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By H. H. Uhlig

A study of passivity in chromium-iron alloys holds considerable interest, both because of the present-clay practical importance of the stainless steels, and because of the scientific importance attached to the mechanism of their corrosion resistance. Upon the discovery of the passive chromium-iron alloys in 1912, it seemed logical to attribute the observed phenomenal corrosion resistance to a thin, continuous, protective reaction product on the surface. The product was thought to be Cr2O3 or a similar oxide containing both chromium and iron. This mechanism seemed likely in view of Michael Faraday's conjecture that passive iron is not reactive in concentrated nitric acid because of an oxide on the metal surf ace. Since 1912, data have accumulated that permit a further exploration into the nature of passivity and provide a new approach to the problem. A summary of the facts lends considerable weight to a mechanism based not on physical protection of an oxide or similar compound, although such compounds may be present on the surface, but to a change in tendency of surface metal atoms to react chemically. This change in reaction tendency is ascribed to chemisorbed films that effectively satisfy residual valence forces of the metal surface, but do not appreciably disturb the positions of metal atoms in the lattice. In other words, formation of a new lattice such as that of an oxide is not a necessary condition for this type of passivity. The decreased reaction tendency of the metal by reason of chemisorbed films can thereby account for low reaction rates of the stainless steels in many media, as well as a noble galvanic potential as is observed. Substances capable of adsorbing on the stainless steels, and hence accompanying the property of passivity, are typically oxygen, nitrites or chromates, but are not in any sense limited to these. Other elements and compounds can also chemisorb, and therefore may also play a major part in the mechanism of passivity in specific media. The mechanism of passivity based on chemisorption or activated adsorption begins with the interpretation Langmuir proposed for his experiments concerning adsorbed oxygen on tungsten.' He found that adsorbed oxygen was tightly bound, remaining on the tungsten surface above temperatures at which WO3 rapidly volatilizes. The oxygen in such a state did not readily react with hydrogen even at

Jan 1, 1949

By Norman L. Wimmler, H. G. Iverson, S. Ricker, P. E. Oscarson, S. H. Lorain

This paper has been prepared with the principal objective of recording the results of the Bureau of Mines exploration of five major clay deposits in the Western Region. It is based mainly on data contained in unpublished Bureau of Mines reports. Acknowledgment is made to the Federal Geological Survey for its cooperative work with the Bureau of Mines, to the various State geological and mining departments, and other State and local agencies. Clay Exploration by the Bureau of Mines Much has been written and published on clays and clay deposits relating to their refractory, ceramic, and other qualities but such literature is lacking in analyses of the available alumina content of the clays and provides little indication of their possibilities as a source of alumina. With this new objective in view, a great many of the known clay deposits were reexamined and new ones discovered. The Bureau of Mines made preliminary examination of numerous areas in the western United States. Five of those most favorably indicated were systematically drilled, and in each a large amount of high-alumina clay has been found. These five major projects are Molalla and Hobart Butte, in western Oregon; Cowlitz-Castle Rock, in southwestern Washington; Ione, in California; and the Olson-Troy area in Idaho (Fig. I). Preliminary scout drilling was done in the Stockton deposit at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; the White ware deposit near Lewis-town, Mont.; and 13 areas in the Spokane or eastern Washington region, where the most favorably indicated area, known as the Excelsior, is now being drilled more systematically. Preliminary drilling was undertaken in numerous areas adjacent to the major deposits and others more remote. As a result, large additional clay possibilities were found. The Clay Deposits The clay deposits under consideration are of the sedimentary or transported types, parts of which have been altered further by the agencies of weathering, ground water, or hydrothermal action. There are extensive deposits of residual clays in northern Idaho and in eastern Washington, but they have been found to be low in the available alumina and to contain much free quartz, mica, and unaltered feldspar. To be of value, they must first be subjected to beneficiation to remove these gangue minerals. The sedimentary clays have been derived largely from the decomposition, erosion, and transportation of granites, gneisses, schists, and basalts. At Molalla, some

Jan 1, 1948

By E. J. Whittenberger, F. N. Rhines

The formation of casting porosity is viewed as a nucleation and growth process with solidification shrinkage and gas precipitation as cooperative driving forces. Experimental evidence evaluating the individual contribution of each force confirms the major premise that microporosity is nucleated by gas precipitation. Additional data disclose the effects of the identity and quantity of gas, the temperature range of freezing, and the freezing rate upon the amount and distribution of porosity in light metal castings. POROSITY, as it commonly occurs in metal castings, has been ascribed to the contraction that accompanies the freezing of the metal, to the evolution of dissolved gases from the liquid during cooling and freezing, and, most frequently, to a combination of the two.'" "Pipe" formation is universally associated with solidification shrinkage; spherical "gas holes" are understood to be retained bubbles of gas; but the origin of microporosity, which usually exhibits an irregular or scalloped outline when viewed in cross-section, remains a subject of continuing debate.", ' The present research constitutes an endeavor to show what parts are played respectively by shrinkage and gas evolution in the initiation and growth of micropores and what factors determine their number, size, shape, and distribution. A preliminary outline of the mechanism of cavity formation in castings will serve to coordinate the experimental findings that will be reported and will at the same time provide a general theory of the origin of casting porosity. Basic to the mechanism of cavity formation that will be proposed are the following established facts: 1—that liquid metals and alloys contract gradually during cooling down to the freezing range, where a relatively large contraction, known as the "solidification shrinkage," takes place (exceptions in bismuth and gallium being noted);' 2—that the capacity of liquid metals and alloys for dissolving gases diminishes with cooling until, in the freezing interval, a large decrease takes place (various exceptions being noted and excluded from present consideration) ;.: and 3—that freezing proceeds counter to the direction of heat flow, the freezing front most commonly being composed of a system of tapering dendrite stalks and side arms which are coarser the lower the freezing rate and which protrude into the liquid for a distance that is greater the longer the freezing temperature interval of the alloy and the smaller the thermal gradient.' The mechanism by which voids are generated

Jan 1, 1953

By William P. Prof. Blake

THE occurrence of siderite in beds of considerable thickness in the clay formations of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., may have some economical importance, and is at least interesting in a scientific point of view.

Jan 1, 1876

By Wm. C. Phelps, R. E. Grace

b R.c c)nduciivity of slags and glasses is of particular interest when viewed as an activated ionic flow process. The ionic conductivity, for example, has been found to obey the Easch-

Jan 1, 1958

By D. L. Ritter, N. J. Grant, B. C. Giessen

The crystal structures of eight of the nine intermediate phases in the Nb-Rh system were investigated by X-ray techniques. The following structures occur: a,Nb3Rh (Cr3O type);o(ofe - cr type) (H.T. phase, structure unknown); Q2 (AuCU type); a, (orthorhombic, analogous to a,, (Ta-Rh)); a (AuCd type); a,, (monoclinic, related to samarium type); a-8 (VCo3 type); a, NbRh, (AuCu, type). Structural relationships between the six close-packed intermediate phases are discussed and a comparison with the Nb-Ir, Ta-Rh, and Ta-Ir systems is made. In the Nb-Rh phase diagram,' nine intermediate phases were encountered. In order to understand the phase sequence in the diagram and to be able to plot atomic volumes, several unknown crystal structures had to be worked out. These and the evi-

Jan 1, 1964

By E. F. Adkins, R. I. Jaffee, C. T. Sims

The effect of oxide dispersions on mechanical proberties of cobalt and cobalt-base powder-metallurgy alloys was investigated. This study shows that oxide dispersions added to pure cobalt greatly improve the high-temperature creep resistance of the metal. Dispersions in powder-metallurgy .cobalt alloys were muck less effective. COBALT is extremely valuable as an alloy base for certain high-temperature applications. Important examples may be found in the widespread use of cast and workable alloys in aircraft gas-turbine engines. With the increases in cobalt production in recent years, greater use may be made of cobalt-base alloys for high-temperature applications, provided

Jan 1, 1960

The engineering personnel shortage, present and impending, so well brought out in the article in Mining Engineering in the August, 1951 number, both in the editorial lead and the article by William B. Plank and Henry J. Petrie, has left untapped and has ignored a potential source of supply that would fill the need ably and with complete satisfaction. This source is comprised of the women engineers- and geologists, both presently, trained and able to handle work at all levels, and the many who would make splendid engineers and geologists if they could hope for even a modest taste of the square deal that should be theirs, but, as we all know, is not. I write from experience. It is not pleasant or sensible to have to urge borderline cases among men students to consider engineering and geology as careers to fill the need, when I have far more able, interested and suited young women students whom I must divert into other channels. It does not make sense to scrape the bottom and sides of the barrel to induce potentially second or third rate male engineers and geologists to enter the profession when we have superior material among the women, eager to do good work in these fields. It does not make sense for these men to become second or third rate in these fields when they might be first rate salesmen, musicians, advertising copywriters or policemen. Nor does it make any more sense to force potentially first rate female geologists and engineers to become second or third rate and very frustrated typists, kindergarten teachers, dress sales-women or clerks. At this point I am willing to admit that where superstitious -miners object to women in underground workings, men are available for the jobs. Moreover, it is not necessary for women to be sent into the most difficult country, if there is reluctance on either side of the contract. There may be fewer of them eager for the roughest assignments, in proportion to the men, but women are so accustomed to discrimination far more complete than that against any racial or religious group, that a reasonably tough assignment would seem like a heaven-descended joy. In my own experience, I have found that my girl students majoring in geology, could keep up with me in the field in the roughest terrain, but. the men, all but the best students and the most physically fit young men, complained that they could not keep up with me and that I always "walked their-legs off. The women, a few men and I always returned with bags heavy with well chosen specimens and proper notes. Most of the men carried no specimens and-but poor scraps of notes on loose bits of paper. Yet the men were urged to prepare for a career in engineering or geology if their examination marks were reasonably good. When we find that we still have a shortage of engineers and geologists, after putting all the qualified women to work, then we may begin to worry. Until then, we are simply fooling ourselves as we wander in, a forest of outmoded tradition and emotional habit reactions. MARY W. GARRETSON ASSOC. MEMBER, AIME SCARSDALE, N. Y.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. E. Cech

Metallographic observations on hydrogen-reduced nickel oxide crystals suggest that nucleation of nickel occurs at structural singularities in the oxide. The fully reduced structure contains micron-diameter, worm-like voids occupying 40 to 50 pct of the volume. The crystallographic orientation relationships between nickel oxide and nickel resulting from oxide reduction are recorded and discussed. THE process of reduction of oxide to metal is one of considerable complexity involving a chemical reduction reaction, mass transport of reducing agent to the point of reaction and of reaction product away from it, and finally a transformation whereby metal atoms released from the oxide rearrange to form a stable reduced phase. In addition, nucleation of the reduced phase affects the overall reaction kinetics. Thus far only the thermodynamic aspect of reduction has received the attention warranted by the importance of

Jan 1, 1960

Jan 1, 1906

By H. D. Kessler, R. J. Van Thyne

Phase diagrams of the titanium-rich portion of the ternary systems from 0 to 10 wt pct Al and 0 to 1 wt pct 0, N, and C were determined. Micrographic analysis of annealed high purity arc melted alloys was the principal method of investigation and was supplemented by X-ray diffraction. TITANIUM-ALUMINUM alloys exhibit excellent properties, particularly for elevated temperature use. For this reason, the Materials Laboratory, Wright Air Development Center, sponsored an investigation of the effect of the interstitially soluble contaminants, oxygen! nitrogen, and carbon, on the Ti-A1 system. Using high purity arc melted alloys and micrographic analysis of annealed samples as the chief method of investigation, titanium-rich partial phase diagrams were determined for the ternary systems. Experimental Procedure Materials: The titanium used in the preparation of the alloys was iodide crystal bar (99.9+ pct pure) produced by the New Jersey Zinc Co. and Foote Mineral Co. The aluminum was obtained from the Aluminum Co. of America in the form of sheet. The given analysis was: Si, 0.0006 pct; Fe, 0.0005; Cu, 0.0022; Mg, 0.0003; Ca, <0.0006; Na, <0.0005; and Al, 99.99. High purity titanium dioxide purchased from the National Lead Co. was used in the preparation of the oxygen-bearing alloys. The spectrographic analysis of this material was as follows: SiO,, 0.07 pct; Fe,O,,, 0.002; A1,0,, <0.001; Sb,O,, <0.002; SnO,,, <0.001; Mg, <::0.001; Cb, <0.01; Cu, 0.0004; Pb, 0.002; Mn, <0.00005; W, <0.01; V, <0.002; Cr, <0.002; Ni, <0.001; and Mo, <0.002. Special spectroscopic graphite rod purchased from the National Carbon Co. was used in the preparation of the Ti-A1-C alloys. Alloy Preparation: Alloy ingots weighing 10 grams were melted in a nonconsumable tungsten electrode arc melting furnace using water-cooled copper hearths and a helium atmosphere. The arc was struck on a tungsten stud in the copper block to minimize contamination from the electrode. Details of the techniques have been reported.&apos;, &apos; Each ingot was inverted and remelted a minimum of four times to insure homogeneity, without opening the furnace. Remelting small control ingots of iodide titanium under similar conditions resulted in no measurable hardness increase, indicating contamination-free melting conditions were used. The alloy charges and resultant ingots were weighed to the nearest milligram. Only small weight losses were obtained upon melting, indicating that the actual compositions were very close to the nominal compositions. Check analyses substantiated this. Oxygen and nitrogen were added during ingot preparation as master alloys. An oxygen master alloy containing 25 wt pct 0 was prepared by melting iodide titanium and pressed titanium dioxide (40 pct 0) powder. The Ti-25 pct 0 alloy is more easily handled during weighing and charging than the pressed TiO, powder. Chemical analysis indicated that titanium-nitride received from an outside source contained large amounts of impurities (2.7 pct Ca). Therefore, a master alloy containing approximately 12 pct N was prepared by melting nitrided sponge titanium. As the sponge melted with difficulty, the alloy was diluted by addition of titanium to lower the melting point. The chemical analysis of the final alloy was 6.69 pct N. Both master alloys are friable and were used as —8 +16 mesh lumps resulting from crushing the ingots. NIelting the Ti-A1-0 and Ti-A1-N compositions five times produced homogeneous ingots. The preparation of homogeneous carbon-bearing alloys caused considerable difficulty. Alloys containing less than 1 pct C were prepared using spectrographic graphite rod, 1/8 in. diameter by 1/8 in. long. However, the graphite did not dissolve even with long melting times and many remelts. The ?/s in. pieces of graphite were used rather than powder because the low density powder is troublesome in arc melting.

Jan 1, 1955

By R. J. Teitel

The Pb-U system has been investigated by X-ray, thermal, and microscopic analyses. Two pyrophoric intermetallic compounds were found; UPb3 and UPb. The crystallographic structure of UPb3 is reported. A phase diagram was drawn for the system showing three eutectic and one syntectic reaction. AS a result of the interest in uranium metallurgy, the Pb-U system has been investigated. Practically no quantitative data appears in the literature concerning this system. Chips were machined from bars of high-purity uranium obtained from Ames Laboratory and the lead was 99.9 pct high-purity grade from Bel-mont Smelting & Refining Co. The chips were pickled in a dilute solution of nitric acid, washed in water and then alcohol, and dried prior to use for alloy preparation. The lead was simply sheared from the pig with no chemical treatment. Lead and uranium were placed in graphite crucibles and loaded into an induction furnace. In order to insure good alloy formation, the lead was loaded above the uranium to wash the uranium chips into the melt. After the charge was held at the desired preparation temperature for 15 to 30 min, it was allowed to cool in the crucible. The entire melting operation was accomplished in an atmosphere of helium (double charcoal refined grade with no further treatment). The procedure was to outgas the furnace by first evacuating it to 10-% m Hg, admitting helium to 8 psi gage and sealing the furnace off. An optical pyrometer focused on the charge through a hole in the crucible cover was employed for thermal measurements. Usually a 50° to 70°C correction had to be added to the instrument value. The most suitable alloy preparation temperature range was found between 1220° and 1280°C. The reason for this is explained by the phase diagram, Fig. 7. Above this temperature range two liquids separate preventing alloy formation upon cooling at a reasonable rate. On the other hand, below this range the uranium was coated with a layer of both compounds and the rate of reaction was diminished by diffusion processes. The fastest reaction rate occurred in this narrow range of temperature because only UPb coats the uranium and it evidently does not protect the uranium as well as UPb,. Apparatus and Procedures The development of apparatus and techniques was determined by the peculiar properties of the alloys. All the alloys were pyrophoric, and, consequently, the alloys had to be protected from oxidation by handling them in a dry box or inert atmosphere furnaces. Other operations performed outside of this equipment had to be done as quickly as possible. Thermal analyses were conducted in a furnace and arrangement similar to that described by the author.&apos; Graphite crucibles having a thermocouple well in the bottom were used to contain the prepared alloy, while a helium atmosphere protected the melt from oxidation. The furnace was outgassed by pumping a 10-3 mm Hg vacuum until the furnace had been heated to 400°C. Then helium was admitted and the furnace sealed under 8 psi gage pressure. Chromel-alumel thermocouples were used for thermal analysis and the accuracy of thermal measurements was judged to be k 5°C. At first, an attempt was made to use platinum-platinum-rhodium thermocouples, but evidently lead vapors attack it at high temperatures forming low melting alloys. These lead vapors had direct access to the thermocouple because the graphite crucible was porous. A differential temperature control was used to regulate thermal analyses. The thermal gradient across an alundum tube placed between the windings and the crucible was maintained constant by a controller.

Jan 1, 1953

By Ronald W. Klusman, Erik B. Nelson

The Front Range portion of the Colorado Mineral Belt is an extensive area of mineralization with mining activity dating from 1859 with the discovery of large gold deposits. After an initial boom period and gradual diminishing production, present activity is restricted to molybdenum in Clear Creek County, uranium in Jefferson County, and several small operations extracting gold and silver in Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties. Gold and silver have dominated the production in the Front Range, though the complex mineralization created milling and smelting problems and it is postulated that considerable amounts of precious metals remain in the mine dumps. This area is plagued by a severe mine drainage problem, with Clear Creek most impacted by many draining mines and tailings in the basin. Boyles et al. Moran and Wentz, Wentz, Wildeman et al., have examined various aspects of the impact of mine drain¬age in the Clear Creek basin. The primary objective of this study was to collect data on the tailings, drainages, and leaching experiments in order to make preliminary suggestions for reducing the impact while recovering metal values to offset treatment costs. A variety of leaching experiments were performed on tailings from the Nevada Gulch area in the Central City mining district. Leachings were performed in vertical tubes indoors and wooden boxes exposed to the outside environment. In the leaching experiments, the leaching solution, grain size, and residence times were varied, while forced aeration was used in some experiments. Bacterial nutrient 9K° and mine drainage were used in some of the experiments. A total of 14 additional tailings samples were analyzed for base and precious metals. The composition of the mine drainage and tailings used in the leaching experiments, as well as data on the additional samples are shown in [Table 1]. Leachate samples were taken periodically for analysis until compositions leveled off. Results and Discussion Leaching with distilled water was used as a control and best illustrates the basic behavior of the leaching process for zinc in a vertical tube [(Fig. 1)]. More acidic leachings increased concentrations of metals as did smaller grain sizes, though the time required increased significantly. Mine drainage with its high concentration of dissolved iron sometimes decreased the heavy-metal concentration in the leachate due to oxidation of Fe 2 and precipitation of Fe(OH)9 which absorbs some of the dissolved heavy metals. In the larger scale experiment carried out in the simulated leaching pad, substantial concentrations of metals were attained in the final leachate after one month. In this experiment the leachate was not recycled, but allowed to saturate the tailings continually with evaporation loss made up by additions of Quartz Hill drainage and nutrient 9K. The concentration of the metals in the leachate and the increase over the input solution are given in [Table 2]. Heap leaching of low-grade copper and uranium ores is successfully carried out in many districts, enhanced by the metabolism of autotrophic bacteria of the Thiobacillus-Ferrobacillus group. These ubiquitous organisms enhance metal leaching, and general aspects of heap leaching are discussed by Malouf, Trudinger, Pings, and Duncan et al. Conclusions and Recommendations Returning to the primary objective, how to reduce the mine drainage impact and recover metal values, we need to consider how the data may suggest avenues toward this objective. Boyles, et al., considered various

Jan 1, 1977

By JOHN BIRKNBINE

MR. NEILSON was born Aug. 12, 1842, at Philadelphia, Pa., where he died Dec. 30, 1906. His business career began with his graduation, in the class of 1862, from the Polytechnic College of the State of Pennsylvania. For a short time after graduation he was instructor in mathematics at the college, and then became associated with Messrs. Booth & Garrett, chemists, of his native city: In 1867 he was sent to the Adirondack mountains to care for mining interests of the late Jay Cooke, and spent about three years there, operating the forges at Elizabethtown, Essex county, N. Y. He also prepared an interesting monograph on Catalan forges and their operations. In 1868 he published a chart showing the material progress of the United States, and the cost of certain staple products during a series of years, which is believed to be the first of its kind issued in this country. In 1870 he made a trip to the Pacific Coast, prior to entering the service of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. In 1871, when the Logan Iron & Steel Co., of Burnham, Pa., failed, Mr. Neilson was appointed receiver, re-organized the company, became&apos; its General Manager, and spent more than four years in this work. In the meantime, he became interested in the Freedom forge of the same place, and, with Mr. Wm. Burnham and Mr. Milton Brosius, laid the foundations for what is now the Standard Steel Works. From Jan. 1, 1877, to April 1, 1890, he was General Manager of these works, and closely associated with the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In 1878 he was in charge of the first consignment of Baldwin locomotives to Europe, which, with a picked crew of men from Baldwin&apos;s, he took to Eydtkennen, Russia, and placed in service. In 1890 he resigned from the Standard Steel Works and ac-

Jul 1, 1907

By Anthony Tuke

Members of the Society of Mining Engineers may well regard it as rather unusual that a paper on this subject is being presented by someone whose first taste of mining came at the age of 60 or so - someone who last heard of cathodes and anodes in 1938. On the other hand, the title does refer to the financing of a mine and at least I can claim to have spent all my business life since the war until 1981 in the world of banking, though this inevitably means that I have been used to looking at these and other problems through what you might regard as the wrong end of the telescope. The lending of money, and more particularly the provision of finance for commerce and industry, is the central job of a banker and I have been involved in this in various ways over many years, but regrettably only very marginally in the world of mining. As you will see from what follows, the rather specialised form of finance which RTZ required was, to my regret, not provided by the British banking community since the great majority of the finance came from American banks and, to a lesser extent, from German banks. I am most indebted to Mr. Roy Wright for a great deal of the nuts and bolts in this paper. He was one of the three central figures in the growth and expansion of RTZ during the 1950&apos;s and 1960&apos;s and was right at the centre of the negotiations with bankers, with governments and with many others. The going, as you will see, was far from easy. The essential basis for the financing of each of the RTZ group&apos;s mining projects was a firm long-term sales contract for sufficient of the output of the particular mine to produce the cash flow necessary to service the loans. Wherever possible, loans were raised in the same currency as the sales contracts were made. Each sales contract was designed to give the customer the product he wanted with a long-term assurance of supply and at the same time to give the bankers the protection they required. Thus the marketing concept and the financing concept for a particular mine formed one overall plan, and talks with the customers and the bankers were conducted in parallel until a satisfactory marketing/financial package was agreed in principle. Preliminary talks were begun soon after the discovery of a potentially viable orebody. As confidence about a discovery increased, customers were persuaded to enter into contingent sales contracts before the very detailed and costly business of the economic and technical feasibility study of the mine was launched; such a study might cost 10% or more of the estimated total capital cost. At the same time provisional understandings were reached with the bankers. The contingent sales contracts usually gave a period of grace of eighteen months to two years, during which time the decision whether or not to continue with the mine had to be made. This decision rested mainly on the result of the feasibility study and also on coming to a firm agreement with the bankers. If all went well and the mine went ahead, then the contingent sales contracts became firm, but they fell away if the decision was negative. The Company was fortunate that during the whole period when its major mines were being developed, world trade was increasing rapidly and Japan was becoming a dominant industrial power. The Japanese supported many of the mines, including Hamersley Iron Ore, Lornex Copper, Bougainville Copper to name a few, with the basic long-term sales contracts that enabled their development. The Germans supported Palabora and to a lesser extent Bougainville. The mines were financed as individual projects generally with a loan/equity ratio of about 65/35, without legal recourse to RTZ for the loans. RTZ was, however, responsible for providing any capital overruns required to bring the mines into commercial operations. Nevertheless, the RTZ management regarded itself as morally responsible to the lenders because, Palabora aside, the sales contracts had either a fixed selling price (like Hamersley), an indexed price (like the Elliot Lake Uranium Mines and Mary Kathleen), or a floor price (as in Lornex, Bougainville and Rossing). Thus the Company believed that any financial failure would have been due to poor management or technical

Jan 1, 1985

By Thomas N. Walthier

Throughout the world, governments are placing increasingly severe restrictions on mineral exploration and mining activities. One result is that there are fewer places left where mining companies are wanted or investors are willing to go.

Jan 4, 1976

A regular feature of the December issue is to be abstracts of graduate theses in the mineral industry field presented during that year. The following abstracts were submitted for this first article in the series.

Jan 1, 1975

By J. M. Campbell, T. S. Buxton

The most widely used methods of predicting the volumetric properties of gas are based on the principle of corresponding states, which asserts that the compressibility factor is a universal function of reduced temperature and pressure. Previous studies have shown that the acentric factor, as proposed by Pitzer, l is an important addition to reduced pressure and reduced temperature as factors affecting the compressibility factor. Results of this study indicate that, if the pseudocritical temperature and pressure used to determine the reduced conditions are adequately predicted, characterization of natural gas-carbon dioxide mixtures with the acentric factor will allow reliable determination of the compressibility factor. Comparisons of predicted and experimental compressibility factors have shown that the pseudo-critical constant rules of Stewart, Burkhardt and Voo 2 are satisfactory for hydrocarbon mixtures. However, these rules fail to predict the pseduo-critical constants for hydrocarbon-carbon dioxide mixtures. Based on graphically determined pseudocritical temperatures for binary hydrocarbon-carbon dioxide mixtures, a correlation which gives the required correction to the Stewart, Burkhardt and Voo rules was prepared and a compressibility factor prediction technique was proposed. To test the proposed technique, compressibility factors for live mixtures of methane, carbon dioxide and either ethne or propane were experimentally determined at 100, 130 and 160F and pressures up to 7,026 psia. The predicted and experimental compressibility factors for these live mixtures had an average absolute deviation of 0.55 percent. INTRODUCTION Two-parameter generalized correlations based on the principle of corresponding states (PCS) are presently available for reliably predicting the compressibility factor of lean natural gas, i.e., natural gas with low concentrations of hydrocarbons heavier than methane. When these same correlations are used for mixtures of natural gas and carbon dioxide, large deviations between actual and predicted compressibility factors are observed. This study was undertaken to provide a means for accurately predicting the compressibility factor for such mixtures. In the past, two avenues of approach have been employed to extend the applicability of the PCS. The first has been to introduce additional parameters. The second has been to develop combination rules for predicting pseudocritical constants which do not suffer from the limitations of the commonly used molal average constants. In this study, both of these approaches have been considered and employed to arrive at a method for predicting the compressibility factor of mixtures of hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide. SELECTION OF A THIRD PARAMETER Failure of the original PCS to predict the compressibility factor for all pure gases, regardless of their mass, shape or polar moment, has led to the introduction of additional parameters into the PCS. Parameters have been introduced to correct for quantum deviations,3-5 non-spherical or globular shapes6-9 and for polar moments.8-12 In addition to these parameters which are based on some microscopic property and intended to correct for some specific cause of deviation, more general parameters based on some bulk property have also been introduced.1913-16 To use additional parameters to correct for each of the possible causes of deviation among the individual constituents of a gas mixture would require a rather complex form of the PCS. To maintain the PCS in as simple a form as possible, it is more desirable to have a single third parameter which is based on some bulk property influenced by several of the factors causing deviations. The third parameter selected for use in this study is a factor originally proposed by Pitzer.9

By R. L. Smith, I. G. Greenfield

The binary system Ga-Sb has been investigated by thermal, X-ray, and metallo-graphic methods. &apos;The intermetallic compound GaSb melts at 705.9OC and forms a eutectic with antimony at 11.8 atomic pct Ga. This eutectic melts at 589.8OC. A eutectic appears to be formed at 29.8°C but is too close to the composition of pure gallium to be detected. IN the course of an investigation of the semiconducting properties of the intermetallic compound, GaSb, the phase equilibrium between gallium and antimony has been investigated. Recently, the phase diagram of similar systems, such as In-Sb,&apos; In-AS,&apos; and Bi-As3 have been determined. These diagrams have the same general appearance in that an intermetallic compound is formed at 50 atomic pct and a eutectic is formed on both sides of the intermetallic compound. Jenny,& who has been investigating the semiconducting properties of intermetallic compounds, has concluded from thermal data of several alloys that the phase diagram of the Ga-Sb system resembles those mentioned previously. This paper represents a more detailed study of the Ga-Sb equilibrium. Experimental Procedure The gallium that was used to prepare the alloys was obtained from A. D. Mackay Inc. and the Aluminum Co. of America; the latter reported the purity as 99.95 pct. The antimony was obtained from Bradley Mining Corp. who specified a purity of 99.997 pct. Since the intermetallic compound of GaSb was prepared primarily to be used for further studies of the semiconducting properties, additional purification by a standard zone-melting technique under an atmosphere of hydrogen was performed. Hall-effect measurements on this material indicated an impurity content of less than 3 ppm.5 The antimony also was purified by zone melting and used in conjunction with the compound GaSb to make the necessary alloys for the determinations of the antimony-rich side of the phase diagram. The antimony-rich alloys were chill cast in Vycor tubes which were evacuated to a pressure of less than one micron. Since these alloys expand on freezing, precautions were taken to prevent oxidation of the ingot in the event the tube fractured. To insure homogeneity, the brittle alloys were ground and then placed in the furnace for the thermal-arrest determinations. Since the cost of gallium is high, the experimental procedure was complicated somewhat because of the necessarily limited sizes of the melts. In order to economize, the gallium-rich side of the diagram was determined by using a 35 g ingot of pure gallium initially and adding increasing amounts of antimony in order to obtain additional alloys. The furnace used in the determination of the cooling curves is illustrated in Fig. 1. A 2¼ in. quartz tube, sealed at one end, was fitted with a brass flange which was attached with DeKhotinsky cement. The brass collar was water cooled to prevent the cement from softening. An "0" ring was used to provide a seal between the brass collar and the furnace cover. Nichrome ribbon was wound around a 2 ½ in. asbestos-covered copper core which was used to reduce the thermal gradient in the furnace. The insulation consisted of alternate layers of asbestos and aluminum foil surrounded by sil-o-cel refractory and

Jan 1, 1956

By B. F. Tillson

Mining may be defined as a general term for the working of valuable deposits of minerals, either organic or inorganic in origin, for their removal from the crust of the earth. Besides subsurface excavations, mining generically includes opencuts, clay pits and stone quarries, oil wells, sulphur wells, salt wells, placers, coal stripping, and the leaching of ore bodies. The origin of the word "mine" or "mining" is a matter of conjecture. A Celtic origin has been suggested since the Irish word mein, or the mwyn, meant ore, but it seems to have come from an olf French verb mineor, which meant to excavate, to make an underground passage as in the military appraoch to a fortification, sometimes called ?sapping.?

Jan 1, 1949