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R. L. Bullock (St. Joseph Lead Co., Bonne Terre, Mo.)— The progressive approach of The International Salt Co. as described by Mr. Ryon is certainly commendable as is his paper. St. Joseph Lead Co. has been shooting AN/FO in 13/8 to 1 1/4-in. holes for several months now (as of October 1960) on a trial basis. The results thus far obtained are excellent, but conclusive evidence at this date is premature. One point that he gave should interest even the most ardent skeptic. That is, they are getting a detonation of the 1 1/4-in. ANDO charges in 2 1/4-in. holes. In light of its low sensitivity and critical diameter, this would appear to be one of the worse conditions that one could expect in which to get proper detonation of AN/FO. It has been shown* that partial confinement sometimes decreases sensitivity of a column of explosive because the air space above the explosive becomes highly compressed and in turn compresses the explosive prior to passage of the detonation front. Apparently, this does not happen in their shooting and the poor explosive coupling caused by the 2 1/4-in. holes yields a minimum of overbreak and is an ideal condition for their back.

Jan 1, 1961

By Stanley M. Moos, Richard Addison

Introduction The Pueblo Viejo gold-silver mine, located in the Dominican Republic, started production in early 1974 processing ores averaging 4 g/t gold and 20 g/t silver at a rate of 7.25 kt/d. The ore milled is a silicified siltstone with average work index of about 8 that occurs as an extensive oxide capping of a primary sulfide ore body. The sulfide ores are refractory to conventional treatment process and extensive research work is now in progress to develop a treatment process for them. The ore deposit has a long history, having been mined by the indigenous Arawak Indians for some time in the early sixteenth century prior to the arrival of the Spanish, and then by the Spaniards. In the early 1950s, Italian engineers attempted to process the sulfide ores. Mining by the Indians and Spanish was abandoned because of low grade and little coarse gold in the oxide ores and by the Italians because of the refractory nature of the sulfide ore. In 1969, Rosario Resources geologists discovered that there existed sufficient reserves of oxide ore for a viable mining operation and the plant was designed, built, and brought into production.

Jan 1, 1981

By John V. Beall

STREAM pollution caused by waste waters from mineral industry operations is a problem that has grown up with the industry. Its importance to each operator is dependent on the amount and type of waste he dumps into the rivers and streams; on whether this waste pollutes the waters sufficiently to make them unfit for potable water, irrigation, and conservation of wild life; and on whether this waste makes a safety or health hazard. Through the years our growing population and industry have made increasing demands on the mineral industries, the suppliers of the raw materials on which our industries are based; and we have met these demands at some sacrifice to the natural beauty and cleanliness of our country. However, that is often the unavoidable nature of the business, and along with the increased use of our

Jan 1, 1948

By R. J. Mellen

In a chloridizing roasting and cyanida-tion plant treating a manganese-silver ore, certain experiments pointed out the way to an improvement in roasting conditions by a change in the degree of crushing. The following short article is simply a description of the various changes that were necessary throughout the plant and of the results obtained. There is nothing unusual in these changes but they are of some interest in that they constitute a good many of the alterations usually resorted to in increasing production. In the beginning, the changes were brought about by an experiment that was not successful, but which clearly pointed to means of improving the operation, and is an example of the fact that often experimental work may result in failure and still be of value in arriving at correct fundamentals. This experiment also shows how far a metallurgist can get out of line in his deductions, particularly in a field with which he is not thoroughly familiar. The ore at the plant of Compania Minera Kildun y Anexas is crushed through a 13-in. gyratory, a 3-ft. standard Symons cone crusher and a set of 16 by 42-in. rolls, the latter in closed circuit with two Tyler type 400 screens. The crushed ore is then conveyed to two fine-ore bins. These provide storage and feed for two 6 by 90-ft. kiln roasters, which discharge directly to coolers. The coolers in turn discharge to a 6 by 12-ft. ball mill, where the ore is ground for cyanidation. Laboratory and pilot-plant tests previous to the mill construction had indicated that minus ¼-in. crushing was satisfactory for roasting, although results did not vary greatly with some coarser or considerably finer crushing. The plant was designed for a capacity of 300 tons per day on this basis. After a few months operation, the initial operating problems were overcome and the anticipated milling rate was reached but the results being obtained were not really good. The plant seemingly did not have much excess capacity in any department but the roasting operation was the most critically limiting factor both as to tonnage and the results obtained. If this could be improved there seemed some possibility of improving the total tonnage rate to some extent. Segregation of the calcine into various screen sizes showed that the coarser sizes were not giving the expected recoveries. In all of the laboratory and pilot-plant testing, any limiting conditions as to the percentage of salt used, temperatures, feed rates, etc., had affected the fine material more than it had the coarse, and even in making laboratory tests at this time the mill conditions could not be exactly duplicated. Further laboratory testing indicated that a segregation of the rushed Ore into a coarse and fine product for roasting might result in some improvement in roast-

Jan 1, 1947

By R. J. Mellen

In a chloridizing roasting and cyanida-tion plant treating a manganese-silver ore, certain experiments pointed out the way to an improvement in roasting conditions by a change in the degree of crushing. The following short article is simply a description of the various changes that were necessary throughout the plant and of the results obtained. There is nothing unusual in these changes but they are of some interest in that they constitute a good many of the alterations usually resorted to in increasing production. In the beginning, the changes were brought about by an experiment that was not successful, but which clearly pointed to means of improving the operation, and is an example of the fact that often experimental work may result in failure and still be of value in arriving at correct fundamentals. This experiment also shows how far a metallurgist can get out of line in his deductions, particularly in a field with which he is not thoroughly familiar. The ore at the plant of Compania Minera Kildun y Anexas is crushed through a 13-in. gyratory, a 3-ft. standard Symons cone crusher and a set of 16 by 42-in. rolls, the latter in closed circuit with two Tyler type 400 screens. The crushed ore is then conveyed to two fine-ore bins. These provide storage and feed for two 6 by 90-ft. kiln roasters, which discharge directly to coolers. The coolers in turn discharge to a 6 by 12-ft. ball mill, where the ore is ground for cyanidation. Laboratory and pilot-plant tests previous to the mill construction had indicated that minus ¼-in. crushing was satisfactory for roasting, although results did not vary greatly with some coarser or considerably finer crushing. The plant was designed for a capacity of 300 tons per day on this basis. After a few months operation, the initial operating problems were overcome and the anticipated milling rate was reached but the results being obtained were not really good. The plant seemingly did not have much excess capacity in any department but the roasting operation was the most critically limiting factor both as to tonnage and the results obtained. If this could be improved there seemed some possibility of improving the total tonnage rate to some extent. Segregation of the calcine into various screen sizes showed that the coarser sizes were not giving the expected recoveries. In all of the laboratory and pilot-plant testing, any limiting conditions as to the percentage of salt used, temperatures, feed rates, etc., had affected the fine material more than it had the coarse, and even in making laboratory tests at this time the mill conditions could not be exactly duplicated. Further laboratory testing indicated that a segregation of the rushed Ore into a coarse and fine product for roasting might result in some improvement in roast-

Jan 1, 1947

By R. J. Mellen

IN a chloridizing roasting and cyanidation plant treating a manganese-silver ore, certain experiments pointed out the way to an improvement in roasting conditions by a change in the degree of crushing. The following short article is simply a description of the various changes that were necessary throughout the plant and of the results obtained. There is nothing unusual in these changes but they are of some interest in that they constitute a good many of the alterations usually resorted to in increasing production. In the beginning, the changes were brought about by an experiment that was not successful, but which clearly pointed to means of improving the operation, and is an example of the fact that often experimental work may result in failure and still be of value in arriving at correct fundamentals. This experiment also shows how far a metallurgist can get out of line in his deductions, particularly in a field with which he is not thoroughly familiar. The ore at the plant of Compania Minera Kildun y Anexas is crushed through a 13-in. gyratory, a 3-ft. standard Symons cone crusher and a set of 16 by 42in. rolls, the latter in closed circuit with two Tyler 400-mesh screens. The crushed ore is then conveyed to two fine-ore bins. These provide storage and feed for two 6 by 90-ft. kiln roasters, which discharge directly to coolers. The coolers in turn discharge to a 6 by 12-ft. ball mill, where the ore is ground for cyanidation. Laboratory and pilot-plant tests previous to the mill construction had indicated that minus ¼ -in. crushing was satisfactory for roasting, although results did not vary greatly with some coarser or considerably finer crushing. The plant was designed for a capacity of 300 tons per day on this basis. After a few months operation, the initial operating problems were overcome and the anticipated milling rate was reached but the results being obtained were not really good. The plant seemingly did not have much excess capacity in any department but the roasting operation was the most critically limiting factor both as to tonnage and the results obtained. If this could be improved there seemed some possibility of improving the total tonnage rate to some extent. Segregation of the calcine into various screen sizes showed that the coarser sizes ,were not giving the expected recoveries. In all of the laboratory and pilot-plant testing, any limiting conditions as to the percentage of salt used, temperatures, feed rates, etc., had affected the fine material more than it had the coarse, and even in making laboratory tests at this time the mill conditions could not be exactly duplicated. Further laboratory testing indicated that a segregation of the crushed ore into a coarse and fine product for roasting might result in some improvement in roast-

Jan 1, 1945

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Jan 1, 1948

By Henry F. Hebley

This paper brings within the compass of one comparatively brief article a general description of the situation concerning the nation's water resources. It touches upon the phenomenal growth in the demand for water supply and emphasizes the problems facing the coal industry both with regard to acid mine water drainage discharged from active and abandoned mines and the suspended solids discharged to the stream system from wet coal preparation plants. IT must always be remembered, with regard to the problem of water-borne industrial wastes, that stream pollution from any cause is just one factor in the comprehensive problem of water supply in modern times. Industries nonexistent 25 years ago are now flourishing, and supplies of water piped to homes and apartments, as well as the greater number of plumbing fixtures per dwelling and per building, have created an ever growing demand on the country's water resources. Indication of this rapid growth in demand is shown in Table I, which is quoted from Abrams. of Texas increased 287% and the water consumption 7000 per cent." The domestic load varies greatly, depending on the extent of the available supply and the habits of the community. According to the report of the President's Water Resources Policy Commission' the United States Public Health Service reported a national average of 127 gal per capita per day, varying from 60 gal in communities of 500 persons to 140 or 150 gal in cities of 10,000 or over. Other critical areas may be cited to illustrate the inter-relation between new industrial processes and the demands for water in the area where the new enterprise is located. Powell and Wilson have pointed out that during World War 11, in the vicinity of Louisville, Ky., a rapid expansion of industry took place, consisting of numerous synthetic rubber plants. The demand for water increased from 37 million gal per day in 1937 to 62 million gal in 1943. These heavy requirements drew down the supply stored in the water-bearing aquifers to such an extent that urgent plans for recharging were considered. Similar situations have developed in the Los Angeles area and in the vicinity of Texas City. Warne4 has drawn attention to the situation in Los Angeles area, where in the West Basin the withdrawal of ground water in 1945 was 90,000 acre-ft, almost double the amount of the natural fresh water recharge. The draw down has been so severe that the level of the ground water is now below sea level, and sea water is invading the West Basin aquifers at rates up to 300 ft per year. In the Report of the Engineers Joint Council it is pointed out that in the area of Texas City the ground water table has been critically lowered. In 1930 the daily withdrawal from the water-bearing aquifer was 0.5 million gal. By 1945 the quantity withdrawn

Jan 1, 1954

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Jan 1, 1936

By Robert Glass Cleland

[Incorporated under the laws of the State of New York OFFICE, 41) WALL STREET, NEW YORK 5, N. Y. Authorized4,000,000 shares $150,000,000.00 Outstanding-5,071,260 shares 126,781,500.00]

Jan 1, 1952

By E. W. Cawthorne, R. I. Jaffee, C. M. Craighead

SOLUTION of a solid metal or alloy in a molten metal bath is used daily in melting operations, extractive metallurgical processes, and in brazing. It is generally recognized that temperature, time, agitation, and the composition of the solute metal and the solvent bath all affect solution rate. However, there is little information available in the literature on the kinetics of the process or the relative effect that these variables have on solution rate. In connection with an aluminum brazing study, data on the solution of aluminum in an A1-Si* bath to promote rapid solidification. The chemical analyses were made on drillings taken from the cast plates. The results of this work are listed in Table I. The thermal-analysis data were obtained on 200 gram samples cooled at approximately 1.5" per min. A calibrated chromel-alumel couple was used. The thermal arrests were recorded autographically on a General Electric photoelectric potentiometer recorder. The instrument was calibrated to 22.5 pct. The thermal emf was bucked with a Leeds and Northrup semiprecision potentiometer so that 1 mv represented the full scale of the GE recorder. Referring to Table I, it will be noted that the analytical results tend to be lower than the intended compositions by about 0.3 pct Si in the higher ranges. In view of the known difficulties in obtaining accurate silicon determinations by wet analysis when the silicon content is high and in view of the care that was employed in weighing and preparing the alloys, the intended compositions are believed to be more accurate than the analyses. Furthermore, when the thermal-arrest data are plotted against the intended compositions, a smooth curve is obtained, as shown in Fig. 1. This is not the case when the data are plotted against the analytical results. It will be noted from Table I that the 12.5 pct Si alloy (melt 4) showed a primary arrest at 577.6"C and the eutectic at 576.l°C. The metallographic examination of this chill-cast plate sample showed a small amount of primary silicon. These results, Fig. 1, place the eutectic at slightly less than 12.5 pct Si and are in rather good agreement with the unpublished Hanford data. In all of the subsequent work, the composition of the A1-Si dipping baths was determined by thermal analysis (spread between the primary arrest and the eutectic temperature) employing 12.5 pct Si and 577.2 °C as the composition and temperature of the eutectic. Material Preparation and Selection of the Techniques: At the beginning of this work, it was anticipated that, owing to oxide film present on the surface of the aluminum, difficulty would be encountered in obtaining rapid uniform wetting of aluminum specimens dipped in the A1-Si bath. The following etchants were investigated as possible methods of providing a thin uniform oxide film on the specimen surface: 1—phosphoric acid (H³O4), 2—fluoboric acid (HBFI), 3—sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and 4—hydrofluoric acid (HF). Tests with sheet .specimens (2x½x0.06 in.) of 2s aluminum prepared with these etchants indicated that the fast uniform wetting required for this work could not be obtained if any oxide film existed on the specimen surface. Tests were then conducted by dipping similar specimens etched in 5 pct NaOH and given a thin

Jan 1, 1956

By Claude Ferquson

MORE men are killed and injured in the metal mines of the United States from falls of rock and ore than from any other cause. Dan Harrington, of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, recently stated that "falls of men and material continue to take about 50 per cent of the lives annually lost in our mines (coal or metal) and this kind of accident is now and has been one of the most difficult to prevent." The fact that comparatively little has recently been written on this important subject for the benefit of the metal miner is the incentive for the present paper. Little will be said that will be new, but I hope to place fresh emphasis on certain well-known' principles' and to reiterate and stress previously stated rules so that the average experienced miner, as well as his buddy who may not be so experienced,' will sit up and take notice. It is not within the scope of this paper to discuss mining methods from the standpoint of safety and the prevention of accidents from falls of rock. It is up to the mine management to select the system of mining best suited to the character of the ore deposit and its wall conditions. This is something that the miner can do little about; although in many mines the management encourages the workmen to make suggestions that will improve existing

Jan 1, 1938

By D. L. Albright, R. W. Kraft

High-purity materials have been used in producing as-cast, controlled, colony, and degenerate solidification structures in the Fe-FeS eutectic. Experiments disclosed that this eutectic can be classified as normal and has a natural morphology composed of rodlike iron particles dispersed in a matrix of iron sulfide. The metallography of the various structures was studied, and a preferred crystallography was revealed in the controlled specimens produced by unidirectional solidification. The orientation effects found in these latter specimens are an [001] fiber texture in the -mowth direction of the bcc iron bhase and a texture corresponding to bicrystalline behavior in the hexagonal iron sulfide, with the growth direction near to (2111) poles. The observed texture of the iron phase is considered as indirect evidence that the alloy un-dercooled by at least 75°C before solidification. The unidirectional solidification of binary eutectic alloys has produced materials which exhibit a structure and properties markedly dependent upon the solidification process. In many cases a controlled microstructure with pronounced metallographic and crystallographic anisotropy can be experimentally achieved by proper regulation and balance of the growth rate of the alloy, the chemical purity of the starting materials, and the thermal gradient in the liquid at the liquid-solid interface. The purposes of this investigation were to produce various micro-structures in the Fe-FeS eutectic for subsequent study of their magnetic properties and to correlate the different structures with the solidification conditions in order to obtain a better understanding of the structure of eutectics. The Fe-S equilibrium diagram exhibits a eutectic composed of nearly pure iron and stoichiometric iron sulfide (FeS1.00), with the eutectic reaction occurring at 988°C and 31.0 wt pct S.1 Calculations indicate that this eutectic should solidify with about 9.5 vol pct Fe and 90.5 vol pct FeS, which in turn suggests2 that the micros tructure will consist of a rodlike iron constituent dispersed in a matrix of FeS. This characteristic has in fact been revealed some years ago.3 Thus, controlled solidification of this alloy might yield a material whose micromorphology would consist of very small ferromagnetic iron particles, rod-like in shape and aligned parallel to one another, supported in a matrix of antiferromagnetic FeS. Such specimens, because of the magnetic characteristics of the two phases, would be interesting subjects of study as magnetic materials. Hence the magnetic properties were considered in detail and are reported elsewhere.4 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The specimens of Fe-FeS eutectic were prepared from ultrapure iron (99.99+ pct) and high-purity sulfur (99.999+ pct). The iron was estimated to contain 60 ppm impurities (99.994 pct Fe) after zone purification.5 The ingots of iron were cut into chips, and the lumps of sulfur were ground into powder. In order to redice any nometallic impurities which might have accumulated during handling, the iron chips were annealed for 5 hr at 750° ± 10°C in a dry hydrogen atmosphere. Immediately after this treatment the chips were blended with the sulfur powder in eutectic proportions; the mixture was tamped into transparent fused quartz tubing and then vacuum-encapsulated under a pressure of 40 to 60µ of Hg. Because FeS expands upon solidification it was necessary to re-encapsulate the initial capsules so that oxidation reactions would be avoided when the inner tube cracked during solidification. For purposes of homogenizing the blended mixtures before solidification, the double capsules were heated to 750° ± 20°C and held for 20 hr; after this treatment the reacted product was weakly agglomerated. Each sample was then loaded into an apparatus for very rapid melting and freezing; this was accomplished by passing a molten zone through the specimen, using induction heating and a traverse mechanism. The resulting specimens solidified in the shape of the quartz tubing. Two sizes of specimens were used in this work, 18 mm diam by 100 mm long and 5 mm diam by 30 mm long. Metallographic examination of several ingots of both sizes after the above consolidation indicated no lack of compositional homogeneity and a random "as-cast" structure, because the travel rate was so rapid that unidirectional solidification was not achieved. Unidirectionally solidified specimens were resolidified in the apparatus shown schematically in Fig. 1, This equipment consisted of a kanthal resistance furnace mounted on the carriage of a zone-melting unit so that the heating element could traverse the length of the sample at a selected rate of speed. Large specimens were solidified with the mechanism tilted at ap-

Jan 1, 1967

By AIME AIME

ABOUT 55 attended the general session of the Nonferrous Metallurgy Committee on Wednesday afternoon. In opening the proceedings the Chairman, Frank G. Breyer, served notice of his intention to make an early start this year in securing papers for his committee. He voiced the thought that more importance should be attached to the prompt publication of data on new advances in practice; the record of technical progress should be written before the sharpness of the current image becomes blurred by the veil of time. As an illustration, Mr. Breyer declared that great strides have been made in the zinc industry during the past nine years, whereby zinc ore is converted directly to the oxide in large mechanical furnaces, yet the literature is confined to patents.

Jan 1, 1933