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By John K. Hammes

INTRODUCTION This introductory paper presents a description and definition of what the finance function is and what it specifically means for the mining industry. In its simplest terms, finance is, "management of money matters". As an area within the discipline of business administration it draws heavily on the related fields of economics and accounting, and to a lesser extent on marketing and production. MINING FINANCE DEFINED In preparing to write about what finance means to the mining industry, I asked a number of mining people the question, "What does mining finance mean to you?" Most responded that mining finance was "How a company borrowed money for mine development", and perhaps half those questioned included "raising equity" in the definition. It is not surprising that the mining industry concept of finance is the providing of funds needed for the objectives of the business, for that was once a view shared by authorities in the field of business administration. Further, it is certainly the area where much of the emphasis has been placed in the past ten to fifteen years as the industry struggled with the development of more remote and more refractory or lower-grade orebodies while profitability and internal cash flow were below expectations. No wonder project finance became such a popular topic. Twenty years ago it is probable that the emphasis would have been on mine valuation, for that subject was the area of finance then most often examined in industry publications. Papers concerning the pros and cons of payback, internal rate of return, and discounted cash flow appeared regularly. Let's examine the following situations, each the result of a financial decision: - Funding the exploration program in a developing country was accomplished by buying the next six-months budget needs in local currency. One week later the currency devalued 30 percent. If the purchase had been delayed or the local currency borrowed short term, a substantial saving would have been made in funding the program. - A major mining company borrows heavily to finance both expansion of its primary mining business and its entry into several new industry segments. When markets for all of the commodities it produces turn down for a prolonged period, there is concern over the adequacy of cashflow to cover debt service in addition to other company needs. The company's financial officers, however, had arranged very large committed credit facilities from numerous financial institutions which assured the availability of funds for several years. This enabled the company to implement a strategy to conserve cash, sell assets and survive until conditions improved. Further, short term suppliers of credit also were comfortable with the assurance that longer term credit was there to support them. -A medium size mining company financed several mines independently with limited obligations on the part of the parent company. The company decided to refinance the operations under one agreement. More flexible terms, lower interest cost and a longer tenor financing were achieved in return for assuming the risk as a direct obligor. - The exploration and development group of a large mining company proposes to develop a new mine in a country in which the company does not presently operate. When the investment is rejected they are advised that one reason was that the reinvestment assumption inherent in the discounted

Jan 1, 1985

By Robert M. Asimow, Bisuddhi Riddhagni

THE use of back-reflection Laue photographs for crystal orientation is standard in many research projects. The time required for the orientation of any given crystal depends largely on luck and the skill of the investigator. In any case, where large numbers of crystals are used, this time can be quite considerable when the standard methods involving a Greninger chart and Wulff net are employed. For this reason the technique described below was developed. This new procedure applicable for cubic crystals (without preparation of new charts) largely eliminates the skill and luck factors and makes possible the determination of orientation in minutes. The procedure works in the following way: the Laue photograph is examined and arbitrarily an important hyperbola is picked out. An important hyperbola is defined as one which contains some spots through which several hyperbolas pass. Such a hyperbola inevitably corresponds to a low-index zone axis. The angles between the reflection planes causing all the spots on this hyperbola can be read directly from a Greninger chart in the usual manner. If the hyperbola contains more than five spots, these interplanar angles will positively identify the zone axis and the indices of each of the reflecting planes. However, initially since neither the zone axis nor the Miller indices of a diffraction spot are known, there are a very large number of possibilities that must be considered. Using tables of interplanar angles to check out every possibility would be quite tedious, so that this approach is not generally used. Instead, various poles are plotted on a stereographic projection. In the cubic system, however, it is possible to plot out once and for all the angles between all planes of a particular zone axis up to some upper limit of Miller indices. This has been done for all low-index zone axes in Fig. 1. Given these charts, it is quite a simple matter to identify the spots of the unknown hyperbola. All that is necessary is to plot the angles read off the Greninger chart to the same scale as Fig. l(b) on a strip of paper. Then this strip can be slid along each zone axis of Fig. l(a) until a good fit is obtained. Once this is accomplished, the Miller indices of each spot are given and thus the orientation problem is solved. To check, it is possible to pick a second hyperbola and see whether a compatible solution is obtained. This is most conveniently done by picking for the second hyperbola one that contains a spot common with the first. If the specimen axis is chosen parallel to the incident X-ray beam, then usually the [ loo] hyperbola will appear on the film as one of the more important hyperbolas and consequently will be either chosen initially or as a check. Using the [100] hyperbola, after the (001) or (011) spots have been identified, the latitude and longitude of the specimen axis can be read directly from the Greninger chart so that it is unnecessary to use a Wulff net for the entire orientation procedure. This makes the operation not only quicker but more accurate. Of course, if neither the first nor second hyperbolas correspond to [loo] then a third hyperbola can be chosen.

Jan 1, 1967

By I. Havenaar

EXPERIMENTAL DATA In an article by C. K. Ferguson and J. A. Klotz,1 experiments on the filtration of drilling muds under borehole conditions are discussed. Experimental data on mud filtration through the wall and the bottom of the hole are presented. From the data on bottom-hole filtration it was concluded that the filtrate does not flow freely into the formation, but that the pores of the formation are plugged by the mud. A quantitative interpretation of the data can be civen, by using a formula for bottom-hole filtration, dehved below. This formula is based on the following assumptions, 1. Each time a blade of a drag bit, or a cone of a roller bit, moves along the bottom of the hole, the mud cake is completely removed. 3. A new mud cake is immediately formed on the freshly produced surface, and losses of "whole" mud into the formation are negligible (this is equivalent to an immediate plugging of the pores). 3. The filtration of the mud on the bottom of the hole follows the classic law: V = A +1—(Eq. I), where t is the time required to yield a volume of filtrate V, A is the surface area of filter cake, and C is a constant. The application of this equation means that any eroding effect of the mud stream on the mud cake is neglected. The formula for the calculation of the volume of filtrate, Q,, flowing in one second through the hole bottom (diam. d cm), when using a bit with n cones or blades rotating at a rate of rn revolutions per second, is derived as follows: The mud cake is formed on the bottom of the hole in the time t =1; the filtrate volume V which passes n through the bottom In this time 1s given by Eq. 1: After1/nmsec the mud cake is removed. In one m second this process takes place nm times. Therefore the volume of filtrate, obtained in one second is given by This equation has now been applied to the experiments of Ferguson and Klotz. The constants C were derived by means of Eq. 1 from the API filter losses of the muds used by the authors (t = 1,800 sec; A = 45.16cm2). A three-cone bit was used (n = 3) at 90 rpm (m = 1.5). The calculated figures are compared with the experimental data in the table below. The calculated values of Q, are usually lower than the experimental values. This may be due to the following causes. 1. The value of C used in the calculation is based on the API filter test (filtration pressure of 100 psi), whereas the experimental data were obtained with a filtration pressure of 200 psi. Although the effect of the pressure on C is not large, C decreases somewhat with increasing pressure, and this leads to a higher filtration rate. 2. Mud losses and the eroding action of the mud stream on the cake are not entirely negligible. 3. The values of Q, derived by Ferguson and Klotz from their experiments are too high, because of their assumption that all pore liquid within the formation drilled is picked up by the drilling mud. It is found, however, that the calculated values of Qf, except in the case of oil base muds, are of the right order of magnitude. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author wishes to thank the management of the Koninklijke/Shell-Laboratorium, Amsterdam, for permission to publish this note.

Jan 1, 1957

By R. A. Swalin, B. W. Roberts

ONSIDERABLE controversy has centered about the existence of an order-disorder transformation in alloys in the composition vicinity of 75 atomic pct Ni and 25 atomic pct Cr. All the evidence to date for such a transformation is of a rather indirect nature, since direct X-ray confirmation is difficult to obtain as a result of the small difference in X-ray scattering factors between nickel and chromium. As a result, superlattice lines would be very faint if present. Several investigators1-5 have observed anomalies in the electrical resistivity vs temperature curves of alloys in the vicinity of 25 atomic pct Cr. The observed change is characterized by a rather broad resistivity peak at about 540°C. A discontinuous drop in resistivity is normally associated with ordering. However, Taylor and Hin-ton4 have rationalized that the discrepancy could conceivably be caused by changes in the Brillouin zones upon ordering. The same investigators measured the specific heat as a function of temperature and have also observed anomalies in the vicinity of 540°C. Nordheim and Grant5 have proposed, because of the absence of superlattice lines and the absence of a discontinuity in the resistivity vs temperature curve, that long-range order is improbable and that the results could be better explained by short-range ordering. To date, however, the question has not been resolved satisfactorily. Neutron diffraction techniques provide a method for partially resolving the question since nickel and chromium have considerably different atomic scattering factors in the case of neutrons and, therefore, superlattice peaks, if ordering occurs, should be readily discernable. The results of a neutron diffraction investigation* coupled with a dilatometric in- vestigation are reported here. An alloy containing 28.0 atomic pct Cr was prepared from carbonyl nickel and electrolytic chromium in the form of a 1-in. diam x 10-in. ingot. Melting was done in an alumina crucible and casting in a graphite mold. The ingot was homogenized at 1250°C for seven days, after which a 5-in. long piece was cut into shavings in order to obtain a suitable neutron diffraction sample. Hardness samples and samples suitable for dilatometric analysis (% in. diam x 2 in.) were prepared from the remainlng piece. The neutron diffraction sample, along with a hardness sample, was annealed at 501°C for seven days, at which time the temperature was lowered to 479°C and held at this temperature for twenty-four more days. The hardness was observed to increase from 133 to 147 Vhn during the course of the annealing treatment, in qualitative agreement with Nordheim and Grant." Neutron diffraction traces taken at room temperature and at 42 °K are shown in Fig. 1. The insert shows the trace taken at room temperature with short counting times and thus only fair statistical accuracy. No evidence for superstructure reflections of Cu3Au-type ordering is observed. The statistical accuracy of the 4.2°K trace was improved by using longer counting periods. Several weak intensities are observed at small angles, including an aluminum reflection from the cryostat assembly and a very

Jan 1, 1958

By C. A. Queener, W. L. Mitchell

In recent years bismuth telluride has received considerable attention, primarily due to its value as a thermoelectric material. Since there seems to be little dependence of thermoelectric effect upon crystal orientation1 many of those who have previously worked with this material have been unconcerned with knowing its crystallographic angles to any degree of accuracy. However, when one studies deformation modes, lattice stresses, or the aniso-tropy of mechanical properties of a material, knowledge of the interplanar angles and their relationships as depicted in a stereographic projection becomes essential. Lange2 originally published crystallographic data which described the structure of bismuth telluride as rhombohedral with the space group A more recent work by Francombe3 presented data which corroborated and refined the original findings of Lange. In addition, Francombe established that there is no coexistence of rhombohedral and hexagonal lattices in bismuth telluride as was suggested by Vasenin and Konovalov,4 and that the structure can be treated as a pseu do hexagonal structure with an axial ratio, c/a, of 6.95 for convenience of presentation and study. The interplanar angles and standard projections for several unalloyed hexagonal metals have been previously published,5-9 but the present work appears to be unique in that it presents data for a rhombohedral compound in pseudohexagonal form. As a pseudohexagonal structure, this material has an extremely large axial ratio as compared to the usual range of approximately 1.5 to 1.9 for the hexagonal metals. Since the interplanar angles are a function only of c/a, the angular relations between various planes for Bi,Te3 will be grossly different

Jan 1, 1965

Editors of engineering periodicals usually read the advertising pages. It may be hard' for some men, let alone engineers, to understand what value there is in reading "dry advertisements." Yet it is a fact that valuable suggestions have been obtained from these so-called "dry advertisements" which have been the means of securing greater efficiency in the performance of some undertaking and consequent saving of time and money. It seems to be an editorial practice to look to the advertisements for suggestions for the reading pages. It is a fact that some of the most appreciated descriptive articles were suggested by advertisements. Every undertaking is limited to that point where tools and machinery for its successful performance and completion may be purchased or manufactured. No work can he planned without having in mind such limitation, and the technical journals may be relied upon to furnish descriptions, both editorially and through the advertising pages, of methods and plant used in successfully performing various tasks. This being so, why should not the reader or subscriber to a magazine or periodical avail himself of such a fountain of knowledge? Such perusal proves of value to the up-to-date engineer or man occupying a -position. of responsibility where initiative is essential. Authorities agree that advertisements are on a par with technical articles for their educational value, and this Is as it should be. Also, most subscribers to a publication realize that a, successful advertising medium means a continuance of advertising patronage, which in turn enables the publisher to turn out a better and larger volume of reading matter.

Jan 6, 1915

On an average of at least once a year there comes to the attention of the Institute Headquarters the activities of some individual who represents himself as a member of the Institute, and by a hard-luck story or other means secures loans or advances of money which are never returned. On one or two occasions the Institute has been able to secure the arrest and conviction of these frauds. Recently some individual has been operating in California and defrauded several members of the Institute. He is described as a man of 5 ft. 7 or 8 in. height, decidedly slim, and his weight is about 140 lb. His hair and mustache are gray, eyes blue or gray and he claims to be near-sighted. He is also said to have had a keen, furtive, "Hang-dog" look and claims to have been raised in Bethlehem, Pa. He speaks with a German accent. If a man answering this description presents himself before any members and claims to be a member of the Institute it will be to the good of the profession if he can be caught making fraudulent representations and placed where his ability to defraud will be under control. The most effective means of apprehending persons of this character is the very prompt notification to Institute Headquarters of any persons claiming to be members of the Institute in hard luck. If such persons are asked to supply their signature or photograph or both to be, forwarded to Institute Headquarters for identification this will serve as an excellent check on their operations. Reluctance to comply with such a request is in itself a suspicious circumstance.

Jan 9, 1919

By W. Julian Patron

TREATMENT of the breaker wash-water discharges to remove the suspended particles of finely divided material is usually most efficiently and economically accomplished in settling or thickening tanks. The purpose of these tanks is to separate the excess water from the solids by sedimentation whereby the solid particles suspended in the water are thickened by the force of gravity. The water overflowing these tanks is either reused for coal cleaning or discharged directly to the streams. The settled solids, which are in a relatively concentrated condition, forming a sludge or thick pulp, can be disposed of by pumping to a storage dam, by slushing into mine workings, by processing for recovery of coal, or filtering by vacuum or centrifugal means and discharging with the breaker refuse. The scope of this paper will be limited to the discussion of settling and thickening equipment, the factors that influence the settlement of solids, and a brief description of tests that can be made to determine the size of settling facilities required for any particular condition. The practical application of sedimentation to the treatment of coal falls into two groups, one of classification or hydro- separation, and the other of clarification and thickening. Classification may be employed to prepare a relatively low- grade fuel, which can be used as is or can be further processed separately. Clarification and thickening is employed where the primary objective is to recover a relatively dewatered solid and return a satisfactorily clear water to breaker or streams. When a stream of water flows across a tank, the time required for a particle to travel from the feed inlet to the overflow must be a little greater than that required for the finest particles or flocs in the feed to settle out of the stream. OPERATION AND TYPES OF SETTLING EQUIPMENT Theoretically, the liquid in a settling tank should rise at a more or less constant rate throughout the area of the tank Under these conditions the rising velocity of the water must be less than the settling rate of the finest particles if clarification is to be obtained. When classification of particles is to be made in the tank, the overflow velocity must be greater than the settling velocity of the particles that are to be removed with the tank overflow. The performance of a settling tank, then, depends on the settling rate of the solids and the current velocities in the tank. The oldest types of sedimentation employ intermittent types of settling tanks of any convenient shape. Means are provided for filling the tank with pulp and allowing it to settle until quiet, for moving the clean liquor and for removing the thickened sludge. The operation is necessarily intermittent but a sufficient number of tanks is employed so that a continuous flow of clear water is maintained. Continuous methods for the sedimentation of slurries were developed in the metallurgical industry. Cones from which settled solids were discharged by gravity

Jan 1, 1946

By Louis A. Panek

The purpose of this paper is to present a method of designing safe and economical arch structures that are to be constructed of concrete or directly of original earth materials. The experimental data used to illustrate the design method are taken from Bucky and Fen tress,1,2 and the application of the ideas presented by them is extended by obtaining an additional set of curves from which arch structures may be designed. This design method is based upon the following principles of similitude: A scalar model made of the same material as that of the full sized structure will behave similarly to its prototype if the density of the model is increased in the same proportion as its linear scale is decreased. Let R represent the scale or model ratio, namely, the ratio of a prototype linear dimension to the corresponding model linear dimension. The effect of increased density may be obtained by rotating the model in a centrifuge at a speed such that the centrifugal held exerts on the model an accelerative force R times the accelerative force of gravity. Under these conditions; (I) model unit stresses are equal to corresponding prototype unit stresses, (2) the ratio of the prototype deformation at a given point to the model deformation at a similar point is equal to the scale ratio, R, and (3) the model and the prototype will behave similarly within and beyond the elastic limits of strain. According to the above relations, such models can be used to solve the following problems: I. The dimensions of the most economical safe arch structure for a given load. 2. The miaximum safe roof span underground for given geologic conditions. The procedure is described briefly as follows. Tests are made by rotating in a centrifuge a number of models that repiesent a variety of prototype loads and dimensions. From the experimental data, curves are plotted to show the relations between these loads and dimensions. The curves are used to solve directly the problems stated above. Structural design is based upon the working (safe) stress of the material of construction, which is established by applying a factor of safety to the experimentally determined ultimate strength of the material. In conformity with this principle, each model is gradually loaded until failure occurs. A safety factor is then applied to the results. If a safety factor of 4 is used, a given model at failure represents a safe prototype, the linear dimensions of which are equal to one-fourth the model ratio at failure times the corresponding model dimensions. The safe model ratio is computed from the following formula: Safe R =(1/4)4p2n2r/g=p2n2r/g [I] in which: n = centrifuge revolutions per second at model failure; r = radius of rotation of the model in feet; g = 32.2 ft/sec2.

Jan 1, 1949

The Climax Molybdenum Company' s newest operation is the Henderson project, which is located on the east side of the Continental Divide. Ore reserves are estimated at more than 300 million tons at a grade of 0.49% MoS2. For mining the ore a modified panel caving system is used. The ore is transported to the Henderson mill on the west side of the Continental Divide on a 42 in. (1.07 m) gauge railroad through 9.6 miles (15.4 km) of tunnel and 4. 8 miles (7.7 km) of surface track, a total distance of 14.4 miles (23. 2 km). Each train consists of 30 ore cars with capacity of 22 st (20 mt) of ore or 660 st (599 mt) per train. The unmanned trains operate completely automatically. At the 54 in. by 84 in. primary gyratory crusher, the bottom dump ore cars pass over a dump scroll to discharge at a maximum rate of 100 st (91 mt) per minute. Dumped ore falls onto a rock box before passing over a 17 ft long by 46 ft wide (5. 2 m by 14 m) grizzly set at a 40° angle with bar spacings of 7 ½ and 8 ½ in. (191 mm and 216 mm) openings. An estimated 30 to 50% of the ore (which at times is wet and sticky) passes through the grizzly. The operators report that a shallower angle on the grizzly, perhaps 35º to 37º, would have been sufficient and would have prevented impact on the back of the crusher pocket by large boulders. This pocket as well as the crushed ore pocket under the crusher is lined with AR plate. The accompanying drawings show a "future splitter" and the operators are planning the installation of this unit to prevent impact and subsequent damage to the crusher spider. Crushed ore at an 8 to 9 in. (203 mm to 229 mm) size joins the grizzly undersize in the pocket beneath the crusher. This pocket is sized at 660 live st (599 mt) so that it will accept an entire trainload of ore. Crushed ore is removed from the pocket by a four-speed, 84 in. (2. 1 m) apron feeder operating at 9.6 to 29. 3 fpm (2.9 to 8.9 mpm). A 60 in. (1.5 m) takeaway conveyor operating at 480 fpm (146 mpm) delivers the crushed ore to a 58,000 st live and 193,000 st total (52,600 and 175, 100 mt) open stockpile under an A -frame supported tripper gallery. Impact idlers on the takeaway conveyor under the apron feeder discharge are mounted on wood blocks for a cushioning effect and ripped belt detecting bars are located behind each impact idler. The conveyor tunnel is of corrugated and galvanized steel construction rather than concrete. The concrete crusher enclosure is circular in design from its lowest level at elevation minus 110 ft 4 in. (minus 33. 6 m) to elevation

Jan 1, 1978

By H. L. Talbot, A. J. Hall, R. S. Young

A method for the chemical differentiation of oxidized cobalt from sulphide cobalt in complex mine and concentrator products is of considerable interest to a number of mining companies throughout the world. At Rhokana Corporation, in Northern Rhodesia, for instance, cobalt is found chiefly in the sulphide form, as carrollite, but a cobalt oxide mineral also occurs irregularly underground, and relatively small quantities in the mill feed from time to time are difficult to detect visually at the concentrator. The oxide cobalt is not amenable to the sulphide flotation process used at Rhokana and nearly all of it passes into the tailing. The occasional period when high tailing losses occur with no appreciable change in the cobalt content of the mill feed has naturally been disturbing to the concentrator staff, who had no means of determining whether an influx of cobalt oxide ore or laxity on the part of the mill flotation operators as responsible for these results. A procedure for determining oxidized copper minerals, based on their solubility in dilute sulphuric acid saturated with SO2, has been used for many years in the copper industry. In the presence of cuprite the procedure fails, but otherwise it gives results quite satisfactory for control pur- poses. Empirical methods for determining oxidized forms of zinc and lead have been proposed, but they are generally unsatisfactory except in isolated cases of a very simple ore. No published procedure for determining oxidized forms of cobalt or siinilar elements has come to the authors'notice. Experimental Procedure There are obviously two alternatives in attacking a problem of this nature. One is to employ a solvent for oxide cobalt that will not dissolve cobalt sulphide. The other is to find a substance capable of oxidizing the cobalt sulphide to sulphate, which of course is water-soluble and can then be leached from the water-insoluble oxide cobalt. A representative sample of Rhokana cobalt oxide ore was secured, ground to minus 200-mesh, and carefully rolled to furnish a standard sample for this work. The analysis of this material gave the following percentages: Co, 0.55; Cu, 1.64; Fe, 2.98; S, 0.08; SiO2, 41.42; Al2o3, 11.20; CaO, 13.82; MgO, 3.80. As a source of cobalt sulphide a similar large sample of carrollite was prepared, analyzing Co, 23.36 per cent; Cu, 27.32; and S, 31.13. This sample of course was not pure carrollite, but was the best obtainable in quantities sufficient for a standard intended for considerable work. It was a pure sulphide sample, microscopic examination showing only carrollite, a little bornite, and gangue, with no visible sign of oxidized ore present. A wide variety of reagents as used in an effort to selectively dissolve oxide cobalt or to oxidize sulphide cobalt to

Jan 1, 1949

By John F. Abel

At the spring meeting of the Open Pit Division of AIME's Arizona Section, I was asked a question which indicates the acceleration of technical advancement. The question was: "How does an engineer at a properly keep abreast of what is new?" The fact that some 200 Arizona AIME members were at the meeting is a testimonial to the desire of these men to do just that- keep abreast. There is a great deal of talk in academic circles about the built-in obsolescence of an engineering or scientific education, too. About 100 commencement speakers every spring are sure to admonish the graduates that education is a continuing thing. Mining engineers are a small fraternity. We keep informed by talking to one another. Talking shop is valuable but there is no substitute for reading.

Jan 1, 1970

By T. M. Dr. Drown

(Read at the Philadelphia Meeting, February, 1878.) ZINC is, as is well known, very brittle at a temperature of about 210° C. (410° F.), and may then be readily pulverized in a mortar. By sifting it may be obtained of uniform grain. I have been accustomed to prepare products passing through 40, 60, and 80-mesh sieves, and also by bolting through a fine handkerchief. The principal analytical uses to which I have hitherto applied this material are to the reduction of iron directly from the ore by heating it with the pulverized zinc, and the reduction of ferric to ferrous compounds in solution. In the first case the pulverized ore, 0.5 gram or less, is intimately mixed with about ten times its weight of the pulverized zinc (the finer the zinc the better), in a porcelain crucible, and this mixture is covered with about the same amount of zinc. The crucible is then heated at the top of the flame of a Bunsen burner, at a dull red heat, for about ten minutes. The crucible should not be covered. When cool, the crucible, with its contents, is placed in a flask treated with hot dilute sulphuric acid, and brought quickly to a boil. The zinc and reduced iron are dissolved in a few minutes and the flask is then tightly corked and allowed to cool. When cool, the iron is directly titrated by potassium permanganate.

Jan 1, 1878

By Richard H. Zinszer

APPLICATION of electric logs has been used in correlation of subsurface structure to determine the size and shape of the oil reservoir. [ ] Such a knowledge is hardly complete until saturation and productivity are determined for the various horizons. It is difficult to use electric logs successfully for this purpose because of the many factors that influence the curves. In this work an effort was made to establish an empirical correlation between formation resistivity for a series of electric-log curves and water saturation and oil productivity of sand. Electric logs were obtained by recording with 10 different electrode spacings through the same interval of a well. In the analysis of these curves all factors except two, a dependent and independent variable, were held constant. The interval studied had been cored and a large number of samples were analyzed in the core laboratory in order to compare the values of permeability and saturation with the measured values of formation resistivity. Results of this analysis indicate: (I) the depth to which mud filtrate enters a sand body, (2) a correlation between permeability and sand resistivity for shallow penetration depths, and (3) that the water saturation for an oil sand can be determined from the measured sand resistivity after making suitable correc- [ ] tions for sand thickness. The proceduer in the last method depends on a correction for thickness factor and a theoretical curve. The accuracy of the theoretical curve is now being tested in the laboratory.

Jan 1, 1944

The sum of $100 was appropriated to the War Minerals Committee for expenses of letter paper, postage, etc. The report of the Treasurer was accepted and ordered filed. Upon the recommendation of the Committee on Membership, sixty-eight Members, two Associate Members, and ten Junior Members were elected. The Secretary presented a letter from the office of the Chief of Ordnance, U. S. A., offering him a commission in the Ordnance Officers' Reserve Corps, and asking him to submit to the governing body of the Institute a request for release from his contract with the Institute, in order that he may accept the commission in question. The following minute was then passed. "The Executive Committee is of the opinion that the Secretary of the American Institute of Mining Engineers can be of more use to the Nation in his present situation, in view of the fact that there is no possible substitute for him in this position, than he could be if he left to accept a commission as an officer in the Ordnance Department, and this Executive Committee requests that an executive officer of the Institute go to Washington and confer with the Chief of Ordnance, requesting a withdrawal of the offer to the Secretary of the Institute and presenting the names of substitutes therefor." The payment of 'a special clerk for the Committee on Increase of Membership at the rate of $100 a month was ordered continued for a further period of six months.

Jan 10, 1917

By M. I. Sherman, J. D. H. Strickland

PRELIMINARY experiments in these laboratories showed that whereas pyrite1 produced only sul-fate the action of aqueous chlorine solutions on most other sulfide ores resulted in the formation of a mixture of sulfate and elemental sulfur, the production of the latter being favored by a very dilute solution of oxidant. The reactions taking place were obviously complex and only a detailed kinetic study could be expected to clarify the position and enable a prediction to be made of conditions leading to the rapid formation of metal salt and the economically desirable elemental form of sulfur. Galena was chosen for the first investigation as it is of widespread occurrence and is representative of a simple cubic lattice sulfide containing the monosulfide unit, S2-. Experimental Procedure The apparatus and general technique used in this work have already been described.' Analyses for chlorine and sulfate were carried out by the same methods as those used for pyrite. The lead in 1 ml aliquots of solution was determined polarographi-cally, after destroying chlorine with hydrazine hy-drochloride and making solutions 0.5 molar with hydrochloric acid. A large sample of Kansas galena, assaying at better than 98 pet PbS, was crushed and wet sieved to give fractions of —10 + 14, —20 + 28, —28 + 35, and —48 + 65 Tyler screen. The particles were almost perfect cubes and the apparent surface Per gram was calculated assuming each particle a cube Of side equal to the mean mesh opening. A volume shape factor, calculated as for pyrite, was exactly unity. The main apparatus was unsuitable for direct visual examination of the ore particles during the reaction. For this purpose a small cell from a Spekker Absorptiometer optical flats 1 cm apart) was l by a greased microscope slide after filling with oxidant solution. One or two ore particles were placed in the cell and the solution was stirred by a glass covered speck of iron wire activated by an external rotating magnet. The surface of an ore particle was examined under a binocular microscope at between 10 and 40 magnifications. Results Experiments were made under a wide variety of conditions, the form of presentation of the data being illustrated by Fig. 1, where the concentrations of chlorine, sulfate, and sulfur are plotted against time. The fictitious concentration of solid sulfur is used for convenience and is the molarity of sulfur which would be recorded if the elementary sulfur formed during the reaction were dissolved in the liquid iii the reaction vessel. As some lead sulfate is occluded with the sulfur on the ore particles the amounts of sulfur and sulfate formed during a reaction cannot be calculated

Jan 1, 1958

By F. J. Dunkerlery, V. Damiano, J. Fulton, F. Pledger

Grain-growth and recrystallization characteristics of a commercially pure zirconium prepared by the iodide process are reported. Grain growth from 640° to 800°C was continuous once initiated and obeyed D = kt". Recrystallization of zirconium occurred at temperatures of 450° to 550°C after deformations of 20 and 50 pct. Hardening from partially soluble inclusions prevented determination of the absolute rates of recrystallization, but the relative rates of recrystallization obtained are useful as a guide in fabrication practice. BASIC information needed as a guide in the hot and cold working and annealing of metals includes recrystallization and grain-growth data. A search of the literature revealed no such information for pure zirconium. This is a report of practical grain-growth and recrystallization results obtained for a commercial grade of pure zirconium on a project sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. In this work, isothermal grain-growth curves were obtained at five temperatures from 640" to 800°C inclusively; while recrystallization curves have been determined at 450°, 500°, and 550°C for the metal at the deformation levels of 20 and 50 pct. In addition to the usual variables of temperature, time, and deformation, distribution of the second phase found in all commercial grades of iodide zirconium is also treated as an important factor in these grain-growth and recrystallization studies. In conducting this work, two properties of zirconium were particularly pertinent in dictating experimental conditions. First, since zirconium undergoes a transformation from the a close-packed hexagonal form to the ß body-centered cubic form at 862°C, no recrystallization or grain-growth studies were made above 800°C. Second, because dissolved gases (oxygen, nitrogen and/or hydrogen) increase the hardness and lower the ductility of the solid metal, all annealing treatments in this investigation were carried out in vacuum or in a helium atmosphere. Materials and Methods The zirconium used in this investigation was prepared by the Foote Mineral Co. by deposition from its iodide. A spectrochemical analysis of the metal showed the following composition in weight pct: Hf, 2.1; Mg, 0.012; Fe, 0.035; Si, 0.095; Ti, 0.023; Al, 0.037; Mo, trace; Ni, trace; Cr, trace; Ca, 0.006. Conventional metallographic procedures involving hand polishing on wet metallographic papers, followed by final polishing on fine, levigated alumina on gamal cloth and a medium speed wheel were used throughout this investigation. Grain boundaries were revealed with modified Tucker's etch containing 20 parts glycerine, 2 parts hydrofluoric acid, and one part nitric acid. Grain-Growth Procedure: Three lots of zirconium, designated here as series A, B, and C were prepared for the grain-growth studies as follows: Series A was prepared by cold swaging the % in. as-deposited rod to a 3/16 in. final diameter, followed

Jan 1, 1952

By L. Guttman

LESTER GUTTMAN* The question of whether classical thermodynamics alone imposes any lower limit to solid solubilities was raised during a discussion among various members of the Institute for the Study of Metals. Although our conclusions are not new,1 they may be worth reiterating, since confusion on this subject seems to persist. In a binary system (A,B), the conditions for equilibrium, at constant pressure and temperature, between a solid solution and a liquid solution are µAs = µAl [la] µBs = µbl [lb] Here µ denotes the chemical potential either of component A or B, as shown by the subscripts, and the superscripts s and l refer to the solid and liquid solutions, respectively. These two conditions are just sufficient to determine the compositions of both phases. Suppose, however, that the solid phase is found experimentally not to contain any of component B; then we cannot evaluate µbs, which is defined by Here nAs and nBs are the number of mols of A and B, respectively, in the solid, whose free energy is Fs. Eq lb cannot be used, but it is no longer needed: we stated at the outset that the solid has the composition "pure A," and only the liquid composition need now be determined, from Eq la. All the equilibrium properties of the system can be derived from Eq la rigorously and simply. Hence there is no purely thermodynamic reason to exclude phase diagrams which show precisely zero solid solubility. Marsh2 has objected to such diagrams as implying that even the transformation of pure A begins at the eutectic temperature. In any case, the user of the diagram must have a certain minimum knowledge of how to interpret it, and it would seem simpler to remember the general rule that eutectic temperatures have no significance for pure components, rather than to show, say, by broken lines, on a scale which will often be exaggerated, a hypothetical solid-solubility about which we know only that it is less than a certain amount. The case of an intermetallic compound in equilibrium with a binary liquid solution does not require a separate treatment since nothing in the foregoing was dependent on the nature of the components. Therefore, thermodynamics alone does not exclude the possibility that (intermetallic) compounds may exist with compositions always precisely those given by their chemical formulas. With the aid of extra-thermodynamic methods, one may conclude that the solubility of one solid in another is never exactly zero. On the other hand, one would generally expect that the solubility will be small unless the components resemble one another (as do the metals), or form weakly-bound crystals. Therefore, it is useful to know that when there is no direct evidence for solid-solubility, one may neglect it without violating thermodynamic principles.

Jan 1, 1950

By W. G. Pfann

THE problem of forming points on wires that were from 0.002 in. to 0.010 in. in diam arose in the recent appearance of silicon and germanium point contact rectifiers as elements in microwave radar.1 In these devices a pointed tungsten wire makes a delicate contact with the surface of a semiconductor. Because the quality of such rectifiers is largely determined by the nature of this contact, considerable attention has been given to the formation of the metal point. Reproducibility of contour and freedom from burrs and even microscopic irregularities are considered essential. The operations involved must be simple and rapid enough for mass production. Previously tungsten wires had been provided with conical points by a grinding method which involved rotating a wire about its axis and causing it to bear at an oblique angle against a spinning abrasive disc. This was later complemented with an electrolytic polishing treatment which removed irregularities from the ground point and also rounded it off at the tip-a desirable feature. Finally, these operations were supplanted by the electrolytic pointing method described here. MECHANISM OF POINT FORMATION The wires to be pointed are partially immersed- in an electrolyte in a .vertical position whereupon they are provided with smooth rounded points entirely by electrochemical action. The process is independent of the depths to which the wires penetrate the electrolyte because the points are formed at the surface level. It may be used to point a single wire or many of them simultaneously and is applicable to wires of different diameters within a limited range. Solution of the immersed portion of a tungsten wire is accomplished by making it the positive electrode in an electrolytic cell, as shown in Fig I. While the wire is maintained at constant voltage the current through the cell falls continuously, principally because of the decrease in wetted area which results from solution of the tungsten. This increase in resistance occurs in a reproducible manner and is used as a control in the process. As the immersed portion of the wire dissolves, it remains cylindrical in shape except for the short section which is wetted by the meniscus. Here the rate of solution is lower and decreases as the top of the meniscus is approached. The result is the formation of a tapered section inside the meniscus. As solution continues, the cylindrical section either dissolves entirely or drops off just before complete solution, leaving only the taper which is now sharply pointed. Further action causes this point to become rounded and then quite blunt, until finally the end of the wire is almost plane. Fig 2 shows the stages in this development. Contour PF is most representative of those used in point contact rectifiers. Thus a variety of point

Jan 1, 1947

AS you and anyone else can understand, a great expense and a large supply of things are necessary for parting a quantity of silver by means of aqua fortis. First, as you have seen, it is necessary to have a great abundance of every kind of cucurbit and alembic, of charcoal and wood, and a large number of pounds of a vigorous, well-purified aqua fortis, because for every pound of silver there are of necessity [71v] at least four pounds or more employed from the parting to the coloring of the separated gold. It is also necessary to prove its fineness and to granulate or beat it, to have furnaces and supplies, and to provide for a thousand other necessities which need not be repeated now. The most important thing in this art seems to me to be that it requires continual working night and day with extreme watchfulness and care. For this reason another way, much quicker, less dangerous, and less expensive than the aforesaid one was found by some clever men (alchemists, I believe) in order to avoid such laborious and heavy methods. It produces the substance of the thing exactly as the acid does. If you wish to make use of it in conjunction with the acid it is possible to render great aid to this work although there is a great difference in the techniques of the two. The method used in this parting is as follows: First, make a round or square wind furnace for melting, below ground or above, and of height and size in proportion to the work and as it comes out best for you. Then take a large clay crucible and fill it almost up to the edge with that silver which contains the gold, cut into pieces, and put it to melt with the silver on top of a piece of brick cut to the size of the bottom of the crucible and resting on a grate in the middle of coals that are burning well. When you see that the silver has been made so hot by the fire that it looks white and that it wishes to begin to liquefy, take a little stick of sulphur or a small piece of antimony and put it in. When this is melted, lifting away the charcoal that covers it, put in more sulphur or antimony (for the method is the same with either one) until the silver is very well melted and these materials properly incorporated. Then for every pound of silver that you put in add half an ounce of sheet copper. When this is melted take your crucible out with tongs or pincers and strike the bottom gently on the coals two or three times so that the gold may make a residue on account of

Jan 1, 1942