrates, were serious objections to this plan. The zinc recovery, moreover, was low, as a considerable percentage invariably accompanied the iron. While a profit might be made on the ores by the use of this process, it was thought that other and more promising methods might be devised. After carefully studying the field and doing some laboratory work on various processes that had been suggested, it was decided that the electrolysis of sulfate solutions was the most promising. We soon found, as have other investigators, that the only way to obtain a good zinc deposit is to have the electrolyte free from all metals more electro-negative than zinc, such as copper, cadmium, lead, arsenic, antimony, etc. Arsenic and antimony are particularly injurious, causing very poor current efficiency and small yield per horsepower when present in amounts so small as almost to defy detection-1 mg. or less per liter.

Jan 10, 1920

By Edward H. Robie

HOW have recent events affected the general trend in world mineral production? What effect has the World War, with its resultant boom and depression, had on the long-term trend of output? Have all of the principal metals and fuels been similarly affected, or have some boomed or slumped much more than others? The trend of world production of coal, iron, the principal nonferrous metals, and petroleum is shown in the accompanying chart, covering the period from 1882 to 1931 inclusive-the last fifty years. The curves are plotted logarithmically to show the comparative trends. In the lower left-hand corner of the chart is a slope diagram to aid in visually evaluating. the average yearly rate of increase in production; from this one can easily see, for example, that the petroleum production curve indicates an average annual increase of around 8 per cent, and that up to the period of the World War the average annual increase in copper production was about 6 per cent.

Jan 1, 1932

By JOHN S. HEARDING

ON the Minnesota Ranges, 600 million tons of material have been moved in the past three years to produce 172 million tons of direct-shipping iron ore. Increasing wage rates and cost of equipment and supplies, coupled with the larger amount of waste material to be moved in comparison with the quantity of ore make it imperative that tile industry adopt all practices and methods which will enable it to move earth at progressively lower costs. Drilling. Prior to and during the war practically all blastholes drilled were 6-in. in diameter and put down by drills using strings of tools weighing from 2000 to 3000 lb. Present trends indicate that heavier drilling equipment making 9-in. holes wit11 3000 to 6000 lb tools will be more economical. Holes up to 12 in. diameter will be made with this equipment. Forging and hardening practices for bits to increase footage is receiving attention. One manufacturer expects to market 9-in. bits having sintered carbide inserts in the reaming and cutting edges. Oxygen and oil to burn holes in the rock are being tested for making blastholes at a considerably greater speed than can be obtained with a blasthole drill on the same size hole. To dale, however, the cost has been prohibitive.

Jan 1, 1949

By Frederick N. Rhines

Pure copper that has been allowed to oxidize at an elevated temperature in the air is found to be covered with two distinguishable layers of oxide scale. The outer of these, which is very thin, is composed of cuprie oxide, while the inner layer, comprising the bulk of the scale, is made up chiefly of cuprous oxide (Fig, la). If a small quantity of an alloying element, such as silicon, is present in the copper, silica particles are found disseminated through the cuprous oxide, deposited most abundantly near the metal surface, and, in addition, silica particles occur to a limited depth within the copper itself (Fig. 1b). It is this inner layer, composetl of oxide particles precipitated in a matrix of metallic copper, that is known as the "subscale" or the zone of internal oxidation. Under a low oxygen pressure it is possible to produce the subscale without the formation of external layers of copper oxides, thus leaving the metal surface bright and apparently clean while oxidation has occurred, in fact, to a considerable depth within the metal (Fig. 2). Although little is yet known in a detailed way of the mechanism of internal oxidation, the general nature of the process is evident. By virtue of the considerable solubility of oxygen in copper,' it is possible to bring the alloying element in contact with oxygen within the metallic solid solution. If the oxide of the alloying element is more stable than cuprous oxide, the foreign oxide may form and, since most oxides are relatively insoluble in copper, it will not long remain in solution, but mill separate as a precipitate. As the metallic solute is exhausted in the zone of precipitation, oxygen that is constantly being supplied at the surface diffuses farther into the alloy and thus produces an ever-thickening shell of subscale. The distribution of the reacting elements in the subscale and adjoining zones must be somewhat as indicated in Fig. 3. The conditions requisite to internal oxidation to be anticipated are thus: (I) a solubility of oxygen in the alloy, (2) the ability of oxygen to diffuse at an appreciable rate into the alloy, (3) the possibility of the

Jan 1, 1940

By Frederick N. Rhines

Pure copper that has been allowed to oxidize at an elevated temperature in the air is found to be covered with two distinguishable layers of oxide scale. The outer of these, which is very thin, is composed of cuprie oxide, while the inner layer, comprising the bulk of the scale, is made up chiefly of cuprous oxide (Fig, la). If a small quantity of an alloying element, such as silicon, is present in the copper, silica particles are found disseminated through the cuprous oxide, deposited most abundantly near the metal surface, and, in addition, silica particles occur to a limited depth within the copper itself (Fig. 1b). It is this inner layer, composetl of oxide particles precipitated in a matrix of metallic copper, that is known as the "subscale" or the zone of internal oxidation. Under a low oxygen pressure it is possible to produce the subscale without the formation of external layers of copper oxides, thus leaving the metal surface bright and apparently clean while oxidation has occurred, in fact, to a considerable depth within the metal (Fig. 2). Although little is yet known in a detailed way of the mechanism of internal oxidation, the general nature of the process is evident. By virtue of the considerable solubility of oxygen in copper,' it is possible to bring the alloying element in contact with oxygen within the metallic solid solution. If the oxide of the alloying element is more stable than cuprous oxide, the foreign oxide may form and, since most oxides are relatively insoluble in copper, it will not long remain in solution, but mill separate as a precipitate. As the metallic solute is exhausted in the zone of precipitation, oxygen that is constantly being supplied at the surface diffuses farther into the alloy and thus produces an ever-thickening shell of subscale. The distribution of the reacting elements in the subscale and adjoining zones must be somewhat as indicated in Fig. 3. The conditions requisite to internal oxidation to be anticipated are thus: (I) a solubility of oxygen in the alloy, (2) the ability of oxygen to diffuse at an appreciable rate into the alloy, (3) the possibility of the

Jan 1, 1940

By William B. Plank

ENGINEERING students to the number of 73,269 had been enrolled in United States and Canadian schools on Nov. 5, 1945, but, as shown in the following tables, even this sizable number will not greatly remedy the 150,000 deficit reported by Vannevar Bush, director of the U. S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, to exist in the engineering and scientific man-power supply. These figures were received in advance from the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, and are given in detail in the January 1946 issue of the Journal of Engineering Education. Although the enrollment on Nov. 5 was an increase of 76% over the low of 41,632 in 1944-45, it was still 36% below the peak enrollment in 1941-42 of 115, 228. These figures include both undergraduate students and graduate students in the schools of the United States and Canada and are therefore comparable. As was to be expected, almost half of this enrollment is in the first or freshman year and 25% of the total are veterans. Also, 1,850, or about 2.5%, are women. A measure of the seriousness of the engineering graduate supply in these two countries is indicated by the trend of the number of first degrees that have been conferred during this period of scarcity:

Jan 1, 1946

By Eugene Guccione

"All engineering societies should encourage and motivate their members to take part in public affairs. And engineers, in turn, should learn to translate their technical knowledge in a language which politicians can understand," stated James Boyd last month as he received the Hoover Medal, which is awarded annually by four engineering societies-AIME, IEEE, ASME, and ASCE-to an engineer who has rendered important public service. James Boyd is no ordinary engineer (see box). A few weeks ago, Dr. Boyd took time out of his busy schedule to stop at MINING ENGINEERING'S editorial office for the following exclusive interview.

Jan 1, 1976

By Persifor Frazer

(Read at the Wilkes-Barre Meeting, May, 1877.) A CLASSIFICATION of natural objects is usually based either upon some fundamental and permanent attribute of the thing itself (as in the case of scientific classifications), or it embraces one or more generalizations convenient for use in ordinary life. Thus, it suffices for the statistician to, know that so many tons of fish are annually taken by our fishermen, and that they realize so many thousands of dollars, whereas to the student of natural history the anatomy, habits, and relationships of the animals are of chief interest, as settling their respective places in the scale of animate nature. Many different classifications of coals have been attempted, as one would naturally anticipate from the immense extent of the coal trade, and the different localities whence the supply was derived. The English divisions were prevalent up to the date of the publication of the last geological survey of the State, except so far as they were modified by local designations. Indeed, Rogers' classifications made very little alteration in the English nomenclature, as may be seen by comparing. the tables given below. To commence with the different kinds mentioned in Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines of 1845 " 1. Cubical Coal.-Black, shining, compact, moderately hard and easily frangible. Comes out in rectangular masses, of which the

Jan 1, 1878

By Rossiter W. Raymond

(Read at the Amenia Meeting, October, 1877.) IN the case of The Eureka Consolidated Mining Company v. The Richmond Mining Company of Nevada, recently tried at San Francisco, California, the real defendant was the Richmond Consolidated Mining Company, of London; but this being a foreign corporation, holds its mining property in Nevada through the Nevada corporation of similar name, in which the London Company owns all the stock, except the few shares necessary to "qualify" the American directors. The trial would naturally have taken place in the Circuit Court at Carson City, Nevada, and before a jury. But by stipulation of the parties, the case was tried in San Francisco, before Hon. Stephen J. Field, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Hon. Lorenzo Sawyer, United States Circuit Judge of the Ninth Circuit, and Hon. E. W. Hillyer, United States District Judge, for the District of Nevada. The hearing began July 23d, 1877. The witnesses occupied two weeks, and the argument of. counsel three days. Very eminent lawyers were. engaged on both sides ; for the plaintiff, Messrs. Solomon Heydenfeldt, R. S. Mesick, John Garber, and H. J. Thornton ; for the defendant, Messrs. S. M. Wilson, Thomas Wren, and J. J. Williams. The court held the case under advisement until August 22d, when Mr. Justice Field delivered its unanimous opinion in favor of the plaintiff. The action was a complaint in ejectment, and an appeal was taken to the United States Supreme Court. The questions at issue between the Eureka and the Richmond Company in this suit, comprised several points in the construction of the mining law of the United States, and its relation to the customs and regulations of the mining districts, which possess an importance and an applicability far beyond the limits of the case in which they arose. It is my purpose to state these points, the arguments

Jan 1, 1878

By Harrison, Henry Fay

The study of an entirely new series of alloys may be undertaken from a desire to obtain knowledge applicable to the perfection of industrial alloys, or merely to test certain theoretical considerations. In the case of antimony-tellurium alloys, the theoretical side only is at present important; but it is hoped that the results of this investigation may have some industrial value, at least indirectly, by furnishing one more example for comparison when studying commercial alloys. The statement is found in various places that antimony is isomorphous with arsenic, bismuth and tellurium; but very little experimental evidence has been offered in support of this assumption. All four metals crystallize in rhombohedra, and the ratio of the axes a: c is approximately the same—which seems to indicate, but does not prove, their isomorphism. The close association of these metals in minerals also seems to indicate that they are isomorphous. There are, however, certain differences in their properties which render this coriclusion somewhat doubtful, and it is therefore desirable that inde-

Jan 1, 1902

By Benjamin Smith Lyman

It has seemed that it might be a highly useful contribution to the study of structural geology to assemble, in as compact a form and on as large a scale as practicable, a great number of

Jan 1, 1896

By R. L. Doan

WHEN the Plutonium Project was started in the spring of 1942 there was no technology to produce uranium metal of the required purity. Not only was there no such metal available; no one knew how to make it or fabricate it after it was made. Since this time vast technical effort has been ex-pended in the atomic energy field. A short 15 years later the metallurgy of uranium is probably better known than that of any other metal, with the possible exception of steel. At the beginning of the 1942 drive to obtain pure uranium metal the most available raw material was black uranium oxide (U3O8) of about 92 pct purity from the Great Bear Lake region of Canada. It took only three months for the project chemists to develop a process for bringing the purity of this oxide up to 99+ pct and another three months for Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. of St. Louis to build the purification plant and get it into operation. In early summer of 1942 the purified brown oxide (UO2) started moving to the Metal Hydrides Co. in Beverly, Mass., and to the Westinghouse Research Laboratory in Bloomfield, N. J., both of which had been granted Government contracts to try to make pure uranium metal.

Jan 9, 1957

By Henry Howe

- §1. INTRODUCTION.-Any given piece of metal is made up of a very great number of grains, usually microscopic, each of which is a perfect crystal save only in outward form, with cleavage planes of low cohesion, geometrically arranged quite as in the familiar non-metallic crystals. The plastic deformation of such a mass occurs chiefly through the slipping of the crystalline blocks of which each grain is composed along these cleavage planes, causing steps called slip bands to form on a previously polished surface. In this slip, the metal immediately adjoining each of the cleavage planes along which the slip takes place is thought to pass extremely rapidly through a very mobile state into the amorphous state, in which it is harder than the remaining still crystalline metal between the amorphous layers thus formed along the slip planes. Whether the slip planes below the surface in ferrite can be detected by cutting, polishing, and etching sections is in dispute; but if this detection is possible at all, it is usually made impossible by heating the metal even gently. In short, the change along the slip planes does not persist through heating, and it is thought not to persist through time even at the room temperature, nearly all the amorphous metal re-crystallizing. The network in Fig. 22 and the parallel N.-70°-E. lines in Fig. 21 are slip bands in copper.

Jan 3, 1915

By T. Lane Carter

Before describing the experience with the Chinese on the Rand and the work they have accomplished, it will be necessary, first, to give a brief account of labor-conditions in the Transvaal since the war, and then to show how the necessity of importation of labor arose. As is well known, the Transvaal mines are run on the dual system of labor—that is, the rough work is done by colored laborers under the superintendence of white men. From the start of mining operations in South Africa there has been the cry of shortness of native labor, due in great measure to the failure of Kaffirs to work continuously in the mines. While he works, the Kaffir is a satisfactory laborer, but his period of service is short, averaging about nine months. People unacquainted with the Kaffir have maintained that, by offering a higher wage and better accommodation, better results would be obtained from the native workers, but an increased wage simply aggravates the trouble. The Kaffir's wants are few. While at work Be spends little of his money, and before long has sufficient capital with which to buy wives and become a gentleman of leisure. Doubling the wage of the Kaffir means that he acquires a competency in half the time, so that his period of service is correspondingly reduced. In 1899, before the war, there was always a cry about the scarcity of Kaffir labor. The highest number of natives at work was in July and August, 1899, when nearly 100,000 were employed. At the outbreak of hostilities the Kaffirs were scattered far and near, many doing well during the war by working for the military authorities. On the resumption of mining operations on the Rand a serious mistake was made. Based on past experience, it was argued that if the whole industry decided to start anew with

Jan 1, 1909

By Robert Bosworth

THE liability for damages to the surface caused by subsidence is an ever present threat in all underground mining. In ordinary lode mining, this threat rarely materializes into an action, due to the method of mining metalliferous ores, the dip of the veins, and the nature of the ground itself. In the mining of coal, however, this threat is very real. The coal frequently lies close to the surface, in beds underlying large areas of land of which the surface is suitable for agricultural or urban development. Furthermore, the coal is generally mined by the "room and pillar" method and when the pillars of coal are removed, the subjacent support is destroyed. This question of the duty of surface support has now become a very live one in Colorado. What was waste prairie land a few years ago has become valuable agricultural land dotted here and there with growing towns. Frequent references will be made here to Colorado conditions and adjudicated cases, but those conditions and cases and the conclusions to be drawn therefrom are applicable to all coal-mining states. Briefly stated, the question is "Does the owner of the substrata or underlying mineral owe any duty of surface support to the owner of the superjacent strata or surface?" There is -no absolute duty of support owed by the mineral owner and this assertion is made with full knowledge of numerous expressions to the contrary by courts of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado and other coal-mining states. Whether or not any duty exists depends upon the circumstances surrounding each case, and since in the nature of things those circumstances are rarely identical, there can be no absolute rule.

Jan 1, 1928

By Hugh Rose

THE properties of the company lie within the Pachuca district, State of Hidalgo, Mexico, connected by three railway lines with Mexico City, 55 miles southwest, and by two lines with Vera Cruz, 250 miles southeast. The ores were formerly divided by sorting into two classes, smelting and milling, the former averaging about 2 oz. gold and 335 oz. silver, the latter 0.12 oz. gold and 23 oz. silver. The smelting ores were sold to custom plants, principally the American Smelting & Refining. Co. at Aguascalientes. The milling ores were treated by the patio process at the Guadalupe Hacienda, at Pachuca. This patio was probably the largest in existence at the time and continued in active operation up to March, 1910. In January, 1910, the mines and patio were sold to English interests, represented by Camp Bird Limited. Two new companies were formed, the Compañia de Santa Gertrudis, S. A., to operate the mines, and the Compañia Beneficiadora de Pachuca, S. A., to build and operate a custom cyanide milling plant. (Fig. 1.) GEOLOGY The historical geology of the Pachuca district is described by Fred J. Pope as follows: 1. The most recent sedimentary rocks in the district belong to the Cretaceous period. 2. The Cretaceous rocks were penetrated by large intrusions of ande-site (referred to hereafter as primary andesite) which occur as elliptical dome-shaped masses, striking northwest-southeast. These andesite bodies are from 8 to 15 miles long and from 6 to 10 miles wide. 3. A period of erosion during which the contour of the andesite domes was changed. 4. Andesite flows (secondary andesite) which rest unconformably on the primary andesites.

Jan 8, 1916

By AIME AIME

PERHAPS the most interesting paper of the subsidence session on Monday morning was that by Roland D. Parks entitled "Yieldable Metal Props for Underground Support." This paper described the development of a telescoping prop made from two pieces of pipe. The lower and larger in diameter has cast in it a soft metallic alloy which is slowly extruded through an orifice in the upper and smaller piece of pipe. In this way, the length of the prop decreases gradually as the load from the roof increases. The stress-strain diagram for these props, as tested in the laboratory, is almost ideal, and can be duplicated satisfactorily in successive tests. They have not yet been tested underground. Another paper of much interest was presented by Prof. P. B. Bucky. It is an addition to his series on structural models as applied to mining and was entitled "Effect of Approximately Vertical Cracks in the Behavior of Hori¬zontally Lying Roof Strata." It was illustrated by motion pictures of a model under test. After explaining the un¬derlying theory, the apparatus and the mode of testing, Prof. Bucky set forth the effect of vertical cracks in a mine roof, as follows: (a) the wider the crack, the weaker the roof; (b) where the sides of the crack are in juxtaposition, there is little weakening of the roof; (c) grouting cracks whose sides are not in contact restores the strength of the roof until it may be as strong as, or stronger than the uncracked roof. Small paper props helped sustain the roof. Both the nature of the material and its bonding affect its behavior under stress.

Jan 1, 1933

By Thomas L. Kesler

The Cartersville mining district, 35 miles northwest of Atlanta, Ga, has been of varying but continuous importance in the southern mineral industry during the past century. Noted chiefly for its production of brown iron ore, manganese oxide ores, barite, sienna, and magnesian limestone, the district and its environs have produced brick and tile clays, slate, gold, bauxite, and graphitic schist. Minor deposits of serpentine, sericite schist, copper ore, and red iron oxide have been prospected. The obvious deposits of brown iron ore, together with some associated specular hematite, were mined out years ago, although a little ore was left in the workings. Moderately steady production of sienna reached a peak about 1930, then declined rapidly. Manganese mining passed through a relatively active period from the World War to 1931, but has subsided to a small but rather constant output for the Birmingham market. However, the White Manganese Corporation has prepared for possible increased production by constructing a new washer capable of handling about 300 tons of ore per day. Principal activity in the district proper has centered for some years in the production of barite and magnesian limestone. General Geology Geologic relations of the ore deposits of this district are more or less similar to those of many Appalachian districts. The lowermost Cambrian formation, heretofore called Weisnerl in this region, supposedly partly or. wholly equivalent to the Erwin and Hesse quartzites as recognized to the northeast, is overlain conformably by the Shady† formation, also of Lower. Cambrian age. In the Cartersville district, the sedimentary rocks of these formations were folded with increasing intensity eastward, and were recrystallized.

Jan 1, 1941

By Thomas L. Kesler

The Cartersville mining district, 35 miles northwest of Atlanta, Ga, has been of varying but continuous importance in the southern mineral industry during the past century. Noted chiefly for its production of brown iron ore, manganese oxide ores, barite, sienna, and magnesian limestone, the district and its environs have produced brick and tile clays, slate, gold, bauxite, and graphitic schist. Minor deposits of serpentine, sericite schist, copper ore, and red iron oxide have been prospected. The obvious deposits of brown iron ore, together with some associated specular hematite, were mined out years ago, although a little ore was left in the workings. Moderately steady production of sienna reached a peak about 1930, then declined rapidly. Manganese mining passed through a relatively active period from the World War to 1931, but has subsided to a small but rather constant output for the Birmingham market. However, the White Manganese Corporation has prepared for possible increased production by constructing a new washer capable of handling about 300 tons of ore per day. Principal activity in the district proper has centered for some years in the production of barite and magnesian limestone. General Geology Geologic relations of the ore deposits of this district are more or less similar to those of many Appalachian districts. The lowermost Cambrian formation, heretofore called Weisnerl in this region, supposedly partly or. wholly equivalent to the Erwin and Hesse quartzites as recognized to the northeast, is overlain conformably by the Shady† formation, also of Lower. Cambrian age. In the Cartersville district, the sedimentary rocks of these formations were folded with increasing intensity eastward, and were recrystallized.

Jan 1, 1941

By T. Prof. Ph. D. Egleston

(Read at the Amenia Meeting, October, 1877.) THE copper-bearing rocks of Lake Superior are composed of a series of metamorphic rocks, comprised under the names of amygdaloid and conglomerate, in which the copper and silver found with them are pseudomorphs. These rocks, generally, have well-defined walls which cause them to separate easily. Generally, the country rock is sterile, but it occasionally rises into the copper-bearing rock, and then carries copper. Usually, the amygdaloids carry copper, and the greenstones or melaphyres which encase them do not. There is a very generally received opinion that the copper in these beds occurs in shoots. This does not appear to be proved, though the opinion seems to have some foundation from the experience of the Calumet & Hecla Mine, where a body of poor rock has been left, which, on the mine map, shows a general direction. The theory may be true of that individual mine, but too little work has been done in the other mines to draw any decided conclusion. The copper is very unequally disseminated in the rock, if any given piece be taken as an example, but, if the whole copper-bearing series be considered, its distribution is uniform. It may prove that there are certain directions in which the copper has been deposited more abundantly than in others, and these may be found to correspond with certain geological causes, but up to the present time the knowledge gained is not sufficient to warrant any general conclusion. These rocks are supplemented by a series of true fissure veins, of which there are several systems, making the amount of native copper very large. Unfortunately, except in the fissure veins, known as "mass-mines," the copper is so scattered through the rock, and is in such a fine state of division, that, although it is not always difficult to mine, it is always difficult to dress it sufficiently too make it pay. The metal is so uniformly distributed through these copper-bearing rocks that detached pieces, called " float," are found in digging on almost any land in the country. These pieces vary from very small fragments, weighing not more than a few ounces,, up to many pounds. III one instance, in making an excavation for a cellar of a

Jan 1, 1878