Mining Engineering Commons^™

Subsurface Geology Of The Mississippi Embayment Of Southeast Missouri, John Gustave Grohskopf

Professional Degree Theses

"To the southeast of the Ozark Escarpment all municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supplies of record are obtained by drilled wells from alluvial sands and gravels, unconsolidated sands of the Wilcox and McNairy (Ripley) formations, and at a few towns from consolidated Paleozoic dolomites limestones, and sandstones. The irrigation wells obtain their water supply from the Allluvium. These wells have recorded yields of several thousand g.p.m, and the water, though excessively high in iron, is still satisfactory for the irrigation of crops. Some municipal and industrial supplies are obtained from the Wilcox sands, but the water usually requires iron-removal treatment. …

Adaptation Of Diesel Rubber-Tired Loading Equipment To A Bedded Fluorspar Mining Problem, Robert Gill Montgomery

Professional Degree Theses

"The fluorspar-zinc orebody at Minerva No. 1 mine near Cave in Rock, in Hardin County, Illinois, would have been classed as non-commercial before the days of flotation milling and mine mechanization. The bulk of the ore requires fine grinding for acceptable beneficiation, and the assay of the head feed runs considerably lower than grades thought to be commercial in the fluorspar district prior to 1940.

However, the reserves found by drilling before the decision was made to invest in mine development, and the construction of a two-product, 250-ton, flotation mill, with complete power plant and surface shops, exceeded 600,000 tons. …

Marcasite From The Upper Mississippi Valley Zinc Area As A Source Of Sulphur, Carl R. Christiansen

Professional Degree Theses

"Sulphur is a mineral material which is as basic as steel to our industry and economy. This fact is not generally realized because it is seldom seen, but it goes into the manufacture of practically every article of clothing we wear, and the food we eat is dependent upon it. Most items we produce require the use of sulphur at some stage of their manufacture. The consumption of sulphur has been increasing rapidly and is now far above its World War II peak. Production has been greatly increased but has been unable to keep up with the increasing demand. This …

Experimental Studies Of The Effect Of Moisture On Strength Of Mine Roof-Shales, Rolf W. Roley

Professional Degree Theses

"The mining and production of coal by underground mining operations has long been recognized as one of this nation's most hazardous industries. Tabulated data from the State of Illinois, for example, reveal that in that State between 1882 and 1945 there have been 7,789 men killed in coal mining accidents of one form or another. Further inspection of the data indicates that 3,711 of these men were killed underground by falls of roof or rock….

As previously stated, this experiment was designed to determine whether or not any appreciable change in strength as measured by Transverse Breakage would result from …

Study Of Oil Well Squeeze Cementing Operations, Arthur Wellesley Walker

Professional Degree Theses

"A study of the literature and field operations indicates conclusively that squeeze cementing operations are performed almost exclusively as corrective measures in completing or working-over wells. The most common use is to correct for faulty cement operations during original well completions. Careful study of field operations indicate that in most cases formations are broken-down at pressures far less than that required to lift the overburden, and that large quantities of drilling mud and cement may be pumped into the well (and formations) at pressures less than that of the overburden. Analyses of the forces indicate that the formations will be …

Caving Procedure At The Crestmore Limestone Mine Of The Riverside Cement Company, Riverside County, Calif., Randall Helt Wightman

Professional Degree Theses

"The following paper describes current mining practices of the Riverside Cement Company at its Crestmore Mine, Riverside, California. For a number of years the Riverside Cement Company obtained its raw materials by surface quarry operations, but after these deposits were exhausted for equipment available at that time, the Company started underground mining. Mine workings were begun in 1927 to 1930 for the recovery of limestone by block-caving methods"--Introduction, page 1.

A Technique For Making Torsion Balance Surveys Of Inundated Areas, Karl Frederick Hasselmann

Professional Degree Theses

"The need for a technique for making torsion balance surveys of inundated areas was brought to the writer's attention during the years of 1927 to 1933, while employed by The Sinclair Exploration Company to prospect for oil in Austria, Hungary and North and Northwest Germany. At that time, the company was using ten torsion balances, supplementing the work with magnetometer surveys and refraction seismograph detail. During part of this period an elementary and relatively insensitive gravimeter was used. Some reflection seismograph work was also done during the last year of operations. During the course of surveying in North and Northwest …

Geological Reconnaissance Of The Coldwater River, Mississippi, Pinckney Ronald Mabrey

Professional Degree Theses

"This report was the result of an assigment [sic] to make a geologic reconnaissance of the headwaters of Coldwater River in northwest Mississippi, on which a site for a flood control dam had been made. At the time of the last field work in November, 1940, the boring program for borrow areas and for foundation had been completed.

The Sardis dam on the Little Tallahatchie River, some 35 miles southeast of site for the Arkabutla dam had been recently completed, it being the first of several designed for flood control purposes in the Yazoo basin, Mississippi. This was a hydraulic …

The Use Of Carbon Dioxide For Dislodging Coal In Mines, Durward Rice Schooler

Professional Degree Theses

"The coal mining industry prior to 1940, was undoubtedly facing a period when operating economies and efficient utilization of labor, machines and modern practices were more necessary than ever before. With its markets definitely threatened by other sources of heat and power produced with a minimum of labor, "Coal" had to exert every effort to secure the lowest possible production cost and also to produce a more satisfactory product with greater safety to men and mines...Many attempts have been, with various methods, to invent a method of breaking down coal that would fulfill the requirements stated above. In 1924 or …

Drainage As A Factor In The Development And Operation Of A Mine, Peter Paul Ribotto

Professional Degree Theses

"Peele's "Mining Engineers' Handbook" lists six of the more vital factors influencing the method of development and operation of a mine. These are (1) topography, (2) local geology, (3) location and mining of oreshoots, (4) haulage problems, (5) drainage, and (6) ventilation and safety. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a scheme for studying the drainage factor and to show how much a scheme works out in actual practice. Even the casual observer will note the interdependence and interrelationship among the factors listed. So closely tied together are they that the reasonable discussion of an item such as …

Operations Of The Colquiri Tin Mine, Cia. Minera De Oruro. Colquiri, Bolivia, Oscar David Niedermeyer

Professional Degree Theses

"I have selected for my thesis, the discussion of the more important phases of the operation of the Colquiri Mine, owned and operated by the Cia. Minera de Oruro, Oruro, Bolivia. This company is a stock company and is listed on the Santiago stock market, Santiago, Chile. Dr. Mauricio Hochschild is the controlling stockholder and the Cia. Miners de Oruro is responsible to his management. Mr. William Val De Camp, who is general manager for all the mines of Dr. Hochschild, is also general manager for the mines operated by the Compania Miners de Oruro. My position is that of …

The Scope Of Functions Delegated To The Engineering Department Of A Typical, Progressive Metal Mine, Alvin William Knoerr

Professional Degree Theses

"Nearly every conscientious engineering student will subject his college courses to an occasional critical analysis in an effort to assure himself that the studies he is pursuing will be a valuable aid to him in future practice. Possibly this skeptical attitude is accentuated by published letters of graduate mining engineers who decry the courses of mining schools in general and clamor for more practicability and higher specialization. Pure science as it is taught may at times seem to be very remote from any possible practical application. Mathematics may appear to be highly abstract. It seems quite logical that the degree …

Coal Mine Safety Engineering, Charles F. Herbert

Professional Degree Theses

"The progress of coal mine safety may be compared to the development in mining through the years. When coal was first discovered centuries ago, it was taken from river or creek beds and from the outcroppings on the sides of hills. After removing the most accessible coal from the surface, it was necessary to mine the coal by quarrying or stripping the overburden from the coal seams. It is reasonable to assume that when such operations began, accidents of a serious nature also began to occur. Such accidents were no doubt due to rolling rocks or stones, falling material, and …

Dewatering & Rehabilitating The Oronogo-Webb City Mining Area, Robert Knox Stroup

Professional Degree Theses

"The object of this paper is to describe the dewatering of the Oronogo-Webb City mining area, and the subsequent mining operations which were carried on in the northern section of that area. It deals with the development in that district during the time the writer was familiar with operations there; i.e., from 1935 to 1939, inclusive, and no attempt is made to describe the open pit mining and local milling which have been carried out as a latter part of this same project. Also, no attempt is made to describe the surface drainage work which was planned and carried out …

Essentials Of Rock Drill Design, Lister Merriken Cummings

Professional Degree Theses

"The earliest history of the rock drill is obscure and only fragmentary evidence concerning it is recorded in the Patent Office. However, no other tool has played a more important part in mining and excavating work. There have been two general classes of pneumatic rock drills -- the reciprocating, or piston machine, and the hammer drill. Fowler played an important part in the early development of piston machines, and the first hammer drill was made in about 1895 by a man named Brothers"--History, page 1.

A Preliminary Report On The Placer Gold Deposits Of The Rio Acandi Seco, Choco, Republic Of Colombia, South America And A Possible Method Of Their Exploitation., Emmett Lee Arnold

Professional Degree Theses

"This property covers the valley of the Rio Acandi Seco, in the district of Acandi, Intendencia (Territory) of Choco, Republic of Columbia, South America.

It consists of four claims, or pertenencias, each straddling and paralleling the course of the Acandi Seco River. Each claim is two kilometers in width, one kilometer on each side of the stream bed, and five kilometers in length, making an area two kilometers (1 1/4 miles) in width by 20 kilometers (12 1/2 miles) in length, containing about 10,000 acres, the conversion being only approximate. These four claims are shown on the attached map as …

Construction Of A Concentrating Plant In The Waco Area Of The Tri-State District, William Henry Backer

Professional Degree Theses

"Company: St. Louis Smelting and Refining Company...The fee is some five hundred acres of mining land is owned by the company, and an additional two hundred acres is held under a mining lease. Drilling had proved the ore to occur in a dolomitic horizon and to contain from 3 to 12 per cent zinc and small quantities of lead. Early in 1930, some thought was given by the officials of the company to the erection of a concentrator to mill the ore from this acreage. During the ensuing months a basic flow sheet and type of structure were tentatively approved, …

The Management Of Mobile Loading Units In Mines Working In Number V And Vi Seams Of Illinois And Indiana, Kirk Vern Cammack

Professional Degree Theses

"The knowledge and skill a face boss must have today is far beyond that required of even a mine foreman in hand-loading days. the care of material, the direction of the working force, the care and maintenance of equipment, the provisions for the safety of the men: all these are problems requiring the best of a boss' efforts. Because of these factors, the maintenance of a constant tonnage today rests almost directly on the section foreman. With this in mind, the following material has been prepared from the viewpoint of the face boss rather than from that of a superintendent …

Some Effects Of Geology On The Relation Between Rainfall And Run-Off, James Smythe Reger

Professional Degree Theses

"For the past five years, the writer has been engaged either directly or indirectly in the investigation of water supplies. Studies and observations made in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico, have brought to his attention the importance of geology to hydrology. This is especially true in reference to the relation between rainfall and run-off. In all texts and other publications relating to hydrology, the importance of geology to the subject is hardly more than mentioned. In the absence of actual stream flow records, many engineers resort to either the "direct comparative method", or the "rainfall percentage method", in estimating …

Reopening An Abandoned Tri-State Zinc Mine - Waco, Missouri, Edgar Carroll Long

Professional Degree Theses

"Early in the year of 1937, the company employing the writer decided to reopen an old mining property located in Kansas, one and one-quarter miles west of Waco, Missouri. This property is known as the Grasselli No. 1, the lease of which had been acquired a short time prior to the depression of 1930. This property had been extensively mined on upper levels (195-foot, 176-foot, and 150-foot) by former operators and was a noteworthy producer of sphalerite. It was worked from the time of the beginning of the World War until about 1928. The lowest level, 285-foot, had hardly been …

Organization Of Geophysical Parties For Foreign Exploration, Charles Howard Dresbach

Professional Degree Theses

"Special conditions encountered in much foreign work make it necessary to consider many factors which are not encountered in domestic programs of geophysical exploration for oil. Although extremely difficult working conditions are frequently met in domestic operations by company and contract crews, the large store of past experience, the availability of fresh supplies, replacement or new equipment, and the proximity of the helpful home office make their surmountal more or less a matter of routine. Contrariwise, foreign operations are frequently conducted under much more difficult conditions, supplies and equipment can be secured only after long and costly delays, and the …

The Design And Equipment Of A Model Coal Mine For The Union Pacific Coal Company, Superior, Wyoming, William Thomas Sharp

Professional Degree Theses

"In order to replace several mines in the Superior field that are near completion, the Union Pacific Coal Company have opened up the D. O. Clark Mine at Superior, Sweetwater County, Wyoming. They first contemplated opening up the individual seams from the out-croppings. This would have necessitated moving the present camp of Superior several miles west of the present site and building several miles of additional railroad. This plan was abandoned because of the burdensome cost. Then the idea was conceived of driving rock slopes down against the pitch of the various seams. By doing so, they could locate the …

Mercury In The Terlingua District Of Texas, William Woodhouse Kay

Professional Degree Theses

"Material for this paper was assembled during 1936 when the author, with an associate, studied the Terlingua District and did some actual prospecting and mining in various parts of this district. This paper endeavors to describe mercury mining in the Terlingua District of Texas generally. No attempt is made to treat any of the various aspects of this industry too technically as this is not the purpose of this paper"--Introduction, page iii.

Copper Mining In South America, Charles Kenneth Rose

Professional Degree Theses

"The Morococha district is situated in the Andes of Central Peru, Department of Junin, four miles east of the crest of the Western Cordillera, which there forms the Continental Divide. The town of Morococha is at an elevation of 14,800 feet and is connected by rail with Callao, the port of Lima, ninety miles to the west, and with La Oroya, the smelting center, thirteen miles to the east. The Peruvian Central Railway ascends from Lima along the valley of the Rio Rimac to Ticlio (15,665 feet) where it tunnels through the Divide and descends the Yauli Valley to La …

How South-West Wisconsin Tailing Piles Can Be Worked At A Profit, Gerald Henry Pett

Professional Degree Theses

"It was not until the Flotation Process was introduced in this S.W. Wisconsin zinc district that the writer was convinced that some of the tailing piles here could be worked at a profit. In 1928, the Badger Zinc Company built a 120 ton Flotation Plant about two miles north-east of Linden. It was after the second visit to the plant that the writer learned the above company was making a profit of a 5% zinc ore with very little lead and with a low market price for the finished product, namely $30.00 per ton for a 60% zinc concentrate...the body …

Conveyor Mining In The Thin Vein Coal Fields At Excelsior, Arkansas, Bernard Degen Boyd

Professional Degree Theses

"From the results obtained after a year and a half of operation using the long face system of conveyor mining in our thin seam of coal, four decided advantages over the old system of room and pillar work with wide rooms have been proven: 1. Operations are concentrated in small sections, thereby permitting larger tonnages to be loaded. 2. One hundred per cent extraction of the vein is obtained (with the exception of main slope pillars) which prolongs the life of the mine. 3. The ventilation of this gaseous vein is simplified. 4. Production costs are reduced"--page 15.

Sinking And Equipping Inclined Shafts Of More Than 60 Degree Dip, Wilford Stillman Wright

Professional Degree Theses

"The advisability of putting down an inclined shaft in preference to the vertical type should be carefully considered before a definite choice is made. One, of course, presupposes the existence of a dipping ore body that is to be prospected or developed for subsequent mining. Unless a vein has been previously developed there is no certainty that it maintains the same degree of pitch for any great distance below surfaces. If straight, the proposed inclined shaft may depart considerably from the downward course of the vein with the result, that, at least some of the anticipated advantages of the shaft …

The Latouche Mining Method As Used At The Alaska Juneau Gold Mine, Willard Alexander Gallemore

Professional Degree Theses

"The Latouche Mining Method has been used at the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company only since 1933, and is used in that part of the mine below the main tramming level. It consists of a series of radiating "long holes" (21 feet) drilled from stope raises, over the back of the stope. These holes break the rock into the stopes, from where it goes through bulldoze chambers to oreways leading to chutes on the No. 10 level. On this level, the ore is drawn into Granby Cars, trammed to the Main Shaft, and hoisted to No. 4 level. On this …

Development And Operation Of The Universal Coal Mine, Clinton, Indiana, Horace Herbert Clark

Professional Degree Theses

No abstract provided.

Small Scale Mining Possibilities In Southeast Missouri, William Walbridge Weigel

Professional Degree Theses

"The disseminated lead ore bodies of St. Francois County in southeast Missouri are known for their enormous size and even grade over large areas. Several of these ore bodies are over a mile long by a quarter mile wide. They have been worked on a commensurate scale. The smallest mill in the district, at Bonne Terre, now treats 2,500 tons daily capacity. Each of these mills is supplied by a single ore hoisting shaft. The disseminated ore district of St. Francois County is bounded by the Big River-Bonne Terre fault on the north and west, by the Simms Mountain fault …