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By A. Eugene Lillstrom

I N the development of iron mines and production of iron ore from the Marquette range, drilling blast-holes is an important phase of the mining cycle. The ground drilled in ore production can be classified into two main categories, soft hematite and hard hematite or magnetite. Within these categories the material exhibits a wide range of penetrability by percussion drills. Development work encounters various types of rock. Slate and altered basic intrusives constitute the softer types commonly encountered. Harder materials are represented mainly by greywacke, quartzite, iron formation, and diorite.

Jan 12, 1951

By Jasper L. Stuckey

Geological investigation and research have contributed greatly in making industrial minerals the basis of an important industry in the state. North Carolina contains a wide variety of industrial minerals and rock. Mica, feldspar, kaolin, halloysite, talc, pyrophyllite, sillimanite, and spodumene are used to illustrate the progress being made.

Jan 12, 1951

US Tin Mission To Study Costs in Far East A move to obtain adequate supplies of tin at prices the United States is willing to pay was initiated when the interagency tin mission left for the Far East. The Mission, which includes representatives of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, State Department, Defense Minerals Procurement Agency and the Bureau of Mines will go to Indonesia and Malaya. The primary purpose of the mission, according to officials, will be to study tin production costs, not to negotiate for the purchase of tin. The mission will be prepared to enter into negotiations, if the Far Eastern producers are amenable. The United States withdrew as a large-scale buyer of tin some months ago in protest against what it considered exorbitant prices being charged in the Singapore market. Subsequent attempts to negotiate for a steady tin supply at what this country considers reasonable prices have been unavailing. The U. S. is prepared to enter into a two or three year contract with the price of tin somewhere between $1.00 to $1.12 per lb. The decision to abstain from the market has not yet put a squeeze on U. S. supplies. Substantial quantities of tin still are coming in from Malaya under an old contract.

Jan 12, 1951

By W. F. Mullen

WITH few exceptions, unit operations in the Pennsylvania slate industry in 1950 did not differ appreciably from production methods described by Behre1 and Bowles 2-4 several decades ago. Many traditionally picturesque but relatively inefficient hand operations continued to contribute to high operating costs in an industry in which the margin of profit, for various reasons, was admittedly low. As part of a general program in which the Pennsylvania State College has been assisting the slate industry to solve some of its problems, time and method studies were used in an effort to determine the bottlenecks of production flow. The results are as applicable to other stone industries as they are to slate.

Jan 12, 1951

By J. W. Snavely

WITH all the advantages of handling bulk materials by means of belt conveyor also go some problems, one of the most persistent being that of cleaning. When sticky materials are being carried; the build-up of material on the return idler rolls results in difficulty of belt training. Much attention has been given to the problem of cleaning conveyor belts, and a great variety of cleaning devices have been developed. Even the best involve troublesome maintenance, and none can completely remove the fine particles imbedded in the belt cover, which cause rapid wear of the return idler rolls, and at the same time, of the belt cover as well.

Jan 12, 1951

By J. K. Lovrien

A Link-Belt roller-bearing conveyor system was in- stalled recently at the Gross-Marble mine of the Oliver Iron Mining Co. at Marble, Minn., for removal of overburden and lean ore. The material, consisting of clay, sand, gravel, and glacial boulders. is excavated by an electrically operated walking dragline equipped with a 10 cu yd bucket working from a boom approximately 150 ft long. This machine loads into a receiving hopper of a rail-mounted screening plant in 45 second cycles. A manganese steel apron feeder under the receiving hopper delivers to an elliptical grizzly, from which the oversize boulders and extraneous material, by way of an apron conveyor, arc loaded into refuse haulage trucks.

Jan 12, 1951

By Kung-Ping Wang

This is the second installment of two-part article on the Far East. The mineral situation in Hong Kong, Indo-China, Thailand, Burma, Malaya, Indonesia, the Philippines, and British Borneo is covered.

Jan 12, 1951

By P. E. Landolt

MILITARY necessities and economic scarcities, occasioned by the first and second World Wars, led to the search for substitute materials and new products to meet the demands of advancing technology accelerated by research development. Among others, lithium came to attention. Its chemistry had been studied for a long period, but its general use was quite restricted due to limited known sources of raw material. In World War I, Germany used lithium metallurgically for two principal purposes: 1-hardened lead alloy, B-Metal, for railway bearings as a substitute for lead-tin-antimony alloys; and 2-light strong aluminum alloys, Scleron, in which zinc was largely substituted for copper.

Jan 12, 1951

By Kenneth L. Temple

ACID coal mine drainage presents a peculiarly difficult problem for two principal reasons. First is the fact that the amount of acid water discharged from active and abandoned mines constantly in- creases as coal fields are developed and thereby creates a steadily worsening nuisance of rapidly growing importance to the general public as well as to the coal industry. Second is the even more significant fact that there is no method yet known that will appreciably alleviate the acid water problem except at totally prohibitive cost to the coal operators. The problem is thus seen to be an urgent one. With a growing need for good quality water and a growing public demand for abatement of stream pollution, a large portion of the soft coal industry finds itself in the position of year by year dumping more and more acid into the streams and waterways and having no way in sight of improving the situation or even of keeping it from getting worse.

Jan 12, 1951

By Adrian C. Dorenfeld

Factorial design is a mathematical method of drawing valid conclusions from a series of tests made in a predetermined pattern. It is applied to flotation ore testing using, in this case, five variables, each varied twice, requiring a total of 32 tests. Representative conclusions are checked by repeat testing.

Jan 12, 1951

By J. W. Axelson

CRUSHING has always been a major operation in the chemical and metallurgical industries, yet little is known about the theory of crushing, and today, the design of crushers is still based almost entirely on empirical knowledge and accumulated practical experience. In view of the increasing national need for the economic working of poorer grades of ores, the lack of a fundamental under- standing of this unit operation hardly presents a satisfactory situation. Basic investigations of crushing have been concerned mainly with three phases of the problem, 1-the mechanism of the fracture process itself, 2- the particle size distribution of the crushed product, and 3-the relationship between the energy input and the amount of new surface produced. Probably adequate information on these phases will be required for a comprehensive understanding of the process of crushing. A bibliography covering these phases will be given as well as a review of the work done in recent years at the University of Minnesota on the relationship between the energy input for crushing and the amount of new surface produced.

Jan 12, 1951

By Wilbur T. Stuart

THE increased demand for iron ore has necessitated a re-examination of ore-bearing lands on which the presence of water previously has indicated hazardous and expensive operating conditions. In view of the importance of iron ore production to the national economy and defense, the Ground Water Branch of the U. S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the state of Michigan, began a study of mine drainage in the Iron River district in 1945, and later extended the work to the Marquette district. The purpose of these studies was to define the principles involved in the movement of surface and ground water toward the mined areas, with the hope that the information obtained in the research would lead to the development of methods of water control and to a reduction in the total mining costs.

Jan 12, 1951

New Products Equipment

Jan 12, 1951

By J. D. Bateman

At Giant Yellowknife, where high grade gold-bearing orebodies are highly irregular in shape, geology has been applied extensively to the mining of ore. The classical functions of the mine geologist in the fields of exploration and mine development have been extended to guide ore extraction, ensuring "clean" mining and effectively reducing waste dilution.

Jan 12, 1951

WITH the present mobilization program in full swing and the enrollment in engineering colleges dropping off, many solutions are offered to relieve the shortage of trained men in the engineering profession. Industry can absorb about 30,000 engineers annually, according to the Engineers Joint Council, and forecasts indicate that the number graduating will have dropped from 38,000 in 1951 to about 12,000 in 1954. If this condition were to continue there would probably not be enough people with technical training to run industry in four or five years.

Jan 12, 1951

A $5000 contract to explore for asbestos in Marinette County. Wis., has been entered into between the Government and the Star Mining Co. of Madison, Wis. The Government will contribute 90 pct or $4500 to the cost of the project. The United States presently produces about 8 pct of its asbestos requirements. "Sulphur stockpiles are at a minimum for national security arid must not be further reduced," was the warning given by L. M. Williams, Jr., president of Freeport Sulphur Co. He stated that although the long-range outlook is favorable , current sulphur production cannot meet the demand and as a result the United States faces a crisis in the coming months.

Jan 12, 1951

Detailed Geology of Certain Areas in the Mineral Hill and Warm Springs Mining District. By A. L. Anderson. T. H. Kilsgaard and V. C. Fryklund. Jr. Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology. University of Idaho. 73 P. Maps, Illus.-Divided into three parts, this pamphlet covers the geology and ore deposits of the Hailey-Bellevue Mineral Belt, the Triumph-Parker mine mineral belt, and the ore deposits of the Mayflower Area. Numerous maps and illustrations are included for each area. Government Administration of the Copper Industry, World War 11. By John W. Douglas. 1950.51 P. $1.-This pamphlet covers in detail all the steps relating to control and operation of copper and copper products, and is of particular interest to primary producers, brass mills, wire mills, and foundries. Of particular current interest is the booklet's coverage of the steps leading to the Controlled Material Plan, into which industry is now once again heading. Copies can be obtained for $1 from John W. Douglas, Republic Foil & Metal Mills Inc., 55 Triangle St., Danbury, Conn.

Jan 12, 1951

Jan 12, 1951

SINCE dad first took us to the ocean we have always seen a plump elderly gentleman who, with supine composure, floats over the crests spouting whale-like to the wonderment of small boys. Floating requires certain physical and mental characteristics that it takes many years to acquire. These are, in order of importance, confidence, beef, and complete relaxation. Possibly a rough parallel can be drawn between the mining industry and the dignified paunchy gentleman riding the billows. Mellowing in a downtown club he reminisces over his rough-and-tumble youth; when frontiers were being pushed to continental limits and the great mines were discovered on a first come first serve basis. Those were the days of the empire builders. They created the methods, made their own laws, and gambled their very lives on the outcome. For these efforts and sacrifices they shared in the great wealth which was made. There were no comparisons between the small and big operators because they all started small and those with the most financial know-how slowly merged into the big companies of the present.

Jan 12, 1951

First actual production of titanium metal at the newly constructed Henderson, Nev., plant of Titanium Metals Corp. of America occurred in mid-October. Production will be expanded rapidly until the initial goal of 10-tons per day is reached. This will be equivalent to eight times the present world production of titanium metal. W. Eberstady & Co., New York City, has announced plans for construction of a $400 million plant for the manufacture of synthetic liquid fuels from coal in southern Illinois, if the Government will guarantee a minimum price for the gasoline and other products to be produced.

Jan 11, 1951