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By Rossiter W. Raymond

The extent to which the divining-rod is still used in this country for the detection of hidden treasure, mineral veins, or springs, is ' much greater than educated persons would be likely to suppose. For many years wells have frequently been located by its aid in New England, where the belief is widely extended among the farmers that in the hands of peculiarly gifted persons this instrument possesses special virtue. Large numbers of the oil wells of Pennsylvania

Jan 1, 1883

By H. Stuart, L. Zwell, N. Ridley

specimen that was subjected to 700°C for 250 hr is shown in Fig. 2(c). The precipitates in this foil appear round and exhibit only very faint strain contrast. From this evidence, along with that described above for the symmetry of the strain field, it may be concluded that this coherent precipitate is spherical, which is generally the favored shape for coherent precipitates when the lattice parameter mismatch is small.12 These observations are consistent with the assumption that this precipitate is the y' (Ni3Al, Ti) phase. y' is known to be spherical in the early stages of precipitation. It is fcc and is similar in composition to the matrix and thus would have contrast similar to that of the matrix as do these precipitates. Direct identification of the spherical precipitate did not prove possible because of its low volume fraction and small size. The results of this investigation suggest that the increases in yield strength and the decreases in elongation observed in 45-Fe 30-Ni 20-Cr alloys containing about 0.4 pct A1 and 0.4 pct Ti on prolonged aging at 550" to 700°C are very likely due to the presence of a coherent, spherical precipitate, thought to be y'. Mi-crohardness measurements indicated that the precipitation of semicoherent M23C6 resulted in some matrix hardening. However, this precipitation process occurs much more rapidly than the changes in mechanical properties at these temperatures. 1C. L. Clark, J. J. B. Rutherford, A. B. Wilder, and M. A. Cordovi: J. Eng. Power, 1962, vol. 84, p. 258. 2 F. A. Comprelli and U. E. Wolff: USAEC Report GEAP-4745, General Electric Company November, 1964. 3C. N. Spalaris: A Monograph, USAEC Report GEAP-4633, General Electric Company, July, 1964. THERE have been many X-ray investigations of the room temperature lattice parameters of austenite which has been retained in quenched steels of various carbon contents. The results of these investigations have been collected by Wrazej,1 Wever et al.,2 and by Roberts3 and are included in Fig. 1 due to Pearson.4 The dashed line in Fig. 1 was considered by Roberts3 to most reliably describe the variation with carbon content of the lattice parameter of retained austenite. This line is given by the equation: a (Å) = 3.555 + 0.044 wt % C and recent unpublished measurements by one of the authors (LZ) support this relationship. The object of this communication is to draw attention to a relationship which describes the variation of the room temperature lattice parameter of 'equilibrium' austenite with carbon content, and which is different from that for retained austenite. The relationship a(Å) = 3.573 + 0.033 wt % C has been obtained from lattice parameter measurements made on equilibrium Fe-C austenites at elevated temperatures, which have been extrapolated to room temperature. The room temperature lattice parameter of 3.555Å which the Roberts' relationship gives for pure y-Fe is no: in agreement with the value of 3.573Å obtained when the high temperature lattice parameter data of Basinski et aL.5 and of Goldschmidt6 is extrapolated to room temperature. A linear extrapolation was

Jan 1, 1970

By John V. Beall

W hen the blasts went off on West 11th St., just off 5th Ave. in New York City, James Michaels, editor of Forbes magazine, was in his office a few doors away reviewing color layouts with his production manager. Having once been a reporter, he grabbed his trench coat and dashed for the street to be con- fronted by the demolished townhouse which had been turned into a bomb factory by youths. To Michaels, this shocking episode supplied the exclamation point to thoughts he was formulating that an era had ended and a new one was beginning in the economic and social climate of the U. S. "For twenty years corporate profits, the stock market, middle income pay have gone up and up. . . The illusions of twenty years are in confrontation today with changed needs," he said. "International omnipotence is economically beyond our means, . . The anti-pollution and community renewal people are not nuts in tennis shoes who will go away. . . That corporation presidents can report an increase in earnings every year is an illusion that will be dropped. . . There has been a $200 billion shrink in value of stocks and bonds since Nixon came into office" were some indicators Michaels mentioned.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. B. Potter

THERE is probably no more interesting group of mineral fuels to be found in any country than that occurring within the limits of the new State of Colorado. The supplies are so abundant, and the occurrence and distribution are so favorable for easy development and transportation to the future manufacturing centres of the State, that they are destined to play a very important part in the material growth and prosperity of the region, the more so because of the rich and varied stores of ores awaiting metallurgical treatment, and the comparative scarcity of timber for fuel. From a purely scientific point, also, these lignitic coals form an interesting and important series. An examination of their geological occurrence and relations opens up new and important questions regarding the comparative value of various kinds of geological evidence, while a study of the character and composition of this class of fuels, which forms a connecting link, as it were, between the lignites and the true bituminous coals, may lead to a more thorough and accurate classification of mineral fuels. The analyses here presented are from samples, of not less than fifty pounds each, obtained by myself during the summer of 1875, and may be regarded as representing very fairly the average run of

Jan 1, 1877

The New York Meeting this year will-be held from Monday, February 19 to Thursday, February 22. The Committee on Arrangements, the personnel of which is given elsewhere in this Bulletin, is making plans to duplicate the conspicuous success of last year's meeting in New York. The papers to be read at this meeting, it is believed, furnish material for interesting and profitable technical sessions and symposiums. The social features are being carefully planned since it is believed that these form an important part of such meetings; several functions are to be, given with the object of fostering the get-together, know-each-other-better spirit. Ladies are invited to attend this meeting and participate in the various affairs planned by the Ladies' Committee and by the Committee on Arrangements. This preliminary notice is given in order that members may make their plans now to be in Now York at the time of the meeting. Full details will be sent to the membership through the mails as soon as the program has been definitely fixed.

Jan 1, 1917

By R. B. Sudderth, C. R. Merigold

Greater, emphasis is being placed on recovering nickel from laterite ores by ammonia leaching techniques. New methods are required for lower cost, non-polluting techniques to separate more efficiently the metals of interest. Liquid ion exchange techniques meet these requirements with the added advantage of producing salable electrowon nickel cathodes at the plantsite. A complete solvent extraction- electrowinning process is described, including preliminary engineering and cost data for a typical plant producing 50 million pounds of nickel per year.

Jan 1, 1973

The Office of Price Stabilization broke the copper price loggerhead between the U. S. and Chile when it permitted copper wire and brass mills to add to their ceiling prices 80 pct of the increase in cost of foreign copper above the 27 1/2 cents per pound specified in the agreement with Chile. Another step forward in the processing of taconite seems to have been made with the patenting of a process for the strengthening of taconite pellets. The patent was issued to Fred D. De Vaney and assigne to the Erie Mining Co., of Hibbing, Minn. Strength of the pellets is improved by adding from one to five pounds of starch or sodium silicate. A new iron ore deposit discovered on Vancouver Island will start producing soon, and is expected to yield 2 million tons of magnetite over its span of operation. A new mill will be built by the Argonaut Construction Co., of San Francisco, at the deposits of the Utah Construction Co., its parent organization. The Organization for European Economic Cooperation banned the use of nickel and nickel alloy in the manufacture of about 500 products in an attempt to conserve nonferrous metals in short supply. Some 18 members of the organization have already volunteered to restrict nickel consumption.

Jan 1, 1952

By W. A. Ver Wiebe

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the State of Kansas contains one of the largest reserve areas for oil exploration in the United States. During the year 1936 no less than 54 new oil pools were discovered by drilling. In addition, seven gas pools were found, which may develop into oil pools when deeper horizons are tested. Several old pools increased their reserves when production was found in lower strata. The data presented in Table 2 indicate that nearly 2000 wells were drilled in the state during 1936. Of these more than 1214 found commercial quantities of oil and at least 61 found marketable quantities of gas. The data are conservative because complete results on drilling are not available for the eastern part of the state. Ellis, Rice and Russell Counties share honors with a total of 10 new pools in each. Barton County is prominent with six pools; while those counties claiming fewer new pools are Clark, Ellsworth, Harvey, McPherson, Ness, Pawnee, Rooks, Stafford and Trego. Important additions to our gas reserves were found in Finney and Haskell Counties, which are north of the extensive Hugoton gas area and may some day be part of it. At the close of the year there were 17,317 wells in the state rating as producers. By far the larger share (14,000) were classed as strippers and allowed to flow 100 per cent of their potential capacity, thus accounting for 33,500 bbl. a day. The remaining wells, capable of producing from 15 up to over 6000 bbl. per day, were limited in output according to these amounts. The largest wells having a potential of from 3000 to 7000 were allowed to flow from 2 to 3½ per cent of their official potential capacity. The percentage rises until wells of 15 to 20-bbl. capacity have a rating of slightly over 83. On the basis of these calculations the total potential capacity of all wells was 1,667,814 bbl., and the daily amount allowed was 175,851. Nine of the pools most recently opened were still unable to market their oil and were classified as "shut-in" pools. Total production for the state for 1936 was somewhat over 58 million barrels. Striking Geological Data Some interesting geological data were uncovered by deep drilling during the year. The most remarkable bit of information is the discovery

Jan 1, 1937

By E. S. Machlin

RECENTLY, there has been much activity in the field of nucleation of martensitic transformations.'- One of the problems in this field is the calculation of the rate of nucleation (number of plates nucleated per unit untransformed volume per unit time) in terms of observable parameters. Two such observable parameters are the fraction of the length of a straight line which corresponds to the portion of the total length of the line that lies in the martensitic phase and the number of plates intersected by this straight line per unit length of line. Because of the necessity of a valid answer to this problem, the following investigation was undertaken. Although this problem has been treated in the past, a derivation of the relation between the volume and linear fractions of martensite will be described to illustrate the method used in the succeeding analyses. It is assumed that the martensitic plates are in the form of a right circular cylinder having a small height relative to the radius of the base. The volume fraction of martensite is then: fr = lXNl,hjAl [1] where f, is the volume fraction of martensite, and Nij is the number of plates per unit total volume having the area Ai and the height hi. The linear fraction of martensite is obtained as follows. For the plates having the particular area A, and height h,, the fraction sin 0 dB* will have their cylinder axes between the angles 0 and 0 + d0 to the straight line along which the linear fraction of mar-

Jan 1, 1953

By E. C. Bitzer

The primary object of the work described in the following pages was to simplify the equipment in the separating circuit of the heavy-media process by substituting a spiral classifier for the separatory cone. Mechanical considerations were the leading attraction and the best that was hoped for on metallurgical performance was that the new vessel would give results equal to those obtained by conventional equipment. Tests have demonstrated in commercial operation on iron ore that the mechanical advantages of the spiral separator are about as predicted; also, the metallurgical performance is superior to the cone on the ores treated. Treatment of iron ore involves the separation of two products: a concentrate that sinks and a float product that contains true float material plus a controlled division of interfering middling. The middling material is heavier than the average specific gravity of the separating medium. Recent work with the spiral separator on Tri-State zinc ore showed that the middling material had to be recovered as concentrate because this fraction contained the bulk of the zinc in the ore. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to make three products with the new separator on an ore such as this: a float tailing, a float middling, and a high- grade heavy sink product. It appears from this last work that the new separator has definite mechanical and metalluigical advantages over any type of separating cone for treating feed that contains large amounts of material of a specific gravity close to that of the separating medium. However, either type of separator should perform equally well, metallurgically, on feed that is free of middlings. Each series of experiments with the spiral separator has required additional work to fully develop the possibilities of the machine. For this reason the paper is divided into chronological parts. History of Development A drag-type classifier was first proposed as a substitute for the cone separator by Butler Brothers technicians during the initial tests with galena medium at Crosby, Minn., in 1937. The desire for finding a substitute for the cone arose from trouble with interfering middlings and certain operating disadvantages of the cone. The possibility of using a spiral classifier was also suggested at this time by Emmett Butler and C. J. Abrams. However, inability to satisfactorily recover fine galena, which was used as a medium, terminated all development work at Crosby. During the winter of 1937--1938 investigation started on magnetic medium with concurrent development of the inverted or closed-top cone, which was found necessary to eliminate iron-ore middlings with the float product. About

Jan 1, 1949

By John W. Rushton

What role does maintenance play in the design of a new mineral processing facility? Consider the fact that most new plants never reach design capacity the first year-or the second, third, or fourth years. The fact is, according to data collected from several plants which have started up in the last ten years, mill throughput and equipment availability doesn't peak, on the average, until the fifth year.

Jan 3, 1978

By L. Valentik

Many attempts have been made during the last 40 years to evaluate the performance of gravity separation equipement, that is, the effectiveness with which light and heavy particles are separated. The most comprehensive treatment of the subject was made by Cerchar at the 1st International Conference on Coal Preparation held in Paris in 1950. The methods suggested by the Conference were accepted and very widely used in the last two decades. This paper discusses an improved method of evaluation in the light of the now-accepted standard presentation. The float-and-sink analysis of the product is presented on a Gaussian distribution curve, resulting in an easier visualization of the inherent difficulties of separation. The ogives of the distribution curve me then plotted, giving a quantitative measure of the deviation from perfect separation as an error distance instead of an error area. Illustrations of the new method are given both for gravel and for coal preparation, but the content is valid and applicable to other types of minerals which are separated by gravity methods. Many attempts had been made during the last forty years to evaluate the performance of heavy-media separation (HMS) equipment, that is, the effectiveness with which floats and sinks are separated.'-' The most comprehensive treatment of the subject was made by Cerchar at the 1st International Conference on Coal Preparation held in Paris. 6 The primary aim was the thorough understanding of the mechanism of separation and the unified presentation of data on gravity separation so that the evaluation and comparison of washery performance could be made from all over the world. No strict overall standardization has been achieved, but after the conference a more or less uniform presentation of performance was accepted, which, during the last two decades, has been very widely used. In this paper, illustration of the old methods and an improved method of evaluation will be given. HEAVY-MEDIA SEPARATION (HMS) PERFORMANCE CRITERIA In the ideal HMS process, all material lower in density than the specific gravity of separation (SGS) would be recovered as floats and all material of higher density would appear as sinks. In order to evaluate the misplaced material, the washery products are tested at the density at which the washing unit is operated. The original type of plot1,7, 8 is shown in Fig 1; this was developed primarily for coal cleaning units. The curve for raw coal represents the cumulative percentages of sink material. The refuse curve is also plotted as a cumulative sink, the percentages being expressed in terms of raw coal. This diagrammatic representation of the results of washing units has the merit of easy visual observance of the degree of separation obtained. The error areas (cross-hatched) are a measure of the amount of misplaced material and therefore they can be used to characterize the quality of separation. The ideal and actual separating performance between floats and sinks can be best seen from the partition curve developed by Tromp,2 where the ordinate is the percentage recovery of the sinks, and the abscissa is the specific gravity (Fig. 2). It can be seen from the shape of the curve that as the SGS is approached, the proportion of material reporting to the improper product increases rapidly. In fact, the SGS can be defined as the density of the material in the feed that is distributed equally between float-and-sink products. When the upper half of the curve is inverted, a shape similar to that of a Gaussian error distribution curve is obtained and therefore the analysis of gravity separation may be carried out by using the law of probability. The shape of the curve in Fig. 2 is determined partly by the density composition of the feed, and partly by the sharpness with which the unit separates floats from the sinks.9, l0

Jan 1, 1970

By James W. Halley

"Fine-grained" steels have been standard products for many years. This paper describes an investigation of the effects of some of the more common grain-growth inhibitors used to produce these steels. The properties, response to heat-treatment, and the deoxidation practice necessary to produce "fine-grained" steels have been the subjects of numerous papers. It has been shown that a substantial quantity of aluminum is necessary to produce this type of steel, and it has been indicated that titanium and zirconium produce a similar result. For some time there was a lively argument between those who felt that aluminum refined the grain and those who felt that aluminum oxide was the effective agent. This argument subsided with an apparent victory for those promoting aluminum oxide. Most of the work on grain size has divided steels into two broad classifications based upon McQuaid and Ehn's original carburizing test at 1700°F or some similar test at this temperature. If the steel coarsened at this temperature, it was coarse grained, while if it did not it was he grained. Quantitative data concerning how much a certain amount of aluminum raised the coarsening temperature and affected the properties, all other factors being constant, are very meager. Similar information regarding titanium and zirconium is practically nonexistent. The published information on aluminum yields some quantitative information. Epstein, Nead and Washburn' gave the first quantitative information on the amount of aluminum necessary to prevent grain growth at 1700°F. They showed that the addition of a pound to a pound and a half of aluminum per ton (0.05 to 0.075 per cent) would assure steel that would not coarsen during a McQuaid-Ehn test at 1700°F. Herty, McBride and Houghg reported that a steel containing 0.020 per cent acid-soluble aluminum coarsened between 1742° and 1832°F., while steels containing 0.016 per cent and 0.017 per cent acid-soluble aluminum coarsened between 1652° and 1742°F. compared with similar aluminum-free steels that started to coarsen at 1580°F. Herty3 also showed a marked improvebent in low-temperature notched impact resistance with increasing acid-soluble aluminum up to 0.030 per cent. McQuaid4 compared the coarsening of steels containing 0.011 to 0.204 per cent total aluminum and found a maximum coarsening temperature at 0.098 per cent aluminum. He had no samples between 0.015 and 0.098 per cent aluminum. Houdrement6 found a marked decrease in coarsening temperature with aluminum contents above 0.50 per cent. Kinzel, Crafts and Egan6 found that aluminum and zirconium improved the low-temperature impact resistance of a low-alloy steel, while titanium was detrimental. Sims7 shows that sulphur increases the coarsening temperature and that the maximum coarsening temperature is between 0.04 and 0.06 per cent added aluminum. The fact that the coarsening temperature passes through a maximum with increasing aluminum content appears to be well established. The aluminum content that

Jan 1, 1947

By James W. Halley

"Fine-grained" steels have been standard products for many years. This paper describes an investigation of the effects of some of the more common grain-growth inhibitors used to produce these steels. The properties, response to heat-treatment, and the deoxidation practice necessary to produce "fine-grained" steels have been the subjects of numerous papers. It has been shown that a substantial quantity of aluminum is necessary to produce this type of steel, and it has been indicated that titanium and zirconium produce a similar result. For some time there was a lively argument between those who felt that aluminum refined the grain and those who felt that aluminum oxide was the effective agent. This argument subsided with an apparent victory for those promoting aluminum oxide. Most of the work on grain size has divided steels into two broad classifications based upon McQuaid and Ehn's original carburizing test at 1700°F or some similar test at this temperature. If the steel coarsened at this temperature, it was coarse grained, while if it did not it was he grained. Quantitative data concerning how much a certain amount of aluminum raised the coarsening temperature and affected the properties, all other factors being constant, are very meager. Similar information regarding titanium and zirconium is practically nonexistent. The published information on aluminum yields some quantitative information. Epstein, Nead and Washburn' gave the first quantitative information on the amount of aluminum necessary to prevent grain growth at 1700°F. They showed that the addition of a pound to a pound and a half of aluminum per ton (0.05 to 0.075 per cent) would assure steel that would not coarsen during a McQuaid-Ehn test at 1700°F. Herty, McBride and Houghg reported that a steel containing 0.020 per cent acid-soluble aluminum coarsened between 1742° and 1832°F., while steels containing 0.016 per cent and 0.017 per cent acid-soluble aluminum coarsened between 1652° and 1742°F. compared with similar aluminum-free steels that started to coarsen at 1580°F. Herty3 also showed a marked improvebent in low-temperature notched impact resistance with increasing acid-soluble aluminum up to 0.030 per cent. McQuaid4 compared the coarsening of steels containing 0.011 to 0.204 per cent total aluminum and found a maximum coarsening temperature at 0.098 per cent aluminum. He had no samples between 0.015 and 0.098 per cent aluminum. Houdrement6 found a marked decrease in coarsening temperature with aluminum contents above 0.50 per cent. Kinzel, Crafts and Egan6 found that aluminum and zirconium improved the low-temperature impact resistance of a low-alloy steel, while titanium was detrimental. Sims7 shows that sulphur increases the coarsening temperature and that the maximum coarsening temperature is between 0.04 and 0.06 per cent added aluminum. The fact that the coarsening temperature passes through a maximum with increasing aluminum content appears to be well established. The aluminum content that

Jan 1, 1947

By B. B. Kunkle

The history of this refinery has been one of expansion. It now has the capacity to produce 240,000 tons of cathodes annually. A general flowsheet and descriptions of the plant layout, operations involved, and equipment used at one of the world's largest and most modern electrolytic copper refineries are presented. THE El Paso copper refinery of Phelps Dodge Refining Corp. was originally constructed by the Nichols Copper Co., in association with Phelps Dodge Corp. and the Calumet & Arizona Mining Co., in order to refine anode copper produced at the smelters of the two latter companies. Initial production was obtained from the plant in January 1930 and its annual refining capacity was 100,000 tons of anodes. In order to keep pace with Phelps Dodge Corp.'s increasing copper production in the Southwest, it became necessary in 1937 to increase the El Paso plant's refining capacity to 160,000 tons of cathodes annually. This was accomplished by adding two sections to the electrolytic tank house, increasing the number of anodes placed in each commercial electrolytic tank from 33 to 37, and making changes in the dc circuits which made it possible to put three generators on each of the two circuits instead of two, thus increasing the amperage on each circuit from 10,000 to 14,800 amp. The capacity of the two furnaces from which refined shapes were cast was increased by raising the sidedoor bays on the furnaces 6 in. An increase of 70 pct in the productive capacity of Phelps Dodge Corp.s Morenci Branch in 1942 again made it necessary to expand refining capacity. In order to accomplish this, Defense Plant Corp. set up a project to increase the capacity of the El Paso plant to 240,000 tons of cathodes annually. This project consisted of enlarging the tank house approximately 50 pct, the construction of another wire- bar furnace, and corresponding increases in other departments where necessary. The engineering work on this expansion was begun in March 1942. Actual construction was under way by August 1942, and the work was completed by March 1944. These additional facilities were purchased from Defense Plant Corp. by Phelps Dodge Refining Corp. in August 1949. The plant is in El Paso about eight miies east of the center of the city and near Highway 80 and the main lines of the Southern Pacific and Texas & New Orleans railroads. The plant site covers approximately 494 acres of company-owned land that is ideally adapted for its use, being well-drained sandy soil and having enough slope so that a minimum amount of excavation was required when the plant was constructed. There is still ample room on the plant site for any future plant expansion. The plant is constructed on four different ground levels and so arranged that the unrefined copper is unloaded on the highest level at the north side of the plant and the refined copper is shipped out from the lowest level on the south side of the plant. The receiving or unloading platform, weighing and sampling rooms, main floor of the tank house, acid and condensate storage tanks, and the slimes and copper sulphate plants are on the first or highest level. The tank house basement, yard scales, charging and furnace bays, balloon flue and stack, brick-storage building, substation and power house, boiler feedwater treating plant and pump house, water storage tanks, and change houses are on the second level. This second level also contains ample yard area for setting-up furnace charges, and for storage of custom scrap, cathodes, scrap anodes, blister, coke, and poles. The casting wheels, inspection conveyors, cathode shears, wire-bar scalping machine, slag

Jan 1, 1952

By D. Cox, M. J. Duggin, L. Zwell

The carbides of approximate composition and Mn have been studied using X-ray diffraction techniques. Those carbides of the type (Fe,Aln)zC ave isostructural with cementite. The cell pararmeters a and c have minimum values at approximately 10 at. pd substitution of manganese for iron; no satisfactory explanation has yet been found for this phenomenon. The carbide fFeMn4)C has a monoclinic unit cell whose dimensions are close to those of ,11,15Cz A neu-troip-dij~ractiot~ study of (F'eAlrz4)C~ reveals that, like MnsCZ, it is isostructural with Pd5Bz. The iron and manganese atoms occupy the palladium atom sites, while the carbon atoms were found to have the same atomic coordinates as the hovon atoms. A neutrorr-diffraction study of indicates that the carbon-atom positions are very close to those occupied in (Fez.,ll/lr~,.3)C. In both carbides studied, tlre iron and manganese atomzs were found to be essentially randomly distributed, although, in the case of (Fe,.811fn1.2)C, it is possible that there may be a slight preference of manganese atoms for- the general (d) positions and a corresponding slight preference of iron atoms for the special (c) positions. It has been found that a complete range of solid solution exists between Fe3C and Mn3C at 1050°C,I although Mn3C becomes unstable when the temperature is reduced to 95O0C,' and can only be retained by rapid quenching. It is also known that a complete range of solid solution exists from Fe5Cz to M~SC~,~ although the stability range of carbides of the type (Fe,Mn)sCz as a function of the relative proportions of iron and manganese is not known. X-ray examinations of Oh-man's carbide3 and Spiegeleisenkristall,~ which have the approximate compositions (Fe3.67Mnl.33)C2 and (Fe3-,Mn,)C, where x lies between 0.4 and 1, respectively, have been made. The following carbides have also been studied: ] The lattice parameters determined during these investigations are listed in Table I. It is seen that carbides of the type (Fe,Mn)sCz have a monoclinic unit cell while carbides of the type (Fe,Mn)3C have an orthorhombic unit cell. It is evident that the variation of lattice parameters with manganese content is not linear for carbides of the type (Fe,Mn)3C. The coordinates of the atoms in (Fe2.7Mno.3)C have recently been determined by single-crystal analysis., The fractional atomic coordinates have been shown by Fasiska and jeffrey to be in good agreement withj those deduced from an earlier analysis of Fe3C by Lipson and etch.' However, it was impossible to determine whether iron and manganese atoms occupied ordered positions because of the small difference between the atomic scattering factors of iron and manganese. The atomic positions in Mn5Cz (Refs. 8 and 9) and Fe5C2 (Refs. 7 and 8) have been obtained only by comparisons made with the isostructural compounds P~SB~.' Since X-ray diffraction techniques were used in these investigations, accurate positioning of the carbon atoms, which have a low atomic scattering factor, was difficult. No attempt has been made to determine the atomic positions in the other carbides previously studied. It was felt that an investigation of the lattice parameters of a number of intermediate carbides of the types (Fe,Mn)sCZ and (Fe,Mn)& would be of interest. It seemed likely that a neutron-diffract ion study of such carbides would indicate whether ordering occurred between the iron and manganese atoms because of the large difference between the neutron-scattering cross sections of iron and manganese. It also seemed probable that such an investigation would provide a determination of the atomic coordinates of the carbon atoms. I) EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS Specimens, each weighing approximately 20 g, were carefully prepared according to the following proportions: The components were 500-mesh powders of 99.995 pct purity iron and spectroscopically pure carbon and a 200-mesh powder of 99.995 pct purity manganese. The component powders were intimately mixed by prolonged shaking, then each specimen was inserted into a spot-welded cylindrical container of tantalum foil, whose end was closed but not sealed. Each specimen in its envelope was then sintered at 1050° C for 24 hr in a thin-walled evacuated quartz capsule, such a time having been previously found sufficient for equilibrium to be attained.' Each specimen was then quenched in order to attempt to retain the high-temperature phase, as the literature indicates that transformations may occur on cooling. Debye-Scherrer X-ray photographs were taken of each specimen using a 114.6-mm-diam camera, Fig. 1, patterns 2 to 6. The exposure time was 6 hr using filtered iron radiation at a tube voltage of 40 kv and a tube current of 12 ma.

Jan 1, 1967

By C. H. Wilson, J. J. Jakosky

In recent years geophysical prospecting methods have become well established as important steps in economically initiating new mining ventures in the field of base-metal exploration, placer mining and water-supply problems. The value of these methods as applied to these problems has been greatly increased by new and improved instruments, and a greater degree of skill in laboratory and interpretative technique. Considerable success has been attained, with subsequent drilling checking the predicted depths within 1 to 5 per cent, on problems requiring information on thickness of fill material, depth to and contour of bedrock, extent and yardage of gravels to be mined, and location of hydrostatic water table. In these applications the geophysical work gives data comparable to drilling, and at a cost of about one-fiftieth that of drilling. Discussion of several surveys with accompanying illustrations showing geophysical methods applicable to both simple and complicated placer problems are contained in the paper. The electrical instruments for measuring electromagnetic field strength and surface potentials are described, and their use, coupled with that of other geophysical instruments in modern field procedure, is noted.:

Jan 1, 1934

By B. A. Rogers, K. O. Stamm

BECAUSE it is the basis of the economically important operation of hardening steel by quenching, the A3 transformation in iron has been the subject of numerous investigations. Although the contributions to this subject are interesting, no general review will be given here. Readers who care to follow the matter further are referred to the comprehensive summary by Cleaves and Thompson,1 which covers the literature to about 1935. Their references to 53 papers on the subject suggest that further investigation is hardly justifiable. However, considerable interest has developed recently concerning the reversibility of the transformation. From thermodynamic considerations, the transition ought to occur at the same point on heating or cooling, if the change of temperature is sufficiently slow. Yet all of the earlier investigators found a difference of several degrees. Burgess and Crowe,2 who used thermal methods, obtained average temperatures of 912° for Ac3 and 900°C. for Ar3 on electrolytic iron. Their data indicate a considerable range of temperature over which the change occurs, both on heating and on cooling. Terry3 measured the susceptibility in the critical range and estimated from the steepest parts of his curves that Ac3 came at 9180 and Ar3 at 903°C. Ishiwara4 was one of the first investigators to report a shorter interval between the temperature of the change in the two directions. He measured the change of susceptibility of kaolin-coated samples of steel, in a hydrogen atmosphere, at rates of heating and cooling so low that about 3 or 4 hr. were required for the transformation to complete itself. His results show some variability between samples, but indicate that the difference between Ac3 and Ar3 is in the vicinity of 6°C. Roberts and Davey5 measured the space lattice in pure iron in the vicinity of 900°°C. and concluded that a change occurs reversibly between 907° ± 3° and 9100 ± 3°C., probably between 907° and 910°C. Wells, Ackley, and Mehl6 made dilatometric determinations of the Ac3 and Ar3 points in samples of hydrogen-treated carbonyl iron maintained under a vacuum. They used three rates of heating and cooling: 2°, '1/2°, and 1/8°C. per min. and found the spread between the two points decreased with low rates. At the slowest rate, the Ac3 transition occurred at 909° to 909.5°C. and the Ar3 change at 907°C. in three of the samples believed to contain the lowest percentages of alien elements. They concluded that if the rate of temperature change and the content of alien elements were low enough, the A3 transformation would be completely reversible at 909.5° ± I°C. The question of reversibility is an interesting one and when some iron with especially small percentages of alien elements became available the opportunity to conduct an investigation was welcomed. This iron was prepared by the Division of

Jan 1, 1941

By AIME

PROBABLY no greater world traveler has ever been Chairman of one of the Institute's Divisions than Henry Frederick Hebley. To begin with, he was born almost as far away as possible-in Christchurch, New Zealand, Dec. 15, 1893. There he grew up, studying mechanical engineering at the local Seddon Memorial Technical College. Then he went over to Sydney, Australia, for a bit of work before sailing for the U.S.A. in 1915. After a few months as draftsman in a San Francisco office he moved over to Clarkdale, Ariz., in the engineering department of the United Verde copper smelter, which had just gone into operation. But the war was on, and Henry thought he belonged in France with the Canadian Engineers, the United States still remaining aloof from the conflict, and that was the last the copper industry saw of him. After almost two years in France he was wounded, convalesced in England and Canada, and then went back to his native New Zealand to design concrete factory buildings. But soon the United States called again, and this time he landed in Salt Lake City with the Oregon Short Line R.R. Co. Then to Chicago in 1920. where he really got into the coal industry for good, working for the Allen K Garcia Co. on the design and operation of coal mines, beneficiation plants, and combustion equipment; and joining the Institute.

Jan 1, 1946

By Patricia J. Rand, Kailish Narayan

Atlantic Richfield Co. began operating a commercial uranium solution mining project in April 1975, in Live Oak County, Tex., 10 miles southwest of the town of George West. The operation is designed to produce 250,00 lb of U308 per year and is jointly owned by Atlantic Richfield Co., Dalco, and U.S. Steel. The proprietary process employed in this operation consists of injecting an alkaline leaching solution into the ore-bearing formation through a pattern of injection wells. The uranium-bearing solution is then removed through producing wells using submersible pumps in central production wells. The produced solution is pumped through a pipeline to the plant area where the uranium is extracted. The barren solution is refurbished and returned to the pattern area for reinjection. The injection field and plant site are located in the drainage of Spring Creek, a small intermittent stream tributary to the Nueces River. Land use in the area is primarily agricultural cattle ranching and farming---but several producing gas fields are present in the areas as well. A nine month enviromental baseline study was conducted on the property beginning in Feb. 1975. Plants and animals of the Clay West area were identified and representative terrestrial and aquatic communities were analyzed. Physical and chemical parameters of the soils were described and analyzed. The surface and underground waters were analyzed chemically; radionuclides, heavy metals, nutrients, and pesticide concentrations were measured in the creek sediments; bacteriological measurements were made in creek water and sediments; radionuclide and chemical levels in plants and animals, both terrestial and aquatic, were measured. These studies, though not required by existing, state or federal laws, were considered necessary to assess the existing conditions before operations began on site. The in-place leaching technique for uranium mining eliminates the enviromental disturbances associated with open pit or underground mining. No grinding and crushing of ore is needed, nor are large tonnages of waste tailings produced. Surface subsidence is not expected since less than 5 lb of uranium is present per ton of rock and even complete removal of such small amounts should not cause subsidence. Solution mining has fewer environmental problems than conventional mining. Members of the Texas Water Quality Board recognized the differences which exist and have recently formulated new environmental control procedures which apply specifically to solution mining. Some of the solution mining activities which are of particular concern are discussed in the following pages. Process Description The produced uranium-bearing solution is pumped through a pipeline from the pattern area to the plant area. The first pattern area consists of a nest of 125 fluid injection, production, and monitor wells [(Fig. 1)]. Injection wells have 4-in. casings and are spaced 50 ft apart on a square grid. Production wells have a 6-in. casing and are located in the center of each square. A block flow sheet of the plant is given in [Fig. 2]. The produced solution goes through parallel trains, each consisting of a carbon column and an ion exchange column in series. The carbon column removes any sand present in the produced solution and the ion exchange column extracts the uranium. The depleted solution is treated with chemicals and returned to the field for reinjection. The uranium retained in the ion exchange column is removed periodically with a sodium chloride solution. Uranium-bearing solution from the ion exchange column is passed through a charcoal column for removal of impurities and then to a precipitation tank where the uranium is precipitated as yellowcake slurry. The yellowcake slurry is clarified, filtered and dried to produce a granular yellowcake product. Environmental Considerations Sources of waste solutions to storage reservoirs, the backwash reservoir and atmospheric discharges are shown in the block flow sheet [(Fig. 2)]. These waste solutions pose a relatively small problem and are adequately controlled by conventional means. There is one area, however,

Jan 1, 1978