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By Edward Wisser

The environment of an ore body is taken to mean not only its physical surroundings but every factor, passive or active, that conditioned the ore shoot, saving only the original composition of the solutions that formed the shoot. Collection of data related to the shape and characteristics of veins should be followed by correlation of the data and the formulation of generalizations regarding ore formation. The nature of the criteria used in arriving at these generalizations is discussed. Certain of the criteria, when used with an understanding of their underlying causes, become "ore-guides." In the course of his study the geologist must not confine himself to the immediate surroundings of the veins, but should attempt to work out the geologic history of events culminating in the crucial epoch for any mining district, the period of mineralization. The work may involve study of features far removed from the veins and related to them only indirectly. It commonly means thorough study of the geology of the entire region surrounding the ore deposits. THE following question has been suggested for discussion: ? "Are there any criteria by which one can determine when mining operations have reached the roots of an ore deposit?" The question deals less with the roots of a particular ore body than with the lower limit of the vertical range within which ore bodies may be expected. It concerns a critical line upon the longitudinal vertical projection of a vein. ? Below this line it is useless to look for ore shoots; above the line exploration below the bottoms of individual ore shoots may be justified. Can we learn to determine the position of such a line?

Jan 1, 1939

By R. H. Thielemann

THE conventional short-time tensile test provides a reliable means of predicting the sustained load-carrying capacity of steels only when the temperature is such that continuous plastic flow does not occur. At elevated temperatures, stresses considerably less than the short-time rupture value may produce continuous flow, with fracture occurring only after long periods of time. The amount of flow or creep accompany-ing failure varies for different steels, and depends, to a large extent, on the temperature and the duration of the test. Service records of cracking stills, steam superheaters and high-temperature boilers have shown that brittle fractures sometimes occur with little or no warning. In installa-tions of this type, localized stresses are often encountered, and steels must be capable of withstanding a certain amount of deformation without fracture. The sustained-load rupture test determines the expected life and corresponding ductility of steels at various stresses and tempera-tures. It also yields additional information regarding the effect of micro-structure and metallurgical stability on the high-temperature properties.

Jan 1, 1939

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during. the period Mar. 10, 1919, to Apr. 10, 1919. AFFLECK, B. F., Pres., Universal Portland Cement Co., 210 So. La Salle St., Chicago, Ill. BENSUSAN, ARTHUR J., The Ouro Preto Gold Mines of Brazil, Ltd., Passagem de Marianna, Minas Geraes, Brazil, S. A. BIERBAUM, CHRISTOPHER H., Cons. Engr., & Vice-pres., Lumen Bearing Co., Buffalo, N. Y . DEWITT, OSCAR E., Geol., Vinegar Hill Zinc Co., 622 North Court St., Platteville, Wis. DOTY, L. C Mine Supt., Bullion Beck & Champion Co., Box C, Eureka, Utah. ESPIE, FRANK F Burma Mines, Ltd., Namtu, Upper Burma, Asia. FOZARD, J. L., Gen'l Supt., Beatson Mines, Kennecott Copper Corpn., Latouche, Alaska. GRANT, BENERE Supt., Bulluhacker Min. Co., Butte Mont. HARDEL, JEAN A., Engr., French Government, 21 Rue du Colonel Moll, Paris, France. JANSSEN, WALTER A., Operating Mgr., Canadian Steel Foundries.Ltd., 120 St. James St., Transportation Bldg., Montreal, Canada. KNOWLES, RALPH Roy, Supt., Radium Plant, The Minerals Recovery Co., 457 So. Elati St. Denver Colo.

Jan 5, 1919

By R. C. Temps, G. E. Aiken

Compania de Acero del Pacifico, S.A., the sole Chilean steel producer, is adding to the expanding Chilean economy with development of the El Algarrobo mine. Expected to go on stream early in 1962, Algarrobo is a conventional open pit mine that will include facilities for ore extraction, crushing and screening, rail transport to the harbor at Huasco, modern ship-loading equipment and maintenance shops. CAP anticipates producing 1.38 mil- lion tons annually of high-grade ore for national and world market consumption. Chilean and North American management and engineering teams combined more than a decade ago in the financing and building of CAP'S Huachipato integrated steel plant. A similar performance is being achieved in northern Chile near the town of Vallenar with the opening of a 50-year supply of iron ore from the Algarrobo deposit. This successful intra-American undertaking deserves special mention in these times when some U.S. foreign assistance programs must be defended, particularly with respect to Latin America. North American financial participation in Algarrobo, through the Export-Import Bank of Washington, represents the greatest portion of the $24 million being invested.

Jan 3, 1962

By F. Julius Fohs

With portions of two coal basins within its borders and a few scattered fields already developed, the question arises: What is the future of Kentucky as an oil-producing State? Is the long list of failures due to lack of commercial pools, or unintelligent prospecting? A study of its beds and irregularities of structure points not only to a large waste of development money on unpromising areas, but also to the presence of a few structures well worthy of development. The surface rocks of Kentucky show in succession more than 4,000 ft. of Paleozoic sediments and more than 2,000 ft. of Cretaceous, Tertiary, and more recent deposits. Folding and erosion have brought these beds to the surface, where they have been observed and studied in detail by my associate, James H. Gardner, myself, and others. This has given opportunity to observe the beds offering suitable reservoirs and having the proper impermeable covering; also the mapping of outcrops and outcrop lines, taken in conjunction with available well records, indicates that certain areas are worth testing, and with even greater definiteness shows areas which should be excluded, as devoid of possibilities. West of the Tennessee River, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary sediments occur so that all trace of ancient folding is obliterated, the sediments overlapping unconformably Mississippian rocks. This area embraces 2,000 square miles, or one-twentieth of the area of the State, the Paleozoic rocks covering the remainder. Since there is nothing upon which to base the location of tests for oil and gas in the Cretaceous-Tertiary beds of Kentucky, the Paleozoic area will be chiefly considered. The distribution of Paleozoic rocks in Kentucky is centered about the north-northeast striking Cincinnati geanticline, bringing to the surface on the Jessamine dome the oldest rocks exposed in the.State, those of the Devonian, Silurian, and Ordovician systems. On either flank of this great earth-arch are the Mississippian rocks, sloping gradually beneath the coal-measure basins to the west and to the east. West of the western coal basin, and. between it and the Cretaceous-Tertiary rocks further west, is a high area of Mississippian rocks. Crossing the State

Jan 1, 1915

By C. D. Hunter, I. B. Browning, N. W. Shiarella

The oil industry in Kentucky during the year 1937 shows some improvement over that of 1936, although not to as marked a degree as 1936 over 1935. Oil in Eastern Kentucky In eastern Kentucky more than 150 new inside wells were completed in the pools of Estill, Powell and Lee Counties. Also, a number of wells were completed to be used as intake wells in repressuring operations. Repressuring is proving more successful in this area than was expected, as the producing formation was the Corniferous limestone. However, when the repressuring work was started, cores taken of this formation showed that the oil in the second and third pays was from a true sand, only the first pay in the top being a sandy lime formation. In the Weir sand fields of Magoffin, Johnson and Lawrence Counties, continued repressuring operations caused an increase in the quantity of oil. These operations and the completion of 20 new wells in the Maxon sand and the Big lime (Mississippian) in Martin and Floyd Counties produced an increase in the oil production from eastern Kentucky of 100,000 bbl. over that of 1936. As an illustration of what may yet be done in the fields of eastern Kentucky, one repressuring operation involving four oil wells and one pressure well produced an increase in production, or an additional recovery of 7200 bbl. of oil during the year. This amounts to a recovery of 2000 per acre for the 3.6 acres involved. In other fields of eastern Kentucky, as in the Corniferous pools of Estill, Powell and Lee Counties, increases in the runs are noted as follows: In the area of the Estill County pool from which the oil passes through the Revena pumping station, the production in 1935 was 88,175 bbl.; in 1936, was 102,849 bbl.; and in 1937 was 107,704 bbl. This pool was

Jan 1, 1938

By Allen J. Johnson

With a realization of the rapidly increasing importance of automatic stokers as a medium for domestic heating, the Anthracite Institute Laboratory has conducted extensive investigations, over a period of several years, to determine the various outstanding characteristics of stoker design and performance. The purpose of this paper is to summarize these findings as a guide to current practices. Stokees Investigated One or more models of the underfeed stokers listed below were included in the various phases of this investigation: Beckley Gilkoal Burnwell Iron Fireman Combustioneer Motor Stokor Electric Furnace Man Norristown Super-stoker Erie Heat Generator Whitney Fire Ball (Tests Incomplete.) Fuel Saver Principles of Construction.—The operating principle of the leading makes of underfeed stokers is similar (Fig. 1). A plunger1 or slowly revolving worm2, conveys the buckwheat or rice sizes of anthracite to the center of a specially constructed tuyere pot where air is admitted to the coal through suitable ports of varying design. As the fuel burns, it is slowly forced to the outside circumference of the tuyere by the pressure of the incoming coal; eventually the ash falls over the edge of the pot, either entirely by gravity or aided by mechanical sweepers. In at least one model, the entire firepot revolves. While various special details have been included in the design of a number of stokers, they do not affect the general principles as described above, and therefore have not been included in this discussion.

Jan 1, 1936

By C. M. Signer, W. P. Hewitt

THIS is a story of a mine discovered in the days of the Conquistadores but that remained unimportant until the second decade of this century. Without the usual legendary history of romance and fabulous riches it has become famous for the development of unexpected metals and unusual problems. These developments and experiences, exciting and interesting as any legend, are the substance of the San Antonio mine of the Santa Eulalia district in northern Mexico. Originally opened for its silver-lead content, it developed a tin deposit of singular economic importance and unique geologic interest, a vanadium orebody that for a few years placed it among the leading vanadium producers of the world, and now lead and zinc sulphide ores. It has been the seem of a disastrous flood that brought deep-sea divers into Mexico's desert mountains and raised important problems regarding ground water, demanding unusual measures. Geology and operating questions relating to the above matters will be discussed and much of it is recent history which has become a part of Mexican mining lore. History Dates Back to 1325 Santa Eulalia is the oldest of American cities, founded in 1325 by the Aztecs under the name of Tenochtitlan and devastated in 1521 by Cortes and his rapacious band of iron-willed adventurers. Their lust for gold burned through the Aztec empire and onward into most of North America. Santa Eulalia was in the path of conquest. In 1591 the district's first ore discovery was made near what is now the San Antonio mine. The ores carried no gold and the silver-lead content was unattractive to the early pioneers. Not until 1700 was real mining activity undertaken.

Jan 1, 1952

By John Fritz

Gentlemen of the American Institute of Mining Engineers : I desire to thank you sincerely for the distinguished honor you have conferred upon me by electing me to the presidency of this society, a position which in the past has been filled by some of our most distinguished and ablest members, men eminently qualified by education, practical training and a business ability which has enabled them not only to fill the position with credit to themselves, but as well with honor to the society. In deference to a custom long established, by which the presidentelect is expected to read a paper on some subject with which he is more or less familiar, I have thought that a brief review of the methods employed in the manufacture of iron, as witnessed by myself, and reaching back to 1838, would interest some of our older members and give our younger ones a glimpse into the trials and difficulties encountered in those early days by the pioneers in this great industry. In 1840, 12 to 20 tons of pig-iron was the make of a furnace per week—at this time from 1200 to 2000 gross tons. In 1840, 3 to 4 tons No. 4 wire rods per turn. They have lately made 176 gross tons in 11 hours. In 1840 I have not the quantity of puddled iron made; but it was

Jan 1, 1895

By H. R. Hose

Total crude fluorspar reserves in western Europe, containing more than 35 pct CaF*, are estimated at 12 million metric tons, while reserves in the USSR and Soviet sphere may exceed 5 million metric tons. The bulk of these reserves are concentrated in the USSR, Spain, United Kingdom, Western Germany, and Italy. Since published estimates of the tonnages of individual mines and explored deposits are not available for most countries in Europe, the estimates given in Table I for individual countries are necessarily approximate, as they have been compiled from various sources and modified and combined according to the author's judgment. The majority of fluorspar deposits in Europe belong to the late Paleozoic metallogenetic epochs and have been found within or along the borders of the Hercynian massifs. Deposits in the Central and Esterel massifs of France, those of Western and Eastern Germany, Sardinia, the Catalonian coastal range and the Sierra de 10s Santos in Spain, and those of Devonshire and Cornwall belong to the Hercynian metallogenetic epochs. The deposits in southern Norway and Sweden belong to the middle Paleozoic or later, those of northern England to the late Paleozoic or later, those of northern Spain and Greece to the late Mesozoic, and those of northern and probably central Italy and Switzerland to the early Tertiary. Fluorspar occurs typically in veins, lenses, and stringers, but also in bedded replacement deposits and pockets, and may be colorless to white, yellow, green, pink, brown, blue, or purple to almost black. Except for the colorless variety, the only kind which can be used for the optical industry, the color of the fluorspar does not affect its ultimate use,

Jan 4, 1955

By John C. Nigro

The Bureau of Mines is investigating the use of pulverized coal as a fuel for iron ore pelletizing to determine its effectiveness as a substitute for natural gas and oil. Experimental data illustrates the application of both a gun-type suspension burner and a cyclonic-type slagging burner to a grate-kiln pelletizing unit. In addition, experimentation with a cyclonic fired external combustion chamber for possible adaptation to a shaft or straight grate pelletizing furnace is discussed. The tests were conducted in the Bureau of Mines Twin Cities Metallurgy Research Center's pilot plant with high rank bituminous coals from Kentucky and Colorado and low rank subbituminous coals and lignites from Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. Although combustion was excellent with the suspension burner, the low ash fusibility temperature coals and lignites caused some kiln ringing and accretion buildup in the grate kiln transfer section which were not encountered when firing with the high ash fusibility temperature Kentucky coal. Pellet contamination by coal ash was not deemed substantial. Problems with the cyclonic burner and external refractory combustion chamber centered around (a) maintaining complete combustion of the coal within the burner, (b) molten slag attack on the lower refractory chamber resulting in erosion of the lining and increased slag viscosities, and (c) freeze-up of the slag tap hole.

Jan 1, 1977

By C. Richard Tinsley, Norman Miskelly, S. James Hodge

Construction of the Ranger uranium project, located 230 kms east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia, commenced in January 1979. Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) was incorporated in February 1980 to acquire all the rights in the project. The total cost to ERA of these rights was A$407 million, made up of A$125 million in cash to the Federal Government and the issue of 125 million A$1.00 shares at par, plus a payment of A$16 million in cash to each of Peko-Wallsend Ltd. (Peko) and EZ Industries Ltd. (EZ). ERA's cash requirements to complete the project were estimated in October 1980 to be A$553 million. Project loans, secured by first ranking debenture stock, were arranged for a total of US$390 million, while second-ranking debenture loans totalling A$60 million were [ ] obtained from the vendors, Peko and EZ. Overseas participants (power utilities who had agreed to purchase uranium yellowcake under contract) arranged to take up 25% of the equity capital for A$102.5 million; Peko and EZ were allotted 30.5% each as satisfaction of vendors' consideration; and 14% representing A$57.5 million was issued to Australian residents in an underwritten public flotation in November, 1980. The loan and equity financing arrangements required the successful resolution of many complex and interlocking factors, including technical and economic feasibility, agreement with Aboriginal interests, compliance with Government policies, and securing of sales contracts.

Jan 1, 1985

By Richard S. McCaffery, Morrison B. Yung

While assaying some copper carbonate ore from the Frazer claims, Similakameen, B. C., I noticed that on parting the gold button a deep orange solution was formed. The button gave off pink bands in the nitric acid, which became deep orange at a short distance from it; and as it traveled over the surface of the porcelain dish, it left a deep orange track behind. As the button brightened in the cupel, it appeared to have a bronze color; but I have since found that when amarillium is in large excess of the gold, the button is a very dark gray. The button parted easily. To the orange solution I added a salt (NaCl) solution, shook in a silver testbottle, and filtered. With H2S I obtained a precipitate, which I supposed due to platinum. However, on further tests, it did

Jan 1, 1903

By Eldon N. Dunlap

Recently the producing branch of the petroleum industry has shown a considerable and growing interest in the quantitative determination of the water, oil, and gas content of cores as it relates to estimation of reserves, to providing a basis for judging as to the feasibility of applying various secondary-recovery and pressure-maintenance processes, and in general to the operation of producing properties. For years it has been known that oil, gas and water coexisted in the pores of many semidepleted oil measures. It is now generally believed that oil-bearing beds contain connate water in amounts varying up to 50 per cent of the pore space. However, only lately has reliable direct evidence of the extensive occurrence of connate water in oil sands been published. Very little work has been done to ascertain the effect of this water on the productivity and ultimate recovery of oil from wells. It was the intent of this research to study the influence of interstitial water on the flow of oil through unconsolidated sands, with the hope that the results could be applied qualitatively to the flow of oil in underground reservoirs partly saturated with water. Obviously, ultimate recovery estimates based on the void volume of the reservoir will be in error unless a correction is made for the volume of water that occupies a portion of the effective pore volume of the reservoir. Evaluation engineers in the past have applied arbitrary saturation and recovery factors that may inadverently have compensated for the failure to consider specifically the water content. Nevertheless, the evidence available indicates that these factors need revising if each is to be independently correct and truly representative. Although the fact that the connate water renders part of the pore volume of the reservoir incapable of containing oil is of primary importance to the operator, it is also to his interest to know to what extent the presence of varying amounts of interstitial water influences the permeability of the sand to oil.

Jan 1, 1938

By James W. Burns

Thin, heavily doped n-type layers of GaSb have been grown on p-type GaSb substrates. Techniques have been developed for the growth of the n-type layers from a tellurium-doped gallium-rich solution. The solution used consists of 95 at. pct Ga and 5 at. pct Sb. The process consists of immersing the p-type wafer in the solution at a temperature slightly above the liquidus temperature, holding briefly to permit dissolution of the substrate surface, then decreasing the temperature to a value slightly below the liquidus to obtain 1 HE resistivity of n-type GaSb varies linearly with applied hydrostatic pressure, while the resistivity of p-type GaSb is insensitive to such pressure.1,2 The growth. Growth from a solution of GaSb in tin will also be described. In either case the substrate is clamped to a shelf at one end of a graphite boat, and immersion of the wafer and subsequent decanting of the solution is accomplished simply by tilting the furnace. The process is useful for the formation of p-n junctions in III-V compounds and has the advantage that the problems normally associated with diffusion of Group VI elements are not present. Layers up to 4.0 mils in thickness have been grown by the process. material therefore should be useful in a hydrostatic pressure-sensing device. A practical hydrostatic pressure sensor, however, requires the fabrication of GaSb sensing elements of several hundred ohms resistance. Attempts were made to prepare such elements by diffusion, taking advantage of the high sheet resistance of the thin diffused layers and depending upon the p-n junction to provide isolation from the base layer. Additionally, thin layers of conductivity type opposite from that of the base layer were pre-

Jan 1, 1969

By H. F. Moore

This paper gives a preliminary summary of results of tests on the resistance to fatigue under reversed stresses of steel subjected to cold-working and of tests to determine the effect of rest on the endurance of steel under reversed stresses. The tests of cold-worked steel were undertaken as part of an investigation by the National Research Council Committee on Fatigue Phenomena of Metals and were made by Mr. Moore; the tests to determine the effect of rest are part of an investigation now being made by Mr. Putnam. Both series of tests were made in the Materials Testing Laboratory of the University of Illinois. The preliminary results of these tests are reported now. because it is believed that test data on fatigue strength should be available at the earliest possible moment; however, it should be clearly kept in mind that this paper gives preliminary results and is intended to encourage discussion rather than to give final conclusions. Before giving the data of the tests, the writers will explain the term "fatigue strength" as used in this paper and will discuss briefly the method used in interpreting the test data of repeated-stress tests. The term fatigue strength, as applied to a material, may be defined as that maximum fiber stress that will cause fracture of the material after the repetition of any given number of cycles of stress, each cycle involving the variation of stress from a minimum to the above maximum. The fatigue strength, then, varies with the number of repetitions occurring in the lifetime of a structural or machine member and with the range of stress for each cycle of stress. The fatigue strength will be lower for a member in which the stress is completely reversed than for one in which the stress varies from zero to a maximum. In interpreting test data from fatigue tests under reversed stress, the stresses and corresponding numbers of repetitions required for failure are plotted on logarithmic cross-section paper. In 1910, Professor

Jan 2, 1919

By Kiyoshi Azuma, Hiroshi Kametani

Dissolution of a ferric oxide in acid solution is divided into two different types In the accelerated type dissolution proceeds in three stages 1) an inittal reaction during which the dissolved amount of oxide is nearly proportional to the cube root of time ; 2) an accelerated reaction: and 3) a final stage during which dissolution approaches completion. This course of dissolution gives an S-shaped curve in the above sequence OH a log weight percent of dissolved oxide against log time graph. In the parabolic type dissolution proceeds in four stages: first and second stages similar to those of the accelerated type; 3) parabolic-rate dissolution during which the dissolved amount of oxide is nearly proportional to the square root of time: and 4) a final stage. The effect of the kind of acid, the temperature of solution, and the concentration of acid was investigated. The results are discussed and a rate equation is proposed. AN attempt has been made to obtain some information on dissolution of a ferric oxide in various acid solutions. In view of hydrometallurgical processes the dissolution of ferric oxide is of less importance than that of zinc oxide or copper oxide in general. One of a few processes which intend to dissolve ferric oxide is an elimination of iron impurity from acid-insoluble materials. However, most leaching processes of oxide ores and cinders are accompanied with more or less dissolution of iron. According to Pryor and Evans1 the rate of dissolution of a ferric oxide in various acids decreased in the order of hydrofluoric acid > hydrochloric acid > sulfuric acid > perchloric acid. This order was in accord with the order of decrease of the complexing affinity of the anion for ferric ion,

Jan 1, 1964

By R. C. Wilcox, R. V. Lawrence, P. A. Calhoun

The V-Rh-Si, Nb-Rh-Si, and Cr-Rh-Si systems were investigated to evaluate the extent of solid solubility between binary Cr3O structures. All Cr3O components lie within the favorable atomic size range1 for the formation of the Cr3O structure. Previous studies indicated complete solid solubility between V3Si and V3Sn2 and no solubility between Sn and cr3si3 or Si and Nb3Rh.4 The Cr3O structure is not found in the Cr-Sn and Nb-Si binary systems. Powder compacts were are-melted under argon, homogenized in a vacuum at 1000°C, and water-quenched. Alloys containing greater than 15 at. pet Si were annealed 100 hr. X-ray diffractometer methods were used to study all systems utilizing copper radiation for the Cr-Rh-Si system and chromium radiation for the other two systems. V-Rh-Si System. The alloys prepared in the V-Rh-Si system and the measured lattice parameters for the Cr3O structure found in each alloy are listed in Table I. The characteristic Cr3O diffraction pattern was found in all binary alloys. The measured lattice parameter of V3Rh (VRS-1) is in agreement with the reported value5 while the value for V3Si (VRS-5) is only in fair agreement.' In

Jan 1, 1965

By Bennett R. Bates

Nowhere in the world has cone classification in closed-circuit grinding with tube mills reached as high a state of development as on the Wit-watersrand. In the development of the Far East section the necessity of fine grinding to obtain satisfactory residues gave rise to a situation with which the cone could cope only at a great sacrifice in efficiency of tube-mill grinding. H. A. White1 recognized the limitation of the cone in his study of the theory of tube milling as early as 1915, but it was not until Ewing, Davis and Willey2 carried out their tests at Springs Mines during 1920 that the advantages of mechanical classifiers were demonstrated. During the fall of 1924 the writer supervised a series of tests with Dorr classifiers undertaken by Mr. White, Consulting Metallurgist, at the mill of the Geduld Proprietary Mines, Ltd., Dersley, Transvaal (Far East Rand). The importance of classification to obtain efficient tube-mill grinding was thoroughly demonstrated. The installation of classifiers of the above type that followed the test confirmed the results of the experimental work. Tests with Cones, Straight Type and Bowl Classifiers The test at the Geduld mill was made to determine the relative grinding efficiency of a tube mill when grinding in closed circuit with cones, straight type Dorr classifier and Dorr bowl classifier. The efficiency of a tube mill, as expressed in this article, is based on the tons of minus 200-mesh material produced by the mill. The efficiency is also expressed in terms of tons of minus 90-mesh material produced by the mills to correspond to the standard practice on the Witwatersrand. The results given for the performance of the tube mills grinding in closed circuit with cones (Fig. 1) were taken from previous tests carried

Jan 1, 1926

By Arthur L. Hawthorne

10.1-1. Relative Position of Maintenance as Compared to the Overall Mining Costs. The basic issue regarding the importance of maintenance in the modern mining industry must be faced squarely by the top manage- ment of each company before any real progress can be made in organizing a maintenance program for optimum effectiveness. Just a few decades ago the maintenance at coal mines consisted primarily of a blacksmith for sharpening picks and shoeing mules; as a result, probably less than 5%of the total mining cost went to maintenance and some 80% was operating expenses (operating labor). With each succeeding advance in equipment design towards larger, more complex, and more productive units, the pendu- lum swings the other way. As an example, haulage trucks have progressed through various stages in the past 20 years from 15-ton units to a 240-ton truck now in the "shakedown" or experimental stage. The following com- parison between 15-ton, 50-ton, and 100-ton haulage trucks clearly illus- trates this changing cost pattern in terms of percent of overall costs for running each size unit. [Maintenance 24% 44 % 51 % Operating labor 59 % 33 % 16% Operating supplies (fuel oil) 4 %. 4% 3% Labor burden and vac. pay 6 % 4% 3% Depreciation Total] From the preceding figures it is interesting to note that, as a rule, operat- ing costs go down as the equipment gets larger and the maintenance costs increase with the larger units. This same trend in cost variation applies to nearly all mechanical equipment used in surface mining from the large

Jan 1, 1968