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By I. Milton LeBaron

Operation of the phosphate flotation plant at the Peace valley mine of the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, Florida, began in the summer of 1942. Since that time several changes have been made in the flowsheet, with resultant increases in metallurgical results. Three flowsheets, together with the comparative plant results, are given in this paper, together with a discussion of the desliming circuit used for preliminary washing of the flotation feed. Fig. I lists the essential units in the original flowsheet at the Peace Valley plant. The figures for tonnage and grade are average for a period of two months. Mineral Separation Airflow cells are used for both the fatty acid and the amine float. Three immediate difficulties presented themselves in the use of this flow sheet: I. Floating a maximum amount of phosphate in the rougher section to give good recovery sent a low-grade concentrate to the silica float, resulting in high costs for amine reagent in that section.

Jan 1, 1947

By E. Maltby Shipp

WALLACE MCKEEHAN, Douglas, Ariz. (communication to the Secretary*).-In going over this report, which I have done very carefully, I find that the summary as composed deals with the various problems almost entirely from the employer's standpoint and that practically no consideration is given to the employee's point of view. An experience of 3 ½ years as safety inspector, and almost 30 years as workman-and official, has convinced me that any plan for the betterment of working conditions which will achieve any degree of success must give the workmen their share of responsibility and allow them full participation. The company may finance and direct the movement, but its ultimate success depends upon the support given by the workmen. The cooperation of the men doing the actual work is so essential that all writers insist that this must he secured, but they do not agree as to how this can best be done.

Jan 3, 1917

By ANDREW CARNEGIE

Although the noble building provided in New York City by Mr. Carnegie for the United Engineering Society has been pushed to about half-completion, the ceremony of laying its corner-stone was not performed until Tuesday afternoon, May 8, 1906. The stone lies just back of the southeast corner of the building, on the north side-of West 39th Street. Among those present were Mr. and Mrs. Carnegie, Miss Whitfield, the sister of Mrs. Carnegie, Ralph W. Pope, Secretary of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, Frederick R. Hutton, Secretary of the. Society of Mechanical Engineers, Rossiter W. Raymond, Secretary of the Institute of Mining Engineers, Charles H. Haswell, the first Chief Engineer of the United States Navy (1836-1851), now in his ninety-seventh year, John Fritz, of the Bethlehem Steel Company, William H. Fletcher, President of the Engineers' Club, E. E. Olcott, President of United Engineering Society, and other interested friends. After an inspection of the interior of the building, the group formed about the corner-stone, which had been draped with the American flag. The exercises were opened by Mr. Olcott, who appropriately welcomed Mr. Carnegie, and briefly expressed the essential value of the building, saying, in part " The societies to be housed underneath this roof have as their aim the pre¬serving and putting in tangible form of the records of scientific accomplishments so as to avoid the repetition of mistakes. The possibility of finding the records of these results all at one center, so near the great Public Library of our city, will be an inestimable advantage to all professions. It is an occasion of no ordinary moment, therefore, when we can welcome Mr. Carnegie and have him lay for us the corner-stone of this great building which his liberality has provided." Mr. Carnegie responded in happy vein, thanking the committee for their greeting, and expressing his pleasure. in being able to do what he had done to further so worthy a cause. Among other things, he said

May 1, 1906

THE CHAIRMAN (EDWIN LUDLOW, Lansford; Pa.).-Mr. Wang's paper reminded me that some years ago I was asked if I would not go into the Tien Tsin district and take charge of Americanizing a Chinese mine. They said the trouble was that, while wages were only 9 c. a day, the coke cost $2 a ton delivered to the cars. Reading Mr: Wang's paper would indicate the need of a little Americanization in the Manchurian field. Wages are only 40 c: a day, yet the cost is $3.60 a ton. An efficiency engineer would have an excellent opportunity in that field. T. T. READ, New York, N. Y.-It is always true that low-priced labor is inefficient, wherever we find it; for example, in Japan, where wages are low, but not so low as in Manchuria, working costs are not relatively much lower than ours. Mr. Padshah, describing his experience in India, once told me that, while wages were only about one-fifth as high

Jan 4, 1918

By James M. Winston

When I began my career (the first assignment was mucking the "drainage" ditch) an experienced miner told me, "Remember son, happiness is a journey, not a destination. . . ." If you missed the 100th Anniversary of AIME in New York this year, you are missing the journey. There are not enough superlatives to describe the event. Especially since New York is "known to have it all." An Indefinable Plus There was a little something different at this meeting. I cannot explain what, but there seemed to be more of everything. There were more wives there this year-what a pleasure to see all the lovely women mingling through the conference- which was reflected through our own attire and mannerisms. In fact, everyone looked so great, we checked to see if it really was a convention of miners. You wives keep coming to all of the events, because so much is added by your presence.

Jan 1, 1971

By Oliver C. Ralston

THE two chemical compounds, natural sodium carbonate and sodium sulphate, in their anhydrous condition are dealt in as "soda ash and "salt cake”-names from an earlier day that are not as precise as the present accepted terminology. Once a large part of the sodium carbonate recovered was in the ash of seaweed, so it was logically called soda ash, and the corresponding potassium carbonate, once mainly recovered from wood ashes, was called potash. The term "salt cake" was applied to the sodium sulphate resulting from interaction of sodium chloride with sulphuric acid or sodium bisulphate, to form hydrogen chloride gas and an anhydrous cake of sodium sulphate. It was called "salt cake" and also "glassmaker's salt cake" because much of it was used in the production of glass. The two salts occur in nature in a variety of forms, but whereas an- hydrous sodium sulphate (thenardite) is fairly common, the anhydrous normal sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, is almost never found in nature. The monohydrate (thermonatrite), Na2CO3.2H2O, is seen occasionally, but it is never a major constituent in natural "soda" deposits. The high solubility of normal sodium carbonate is one reason for this. While both compounds occur widely in brines, the solid salts found in nature are usually trona (Na2CO3.NaHC03.2H2O) and thenardite (Na2SO4). The natural brines containing workable quantities of the two sodium salts are largely found in the arid and semiarid portions of the western United States and other countries. The classical discussion of the resources of these brines are those of Clarke,5 Chatard.4 Packard,19 Gale,11 and Wells.28 From North Dakota to California and from Arizona to the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Manitoba, saline lakes, dried-up lakes, playas, and similar land-locked depressions contain accumulations of saline matter. Sodium chloride is the predominant salt but some of the lakes contain predominantly either sodium carbonate or sodium sulphate. Often sodium carbonate

Jan 1, 1949

By J. Taffanel

I am very much impressed by this manifestation of international brotherhood; the mining engineers on both sides of the ocean have similar subjects to deal with, meet with the same difficulties, expose themselves sometimes to similar dangers…

Jan 1, 1915

By Henry M. Howe

I NOW call your attention to two directions in which very important progress may be confidently hoped for—pyrometry and the heat-treatment of steel. We already find in the market more than one pyrometer which, in spite of serious defects, may lie used advantageously for determining and controlling the temperature of many of our metallurgical processes. It is to be hoped, and with much confidence, that by the rapid extension of the use of such instruments, the economy and efficiency of these processes may undergo an increase which, in the aggregate, will be of the greatest importance. In this connection, the lucid paper of Prof. Roberts-Austen," and the learned bulletin of Mr. Barus, are most welcome. But much remains to be done in the way of devising pyrometers suitable for manufacturing purposes. While some of the present pyrometers are most convenient and accurate in the laboratory, serious difficulties attend the use, in factories, of those which I have

Jan 1, 1895

By Andrew B. Crichton

No more important question has come before the coal industry in the past decade than the prevention of stream pollution by mine drainage; especially in Pennsylvania, where large areas of coal land have been developed. It may be thought that the problem of labor or lack of transportation outweighs in importance that of stream pollution. We can see possible remedies for labor and transportation problems but there is no known satisfactory solution of the mine-drainage problem. The subject has been given little serious attention, for, until recently, it has been little understood; but in the past year it was brought to the attention of the coal-mining industry by the introduction, in Congress, of several bills designed to prevent the discharge of acid waters from mines or other sources into navigable streams, or their tributaries. The first legislation proposed was the Applebybill, H.R.7369, designed particularly to prevent the oil pollution of coastal waters. It contained the following provisions, which the coal men regarded as referring to the coal industry. It shall be unlawful to throw ... any refuse matter of any kind ... into any navigable waters of the United States or into any tributaries of any navigable waters from which the same shall float or be washed into such navigable waters. The chemical, steel, paper, and other manufacturing industries, as well as the mining industry, objected to this clause, the miners claiming that it would prevent the discharge of waste or mine drainage into any waters of the United States, for all streams or tributaries finally reach navigable waters. The next bill introduced was that of Congressman Briggs, H.R. 7430, an amendment to Section 13 of the Pollution Act of March 3, 1899. The original act referred chiefly to oil and oil refuse, but it provided also "that no material of any kind should be deposited on the bank of a navigable water, or tributary, which might reach the waters and interfere with or

Jan 1, 1923

By Andrew B. Crichton

No more important question has come before the coal industry in the past decade than the prevention of stream pollution by mine drainage; especially in Pennsylvania, where large areas of coal land have been developed. It may be thought that the problem of labor or lack of transportation outweighs in importance that of stream pollution. We can see possible remedies for labor and transportation problems but there is no known satisfactory solution of the mine-drainage problem. The subject has been given little serious attention, for, until recently, it has been little understood; but in the past year it was brought to the attention of the coal-mining industry by the introduction, in Congress, of several bills designed to prevent the discharge of acid waters from mines or other sources into navigable streams, or their tributaries. The first legislation proposed was the Applebybill, H.R.7369, designed particularly to prevent the oil pollution of coastal waters. It contained the following provisions, which the coal men regarded as referring to the coal industry. It shall be unlawful to throw ... any refuse matter of any kind ... into any navigable waters of the United States or into any tributaries of any navigable waters from which the same shall float or be washed into such navigable waters. The chemical, steel, paper, and other manufacturing industries, as well as the mining industry, objected to this clause, the miners claiming that it would prevent the discharge of waste or mine drainage into any waters of the United States, for all streams or tributaries finally reach navigable waters. The next bill introduced was that of Congressman Briggs, H.R. 7430, an amendment to Section 13 of the Pollution Act of March 3, 1899. The original act referred chiefly to oil and oil refuse, but it provided also "that no material of any kind should be deposited on the bank of a navigable water, or tributary, which might reach the waters and interfere with or

Jan 1, 1923

WE the undersigned, being all persons of full age and citizens of the United States, and a majority residents of the State of New York, desiring to form a corporation pursuant to the provisions of the Membership Corporations Law for the purpose of incorporating, as provided in Section 5 of Article I. of said law, the existing unincorporated association known as American Institute of Mining Engineers, do hereby make, acknowledge and file this Certificate for that purpose, and do Certify as follows I. That the American Institute of Mining Engineers is an unincorporated association organized and existing with the object of promoting the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals and the welfare of those employed in these industries by means of meetings for social intercourse and the reading and discussion of professional papers, and to circulate by means of publications among its members and associates the information thus obtained.

Jan 1, 1923

By Frank C. Schader

JOHN CARTER ANDERSON, Kingman, Ariz. (communication to the Secretary *).-From an extended study of the Oatman and Secret Pass districts of Mohave County, Arizona, I believe that the genesis of the ore deposits, in most cases, is directly connected with rhyolitic intrusions later than the Tertiary flows; and that the developments of, the future will prove these intrusives to be the primary source of the ore. In support of this opinion I will instance the Wilhelm-Eclipse dike in Secret Pass and the Murdock, Nellie, Black Range dike and ledge in the southern part of the Oatman district. The Wilhelm-Eclipse dike is a very fine-grained light-colored siliceous rhyolite dike with a strike of N.45W. traversing the full length of the Secret Pass district about midway between two major faults which mark the easterly and westerly boundaries of the district. These faults .have lifted the block between so that erosion has exposed the pre-Cam-

Jan 4, 1917

WE the undersigned, being all persons of full age and citizens of the United States, and a majority residents of the State of New York, desiring to form a corporation pursuant to the provisions of the Membership Corporations Law for the purpose of incorporating, as provided in Section 5 of Article I. of said law, the existing unincorporated association known as American Institute of Mining Engineers, do hereby make, acknowledge and file this Certificate for that purpose, and do Certify as follows I. That the American Institute of Mining Engineers is an unincorporated association organized and existing with the object of promoting the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals and the welfare of those employed in these industries by means of meetings for social intercourse and the reading and discussion of professional papers, and to circulate by means of publications among its members and associates the information thus obtained.

Jan 1, 1917

By Charles Catlett

The rapid development of the Portland-cement industry implies that the country is being very carefully searched for material suitable for its manufacture. Such material can be found at a great many places; but deposits thoroughly satisfactory in chemical composition, and at the same time meeting all the other requirements connected with the economic production and profitable marketing of the product, are exceedingly few, if I may judge from the investigations which I have had to make in a number of States. The raw mixture which by its clinkering and grinding forms Portland cement contains approximately 75 per cent. of carbonate of lime. This is found in nature as limestone or marl. The natural rock commonly carries either more than the required percentage of carbonate of lime (in which case it has to be reduced by suitable admixture of clayey ingredients) or less—in which case purer lime carbonate has to be added. The controlling ingredient, therefore, is carbonate of lime, or limestone of the right composition.

Jan 1, 1908

By O. J. Malacarne, D. G. Millenbruch

The use of a series of thickeners for washing of the slime fraction of a leached ore is not uncommon in the uranium industry; however, few ore processing mills have used a thickener circuit for washing leached total ore. The common practice is to wash the sand fraction in classifiers and the slime fraction only in thickeners. At the Uravan mill of Union Carbide Nuclear Co., a total ore acid leach is employed to extract uranium values from sandstone ores. These leached ores are then washed at a nominal rate of from 1000 to 1300 tpd in a series of washing thickeners. A typical screen analysis of the ore being washed in these thickeners is: 25 pct, -200 mesh; 3 pct, +35 mesh; and about 1 pct, +14 mesh. The amount of slimes (-200 mesh) will vary from 20 to 30 pct as the mill receives ore from 150 different mines. The washing liquor is acidic, from a pH of about 2 in the first thickener to 0.6 pH in the last thickener and, of course, all acid duty equipment must be used. The Uravan mill of Union Carbide Nuclear Co. is located in Montrose County, Colo. and is physically located on a canyon wall along the San Miguel River. The thickeners referred to in this paper are located on top of the mesa above the canyon. For purposes of identification, these thickeners are numbered 1 through 8 from south to north. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CIRCUIT The circuit utilized consists of eight wooden fir tanks, 60-ft diam by 12-ft deep, set in a line and staggered in elevation by approximately 3 ft. The washing water flows through the thickeners by gravity, while the ore pulp is pumped uphill from thickener to thickener. Adequate piping and pumping capacity are available so that any of the thickeners can be bypassed in the circuit. All the controls for the

Jan 1, 1962

By J. T. Hayward

Studies of the forces and conditions governing the recovery of petroleum from natural reservoirs indicate that a low gas-oil ratio increases ultimate recovery, retards the encroachment of water and tends to reduce lifting costs. Methods for controlling and reducing gas-oil ratios in producing wells consequently have been given considerable attention during the past few years. However, during this same period, the production from wells in nearly all fields has been fixed by proration agreements and it is the opinion of the writer that where a well is required to produce steadily at a predetermined rate, less than its "potential" or maximum capacity, the gas-oil ratio will depend only upon the rate of production, and will be independent of the method of production and of the design of equipment in the well. If no change in the rate of production is contemplated, efforts directed to improving the gas-oil ratio by altering the diameter of the flow string, changing the position of the choke, assisting the flow with gas-lift or pump, etc., will be unsuccessful. This viewpoint is not new. It was presented by H. N. Marsh and B. H. Robinson in 1929,' but it has not been generally accepted. Although engineers believe that the rate of withdrawal and not the equip ment used governs the water-oil ratio, a similar opinion regarding the gas-oil ratio is not so commonly admitted. The rates of flow of oil and gas into the base of an oil well depend upon the following conditions: 1. The characterist-ics of the oil and gas. 2. The characteristics of the underground reservoir. 3. Temperature and pressure conditions in the reservoir. 4. The back-pressure held against the face of the sand. In operating a well, the only one of these conditions over which control may be exercised through operating procedure and the use of equipment above the sand is the back-pressure at the face of the sand. Strictly speaking, the back-pressure varies over the face of the sand, owing

Jan 1, 1932

By Charles L. Harness

MINERAL pigments give color, opacity, or body to paint, stucco, plaster, mortar, cement, linoleum, rubber, and similar materials. They must be finely divided, substantially insoluble, and generally inert for such uses. Inorganic pigments may be grouped somewhat arbitrarily as follows: A. Natural mineral pigments dug from the earth. 1. Those consisting mostly of iron oxides, such as hematite and Limonite. 2. Those containing large amounts of clay or noncoloring matter, such as ocher, sienna, umber, and colored shales. 3. Those whose color is not due to iron oxide, such as Vandyke brown (including sap brown, an alkali extract of Vandyke brown), graphite, and terre verte. B. Synthetic pigments. 1. Those containing iron oxide as the essential coloring matter, such as "pure" reds, yellows, and blacks, and Venetian reds. 2. Those not containing iron oxide, such as lithopone, zinc white, titanium white, ultramarine, Prussian blue, and the like. Only groups A and B-1 are discussed here. All the pigments in those two categories, except Vandyke brown, sap brown, and some of the carbonaceous slates, contain, as their essential color constituents, one or more compounds of iron; namely, an oxide-Limonite (2Fe203.H20 to Fe203.4H20), hematite (Fe203), or magnetite (Fe203.FeO). Man's first permanent coloring materials were earth pigments- the ochers, iron oxides, and various iron-stained clays. The caves occupied by prehistoric man and the arts of the ancient Chaldean, Egyptian, and Cretan civilizations bear mute witness to this and also testify to the beauty and permanence of earth colors. As the Roman era developed, earth pigments were pushed from their pre-eminent position by white lead and red lead and in the Middle Ages by zinc oxide. Today, of course, the number of acceptable pigments is very large and on a value basis the group of natural and synthetic earth pigments stands

Jan 1, 1949

CONTENTS PAGE CARMICHAEL, NORMAN, and KIDDIE, JOHN.-Development of Mine Transportation in Clifton-Morenci District. Discussed by Norman Carmichael, Charles Legrand, B. B. Gottsberger 1 BARER, THOMAS C.-Fresnillo - Glory-hole Mining Practice. Discussed by Charles A. Mitke, B. B. Gottsberger, E. R. Thomas, Enoch Perkins..: 3 BRADLEY, P. R.-Estimation of Ore Reserves and Mining Methods in Alaska Juneau Mine. Discussed by R. M. Raymond, A. H. Rogers, Enoch Perkins, H. G. Moulton 6 BIRCH, STEPHEN.-Geology and Mining Methods of the Kennecott and Beatson Mines. Discussed by R. M. Raymond, Alan M. Bateman, Enoch Perkins 8 LEES, CHARLES E.-Mining Methods and Costs at the Iron Cap Copper Co., Copper Hill, Ariz. Discussed by A. L. Walker, A. Neustaedter 10 BELL, CHARLES N. -Mining Methods of the Telluride District. Discussed by Charles S. Hurter 10 Development of Mine Transportation in Clifton-Morenci District Discussion of the paper of NORMAN CARMICHAEL and JOHN KIDDIE, presented at the New York Meeting, February, 1924, and issued, as. Paper No. 1310-M, with MINING AND METALLURGY, March, 1924. NORMAN CARMICHAEL.-We realized the objections too the gable-bottom car, but were almost forced to its adoption by the same reasons that caused us to retain the 20-in. gage. To use another car would have meant a vast number of changes, for our transportation system was quite extensive; all mine chutes and ore bins were arranged for that car. Had we been laying out, new works, many of our decisions would have been different. MEMBER.-If you were planning it now, would you not put in box bottom cars with a rotary dump? NORMAN CARMICHAEL.-We surely would. One objection to the gable-bottom car is the spill. No, matter how carefully the cars are kept up,: there is always leakage and spill. The cost of keeping and maintaining the cars in a good state of repair, so as to keep that loss at a minimum, is not necessary for a box-bottom car.

Jan 6, 1924

By H. E. Lee, P. C. Feddersen

846 . . . Metals Transactions, Vol. 185 T. J. WOODSIDE*—In the paper it was stated that many of the A. S. and R. plants probably used a process patented by Roscoe Teats in 1930. I might describe

Jan 1, 1950

By R. P. Aikman, F. G. Miller, J. M. Podgursky

In response to the growing demand for low-sulfur coking coal for iron-making, the coal industry is continually striving to perfect methods for cleaning coal to acceptable ash and sulfur levels while maintaining maximum product yield. By present standards the industry has adequate processes for cleaning coarse coal, (i.e., +28 mesh) at almost any desired specific gravity. However, in the case of fine coal (i.e., -28 mesh) neither of the two existing processes-froth flotation and hydrocycloning-in its present state of development yields products that are comparable in ash and/or sulfur content to products normally obtained from coarse coal processes. The work outlined in this article is part of a larger study directed toward maximum exploitation of froth flotation for fine coal processing. The concepts and data presented are now serving as a basis for designing fine-coal circuits in which improved efficiency is obtained by optimum use of froth flotation with other fine-coal processing methods.

Jan 7, 1967