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By C. K. Leith

THE questions as to what grades of ore it pays to conserve for the future, and the valuation of low-grade reserves, are becoming immediate and definite as applied to individual ore deposits, and seem to call for some sort of quantitative answer. Both opinion and practice involving these questions differ widely. The number of variables in this problem is so large that final solution will perhaps never be agreed upon, yet there seem to me to be certain controlling factors which can be placed in quantitative relation and serve to reduce the number of variables which it is necessary to consider in a given instance. I assume that it will not pay either for the individual or for the State to conserve any ore when the present cost of conservation (by stock piling or otherwise), when compounded at 6 per cent. interest for the number of years which would elapse before this ore is used, will exceed the profit which the ore will yield when it is used. It may be urged that any loss to the individual may be made up in gain to the State. This might be true if there was any definite limit to the amount of iron ore, but when we remember that iron makes up .4 per cent. of all the rocks of the earth and the amount of rock carrying iron in excess of 20 per cent. is for practical purposes, unlimited, it is apparent that posterity is assured of its iron ore. The changes will be mainly in methods and cost of extracting the ore. Therefore, any expenditure of money or effort now, which when compounded will exceed the worth of the effort or money needed in the future to utilize the iron, is a net loss both to the individual and to the community.

Jan 2, 1914

By O. U. Bradley

THE methods of handling the oil output of the mid-continent fields are not unlike those practised in other oil fields of the United States, and it is not expected that this paper will present any entirely novel ideas. Some features of the practice of handling this oil may be of interest, however. WOODEN CAGING TANKS Practically all of the oil sold to pipe lines and other purchasing agencies throughout the Mid-continent field is gaged from wooden tanks. Steel gaging tanks are slowly coming into use, and are preferable in many ways-leakage and evaporation are reduced, and the strapping and recalculation of capacities are unnecessary. The wooden tanks are slightly coned to facilitate tightening the hoops. The-sizes in, common use are 250, 500, 800 and 1600 bbl. The number and the capacity of the gaging tanks upon any producing oil property depend upon its production, and the facilities for disposing of the output. The 1600-bbl. size was the most common in the Cushing field, particularly during the period of flush production. The tanks are distributed over the leased premises in groups of two, three, and four tanks each, and these are filled from flow tanks, or through direct pipe connections with the heads of the wells. Flow tanks are merely temporary reservoirs to facilitate the transfer of oil from the wells to the gaging tanks. They diminish fire risk,, and are considered indispensable on small producing properties where .water is pumped with the oil, as they permit the refuse and water to settle out before the production is run to the gaging tanks.

Jan 3, 1918

By H. Merton Ruth

THE northern anthracite fields, although facing the same economic problems as the southern fields, are confronted with the additional problem of fast dwindling reserves of anthracite which can be conventionally and economically won. The mining of coal which remains in thin beds and the recovery of pillars from areas heretofore considered unrecoverable, either by reason of cost or surface restriction, pose problems of increasing importance to the economic life of the northern field operations. Successful approaches have been made to this problem and other work is being performed that holds promise. There exists in the northern anthracite field millions of tons of solid coal, the recovery of which has not been too successful due to the following inherent operating faults: inability to concentrate producing areas, the great quantities of rock to be cut and handled, lack of consideration of proper sequence and speed of second mining, and the continued use of the mine car as the basis of payment. A mining system that has successfully solved these major problems has been in operation in the Scranton area since 1944. Over 1% million tons have been produced from veins varying from 3 to 4% ft thick by this method, which is known as the multiple panel-triangular system-conveyor mining.

Jan 7, 1950

By C. A. Lemke

THE ores now milled at the Midvale concentrator of the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. come mostly from ;the company's mine in the Bingham district, about 18 miles west of Midvale. Custom ores from this same district and from other western mining districts are also milled at times. The Bingham ores consist of galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite in a gangue of quartz, quartzite, limestone, and porphyry. The percentage of chalcopyrite is small, usually about 0.5 per cent., while the galena, pyrite, and sphalerite combined constitute about 60 per cent. of the total ore. These three minerals vary considerably' in amount and, at times, all three are somewhat oxidized. The ores also contain gold and silver, the former being mostly in the pyrite while the latter is generally with the galena. The crystallization of the economic minerals varies from fairly coarse to extremely fine. The ores are carried to Midvale by the Bingham & Garfield and the Los Angeles & Salt Lake railroads or by the Denver h Rio Grande Western railroad, in 50-ton, steel, full dump cars. The milling problem is to recover the silver-bearing galena, the gold-bearing pyrite, and the chalcopyrite in a product suitable for the lead smelter and containing the least possible amount of gangue and sphalerite and then recover the sphalerite in a product suitable for a zinc smelter. The minerals are recovered partly by water concentration and partly by water concentration combined with electrostatic treatment.

Jan 9, 1925

By D. I. Cameron

A graphical method has been developed and tested for separating the effects of grain boundary and lattice diffusion in polycrystalline materials. The method is based on the assumptions that for unidirectional diffusion from a plane source of radioactive material, the penetration of activity far into the specimen from the source is due solely to grain-boundary effects, and 2) pure grain-boundary penetration is described by a linear plot of log activity vs the perpendicular distance x from the source. The former is based on the fact that at any temperature the grain-boundary diffusion coefficient is always very large relative to the lattice diffusion coefficient; and the latter is based on the derivation of Fisher.1 Using these criteria along with appropriate penetration data (in this case, data for the diffusion of Cb95 in pressed and sintered UO2) one first plots the data as log activity vs x2 and as log activity vs x, as shown by curves 1 and 2, respectively, in Fig. 1. A tangent line to curve 2 for large x (curve 3) is then transferred to the x2 plot as curve 4. The subtraction of curve 4 from curve 1 yields curve 5 which represents only lattice diffusion and may therefore be related to the diffusion coefficient by using the appropriate solution to Fick's second law. It should be noted that the method has inherent inaccuracies for small and large values of x2 and only the subtraction at intermediate values can be used. For the illustrated specimen the calculated diffusion coefficient is 3.4 X 10-11 sq cm per sec at 1445°C while data using a single crystal of UO2 at the same temperature yielded a value of 2.9 x 10-11 sq cm per sec.2 The same method of subtracting grain-boundary diffusion effects to obtain lattice diffusion coefficients has been successfully used to determine self-diffusion coefficients of Th230 in polycrystal- line thoria.

Jan 1, 1962

By H. Sherman

The general curtailment of activities, so marked in 1931, was continued and intensified in 1932 and although production was maintained at approximately the level of the previous year, 1932 was chiefly characterized by the virtual cessation of drilling in many of the proven fields, a further decline in wildcatting activities, particularly in the Maracaibo Basin, and the relinquishment of large blocks of unfavorably located acreage. A total of only 60 wells was completed during the year of which six were wildcats, while at the same time concessions aggregating approximately. 3,222,000 acres were renounced and reverted to the National Government. The maintenance of production at the previously established level was made possible through the large potential built up by drilling in previous years and by a gradual increase in pumping and gas-lift installations. Towards the end of the year there was a slight but perceptible tendency towards increased drilling in certain of the proven fields. Total production for the year came to 118,076,000 as compared to 118,418,000 bbl. for 1931, while exports amounted to 114,758,000 as against 116,683,000 bbl. in 1931. Table 1 shows production and exports and the average rate per day for the first half of 1932 as compared to the second half. Table 1.—Petroleum Production and Exports in 1932, Venezuela (Barrels of 42 Gallons) Production Rate per Day Export Rate per Day I January-June............ 61,943,000 1 390, 347 July-December.......... 56,133,000 305,071 50,788,000 276,022 Total.........,....... 118,076,000 322,612 114,758,000 313,546 During 1932 the number of active vessels comprising the Lake Maracaibo fleet of shallow-draft tankers was still further reduced, some being temporarily laid up and some transferred to service in other coun-

Jan 1, 1933

By R. P. Agarwala, M. S. Anand, S. P. Murarka

Using the residual radioactivity technique, grain boundary diffusion of chromium in the a phase and lattice diffusion in the a and the ß phases of zirconiuttz have heen studied. The diffusivities (in units of square centiwzeters per second) have heen expressed as THE rate of diffusion of atoms along surfaces and grain boundaries is much greater than that through the bulk of metals. These processes dominate over volume diffusion at lower temperatures and can be isolated from it by virtue of the fact they yield high diffusion coefficients and low activation energies. In zirconium, however, it has been difficult to identify the volume-diffusion parameters separately. The values of diffusivities in a and ß phases yield activation energies which are much lower than those for volume diffusion calculated from semiempirical or empirical relations.1-3 Diffusion frequencies (Do) are also low, especially in the a phase, and they yield negative entropies of activation.4 Similar results have been obtained for the diffusion studies in titanium.5 It is yet to be investigated whether in these cases diffusion is controlled by some extraneous factor like high reactivity of these metals, or some different mechanism is operative as suggested by Pound et a1.6 However, Federer and Lundy,7 in a recent study of the diffusion of zir-conium-95 and columbium-95 in zirconium, and Gibbs et al.,8 in the study of impurity diffusion in titanium, found a temperature dependence of D, Do, and Q. Their study yielded low values of Do and Q at low temperatures, as has been found by other workers, and fairly high values at high tempera-

Jan 1, 1965

By Robert Lepsoe

It is generally realized that in cyaniding the precipitation efficiency of zinc dust is due to the fine division or extended surface of its metallic particles; but frequently it is thought that the presence of other metals, say 2 to 3 percent. lead, is advantageous, causing more complete precipitation. The results of testing about fifty brands of commercial zinc dust have led to the conclusion that there is a distinct relation of precipitation efficiency to fineness and that the effect generally can be estimated by examining the size of metallic particles. The presence of lead was not found to be of any importance. Specifications Generally the term "97 per cent. to pass a 350-mesh screen, 95 to 97 per cent. uncombined metallic zinc" is used by the leading European exporters. Among the many methods of determination of metallic zinc, I have found the iodine test (iodine in potassium iodide) very satisfactory and rapid. It has been controlled by the other methods, samples of the same product having been sent to three different analysts: Iodine method................... 98.11 per cent. metallic zinc, Volumetric method.............. 07.63 per cent. metallic zinc, Ledoux Co., New York Bichromate method.............. 08.16 per cent. metallic zinc, Watson Gray, Liverpool. England Bichromate method.............. 98.20 per cent. metallic zinc, Norway Inst. of Tech., Trondhjem Determination of Precipitation Efficiency The method devised by W. J. Sharwoodl was used. The method proved to be satisfactory, the tests being merely for the comparison of different samples, hence the personal factor in manipulation was eliminated. As nearly all tests showed more zinc in solution than was accounted for by the silver precipitated, the term "dissolved zinc" was introduced—it means zinc dissolved by the action of cyanide and oxygen: Zn + 4KCN + H2O + O = K2Zn(CN)4 + 2KOH; or more probably, resolution of its equivalent precipitated silver, as tests stirred two hours showed more "dissolved zinc" than those stirred

Jan 1, 1925

By Hallan N. Marsh, Bruce H. Robinson

It is generally believed that the flowing of wells through tubing instead of casing results in the conservation of gas. It is further believed that use of tubing prolongs the flowing life of a well and results in greater ultimate recovery, provided either that there are no adjacent wells, or that any adjacent wells are similarly operated. Recent experience in the flowing of Buckbee zone wells at Santa Fe Springs has not only substantiated both of these beliefs but has led to the further conclusion that the use of tubing results in a greater cumulative flowing production, ' even in a highly competitive field like Santa Fe Springs, where the wells concerned are closely offset by wells of both the same and other companies flowing through casing. Further, gas-oil ratio has been so reduced that greater ultimate recovery can be expected. In the belief that such would be the case, the majority of the Buckbee zone wells of one company were brought in through tubing, but enough wells were flowed through casing to form the basis for a comparison. For the purpose of this comparison, wells with flow strings 2½ or 3-in. dia. are designated as tubed wells, while those having flow strings larger than 3-in. dia. are designated as untubed wells. Casing used was mostly of 5 ¾-in. dia., the remainder being of 4¾-in. dia. There were 15 tubed wells and 8 untubed wells and they were scattered over the field in such a way that neither group appears to have any distinct advantage as regards location. Locations of all wells involved in the comparison are shown on Fig. 1. All the Buckbee sand wells of the company are included in the average production curves, with the exception of eight that were unsatisfactory for reasons other than the method of flowing. Findings 1. Buckbee sand wells flowing through casing larger than 3 in. had an average maximum production rate of 4670 bbl. per day, while wells flowed through straight tubing or 3-in. casing had an average maximum production of only 3300 bbl. per day. (See Fig. 2.)

Jan 1, 1932

CHARLES SCHUCHERT,* New Haven, Conn. (written discussion?).- I embrace ace the opportunity to take part in a discussion of Mr. Woodruff's paper because a successful discerning of what actually constitutes pet-roliferous areas from the geologists' standpoint is worthy of our endeavors, not only from the intellectual side, but also because it may lead, as Mr. Woodruff hopes, to the more certain establishment of principles that can be applied to other continents in exploiting them for petroleum. This discussion will also embrace the results of two other recent papers, one by Alexander W. McCoy and one by Maurice G. Mehl.1 Sources of Petroleum.-Mr. Woodruff is agreed that petroleum comes from plants and animals, or possibly from both, and that it has ac-cumulated by migration into reservoir rocks. These reservoir rocks must of course be porous to become catch basins for the oil and gas, and then, too, their present structures are variable, as they occur in anticlines, domes, terraces, etc. , The structures, he states, are more widespread than are the oil pools, and the same is true for the reservoir rocks. Accordingly, there must be many good sands and structures

Jan 11, 1919

By J. F. Blandy

In October last, I was call upon to examine a copper deposit in the South Mountain, near the Pennsylvania and Maryland boundary. The specimens shown me contained oxides and carbonates with native copper, and were similar to some that had been described to me some years ago as existing at the Luray Gap in Virginia. An examination of Rogers's Report on the Geology of Pennsylvania, led me to expect to see his so-called "Primal Formation," such as exists throughout the southeastern district of the State. I was therefore much surprised on arriving at the summit of the Western Maryland Railroad to find myself on familiar ground. Instead of the "Primal" as I had known it in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I soon decided that the rocks were identical with the ('Lake Superior Copper Formation." My visit was unfortunately a short one, —part of two days, and in that time I had to pass over a good many miles,—but I saw sufficient to convince me that instead of the Lake Superior Copper Formation being a local geological feature, it would have to be considered as a widely extended series of rocks. I was unable to even approximately estimate the thickness either of the trap zone or other members, schists and slates, of the series. In an article on the Copper 'Range of Michigan, prepared by C. P. Williams and myself in 1862, and published. in vol. xxxiv of the American Journal of Arts and Sciences, we endeavored to divide that range into zones, according to the character of the traps. The limited nature of the explorations at that time made this work very imperfect. Subsequent explorations have confirmed my notes then

Jan 1, 1879

By R. W. Diamond

THREE mills are now operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd. : (1) The Sullivan Concentrator, Chapman Camp, B. C. (near Kimberley, B. C.), (2) the St. Eugene Concentrator, Moyie, B. C., and (3) the Tadanac (Customs) Concentrator, Trail, B. C. Differential flotation is the only concentration method employed in all three I plants. Tables are used for pilot work only. Values in all ores treated are as minerals of some or all of the metals -lead, zinc, gold or silver. Occasional customs ores contain small amounts of copper. Sulfide iron content of ores treated varies from a [ ] low figure in some ores to 38 per cent. iron in Sullivan ore. Gangue minerals vary considerably. A few customs ores are somewhat oxidized and as a result present difficulties. Flotation equipment and control are similar in the three mills, and the flow sheets at the St. Eugene and Tadanac mills, while much simpler, are modeled after that of the Sullivan Concentrator. In this paper I will not detail treatment nor equipment in any of our plants but will describe special features in, or in connection with, all of them. I will then deal with flotation reagents, describing our use of each of them, particularly where differing from general practice. I will conclude with comments on special subjects related to differential flotation.

Jan 1, 1928

By J. Brian Eby

Contact metamorphism of coals is any physical or chemical change in the character of a coal directly attributable to heat of surface or intrusive igneous rocks. Coal beds so affected are found in the United States, England, Alaska, Mexico, New Zealand, Greenland, and other countries. Particularly in the United States, there is a wide occurrence of contact altered coals; conspicuous examples are found in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Illinois, and North Carolina. During a recent examination of coal beds on Yampa River, in northwestern Colorado, the author had an opportunity to make some detailed observations on the contact metamorphism of coals. In this field, coals over an area of 20 sq. mi. have been affected by dikes, sheets, and sills;' samples of the coals were systematically collected and analyzed,2 with the view of obtaining more specific data on the character of these alterations. The investigation was threefold in purpose: to secure information on the lateral effects of a dike cutting a coal bed, on the range in vertical effects on coal beds overlying sheets or sills, and on the range in the vertical effects on coal beds underlying sheets and sills. Favorable field conditions, such as fresh outcrops and newly dug prospects, made possible many of the field observations and collections. The coals studied in this field belong chiefly to the Mesaverde and 11Laramie" formations. The Mesaverde coals, on the average, are blocky low-rank bituminous coals; the "Laramie" coals, which are considerably younger, are of subbituminous rank. The coals of both formations, in the northeastern part of the Yampa field, have been greatly affected by basalt intrusives, yielding all variations of carbonized coal from natural coke to the unaffected material. The igneous rock that directly affects the coals is a fine-grained olivine basalt that is intruded, in sheets up to 200 ft. thick, into the coal-bearing

Jan 1, 1925

By R. G. Ward

The temperature gradient in the subhearth metal or "salamandern of the iron bhst furnace results in the establishment of gradients in the concentrations of silicon, manganese, carbon, and sulfur. The temperature and compositional variations observed in three blast furnaces are analyzed according to irreversible thermodynamics and the systems appear to be close to the steady state condition. Apparent heats of transport, Q, for silicon, manganese, carbon, and sulfur are found to be respectively -17.5, -5, -2.1, and+22k cal per g mol. In conclusion the significance of thermal diffusion in extraction metallurgy is briefly discussed. INCREASING interest has been shown in recent years in the application of irreversible thermodynamics to metallurgical problems. In particular studies have been made of the transport of matter in thermal gradients1-' and under chemical gradients imposed by a binary solvent However, no detailed example in extraction metallurgy has been reported although gradients are the essence of many extractive processes. The case of the distribution of elements in molten blast furnace iron under a thermal gradient is discussed here. DATA In blast furnace operation the hearth bottom is often extensively destroyed by molten metal, and the metal may penetrate perhaps 10 ft into the furnace foundations forming a "bear" or "salamander". Several hundred tons of molten metal may thus exist beneath the level of the conventional tap hole and remain relatively undisturbed for several years under a thermal gradient. This system is subject to little convective stirring because the temperature decreases from top to bottom, and mechanical stirring due to movements in the stack and to tapping operations is unlikely to penetrate far into the metal. The system may thus be regarded as static

Jan 1, 1963

By S. R. Elliott

THE Spies mine is located in the eastern half of the northwest quarter of section 24-43-35, near the village of Iron River, Mich., and is operated by The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. Speaking generally, the jasper hanging walls of most of the deposits in the Iron River district dip at a steep angle and are exceedingly strong, standing without caving, even after mining has been continued for years and after large excavations have been made. The ore is fairly hard and tough and contains no slippage faces. It occurs in large masses, which are often egg shape, with the smaller end down, and can be mined in, open stopes without the use of timber. The common system employed in the district is the shrinkage stope, or some modification of it. The Spies system was developed to utilize the advantages of the open-stope method and to avoid the disadvantages of the shrinkage stope. The Spies shaft was sunk to such a depth that the bottom, or third level, was in rock at a short distance below the bottom of the orebody, the shape and extent of which had been previously determined by diamond drilling. This is shown in plan and by the ore contours at the first, second, and third levels in Fig. 1, and in section in Figs. 2 to 7. In order to provide the necessary mills and raises, three parallel crosscuts were driven on 25 ft. centers on the bottom level. Drifts on the second and first levels were driven to the orebody and followed the foot wall in a southerly direction to the end of the ore. In crosscut 3, Fig. 1, raises 30, 40, 50, and 60 were carried up on the foot wall and holed into the second level, and were ultimately carried up and holed into the first level. These foot-wall raises carry the pipes and ladders, provide a means of ventilation, and furnish safe communication to all working places in the stope.

Jan 3, 1922

By George M. Fowler, R. E. Illidge

Part I. Developing BY GEORGE M. FOWL INTRODUCTION The Tri-State district comprises an area of about 2000 square miles in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and north [ ] eastern Oklahoma. The part that is in and contiguous to Missouri is still sometimes designated as the Joplin district (Fig. I). EARLY OPERATIONS Mining operations in what is now the Tri-State district date from about 1848 and have been continuous to the present. Apparently the first discoveries of ore were made about the same time near the present sites of Joplin, Oronogo, and Granby. Lead minerals were found at grass roots, probably in shattered rock in shallow excavations, then these minerals were followed in shear zones to deeper horizons. The mining of zinc followed. Before 1874, zinc ore was worthless and discarded as waste. According to published records, the total production of lead to that date was 49,000 tons of metal from 70,000 tons of concentrates. PRODUCTION The aggregate ore production from the Tri-State district was recorded at interval

Jan 1, 1943

By Warren Weaver

Some of the advantages of the inductive method of electrical prospecting were emphasized in a paper by Dr. Max Mason. Since this emphasis was misunderstood by some to indicate a too exclusive interest in inductive methods, we are especially happy to help correct this impression by reporting on some of our work on surface potential methods. Earth Currents and Surface Potentials When two electrodes, A and B, are placed on the surface of the ground a distance d apart, and a 100-volt battery is connected across the elec- trodes, current flows from the positive electrode A to the negative electrode B. The current does not pass directly from A to B along the straight line joining these two points. In fact, a negligible amount of the total current chooses this direct path, and the flow actually takes place

Jan 1, 1929

By William G. Gates

INTRODUCTION The Heath Steele mine is located in the Bathurst-Newcastle area of northern New Brunswick. It is jointly owned by American Metal Climax, Inc. and the International Nickel Company of Canada who hold a 75% and 25% interest, respectively. The ore deposits of lead, zinc and copper sulphide occur in very fine grained pyrite and/or pyrrhotite masses. A consistent spatial relationship with a quartz feldspar porphyry is characteristic of these deposits and the many other similar sulphide deposits in the district. The two principal mineral assemblages of pyrite-sphalerite-galena, and pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pyrite, occupy characteristic positions relative to the enclosing rocks. This feature and the nature of the sulphide mineralization are described and the variations in metal content are noted .with special emphasis on the lead-zinc ore zones. The mine product ion rate is 3,000 tons per day of a mixed lead- zinc and copper ore which is extracted from the B-1 zone. The complex nature of the ores presents many metallurgical problems. Optimum metal recoveries are achieved when milll feed grades are relatively consistent and proportions of the contained metals are with in acceptable limits. Ore outlines and stoping blocks are delimited by close spaced diamond drilling. From this information it is possible to forecast the grade of any portion of a stoping block. Production from the various stopes may then be scheduled so as to achieve an acceptable mill feed grade.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. C. McClain

In the design of underground excavations, rock mechanics considerations are nearly always based on an elastic behavior of rock. Most rocks do exhibit a certain amount of elasticity, and the application of principles and concepts of elasticity to rock mechanics problems has been largely responsible for progress in the field over the past 10 or 15 years. NO doubt the theory of elasticity will remain the most useful analytical tool available for both the design of underground openings and the interpretation of phenomenological data. Dr. Cook's analysis of rock behavior based on energy considerations represents a significant new approach to mining rock mechanics problems. Although the foundations of this analysis are somewhat broader and more general than elastic analysis, the development and applications are grounded almost entirely in the theory of elasticity. It has long been known1,2 that all rocks, even granites and dense limestones, exhibit nonlinear time-dependent strain properties to a greater or lesser degree. Creep strain (that is, deformation under constant stress) in salt, potash, and trona can be several orders of magnitude greater than instantaneous elastic strain. Design of underground workings in these materials must incorporate provisions for these strains and must therefore go considerably beyond elastic analysis. Some of the principles of underground design in highly plastic materials will be discussed in this paper. Since all rocks, especially when highly fractured, exhibit a certain amount of creep-type strain, these concepts should be at least recognized in any rock mechanics problem. The discussion will be illustrated largely, but not entirely, by examples drawn from

Jan 1, 1967

By A. E. H. Bergmann

INTRODUCTION The Sachtleben Chemie GmbH in Duisburg, a subsidiary of the Metallgesellschaft AG, operates a new sulfuric acid plant that employs fluid bed roasting of pyrite concentrates. The plant produces about 300,000 tons per year of pyrite cinders from the fluid bed roasting unit. The cinder product consists of 58 percent iron and is about 80 percent by weight smaller than 50 microns. This cinder product was found to be a competitive source material for the cement industry as the iron-containing additive. However, the extreme fineness of the cinder and its dusting tendency were undesirable and an agglomerating technique became necessary. In order to keep the price of agglomerated pyrite-cinders at a competitive level, the agglomerating method must be chosen such a way the capital and operating costs are low. Initial experiments were carried out on a laboratory scale to make an appropriate choice of the agglomerating method. Major goals of agglomerating the cinders were to improve the transportation, storage, and proportioning and metering properties. Minimum specifications are put on the size, size distribution and shape of the product. Criterion for handling is that a minimum of minus one mm. fines are produced after several handlings, while for storage, it is also desirable for the agglomerated product to survive several months in open air. Thermal agglomeration processes such as sintering one known to produce excellent products, but are by far too expensive for our application. For the same reason, granulation, balling, and pelletizing tests with addition of organic binding agents, such as tylose, starch, sulfite wash, molasses, etc. were not continued. The costs for the binding agent was considerable, which is probably due to the high pore volume of our cinders (35 %). Furthermore, the pellets or granules

Jan 1, 1977