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According to reports in August, Botswana RST's copper- nickel-cobalt smelter at Selebi-Pikwe produced 7 percent above the rated capacity of about 3,500 metric tons of matte per month. This record production occurred after 2 years of plant production difficulties and was brought about by a new management team. A shutdown for furnace maintenance had been planned for this year, but was postponed because of the improvements in production and operations. However, the mining operation continued to face problems relating to higher costs and some outstanding claims. COPPER: Effective December 1, ASARCO, Inc. and Phelps Dodge Corp. reduced their domestic copper prices by 54 per pound. Within a period of 3 days, a11 other producers (Kennecott Copper Corp., Newmont Mining Corp., Cities Service Co. , Copper Range Co. , Duval Corp., and Inspiration Consolidated Copper Go. ) had either lowered or discounted their market postings by 5¢ to 65.625¢ per pound on electrolytic wirebar and 65$ on cathode plate. Between November 29 and December 3, New York merchants decreased wirebar quotations by 1.8¢-2¢ to within a range of 57.8¢-58¢ per pound. New York Commodity Exchange (COMEX) spot-contracted copper in the week was priced at 57. 1¢ on Monday, 56.7¢ on Wednesday and Thursday, and 57.4¢ on Friday, resulting in a 5-day average of 56.9¢, London Metal Exchange (LME) cash (prompt) wirebar averaged 56.3¢ last week, opening Monday at 56.6¢, falling from Tuesday?s high of 57.2¢ to Wednesday?s low of 55.6¢ and closing Friday at 56.1¢. Foreign producers, guided by LME market transactions, lowered wirebar quotes to 56¢ per pound. Copper stocks as of December 3 totaled 187,702 short tons at COMEX warehouses and 654,573 tons at LME depositories, compared to 97,413 and 537,481 tons, respectively, for the corresponding 1975 period.

Jan 1, 1976

The revised estimate of coal production in January 1977, is 39 million tons -- down 12 mi 11 ion tons compared with production in January of last year, largely as a consequence of the snow storms and cold. The major coal-hauling railroads operating in Eastern and Midwestern States reported to the Bureau of Mines that they loaded approximately the same number of cars for the week ended February 5, as in the preceding week. The Bureau of Mines estimates that U.S. coal production for the week ending February 5, 1977, was approximately 8.5 million tons, or nearly 3.5 million tons less than production for the corresponding week in 1976. Coal production from January 1 - February 5, 1977, was approximately 47.8 mi 11 ion tons compared with production of 63.5 million tons for the corresponding period in 1976. As of the first week in February, river and truck shipments of coal in the Eastern U.S. were about one-half of the normal traffic. Despite the freezing weather and ice and snow conditions of rivers and highways and reduced rail shipments, there was reportedly little or no shortage in coal supply to consumers. Inventories at electric utility plants and steel company coke plants at the beginning of the severe weather were sufficient in most cases for at least 30 days" operations. There have been no reports of coal shortages at other industrial plants.

Jan 1, 1977

By Tony Szwilski

Indonesia has enormous mineral resources. Its population of more than 180 million people inhabit most of the more than 13,000 islands. The country is becoming a significant economic power in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. Java, its largest island, is the most densely populated area. The country's diversity is its strength. However, as only an estimated 16 million inhabitants speak bahasa Indonesia as the first language, communication problems endure. Although burdened with large debts, Indonesia has been able to service the debts better than most developing nations. This has given it high credibility and, with increasing frequency, creditor nations compete to provide Indonesia loans with the most the most favorable financial terms. Recent rising prices of petroleum crude has further improved Indonesia's economic status. It maintains a policy of stable oil prices that it promotes in OPEC, of which it is an influential member. As a result, Indonesia is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investors. The South East Consortium for International Development (SECID) is made up of 34 universities in the southeastern US and Indonesian partners Lembaga Afiliasi Penelitian dan Industri (LAPI) of the Institute of Technology in Bandung, West Java. SECID bid successfully against international competition to develop new academic programs and campus for the Sriwijaya University UNSRI) in Palembang, South Sumara. Funding for the project was provided by the government of Indonesia through a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). There are 47 public universities

Jan 1, 1991

By Michael Rieber

Mineral economics interfaces the mineral sciences and engineering with finance and economics in the analysis of appropriate questions facing the minerals and energy industries. Its practitioners include those trained in the earth sciences; mining, petroleum, and geological engineering; metallurgy and mineral preparation; as well as finance, information systems, economics, and statistics-most usefully in one or more combinations. Allowing for some overlap, three general areas may be identified: evaluation, economic analysis, and resource appraisal. Evaluation begins with mine investment analysis (exemplified by Gentry and O'Neil, 1984) and process costing, for which the STRAMM Handbook (Anon., 1977) provides a well-known basis for mining and beneficiation. But it extends from property appraisal, often used for the determination of taxes and royalties, through the determination and comparison of transport costs (e.g., Richer and Soo, 1977), and to benefit/cost analyses of externalities. Economic analysis, the subject of this section, is displayed in rigor and extent both theoretically and as applied to commodity classes in Vogely (1985), but it is implicit though apparent throughout Lefond (1983). The text edited by Vogely places minerals in their aggregative context with economic growth and trade, proceeds to the theoretical analysis of minerals and their markets, analyzes the structure and performance of the major mineral sectors, and concludes with policy issues: fuel, nonfuel, and environmental. Resource appraisal employs quantitative methods for the estimation of mineral and energy resources. It moves through geologic, geophysical, and geochemical properties to the identification of estimation procedures for mineral endowment and for the economic measure of stocks and flows of specific minerals (Harris, 1984). It can be used to estimate the probable amount of a specific resource remaining in a given region and has been used to project sites in a specific

Jan 1, 2008

By William H. Pomroy

The potential for large-scale fires in underground fuel storage and fuel transfer areas prompted the Bureau of Mines to study fire hazards in these areas and devise improved fire safety technology for use in these areas. This report describes the Bureau's research to characterize and quantify fire hazards in fuel storage and fuel transfer areas, develop guidelines for safe and efficient fueling system design, prepare specifications for automatic fire sensing and suppression systems for these areas, test prototype systems in the laboratory and in underground mines, and perform cost-effectiveness evaluations of the devised technology.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. W. Brigstocke

History The birth of the mining industry of Canada took place about 1670. According to Salone (Salone E., La Colonisation de la Nouvelle France, page 205) the first discovery of ore in the country was made by an iron-master, Monsieur de la Potardiere, near Trois Rivieres, Quebec. Under French rule some prospecting was done; but at this time no one seemed to consider the working of mines practicable. It was not until the time that Begon became Intendant, when the Marquis of Vaudreuil was Governor, that mining was attempted. Begon was a patron of industrial arts and did his best to promote home manufactures. The mining industry was developed under his regime and discoveries of copper and lead ores were made in 1730. About this time the St. Maurice Forges were erected to treat bog-iron ore, and they were in operation for many years. Prior to 1747, iron pans to the value of £21,000 were manufactured, together with bar-iron and plough-shares. About 1769, that is, ten years after the conquest by Wolfe, stoves and other articles, and, later, potash kettles, appeared. What is still more interesting to us-or was, at least, to General Wolfe-is that cannon balls made at the St. Maurice Forges delayed his operations. A map dated 1744, a copy of which appears in the report of the Ontario Bureau of Mines for 1913 (Vol. XIX), indicates the extensiveness of the wanderings of the French and also shows the location of the lead mine on the east shore of Lake Timiskaming. Bog-iron ore was turned into metal, with charcoal for fuel, at Norman-dale, Norfolk county, Ontario, in 1813, and at Clementsport, Nova Scotia, in 1825. In a volume published in 1672, reference is made to the occurrence of coal on the Atlantic seaboard, and in 1677 Monsieur Duchesneau, the Intendant, levied a royalty of twenty sous per ton on all coal taken from Cape Breton.

Jan 1, 1932

By M. W. BERNEWITZ

AUSTRALIANS and New Zealanders, whose countries have respectively yielded gold to the value of £666,000,000 and £96,000,000, are taking full advantage of the current high prices for that metal. There is a marked activity in ordinary prospecting, geophysical exploration, further development of working mines and reopening of old properties, formation of new companies, installation of new equipment and processes, and expansion of operations generally. Australian gold production last year was approximately double the quantity of 1929 and its value three times as great, 1929 being the low of recent years. The 1933 production was about 821,000 oz. From New Zealand, 165,000 oz. was exported last year. Papua and New Guinea contributed slightly over 100,000 oz. What the future price of gold will be nobody knows, but, even if it returns to the former level, Australian producers are almost sure of 110 shillings an ounce until 1940 through the Commonwealth Government's Gold Bounty Act, at present temporarily and necessarily suspended from operation.

Jan 1, 1934

By H. C. Cooke

THE gold mining industry, in Canada as in other countries, has passed through trying times in the past year. The strains and stresses of war have drawn away much of its man-power, both from the labour and the management. The urgent needs of the war machine have greatly curtailed the amounts of steel and explosives that can be allotted to the mines; and the loss, by enemy action, of supplies of such essential things as rubber, bids fair to reduce operations still further, if not cripple them entirely in time. And, as if these difficulties were not enough, war on the psychological front has been declared on the gold mines. Earnest supporters of the war effort, well-meaning theorists, and perhaps others whose intent is less disinterested, have all combined to clamour against the continuance of gold mining. We have been asked, what is the use of taking gold out of one hole in Canada to put it into another in Kentucky. We have been assured that gold will never again have any value, except for filling teeth. We have been repeatedly adjured to look at Germany, how well it has got along without gold. We have been told that it is unthinkable, when this nation is girding her loins for war, that labour and materials should be diverted to this useless effort. Gold miners should be diverted to the base-metal mines, where they can produce something of real value to the war effort; or to war factories; or, in fact, almost anywhere, so long as they are got out of the gold mines. And, what has made the situation even more disturbing, it has seemed as if all this clamour might be convincing governments. In fact, as you all know, the government of the United States did actually take the step of ordering its gold mines to cease operations. Fortunately, however, for Canada, the facts that no large favourable effects resulted from that action, and that, in Canada, gold mining is a much larger part of the national economy than in the United States, have caused our government, so far at least, to avoid this drastic step. In talking about this, however, let me emphasize that I have no more inside information on the subject than any of you. Like Will Rogers, all I know is what I see in the papers.

Jan 1, 1943

A new mine has begun production of antimony ore and concentrates in Serbia, Yugoslavia. The mine is operated by the mining and metallurgical enterprise "Aajaca." Initial production is running at approximately 45 thousand tons of ore per year, yielding about 1,500 tons of concentrate. The mine is located on the mountain Kopaonik-Raiceyoj Gori. It is planned to expand production eventually to approach the level of 300,000 tons of ore per year. This level will be a significant addition to the world supply of antimony and will place Yugoslavia among the world's major producers. Currently the United States produces only about 6 percent of its primary requirement for antimony. COBALT -Anglo American Corporation, Ltd. reportedly is considering restarting the Tenke-Fungurume copper-cobalt project in Zaire. Construction on the project was suspended in January because of inadequate financing and political uncertainties. Technical feasibility and financing on a smaller scale than previously envisioned are now being considered. However, an increased copper price may be necessary before any decision to proceed is made.

Jan 1, 1976

The Aluminum Company of America announced a temporary reduction of the operating rate at its primary aluminum plant at Palestine, TX where it is developing a new process to produce aluminum metal by electrolysis of aluminum chloride, Output will be reduced by half to about 7,500 tons per year while some improvements are being made on the chemical segment of the plant. The modifications were expected to take 3 to 4 years to complete. Alcan Alumininum Ltd., a major U.S. supplier of aluminum, reported declaration of force majeure on aluminum ingot shipment commitments following the shutdown of its primary aluminum plants at Arvida, Isle Maligne, and Beauharnois, Que. The shutdowns, which began early in June, resulted from management and labor differences.

Jan 1, 1979

By A. R. Barnes, N. Stubina

Increasingly, gold producers are forced to treat ever more refractory ores. While ores containing pyrite, arsenopyrite and carbonaceous material have been subjected to complete pressure oxidation (PDX) as the standard process for such ores, recent improvements in fluid bed roasting technologies have led to a resurgence of interest in roasting as a viable alternative. The lower capital and operating costs of roaster installations add further impetus to this trend. The Extractive Metallurgy Group at Xstrata Process Support operates four fluid bed reactors of various sizes which have been utilised on a large number of projects to treat highly refractory ores. Preliminary mineralogical modelling of both the physical and chemical aspects of the roasting process and subsequent testing under carefully controlled conditions has allowed clients to obtain gold recoveries approaching or matching those achievable by PDX. The flexibility of the units to operate in various modes- " bubbling bed", circulating bed, two stage, sub-stoichiometric and combinations of these, and the range of sample sizes accommodated, from a few kilograms to a few tons, has enabled XPS to accommodate clients with a wide variety of gold bearing refractory ores from all over the world. This paper outlines the key challenges of fluid bed roasting of refractory gold ores, describes the methodology used to design the testwork program and provides some results from select test campaigns.

Jan 1, 2011

This report presents information developed during Bureau of Mines contract H0242016, "Mine Shaft Fire and Smoke Protection Systems" from May, 1974 through June, 1975. Purpose of the metal and nonmetal health and safety project was to evaluate mine shaft fire and smoke hazard problems, and to develop and demonstrate a low-cost, reliable mine shaft fire protection system that would protect against such hazards and would be applicable to a majority of metal and nonmetal mine shafts, including raises and winzes, especially in deep mines. Program effort proceeded through five phases, culminating in the successful in-mine fire demonstration of a prototype system. In addition to this final report, a film is available which depicts components of the system and its successful shaft fire testing at an underground mine.

Jan 1, 1975

By B. H. Good

This paper describes the research that has been conducted -in an effort to understand the nature and causes of sulphide fires -in the Sullivan Mine. Results of the investigation have led to several theories of the origin: of the fires, the nature of the chemistry and a method for assessing: the fire potential. Recommendations and the implications for the mining operation are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By AIME AIME

COMMITTEES. CANAL ZONE.-Col. George W. Goethals, U. S. A., Chairman; Lt.-Col. H. F. Hodges, U. S. A. ; Lt.: Col. D. D. Gaillard, U. S. A. ; Lt.-Col. William L. Sibert, IT. S. A. ; H. H. Rousseau, U. S. N.; Col. W. C. Gorgas, U. S. A.; Maurice H. Thatcher ; Joseph Bucklin Bishop ; Lt.-Col. Charles F. Mason, U. S. A.; S. B. Williamson ; Major Eugene T. Wilson, U. S. A. ; Edward Schildhauer ; Henry Goldmark ; Edward C. Sherman ; W. G. Comber ; W. B. Corse ; J. A. Walker; Joseph A. Le Prince; J. A. Smith ; Lt. Frederick Mears, U. S. A. HAVANA.-V. T. Polledo, Chairman; Diego Lombillo Clark, Jose Primelles, J. R. Villalon, Jose Artola, J. Ducassi, Luis Morales, Enrique Montonlieu. ENTERTAINMENT ON SHIPBOARD.-William L. Saunders, Chairman; Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Warriner, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Robins, Mr. and Mrs. George.D. Barron, Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Watson, W. E. Greene. GENERAL MANAGEMENT. .Joseph Struthers, Chairman; Albert E. Vaughan. There were ten sessions of the Institute held for the presentation and discussion of, technical or professional papers. Eight of these sessions were held on the steamer while en route, and two in the ball-room of the Hotel Tivoli, at Ancon, C. Z. Mr. David W- Brunton, President of the Council, presided at all the sessions, except the sixth, at which Mr. Charles Kirchhoff, past President, occupied the chair. The following list includes the papers presented in oral abstract by the authors: First Session., October 24. The Summit Hill Mine-Fire, by W. A. Lathrop, Philadelphia, Pa. Mine-Fire at the Calumet and Hecla Mine, No. 8 Shaft., by S. D. Warriner, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Fire in the Big Lick Stope, Lykens Valley and Williamstown Colliery, by R. V. Norris, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Mine-Fire in the Hecksherville Valley, Schuylkill Field, Pa., by W. J. Richards, Pottsville, Pa.. Fire in the Monarch Mine, near Rock Springs, Wyo., by S. A. Taylor, Pittsburg, Pa.

Dec 1, 1910

By D. A. Barr

High-grade gold-silver mineralization associated with electrum and argentite was discovered in a quartz vein at the Chappelle property, 273 km north of Smithers, B.C., in 1969 following a regional geochemical reconnaissance program in the Cassiar-Omineca Mountains. Subsequent exploration resulted in the discovery of numerous quartz veins with associated precious-metal values in a belt 17 by 3 km in area centrally located within Toodoggone Group volcanic and sedimentary rocks of Lower to Middle Jurassic age and a window of Takla Group volcanic rocks of Upper Triassic age. More detailed investigations, consisting principally of 5677 m of surface drilling in 57 holes and crosscutting, drifting and raising on Chapelle Vein A, has outlined a high-grade gold-silver-bearing shoot with a strike length of 200 m, an average width of about 3 m and extending to an average depth of about 40 m below surface.

Jan 1, 1978

By R. Van A. Mills

Rapid deterioration and destruction of metal equipment in oil and gas fields cause waste of resources and financial losses that must be lessened or eliminated if operations in many important fields are to continue profitable. The magnitude of this destruction is proved by the huge consumption of iron and steel pipe, tubing, casing, pump valves, and sucker rods to replace worn-out equipment, and by the amount of such equipment that is left in wells or junked. (See PI. I, A and B, and PI. II, A and B, and Fig. 14, p. 61.) This destruction of equipment constitu~es in itself a serious waste, but contingent production troubles, such as underground leakage of oil through defective tubing and pumps, and the consequent loss of oil and gas because of damage to pay sands by infiltrating water and silt, frequent and costly repairs with necessary suspension of production, and the ultimate injury to or loss of valuable wells, often cancel all operating profits. Many of these troubles result from rapid destruction of metal equipment by corrosive waters. The strata penetrated by the wells usually contain saline waters. Certain types of these waters, with their associated gases, are intensely corrosive; they attack well casing or tubing so vigorously as to riddle it with holes, rendering it useless in a few years or even a few months or weeks after it is installed. Pump plungers, working barrels, balls and seats of valves, and screen pipe, as well as lead lines and other surface equipment, are ruined with equal rapidity. The development and application of practical methods to retard or prevent this corrosion are among the most urgent problems of the oil and gas industry. Although much progress has been made in preventing the corrosion of metals, the need for reducing the damage from corrosion in oil and gas fields is still imperative. This is especially true of underground corrosion in the wells, because underground conditions favor corrosion and are difficult to study; hence they have not been thoroughly understood. In efforts to stop ~amage to oil and gas field equipment by corrosion, numerous methods have been proposed or tried with varying success. Some of these methods are cheap and effective. However, it is surprising that in many important fields the damage by corrosion is accepted as necessary or unavoidable, although cheap and effective methods that have been developed and successfully tried elsewhere might greatly reduce the trouble or eliminate it. This bulletin describes common causes and effects of oil and gas field corrosion and outlines methods of abating the damage. In order to accomplish this purpose best, the writer has avoided taking sides in controversies between the advocates of different metals for oil-field use; instead he describes the methods of combating corrosion in the various fields and suggests experiments that may yield valuable results. Throughout the paper he has freely used information from published reports of other investigators.

Jan 1, 1925

By C. G. Maier

The fundamental chemistry of zinc smelting, especially that part dealing with the chemical reduction of the zinc-oxide content of a roasted zinc ore, has been discussed by metallurgists in some detail, but, in the light of present knowledge, unsatisfactorily. A considerable portion of the information available has been qualitative, or quantitative in a sense that could not be interpreted chemically. A number of attempts to elucidate the physical chemistry of zinc oxide reduction have been based upon unsubstantiated and, as is now known, incorrect equilibrium data. To write upon the chemistry of zinc smelting at this time, when electrolytic methods for the production of zinc metal from ore are becoming increasingly widespread, may seem a belated effort. So, for example, C. A. Hansen,3 in the communicated discussion of an article by the author,4 writes as follows:

Jan 1, 1930

By R. W. Hodder

"Archean lode gold deposits of both vein and chemical sedimentary types typically have major enrichments of certain rare elements, including Au, Ag, As, Sb, B, W, Se, Te and Bi, coupled with low or negative enrichments of the more abundant and mobile base metals, Cu, Pb and Zn. On the other hand, in massive base metal sulphide deposits Au, Ag, Cu, Zn and in some instances Pb are all enriched by a factor of 200 to 2000 t:'Jf'1pared to background and there is no large separation of gold relative to the base metals.The fluids from which gold was precipitated in veins were at temperatures of 320 to 480°C, at lithostatic pressure, had significant C02, and Na """" K; whereas the fluids which generated base metal deposits were at 250-300°C, at hydrostatic pressure, had C02 < < H20 and Na > > K.Many lode gold deposits are characterized by K, C02 and Si additions to their enveloping rocks, whereas base metal deposits typically have a fixation of Fe, Mg, Si and S in footwall rocks. Lode gold deposits may also have a relatively large halo of low-temperature oxidative, sadie spilitization in enclosing volcanic rocks, where seawater has later streamed into cooling stocks or flows that have initially acted to focus gold mineralizing fluids along thermal contraction fractures. The submarine environment is one hydrologically appropriate for the mixing of two initially independent hydrothermal systems, and the blending of their separate characteristics. Hence, lode gold and base metal massive sulphide deposits appear to be products of two distinctly different crustal and hydrological regimes. The former involves a high-temperature, high-pressure discharge of fluids which probably were generated during dehydration accompanying burial and progressive accumulation of volcanic-sedimentary sequences, with an additional influence of marine water in the near-sea-floor environment. The latter represents thermally driven convection of ocean water at lower temperatures and under hydrostatic conditions.Auriferous fluid systems with only minor base metal content could plausibly be generated during dehydration accompanying burial and metamorphism, when the water-to-rock ratio is low and halogen availability is limited by crustal abundance (- 60 ppm Cl). These two factors may constrain the uptake of the abundant base metals into fluids, but the solubility of rare elements is not constrained by limited fluid; and preferential uptake of Au along with other rare elements may be promoted if such elements compete more successfully for the limited halogens than the base metals, and/or have an alternative complexing agent such as CO or C()j-."

Jan 1, 1982

By Richard E. Thill

The Bureau of Mines&apos; Oil Shale Data Bank (OSDB) was created in 1976 to serve as a centralized source for the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of technical literature, patents, and information on research projects in oil shale. Thousands of bibliographic references, patents, and research projects relating to the mining of oil shale have been identified, abstracted, and indexed according to selected keyword topics. The resulting data bank listings are contained in three sections, each with a separate keyword breakdown for use in rapidly identifying references pertaining to a specific subject. All references cited in the OSDB were published prior to an established cut-off date of May 1, 1981, when a redirection of Bureau of Mines programs resulted in the loss of project funds and the subsequent phasing-out of data bank operations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The oil shale data bank listings are the result of a team effort of the project staff. The contributions of Jimaleen Jansma for keypunching, information acquisition, and data entry, and John Brandenburg and Sandra Brake for keywording and information acquisition are gratefully acknowledged. Appreciation is expressed to the staff members of the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, Washington D.C. for their cooperation in supplying data on recent research projects in oil shale for inclusion in the OSDB listings. Appreciation is extended also to the staff of the Gallegos Research Group for assisting with computer services to obtain the final printouts and transfer of files onto magnetic tape.

Jan 1, 1982

Law of the Sea. - The Ninth Session of the Law of the Sea Conference resumed July 28 at Geneva and will run for 5 weeks. The 160-nation Conference began in 1973. Two of the major factors to be discussed are the transfer of technology to the UN-controlled Enterprise or mining authority, and how the 36-member Council will make decisions. As the session completed its third week, delegates expressed little hope of completing a treaty text this year. There was a feeling, though, that substantive issues might be settled so that a treaty text can be completed next year. The Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act signed by the President on June 28, provides an interim regulatory procedure for ocean mining activities conducted by U.S. nationals that may be superseded by a law of the sea treaty.

Jan 1, 1980