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By P. K. STRONG

AS an evidence of the fact that mines safety is not being neglected even in the remote district of the Philippines, a short account is appended of the organization and activities of the Mambulao-Paracale District First Aid and Mine, Rescue Association, whose headquarters are at Jose Panganiban Cam, Norte P. I. The second annual miner?s safety celebration which is sponsored by the Association was held in Paracale on Sept. 2, 1940. The event is the big occasion of the year when the thousands of employees of the mines in the district meet to compete for prizes and has become a great social function as well.=

Jan 1, 1941

THE discussion at the annual meeting of the paper on "Devices for Detecting Dangerous Gases in Mine Air" (published in. MINING AND METAL-LURGY, February 1, 1927, p. 69) was prefaced by the following description of a new portable methane indi-cator, presented by D. C. Ashmead: Two comparatively recent disasters in Utah are directly responsible for the perfection of the new methane detector. The first of these occurred on May 1, 1900, when 200 work-men lost their lives. The second disaster did not occur for more than two decades, when, on March 8, 1924, at the Castle Gate Mine No. 2, 172 workmen were killed. A dis-sembled safety lamp was later found at the seat of the ex-plosion. This indicated, as a possible cause, that the safety lamp had gone out and the fire boss had tried to relight it. These two disasters brought, the mine operators of the State of Utah to the concentrated attempt to end the loss of life through mine explosions. The Governor of the State appointed a committee, known as the Utah Mine Op-erators Committee, to study the phases of the problem, and this Committee in turn enlisted scientists all over the country in cooperative research. One group, under the direction of E. K. Judd, of the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, of Long Island City, New York, concentrated its efforts on develop-ing a methane detector which would be completely ade-quate. This is now successful, since in laboratory as well as actual coal-mine tests the apparatus has instantaneously and accurately detected the presence of extremely small amounts of methane.

Jan 3, 1927

By K. D. Hester, A. W. Fletcher

A nickel-copper sulphide concentrate was treated in a pilot plant at Warren Spring Laboratory during 1961, by a hydrometallurgical roast-leach-solvent extraction process devised to cleanly separate the metal values and produce acid sulphate liquors containing the metals. It is shown that 86 pct of the nickel and 95 pct of the copper could be leached from the calcine, after a sulphatizing roast on finely ground flotation concentrate. Iron was removed from the leach liquor by limestone neutralization with a small loss of values. Copper and nickel were separated by solvent extraction with naphthenic acid in kerosene after partial neutralization of the iron-free liquors with ammonium hydroxide. Hydrogen sulphide and chlorine were used to remove zinc (and residual copper) and cobalt impurities respectively. The recovery of pure copper and pure nickel, by electrowinning, from the acidic solvent extract strip liquors finally produced, appears technically feasible. An economic analysis of production costs shows that small, geographically isolated, nickel-copper sulphide deposits cannot usually be worked profitably by established processes. The requirements for profitable operation on a comparatively small scale could possibly be met by a flotation-roast-leach process. Two difficulties, obtaining satisfactory extraction of nickel from a sulphide concentrate and separating the copper and nickel in solution, have prevented the previous use of this method. A solution to the first problem, dissolution of the nickel, was described in a recent paper by Thornhill.1 It was shown in this paper that copper and nickel in a flotation concentrate could be oxidized to water soluble sulphates by roasting in a fluidized bed with added salt cake. Workers at the Warren Spring Laboratory have shown that the separation of copper and nickel can be accomplished by solvent extraction using a relatively inexpensive carboxylic acid, naphthenic acid. Moreover, the mineral acid required to strip values from the loaded solvent could be produced, and the metals recovered, by electrowinning; thus the latter section of the process was regenerative. The removal of iron from the leach liquor and the elimination of impurities such as zinc and cobalt before nickel electrowinning would be necessary to complete the flowsheet. The process under investigation could therefore be summarized (Fig. 1) as follows: 1) Flotation to produce a bulk sulphide concentrate. 2) Fluidized bed roasting to sulphate the nickel and copper minerals. 3) Leaching of roaster calcine to extract soluble nickel and copper. 4) Precipitation of iron from the separated leach liquor by air oxidation after the adjustment of pH and temperature. 5) Recovery of copper from the iron-free Liquor by pH adjustment and liquid-liquid extraction. 6) Purification of the copper raffinate by removing zinc and residual copper as insoluble sulphides and cobalt as cobaltic hydroxide. 7) Recovery of nickel from the purified liquor by pH adjustment and liquid-liquid extraction. Laboratory and pilot plant studies detailed below, were carried out at the Warren Spring Laboratory, to test the feasibility of each one of the unit processes and to obtain preliminary plant design data. FLOTATION The ore was an altered basic rock containing concentrations of magmatic sulphides.

Jan 1, 1964

By Louis R. Hodell

WHEN the drilling of an oil well is completed a permanent opening from the reservoir to the surface must be provided. This is done by lining the hole with pipe, commonly known as casing. In the past, all but a small amount of casing has been run in the hole and joined by threads and couplings. Recently, however, in California, Texas, and Oklahoma, there has been a definite tendency 'to adopt -the welded joint for the following reasons: (1) Plain end casing for welding may be bought for 15 per cent less than thread-and-coupled casing; some of this is offset by the cost of welding the pipe in the hole but a respectable net profit remains.

Jan 1, 1937

By AIME AIME

THE following Officers, Directors, and guests were present: Herbert Hoover, A. R. Ledoux, Henry S. Drinker, Edwin Ludlow, Samuel A. Taylor, Charles F: Rand, William M. Corse, Arthur S.. Dwight, Glen H. Clevenger, L. W. Francis, F. G. Cottrell, Bradley Stoughton, Percy E. Barbour, E. P. Mathewson, Dorsey A. Lyon, Archibald Douglas, A. D. Flinn, RobertLinton, James F. Kemp, William Y. Westervelt, J. W. Richards, W. L. Saunders, George Otis Smith, Thomas T. Read, J..C. Murray, Ralph Arnold. A Committee on Mine Equipment was appointed composed as follows: Graham Bright, chairman, William Kelly, Howard N. Eavenson, R. E. Hobart, and S. P. Rumsey. B. D. Saklatwalla was added to the Committee on Miscellaneous Metals and W. Spencer Hutchinson was added to the Committee on Mining Geology. A revised budget for 1921 was approved. A petition duly signed to amend Section 1., of Article III of the Constitution, increasing the initiation fees from ten dollars to twenty dollars, was approved by the Board.

Jan 1, 1920

By J. A. Faucher

The mining industry has undergone significant technological advances in metallurgical process methods in recent years. The 1000 tpd concentrator of St. Lawrence Colum-bium Metals Corp. portrays the continuing effort made by the industry to achieve economical concentration of new and difficult ores. During the active search for sources of uranium in the early fifties, radioactive minerals were found in the Oka district near Montreal. The compatatively small quantities of uranium which were found occurred in association with widespread columbium (niobium) mineralization which included perovskite, a calcium titanate containing roughly 40% Cb2O5; niocalite, a silicate containing some 20% Cb2O5; and pyrochlore, a calcium niobate containing 45 -70% Cb2O5 as well as fluorine and some water. An idealized formula for one type of pyrochlore is: A typical chemical analysis of pyrochlore is shown in Table I. An important feature of this analysis is the lack of tin, lead, sulphur and P2O5 which conforms with the requirements of most consumers. In general the cerium content varies with sodium content and any increase in Ta2O5 lowers the Cb2O5 content of the concentrate. However, Ta2O5 rarely exceeds 0.5%. The carbonatite host rock of the columbium mineralization has the average mineral composition shown in Table 11. In Table 11, the term "diopside" is used to cover all silicates except mica which is shown separately because of the problems involved with its separation during the concentration process. In some ore zones, small quantities of rare earth minerals, such as monazite are present.

Jan 1, 1964

By C. E. Jr. Reistle

ALL crude oils become more viscous when chilled, but the only oils that congeal and precipitate paraffin to such an extent as actually to cause production troubles are those that contain an appreciable amount of wax. In handling these oils of high wax content, three distinct problems may be encountered before the oil reaches the refinery. The first problem is the precipitation and accumulation of paraffin in the well, either in the oil string or on the face and in the pores of the sand. The second problem is the accumulation of paraffin and the congealing of oil in the transportation lines. The third problem is the precipitation of paraffin and the formation of tank bottoms.

Jan 1, 1927

By H. S. Kalish, F. J. Dunkerley

INTRODUCTION AND PREVIOUS WORK THE determination of the low temperature tensile properties of tin and tin-lead alloys was initiated as part of an extensive research program on the phasial equilibria of tin binary systems below 13.2°C and the property changes associated therewith. A survey of the literature revealed that, although some room temperature tensile data were available for tin and a few tin-lead alloys, there existed no survey report of the low temperature tensile properties of these alloys. Accordingly, the tensile data for tin and a series of pure tin alloys containing from 0.01 to 50 pct lead were measured at eleven temperatures from -196 to +20°C and are presented here in survey form. In addition to the importance of these tensile data as a preliminary to certain fundamental research, this information promises also to be of commercial importance because of the 'extensive use now being made of tin-lead solders in refrigeration and gas liquefaction equipment. Occasional failures of the solders in low temperature service have been attributed by some metallurgists to low temperature mbrittlement, while others hold that failure results from the transformation of the tin-rich phase of the solder from the solid white (beta) to the powdered gray (alpha) form. From the data previously available in the literature, neither of these explanations can be completely corroborated. Cohen and van Lieshout1 have established the beta to alpha tin transformation at 13.2°C and have shown that strain accelerates the transformation. Further, they showed that although I pct lead retarded the transformation, it was not eliminated. It will be pertinent, then, to note whether the beta to alpha transformation of the tin-rich phase will occur in a short-time tensile test. Polanyi and Schmid2 studied the tensile . properties of tin single crystals at -185°C and report that tin is brittle at-this temperature. In 1946, Kostenets3 reported that pure tin was brittle at -196 and -253°C, while lead remained ductile at both these temperatures. He also studied the tensile properties of tin-lead alloys containing from 10 to 75 pct lead at -253, -196 and +17°C. The ultimate tensile strength increased more than two times in going from room temperature to -196°C and about three times that value on further cooling to -253°C. All the alloys were brittle at -6°C except those containing more than 75 pct lead. Even at -253°C, the 75 pct lead alloy retained 36 pct elonga¬tion in a 30 mm-ga. length. Creep is also an important phenomenon

Jan 1, 1948

By AIME

WE produce Charles Van Ormer "Charlie" Millikan as living proof that man need not make a loud noise to be heard. His quietly affable, analytical, and soft-spoken manner in the face of all problems belies his ability to "get tough" when the situation demands it. As a chief engineer with many responsibilities for the success of a large producing company there must have been many occasions to tempt Charlie to excitement, but there are few, if any, who can say they saw him yield. He has an abiding faith in the benefits of hard and persistent work and will not admit the existence of a problem that cannot be reduced by it.

Jan 1, 1948

By A. G. Starliper, H. Kenworthy, A. Ollar

Vapor pressure determinations were made on synthesized germanium sulfides. Germanium and cadmium were removed from sphalerite concentrates by fuming. The fume was retreated to separate some of the cadmium from the germanium and, at the same time, upgrade the germanium to more than 5 pet content. MANY sphalerite concentrates contain certain impurities which have economic value as byproducts. These may include the volatile sulfides of germanium, cadmium, and lead. The objectives of the research reported in this paper were to study the fundamental volatility characteristics of germanium sulfides, to increase the recoveries of ger-

Jan 1, 1957

By William M. Sheehan

TRANSPORTATION is one of the most important problems of the mine operator and the possibilities of cost reduction in this field should not be overlooked. In the railroad industry, cars and locomotives have been improved greatly, and the progress there made is well worthy of study by the mine operator looking for maximum efficiency in every branch of his activities. One of the outstanding developments in the construction of railroad equipment in recent years has been the wide-spread adoption of large one-piece steel castings for the framework of locomotives, passenger and freight cars. Some of the advantages and applications of this type of construction will be outlined in this paper, with particular thought of the needs of the mining industry. The inherent qualities of cast steel: homogeneity, unrestricted size and shape, high tensile strength, flexibility of metal distribution, resistance to corrosion, and gracefulness of outline, make it the most versatile member of the ferrous group. Not only is it a strength-giving element, but it is corrosion resistant, a combination that makes for large economies in equipment maintenance. Flexibility of metal distribution allows the integral foundation to be in the shape best suited for the purpose. These cast structures are really assembled in the mold in liquid form and the metal can be placed in the right pro¬portion exactly where it is needed, thus securing weight economy and uniformity of fibre stress. Such a process permits the incorporation, with ease, of necessary brackets, utilizing them to provide not only greater strength for the derail part itself, but often to add to the value of the entire unit. Laps, seams, and joints, which are necessary in all fabricated forms, are eliminated.

Jan 1, 1933

F A. THOMSON, president of the Montana School of Mines, gave an interesting talk on mining schools of the past, present and his ideas of the future before a recent meeting of the Montana Section of the A. I. M. E. He covered the history .of the various mining schools and com- pared the three main types of schools; those attached to or forming part of an endowed college or university such, for example, as' the Columbia School of Mines, the Mining Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Mining Department of Stanford University. These resemble in a general way the second class, those attached to the state universities and colleges. The schools of this general type have had varied success.

Jan 1, 1928

By V. C. Rogers

ALTHOUGH surveying at mining properties is fundamentally the same regardless of the method of mining, at Climax, due to the nature of the ground, the policy of advance development work, and extremes in climatic conditions, surveying practice has had to be revised to meet the specialized conditions of this particular type of mining operation. The company's mine is one of the largest underground properties in the United States. It has proved ore reserves of 275,000,000 tons, 60,000,000 tons of which have been broken. To date, 109,000 ft. of development drifting have been driven, as well as 40,926 ft. of development raising, 10,000 ft. of ventilation drifting and raising, 16,000 ft. of exploration drifting, and 206,000 ft. of diamond drilling. Normal production varies between 1.2,000 and 15,000 tons daily. Development work proceeds at a rate of 11/2 tons developed for every ton milled and with a development of 18,000 to 20,000 tons per day, the following crew is required to take care of mine and surface engineering

Jan 1, 1946

By C. O. Swanson

In the iron ranges of northern Michigan, magnetic data have been used as an aid in geologic field work since the time of the earliest surveys. The presence of complex structures containing magnetic formations, and the general scarcity of exposures, guided the early work into this line of attack, and later field studies tended to place more and more emphasis upon this geophysical relationship, until, at present, the collection of magnetic data is a matter of routine in any areal survey. At first, horizontal deflections of the compass needle were the only data collected. In subsequent surveys, greater dependence was placed on dip-needle readings, which record variations in the intensity and inclination of the earth's magnetic field. Recently the trend has been toward adjusting the instrument so as to reduce the influence of changes in inclination, and using a more sensitive modification, called the Superdip,' in weakly magnetic areas. To a minor extent, the magnetometer has also been employed. The object of this paper is to present the writer's experience with magnetic data in this region. The conclusions are based on work covering a period of 10 years, and spread over nearly all of the iron ranges and a large part of the intervening areas. The viewpoints expressed are purely geological ones. In other words, any opinion as to the usefulness of a certain relationship is based upon the writer's experience with it as a guide in interpreting the structures of this region, and not upon its soundness theoretically, nor its usefulness under other conditions. A very brief summary of the conclusions is as follows. The most important step is that of collecting the magnetic data. This requires a suitable adjustment of the dip needle, and sufficient readings to accurately portray the variations in the magnetic field, which are apt to be irregular. Once the readings are taken and plotted in some clear fashion, the interpretation of them is usually merely a matter of observing their relation-

Jan 1, 1934

By Raymond D. Sloan

Development and exploration in Oklahoma showed a definite increase in 1941 over 1940 in production, wildcat activity and total well completions. Geological and geophysical work continued and possibly increased slightly in amount. Oklahoma retained third place in the ranking of oil-producing states of the nation, topped only by Texas and California, and followed by Illinois in fourth position. Production averaged 416,800 bbl. daily, a 1.7 per cent increase, as compared with 409,900 bbl. daily for the year 1940. Maintenance of the state's relatively stable producing rate resulted from the discovery of numerous small pools, the recombing of old areas, the establishment of new producing horizons, and the drilling of an increased number of marginal wells. The market for the Mid-Continent crude was strengthened materially to meet the increased demand. Coincident with a deeline in production in Illinois, shipment of Oklahoma-Kansas crude to the eastern points averaged 453,000 bbl. per day, an increase of 49.4 per cent as compared with 1940. The movement south amounted to an average of 42,000 bbl. per day, a loss of 41.7 per cent. Secondary-recovery programs in Oklahoma were given more consideration, operators realizing that in the future many pools would necessarily have to resort to this type of operation. Five permits for water-flooding were issued by the Corporation Commission during the year. These projects were in Rogers, Wagoner and Nowata Counties, in the shallow northeastern area, which has relatively extensive development of this type in the Bartles-ville sand at from 600 to 1000 ft. in depth. Gas repressuring of an individual lease in the 35-year old Glenn pool, Creek County, proved relatively successful, and after a year's operation was extended to cover a much larger area, with several operators participating. More of this type of work is expected in the future; however, it was given an initial setback when the legislative proposal authorizing secondary recovery in the Wilcox zone of Oklahoma's largest pool, the Oklahoma City pool, was pigeonholed by the committee. A continuation of the low discovery rates within the state would possibly lead to a revival of interest in the project. Many pools formerly classified as prorated areas were removed from this classification and transferred into the group of settled production. At the close of the year the issuance of the Federal Conservation Order M-68 and the interrelated Preference Rating Order P-98 caused a sharp decline in drilling operations, which is expected to continue until such operations are stabilized at a lower rate. The ultimate effect of these two orders on discoveries, production and reserves is a matter of speculation and conjecture. During the year, 2110 new wells were drilled, an increase of approximately 18 per cent as compared with the previous year. Of the total, 1235 were oil wells with a combined initial potential of 342,754 bbl. daily, 178 were gas wells with a total

Jan 1, 1942

By Raymond D. Sloan

Development and exploration in Oklahoma showed a definite increase in 1941 over 1940 in production, wildcat activity and total well completions. Geological and geophysical work continued and possibly increased slightly in amount. Oklahoma retained third place in the ranking of oil-producing states of the nation, topped only by Texas and California, and followed by Illinois in fourth position. Production averaged 416,800 bbl. daily, a 1.7 per cent increase, as compared with 409,900 bbl. daily for the year 1940. Maintenance of the state's relatively stable producing rate resulted from the discovery of numerous small pools, the recombing of old areas, the establishment of new producing horizons, and the drilling of an increased number of marginal wells. The market for the Mid-Continent crude was strengthened materially to meet the increased demand. Coincident with a deeline in production in Illinois, shipment of Oklahoma-Kansas crude to the eastern points averaged 453,000 bbl. per day, an increase of 49.4 per cent as compared with 1940. The movement south amounted to an average of 42,000 bbl. per day, a loss of 41.7 per cent. Secondary-recovery programs in Oklahoma were given more consideration, operators realizing that in the future many pools would necessarily have to resort to this type of operation. Five permits for water-flooding were issued by the Corporation Commission during the year. These projects were in Rogers, Wagoner and Nowata Counties, in the shallow northeastern area, which has relatively extensive development of this type in the Bartles-ville sand at from 600 to 1000 ft. in depth. Gas repressuring of an individual lease in the 35-year old Glenn pool, Creek County, proved relatively successful, and after a year's operation was extended to cover a much larger area, with several operators participating. More of this type of work is expected in the future; however, it was given an initial setback when the legislative proposal authorizing secondary recovery in the Wilcox zone of Oklahoma's largest pool, the Oklahoma City pool, was pigeonholed by the committee. A continuation of the low discovery rates within the state would possibly lead to a revival of interest in the project. Many pools formerly classified as prorated areas were removed from this classification and transferred into the group of settled production. At the close of the year the issuance of the Federal Conservation Order M-68 and the interrelated Preference Rating Order P-98 caused a sharp decline in drilling operations, which is expected to continue until such operations are stabilized at a lower rate. The ultimate effect of these two orders on discoveries, production and reserves is a matter of speculation and conjecture. During the year, 2110 new wells were drilled, an increase of approximately 18 per cent as compared with the previous year. Of the total, 1235 were oil wells with a combined initial potential of 342,754 bbl. daily, 178 were gas wells with a total

Jan 1, 1942

By T. A. Wright

THE CHAIRMAN.- With your permission, I shall read for F. W. Willard, who is ill, the keynote paper of a symposium that, I hope, will make us all aware of post-war problems as well as of the present-day problems in the more efficient use of secondary metals.

Jan 1, 1943

By Galen H., Clevenger

THE first and most important thing that affects the majority of lead producers in the Rocky Mountains and the western mining regions is that zinc in an ever-increasing degree is inseparably associated with the lead. The Sullivan mine in British Columbia is not only a great lead mine, but also a great zinc producer. This mine could not reach its full measure of productiveness, nor was its great value established, until a reasonably good physical method was developed for separating the lead from the zinc prior to the recovery of each metal by an appropriate process. The western metallurgists and also metallurgists in other parts of the world have long faced the lead-zinc problem. This for many years stimulated a great deal of experimental work looking toward the development of a physical or chemical method of separating lead and zinc in concentrated form from complex ores. Space will not permit of going into this work in detail, but it is sufficient to say that with but few exceptions the western lead smelter continued smelting charges many times too high in zinc for the most efficient operation of lead furnaces. The zinc was not only lost, as the zinc content of many a western slag dump bears mute testimony, but the cost of lead smelting was increased by reason of the presence of the zinc. The owner of the ore under these circumstances could be paid nothing for the zinc and, indeed, he was penalized for it

Jan 1, 1926

By E. J. Wasp, N. T. Cowper, R. A. Davis, W. F. McDermott

On October 26, 1967, the world's first long distance iron ore slurry line was put into service by Savage River Mines. The commissioning of this $5 million installation climaxed three years of development, testing, and construction. The mine and concentrator are located approximately 30 miles from the town of Waratah in a rugged semi-mountainous terrain. The open pit mine will produce approximately 5 million long tons a year of crude ore, which is ground in autogenous mills, separated magnetically, thickened and prepared for the pipeline. The 53-mile pipeline transports the 2,250,000 tons of concentrate north to Port Latta. The Port Latta facilities include the receiving, storage and thickening equipment for the slurry as well as filtering, balling and pelletizing equipment to produce the 2,250,000 tons of high grade iron ore pellets. Five vertical shaft furnaces are used for pelletizing.

Jan 1, 1969

By H. Wilhelm, E. L. Davis, W. A. Clark

MATHEMATICAL formulas for the analysis of the behavior of producing oil wells can be devised which will be correct for the assumed conditions. However, in an oil zone, variables always exist which are unknown, or to which. it is impractical to assign mathematical values. It seems apparent that one should reason back from observed facts to an analysis of causes, rather than start with a hypothetical reservoir with assumed properties and attempt to explain observed phenomena. In this paper we hope to throw some additional light on factors influencing production, especially edgewater behavior. OIL and gas are contained in reservoirs of either the sealed type or the edgewater type. In the former all the recoverable oil is produced by gas expansion only. In this type of reservoir, edgewater is not effective. This may be because of faulting or overlapping strata, or more often, probably, the edgewater pressure is ineffec¬tive on account of resistance or lack of head.

Jan 1, 1933