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By F. H. Deily, D. S. Rowley, R. J. Howe

By Thomas T., Read

ALTHOUGH the first colonists in the area that is now the A United States, whether Spanish, French or English in nationality, were usually keenly interested in the possibilities of mineral wealth, it is a curious and interesting fact that none of them happened upon the mineral deposits that eventually were to make this the greatest mineral-producing country; up to 1800 it would probably have been rated as rather poor in minerals. Spanish explorers traversed the southeastern United States with- , out finding the Appalachian gold deposits that aroused so much interest in the early nineteenth century; Coronado sought in vain for the seven golden cities of Cibola; and the important gold \ deposits of California were not discovered until the political sovereignty of the region had passed from Mexico, which had held it for three centuries. The French also held Canada for nearly two centuries (and the British for another century) without finding the mineral deposits in Ontario and Quebec that now are so important. Though they knew of the copper of the Keweenaw peninsula, the lead ores. of Wisconsin and Missouri, and the coal of Illinois in the seventeenth century, these deposits were all too remote for exploitation. In the area held by Great Britain, iron smelting was planned at Jamestown as early as 1619 and was actually begun at Lynn, Mass., in 1643. The industry grew slowly, at first, but had reached considerable importance before the Revolution. Commercial bituminous coal mining began about 1750 in Virginia but anthracite mining in Pennsylvania was not started until 1800. As a result there was naturally little interest in the technical aspects of mineral prodnction here before 1800 by any except the few people who were actually engaged in it. Students of natural science were much interested in minerals, however. The activities of those who rank as geologists are so thoroughly covered in

Jan 1, 1941

By Reginald E. Hore

I. INTRODUCTION. SINCE the discovery of silver at Cobalt, Ontario, in 1903 more than 100,000,000 oz. of silver have been produced b: the mines in the Nipissing district, and there is reason to believe that at least as much more will be produced in the next five years. The estimated value of the aggregate output o ore to the end of 1910 is $48,327,280. The ore yielded 93,977,833, oz. of silver and was mined at a net profit of about $26,000,000. For 1910 the production was 30,558,825 oz. valued at $15,436,894, and yielding a profit of about $9,000',000 The details of the production of the Cobalt district for the years 1904 to 1909, inclusive, are given in Table I. TABLE I.-Silver-Production of the Cobalt District, 1904 to 1909 SMELTING-ORE. Production. Value. Silver-Content. Value Per Ton Ounces. Oz. Per Ton. 1904 206,875 $111,887 1,309 $708 1905.:.... 2,451,356 1,360,503 1,143 634 1906 5,401,766 3,667,551 1,013 687 1907 10,023,311 6,155,391 677 416 1908 18,022,480 8,468,293 736 363 1909 22,436,355 10,809,872 809 389 CONCENTRATES. 1908 1,415,395 $665,085 1,240 585 1909 3,461,470 1,651,704 1,174 559 The shipments from Cobalt are in the form of smelting-ore, concentrates from milling-ore, and bullion. The smelting-or( is largely high grade, averaging about 3,000 oz. per ton- A

May 1, 1911

By AIME AIME

HE State of Utah has an area of 84,990 sq. mi., and like other inland states in the West its population, although steadily increasing, is relatively small. The fact that it is a state possessing vast mineral resources is attested by a careful study of statistics which have been compiled by Federal and State investigators. Some idea of the extent of these resources and the degree of development of a particular state or region may be gained by such a study, but in the case of Utah statistics and other available information fail to portray completely the true extent and value of its existing metallic and non-metallic resources. The State is probably more widely known for its production of metallic ores which has placed it in an eminent position among the metal mining states of the Nation.

Jan 1, 1925

By B. F. Zwick

The entire production of oil in Ecuador so far has come from the Santa Elens Peninsula, Province of Guayas. Both the shallow fields of the northern and the deeper fields of the southern part of the peninsula have been in constant exploitation, though the former are of doubtful economic value. In Table I herewith, which commences with the total amounts produced by the various companies up to 1940, annual company totals are given for the succeeding years. The figures for 1944 have been partly estimated. Table 2 gives figures on casinghead gasoline. Shell Company of Ecuador (formerly known as Anglo-Saxon) has continued active exploration in the Oriente region east of the Andes, and during 1944 the Company's first wildcat well was spudded in. International Ecuadorean Petroleum Co. (formerly International Petroleum Co., Limited) has pursued an active exploration campaign since the latter part of 1939, and a drilling string was placed in operation about a year later. A second string of tools was added during 1943 and a third a few months ago. Ten wildcats, all dry, have been completed in this period, two wells are drilling at the present time and other locations are on the program. Seven of the wells thus far drilled are in the area between Guayaquil and the Santa Elena Peninsula, one up the Daule River beyond Balzar, one on Puna Island in the Guayas Estuary and one in the northern province of Esmeraldas. Both the present drilling wells are in the Guayaquil-Santa Elena zone. The situation in regard to concessions has changed during the past four years because I.E.P.C. has made its selections from the extensive Daule-Guayas Study Concession, as a result of which large tracts were returned to the Government; because of the expropriation of the holdings of the "Ecuapetrol," a German concern whose acreage has passed into other hands; the Peruvian-Ecuadorean boundary settlement, which has reduced Shell's holdings somewhat; and the transfer of most of the holdings of the Cia. Minero-Petrolera del Pacifico to I.E.P,C. The greater part

Jan 1, 1945

By L. Weaver

THE Tennessee Copper Co.'s mines are in the southeast corner of the state of Tennessee. Polk Co., in the well-known Ducktown copper basin. Their new circular production shaft will eventually be the only ore hoisting shaft, and is located for handling ore from Boyd, Calloway, Mary, and Cherokee mines. A circular, rather than a rectangular, shaft was decided upon because: 1-The circular shaft section is stronger when lined with concrete. Reinforcing steel was not required, thus reducing lining cost by one- quarter. 2-Water sealing was desired; it was thought it could best be done with a concrete lining followed by pressure grouting to eliminate water seeps. 3-The shaft labor saving equipment could best be used in a large opening, so the round section was made for economy, sinking, mucking, concreting and water sealing. Less shaft steel is used than could have been possible with steel sets. There are no posts required; center beams and Tee plate assembly placed at 10 ft hold the 100 lb steel guide rails. The shaft is 12 ft 7 1/2 in. ID of the concrete walls. This is large enough for two 10-ton hoisting skips and a ladder compartment. One of the skip compartments is for hauling equipment. The grouting equipment was a 2%xlO-in. Gardner-Denver grout pump, air powered and developing 1000 lb pressure. A grout mixer, also air driven, fed the mixed solution into a tank coupled to the pump suction. Grout materials used were mostly water and Portland cement. Some Bentonite was used to seal porous ground near the surface.

Jan 11, 1950

By P. S. Bagga, P. T. Luckie

Liberation (the process of destroying the interlock between unwanted materials, such as mineral matter and pyrite, and coal) is one of the most important precursors to the benefication of raw coal in order to produce high grade marketable coals at economical recovery levels. Liberation is achieved usually by comminuting the raw coal. However, because of the significant interaction between the production of fine particles to achieve liberation and the cost of separating fine particles, the coal industry needs a method projecting the change in washability with size reduction. Such a projection can be combined with size reduction and separation simulators in order to examine completely beneficiation circuitry to produce coals of stringent specification. This paper presents the development of an appropriate liberation model for coal and its solution by Monte Carlo simulation to predict the expected washability of the raw coal as a function of comminution. It includes model validation with a known binary mixture as well as with a known teritary mixture.

Jan 1, 1983

By George J. Young

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) I. GENERAL. THE recurrence of mine-fires in Nevada during the past decade is not only a matter of interest, but also one of considerable concern to engineers and mine-managers. The more important fires may he enumerated as follows: Forman Shaft fire., Gold Hill, April 21, 1903 ; shaft-house, machinery, and shaft, destroyed; loss estimated at $50,000.; Cause Unknown. Union Shaft fire, Virginia City, July 14, 1904; shaft-house, machinery, and shaft in part destroyed; loss estimated it $100,000; cause of fire stated as the careless throwing of a match in the rope-house. Sutro Tunnel fire, Virginia City, Jan. 27, 1909 ; 700 ft. of tunnel-timbering destroyed, and direct damage of $10,000; cause ' probably electric wires." Belcher Shaft fire, Gold Hill, Aug. 9, 1910; shaft-house destroyed, machinery ruined, and upper part of shaft damaged; damage, $25,000; no cause given. Belmont Mine fire, Tonopah, Feb. 23, 1911; fire started in winze ; 17 men killed. Giroux Mine fire, Kimberly, Aug. 23, 1911 ; fire originated iii shaft-station from unknown cause; 7 men killed, and $34,¬521 damage caused. (NOTE 1.-On June 11, 1912, some time after the present paper was written, a fire broke out in the pump-room on the 2475 station of the Ward shaft, Virginia City. This fire was caused by the short-circuiting and exploding of the starting-switch on No. 5 pump. The oil in the switch was scattered about and set fire to the timbers and laming of the pump-room. The pump-roan in charge notified the surface, and the * Professor of Mining and Metallurgy, Mackay School of Mines.

Oct 1, 1912

By H. H. Power

THE PETROLEUM DIVISION of the A.I.M.E. continued with its diversified activities during 1.935. Sessions at the New York meeting in February were devoted to production engineering, domestic and foreign oil production, and petroleum economics. The symposiums on domestic and foreign production proved their increased usefulness. The data accumulated for 1935 were added to those published during prior years in "Petroleum Development and Technology." A joint session on the use of metals in the petroleum industry was held by the Institute of Metals, Iron and Steel, and Petroleum Divisions. W. S. Farish, chairman of the board of the Standard Oil Co. (N. J.), was the principal speaker at the annual dinner. The October meeting, held in Hous¬ton, was characterized by an excellent program and large attendance. Four sessions were devoted to problems in estimating reserves, reservoir energy, properties of drilling muds, electrical logging, water flooding, and other subsurface studies. Foreign representatives of the Anglo-Persian Oil Co. presented a paper on surface tension and specific gravity of crude oil under reservoir conditions. The address by President Buehler, the dinner at San Jacinto Inn, a trip to various lo

Jan 1, 1936

Jan 1, 1879

By Oswald J. Heinrich

THE origin of spontaneous combustion in collieries is, of course, chiefly due to bad system in laying out the pits, unclean workings, insufficient ventilation, and neglect in damming off works after they are exhausted of the main coal. This is particularly indispensable in the Richmond field, because it is difficult and dangerous here, on account of the inferior roof, to remove the last vestiges of coal ; and we are compelled also to retain all the slates and bands, as far as possible, in the pit, to help fill up, although such material is liable to fire. This, however, can be prevented to a great extent, as mentioned below. I am satisfied that the only system of working this thick coal is by cross-cutting (Querbau, ouvrage & travers) or working in benches, as practiced in France (Creusot, Rive de Gier, St. Etienne), in Silesia (Kiinigsgrube), which I have used as far as it is practicable in an old pit, almost torn to pieces by former workings. Modifications may, of course, be needed, even in the same pit, on account of irregularities in the seam. I am also satisfied for economical reasons (on account of the heavy cost for timbering) that pits here ought to be worked upwards, even if it requires a longer period of time to win the coal, and a greater outlay of capital to commence with. The various saddle-shaped " troubles " making natural minor basins in the main basin aid in the execution of this plan. A pit worked once ought to be worked out clean, given up, and dammed off forever. If sections of proper height are assumed, according to the required amount of production for a certain period of time, they ought to be worked out and filled in as much as possible, dammed off, and ultimately allowed to fill up with water, in order to protect the upper works in future from fire in the gob below. This I consider indispensable, because we may not be able profitably to fill in all the ground. To do so we have to use the waste of the mine, although it is liable to fire in time. In using this stuff, it ought to be surrounded by walls of rock not liable to take fire, laid firmly in clay, the gob being in the middle, and firmly covered and packed with clay on top. In

By D. L., Hayes

THE concentration of zinc ore in Wisconsin is a comparatively simple process, although it presents problems that must be overcome in an efficient manner in such a way that installation and operating costs are low. As the ore deposits are small, the first cost of the concentrating plant must be low; while the low margin of profit makes it necessary to have the minimum operating costs. The original mills were copied from those of the Joplin district, as most of them were built and operated by Joplin millmen. These served the purpose well; they made a clean concentrate, which was the chief requirement at that time, as most 'of the mines were' considerably 'richer than the average at the present time, and wages and supplies were also considerably lower. ' The apparatus used at present has changed very little in principle. . The grizzly opening has gradually been increased to 12 in. and sometimes no grizzly 'is used. The crusher, gradually grew in size, the largest crusher has -an opening of about 24 by 13 in. and a 7/8-in. throw on the. eccentric shaft.

Jan 1, 1921

By Michael J. Messel

OF the various minerals that occur in fibrous form known as asbestos, chrysotile is the variety most in demand for commercial uses, and, last year, over 683,000 tons of the various grades were produced in Canada and United States, exclusive of African and Russian production, which figures are uncertain. Production has not been able to keep up with the increased demand, and an acute shortage exists. Canada, Russia, and Africa are still the most important producers. However, Russia consumes most of its production at home and exports very little. The United States consumes over 60 pct of the total production and produces only about 4 pct of the total from deposits in Vermont and small quantities from Arizona. This paper will review mainly, some of the more recent developments concerned with the extraction and processing of this fibrous mineral for various industrial uses, such as textiles, insulation, building materials and brake linings.

Jan 1, 1949

By Leo Ranney

ANY years ago a prospector came to a Nevada town and built himself a shack. Day after day he searched the hills for gold -but he found none. He closed his shack and hurried north, where a strike had been made. Next he tried to trap the flour gold that floats down the Snake River. He panned the black sands along the Oregon coast. He ranged over the mountains and up the gulches of far-off Alaska. At last, broken in health, six years ago he came back to his old home in Nevada. There his shack still stood-nobody wanted it. One day he started a garden in the rocky soil that he owned. His spade turned up a chunk of quartz, and in that quartz were stringers of gold. He had found a rich gold vein, running right under his own house. You gas producers who have hurried to Oklahoma, Louisiana, East Texas, South Texas, West Texas, even to California to drill wildcat holes a mile or two miles deep-why not, like the old gold prospector, have a look in your own back yard? Some of your coal seams contain 20,000,000 cu. ft. of natural gas per acre.

Jan 1, 1943

By Robert R. Walden, LeMont West

K ENTUCKY'S first acid-grade fluorspar flotation Kmill, shown in Fig. 1, was placed in operation Aug. 1, 1952, by the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. at Mexico, Ky. During 1951 a critical shortage of acid-grade fluorspar developed and it became necessary for the company to produce part of its fluorspar requirements. In 1951 the company purchased the Crider and Lennen metallurgical fluorspar mill and an adjacent stockpile of tailing at Mexico, Ky. The tailing, assaying about 26 pct calcium fluoride, originated from log washer and jig mill concentrators in the area. As the mill did not have a fluorspar dryer or convenient rail facilities, the company leased the Burleson concentrator at Marion, Ky., where these facilities were available. At Marion, Ky., on the Illinois Central Railroad, dry acid-grade fluorspar is transported direct to the company's Calvert City, Ky., hydrofluoric acid plant. The Mexico flotation plant was reconditioned and designed to produce acid-grade fluorspar from the jig tailing stockpile. The new plant flowsheet is shown in Fig. 2. The ore feed, old tailing, which contains 10 pct of waste rock and coarse gravel assaying approximately 8 pct CaF,, is bound together by sticky clay

Jan 1, 1955

By G. M. Lee

SEVERAL improvements have been made in Granby smelting practice since the company abandoned the direct smelting of raw ore in the blast furnaces in June, 1927, in favor of sintered concentrate. These improvements have been made in several fields, but the most novel and outstanding change was the development of a process of concentrating most of the gold, and a somewhat smaller fraction of the silver present, in a small portion of the blister copper produced. The practice of making "copper bottoms" is usually associated with the reverberatory smelting of copper ores containing high percentages of impurities, or of copper matte high in precious metals. It has for its object, in the one case, the production of a major part of the copper relatively free from impurities and, in the other case, the production of a small per¬centage of the copper carrying the major part of the precious metals. Although the blister copper produced at the Anyox plant of the Granby company is remarkably free from deleterious impurities and normally contains no great amount of precious metals, certain economic considerations made it advisable to concentrate the existing precious metals into a relatively small percentage of the blister copper produced. The process devised took advantage of principles and reactions of the usual bottoms processes, but was carried out in the converters instead of in a reverberatory furnace.

Jan 1, 1935

Jan 1, 1967

By A. M. Beebee

IN the present century the coal and manufactured gas industries have been eclipsed in public interest by oil, natural gas, and hydro- electric energy, which have had the benefit of rapid development and novelty. I sometimes wish that our social- order were such that hydro power had been developed first, that the use of gas from coal had never been seriously considered, and that our domestic energy requirements were supplied by other fuels. Sup- pose the manufacture of gas from coal should then come on the scene at the present time with the current plight of the railroads, coal regions, and labor generally, presenting the fact that it could increase the amount of coal mined and shipped by the railroads by some 16,000,000 tons, and increase the coal used at existing u plants five times. Imagine the great public interest that would be manifested; it would supply the cooking and water-heating requirements of a community with a superior character of service at a cost to the customer approximately half that which had obtained previously. Would not such a situation be heralded as the salvation of our country and all help be given it?

Jan 1, 1940

By Irwin H. Cornell

BRIEFLY stated, the history of the St. Joseph Lead Co. is the story of how a group of men, working for ten years as officers without salaries and stockholders without dividends, developed a small mine in Missouri into what became a large and prosperous corporation. Their courage and faith in the scattered surface deposits of lead coupled with the management's engineering vision and sound financial judgment should prove an inspiration to present-day mining operators and investors. In 1717, John Law's company, known as "The Company of the West," was formed in France and letters patent were granted, for a period of 25 years by Louis XV, for exploration in the Mississippi River Valley. One of the underlying purposes of the expedition, headed by Mr. Renault and Mr. La Motte, a French metallurgist, was development of the lead mines in the area now known as Southeast Missouri.

Jan 1, 1947

After months of negotiations, the U. S. has agreed to buy between 6000 and 7000 long tons of Bolivian tin now stockpiled at Peruvian and Chilean ports, at $1.175 per lb, f.o.b. South American Ports. Harry A. McDonald of the Reconstruction Finance Corp. signed the contract with Victor Andrade, Bolivian ambassador. The Mercantile Metals and Ore Corp., of New York City, acted as the agent of Bolivia's Banco Minero in negotiating the deal. The contract is a short term one. Throughout the talks, the U. S. refused to make a long term agreement because of the possibility that Bolivia will soon nationalize its mines. The Bolivians desired to sell the U. S. 18,000 tons during a one-year pact. The price agreed upon is roughly the same as with Malayan producers. In the meantime, American Smelting & Refining Co., signed over control of its operations to the Bolivian Government. The formal act of leasing the mines to the Bolivian Government follows the announcement last July by the company that it was closing operations because of high costs. Contract terms were not disclosed.

Jan 1, 1952