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By James E. Reynolds, Duane N. Goens, Charles W. Kenney

A process for recovery of lead and silver from high-grade lead sulfide concentrates by dry chlorination and fused salt electrolysis was developed by Hazen Research, Inc., for Cyprus Metallurgical Processes Corporation (Cymet). A pilot plant was designed to handle mixed sulfide concentrates and to produce high purity lead in a 2,000- ampere capacity fused salt cell. Design of the dry chlorinator and fused salt cell is discussed. Integration of modern chlorine caustic cells for reagent generation was evaluated in the pilot plant program. Also included in the paper will be process chemistry; pilot plant flowsheet, equipment and data: by-product and impurity removal: and scaleup and economic considerations for the process.

Jan 1, 1977

By George Moore

IN spite of many investigations of the occlusion of hydrogen in iron, the nature of the process and the reasons for the accompanying effects upon the metal are still open questions. This is in large part due to three causes: (1) the difficulty of obtaining iron of adequate purity as starting material; (2) the occurrence of allotropic transformations, which compli-cate the effects; and (3) the fact that the body-centered cubic modifica-tion does not lend itself readily to crystallographic investigation. The present paper attempts a critical review and correlation of the somewhat scattered and disconnected existing observations, and an experimental determination of the extent to which the conclusions that appear to follow from these are applicable to iron of really high purity, studied under well-defined conditions.

Jan 1, 1939

By Arthur Gray

THE thermal analysis of a metal or alloy is ordinarily made with the aid of heating and cooling curves, in which transitions are indicated by the rapid changes in curvature that accompany .changes in the rate of heat absorption or evolution. Analysis by the method that depends on the change in thermal expansivity is not customary, partly, at least, because of the difficulties involved in making the necessary measurements. However, under certain circumstances, the dilatometric method of analysis may possess advantages over the thermometric method that will justify the additional trouble required. The addition of 1 per cent. of zinc to an alloy has been found to produce, upon the volume changes that take place during transition, effects that suggest the possibility of using the dilatometric method of thermal analysis as a rather sensitive means of obtaining chemical information. Although the illustrations presented in this paper are drawn from data obtained during an investigation of dental amalgams, similar phenomena can doubtless be observed with other alloys. Some of the results found during an investigation made in 19171 have been confirmed by data on the thermal expansivity of amalgams published by Souder and Peters of the Bureau of Standards in reporting tests of dental materials.2 Although the Bureau of. Standards made experiments for the purpose of discovering effects of including zinc as one of the constituents of a dental alloy-a matter much discussed in dental literature but without the presentation of reliable experimental evidence to support the views of ;either side-the reports of the test made by the Bureau give the impression that certain striking phenomena associated with the presence of zinc were not noticed. Among such phenomena are those connected with the conditions that determine whether or not a specimen of amalgam becomes covered with droplets from which crystals develop.

Jan 9, 1920

By W. T. Thom

Interest naturally attaches to fissuring and subsidence of the earth's surface, whatever the cause may be, and the induced movement and fissuring of the impervious strata overlying an oil sand is of even greater practical importance because of its bearing upon the recoverability of the portion of the oil not already extracted or extractable by ordinary production methods. It is probably true that significant ground movement induced by oil production occurs only in oil fields in relatively young formations, where the oil comes from incoherent or only slightly cemented sands and oil-soaked clays, but inasmuch as a great proportion of our "gusher" wells produce from "running" sands and yield a large part of the total oil output, it seems worth while to make an effort to inspire the collection and recording of data indicating the nature and magnitude of oil-field subsidence, both surface and subsurface. Goose Creek Field The single known instance in which the nature and magnitude of the surface subsidence incident to petroleum withdrawal has been accurately ascertained is that in the Goose Creek oil field of Texas, described by Pratt and Johnson.' There subsidence caused the submergence of a considerable area within the oil field, and, because the title to the naturally submerged lands of Texas rests in the State, it became necessary to determine whether the submergence was due to natural or artificial causes. A detailed study revealed that the sunken area conformed very closely to the limits of the productive oil field and that the cumulative depression over an eight-year period ranged from zero at the margin to 3.25 ft. at the center. This depression was accompanied by the development of local marginal surface fractures along which the subsiding ares

Jan 1, 1927

By John C. Smock

The question of the proper valuation of mines of iron ore was suggested to me by the difficulties experienced in getting answers for the United States Census Office, while I was engaged in the work of collecting the statistics of mines in New Jersey and New York. The answers to the questions relating to values of real estate of mine properties varied so greatly that it was necessary to revise them according to some general principles of valuation. Generally the returns of mine proprietors seemed to be too low. There were, however, examples of what would be termed excessive valuation. The subject appeared to be of practical importance, and led to the paper here presented. The following table of selected mine statistics is given, prefacing the discussion of the principles of valuation. It is in part made up of census returns and partly of data obtained directly from mine owners and managers. The mines which were selected for the several groups and mining districts include nearly all of those from which the more full and carefully filled returns were received, and are also representative of their respective districts. Hence the averages obtained from them become good types of these groups or districts. The mines of New Jersey appear in six groups, each containing from three to eleven mines, or, in all, thirty-four mines. The magnetic iron ores of New York are in four well-marked groups, and there are twenty-six mines in them. Then follow the red hematite mines of St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties; and, lastly, the brown hematite groups of Dutchess and Columbia counties, and those of the adjacent parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The whole number of mines represented by the table is eighty-eight, of which twenty-eight are hematite mines. The first column gives the value of the real estate; the second that of the plant; the third is the sum of these two, or the capital invested. Then follow the number of men employed, the amount of wages paid during the census year, and the value of materials used in mining and preparing the ores for market." The seventh column gives the total expendi-

Jan 1, 1882

By Arthur S. Dwight

We author of this historical chapter will perhaps be criticized for limiting his subject to the history of the blast furnace in lead smelting, and especially to the part it played in the great custom ore-smelting business which for three decades or more was the means of opening up vast mineral treasures and practically dominated the mining industry in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, in Mexico and in Canada. The men of that era shared the romance and the thrills of mining, and bore their part as pioneers in the building of the great West. The present writer was too young to participate in the first of the three decades mentioned, but immediately thereafter came under the apprenticeship of some of the men who had worked out the early metallurgical problems of the industry, became personally acquainted with most of the others of that group, heard the tales of early experiences, successes and failures, the gossip of the frontier and mining camps, from all of which there remain embedded in his mind clear impressions of the outstanding personalities of that time. That is the background against which the fifty years of intimate contact with the mining and smelting business and his own experiences as metallurgist stand out in his memory, and it is hoped that the gentle reader may understand and approve his desire to rescue from comparative oblivion the fundamentally valuable results accomplished by these fathers of the industry. It will be the purpose of this chapter first to narrate the general history of the growth of the industry; second, to pay tribute to some of the pioneer metallurgists, and third, to discuss some of the salient points of the metallurgical practice at different periods, to illustrate the technical progress of the art. The series of eight Annual Reports of Rossiter W. Raymondl,† U. S. Commissioner of Mining Statistics from 1869 to 1876, contain most of the available information about the early smelting operations in the Rocky Mountain region, and much is in the early volumes of the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. The monograph by S. F. Emmons2 though not published until 1886, contained an elaborate description of the smelting works operating in 1879. Otto H. Hahn3 wrote a valuable paper in 1883, on smelting prac-

Jan 1, 1937

By F. Twyman

PART I.-QUALITATIVE, SPECTRUM ANALYSIS THOSE chemists (they are still greatly in the minority) who use the spectroscope, use it very often, and find it almost indispensable. As a means of detecting minute quantities of the metals it is unrivalled. A metal can be readily distinguished in the presence of any other element, compound, or mixture without the necessity of separation. The qualitative analysis of the metallic constituents of a substance, which, the spectroscope gives so easily, is a sure basis for planning a chemical analysis. As the determination of each element proceeds the purity of precipitates maybe checked as often as desired. If, possessing these advantages; the spectroscope has been neglected in general chemistry, it is not surprising that it was neglected in metallurgical chemistry; for many of the impurities which are of industrial interest, even when they are present in a metal or alloy in small quantities, are not then always easily detected by the examination of their visible spectrum. The history of the development of the art has been given in Bureau of Standards Scientific Paper No. 444.

Jan 1, 1928

By Frederick A. Mumpton

For more than 200 years zeolites have been familiar minerals to geologists and mining engineers as minor, but ubiquitous constituents in vugs and fractures of most basalt and traprock formations. More than 35 different species have been recognized including several, such as chabazite, erionite, mordenite, and faujasite, whose adsorption properties rival those of many synthetic molecular sieves. Igneous occurrences of this type have never been mined on a commercial scale; they are generally small and low grade, and they commonly contain as many as four zeolite minerals, along with small quantities of calcite, quartz, and other silicate minerals. Their economic beneficiation to monomineralic zeolite products has also not been achieved and, for the most part, industrial applications of zeolites have relied primarily on synthetic molecular sieves that were crystallized from hydrous aluminosilicate gels. During the middle 1950s, when Union Carbide Corp. and other groups were developing processes and markets for their fledgling synthetic zeolite businesses, natural zeolites

Jan 1, 1983

By Sunder S. Saluja

Man had to learn to break rocks as early as the Stone Age, when they formed his main source of raw material. He started with chipping and over the years has reached a stage where he can employ atomic blasts and break, with one blast, millions of tons of rock. In between these two extremes there have been several stages of development including firesetting, use of the expansion of water on freezing in chipped cracks in cold climates, the use of low or deflagrating explosive black powder in about the 17th century, the use of high explosives with the discovery of nitroglycerine in 1846 by Sobrero, followed by the monumental discoveries of the great Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The attempts to develop a stronger and still stronger explosive force were accompanied by investigations to understand the mechanism of failure of rock so that the force could be used to the best advantage; the latter, of course, have lagged far behind the former. This is mainly due to the fact that the chemical reactions involving high explosives as well as the processes resulting in the breakage of rock take place at too great a rate to be studied with the equipment that has been only recently available. Moreover, the development of stronger explosive forces was prompted by military necessities in the past and competition, at present, among highly developed nations. With the development, however, of the new techniques such as micro- second photography, microsecond flash radiography, extremely high-speed movies, strain gage assemblies, electronic chronographs and other improved electronic techniques, the investigator has in the last decade or

Jan 1, 1968

By Ralph A. Sherman, J. M. Pilcher

BY surface treatment of coal is meant the application of a material, either solid or liquid, to the surface of pieces of coal. The purposes of surface treatment are varied. They may be to identify or "trade-mark" the coal, to modify the burning characteristics, the coking tendencies, or the behavior of the ash, to prevent the freezing of wet coal, or to control the dust. The control of dust is the usual purpose of surface treatment. TRADE-MARKING COAL The application of color to the surface of coal for the purpose of identification and registration of the trade-mark has been practiced to some extent. In 1928, the Glen Alden Coal Co. began to color its coal and adopted the trade-mark, "Blue Coal." The Old Ben Coal Co. later followed a similar practice with "Green Coal." A commoner means of identification of coal has been the stenciling of designs or pasting labels on large lumps or in the distribution of small cardboard tags through the smaller sizes. The details of the method used to color coal have not been revealed. Usually all of the coal is not treated, because of the expense. Only enough pieces are colored to show clearly when distributed through the coal. The patent literature gives information on some of the methods proposed. Esselen and Weiss 1 have patented the deposition of a coloring material in the valleys of the surface of the coal. Sperr2 covers the quenching of coke with water containing a pigment or dye that will deposit on the coke. He also suggests electroplating with copper or nickel. Glinsmann 3 subjects the freshly fractured coal surface to the action of an alkali or alkali earth ferricyanide and a ferric salt. Barsky and Hanson4 specify a method for the application of the same chemicals covered by Glinsmann.

Jan 1, 1943

By C. J. Bier, J. F. O?Keefe

THIS study was carried out with copper because it represents the simplest form of sintering, in that but one metal is involved and all reactions occur in the solid state. [ ] The present work will cover three variables affecting the sintering process; namely, briquetting pressure, sintering temperature and time in hot zone. Although strength and dimensional changes were observed, this is primarily a metallographic study of the sintering process in copper. The term "sintering" should be understood to mean the process by which the metal powder particles of the compact become united into one body. MATERIAL USED The copper powder used was made from reduced copper oxide, and is typical of a grade used for the mass production of parts formed of metal powders. The screen analysis of the powder was as follows: [ ] The minus 325-mesh analysis was made by using a Roller Air Analyzer.1,2 The apparent density is here defined as the weight per cubic centimeter of the [ ] loose, unpacked powder as measured with the Hall flowmeter. The value for the powder used was 2.57 grams per cubic centimeter.

Jan 1, 1944

By David H. Browne

The trite maxim that man is a tool-using animal might nowa-days be amended by saying that man is a tool-choosing animal. The chipped flint, at first all-sufficient, gave way to hammered bronze, and that, in turn, to wrought-iron and steel. As our knowledge of metals increases, we learn to specialize; we temper and anneal; we alloy and intermix; and we fashion for ourselves a metal suitable to our necessities. The knowledge of the properties and uses of the various metals and their alloys has become the capital of every constructive engineer, and the currency of every intelligent brass-founder aid blacksmith. Prom year to year, the specifications of the designer become more rigid, and the steel-maker is forced to study more closely the qualities obtainable by changing the treatment, or altering the composition, of his metal. Of making alloys there is no end. We have heard much, during the last decade, of manganese-steel and chrome-steel, of aluminum and tungsten, of titanium- and silicon- and copper-steels, and of every conceivable union into which steel could be coerced or cajoled. Without denying to each of these alloys novel and valuable properties, it. must be admitted that, of all alloys, the one which shows the greatest range of adaptability, and has met the largest measure of popular approval, is nickel-steel. Introduced to public notice by Mr. Riley, in 1889, its field of usefulness has been rapidly enlarged, until, at the present day, the use of nickel-steel is as thoroughly recognized as that of carbon- or manganese-steel. Concerning the properties of nickel-steel numerous articles have appeared in the technical journals. For the man in a hurry, who wishes to look up the properties and limitations of nickel-steel, these articles might almost as well be in the lost

Jan 1, 1900

By Cyril Wells, Robert F. Mehl

The diffusion of carbon in gamma iron plays an essential role in many metallurgical processes. In carburizing, in graphitizing, in homogenizing, in the formation of pearlite from austenite, and in other processes, migration of carbon in gamma iron occurs.1'2 A full understanding of the rate at which these processes occur obviously requires a knowledge of the rate of diffusion of carbon. In carburizing, for example, the depth of carbon pentration is determined by the carbon concentration in solid solution at the surface, and by the rate of diffusion inward of the carbon. Until reliable data on the rates of diffusion of carbon are available it is unlikely that a full quantitative description of this process will be obtained. In the formation of pearlite from austenite, the segregation of carbon and alpha iron from the austenite obviously requires the diffusion of carbon; the rate at which pearlite nodules grow is evidently controlled at least in part by the rate of diffusion of carbon; it is unlikely that we shall understand the factors that determine the rate of growth unless data on rates of diffusion of carbon, and the variation of these with composition, grain size, and temperature are available. Accordingly it was decided: (1) to determine, more accurately than hitherto, the diffusion coefficients of carbon in austenite over a wide temperature and a wide concentration range, (2) to study the influence of grain size and impurities on this diffusion coefficient, and (3) to study the effect of manganese and nickel on the rate of diffusion of carbon in the austenite of manganese and nickel steels, respectively; the influence of carbon on the rate of diffusion of manganese and of nickel will be made the subject of later papers. The rate of diffusion of carbon in gamma iron has been studied by Runge3 by Tammann and Schonert4, by Bramley and co-authors,5-14 and

Jan 1, 1940

By Cyril Wells, Robert F. Mehl

The diffusion of carbon in gamma iron plays an essential role in many metallurgical processes. In carburizing, in graphitizing, in homogenizing, in the formation of pearlite from austenite, and in other processes, migration of carbon in gamma iron occurs.1'2 A full understanding of the rate at which these processes occur obviously requires a knowledge of the rate of diffusion of carbon. In carburizing, for example, the depth of carbon pentration is determined by the carbon concentration in solid solution at the surface, and by the rate of diffusion inward of the carbon. Until reliable data on the rates of diffusion of carbon are available it is unlikely that a full quantitative description of this process will be obtained. In the formation of pearlite from austenite, the segregation of carbon and alpha iron from the austenite obviously requires the diffusion of carbon; the rate at which pearlite nodules grow is evidently controlled at least in part by the rate of diffusion of carbon; it is unlikely that we shall understand the factors that determine the rate of growth unless data on rates of diffusion of carbon, and the variation of these with composition, grain size, and temperature are available. Accordingly it was decided: (1) to determine, more accurately than hitherto, the diffusion coefficients of carbon in austenite over a wide temperature and a wide concentration range, (2) to study the influence of grain size and impurities on this diffusion coefficient, and (3) to study the effect of manganese and nickel on the rate of diffusion of carbon in the austenite of manganese and nickel steels, respectively; the influence of carbon on the rate of diffusion of manganese and of nickel will be made the subject of later papers. The rate of diffusion of carbon in gamma iron has been studied by Runge3 by Tammann and Schonert4, by Bramley and co-authors,5-14 and

Jan 1, 1940

By Guy N. Bjorge, A. J. M. Ross, S. J. Staple, J. D. Johnson, J. F. Wiggert

In recent years the Homestake mine has been served by three shafts, the B. &. M., the B. & M. No. 2 and the Ellison, supplemented by an inside shaft, the Milliken, extending from the 2000-ft. level to the 3200-ft. level. In 1932, when a new operating shaft was under consideration, the bottom of the mine was at the 3200-ft. level. The B. & M. and the B. & M. No. 2 shafts were down to the 1550-ft. level and the Ellison was being deepened from the 2600 to the 3200-ft. level. All ore was hoisted at the B. & M. and Ellison shafts. Levels below the 2600 level, which were under development only, were served by the Milliken shaft. Below the 1550-ft. level, the mine was served only by the Ellison shaft from the surface. Within a few years, when ore reserves above the 1550-ft. level would be depleted, operation would be limited to the Ellison shaft and the auxiliary underground shaft. The Ellison shaft alone was not adequate for hoisting the entire output from the deeper levels and also handling all men and supplies. Furthermore, assurance of safety and uninterrupted operation required two fully equipped shafts to the deeper levels. Therefore a new operating shaft was authorized in November, 1932, and was named for A. J. M. Ross, the mine superintendent. Plans for New Shaft The B. & M. shaft, begun in 1878 before much was known of the form and extent of the orebodies, was too near the ore and was endangered by ground movement. In 1924 this shaft was seriously threatened and sinking of the B. & M. No. 2 shaft, to supplant it, was begun. The latter was completed to the 1550-ft. level in 1928. In the meantime ground movement at the B. & M. shaft had practically stopped and, though loss of the shaft constantly threatened, ore hoisting was con-

Jan 1, 1937

By P. W. Bakarian, C. H. Mathewson

THE greater part of the literature on the plastic behavior of magnesium dates back to that active period of research in crystal mechanics immediately following the widespread preparation of isolated metallic crystals large enough for the application of conventional methods of mechanical testing. These investigations, performed on single crystals, revealed an analogy between zinc and magnesium with respect to their fundamental mode of deformation, in the operation of glide and twinning, respectively, on crystallographically similar planes. Mathewson and Phillips (1928)1 by geometrical analysis identified the {102} ? plane in magnesium as the twinning plane, Schiebold and Siebel (1931)2 confirmed this twinning plane, established the basal plane as the plane of slip, and a digonal axis I as the slip direction. They also reported twin formation in a secondary role on the {101} plane. Schmid (1931)3 summarized and discussed the earlier evidence and presented the results of his own experiments on the effect of temperature and small amounts of soluble elements. From X-ray studies on extended wire single crystals, he concluded that slip along the basal plane in the direction of the digonal axis I closest to the stress direction was the sole slip system operating at atmospheric temperature. This conclusion was based on experiments with crystals of many different orientations relative to the stress axis. Special attention was directed to the basal plane and the digonal axis I, as the plane and direction of greatest atomic density. Determinations of resolved shear stress at the onset of plastic yielding-i.e., the critical resolved shear stress-were also made; the average of these calculations showing 82.9 grams per sq. mm. This value varied only slightly up to 300°C., at which temperature it was found to decrease to 70.5 grams per sq. mm. The extension of his crystals at temperatures above 225°C. further disclosed the presence of new slip systems. After the original specimens of circular section had been

Jan 1, 1943

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

447. Minerals, as regards their chemical constitution, are either the uncombined elements in %native state, or definite compounds of these elements formed in accordance with chemical laws. It is the object of Chemical Mineralogy to determine the chemical composition of each species; to show the chemical relations of different species to each other where such exist; and also to explain the methods of distinguishing different minerals by chemical means. It thus embraces the most important part of Determinative Mineralogy. In order to understand the chemical constitution of minerals, some knowledge of the fundamental principles of Chemical Philosophy is required; and these are here briefly recapitulated. 448. Chemical Elements. - Chemistry recognizes about eighty sub- stances which cannot at will be decomposed, or divided into others, by any process of analysis at present known; these substances are called the chemical elements. A list of them is given in a later article (452) ; common examples are: Oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, chlorine, gold, silver, sodium, etc.

Jan 1, 1922

By Henry G. Granger, Edward B. Treville

The Republic of Colombia is the northernmost country of South America. Its northern coast line exteilds from the frontier of Costa Rica to that of Venezuela, on the Caribbean Sea. On the west it fronts on the Pacific Ocean, along the Panama Isthmus, and down to Ecuador. It is bounded on the south by Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, which latter country with Venezuela form its boundaries on the east. Its area exceeds 500,000 square miles. It is deemed unnecessary to give here a map of the country. Fig. 1, a map of the department of Antioquia, studied in connection with a good modern general map of Colombia, will explain itself. Fig. 1 contains also some of the region of the Cauca valley, described in this paper. Access.—The interior of Colombia is reached through the ports of Sabanilla and Cartagena on the Caribbean Sea, each of which places is connected with the Magdalena river by a short narrow-gauge railroad, running respectively to Barranquilla and Calamar. From these points lines of river-steamers serve the ports of the upper Magdalena, which they reach in journeys of a week to ten days. After leaving the steamer, a short railroad journey, followed by a long and tedious mule-ride, reaches the cities of Bogota and Medellin. Quibdo, at the head of the navigation of the Atrato, and its most important town, is connected by steamer-service with Cartagena, by canoe-routes with the various districts of the Choco, and by mule-road, at present well-nigh impassable, with the heart of Antioquia. On the western coast the port of Tumaco is a starting-point for canoe- and mule-travel to the southern part of the department of Cauca, while Buenaventura is the port of the central section of the valley of the Cauca,

Jan 1, 1899

By Clemens Catesby Jones

The substance of this paper, now amended and altered in form for its present use, was the basis of a private report prepared under professional engagement.* A private report is necessarily objective, and deprived of the scope and technicality of a scieintific treatise—which accounts for the prevalence of drawings and succinct mathematical statements rather than full descriptive details in a paper reproduced from data, of which all the original working-notes have been destroyed. In a practical sense the Hudson river valley clay-deposits owe their present existence to the protection afforded by the rock-formations on which they are supported, and, instead of being uniform in depth or continuity, are subject to the irregularities of the rugged masses which preceded and are now concealed by them. The only available information concerning these deposits contained in previous public reports or maps furnished at best a mere photograph of the surface, and as now apparent this was misleading or unreliable. It was the object of this investigation to determine in a practical manner the location, form and extent of all the clay-deposits at present existing in the lower Hudson river valley, and to ascertain with a

Jan 1, 1900

Cycle, automatic, in mine hoists, LV, 17. Cylindrical furnaces, repairing partly collapsed, XXXVI, 215-222. Dacite-porphyry, San Jose, Tamaulipas, Mex., percentage composition, XXXVI, 186. DAGGETT, ELLSWORTH: The Extraordinary Faulting at the Berlin Mine, Nev., XXXVIII, [liii], 297. Daiquiri, Cuba: geology, LIII, 3, 43. iron deposits, LIII, 40. Magdalena mine, LIII, 9, 23, 24. mines, bibliography, LIII, 59. situation of mines, LIII, 42. [ ]

Jan 1, 1918