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By F. F. Sharpless

IT IS to be. read in Western newspapers that Hon. S. S. Arentz who introduced H. R. 7736, 'has repudiated it, that certain mining men in Utah and Nevada say that they will fight it "until hell freezes over." It is to be read in more temperate expressions that "the eminent engineers who drafted the bill exhibited a woeful misunderstanding of Western sentiment and opinion." Furthermore, it is averred that there is no need for revising the mining laws, that we have got along pretty well under the existing laws, etc. Such statements are so surprising in view of, the facts of record that it is hard to believe that the oppon-ents of the bill, who make them, are well informed, or that they represent general opinion. It will be useful therefore to review the record of the case. Our GOOD OLD MINING LAWS We have indeed got on well in our mining industry, but that has not been by virtue; of our good old mining laws. Rather has it been in spite of them. Ever since the Richmond-Eureka case in the '70s there has been litigation arising from them. Early in the '80s the apex law was discarded by common consent in Leadville, and it has been ignored in every district of flat-lying ore deposits ever since. The great mines of the present time are the porphyry copper deposits. At Bingham, Ely, Ray, Chino, Miami, Clifton and Ajo the apex law is simply inapplicable. A law that is inapplicable to the modern conditions of mining may be an old law, but it can not properly be characterized as a "good" law. For such reasons, and many others of weight, there has been a demand for revision of the mining laws; dat-ing ,back at least three decades. President Roosevelt appointed a commission to advise respecting the question, said commission comprising. Dr. James Douglas (chairman), John Hays Hammond, D: M. Barringer, Walter B: Devereux, and William B. Mather. This committee was unanimous on the following points:

Jan 1, 1922

By Helmer Heldstrom

Gravity surveying with the torsion balance or the pendulum for ore prospecting purposes has generally not been considered practical or even possible. It is the intention of this paper to show that a fast and sensitive gravimeter can be very useful in ore prospecting, as an auxiliary to the electrical and magnetic instruments. A number of gravimeters have been constructed and put in practical use in the last seven or eight years; for instance, by Ising, Lejay-Holweck, Haalck, Hartley, Thyssen, Noergaard, the Humble Oil and Refining Co. and the Gulf Production Co. Their main application, apart from their use for geodetic surveys, has been for structure mapping in oil prospecting. There is no record that any of them have been used for ore prospecting. About the middle of 1934 the Boliden Mining Co., in Sweden, began experiments in constructing a static gravity meter sensitive enough for ore prospecting. Calculations and considerations that will be discussed later in this paper showed that this would necessitate an accuracy in the measurements of 0.1 milligal—roughly, one ten-millionth part of the total force of gravity. The first successful practical field tests of the instrument were made in January 1936. About the middle of 1937 the Boliden gravimeter was perfected. Ore prospecting with this instrument is now regular practice in Sweden, especially for the testing of indications given by geoelectric and magnetic methods. Gravity Anomalies that May Be Expected from Ore Bodies According to Newton's law, a mass M attracts the unit mass in a distance r with the force , GM where G = the gravitational constant = 6.68 . 10-8 c.g.s units. In the c.g.s., or centimeter-gram-second, system the force of attraction is expressed in the unit "dyne," which has the physical dimension c.g.s.-2 and denotes the force needed to accelerate the unit mass in one second to

Jan 1, 1940

By Helmer Heldstrom

Gravity surveying with the torsion balance or the pendulum for ore prospecting purposes has generally not been considered practical or even possible. It is the intention of this paper to show that a fast and sensitive gravimeter can be very useful in ore prospecting, as an auxiliary to the electrical and magnetic instruments. A number of gravimeters have been constructed and put in practical use in the last seven or eight years; for instance, by Ising, Lejay-Holweck, Haalck, Hartley, Thyssen, Noergaard, the Humble Oil and Refining Co. and the Gulf Production Co. Their main application, apart from their use for geodetic surveys, has been for structure mapping in oil prospecting. There is no record that any of them have been used for ore prospecting. About the middle of 1934 the Boliden Mining Co., in Sweden, began experiments in constructing a static gravity meter sensitive enough for ore prospecting. Calculations and considerations that will be discussed later in this paper showed that this would necessitate an accuracy in the measurements of 0.1 milligal—roughly, one ten-millionth part of the total force of gravity. The first successful practical field tests of the instrument were made in January 1936. About the middle of 1937 the Boliden gravimeter was perfected. Ore prospecting with this instrument is now regular practice in Sweden, especially for the testing of indications given by geoelectric and magnetic methods. Gravity Anomalies that May Be Expected from Ore Bodies According to Newton's law, a mass M attracts the unit mass in a distance r with the force , GM where G = the gravitational constant = 6.68 . 10-8 c.g.s units. In the c.g.s., or centimeter-gram-second, system the force of attraction is expressed in the unit "dyne," which has the physical dimension c.g.s.-2 and denotes the force needed to accelerate the unit mass in one second to

Jan 1, 1940

By I. L. Greninger

THE property of the Andes Copper Mining Co. is in the central part of the Republic of Chile, Province of Atacama, 147 km. (91.5 miles) eastward by rail from the port of Chanaral. At this point the Andean system is made up of two principal ranges. The mine is on the westerly slope of the outer, or western, range, at a mean elevation of 3250 m. (10,500 ft.). A meter-gage railroad extends from the company's port at Barquito, near Chañaral, to the reduction plant at Potrerillos. This road has a total length of 151 km. (94.0 miles), of which 93 km. (57.79 miles) are owned by the Andes Copper Mining Co. The remainder of the road is owned by the state. The company operates its trains over the portion of the road owned by the state, under an agreement with the Chilean Government. The mine is connected with the reduction plant by a meter-gage railroad, 10 km. (6.214 miles) long, which extends from the coarse-ore bins at the metallurgical plant to the underground storage bins at the mine. Tunnels make up 60 per cent. of the total length of this railroad. As is characteristic of the Andean region in Chile, the topography of the locality is extremely rough, and a number of points near the mine have elevations of from 15,000 to 16,000 feet. History of Potrerillos Mine The ore occurrence has been known for many years, and many of the claims under individual ownership were worked in a small way before the property was acquired by the present owner—the Andes Copper Mining Company. The highest grade oxide ores near the surface were mined by primitive methods and, after sorting, the product, assaying around 15 per cent, copper, was hauled by mule carts a distance of about 80 km. (49.71 miles)

Jan 1, 1929

By J. Blodget Britton

During the last three or four years I have had occasion to examine, chemically, various samples of matter commonly called flue-dust or cinder, found deposited in the flues and hot-blast chambers and under the boilers of blast furnaces, and also in the flues and under the boilers of puddling and boiling furnaces. Recently several of these examinations mere made quite in detail, and as the results reveal, I believe, information of no inconsiderable importance, I am induced to communicate them to this Institute. A sample of deposit obtained from the flues of one of the blast furnaces at the works of the Phœix Iron Company, at Phœnixville, Pa., was found to have the composition given in Column I of the following table: I. 11. 111. Composition of Dust from Dust from Dust from Deposits. Blast Furnace. Puddling Furnace. Boiling Furnace. Protoxide of iron,... 1.51 3 08 1.18 Peroxide of iron,... 20.21 33.29 41.00 Alumina,....6.57 12.89 7.54 Lime,.....3.98 .48 .61 Magnesia,.....69 .09 .19 Protoxide of manganese,. . 1.66 .39 .12 Oxide of zinc,....2.84 ........ Oxide of copper,. .. ..06 ........ Silicic acid,....36.00 40.69 38.99 Sulphuric acid,... 7.55 .43 Phosphoric acid,..94 ..94 Arsenious acid,. .. .38 Antimoniousacid,... trace.......... Chlorine,....03 ..03 Cyanogen,.....09 ........ Ammonia,.... trace......... Pottlsh with some sodn,. .. 16.61 ........ Carbonic acid,. .. .. .59 ........ Alkalies, undetermined matter, and loss,.......29 4.49 6.96 100.00 100 00 100.00 Metallic iron,. 16.31 25.70 29.64 Phosphorus,. .. .. .41* 1.55† 1.30†

By H. A. Coy

THE Mascot mines of the American Zinc Co. of Tennessee are situated in the Holston River valley, in Knox County, Tennessee, about 13 miles (20.9 km.) east of the city of Knoxville, and form a property of three operating shafts and one open pit. A second open pit is located at Jefferson City about 16 miles (25.8 km.) east of the Mascot mines. Geology Topography.-The principal topographical features of the region within which the zinc deposits occur is a series of parallel northeast and. southwest ridges which reach altitudes of 200 to 400 ft. (61 to 122 m.) above the valley. These ridges are formed of resistant formation such as sandstone, quartzites, etc., while the valleys are occupied principally by limestone, including Knox dolomite, and by shale and other formations subject to quick erosion. The Holston River valley is wide and open with a rolling surface. Sink holes are common to the limestone portion, the general aspect of the valley being that of well-rounded hills with low intervening valleys superimposed upon which is a characteristic sink-hole topography. General Geology.-According to Keith, the rock formation of the area extends from the lower Cambrian into the Silurian. The region has undergone severe deformation with heavy faulting, the underlying Cambrian having been brought to the surface by a series of low angle thrust faults, the strike of the faults and formations paralleling the general northeast and southwest direction of the topography and clipping at varying angles to the southeast. In general the Cambrian quartzites, sandstone, etc., occupy the ridges while the Cambro-Silurian dolomites, limestone and shales occur principally in the valleys. Of the latter, the Knox dolomite is of particular interest to this paper in that it is the ore carrier in the Mascot area. The ore is associated with more or less irregular breccia zones, the degree of brecciation varying from-a fine crushing to a breaking that involves blocks of large size. The breccia zones

Jan 9, 1917

By K. C. Heald

THE places where, yesterday, oil was unknown contain tomorrow's fields. Unquestionably, some states that now yield little or no oil have great potentialities, and developments in these states, although perhaps of less immediate interest than those in regions where great pools now exist, may easily be of greater ultimate importance than the results of exploration closer to known fields. Not long ago, Montana had only a quarter of an oil pool, and that was regarded by many as an accident that had strayed from Wyoming. More recently, the northern line of Louisiana was a dead line that would not be crossed by any Louisiana operator who valued his reputation for sanity. Within the past few months, Colorado has shown that it is far from being a negligible factor in the oil supply of the Rocky Mountain states, and it is now known that western Kansas, long shunned by many reputable geologists and operators, should be reckoned with. There may be a vast difference between what a wildcat well yields and what the well signifies. The fact that no commercial production is encountered may be lamentable and may well be disastrous to an individual or a company, but the same well that spells ruin to one may convey to another the information that will result in opening a new field. In presenting the conclusions, in this paper, the writer recognizes fully the possibility of erroneous deductions, particularly since he has had contact with only a few of the wells that are mentioned. Information comes principally from the scout. maps and files maintained at the Geological Survey by M. E. Latimer and G. K. Drach, without whose cooperation this summary would not be possible, supplemented by some personal contact and second-hand information gained by. conversation and correspondence. However, it is felt that the data contain few errors, and that the conclusions are at least reasonable.

Jan 3, 1924

By Frank L. Gaddy

Falls of roof account for over 50% of the fatalities that occur in coal mines in the US. Thus, roof control is one of the more important phases of underground mining. In reality, the control of roof influences the system of mining and is a major determinant of the width and spacing of working places, operations at the mining face, ventilation control, and surface subsidence. Frequently, the control of roof is the largest single cost item. Roof control is a never-ending task, not only at the working face and throughout sections where men are working, but along haulways and air- ways that must be maintained for the life of the mine. This is because roof, even the hest of roof, slowly deteriorates, so it must be frequently examined, with corrective support applied when needed. As coal is excavated, stresses are set up in the roof because the previous equilibrium is upset, resulting in pressures that cause fractures and slight movements that are frequently hard to detect. Unless the immediate roof, in the excavated area, is given support by artificial means, it might fall or there might be a succession of falls, varying from a thin scale to several feet, depending on the nature of the top. Exceptions to this are those rare mines, or sections of mines, with hard, strong, nonweathering roof that requires no support. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ROOF There are two broad types of roof as far as support is concerned: the immediate roof above the coal and the main roof. Artificial support for mining purposes is only concerned with the immediate roof as nothing except large blocks of solid coal, or massive concrete, will support the main roof. The immediate roof is generally a few feet thick but call vary from inches to 6.1 m (20 ft) or more. There are examples of where there is no imrncdiate roof as the massive main roof lies directly on the coal

Jan 1, 1981

By George A. Laird

THIs old and once famous district played, through its enormous production of silver and gold, an important part in the history of the State of San Luis Potosi. According to a pamphlet prepared under the direction of the Governor of the State, Sr. Don Blas Escontria, and presented to the visiting members of the Institute during the Mexican meeting of 1901, this district is situated 20 km. east of the city of San Luis Potosi, in a range of mountains of moderate height, extending 135 km. N. and S., and 16 km. E. and W.; and the mineralized area hitherto developed is about 600,000 sq. m. The history of the district, as given by the record dated 1778, and formerly kept in the Sail Francisco convent, says that it was discovered in 1575 by Sr. Don Pedro Irarte, and adds that the city of San Luis Rey de Francisco de1 Potosi received its name (in allusion to the famous Potosi mines in Bolivia) by reason of the remarkable productiveness of its gold- and silver-mines in the first period of their exploration, during which they paid to the Crown, as quintos (the fifth part of the product), $97,000,000, as appears from the accounts of the royal treasury. The amount of the quintos paid during the " bonanza period " of 80 years was $72,000,000. The larger sum first mentioned probably represents a longer series of years. But either will suffice to indicate the great wealth of the mines. In 1663, the decadence of the industry began with the caving-in of several mines, concerning which the record of 1778, already cited, says, in substance, that on Good Friday one of the owners in the enterprise, in view of the unfavorable prospect of a lawsuit in which he was engaged, set fire to the timbers supporting the underground galleries and workings of the Sail

Jan 1, 1905

By B. M. Larsen, W. E. Shenk, T. E. Brower

Shortly after our previous paper on this subject was printed1 we located a source of uncertainty in the results arising from the unexpected fact that hydrogen slowly reduces silica at 1100" C. in presence of iron, even when the iron nowhere touches the silica, although in absence of iron it does not do so. This difficulty has been completely obviated by the use of a small high-frequency furnace, which enables us to heat the specimen for analysis without raising the temperature of the silica vessel to a point at which any appreciable reduction of the silica glass occurs. We now describe this modification of procedure, and present some typical results obtained with it. For any given specimen of steel, the results are entirely definite and reproducible, but their precise significance is still open to some question, as indeed is true of all methods of oxygen determination SO far developed. Further elucidation of this question is to be expected from the cooperative comparison of the several methods now under way under the auspices of the Bureau of Standards at the instance of the Iron and Steel Division of the A.I.M.E. Apparatus The final form of apparatus we have used is identical with that described and illustrated in our previous paper, except for the substitution for the Globar furnace of a small high-frequency furnace actuated by a vacuum tube oscillator2 0f about 1.5 kw. capacity, and for a slight modification of the containing vessel. This transparent silica vessel is illustrated in Fig. 1 of this paper. Its enlarged portion is about 5 cm. in diameter and 13 cm. long. The silica tube for inlet of hydrogen is fused into this bulb and ends beneath the metal "bucket" holding the steel sample. This sample is in the form of fine millings. The "bucket" is suspended by a platinum wire from the cap of Pyrex glass. The high-frequency

Jan 1, 1934

By Earl Oliver, J. B. Umpleby

It is believed that in connection with the study of unit operation by the Petroleum Division of the A. I. M. E. a review of the simple principles of unit operation would be helpful. To that end, the following discussion is submitted. It is not to be considered in any sense as the conclusion of the committee, but rather as material submitted for its consideration and represents at this time only the viewpoints of its authors. Growth of the Oil Industry In 70 years the oil industry has grown from a single well on Oil Creek, Venango County, Pennsylvania, producing 25 bbl, per day, to more than 400,000 wells scattered over five continents with a daily output of 4,000,000 bbl. In that time petroleum has expanded from its simple use as a medicine in a few localities to a multitude of diverse uses in homes of every country the world over. During those years the oil fields of the United States have produced two-thirds of the world's output and have shipped their excess production into almost every country. In those years several hundred thousand good wells in the United States declined into small ones and depleted shallow deposits gave way to deep zones; so that the United States crude oil industry gradually changed from one of low cost production to one of higher cost. Throughout its entire life it has labored under two serious economic disadvantages, namely, constantly recurring periods of demoralization through overproduction, and competitive development methods that are wasteful. Development of Foreign Competition During the transition from low to higher cost production in the United States, events even more significant were taking place in foreign lands. Jungles were tamed and deserts conquered. Oil deposits were found and developed until, in the words of Sir John Cadman, "the globe is now drenched with a commodity which, although necessary to life, involves but an irregular and sometimes meager expenditure of life in its

Jan 1, 1930

By Albert Sauveur

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) ALTHOUGH many metallurgists know that some pearlitic special steels can be made troostitic, martensitic, and even austenitic, without quenching, and, therefore, without exposing them to the dangers of the quenching-bath, the practical significance of such possibility does not seem to have received the attention it deserves. Let us recall briefly the mechanism of the transformation alluded to. In Fig. 1 (after Guillet) is shown the constitutional diagram of nickel-steel that; is, of alloys of iron, carbon, and nickel. Any steel the composition of which falls within the area LPO is pearlitic after slow cooling; any steel the composition of which is represented by a point within the area MLO is martensitic, and any steel within the area MNO is austenitic. Starting with pearlitic steel, then by increasing the carbon-content or the nickel-content, or both, the metal becomes martensitic and eventually austenitic; that is, its composition crosses first the boundary-line LO and then the line M0-and it remains martensitic or austenitic after slow (air) cooling.1 We have inn this way imparted to the metal without quenching it the properties of hardened carbon-steel. In other words, the steel is now self-hardening. Nickel cannot be introduced into solid steel, but by the well-known process of case-hardening it * Professor of Metallurgy and Metalllography in Harvard University. + Assistant in Metallurgy and Metallography in Harvard University. 1 The boundaries between the various zones are not, as a matter of fact, as sharp as indicated in the diagram, because pearlite is not transformed abruptly and in its entirety into martensite when a certain critical composition is attained, nor is martensite suddenly and completely converted into austenite. Greater refinement in the construction of the diagram would undoubtedly result in the introduction of troosto-pearlitic, troostitic, and troosto-martensitic zones between the pearlitic and martensitic areas and-of a martenso-austenitic zone between the martensitic and austenitic areas. Fur the purpose of this note, however, the existence of these transition-conditions may be ignored.

Nov 1, 1912

By Bradley Stoughton

FRom 1886 to 1889, approximately, Henry M. Howe was engaged most actively in preparing his Afetallugy of Sieei, which became the foundation for his leadership in the science of physical metallurgy of steel. During the same period, Hadfield was developing the first of the industrially-important alloy steels, and Riley was initiating the commercialization of nickel steel. Both of these alloys are treated briefly in Howe's book; indeed, he missed practically nothing of interest in all the steel literature preceding 1889. There had been many good books on steel before his, but none of the same character. His genius, like that of Aristotle and Francis Bacon, manifested itself in the painstaking collection of data, followed by their coordination and interpretation. Not only manganese and nickel steels were discussed, but several which most of us, with our tendency to overlook the past, are wont to regard as exclusively recent developments, such as: silicon, chrome, copper, tungsten, vanadium, titanium, chrome-tungsten and many other steels. But Howe never devoted much special attention, in his writings, to alloy steels; the science of the relations of iron and carbon offered field enough even for his capacity for constructive thought. And, today we find the science of alloy steels in much the same condition as was the metallurgy of steel before Howe wrote his first great book. Many, many important facts have been presented to the world, especially by Sir Robert Hadfield, James Riley, Henri le Chatelier, Kotaro Honda and his associates, Maunsel White, Harry Brearley, and a host of others. Several books have been devoted wholly or chiefly to alloy steels, such as those by Hibbard, Mars, Heyn and Wetzell, Grube, Burnham, Gillett and Mack, Billón, Brearley, Monypenny, Becker, Savoia, Sauveur, Guillet, Tammann, Guertler, Goerens, Guia, Wuest, Ledebur, Schenck, Aitchison, Osann, Guettier, Buchetti, Escard. The vast number of data on the subject are indicated by a bibliography' which was collected in preparing this address. It covers the years 1911 to

Jan 1, 1927

By E. H. Dix

The success of the Charpy impact test in the steel industry has led those interested in aluminum alloys to investigate the possible application of this test to aluminum and its alloys. In this paper are set forth the results of a few preliminary tests made at the Lynite Laboratories of the Aluminum Manufactures, Inc. In order to study more thoroughly the significance of the Charpy test, slow-bending tests have been made duplicating the arrangement of the impact machine. Tests have been made on both notched and unnotched specimens of a series of copper-aluminum alloys. Apparatus The standard American-made Charpy impact machine delivering a blow of over 200 ft.-lb. was much too large to test aluminum-alloy specimens of the same type used for steel, so that it was necessary either to adopt a larger specimen or to have a special light-weight hammer made. Since there is no known relation between specimens of different sixes, even though geometrically similar, it was decided to adhere to the 10 by 10 mm. specimen. Accordingly, Sauveur and Boylston, the American makers of the machine, were asked to construct a special light-weight pendulum adapted to their standard machine, this pendulum to have one-tenth the capacity of the standard. The writer wishes here to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr. H. M. Boylston for the personal interest and care exercised in constructing this pendulum. The machine with the light-weight hammer in place is shown in Fig. I. It is mounted on a concrete foundation with the concrete covering the flange on the base of the machine. Vibration is further prevented by four 5/8-in. (15.8 mm.) foundation bolts. The large standard hammer shown against the wall was also used for some of the unnotched bars that required more than 20 ft.-lb. to rupture. When the light-weight hammer was received, it was carefully cali-

Jan 1, 1921

By E. R. Hoskins

Results of a primary stress measurement investigation conducted on the 1100 copper ore body of the Mt. Isa mine, Mt. Isa, Queens., Australia, are presented in this chapter. The investigation started in September 1965, after discussion with the engineering staff at Mt. Isa, and consisted of both underground or in-situ tests at Mt. Isa and laboratory tests on Mt. Isa rocks and stress measurement techniques at the Australian National University in Canberra. Underground stress measurements were made in and adjacent to the 1100 copper ore body. The primary stress measurement site was in J 32 west crosscut on 14 Level. Approximate coordinates on the mine grid are 3000 north, 1650 east. The vertical depth below ground surface at this point is approximately 2180 ft. Some preliminary measurements were made in M 30 west crosscut on 13 Level, coordinates 3000 north, 2000 east, depth beneath the surface approximately 1990 ft. Additional flatjacks were installed on 11 Level in L 30 west crosscut, coordinates 3000 north, 2200 east, and depth beneath the surface approximately 1580 ft. All of the sites were in rock that from a mining engineering viewpoint must be considered extremely sound. The 13 and 14 Level crosscuts were approximately 14 ft on a side and nearly square and the 11 Level crosscut was approximately 10 ft on a side. All of the crosscuts had been standing open for several years and no artificial support of any type was necessary. Extraction openings hundreds of feet on a side have been made in this mine in similar rock and these have remained open also without additional support (see Davies 1 for a recent summary of mining techniques and conditions). The geology of the Mt. Isa mine has been most recently described by Bennett.2 Briefly, Mt. Isa is a silver-lead-zinc and copper mine in a series of Precambrian siltstones, shales, and bedded carbonates that strike north-

Jan 1, 1972

By H. A. Coy, H. B. Henegar

The Mascot mines of the American Zinc Co. of Tennessee are situated in the Holston River valley, in Knox County, Tennessee, about 13 miles (20.9 km.) east of the city of Knoxville, and form a property of three operating shafts and one open pit. A second open pit is located at Jefferson City about 16 miles (25.8 km.) east of the Mascot mines. Geology Topography.—The principal topographical features of the region within which the zinc deposits occur is a series of parallel northeast and southwest ridges which reach altitudes of 200 to 400 ft. (61 to 122 m.) above the valley. These ridges are formed of resistant formation such as sandstone, quartzites, etc., while the valleys are occupied principally by limestone, including Knox dolomite, and by shale and other formations subject to quick erosion. The Holston River valley is wide and open with a rolling surface. Sink holes are common to the limestone portion, the general aspect of the valley being that of well-rounded hills with low intervening valleys superimposed upon which is a characteristic sink-hole topography. General Geology.—According to Keith, the rock formation of the area extends from the lower Cambrian into the Silurian. The region has undergone severe deformation with hcavy faulting, the underlying Cambrian having been brought to the surface by a series of low angle thrust faults, the strike of the faults and formations paralleling the general northeast and southwest direction of the topography and dipping at varying angles to the southeast. In general, the Cambrian quartzites, sandstone, etc., occupy the ridges while the Cambro-Si urian dolomites, limestone and shales occur principally in the valleys. Of the latter, the Knox dolomite is of particular interest to this paper in that it is the ore carrier in the Mascot area. The ore is associated with more or less irregular breccia zones, the degree of brecciation varying from a fine crushing to a breaking that involves blocks of large size. The breccia zones

Jan 1, 1918

By C. D. Rubert, W. J. Parton

Large quantities of fine anthracite with associated impurities are discharged with the waste water from the coal-cleaning plants in the Pennsylvania anthracite region. Furthermore, for many years this fine material has accumulated and formed silt banks. The difficulty of removing the impurities from the fine material and the lack of adequate markets are responsible for the waste of this material. In view of a larger demand for fine coal, mainly for pulverized fuel, the Lehigh Navigation Coal Co. Inc. decided to investigate the froth flotation process for recovery of fine coal from these waste solids. A test plant was constructed and operated for six months during 1942 in order to determine the practicability of recover ing coal from the waste water of a a plant (breaker) by froth cleaning and to obtain operating data for designing a commercial plant if the results were favorable. Preliminary Investigation Before the pilot plant was constructed information was obtained by field and small-scale laboratory tests to serve as a guide in the design and operation of the pilot plant. Size and ash analyses of a representative sample of the material discharged in the wash water from a cleaning plant are given in Table. The refuse content increases progressively as the size of the particles decreases The larger particles (+35 m.) are low in ash content and could be marketed without cleaning. Since these solids are discharged from the breakers with 90 to 95 per cent water by weight, the first step in the recovery of the coal was that of reducing the quantity of water so that water in excess will not have to be handled. Furthermore, it was found that the removal of most of the minus 200 mesh high-ash material was desirable to permit the most efficient flotation of the cod. Classification tests were run and showed that a hydroseparator overflow rate of 12 ft. per hour* was sufficient to elimi-,late much of the minus 200-mesh material while allowing the coarser material to settle and be thickened,

Jan 1, 1944

By C. D. Rubert, W. J. Parton

Large quantities of fine anthracite with associated impurities are discharged with the waste water from the coal-cleaning plants in the Pennsylvania anthracite region. Furthermore, for many years this fine material has accumulated and formed silt banks. The difficulty of removing the impurities from the fine material and the lack of adequate markets are responsible for the waste of this material. In view of a larger demand for fine coal, mainly for pulverized fuel, the Lehigh Navigation Coal Co. Inc. decided to investigate the froth flotation process for recovery of fine coal from these waste solids. A test plant was constructed and operated for six months during 1942 in order to determine the practicability of recover ing coal from the waste water of a a plant (breaker) by froth cleaning and to obtain operating data for designing a commercial plant if the results were favorable. Preliminary Investigation Before the pilot plant was constructed information was obtained by field and small-scale laboratory tests to serve as a guide in the design and operation of the pilot plant. Size and ash analyses of a representative sample of the material discharged in the wash water from a cleaning plant are given in Table. The refuse content increases progressively as the size of the particles decreases The larger particles (+35 m.) are low in ash content and could be marketed without cleaning. Since these solids are discharged from the breakers with 90 to 95 per cent water by weight, the first step in the recovery of the coal was that of reducing the quantity of water so that water in excess will not have to be handled. Furthermore, it was found that the removal of most of the minus 200 mesh high-ash material was desirable to permit the most efficient flotation of the cod. Classification tests were run and showed that a hydroseparator overflow rate of 12 ft. per hour* was sufficient to elimi-,late much of the minus 200-mesh material while allowing the coarser material to settle and be thickened,

Jan 1, 1944

By C. A. Pierce

UNDERGROUND operations of the United States Potash Co. at its mine near Carlsbad, N.M., have been continuous since the property was opened about five years ago. Approximately one million tons of potash has been mined and two shafts have been sunk, each to a depth of about 1000 ft. Outstanding in the company's operations is the fact that not a single blasting accident has occurred during the aforesaid period. The purpose of this paper is to describe the blasting practice that has made possible the achievement of this accident-prevention record. The mining method employed in extracting the thick horizontal bed of potash may be described as a double-entry room-and-pillar system. Mine development is kept well in advance of extraction operations, and a three years' supply of ore, at least, is always available. Limits of the orebody have not been determined, and in the present system of mining headings are advanced by a "shortwall" method. This was the first potash ore bed developed in the United States. The nature of the deposit, therefore, was unknown, and it was deemed expedient to outline a conservative mining policy. Later, when more is known about the deposit and certain control ascertained, a "longwall" panel retreating method may be found advisable. The necessity for a domestic supply of potash became a national issue previous to and during the World War. The United States Govern-ment came to realize that this country should not be dependent upon foreign sources of potash, and began extensive explorations in many parts of the country, seeking an orebody that would meet the exacting require-ments of the domestic market. The Department of Interior, through the Geological Survey and Bureau of Mines, made every effort to determine the location of potash deposits and encouraged their exploitation by private capital. Through the combined efforts of the Department of Interior and private industry, the deposit now being worked by the United States Potash Co. was discovered and brought into production.

Jan 1, 1936

By James Kemp

IN earlier years, the custom prevailed of regarding the anthracite basins as cases of folding with slight development of faulting. Folding is so pronounced and, in the eastern and western Middle Fields, at times so violent, that the inference was a natural one and led to the widespread impression that practically all the disturbances of the seams could be explained in this way. The cross-sections-and maps prepared forty or more years ago for the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, by Mr. Ashburner under Prof. J. P. Lesley, exhibit little else than folds.1 So far as I can discover faults fail in the charts, except in one small case in the Henry Colliery near Plainsville on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre. Some years ago, while spending a day or two in Wilkes-Barre, under the guidance of R. V. Norris, I looked over some recent and accurate cross-sections of a number of the large collieries and was deeply impressed with the peculiar behavior of some of the seams and the intervening shales. Thus, a seam might present a small, more or less overturned fold, rising 30 to 50 ft. (9 to 15m.) above its general course, and yet the movement would be taken up in the overlying shales, so as hardly to be noticeable in the seams next above or below. These and similar anomalies, especially when shown with the accuracy of engineer's surveys, possess great scientific and practical interest, bearing as .they do, not alone on coal mining, but on theoretical geology and the actual behavior of strata under great compressive stresses. In preparation for the semicentennial meeting of the Institute, an, effort was therefore made to secure some of the most interesting sections for presentation to the members. The collection of illustrations here shown is mainly due to, Mr. Douglas Bunting of the local committee, to whom and to the contributing companies acknowledgments are due.

Jan 1, 1922