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By Sylvain Pirson

THE number of seismograph field crews employed in the active survey of potential oil territories is still on the increase, owing to the ever pending threat of a shortage in the supply of crude oil. It is to be expected that for years to come the seismograph will be responsible for discovering many new oil fields, both in wildcat territories and in deeper formations, and that the seismographic campaign will go on unabated. Yet improvements in instrumental design, in the field and interpreta-tive techniques, are brought about year after year, and lead to the reshooting of areas many times surveyed previously. Notwithstanding the experience gained by the past eight years of active work in reflection seismographic surveys, the results given by this method of mapping deep formations have in many instances been at variance with the information subsequently obtained by the drill. To overcome this shortcoming, geophysicists have used closer spacing of the shot points and closer control of the depth points. The method dis-cussed here is being used actively in the Mid-Continent region and endeav-ors to reduce the interpretation work to a mere mechanical technique, leaving as little as possible to the opinion of the interpreter.

Jan 1, 1937

By T. R. Scott

The acid pressure leaching of zinc-lead flotation concentrates from the McArthur River deposit, Northern Territory, Australia, has been studied in a three-stage, continuous, co-current system, using titanium reactors of 6 gal capacity. The starting pulp contained 2.7 lb solids per gal of synthetic spent electrolyte and the final liquors contained 120-125 gpl Zn. Parameters investigated included temperature (95-120°C), oxygen pressure (30-100 psi), acid addition (80-130% of theoretical), and leaching time (35-65 min per stage). Technical factors studied included mixing and pumping of feed, agitation, settling and washing and control mechanisms. The chemistry of liquor impurities, of scale formation in autoclaves and of lead jarosites in residues was studied in some detail. Results indicated that 90-93% zinc recovery could be obtained with a "low- acid" process, using 113°C and 70 psig with oxygen as the favored operating conditions. Residues contained 16-18% elemental sulphur and 15% lead, together with unreacted pyrite and gangue minerals. Pelletizing of residues was impracticable, and alternative suggestions for the recovery of lead, sulphur and silver are discussed. Preliminary estimates for plant and operating costs are given and enable some comparison to be made with conventional procedures.

Jan 1, 1973

By James G. Blaine, David A. Summers, L. John Tyler

There has been a considerable amount of research developed which shows that the close contour cutting of an excavation prior to removal of the central core will increase ground stability while concommitantly, reducing the number and size of blastholes required to create the excavation. To date, the industrial development of this technique has however, centered on the development of equipment based on simple cutter movement and mechanical rock cutting. The advent of reliable field operable high pressure waterjet cutting equipment with the very low reactive force required to hold the head in position has opened the way for a much smaller and more manueverable system. The advent of small, micro-computers allows the programming of accurate profiles for cutting tools on excavation equipment. The combination of these two technologies will allow the generation of complex as well as simple, excavation profiles and lead to the potential pre-support of the opening before major excavation is completed. A brief description of the necessary components and their functions is encorporated in the initial prototype design as given.

Jan 1, 1984

By H. T. Heard

An engineer's wife is more concerned with stores than stopes, and she answers the question-can you get rich overseas?

Jan 7, 1951

By V. D. Leary, O&apos

Contracts between The Anaconda Co. and its miners at Butte, Mont., are not contracts in the true sense of the word. They are weekly verbal agreements which tacitly admit that the company, on the one hand, will supply the place, the tools, the material, and the opportunity and that the miners, on the other hand, will supply such effective labor that both parties will profit from the arrangement. Prices are seldom discussed at the time of hiring. The miner, in effect, is hired for a definite working place, as a contract miner, and if satisfied, tries to earn as much as he can. If he is not satisfied three courses are open to him: he can quit, he can ask for a change, or he can discuss prices or improved working conditions with the mine superintendent. This rather informal arrangement is due to conditions that are particular to Butte

Jan 2, 1961

By W. Fletcher, R. C. Schenk

This paper outlines a well proven and highly successful approach for eliminating many of the problem and frustrations often experienced in plant startup. The approach was developed over a period of 25 years during which some 90 plants were commissioned. This paper discusses startup from the contractor’s perspective and highlights the requirement for detailed startup planning, careful coordination during the project final construction phase, and thorough checkout of equipment prior to introduction of feed. Performance of these services has demonstrated a valuable opportunity exists for the contractor to assist in the training of the plant operating personnel.

Jan 1, 1983

By Charles E. Carlsen

Underground construction involves all the legal problems common to the construction industry and adds a nice little group of its own. Elements which will ultimately affect contractor-owner relationship commence to form almost as soon as the owner conceives of the project. A few of these with emphasis on their application to underground construction will be mentioned. (1) During the design stage, determination must be made as to whether the specifications will be general or restrictive. To what extent will the operations of the contractor be controlled? Can he proceed to use any method of tunnel excavation that he desires and only be responsible for the end result or will specific excavation procedures be required? Can explosives be used? Under what restrictions? Are tunnel supports required? How long can the crown behind the heading remain unsupported? What kind of supports are required? What restrictions on the placement of tunnel-lining concrete will be required? Each of you could extend this list for many pages but these illustrations are indicative of decisions that must be made in advance of bidding, and the ultimate decision on each question can have a significant effect on the legal relationships that exist between the contractor and the owner. The owner wants a good job at a fair price. On the other hand, nothing is worse than having a tunnel collapse during the construction period, with its extra costs, loss of life, and delay to the entire project. If the specifications are too restrictive, increased costs of performance are bound to occur. Owners save tremendous amounts of money by obtaining a contractor who has been ingenious in devising the most economical construction procedure. Care must be taken in drafting the specifications so that the benefits of such ingenuity will not be lost. (2) HOW is the contract to be awarded? Will there be open bidding, a restricted list of bidders, or will there be negotiations with a comparatively few contractors? If it is a government project, whether Federal, state, or

Jan 1, 1970

By Oscar Weiss

STILFONTEIN and surrounding areas gave negative results in all prospecting attempts since about 1904 when Goerz and Co., a forerunner of Union Corporation Ltd., first drilled in the region and on the farm Stilfontein. Subsequent efforts by African and European Investments Co. and Anglo American Corp. from 1934-37 were completely unsuccessful. Holes drilled by these companies on the farms Rietfontein, Hessie, and Palmietfontein were stopped in the Lower Witwatersrand system without finding payable reefs.

Jan 10, 1951

By G. E. Karantzavelos

Although jigging has been the subject of extensive studies, evaluation of the effect of various jigging factors on the efficiency of separation has been less comprehensive. The basic factors that affect jigging separation are reviewed, a mathematical model describing jigging kinetics is presented, and attention is focussed on the mechanisms of the stratification process. The parameters of the kinetic model (the Wei- bull distribution function) are redefined in a gravity concentration technological sense, and their values are estimated for a wide range of jigging conditions. Several mathematical relationships (regression models) are also formulated which express the dependence of total time required for the complete stratifaction of mineral particles on the operating jigging variables.

Jan 1, 1984

By Gordon S. Duncan

(New York Meeting, February, 1912 THE U. S. Geological Survey, I believe, has almost completed a study of the Harney Peak quadrangle, preliminary to the publication of a report on that, district. As I was engaged for some months on an investigation of the mode of occurrence of the ore-bearing formation in this area, it has seemed to me timely to make public the results of my study, as a contribution to the consideration of this subject. It seems scarcely necessary to describe the locality and general geology of the Black hills of South Dakota, for since 1846 many have contributed information concerning this region, some of the reports bearing such well-known names as those of Walter P. Jenney, Henry Newton, S. F. Emmons, and C. R. Van Hise, while we have only to glance at Bulletin No. 4 of the South Dakota School of Mines, in which Prof. C. C. O'Harra, of that institution, has given us a bibliography of contributions to the geography and geology of the section, to find that other well-known men have studied the district, and have given us the benefit of their researches. The U. S. Geological Survey has made geological maps of nearly the whole of the Black hills, the only quadrangle yet to be completed being, as stated, the Harney Peak district. During the late summer and autnmn of 1910, it was my lot to examine and report. on a considerable area in this neighborhood, which once had been prospected, and in some cases exploited, for tin. This paper gives an account of certain geological phenomena, noted at that time, which greatly influenced my conclnsions. The predominating formation of the district is pre-Cambrian, represented by a highly-cleaved mica-schist, usually very garnetiferous, and sometimes hornblendic. Rising like an island from the surrounding schist is a large mass of granite, known as

Jul 1, 1912

By W. R. Barclay

IN MY general contact with industry I have become more and more impressed with the need for the closest possible co-operation between engineers and metallurgists, and particularly with the need for appreciation of the work that each group is doing to assist the other. Also, I am convinced that from time to time it. is vitally important to a true perspective of human progress in all its branches, and certainly a salutary corrective of undue optimism and pessimism to endeavor to carry the mind hack over certain periods in the advance of technical knowledge, and form some kind of broad estimate of what has been accomplished in the application of science to industry in the fields with which we, as individuals or groups, may for the time being be concerned. We cannot without some appreciable mental effort realize what our forerunners have dine For us. If the young engineer or metallurgist entering industry today could be suddenly transported to a quarter of a century ago, and be compelled to work with the materials then available and within the limitations of knowledge then attained, he would, on his return to present-day life, have a much greater appreciation of what has been accomplished before lie arrived on the scene, and, what is even more important, a far more acute sense of its inherent value to his profession. I propose here merely to indulge in a general summary of the subject of improved engineering metals and alloys rather than in details, and to deal exclusively with developments within my own experience.

Jan 1, 1938

By H. M. Howe, W. E. C. Eustis

THE processes which form the Subject of this paper have been experimented on in the laboratory of W. E. C. Eustis, but have not passed beyond the experimental stage. The first is the invention of Mr. J. L. Thomson, of Capelton, Quebec, Canada, the others have been invented by the writers. THOMSON'S PROCESS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF NICKEL This consists essentially in first rendering the nickel magnetic, and then separating it from the materials. with which it is mechanically

Jan 1, 1882

By A. Eilers

COMPOSITION OF CHARGES AND CONSUMPTION OF FUEL AT VARIOUS WORKS. A MARKED peculiarity of most of the smelting-works of the Far West is the looseness with which accounts of the operations are kept. Indeed, probably over half of the works do not keep any detailed accounts at all, the yearly gross statement of profit or loss being considered sufficient for all purposes. The reasons for this must apparently be sought in the as yet unsettled state of all business relations, and in the deplorable fact that only in isolated cases educated metallurgists are in charge of the smelting-works. Continual and regular assays of the ores, by-products, and slags, are almost unknown, so that it is impracticable to ascertain, even approximately, the losses in the smelting processes. Of cases where regular accounts are kept of the quantities of ore smelted, of the composition of charges, and of the fuel consumed, I know only two or three. Under these circumstances it is extremely difficult to collect figures which cover the operations for a considerable length of time, and which are so valuable for the metallurgist, who wishes to get an insight into the economy of smelting operations, as shown by practice. Figures obtained by personal observation, which can of course cover only the brief space of the visit of the travelling metallurgist, must, therefore, be made to replace the more valuable data. The writer has had occasion, during the last and the preceding summer, to visit the larger number of the Western lead-smelting works, and offers, in the following pages, such data relating to the economy of lead-smelting in the blast furnace at various works, as he has been able to obtain. The only object in doing so is to place these figures on record, so that they may be from time to time supplemented with other data, which are now wanting. I. EUREKA CONSOLIDATED COMPANY'S SMELTING-WORKS. These works smelt the ores from the mines of the same company on Ruby Hill, Eureka, Nevada. The supply is almost unlimited,

Jan 1, 1873

*J. H. Brennan, Union Carbide Metals Company, Niagara Falls, N. Y. S. B. Casey, Jr., Swindell-Dressier Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa. C. M. Cosman, Vanadium Corporation of America, New York, N. Y. H. E. Dunn, Vanadium Corporation of America, New York, N. Y. C. S. Finney, Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates, Boston, Mass. M. O. Holowaty, Inland Steel Company, East Chicago, Ind. John Mitchell, Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates, Boston, Mass. Leo F. Reinarts, Armco Steel Corporation, Middletown, Ohio H. E. Rowan, Dwight-Lloyd Division, McDowell Company, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio R. W. Shearman, The Metallurgical Society of AIME, New York, N. Y. C. M. Squarcy, Inland Steel Company, East Chicago, Ind. F. Weston Starratt, The Metallurgical Society of AIME, New York, N. Y. A. B. Wilder, National Tube Division, United States Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa. *Deceased

Jan 1, 1961

By Harrison R. Cooper

Safety considerations apply from two perspectives in conducting shaft inspections for production and service hoists. The first is to conduct the task more effectively while minimizing the possibility that shaft deterioration may go undetected. The second is to increase security and efficiency of the inspection team in fulfilling its duties.

Jan 11, 1979

By D. N. Sutherland

The cassiterite flotation circuit at the Renison concentrator has operated with increasing levels of automatic control since late 1981. The circuit operates at high levels of recycle which make it difficult to control manually so that the initial control strategy was to stabilize the mass flows around the circuit prior to circuit optimization. Control of the air supplies to the flotation banks was introduced to achieve this stabilization and initial results indicated that some success has been achieved, as indicated by improvements in the overall circuit performance and reduction in the stream variabilities. These improvements were gained through control of the major recycle to the roughing stage which dominates the circuit behaviour. Feed-forward control of collector addition has also been introduced successfully, but attempts to control the final concentrate grade have been less satisfactory. This work is continuing and the objective of current activity is to include the three cleaning stages in an overall circuit control scheme as a first phase of metallurgical optimization of the operation.

Jan 1, 1984

By John M. Hird

Control of artesian ground water has played an important role in the development of Texas Gulf Sulphur's phosphate mining venture in eastern North Carolina. To facilitate dry mining methods, 60 million gpd of fresh water is pumped through wells from a limestone aquifer underlying the uniform flat-lying ore section. Hydrologic information revealed from pumping tests has been used in successfully developing a depressurizing system. Computer assistance is used to plan well patterns. High volume pumping has lowered water levels in water wells over a large area in the Coastal Plain without detrimental effects on water quality in the aquifer. Cooperative effort between mining firms will be required to control the ground water as new mines are developed in the district. An intricate observation -well system is monitored regularly over the wide area of pumping effect to ensure that gradient reversals have not caused salt water encroachment.

Jan 1, 1972

By H. R. Peterson

The control of autogenous grinding circuits is very similar to the control of conventional grinding circuits. In both circuits the classifier must be operated to achieve the required degree of mineral liberation. Crude ore grade and grinding mill density are important in both circuits. The biggest difference between the control of the two circuits is the pronounced effect that crude ore changes have on autogenous circuits. The importance of crude grade, weight recovery, size and hardness is greatly magnified because the crude ore in the autogenous circuit is also supplying the grinding media. Crude ore sizing is a particularly critical factor in achieving efficient primary autogenous milling. Because of the above, computer control is advantageous for autogenous circuits. Changes in crude ore may necessitate rapid changes in the entire circuit control strategy, and only a computer can facilitate these changes. Also, the techniques of control are very different for conventional and for autogenous grinding. Set-point control is usually satisfactory in conventional circuits, but the multiplicity of varying conditions in an autogenous circuit usually require some type of computer optimizing search routine. Autogenous mills can be separated into two general types. In primary autogenous mills the media is obtained from the mill feed, and in pebble mills the sized pebble media is added separately from the material being ground. PRIMARY AUTOGENOUS MILL CIRCUIT CONTROL - FIGURE 1 Power Draw Primary autogenous mills are usually run at full motor loading so production will be at maximum. Therefore, power draw must be closely controlled; this is done by adjusting feed rate. The versatility of computer control is extremely valuable for power control, especially during starting and stopping. To bring the mill power up as fast as possible at

Jan 1, 1982

By T. S. Spicer, C. C. Wright

A CHARACTERISTIC property of bituminous coal is that upon being heated the coal becomes plastic, evolves volatile gases, and finally solidifies into coke This fundamental characteristic is of utmost importance and is utilized in the production of the high-temperature coke upon which the steel industry is so dependent, but from the standpoint of operation in the domestic underfeed stoker this coking tendency seriously interferes with efficient combustion When the coke formed has too strong a structure, certain difficulties result, such as low rate of burning, slow response to heat demand, and, in extreme cases, extinction of fire The plastic mass prevents uniform distribution of air through the fuel bed and, With strongly coking coals, large dense pieces of coke are produced which have much less reacting surface thin was possessed by the original coal In both ignition and combustion of solid fuels, the extent of the reacting surface is an accelerating factor Poor combustion permits a surplus of fuel to accumulate in the furnace because the rate of feed and the rate of combustion are not in equilibrium, and this produces an unbalanced condition detrimental to continued) automatic service In order to burn strongly coking coals satisfactorily in a conventional stoker during the three requisite types of operation continuous, intermittent and hold-fire, frequent attention is necessary Domestic stokers are defined by the industry as residential stoker heaters that burn 60 lb of coal or less per hour With a few exceptions, these units employ the underfeed principle of combustion in which both air and coal move in the same direction up and through the fuel-bed Domestic combustion equipment has difficulty in meeting the problems presented by the several variations in ash and volatile matter, in ash-clinkering tendencies, in coking properties, and in the particle size of bituminous coals The work of Bituminous Coal Research Inc at Battelle Memorial Institute has shown that, of these, coking characteristics and the clinkering tendencies have the greatest effect upon the operation of the conventional clinkering type of stoker Typical coke formations in a clinkering type of underfeed domestic stoker are illustrated in Fig. I, which shows (A) the ideal fuel bed obtained with a noncoking or free-burning coal, (B) the type of fuel bed formed -with, a coal that produces a weal coke, and (C) the type of fuel bed obtained with a strongly coking coal C is characteristic of the fuel bed developed when the average Pennsylvania bituminous coal is ,burned in an underfeed stoker of conventional type It is apparent from these pictures that the formation of coke trees will seriously interfere with the efficient automatic combustion of Pennsylvania bituminous coals

Jan 1, 1942

By J. W. Snavely

THE part that acceleration plays in starting a belt conveyor and its effect on belt conveyor design are well understood in a general way. Its practical importance is easily overlooked, however, and under some conditions, it is absolutely necessary to give the problem of acceleration detailed study. Most handbooks on conveyor belting design adequately present basic data for the determination of acceleration values. This paper will only attempt to present practical thinking and a convenient method of treatment of acceleration in belt conveyor design. Mathematical Analysis In working out the various problems of conveyor belt acceleration, the starting point, as presented by the handbooks, is the familiar formula of "force of acceleration is equal to the mass times acceleration." By expressing these fundamental quantities in terms of belt conveyor design, it is possible to arrive at the unsuspected conclusion that the acceleration time for horizontal belt conveyors is independent of the load, and instead, dependent upon the belt speed, the type of drive arrangement and drive pulley, and the idler coefficient of friction. The mathematics leading to this conclusion are shown in Table I, which has been prepared to show, this derivation. While at first the conclusion just given may not seem to be reasonable, further reflection indicates that obviously the type of drive pulley and the type of drive do affect materially the tension in the conveyor belt, and thus, as clearly shown, the time of acceleration is dependent upon the factors mentioned. Inasmuch as all of the factors except time are predetermined by the belt conveyor design, it becomes relatively easy to establish the accelerating time and to reduce further this time determination to a simple graph from which the time in seconds can be read directly. Such a graph is given in Fig. 1. The table appearing on Fig. 1 should be explained further. For a given belt speed, the time of acceleration can be expressed as a percentage of the belt speed. The time of acceleration is also dependent on the drive arrangement, and changes in the drive arrangement consequently change the time of acceleration. It further follows that for a given belt speed, the time expressed as a percentage of that belt speed also changes with the type of drive. Obviously then, it becomes possible to graph the percentage of speed for each type of drive against the belt speed and accelerating time, after which, for a given belt speed and type of drive, the time can be read directly in seconds. Two constants were established for Fig. 1, the first one being the limiting of the maximum acceleration tension to 35 pct of the full load operating tension in the belt. The purpose of this is to limit the total tension imposed upon the belt during the acceleration period to 135 pct of the full load operating tension, which is the amount required to start or breakaway the fully loaded belt conveyor from rest. The other constant is the friction factor used for the idler equipment, which has been established as 0.022. For installations where it is necessary to establish the values of acceleration, invariably high grade idler equipment is used, and it has been established from. field experience that 0.022 for the idler friction factor is amply conservative. The use of this friction factor for idlers must be tempered with judgment, of course, for occasions will arise where more power than indicated is required to start, even with the very best of equipment, such as low temperature operations that tend to congeal the grease in the bearings and thus produce additional friction drag. An inspection of the table in Fig. I affords a convenient rule of thumb method for determining the acceleration time, which conveniently can be 5 pct of the belt speed in seconds. The 5 pct of belt speed figure is close to the average for most types of drives. In using Fig. 1 it must be emphasized that it applies accurately to horizontal belt conveyors only.

Jan 1, 1952