1 - Mines Magazine - Colorado School of Mines

PLANT news;• The machinery for ASEA's giant mine hoist is designed for 12,000 h.p. and a driving speedof 14 metres per second. (Photo courtesy of American Swedish News Exchange, inc.)World's Largest Mine HoistDelivered by ASEA to RussiaWhat is claimed to be the world'slargest mine hoist is being deliveredby the Swedish General Electric Company(ASEA), in Vasteras, to theSoviet Union. It is intended for adouble hoist system with a loadingcapacity of 50 tons per skip and formsa part of a delivery of nine hoistingunits. Still another hoist is of thesame size.I^he hoist drum weighs +9 tons,and its two skips weigh 40 tons each.For lifting the drum out of the constructionhall, it was necessary tobuild new traversing gear. In spite ofthe heavy capacity of the pulley unit,its diameter is only 14 feet, as itshauling capacit}'' is distributed overeight wires, as against a maximum offour wires in other large-size drivingpullej's.The driving speed is 33 feet persecond at a depth of 3,000 feet. Themotor effect is 9,000 h.p., derivedfrom four separate units which areconnected to the driving wheels bymeans of two double-reduction precisiongears. The motors are connectedto the transformers by Leonard gearing.However, the mechanical equipmentis designed for an ultimate depthof 3,900 feet, which will mean an increasein the driving speed to 14meters, or 42 feet, per second at asimultaneous increase in tbe motoreffect to 12,000 h.p.The delivery of the hoists, whichare wholly automatized, includesASEA-made skips, measuring pockets,wires, and underground transportationequipment for convej'ance of theore from the crushing stations. Thelast mentioned are to be operated byan ASEA automatic hopper system,adjusted to the automatic hoistingmethod.WKEto Design AS&R MillWestern-Knapp Engineering Co. ofSan Francisco, Calif., has beenawarded a contract to design and engineerthe 15,000 ton per day copperflotation concentrator for AmericanSmelting and Refining Co.'s MissionProject near Tucson, Ariz. Tlie copperconcentrator is the major constructionitem in the Mission Project.Cost of the total project, scheduledfor completion in years, has beenestimated at over $40,000,000.The Western District Office ofWKE will design the copper concentratorin its San Francisco EngineeringCenter. The mill will be one ofthe most efficient of its kind, incorporatingthe newest metallurgicaltechniques, and employing many automaticmeasuring and control devices.It is estimated that the annualthroughput of the mill will be 5,400,-000 tons, producing approximately45,000 tons of copper per year.Ohio Oil Plant Being BuiltBy Stearns-Roger Mfg. Co.7^he Ohio Oil Co. has let contractto the Stearns-Roger ManufacturingCo. of Denver for design and constructionof a casinghead gas processingplant to serve the rapidly developingScipio, Pulaski and Albion fieldsof south central Michigan.The plant will be an absorptionrefrigerationtype gas processing andsweetening facility with vessel capacityof 25 million cubic feet daily andcompressor capacity of 10 million cubicfeet. The plant will initially produce40,000 gallons of liquefiablesdaily and eventually production willbe boosted to 65,000 gallons. Liquidsto be extracted are propane and amixture of butane and natural gasoline.Contractor expects to break groundon site five miles north of Jonesvilleearly in February with completionscheduled by mid-1960.Hitch, Boling to DirectDorr-Oliver IncorporatedL. R. BOLING J. D. HITCH, JR.The Board of Directors of Dorr-Oliver Incorporated recently appointedJ. D. Hitch, Jr., president, tofill its vacant board chairmanship andelected L. R. Boling, currently executivevice president, to succeed Mr.Hitch as president. Both appointmentsbecame effective Dec. 1, 1959, withMr. Boling continuing as chief executiveofficer of the internationallyknown engineering concern. Dr.John V. N. Dorr and Wm. L. Oliverwill continue as honorary chairmanand vice chairman of the Board respectively.A civil engineering graduate ofHarvard, Mr. Hitch joined the formerDorr organization in 1927. Aftersix years as the company's representativein Japan, he was appointed exportmanager in 1935. He was successivelyelected vice president forsales and a director of the corporation,executive vice president, and presidentin 1953. With the merger of Dorrand Oliver organizations in late 1954,(Continued on page 45)42 THE MINES MAGAZINE • JANUARY, 1960BOOK REVIEWSBibliography of Stable IsotopesOf Oxygen (O" and O"'}Reviewed by George B. Lucas, Departmentof Chemistry, Colorado School ofMines.Compiled and edited by David Samueland Fritz Steckel; Pergamon Press; 224pages.One of the many barriers that naturehas placed in the way of scientific investigationis the non-existence of radioactiveisotopes of oxygen and nitrogen of sufficientlylong half-life to permit their frequentuse in radioactive tracing experiments.The longest lived isotope of oxygenis 0^" with a half-life of 2.1 minutes.This half-life is far too short for manydesirable tracer experiments. Thus workersinterested in following the path ofoxygen in complex sequences must resortto the stable isotopes of oxygen (0" andO"'). The techniques and equipment requiredfor such a study have no doubtprevented many workers from followingan interesting line of investigation. Thecompilation of this Bibliography by Samueland Steckel may help convince someinvestigators that mass spectrometric techniquesinvolving stable oxygen isotopeswill yield an answer to their problem.The main section of the book is arrangedin alphabetical order of the principalinvestigator. The titie of the paper,the journal in which it appeared, and theChemical Abstract reference is given.When known, the institution in which theinvestigation was conducted is included.Each entry is identified by a letter-numbercombination which permits cross referenceto entries under a co-author's name.The second portion of the book is a subjectindex, arranged alphabetically, whichincludes the previously mentioned letternumberidentification and a further number;the year of the publication.The compilation is complete throughthe year 1957 and covers all fields ofendeavor in which isotopic oxygen figures.This bibliography should be a handyreference source for all interested parties,and should serve as an introduction tothe literature for workers who wouldlike to become acquainted with the techniquesand methodologj' of isotopic ratiomeasurements.This reviewer is somewhat puzzled bythe arrangement of the book. Far greaterutility would have been realized If themajor indexing were by subject matterrather than by author. Most workers ina field, and particularly new 'entrants, aremost interested in surveying an overallarea of research. The actual arrangementof the bibliography makes this surveymore difficult than it need be.Nevertheless, this bibliography is aworthwhile compilation and is recommendedto those interested in the area ofnon-radioactive isotopes and tracer methods.Science and ResourcesThis book, published for Resources forthe Future by The Johns Hopkins Press,is based on lectures given at the 1959Resources for the Future Forum in Washington.The papers were edited for publicationby Henry Jarrett of the RFF staff."Recent advances in science and technology,"the book's introduction states,"already are strongly influencing the productionand use of natural resources, andwill have even larger effects in the future."The 18 essays explore the natureof some of the new discoveries and theirpossible economic and social impacts.For each of six topics (genetics, weathermodification, minerals, chemical technology,nuclear energy, outer space), a naturalscientist tells where research in thatfieid stands now and where it seems tobe going, and two other authorities examinethe implications from their particularviewpoints—businessman, governmentadministrator, economist, political scientist,etc.Dr. James Boyd, who obtained hisM.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees from the ColoradoSchool of Mines (1932 and 1934),is one of three men writing on the subjectof "Exploring for Minerals." Dr. Boydis vice president in charge of exploration,Kennecott Copper Corp.Survey of Gold SituationAn inspective survey — mineral, economicand political —of the world's goldsituation is the topic of the NovemberMineral Industries Bulletin. The 16-pageBulletin, published by the Colorado Schoolof Mines, is written by Donald R. Williamson,project engineer and residentauthor at the CSM Research Foundation.Williamson outlines the various goldstandards now employed by nationsthroughout the world and discusses theproblems connected with a possible goldvalue inci^'ease.At one time the United States had 60per cent gold backing for its currency. Itnow has 40 to 25 per cent. "Such smallbacking requires that currency be madeinconvertible," says Williamson. "Obviously,the present U. S. gold reserves,priced at $35 an ounce, are already overburdened.That they are envied by othernations indicates the status of other reserves,"The $35 per ounce value was establishedin 1934. Current economic pressureshave led some people to demand highergold prices, some even urging a price of$105 per ounce.The United States, with 10 per cent ofthe world's population, has more thanhalf of the known gold reserves. Productionof gold has been fairly steady formany years, but new uses for gold continu'eto increase, thereby reducintj theamount of gold which could bolster thedwindling world reserves.Gold's use in commercial ventures suchas jewelry is increasing. An appreciableamount is being used in research for auniversal measure of distance. It's alsobeing used to coat jet planes and missiles.Williamson's survey includes a discussionof new areas to be explored for gold.These include deep ore bodies and oceanwaters. He also outlines ore, placer andhydrothermal deposits now known andsuggests future production and exploration.The November MIB is available withoutcharge, at the Department of Publications,the Colorado School of Mines,Golden.Discussion of Clay TerrainConstruction ProblemsA practical discussion of clay terrainconstruction probiems is the topic of themost recent Colorado School of MinesQuarterly. The book is a compilation ofpapers dealing with the theoretical andpractical treatment of expansive clays.The Quarterly (Voi. 54, No. 4, price$2) is an outgrowth of the First AnnualSoil M'echanics Conference, held in Aprilat Mines. The papers discuss the problemsof building on the expansive soils ofthe Middlewestern and Southwesternareas of the United States.Includied in the Quarterly are papersby Raymond E. Means, professor of architecture,Oklahoma State University; Dr.T. William Lambe, head of MIT's soilengineering department; Chester Mc­Dowell, supervising soils engineer for theTexas Flighway Department; RaymondF. Dawson, civil engineering professor atthe Ur^iversity of Texas; and W. C.Holtz, earth laboratory branch chief, U. S.Bureau of Reclamation.Report on Franciscan ChertIn Concrete AggregofesA report containing vital economic informationfor the construction industryhas just been released by the State ofCalifornia Division of Mines. Special Report55, "Franciscan chert in Californiaconcrete aggregates," by Harold B. Goldman,is espiEcially timely in view of thetremendous highway building programplanned for the next decade and alreadyinitiated. This program wil] demand concreteaggregate from new and expandingdeposits as yet relatively unexploited.Laboratoiy test data and the results offield examination of concrete structuresand gravel deposits document the author'sconclusions.Available from the Division of Mines,Ferry Bldg., San Francisco for 50c plustax.Proceedings of the Third AnnualRock Mechanics SymposiumColorado School of Mines Quarterly,Voi. 54, No. 3, 370 pages, price $3. Proceedingsof the Third Annual Rock MechanicsSymposium, held April 20-22 atthe Colorado School of Mines, have beenpublished as a CSM Quarterly.The symposium was divided into fourmajor sections, each dealing with a distinctarea of rock mechanics. They treatednuclear blasting, geophysics, soil and rockmechanics factors, and common und'ergroundand explosive failures.Tncluded among the papers are thoseof Dr. Leopold Muller, president of theInternational Assn. of Geomechanics, Germau}'^;L. E. Djingheusian, senior CanadianDept. of Mines engineer; Ulf Langefors,Nitrolglycerin Aktiebolaget physicist,Sweden; Sir Harold J^effreys, PlumianProfessor of Astronomy and ExperimentalPhilosophy, Cambridge University, England;Dr. John S. Rinehart, head of theCSM mining engineering research laboratories;and a nuclear blast summation byfour staff engineers of the Lawrence RadiationLaboratory of the University ofCalifornia.Cochise County Geologic MapCochise County is the subject of thelatest geologic map to be issued by theArizona Bureau of Mines at The Universityof Arizona. It is the sixth in aseries of geologic maps being preparedfor all Arizona counties. Developed on ascale of 1 to 375,000 inches, the map d'epictsdetailed geologic conditions in CochiseCounty, as well as the topographyand cultural features, such as roads andtowns.Printed in color, the map includes anexplanatory guide to the location of dififer-'ent types of sedimentary, metamorphicand igneous rocks, as well as a color keyTHE MINES MAGAZINE • JANUARY, 1960 43