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By Eugene P. Pfleider

Research indicates that the cube diamond is a superior stone for drill bits. It can be oriented to combine a long cutting edge with structural strength and high resistance to wear. Test bits set with preferred orientation give double the bit life at astoundingly low diamond loss in comparison to oriented octahedral diamonds.

Jan 10, 1953

By William Y. Holland, Roger H. Cook

In view of the increasingly widespread deterioration of concrete structures as the result of the interaction of the alkalies sodium and potassium released by hydration of portland cement and susceptible rocks and minerals in aggregates, it is believed that a paper summarizing the geographic distribution of these aggregates will be of interest to producers and users of concrete, concrete products, and concrete-making materials.

Jan 10, 1953

By Robert C. Emmett, Donald A. Dahlstrom

FOR many years gravitational classification has been employed as a basic tool in beneficiation of minerals and coal. While improvements have been made to increase efficiency and fields of application, the basic flow pattern has remained relatively unchanged in most gravitational classifiers. Feed slurry is introduced into a settling pool wherein the coarser solids settle against either an upward or horizontal fluid current, or a combination of both, and are withdrawn in a concentrated underflow stream. The finer solids below the classification point possess too low a settling velocity and thus are primarily swept out through a weir overflow by the bulk of the fluid. Because of its simplicity, efficiency, and low power and maintenance costs, gravitational classification finds a wide acceptance for separations in the range of 20 to 325 mesh.

Jan 10, 1953

By C. E. Schwab

A lead-zinc orebody, in fairly strong quartzite and with a dip of 35° to 60°, is block-caved by use of scrams in a stair-step pattern up the ore footwall. Scram linings to handle coarse muck and permit the use of folding scrapers are developed by the use of end-grain wooden blocks to reduce maintenance and keep operating cost to a minimum.

Jan 10, 1953

By James E. Lawver

A SURVEY of Minerals Beneficiation Div. membership indicated genuine interest in automatic process control, but revealed that the average mill is operating with a minimum of self-regulating devices. Apparently, the mill operators are content to continue without controls until the practicality of self-regulating devices is more generally accepted, or, in the opinion of the writer, until automatic controls become a necessity to meet economic demands of product quality and cost. Both to stimulate interest in control, and to solicit publication of technical know-how by members and equipment manufacturers, this paper presents a cross section of control problems in two general categories: (a) Control problems that can usually be solved by reference to the literature, i.e. controls that have proven successful in the mineral or chemical industries; (b) Problems that are troublesome and frequently unsolved due to unavoidable adverse conditions in the mill circuit to be controlled.

Jan 10, 1953

By A. J. W. Headlee

RECENT interest in germanium centers around its use as a semi-conductor of electricity in electronic devices. It is generally believed that germanium transistors, diodes, triodes, photocells, and rectifiers will largely replace the present-day vacuum tubes. The germanium electronic devices are much smaller, lighter, and more resistant to shock, and they require only a small fraction of current required for conventional devices. Hence only a small amount of heat is given off by the equipment. This development will require many times the quantity of germanium now being produced, which in 1948 was approximately 1000 lb1 and was obtained almost entirely from zinc ores in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. No one knows with certainty what the demand will be for germanium by 1956. It may be 40,000 lb.1 Known concentrations in zinc ores are not sufficient to

Jan 10, 1953

By G. A. Vissac

The drying of fine coal involves special techniques, which are discussed and analyzed. Types of dryers employing these techniques are described. Calculations are presented for new methods of deal ing with the entrained dust that is always present in fine coal drying operations.

Jan 10, 1953

WHEN geologists began probing the grayish rock mass, natives of Adams County, Pa., called soapstone, they were paid scant attention. However, the soapstone, at first misidentified as pyrophyllite, was in reality sericite schist, a hydrous aluminum silicate whose chemical analysis resembles pyrophyllite, except that it has a slightly higher iron and potash content. In addition to its grayish color, sericite schist is foliated and has a greasy feeling much like that of talc.

Jan 10, 1953

By Katherine Mather

This paper is an attempt to put together petrographic, physical, and chemical data about the large and varied group of rocks generally called limestones. Results of the properties of these rocks on their performance as concrete aggregates are discussed.

Jan 10, 1953

By H. Carroll Weed

By caving a block into the workings of its open pit and using the block as an ore transfer, the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. has solved a transportation and sizing problem, making possible a great expansion of open-pit methods as applied to Inspiration ore- bodies.

Jan 9, 1953

By William A. Mitchell

AN X-ray diffraction pattern for "calcined cold precipitated ferric oxide" is reproduced diagrammatically along with data for other iron oxides by R. C. Mackenzie.1 This pattern, which shows spacings higher than those for any other form of iron oxide, was obtained from material prepared and photographed at several different times over a period of weeks, but later attempts to reproduce the results were unsuccessful the pattern of hematite being obtained every time.2

Jan 9, 1953

According to the June 27 issue of Business Week, Rep. Kearns (R., Pa.) introduced a bill in Congress along lines suggested by the National Society of Professional Engineers, to amend the Taft-Hartley Act to permit scientific, technical, and professional groups to discuss wages, hours, and working conditions with management-with the protection and support of the federal law. The article reports that the bill is opposed by a loosely knit group of professional and technical unions, the Engineers & Scientists of America. This group wants Taft-Hartley amended to make it an unfair labor practice for employers to discuss collective bargaining matters with professional organizations.

Jan 9, 1953

By D. L. Rainey, E. R. Goter, W. R. Hudspeth

THE area in which spodumene-bearing pegmatites occur extends from Gaffney, S. C., in a northerly direction to Lincolnton, N. C., a distance of about 16 miles. The zone averages 2 miles in width. Interest in this area was first aroused by the discovery of small amounts of cassiterite in the pegmatites and in greissen which occurs on the walls of some of the pegmatites. Attempts were made from 1880 into the 1920's to mine and concentrate cassiterite, but there were no successful operations. In 1935 L. M. Williams became interested in the area and began prospecting by trenching and sinking several small shafts. He gradually gained control of a considerable acreage south of the city of Kings Mountain, N. C. Mr. Williams states that he produced some ore from a shaft which he shipped to the Maywood Chemical Co. in the late 1930's. In 1937 G. H. Chambers of the Foote Mineral Co. visited the area and examined several properties, but the lithium market was too small to support the necessary concentrating plant.

Jan 9, 1953

By C. W. Thompson

The two-way belt conveyor for coal mine service simultaneously carries coal from faces and transports men and supplies into the mine, largely eliminating the necessity for rubber-tired supply and man haulage equipment and the necessity of maintaining additional headings.

Jan 9, 1953

PRACTICAL PROBLEMS AND BASIC PRINCIPLES ranging from ore testing to cost estimation get a working over from top men in the minerals beneficiation field. The Minerals Beneficiation Division developed this symposium for presentation at the 1953 Los Angeles General Meeting to assist the many people who think that having a new plant necessitates a lot of trouble and dismay. The papers and free discussion from the floor give ways and means of approaching a new plant that will relieve the strain on the organization, if adequate attention is put on the program before work begins - that is if thought is given to the program itself, before tackling the actual mill design.

Jan 9, 1953

By Paul M. Tyler

MUCH information concerning pegmatites which was thought to be true a few years ago has been proved false, and what is now actually known about some pegmatites is not true of many others. The erratic and seemingly unpredictable structure and variable composition of this class of mineral deposits has been widely emphasized. Even parts of the same pegmatite body exhibit marked differences in texture, mineral composition, width, and attitude. Constructive geological thinking in respect to pegmatites now aims to establish general laws rather than to stress the confusing diversity of features having no special economic significance.

Jan 9, 1953

By M. A. Matzkin

The Problem: There are no roads and mapping has been inadequate. There isn't a clearing large enough to accommodate a conventional airplane. Entry would consume months, yet the area must be investigated. Sustained communication is impossible except by radio. Cost in time and money for exploration would be exorbitant. . . . . . . . .

Jan 9, 1953

By W. T. Turrall, M. J. Cook

A discussion of modern developments in beneficiation of fine sizes of anthracite, this paper includes a description of the plant flowsheet, an analysis of operating results, and a summary of fundamentals of mineral separation relative to plant operation.

Jan 9, 1953

By Thomas P. Forbath

THE sudden realization that known sulphur reserves amenable to mining by the Frasch hot water process are nearing exhaustion focused attention on widely scattered surface deposits throughout the world. These deposits are not necessarily of lower sulphur content than ores located underneath Louisiana or Texas salt domes which usually aver- age about 30 pct sulphur disseminated in limestone matrix. Their near surface occurrence, however, renders exploitation by the Frasch process impossible. As is well known, the Frasch process depends on the presence of 500 to 1000 ft of overburden and cap rock above the sulphur deposits to permit melting underground sulphur in place by diffusing hot water under pressures of 200 to 600 psig in the formation and raising the molten sulphur to surface by air lift. This process renders possible the production of pure sulphur which is 99.5 pct pure without any subsequent treatment.

Jan 9, 1953

By Samuel H. Dolbear

THE value of a mine is basically dependent on its capacity to yield profits. Since the ore must be mined, treated, and sold, some of it in various future years, there is a risk involved as to future costs, selling price, and working conditions. It cannot be expected that the economic condition existing at the time of valuation will continue unchanged for long periods in the future.

Jan 9, 1953