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By T. J. Bosworth

The effect of hydrogen pretreatment of alumina, magnesia, and zirconia crucibles on reduced oxygen levels in iron charges has been studied. Hydrogen treatment of commercial high-purity magnesia crucibles was observed to produce as high as 70 pct reduction in oxygen content in iron melts. Hydrogen treatment of the commercial high-purity grade zirconia crucibles produced a 25 pct reduction in oxygen levels in iron melts. An average reduction of Knoop hardness of 47 pct was recorded on the iron charges melted in hydrogen-treated crucibles. On the basis of the experiments and the free-energy diagram, it appears that the major source of reducible oxygen to the iron charge is the suboxides and impurity oxides rather than the major oxide of the crucible. Suitable pretreatment of the crucibles to reduce and remove these oxides yields low oxygen levels in iron melted in the crucibles. DURING the last decade, attempts to produce more pure and uniform alloyed metals have brought about the development of many new melting techniques. Notable among these are vacuum-induction melting, inert and consumable-electrode melting, the cold-mold technique, and numerous techniques for removal of impurities by chemical reaction. However great the achievements in this field, metals must still be melted in contact with media of varying reactivity; i.e., gas, ceramic, and slag. Studies have been made to attain an understanding of the reactions that take place during melting, including slag-metal reactions and equilibria, equilibrium of hydrogen and water vapor, and carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide with oxygen in molten iron. These reactions have been treated quite thoroughly. There is one condition, however, that has been widely overlooked, and, to the author's knowledge, only cursive investigation has been made of it. This is the reaction between the ceramic crucible material and the iron charge. In recent years, Hadley and Bianchi' made a series of studies on hydrogen deoxidation of iron in magnesia crucibles. Bianchi2 studied crucible-FeO equilibria in the temperature range 1525°to 1650°C in high vacuum with, however, inconsistent results. Richardson and Jeffes3 in their series of articles on thermodynamic reactions in the making of iron and steel refer to Wentrup and Hieber's4 work on iron and aluminum deoxidation. Their pork included melting iron in alumina crucibles and measuring the aluminum and oxygen content in the iron. Because of the low values obtained, question has arisen of their analytical accuracy.3 Dastur and chipman5 obtained values on hydrogen-oxygen equilibrium in molten iron contained in alumina crucibles similar to those obtained in experiments in the present program. Hochmann6 studied removal of impurities in chromium irons in high vacuum. His results with respect to oxygen level in chromium-iron melted in magnesia crucibles are consistent with results we have obtained.

Jan 1, 1959

By M. N. Dunlap

This article summarizes the successful incorporation of a flash-flooding stream into the tailing-disposal system at the St. Joseph Lead Company's Federal Division mill, in St. Francois County, Missouri. The mill was built in 1906, by the Federal Lead Co., as its No. 3 mill for the concentration of southeastern Missouri lead ores, and damming Davis Creek was first considered in 1908. Plans were made also in 1925 and in 1937. Dam layouts varied from a reinforced concrete structure to a barrier built of tailings alone. .All were abandoned because of liability that would be incurred by flash-flood rupturing of an incompleted dam. By 1942 mill capacity had reached 12,000 tons daily and increasing tailing-disposal costs again focused attention on the Davis Creek basin. This time the problem of riskless dam building was solved. Moreover, most of the items that appeared in the answer were materials that normally required wasting and the major portion of labor involved performed functions that it mould normally have done, without constructive benefit, elsewhere. The new layout also made possible advantageous changes in mill-water supply pumping; static head being reduced from 514 ft to 9; ft, friction head from 4900 ft to 2860 ft, and pumping can be done now at periods of low power demand. The following facts about the Davis Creek watershed explain the 36-year reluctance to reach these, and other, benefits. Size: 3600 acres. Outline: roughly pear-shaped, 21/2 by 3 miles at the largest dimensions. Topography: mostly hill land with steep valleys. Relief: 760 minimum to 1153 maximum. Maximum rainfall: 3.36 in. per hour. Permanent water: none natural. Now 2200 gpm discharged through 16-in. drill hole from mine pumps underground. Geology: the 17 acres near dam centerline is Bonne Terre dolomite covered with sand and gravel eroded from Pleistocene beds that cap some of the hills. The remainder of the pond basin is on Davis shale. Soil cover: mostly second-growth timber with some abandoned fields; all subject to careless burning, which reduces water-retaining ability. Flood history: flash-flooding that had taken at least one life. Downstream values: two railroad bridges before creek intersection with Flat River. Immediately below confluence, a highway bridge, a low-water crossing, a few business establishments and several blocks of residences. In July 1942 the following segments of an ingenious plan were put into operation. A ditch 270 ft long, 16 ft wide and 51/2 ft deep was excavated to bedrock in the gravelly soil along the proposed dam's centerline. This excavation, which exposed many gravel-filled channels, was run full of slimes drawn from a riser set in the top of an adjacent tailings-disposal

Jan 1, 1949

By Samuel M. Brock

In recent years society has become increasingly concerned with maintaining and improving the quality of environment. Thus, public interest and concern with pollution problems is now high. This is reflected in recent federal and state efforts to formulate new legislation to prevent pollution and strengthen existing pollution laws. In reviewing literature pertaining to pollution problems, it is possible to distinguish many common elements. The most outstanding of these is the failure of the market to guarantee that private firms responding to price signals generated in the marketplace will make decisions leading to optimal resource use. Cases of market failure in allocating natural resources according to the wants of society frequently are due to the presence of technical externalities, or side-use effects.59 These roughly and generally can be defined as interdependencies among production and consumption units, the impacts of which are exerted other than through the market. They are, in other words, extra-market relationships. The economic unit generating external effects does not take them into account in decision-making. Thus, the tendency is for the unit to produce either more than society desires or not enough. In such cases society often has intervened in the decision-making process. This intervention frequently has taken the form of legislation to regulate production and consumption activities. Thus, a body of institutions, which acts as a constraint in decision-making processes, has materialized. These institutions are often far more influential in their effect upon resource use than are the forces of supply and demand acting in the marketplace. The problem of environmental pollution is essentially the problem of handling residuals which are the byproduct of all production and consumption activities which take place in the economy.2 These residuals are emitted into the air and water and disposed of on the land. They are interrelated, in that efforts to control emissions into the air or water can result in the production of solid wastes, which then present disposal problems. It is convenient to separate residuals by the type of pollution they cause-air, water, and land while remembering that these problems are related and that solutions may require coordinated effort.1 Residuals may be produced in both production processes and consumption. Residuals produced in production by the mineral industry, or firms utilizing its products, range from emission of sulfur dioxide by steam generating plants to radioactive mill tailings produced in the course of mining uranium.. Residuals associated with consumption are generated mainly through transportation of members of the household, space heating, and in the disposal of solid wastes, including refuse and junk autos. Residuals associated with both production and consumption receive attention in ensuing sections of this chapter.

Jan 1, 1976

By B. M. Larsen, L. S. Darken

SOME years ago we collated all laboratory data then available to us on the distribution at equilibrium of manganese and of sulphur between metal and simple slags, and used the results in setting up an equation, which proved to be in accord with determinations of the distribution ratio of manganese and of sulphur between liquid steel and open-hearth slag, over a wide range of operating conditions. We now present an outline of our calculations and inferences on these two closely related questions, which are of especial importance because of the advisability of conserving manganese wherever possible. In general. our results show that in the open-hearth furnace equilibrium between metal and slag, with respect to both manganese and sulphur, is substantially attained during the finishing period of the heat, or in about a half hour to an hour after any additions were made. This implies that the end result will be identical whether manganese is added as alloy or metal to the liquid steel or as oxide to the slag. The proportion of total manganese retained by the steel is favored: (I) by use of the minimum amount of lime, consistent with other operating limitations, required to give a lime-silica ratio of about 2.4, which usually corresponds to a minimum practical slag volume; (2) by a high concentration in the slag of MnO relative to FeO; (3) by high operating temperature. Absorption of sulphur by the slag from the liquid metal is favored: (I) by large slag volume; (2-by a high concentration of active (or "free") lime and of manganese oxide dis) solved in the slag; (3) by low concentration of silica, iron oxide, and phosphate dissolved in the slag. DISTRIBUTION OF MANGANESE BETWEEN SLAG AND METAL AT EQUILIBRIUM On the basis that the distribution of manganese between liquid steel and slag is controlled by the reaction [FeO + Mn ;7± MnO + Fe [A] slag metal slag metal] the distribution at equilibrium, at a given temperature, is expressed by the equilibrium constant for this reaction, which is defined as [K" aFPI OFeO ? aMn] where a is the activity of the molecular species denoted by the subscript. The activity of each of the several components, although it is not known precisely, is approximately equal to the concentration of each component expressed as its mol fraction; that is, as the ratio of the number of mols of the given component to the total number of mols of all the molecular species present in the metal or slag, as the case may be. Moreover, since the activity, or concentration, of iron in the liquid metal is in fact substantially constant, the term aFe may he combined with K" to give a new constant K'. Making these changes.

Jan 1, 1942

By M. N. Dunlap

Tries article summarizes the successful incorporation of a flash-flooding stream into the tailing-disposal system at the St. Joseph Lead Company's Federal Division mill, in St. Francois County, Missouri. The mill was built in 1906, by the Federal Lead Co., as its No. 3 mill for the concentration of southeastern Missouri lead ores, and damming Davis Creek was first considered in 1908. Plans were made also in 1925 and in 1937. Dam layouts varied from a reinforced concrete structure to a barrier built of tailings alone. All were abandoned because of liability that would be incurred by flashflood rupturing of an incompleted dam. By 1942 mill capacity had reached 12,000 tons daily and increasing tailing-disposal costs again focused attention on the Davis Creek basin. This time the problem of riskless dam building was solved. Moreover, most of the items that appeared in the answer were materials that normally required wasting and the major portion of labor involved performed functions that it would normally have done, without constructive benefit, elsewhere. The new layout also made possible advantageous changes in mill-water supply pumping; static head being reduced from 514 ft to 95 ft, friction head from 4900 ft to 2860 ft, and pumping can be done now at periods of low power demand. The following facts about the Davis Creek watershed explain the 36-year reluctance to reach these, and other, benefits. Size: 3600 acres. Outline: roughly pear-shaped, 2 1/2 by 3 miles at the largest dimensions. Topography: mostly hill land with steep valleys. Relief : 760 minimum to 1153 maximum. Maximum rainfall: 3.36 in. per hour. Permanent water: none natural. Now 2200 gpm discharged through 16-in. drill hole from mine pumps underground. Geology: the 17 acres near dam centerline is Bonne Terre dolomite covered with sand and gravel eroded from Pleistocene beds that cap some of the hills. The remainder of the pond basin is on Davis shale. Soil cover: mostly second-growth timber with some abandoned fields; all subject to careless burning, which reduces water-retaining ability. Flood history: flash-flooding that had taken at least one life. Downstream values: two railroad bridges before creek intersection with Flat River. Immediately below confluence, a highway bridge, a low-water crossing, a few business establishments and several blocks of residences. In July 1942 the following segments of an ingenious plan were put into operation. A ditch 270 ft long, 16 ft wide and 5 1/2 ft deep was excavated to bedrock in the gravelly soil along the proposed dam's centerline. This excavation, which exposed many gravel-filled channels, was run full of slimes drawn from a riser set in the top of an adjacent tailings-disposal

Jan 1, 1947

By F. H. Spedding

From thermal, metallographic, X-ray, dilatometric, and electrical resistance data a Phase diagram is proposed for the La-C system. TWO compounds are formed, body-centered-cubic Laz C, having a large range of solid solubility, and body -centered-tetrago-nal Lac2 . The former melts incongruently at 1415°C, and at 25OC it has an electrical resistivity about two and one-half times that of bure lanthanum. The latter melts congruently at 2356°C and at room temperature has an electrical resistivity about equal to that of bure lanthanum. The addition of carbon to La lowers the melting Point of La about 115' C, raises the higher (B-Y) transfomzation about 10" C and appears to have no effect on the lower ( a-0) transformation. The addition of carbon appears to lower the oxygen content in the metal and improve the machinability; however, the tendency to oxidize is increased. Two eutectics are formed in the system. The first occurs at 2.2 pct C and melts at 806" C, while the second occurs between Lac2 and C with a melting point of2271"C. PETTERSSON,~ in 1895, was the first to prepare lanthanum dicarbide by heating the oxide with carbon in an electric furnace. He showed that this yellow, crystalline but brittle carbide had a formula corresponding to LaCz and that it reacted with water with the evolution of hydrogen and hydrocarbons and the formation of the hydrated oxide. Von Stackelberg's investigation of the crystal structure of the MCz carbides showed that the lanthanum dicarbide is of the tetragonal calcium dicarbide-type structure. He found the lattice parameters were a = 3.92 and c = 6.56.* Bredig,' using X-ray methods, showed that the room-temperature form of lanthanum dicarbide is stable up to 1750 °C and that above this temperature it transformsoto a face-centered-cubic structure, a = 6.0 ± O.lA, probably of the pyrite, FeSzstruc- typ? The reported discovery of two new cerium carbides, suggested that a corresponding face-centered-cubic lanthanum monocarbide and a body-centered-cubic lanthanum sesquicarbide might exist. This paper describes work on the lanthanum-carbon system which is part of a study of the rare earth metals and their alloys now in progress in this laboratory. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Source of Materials—The lanthanum metal was prepared at the Ames Laboratory by metal1o;hermic reduction of the fluoride with calcium metal. The results of spectrographic and chemical analysis indicated the presence of 0.01 pct Y, Al, Cu, Fe, and Si; 0.02 pct Ca and Mg; 230 ppm C; and 115 ppm N. The carbon used was of two types: 1) "National Special Graphite Spectroscopic Electrodes," and

Jan 1, 1960

By E. P. Polushkin, Henry L. Shuldener

This paper describes the results of microscopic examination of a series of brass pipes removed from apartment and office buildings in New York City, adjacent localities on Long Island, and Philadelphia. They were selected as typical of approximately four hundred pipe specimens obtained over a period of five years during an investigation of corrosion in hot-water installations. A part of the investigation is reported in this paper and includes a brief history of the pipes, a description of their inside surface and microstructure, and a study of the effects of corrosion, with particular reference to the structural aspects of local and selective dezincification. Although the bibliography on the corrosion of brass pipes is quite extensive, it refers almost entirely to corrosion in sea water. The authors believe that their examination of this series of pipes, which had been subjected to the corrosive action of fresh water for various lengths of time, may throw some additional light on the problem of corrosion. Pipes Examined The pipes were made by different manufacturers and their sizes range from 3/4 in. to 4 in. nominal inside diameter, the majority being within I to 2 in. They can be divided into two groups according to chemical composition: (I) with a copper content of 60 to 62 per cent and (2) with a copper content of 65 to 68 per cent. The first group (pipes made of Muntz metal) comprises 22 pipes and the second (pipes made of high brass) comprises 18 pipes. The pipes had been in service in various locations in the hot-water systems of the buildings involved. Some were taken from horizontal lines in the basement, some from overhead distributors and some from vertical risers. The distance, in terms of feet of pipe, of the specimens from the hot-water generator was no less than 75 ft. and often IOO to 300 ft. In the majority of cases the water-heating equipment was provided with a regulator to limit the temperature of the hot water supply. The normal range of temperature in pipe systems of this kind is Ioo° to 160°F. Water Supples The average chemical composition of the water supplies carried by the pipes is shown in Table I. In evaluating the corrosiveness of a natural water, four factors are considered of prime importance: namely, hardness, alkalinity, pH and silica content. The waters listed in Table 1 are characterized by relatively low hardness, 10, alkalinity, low pH and low silica content. The waters of lower pH and higher CO2 content are more corrosive. A characteristic of all of these waters is that they do not deposit a protective mineral coating as do waters with high bicarbonate of lime content, which would be reflected

Jan 1, 1945

By F. X. Spiegel, D. Bardos, Paul A. Beck

Ti6NileSi7)G is known to be cubic, with 116 atoms in the unit cell. In the present work four new G sili-cides were found with other transition elements and five G germanides. The titanium-group elements are very efficient in forming G phases. The vanadium -group elements are somewhat less efficient, and the chromium-group elements do not form any. Cobalt can replace nickel in most cases, but it is somewhat less efficient. Iron was not found to form any G phases. Germanium is somewhat less efficient than silicon. The (TiNiSi)E phase has been previously identified by Westbrook. However, its crystal structure has not been determined. In the present work the E phase was found to have an orthorhombic unit cell with lattice parameters a. = 7.02, bo = 5.18, co = 11.11A. A large number of other E phases were found at the same stoicheometric ratio in ternary systems of silicon and germanium with transition elements. Lattice parameters similar to those for TiNiSi were measured. The number of atoms per unit cell is estimated at 30 to 36. The vanadium-group elements are somewhat more efficient in forming the E phase than the titanium-group elements. Chromium-group elements were not found to form any E phases. Cobalt is somewhat less efficient than nickel, and iron is less efficient than cobalt. Germanium is not as efficient as silicon. ThE ternary silicide designated as G-phase was first identified by Beattie and versnyder1 and by Beattie and Hagel2 at the approximate composition TiNi2Si. Westbrook et al.' gave the composition as Ti2Ni7Sis. This phase was found to be fcc with a. = 11.201A and 116 atoms per unit cell. Beattie4 and more recently independently Hladishevskii, Kripyakevich, Kuzma, and Teslyuk5 were able to show that this structure is isotypic with MgeSi7CuLe and Th6Mn23. The latter structures had been determined by Florio, Rundle, and snow,' Nagorsen and Witte,7 and Bergman and Waugh.8 According to the crystal structure, Ti8Ni6Si7 may be considered as the ideal composition. The Russian investigators5 identified six additional ternary phases isotypic with Ti6Ni6Si7, in which titanium is replaced by Mn, V, Nb, Ta, Zr, and Hf, and one, namely MneNil6Ge7, in which germanium replaces silicon. They also found that Cr6Ni6Si7, which does not occur as a ternary phase, can be stabilized by replacing 1 at. pct of the Cr by V, Mn, or Ta. Another ternary silicide was found by Westbrook et al.3 at the composition TiNiSi, and it was designated by them as the E phase. The crystal structure of this phase has not been deter-

Jan 1, 1963

By Eugene Guccione

Fear of inflation is one important reason for the rebirth of interest in the stock market, and natural resources are the best investment in an era of rapid inflation.

Jan 6, 1976

Selected bibliographies of the Iron Resources of the World and the Coal Resources of the World have' been prepared by the Engineering Societies Library for the National Research Council from the most prominent. American, English and foreign books and periodicals. The bibliograpies are intended as a guide to the literature giving economic

Jan 5, 1919

By W. M. Mobley

The coal industry in Alabama, centered in Birmingham, has pioneered coal-bene-ficiation practice in the United States. The nature of the coal seams and mining methods employed have necessitated use of equipment and methods best adapted to the local conditions. Although all of the 30 or more coal seams now being mined in the state receive beneficiation, only the three most important producers of coking coals, the Pratt, Mary Lee and Black Creek, are discussed in detail. Nature of the seams, washability characteristics and equipment used are given as examples of the extent of work and progress in this field. The coal seams in Alabama are relatively thin and pitching, making mining difficult and expensive. Most of them are characterized by thin partings of rock or shale in the seam itself, as well as laminations of bone and rash. Mechanical mining methods have increased the occlusions from roof and floor to such an extent that nearly all the coal mined in the state must receive some treatment before it can be put on the market. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1943,' 18,129,792 tons of coal were mined in the state and 14,364,177 tons, or 79.2 per cent, received treatment. Excluding from the total the 1,223,014 tons produced by small wagon mines and the hand-picked lump coal, the amount re- ceiving beneficiation would be more than 90.00 per cent. This is, by far, greater than in any other coal-producing state. The earliest record of coal beneficiation in Alabama was the installation in 1890 of an experimental Lurig washer by Alexander Cunningham, for the Sloss Iron and Steel Co. at its blast furnace in Birmingham.2 In 1894 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. introduced the English Robinson washer, a combination of a hydraulic classifier and centrifugal machine. Erskine Ramsay, who has contributed so much to the coal industry, saw its possibilities as well as its mechanical defects and soon had his inventive mind at work. He added a sludge tank of his own design, and many Robinson-Ramsay washers were installed in Alabama and other states. The Stewart jig appeared in 1900, followed by the Montgomery jig in 1910 and both have found extensive use. Increased interest in this field led to new designs, such as the American, Elmore, Burke and Faust. The first Baum-type Norton jig was operated in 1930 and within the last five years six large installations of this type have been made by the McNally-Pitts-burg, Jeffrey and Link-Belt Companies. Wet-washing tables were introduced in 1922 but not extensively used until recently. The two most popular types are the Deister-Overstrom and Deister Plat-O. The coal-cleaning equipment used in Alabama has been relatively simple, yet efficient, but as the amount of impurities in the raw coal has been increased by mechanical mining and labor costs have become higher, much interest has been shown in sand cones, froth flotation and

Jan 1, 1947

By W. M. Mobley

The coal industry in Alabama, centered in Birmingham, has pioneered coal-bene-ficiation practice in the United States. The nature of the coal seams and mining methods employed have necessitated use of equipment and methods best adapted to the local conditions. Although all of the 30 or more coal seams now being mined in the state receive beneficiation, only the three most important producers of coking coals, the Pratt, Mary Lee and Black Creek, are discussed in detail. Nature of the seams, washability characteristics and equipment used are given as examples of the extent of work and progress in this field. The coal seams in Alabama are relatively thin and pitching, making mining difficult and expensive. Most of them are characterized by thin partings of rock or shale in the seam itself, as well as laminations of bone and rash. Mechanical mining methods have increased the occlusions from roof and floor to such an extent that nearly all the coal mined in the state must receive some treatment before it can be put on the market. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1943,1 18,129,792 tons of coal were mined in the state and 14,364,177 tons, or 79.2 per cent, received treatment. Excluding from the total the 1,223,014 tons produced by small wagon mines and the hand-picked lump coal, the amount re- ceiving beneficiation would be more than 90.00 per cent. This is, by far, greater than in any other coal-producing state. The earliest record of coal beneficiation in Alabama was the installation in 1890 of an experimental rig washer by Alexander Cunningham, for the Sloss Iron and Steel Co. at its blast furnace in Birmingham.* In 1894 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. introduced the English Robinson washer, a combination of a hydraulic classifier and centrifugal machine. Erskine Ramsay, who has contributed so much to the coal industry, saw its possibilities as well as its mechanical defects and soon had his inventive mind at work. He added a sludge tank of his own design, and many Robinson-Ramsay washers were installed in Alabama and other states. The Stewart jig appeared in 1900, followed by the Montgomery jig in 1910 and both have found extensive use. Increased interest in this field led to new designs, such as the American, Elmore, Burke and Faust. The first Baum-type Norton jig was operated in 1930 and within the last five years six large installations of this type have been made by the McNally-Pitts-burg, Jeffrey and Link-Belt Companies. Wet-washing tables were introduced in 1922 but not extensively used until recently. The two most popular types are the Deister-Overstrom and Deister Plat-O. The coal-cleaning equipment used in Alabama has been relatively simple, yet efficient, but as the amount of impurities in the raw coal has been increased by mechanical mining and labor costs have become higher, much interest has been shown in sand cones, froth flotation and

Jan 1, 1947

By W. M. Mobley

THE coal industry in Alabama, centered in Birmingham, has pioneered coal-beneficiation practice in the United States. The nature of the coal seams and mining methods employed have necessitated use of equipment and methods best adapted to the local conditions. Although all of the 30 or more coal seams now being mined in the state receive beneficiation, only the three most important producers of coking coals, the Pratt, Mary Lee and Black Creek, are discussed in detail. Nature of the seams, washability characteristics and equipment used are given as examples of the extent of work and progress in this field. The coal seams in Alabama are relatively thin and pitching, making mining difficult and expensive. Most of them are characterized by thin partings of rock or shale in the seam itself, as well as laminations of bone and rash. Mechanical mining methods have increased the occlusions from roof and floor to such an extent that nearly all the coal mined in the state must receive some treatment before it can be put on the market. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1943,1 18,129,792 tons of coal were mined in the state and 14,364,177 tons, or 79.2 per cent, received treatment. Excluding from the total the 1,223,014 tons produced by small wagon mines and the hand-picked lump coal, the amount receiving beneficiation would be more than 90.00 per cent. This is, by far, greater than in any other coal-producing state. The earliest record of coal beneficiation in Alabama was the installation in 1890 of an experimental Lung washer by Alexander Cunningham, for the Sloss Iron and Steel Co. at its blast furnace in Birmingham .2 In 1894 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. introduced the English Robinson washer, a combination of a hydraulic classifier and centrifugal machine. Erskine Ramsay, who has contributed so much to the coal industry, saw its possibilities as well as its mechanical defects and soon had his inventive mind at work. He added a sludge tank of his own design, and many Robinson-Ramsay washers were installed in Alabama and other states. The Stewart jig appeared in 1900, followed by the Montgomery jig in 1910 and both have found extensive use. Increased interest in this field led to new designs, such as the American, Elmore; Burke and Faust. The first Baum-type Norton jig was operated in 1930 and within the last five years six large installations of this type have been made by the McNally-Pittsburg, Jeffrey and Link-Belt Companies. Wet-washing tables were introduced in 1922 but not extensively used until recently. The two most popular types are the Deister-Overstrom and Deister Plat-O. The coal-cleaning equipment used in Alabama has been relatively simple, yet efficient, but as the amount of impurities in the raw coal has been increased by mechanical mining and labor costs have become higher, much interest has been shown in sand cones, froth flotation and

Jan 1, 1945

By Phillip Crowson

INTRODUCTION This discusses some of the economic risks and uncertainties which face any company investing in new mineral ventures. These differ mainly in degree rather than kind from other large capital intensive projects, except that economic risks are compounded with technical risks. Mines face a wide variety of physical risks, and in addition the ore reserves may not prove as ample, nor as amenable to treatment as the feasibility studies indicate. On the economic front, mineral projects are subject to risks of fluctuating prices and sales volumes, no matter where they are located, or how they are financed. Typically, they are heavy users of capital compared with their owners' internally generated funds. Long term debt of various types is still the favoured form of finance. A project's currencies and cost often differ from each other and from those of the parent company. Facing up to the various risks associated with fluctuating and uncertain revenues, interest rates and exchange rates are amongst the hardest tasks for natural resource companies. ATTITUDES TO THE MINING INDUSTRY Some have questioned whether the game itself is now worth playing. They have argued that the mining industry's mediocre rewards in the past decade have been insufficient, compared with the risks involved. They can see no prospect of dramatic improvement in the next decade. Demand is highly cyclical and tends to grow less rapidly than economic activity, as a whole. Barriers to entry are low in most mineral markets, but impediments to exit can be substantial. Exit is especially problematic in those minerals where there are large state shareholdings and/or where less developed countries are major producers. The consequence is claimed to be an endemic tendency to excess capacity, and prices barely adequate to cover marginal cash costs. Many of the petroleum companies that moved into mining with such high expectations in the late 1970s have retreated, often bearing the scars of heavy losses. Individual shareholders, taken collectively, place low valuations on their investments in mining companies. The price/earnings ratios of the major mineral producing companies are low compared with their historical averages and with those of other industries. PRICE: EARNINGS RATIOS (October 1988) [UK Industrials 12.0 RTZ 8.4 Cons Gold 12.2 US Industrials 13 - 13.4 Alcan Alcoa Amax Asarco Cyprus Minerals Freeport Copper Inco Inspiration Magma Copper Newmont Mining Nord Resources Phelps Dodge Reynolds Metal Canada TSE 300 10.6 Cominco 8.7 Falconbridge 5.3 Noranda 7.0 Rio Algom 7.2 Teck Corporation 17.] NOTE: Mining companies' p/e based on prospective 1988 earnings, from Kleinwort Benson Securities' weekly Mining World, October 1988. Until 1987, it was argued that share prices correctly reflected the companies' poor earnings potential. Subsequently, the argument has been that earnings have been unnaturally boosted by cyclically high metal prices. The stock market valuations, therefore, correctly reflect future earnings, or at least expected earnings. This seems to be a case of Heads, I win; Tails, you lose. The underlying analysis of metal markets appears

Jan 1, 1990

By W. M. Mobley

The coal industry in Alabama, centered in Birmingham, has pioneered coal-bene-ficiation practice in the United States. The nature of the coal seams and mining methods employed have necessitated use of equipment and methods best adapted to the local conditions. Although all of the 30 or more coal seams now being mined in the state receive beneficiation, only the three most important producers of coking coals, the Pratt, Mary Lee and Black Creek, are discussed in detail. Nature of the seams, washability characteristics and equipment used are given as examples of the extent of work and progress in this field. The coal seams in Alabama are relatively thin and pitching, making mining difficult and expensive. Most of them are characterized by thin partings of rock or shale in the seam itself, as well as laminations of bone and rash. Mechanical mining methods have increased the occlusions from roof and floor to such an extent that nearly all the coal mined in the state must receive some treatment before it can be put on the market. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1943,' 18,129,792 tons of coal were mined in the state and 14,364,177 tons, or 79.2 per cent, received treatment. Excluding from the total the 1,223,014 tons produced by small wagon mines and the hand-picked lump coal, the amount re- ceiving beneficiation would be more than 90.00 per cent. This is, by far, greater than in any other coal-producing state. The earliest record of coal beneficiation in Alabama was the installation in 1890 of an experimental Lurig washer by Alexander Cunningham, for the Sloss Iron and Steel Co. at its blast furnace in Birmingham.2 In 1894 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. introduced the English Robinson washer, a combination of a hydraulic classifier and centrifugal machine. Erskine Ramsay, who has contributed so much to the coal industry, saw its possibilities as well as its mechanical defects and soon had his inventive mind at work. He added a sludge tank of his own design, and many Robinson-Ramsay washers were installed in Alabama and other states. The Stewart jig appeared in 1900, followed by the Montgomery jig in 1910 and both have found extensive use. Increased interest in this field led to new designs, such as the American, Elmore, Burke and Faust. The first Baum-type Norton jig was operated in 1930 and within the last five years six large installations of this type have been made by the McNally-Pitts-burg, Jeffrey and Link-Belt Companies. Wet-washing tables were introduced in 1922 but not extensively used until recently. The two most popular types are the Deister-Overstrom and Deister Plat-O. The coal-cleaning equipment used in Alabama has been relatively simple, yet efficient, but as the amount of impurities in the raw coal has been increased by mechanical mining and labor costs have become higher, much interest has been shown in sand cones, froth flotation and

Jan 1, 1947

By Oliver Bowles

Slate is a fine-grained rock that has a more or less perfect natural cleavage, permitting it to be split readily into thin, smooth sheets. According to a definition established by the American Society for Testing Materials, slate is "a microgranular crystalline rock derived from argillaceous sediments by regional metamorphism and characterized by a perfect cleavage entirely independent of original bedding, which cleavage has been induced by pressure within the earth." Origin and Character Slates have originated from sedimentary deposits consisting largely of clay. Such materials were carried by streams and deposited in seas or lakes in successive horizontal beds. Other materials such as calcium carbonate, sand, or gravel may have been deposited over the clays, and the pressure of these superimposed materials gradually consolidated the materials below into bedded deposits of shale. Shale is a stratified rock formed by recrystallization of the clay plus adsorbed potash into the mica, sericite. Shale has neither the strength nor the splitting properties of slate since the mica is fine and the flakes unoriented, and the quartz grains do not interlock. Many shales, however, have been subjected to intense metamorphism. Mountain-building forces ever at work in the earth's crust may crumple, squeeze, and fold the shales. At the same time, accompanying high pressures and temperatures changed the original minerals into mica, interlocking quartz, or chlorite. Both mica and chlorite consist of minute tabular sheets or flakes with perfect cleavage. The intense pressure and movement tend to orient these flakes in parallel positions normal to the direction of pressure. The parallelism of the flakes results in the tendency to split with ease in one direction, which has been termed "slaty cleavage," and which is the outstanding characteristic of slate. Actually, the cleavage is through the cleavages of the individual micaceous plates. The original bedding of the slate is often folded and contorted, and the slaty cleavage commonly cuts across it at sharp angles. Composition MINERALOGICAL COMPOSITION The most abundant mineral in most slates is white mica (sericite), a hydrous silicate of potash and aluminum. It is present in very small flakes recognizable only with a microscope. Small grains of quartz (silicon dioxide) are also abundant and are regularly distributed among the mica flakes. The mica-like mineral, chlorite, is usually present in considerable quantities. Chlorites are of several kinds, the more common being hydrous silicates of aluminum and iron or magnesium. Other common minerals present in small quantities are rutile, clay, hematite, pyrite, carbonaceous matter, feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, calcite, dolomite, and siderite. The general range of the chief constituents is about as follows: Sericite, 38 to 40; quartz, 31 to 45; chlorite, 6 to 18; hematite, 3 to 6; and rutile, 1 to 1 ½ pct. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION Results of many analyses indicate that clays, shales, and slates differ little in chemical composition. The changes that take place during metamorphism are confined largely to rearrangement of the elements into new minerals with accompanying changes in physical properties such as hardness and cleavage. The general

Jan 1, 1960

By Michael A. Zappia

INTRODUCTION The San Manuel mine of Magmacopper Company is located approximately 72 km northeast of Tucson, Arizona. The mine, concentrator, smelter, electrolytic refinery and continuous rod casting are located on the west side of the San Pedro River valley. Ore Production: 58 1W mtpd Production To Date: Over 340 000 000 mt since 1956. Ore Grade: 0.70% net sulfide cu. As conceived at the present time, the San Manuel ore body is the lower half of what was originally an elliptical (In cross sect ion) cylinder same 2400 m long with major and minor cross sectional axes of 1500 m and 760 m. After emplacement, the cylinder was diagonally sliced along its long dimension by the San Manuel fault, which separated it into halves, moving the upper half same 2500 m down dip and bringing a wedge-shaped blanket of tertiary conglomerate into position over the lower segment of the cylinder. The lower segment is the San Manuel ore body. The upper part, moved down dip, is the Kalamazoo ore body. Originally, these were one ore body. The San Manuel ore body is a structurally weak and highly fractured quartz monzonite, the principal ore minerals being chalcopyrite, with small amounts of molybdenite. The present mining method is full gravity diagonal retreat panel caving by block. This is shown on Figure 2 , (Block Sequence 56, 57, 58, 59 --on the following page.) The ore mined is hoisted to the surface for transportation to the concentrator. BLOCK CAVING MINING SEQUENCE HISTORY The San Manuel mine was planned and developed as a full gravity block caving mine. It continues as a full gravity block caving mine. Since its initial start, the major changes in mining have been in the areas of ground support, rate of draw and undercut sequence. Ground weight resulting from block caving plays a dual role. It can cause extensive damage to ex- traction openings, yet it is necessary to break the ore into easily handled size. The ground- weight problem resolves itself into finding ways to make it manageable. The initial early ground support in the production areas consisted of timber sets and various combinations of steel and timber sets. This sup- port system proved unsatisfactory and a new support system utilizing concrete was developed. Concrete support, 30 cm to 45 cm thick, proved satisfactory. Rates of draw were experimented with. A draw rate of 45 cm to 61 cm (32 to 45 mt) per draw point per day was determined as optimum in con- trolling ground weight. Undercut sequence or mining sequence was recognized as a major contributing factor to ground weight. This is the most difficult factor to change. The lead time from primary development to undercut can be as much as two years. Initial Checkerboard Pattern The initial undercut sequence was in a checker- board pattern (Figure 2). Blocks Sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6--next page.

Jan 1, 1981

By W. M. Mobley

The coal industry in Alabama, centered in Birmingham, has pioneered coal-bene-ficiation practice in the United States. The nature of the coal seams and mining methods employed have necessitated use of equipment and methods best adapted to the local conditions. Although all of the 30 or more coal seams now being mined in the state receive beneficiation, only the three most important producers of coking coals, the Pratt, Mary Lee and Black Creek, are discussed in detail. Nature of the seams, washability characteristics and equipment used are given as examples of the extent of work and progress in this field. The coal seams in Alabama are relatively thin and pitching, making mining difficult and expensive. Most of them are characterized by thin partings of rock or shale in the seam itself, as well as laminations of bone and rash. Mechanical mining methods have increased the occlusions from roof and floor to such an extent that nearly all the coal mined in the state must receive some treatment before it can be put on the market. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1943,1 18,129,792 tons of coal were mined in the state and 14,364,177 tons, or 79.2 per cent, received treatment. Excluding from the total the 1,223,014 tons produced by small wagon mines and the hand-picked lump coal, the amount re- ceiving beneficiation would be more than 90.00 per cent. This is, by far, greater than in any other coal-producing state. The earliest record of coal beneficiation in Alabama was the installation in 1890 of an experimental rig washer by Alexander Cunningham, for the Sloss Iron and Steel Co. at its blast furnace in Birmingham.* In 1894 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. introduced the English Robinson washer, a combination of a hydraulic classifier and centrifugal machine. Erskine Ramsay, who has contributed so much to the coal industry, saw its possibilities as well as its mechanical defects and soon had his inventive mind at work. He added a sludge tank of his own design, and many Robinson-Ramsay washers were installed in Alabama and other states. The Stewart jig appeared in 1900, followed by the Montgomery jig in 1910 and both have found extensive use. Increased interest in this field led to new designs, such as the American, Elmore, Burke and Faust. The first Baum-type Norton jig was operated in 1930 and within the last five years six large installations of this type have been made by the McNally-Pitts-burg, Jeffrey and Link-Belt Companies. Wet-washing tables were introduced in 1922 but not extensively used until recently. The two most popular types are the Deister-Overstrom and Deister Plat-O. The coal-cleaning equipment used in Alabama has been relatively simple, yet efficient, but as the amount of impurities in the raw coal has been increased by mechanical mining and labor costs have become higher, much interest has been shown in sand cones, froth flotation and

Jan 1, 1947

By Karl F. Peterson, H. K. Najarian, Robert E. Lund

R. E. Powers (Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh)—Several of the processing methods at the Josephtown smelter might well be considered by plants producing iron blast furnace sinter. In making blast furnace sinter the objectives are much the same as at Josephtown: To produce a strong yet porous agglomerate which has a size consist in a preferred range. The emphasis however is on production rate rather than on the size or other quality characteristics of the sinter. Therefore the technique is entirely different. Blast furnace sinter plants attempt to make their product in one pass with a minimum recirculating load and without sizing treatment after the sinter leaves the machines. Many plants are beginning to feel that more attention paid to quality characteristics would make the product a more desirable blast furnace material. The pelletizing of very fine material before placing it on the bed is not deliberately done at iron sinter plants, although the installed equipment sometimes gives a simila; action. Such pelletizing seems to be a promising way of accommodating the down-draft sintering Drocess to very fine materials. he recirculating load at Josephtown is extremely high. Two plants' producing blast furnace sinter from raw material of comparable size have a recirculating load of about 100 pct of production. At Josephtown it is notable that the size and the rate of feeding of return fines are under control. This is not the case in most blast furnace sinter plants. The sinter slicer appears to be a worthwhile aid in effecting such control. It is similar in action to rakes and plows used at a number of plants, but it has the advantage that the sinter dislodged is positively removed and not left to the inefficient action of a stationary grizzly screen. Blast furnace size specifications for sinter are not at present so rigid as the Josephtown specifications. If the sizing of blast furnace sinter does become important, then the Josephtown crushing practice, in which a large recirculating load is maintained on the crusher in order that minimum fines be produced, may be of interest. H. K. Najarian (authors' reply)—We note that Mr. Powers appreciates some points that we tried to emphasize in our paper as being of importance in making zinc sinter of good quality and which may well be applied to iron blast furnace sinter. Fig. 2 shows the pelletized nature of the feed going on to a Dwight-Lloyd type sintering machine in our plant. Practically, the entire feed consists of more or less rounded particles which permit more uniform air passage through the charge, while the larger particles in the charge roll on to the surface of the grate, which helps to keep the grate openings from being clogged by excessive fines. An agglomerated charge of this character may preferably be made by rolling action while being mixed in a rotating drum and wetted by water sprays to bind the fine particles together and give the charge the desired moisture content. From our observations of several iron ore and blast furnace flue dust sintering operations, we believe that if the fines from the sinter discharged from the machines were to be recirculated and agqlomerated with the new feed, not only sinter of better quality but larger capacity from the machines may be realized.

Jan 1, 1952

By E. W. Parker

PROBABLY everyone is well aware that from April 1 to September 11, 1922, anthracite production was completely suspended; during those 163 days not one ton of coal was produced in the anthracite region. The production loss was about 30 million tons, and although production is now at its peak, there is no possible way by. which, within any short space of time, that deficiency can be made up. During that time the miners sacrificed in wages something over 100 million dollars. The anthracite companies paid out in cash, keeping their mines in condition to operate when mining should be resumed, something like 30 million dollars without taking in one cent of revenue. The tonnage of domestic sizes included in that lost output was about 21 million tons. The anthracite operators figured that between September 11, 1922, and March 31, 1923, they would possibly be able to produce about 60 per cent. of the tonnage that was mined the preceding year, that is, from April 1, 1921, to March 31, 1922. The problem then arose as to how that tonnage could be distributed equitably throughout the United States and Canada. We had in our records in Phila-delphia the distribution by communities, about 20,000 of them, to which anthracite had been shipped during the last five years, so that we were well posted as to what each community should be entitled to receive. We allotted to each of those 20,000 communities 60 per cent. of the tonnage that it had received during the preceding coal year, and we have endeavored to see that whatever tonnage we have been able to produce should be equitably distributed on that basis. It was a matter simply of voluntary cooperation by the anthra-cite operators who placed the distribution of their tonnage practically in the hands of the Pennsylvania Fuel Commission; the anthracite companies have almost without exception acceded to every request that we have made of them. When communities were reported entirely out of coal, a telegram or letter to the directors obligated to that community has resulted in some anthracite being shipped there, so that we have thus far kept the distribution on a fairly equitable basis. Prior to the suspension of mining operations, pre-liminary negotiations were carried on for the renewal of the wage scale, the operators thinking that it could be adjusted satisfactorily, and that the same method of procedure would be followed as during the 20 years succeeding the strike of 1902. At every termination of the wage agreement since that date, until last year, an agreement had been reached early in the season that mining operations should be continued, with the under-standing that any new agreement should be retroactive to April 1. At the meeting of the committees of anthra-cite operators and miners, on March 21, 1922, the opera-tors were presented with an ultimatum by the miners to the effect that unless an agreement were reached within ten days, mining operations would cease. That was protested against by the committee of operators as being unfair, not only to the operators and the public but to the men themselves. In spite of this protest the suspension occurred and, as you know, continued until September 11.

Jan 4, 1923