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By S. A. Braley

DRAINAGE water from coal mines is probably the most serious water pollution problem today, varying in importance according to location of the mines and geological structure. Drainage may be either acid or alkaline in character. Acid discharge, the most severely detrimental to a stream, is caused by natural oxidation of the sulfuritic material (FeS2) in the strata associated with the coal seam. Since the acid is the result of a natural reaction the acid water differs because it does not cease with abandonment of the mining operations. There is no known economical method of neutralizing acid mine water or any practical method to prevent oxidation of exposed pyrite. Since production of acid from a mine does not stop when mining stops, the total quantity produced depends entirely upon the excavated areas. The increasing volume of acid water in many mines has greatly increased operating costs. Pumping is expensive and acid mine waters are destructive of all equipment, especially metals in pumps and piping, and necessitate the use of corrosion-resistant materials. Discharge of the acid mine drainage into streams neutralizes their normal alkalinity, causes them to become acid, and produces an environment unfavorable for aquatic life and unsuited for industrial or domestic use without costly treatment.

Jan 1, 1957

Succession of Minerals and Temperatures of Formation in Ore Deposits of Magmatic Affiliations BY WALDEMAR LINDGREN (Tech Pub 713 10,000 words ) The paper presents data accepted by many geochemists and geologists regarding the succession of minerals and the temperatures of formation in ore deposits affiliated with igneous rocks It also presents the individual views of the author on the composition of the solutions that were active and on the mode of deposition He does not regard these views as speculations or hypotheses but as forming a well motivated and con¬sistent theory It is not certain, however, that all investigators will subscribe to them The mining engineer may not always be interested in the field of stability and tempera¬ture of origin in the mineralogy of ore deposits, but he certainly is interested in the succession of minerals because this has a definite bearing on the understanding of the ores and on the best processes of extraction The author, therefore, summarizes in plain language the principal features of succession as shown in metallic ores

Jan 1, 1937

By John V. Beall

If you will be patient, we will explain how our plans to research the fishing possibilities of the Buffalo River following the SME Fall Meeting turned out, in general, to be an extension of the main theme of that meeting and, in particular, to confirm an astute observation on research made by Australian T. R. A. Davey in his Award-acceptance address at the Pb-Zn Research Luncheon. Buffalo River State Park is reached via Yellville where we tried without success to find one Odie Tollett who had been recommended as a boat liveryman. However, Mrs. Leon Dodd, in the Park, outfitted us nicely with a 17-foot aluminum canoe. Rain had dominated the recent weather of the Ozarks in northwestern Arkansas. So, under a leaden sky and intermittent showers, we stood on the bank of the turgid Buffalo demonstrating to our spouse, Sylvia, how to cast. Of course, with the water up and the sediment, the outlook for catching fish was bad. Sylvia said, however, "Oh, I get it. Let me try. Umm, like this I got one!" Sylvia reeled in a pretty ten-inch brown trout. "The poor thing, let's throw him back."

Jan 1, 1970

CHARLES P. BROOKS Charles P. Brooks, who had been identified with the mining industry in the West since 1874, having served at various times as mining and consulting engineer for most of the largest mining properties in Utah, died Dec. 11, at his home in Salt Lake City, of heart failure, after an illness of about one month. He was a very close business friend of the late Thomas Kearns and David Keith. In recent years he had been closely identified with the Silver King Coalition Mining Co., the Chief Consolidated Mining Co., the Grand Central Mining Co., the Prince Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co., and many other large properties. Mr. Brooks was born in Washingtonville, Orange County, New York, Aug. .21, 1851; he was the son of Charles Edward Brooks and Adeline Cannon Brooks. When 14 years of age he attended school at Chester, N. J., for one term, and accompanied the assistant principal of Chester Academy to New Paltz, N. Y., and finished the school year there. In 1866 he entered Dr. Stiles's school at Deckertown, N. J., and later the Sheffield School at Yale in 1867, where he received the degree of civil engineer with the class of 1870.

Jan 2, 1919

By Dorsey Hager

One of the most interesting fields in North America was discovered, early in 1922, near the towns of Sunburst and Kevin, Toole County, Mont. This field produces oil from the Jurassic beds, which heretofore have been of but little importance as oil producers, and promses to be the

Jan 1, 1923

By John T. Galey

The restrictions placed on drilling by the Federal Government, which caused a severe curtailment in activity at the beginning of the year, were relaxed somewhat so as to permit the drilling of one shallow† gas well per 40 acres. New wells numbering 574† were drilled for a combined depth of nearly 1,500,000 It., and of this number 131 were dry holes with a footage of slightly over 375,000. Inside locations account for the majority of these totals and the increasing demand for natural gas would normally have increased the number considerably, but many of the independent operators chose to ask for fewer exceptions to Order M-68 of the Office of Production Management, and consequently to curtail the number of wells drilled. Initial open flow of natural gas developed from all operations§ is over 230 million cu. ft. Nearly 191 million cu. ft. of this volume resulted from the 410 new gas wells drilled to horizons above the Lower Devonian, and the footage drilled in these wells accounts for approximately 93 per cent of the total. Shallow Development Oil.—Thirty oil, wells, with a total initial production of slightly over 152 bbl. and a footage of 50.000, were drilled during the § Including deepening wells previously drilled.

Jan 1, 1943

By James A. Carney

The quality of water for steam boilers is a serious question in Illinois, and has been the occasion of many investigations, undertaken either for the discovery of sources of a better supply, or for the purification of the supplies already at hand. LOCATION OF SUPPLIES. The sources of supply of which this paper treats lie along the right of way of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company, and form a nearly straight line from Chicago, Illinois, on Lake Michigan, to Burlington, Iowa, on the Mississippi River. The supplies consist of surface-, ground- and deep well-waters ; their locations are given in Fig. 1, which is adapted from a map of Illinois published by the Illinois Railroad Commissioners. The influence of the geological formation on the water-supply of Illinois is fully treated in an article in the Seventeenth Annual Report of the U. S. Geological Survey by Mr. Frank Leverett, entitled, " The Water-Resources of Illinois." It is not the purpose of this paper to introduce a geological discussion; and

Jan 1, 1898

By W. C. Kerr

A BRIEF sketch only is here intended, with a few illustrations, in order to give a general notion of the character and structure of these veins. I have stated elsewhere, several years ago, that these veins were wrought on a large scale and for many ages by some ancient peoples, most probably the so-called Mound Builders; although they built no mounds here, and have left no signs of any permanent habitation. They opened and worked a great many veins down to or near water-level ; that is, as far as the action of atmospheric chemistry had softened the rock so that it was workable without metal tools, of the use of which no signs are apparent. Many of the largest and most profitable of the mines of the present day are simply the ancient Mound Builders' mines reopened and pushed into the hard undecomposed granite by powder and steel. Blocks of mica have often been found half imbedded in the face of the vein, with the tool-marks about it, showing the exact limit of the efficiency of those prehistoric mechanical appliances. As to the geological relations of these veins, they are found in the gneisses

Jan 1, 1880

By Luis Toron, Salvador Cortes-Obregon

THE Oaxaca coal fields, shown in Fig. 1, are located in the Alta Mixteca region in the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero. Known out crops are scattered over 3125 square miles. It is probable that further exploration will reveal a more extensive area of deposits. The region is of great importance to Mexico, as at present the only sources of coal are the fields near the U. S. border. Steel mills are also located in the North, and finished products must travel 600 to 800 miles to the area of consumption in central Mexico. The Oaxaca coal, only 120 miles south of Mexico, D.F., lies close to several iron ore deposits. If this coal can be used in steel production is will be possible for the Mexican steel industry to reach new dimensions, commensurate with the growing industry of the central region. Coal can be utilized in thermoelectric plants in this area, which lacks not only petroleum and natural gas but also electric power. It can be used as domestic fuel, replacing charcoal and firewood.

Jan 5, 1954

By N. J. Grant, F. B. Cuff

DURING a recent investigation of high-purity aluminum,' evidence was found for grain-boundary sliding and migration at room temperature. The investigation was concerned primarily with an electron-microscopic study of a fine (approximately 1 micron) network that appeared on the surface of chemically polished aluminum. The nature of the network will not be discussed since it serves only as markers showing relative displacements in this instance. The pertinent observation, shown in Fig. 1, was made on a flat tensile specimen which had been strained about 8 pct at room temperature. As can be seen in this electron micrograph, a grain boundary has undergone a certain amount of sliding. The reason for the existence of the two differently appearing networks is given in the foregoing reference. For present purposes, however, the transition region can be disregarded. A close study of this picture reveals that in addi- tion to sliding there is a narrow band adjacent to and above the grain boundary. Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing showing the essential features of this band.

Jan 1, 1959

By M. H. Gidel, D. C. Bard

These notes are based on the megascopic study of a suite of 2,400 specimens of minerals and ores from the Butte mines, combined with field observations at intervals over a period of several years. The estimate of average vein composition is based on field acquaintance with the veins. It is probably correct in its broader proportions, and should be of use for comparison. Chemical and Mineral Composition of Unoxidized Vein Matter. Per Cent. Oxygen,......48.00—Quartz, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, sericite, kaolinite, barite, calcite, and hübnerite. Silicon,...... 36.O0—Quartz, rhodonite, sericite, kaolinite, and willemite (very rare). Sulphur,.....5.0—Sulphides of iron, zinc, copper, lead, and sulphates of barium and rarely calcium. Iron,.......5.00—Ferric sulphides (pyrite, bornite, chalcopyrite), also in sphalerite, tetrahedrite, and rarely hematite and siderite. Manganese,.... 2.00—Rhodonite, rhodochrosite, and hübnerite. Zinc,.......1.00—Sphalerite, very rare wurtzite and willemite, and tetrahedrite and tennantite. Carbon,......0.50—Rhodochrosite and calcite. Capper,......0.75—Cuprous ( + ) and cupric (—) sulphides. Aluminum,.... 0.50—Sericite and kaolinite. Hydrogen,.... 0.50—Water, sericite, and kaolinite. Potassium,.....0.20—hicite. Lead,....... 0.20—Galena. Arsenic,......0.10—Tennantite and enargite. Barium,......0.10—Barite. Calcium,.....0.10—Fluorite, calcite, and rare gypsum. Antimony,.... 0.02—Tetrahedrite, famatinite, and silver sulphantimonites. Fluorine,.....0.05—Fluorite. Silver,.....1 —Argentite, and sulphantimonites. Tungsten,.... —Hübnerite. Phosphorus, • —Wavellite. Bismuth,' .... 0.05—Sulphide (?) Tellurium,... 1 —Telluride (?) Selenium,.... —Selenide (?) Cadmium,.... —Sulphide (?) Gold,..... —Native and telluride (?)

Jan 1, 1914

By J. H. Swisher

HIGH-temperature anneals in wet hydrogen are widely used in research as a technique for decarburiz-ing Fe-C alloys. This technique is also used commercially in processing low-carbon steels for magnetic applications. The results of some calculations to be presented show that for temperatures up to 1100°C there is a critical temperature for maximizing the decarburization rate of alloys containing about 0.1 pct C. The low-temperature portion of the iron side of the Fe-C phase diagram1 is reproduced in Fig. 1. Preliminary calculations show that the critical temperature is between 727" and 905°C. In this range, the alloy contains two phases during heat treatment, ferrite and austenite. Decarburization therefore occurs by a process termed "diffusion accompanied by a phase change".' For intermediate stages of decarburization, the carbon concentration profile in a flat plate is shown in Fig. 2. The carbon content increases linearly from zero at the surface to a value, cB , at the two-phase boundary. cB is known from the phase diagram, see Fig. 1. At the interface where x = 5, the carbon content increases to ci, the initial concentration in the alloy. smith3 has derived an equation which describes the rate of movement of the boundary. With a rearrange-

Jan 1, 1969

By M. G. Taverner

Research was conducted into cold briquetting dross arisings and metallurgical coke fines from an Imperial Smelting Furnace (I.S.F.) as an economic means of agglomerating fine materials for smelting in a blast furnace. A mechanism was postulated whereby strong bonds were developed within the briquettes; laboratory scale smelting trials and full scale plant trials are included in the paper with a description of a two tonne/hour briquetting pilot plant. Benefits from smelting briquettes in an I.S.F. were measured directly in metallurgical coke savings and, indirectly, by a significant improvement in sinter plant productivity.

Jan 1, 1977

By Roussey Roussev

The use of chemical additives on grinding is of significant importance considering the high energy consumption of grinding processes. My research indicates that the dispersant approach explains the effects, in this particular case of wet grinding. Further, the dispersant approach combined with torque measurements give the possibility of clarifying the mechanisms involved when using grinding aids. I find the conclusions derived from the data obtained to be correct and useful for grinding. In general, I agree with the explanations. However, I would like to discuss several additional points that I consider to be important, and in the same time to mention some of my own results from investigations similar to those presented in the study under discussion. The "bed volume concept" and the change of slurry viscosity explain adequately the data plotted on [fig. 3], in conjunction with [Figs. 1 and 2]. However, the significant increase of the average torque in the case of 83% solid with XFS-4272 introduces the necessity of establishing the optimum of percent solid when dispersant is used. For example, the optimum percent of solid for different materials varies. One of the reasons is the material's mass density. On the other hand, it is necessary to determine the concentration of the chemical used. Because of this, it would be interesting to know how the cited concentration was selected.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. J. Brison, O. F. Tangel

The development of a new method of mineral separation was sponsored by the International Salt Company, which requested Battelle Institute to investigate means for improving the quality and appearance of rock salt from the Company's Detroit mine. Although developed specifically for removing impurities from rock salt, the general method may be applicable to other separation problems. The principal impurities in rock salt from the Detroit mine are dolomite and anhydrite which represent 2 to 5 pct of the weight of the mined salt. In the size range from 114 to 112 in. (the range of primary interest in this project) the impurities are only partially liberated from the halite in normal production. Further size reduction to improve the liberation of impurities is not practicable in view of the market requirements for the coarse grades of rock salt. Laboratory separations in heavy liquids showed that, to improve the quality and appearance of the rock salt substantially, it would be necessary to remove not only free gangue particles but also a large proportion of the locked-in particles.

Jan 8, 1960

By B. Misra, N. Brook

A new method of determining a "Rock Impact Hardness Number" by comminuting cylindrical specimens in a "Syskov" mortar is proposed. The method of finding Protodyakonov Number by the stamp-mill method was first examined, and the effect of initial size of specimen thoroughly investigated. A method of determining the correct number of blows to use in a test is developed and the inaccuracies involved in the original method, which stem from the measurement of a volume of fines, are avoided by using mass measurements. A graph of percentage fines below 50µtm and number of blows is statistically examined to obtain an accurate estimate of the number of blows to produce 25% fines, from regular initial specimens. This number was defined as the "Rock Impact Hardness Number". The effect of specimen size on this strength index was investigated. A comparison was made between this method of determining rock strength, and a 'field' method using irregular specimens.

Jan 1, 1971

By A. L. Senkayi, L. R. Hossner, J. B. Dixon, J. S. Ahlrichs

Chemical and physical properties of soils and overburden materials must be evaluated prior to strip mining activities. This information can be used to assess whether subsurface overburden can be equal in quality to the native soils, especially when these soils are classed as prime farm lands. In northeast Texas, lignite primarily occurs in the Calvert Bluff formation which is underlain by the Simboro and Hooper formations. These formations are in the Wilcox group (early Eocene). The Carrizo formation, that unconformably overlies the Calvert Bluff formation, consists of thick layers of sand with poor water and nutrient retention capabilities. These materials are least suited for placement on the surface of reclaimed land. The oxidized, medium textured overburden of the Culvert Bluff and Simboro formations possess adequate water and nutrient retention properties and are better suited for sustained plant growth when compared to the existing native soils. Non-oxidized Calvert Bluff and Hooper sediments generally have acceptable properties for reclamation although acid forming sulfides occasionally occur. Materials high in sulfides must be buried during mining or appropriately treated prior to reclamation.

Jan 1, 1984

By Harlan Walker

ROCK-DRILL steel has an important bearing on costs in many mining operations, both directly and indirectly. Direct factors include such items as shop expense, steel consumed per ton of ore produced, cost of distribution and the dust hazard. The latter, although no specific amount may be assigned to it, is an ever-present problem, and is receiving increased attention as the science of mining progresses. Indirectly drill-steel performance affects consumption of compressed air, mainte-nance of drills and drilling speed. The latter, in turn, increases or retards the tempo of mining and development. These factors, while not all inclusive, are preponderant in their importance. Thus it is evident that in an extensive operation drill-steel expense may run to many thousands of dollars and that thoughtful research leading toward more efficient practice is warranted.

Jan 1, 1940

By J. Weng

The equations of heat conduction are numerically solved for two kinds of artificial freezing- mechanical freezing and liquid nitrogen freezing. A two dimensional finite difference model simulating the freezing field is developed. The procedure introduces a way to simulate the effect of latent heat released when water transforms from liquid to solid. The procedure also produces a way to calculate the harmonic mean of heat conductivity used when dealing with heterogeneous material. The theoretically derived temperature distributions in frozen soil are given and compared with measured data. An analysis made on the thermal design in shaft freezing. The average temperature of frozen soil is calculated by using numerical integration. The regularity of development of frozen soil radius is revealed and given in an appropriate mathematical model.

Jan 1, 1984

By Brian F. Osborne

A continuous on-line particle-size analysis system for solid/liquid suspensions is described. The basic sensor utilizes a centrifugal principle to separate particles according to size, the resultant separation being measured by means of beta-ray attenuation. Results obtained when analyzing a variety of materials at sizes from 65 mesh (210 µ) to 20 w are discussed in detail. Accuracies better than 2% are demonstrated. The effects of particle specific gravity, and mixtures of materials of diverse specific gravities, are discussed from both a practical and a theoretical viewpoint. It is demonstrated that particle specific gravity has a minimal effect on the size reading obtained. This renders the instrument suitable for handling materials where the ratio of light to heavy component may change. The design of the first commercial installation of this instrument is described in detail. This installation will be capable of analyzing three streams in sequence, measurement at three particle sizes being effected on each stream.

Jan 1, 1975