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AS you have been able to observe, I have up to the present demonstrated as, well as I knew how in writing the art of casting- and the methods of making moulds and of baking them; then the arrangements of the furnaces for melting the materials, including those made for melting by reverberation of flames or with bellows and charcoal, and the hearth, basket, ladle, and other similar instruments customary in such operations. Now I wish to show you how to bring to their conclusion the works for which these instruments are made, and show

Jan 1, 1942

ALTHOUGH it might seem more fitting to discuss this subject in the Ninth Book in connection with the smelting of iron where I had thought to treat of it in detail, this process of making steel appears to be almost a branch of the above chapter on iron itself; hence I did not wish to separate these two so far that they might seem to be [18v] different things. Therefore I wish to write of it here and to tell you that steel is nothing other than iron, well purified by means of art and given a more perfect elemental mixture and quality by the great decoction of the fire than it had before. By the attraction of some suitable substances in the things that are added to it, its natural dryness is mollified by a certain amount of moisture and it becomes whiter and more dense so that it seems almost to have been removed from its original nature. Finally, when its pores have been well dilated and softened by the strong fire and the heat has been driven out of them by the violence of the coldness of the

Jan 1, 1942

THE assay of all metal ores is made by means of fusion and they are brought to their fineness in the same way as if they were a large quantity. However, I have told you of lead, tin, copper, and iron in their own places, that they are smelted in order to obtain a good assay so that one may know from its weight whether the quantity justifies the expense. This is their assay, for it does not matter whether it be done with great exactness. But the eye is turned with much more care to the assaying of silver and gold, since they are things of value, and one tries to have a more exact knowledge of them. Thus, when you have found the mountain and the vein of ore in it, and have also uncovered it or extracted it from the mine, it is necessary to make an assay of it, for though it is often apparent to the experts what kind of metal it contains, nevertheless they do not know for sure what virtues or evilness it may have unless the light of the assay itself shows them. Therefore it is necessary to extract a quantity in some way that is as free from rock and as good as possible. To a part of this, without any addition, a smelting fire must be applied in order to see whether it can be smelted easily. If it does not smelt by itself, you must consider and try to understand what causes this, for many times it comes from the rock which accompanies it and which contains much dryness and earthiness. I do not believe that one can know this with other judgment than by experiment with powerful and strong fires. Therefore, if the efforts of ordinary methods do not succeed, it is necessary to try to soften them by means of the company of fusible things-now with marble, now with ground glass, now with lead, galena,* or litharge from lead, or with iron scale, or else with the slag of other ores. With small operations even borax, saltpeter, or ochre is used and similar things, as I shall tell you in detail in the discussion of the preparation of ores for smelting. In short, try to see whether they can be overcome by adjustment of the fires or by virtue of the means

Jan 1, 1942

IN addition to the gold and silver that b drawn, a certain kind is also prepared that is called spun; not that it is spun as the word says, but because a linen thread is covered with it so that it seems a spun thing, and it is called spun silver or gold. To make this, a desired quantity of fine cupeled silver is taken-the batch used is customarily [I4I] fifteen pounds. A square bar is made with this, a braccio or more long. Then the quantity of gold that you wish to put on is taken, that is, a ducat for every pound, and of this another bar is made, sufficiently thin, long, and wide exactly to cover on one side the

Jan 1, 1942

ALL the ores of any kind whatsoever, even though they be semiminerals and may be perfect in their qualities, have to be recognized by experienced and good sorters. These men must have a detailed as well as a general experience of the metals so that in this first preparation, which is most important, they may know how to distinguish the good from the bad, and to know what is rock and what is ore. They must use patience in this, breaking and cutting and king the ore from the earth. They must separate the good ore from the bad, avoiding as far as possible every occasion for poisoning it by traces of other ores, evil stones, or other things inimical to its nature. Finally, with the judgment of the eye and with tools, and, in the end, by roasting it with fire and then quenching it with water, or by washing and re-washing it, the ore must be made as pure as possible in order to join it better with the companions that seem to be the most beneficial for its needs. Ores would be useless stones without smelting. Therefore, when it is certain that such ores are of divers elemental mixtures, aid must be given to each one according to the evil ingredients [47v] that harm it. But because such evil qualities are things that are often not apparent to the eye, such as too great a burning, or too much earthiness so that when they are alone the fire burns these ores before it melts them, it is necessary to temper them with other materials. To do this it is necessary to have the ability

Jan 1, 1942

YOU must know, my Messer Bernardino, that all things in this world made by art or produced by Nature are made only for their own specific purpose. If there should be any that perchance should fail therein, they would be useless and imperfect, and those are in a state of imperfection that should have it and have not yet arrived at it. Thus, in short, when you have dug out the ore with so much labor and extracted the metals, when you have made from copper (in addition to other works) guns that are ready for military service and have then put them on

Jan 1, 1942

AS I told you in the chapter on salts, saltpeter is a mixture composed of many substances extracted with fire- and water from arid and manurial soils, from that growth which exudes from new walls or from that loosened soil that is found in tombs or uninhabited caves where the rain cannot enter. It is my belief that it is engendered in these soils from an airy moisture that is drunk in and absorbed by the earthy dryness. Considering its effects, I do not know how to decide and say exactly what the nature of saltpeter is. The learned and very wise physicians find it salty and with a subtle sharpness both in taste and in their medical experiments. Considering its strong biting qualities, they decide to say that it is of a hot and dry nature; on the other hand when they see that it is engendered from the air and that when touched by fire it becomes inflammable and vaporous, and rises with a fearful impetus when mixed in powder for military guns, it manifestly shows itself to be of a hot and moist airy nature. And then when they see that it is shining and transparent with whiteness and is fusible in every fire in a manner corresponding to a thing of a watery nature, and since it. is heavy, it seems that it can be said to be watery in nature. To this is added the experience of touch and of the great cooling action which it has on water in summertime when wine is to be cooled, and since it crushes and breaks with but little pressure, it might be thought to be earthy in nature; especially when it is seen to change into a hard, white stone when burned with an equal amount of sulphur. Thus it seems that every one of the elemental qualities is predominant in it. Now the ancients called this, or a similar thing, nitrum. [150] Pliny, in Book XXXI of his Natural History, has said that it was a thing not much different from salt, that doctors do not seem to have yet known its nature, that it is found in various places, and that the best is found in Macedonia. But among the moderns and especially in our regions, it is not known today what it is that Pliny and other writers refer -to, since according to the aforesaid Pliny and other ancient writers it is a natural mineral. Some say that in place of, the natural kind the artificial will serve for the same medicinal purposes, since it has the same nature and is perhaps more powerful.

Jan 1, 1942

BECAUSE gold is a compound mineral praised by philosophers and all wise men as being of the highest perfection among all mixed minerals, and because of its great beauty, it is the universal opinion that it possesses extraordinary powers which are beneficial to man. For this reason it is the thing esteemed most highly in this world, after living creatures. Hence, I, too, in order to honor it, wish to begin by speaking of it now rather than of any of the other metals, and I wish in particular to tell you of its generation and of its most obvious qualities, for, although it is a metal very widely known and one that is desired and sought after by all kinds of persons, I know of few who take the trouble to find out what its substance or natural form may be. But, in order that you too may not be one of those who know it only by name or by the appearance that it shows outwardly to us, I tell you that its original and peculiar materials are none other than elemental sub¬stances, with the quantity and quality of each proportioned equally one to the other and very finely purified. From this union of elements which are of equal force there is born a pleasing and perfect elemental mixture,* and then after fermentation and decoction the elements finally become

Jan 1, 1942

I SHALL proceed in this chapter to tell you about lead. Because this metal is overabundant in wateriness, and also because it has its other substances in poor elemental mixture, it is highly impure. It is called an imperfect, leprous, and little-fixed metal, which it clearly shows itself to be because of the ease of liquefying it and because it is easily converted largely into a dross that is almost earthy and also because of the stain that it leaves when it rubs against anything. Nevertheless, when we consider its effects, we judge it to be a metal that we are greatly indebted to. Even though Nature in creating us has put into our souls such a thirst and desire

Jan 1, 1942

A GREAT and incomparable speculation is whether the discovery of A compounding the powder used for guns came to its first inventor from the demons or by chance. With this invention he certainly far surpassed all men of every age from the creation of the world up to that day when it was announced by him-men so very learned, indeed like angels and of divine intellect, powerful in every knowledge and power. These had not only revived-arts and sciences and discovered new ones with their intellects, but they had information about all natural

Jan 1, 1942

I AM sure you know that it is necessary to draw the gold into wire in order to make gold cloth, gold embroidery, or gold filigree work. Just as it is beaten to form leaf for ornamenting pictures, so also can gold be drawn easily. The same is done with silver and tin, and I believe it could also be done with iron, copper, and brass. Although brass is not so

Jan 1, 1942

HAVING previously shown you how ores are found and mined, and also how they are prepared and disposed for smelting, and then how the blast furnaces and other furnaces are made for purging their earthiness, all this would be as nothing if I did not proceed to show you the method of smelting them. Therefore, in the present chapter I wish to show you how you must proceed in this very important operation, telling you all I have seen and also how much work with this kind of blast furnace I have done or directed. For this reason I tell you first to take by weight or measure the quantity of ore that you wish to smelt and, particularly if it is a kind that contains silver, break it into small pieces about the size of [52v] beans. If the ore had previously needed evaporation by fire or cleaning by washing, you will have had this done well and have had it properly prepared by a master sorter or others. A layer of this is arranged on a bed of planks, bricks, or flat stones in front of the blast furnace and its companion is placed on top, then a quarter part of galena or a third if you can obtain it. Then an equal part of crushed iron slag or slag from the same or different ore is added. These materials are spread in layers one above the other. When the blast furnace has been constructed as taught above, correct in all its parts, and is full of well-kindled burning charcoal, then fill it up with charcoal and admit water to the bellows machine. When you see that it is well kindled again from this wind and that the flames begin to come out forcefully on top, work it down with a little rake and fill it up again. Then the pannier is filled with new charcoal, the blast furnace heaped full, and another basketful of the said composition of ore is also put on top. Proceed in this way, continually adding charcoal and ore as long as you have any, or as long as you wish to keep up the work, maintaining the blast furnace always full, or continuing in this way until the bottom of the blast furnace is filled with melted materials. Decide this by judgment, or by seeing through the mouth of the tuyère where the wind of the bellows enters that they are level with this. Then with an iron tool open the hole that was left as an outlet in front of the blast furnace and allow all the metal with its slag to run out. These two things, flowing through the chan-

Jan 1, 1942

SINCE I told you in the preceding chapter how the potter's art is followed in practice, now in this following one I wish to tell you how mortar* and bricks are made, and how and to what purpose they were discovered, although I know you will answer that you know it, inasmuch as it is an art known not only to skillful men but also to the unskilled ones by whom it is practiced, and that bricks and mortar were made and always will be made for the purpose of building. This I admit, but probably everyone does not know it as you do, and you perhaps, do not know its beginnings, although I remember having told you of them. Wishing to repeat it better now I shall begin with long ago, so that both you and I may be better satisfied. Therefore I tell you that you should know that all the arts that men practice in the world have been learned by them either through the process of reasoning from the principles of natural phenomena, from the actions of animals, by chance, or when forced either by some necessity or

Jan 1, 1942

I HAVE already described to you many kinds of fusions and fires and still have many to describe if1 am to guide you, as I intend, among the operations of these processes. In all these, quantities of charcoal and various kinds of it must be handled continually and it therefore seems to me necessary to tell something about charcoal for aiding you in these processes. Without it artificers could scarcely bring their works to an end, because it is the food that nourishes the fire both for smelting and for softening the metals, or for calcining or drying things out. [61] It is a very powerful means and not only is its fire used for many more works than other fires, but it is also essential. Although there are many other things that make fire and would make it, I do not know of any that are better adapted for this purpose, or that can be more easily procured in large quantities, than wood and charcoal. For, as you can see, very great forests are found which make one think

Jan 1, 1942

SMELTING is a thing essential to the end for which ores are sought, for without it every ore is a useless stone. This art is especially needed by those who, drawn on by hope, have mined ores in large quantities with great expense and effort. For this reason it is worth while to use one's wits and, if ordinary ways should not suffice, to consider how to find new ways of smelting the ores in order to extract the metals and to purge them of their earthiness. For this reason I shall now tell you of blast and other furnaces, and I shall also tell you, in order that you may be warned, that whoever wishes to do this well must first look at the nature and quality of the ore. You will already have had enlightenment on this from the experiments on assaying and with this as guiding star it is necessary to make ingenious structures and to provide for-the other needs as necessary, for one ore requires iron and another lead. Since I have already spoken of these in their own places on their ores, it is not necessary at present that I repeat, but here I wish to speak only of copper ore as a companion of silver and gold, and of where art is most required and where difficulties chiefly appear. For these things a machine must be built that is convenient to a good water supply in order to continue the work more easily. Its wheels should be large and easily moved, constructed in such a way that the force of the water lifts the bellows that are placed at the tuyère to direct the blast inside the furnaces that are to smelt the ores. For this, attention must first be given to the site of the machine, the quantity of water, and its fall; then to the wood for building the machine and for making charcoal; then to the stones that are used for the blast furnaces; then to the provision of good bellows that are wide, long, and full in their sides and made of cloth, for the better these are, the more they quicken the power of the charcoal

Jan 1, 1942

VITRIOL is likewise a mineral substance from whose exhalation, according to the opinion of some, are generated and produced the elemental materials or substances which produce metals, particularly gold. It is not a fumosity from metal nor is it a thing from which metal is extracted in any manner, although it shows in certain ways that it is not entirely without metal since it produces a certain trace of it. It is a thing that has a great resemblance to alum; it has a biting substance, is sharp to the taste and pungent to the tongue, and has an astringent nature. It dissolves in water and every damp place in a short time. They say that the reason for this lies, as with every other mineral, in its poorly joined watery substances. Nor does this mean that it does not contain much earthiness; on the contrary it seems to me that there are in it five. [2.9v] different participating qualities, that is, the property of sulphur, the action of alum, the corrosion of niter or of salt, and from the metals, the properties of copper and of iron. Its ore is mined in the valleys of mountains in wild but not too rugged places. It is more a gray earth or soft dead rock than a hard stone. It always has in it some yellow and green spots or near it is some sulphur mineral, either large or small.. When it is beneath the earth it exhales a sharp and very strong foul odor of scorching similar to that of sulphur. And the waters that rise where it is are all foul, earthy, and thick, some boiling with great fumes and others without great fumes, so that they surely appear to be infernal products in many places where there is a large quantity of it. After you have excavated and sorted well the quantity you wish, the ore must be put in a heap in open airy places before the vitriol can be extracted from this soil or ore, however you wish to call it. And it is left thus exposed to the weathering of the rains, the cold, and the sun for five or six months. It must be turned several times in order to bring to the surface that which was underneath; and always when this is done it is broken small with the eye of a mattock so that it is better heated and baked throughout. When it has been brought to this point it is covered over by a shed built above it or it is carried under a hut that has already been made. Here it is left to stand for another six or eight months before it is worked.

Jan 1, 1942

By D. S. Yantek, C. B. Brown

The mining industry is beginning to implement lithiumion batteries (LIBs) to power mine utility vehicles (MUVs) and rubber-tired mantrips (RTMs). However, the ability of LIBs to withstand the harsh conditions for these applications has not been rigorously evaluated. Concerns with the use of LIBs in the mining environment will be discussed including the effects of mechanical shock and vibration, temperature extremes, and moisture exposure. This paper will discuss adverse effects of the mining environment on LIBs and provide an overview of scientific gaps associated with the environmental susceptibility of LIBs used on MUVs and RTMs.

Feb 1, 2024

By Fausto Valdeavellano

El presente trabajo describe la importancia de la necesidad de acuerdos y voluntades para alcanzar el desarrollo minero. Para ello, el texto establece algunas políticas de concertación pragmática-realizadora en líneas críticas de este desarrollo. Así también se señalan algunos elementos claves de conceptualización, en función al desarrollo nacional integrado y se proponen mecanismos para concentar el diálogo y la acción entre los profesionales involucrados como el Consejo Nacional de Desarrollo Minero, la Asociación Pro Desarrollo Minero, el Servicio de Información y análisis y el Informe Minero anual.

Nov 8, 1984

By Russel Santillana

El presente texto revisa el proceso de concesión y el concepto de distrito minero como una zona geográfica que reúne las condiciones de formación tectónica para considerarse una zona metalogenética. En este sentido, el Estado es quien debe reformar el sistema de concesiones mineras para poder así conocer y disponer de sus recursos minerales en el menor tiempo posible. De otro lado, las concesiones de exploración son siempre mayores que las de explotación -en tanto se conocen los límites determinados por la Ley General de Minería. Asimismo, el nuevo sistema de concesiones deberá involucrar al desarrolllo de programas de exploraciones para que estos conduzcan a una explotación racional de las concesiones mineras del país.

Mar 1, 1977

By J. Gutiérrez

"La conciliacíón minera es la comparación entre un ítem estimado (un modelo de recursos, de reservas, programa de producción de concentrados, etc.) y un ítem medido o procesado (mineral in situ, mineral extraído, concentrados producidos, etc.). Antes de entrar de lleno al proceso de conciliación es necesario mostrar las definiciones utilizadas en Fortuna Silver Mines. En ese sentido, el presente texto señala los logros más importantes dentro de la implementación de un proceso corporativo de conciliación en dos operaciones subterráneas del Perú y México. En el primero, tenemos el yacimiento polimetálico y en el segundo; el yacimiento de alta ley en plata y oro. De otro lado, se plantea evaluar los problemas más comunes de datos de entrada, salida e índices dentro de la conciliación. "

Feb 1, 2016