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INTRODUCTION The geology of porphyry copper deposits in the southern Cordilleran orogen is the subject of this chapter. The area considered extends northwest from southern Mexico to the Columbia volcanic plateau, the Cascade volcanic province, and the Idaho batholith. Transversely it is a belt some 800 km (500 miles) in width bounded on the west by the Sierra Nevada range. Included within this area are many large segments considered unfavorable for hosting porphyry copper deposits, which are mentioned in the text. The region and its porphyry copper deposits have probably been more intensely studied and reported in the literature than any other area in the world. This summary considers regional geologic controls that governed formation of porphyry copper deposits within this province. Geologic factors that influenced the mineralogy and metallogeny of the deposits are also examined. Discussions with H. R. Cornwall have greatly helped in writing this section. GEOLOGIC SETTING The geologic setting has been summarized by Anderson (1966), Burchfiel and Davis (1972), Rogers, et al. (1974), and Lowell (1974). No porphyry copper deposits in this area are known to be pre-Triassic, so Mesozoic and Tertiary events will be stressed. Figs. 40 and 41 show basic data believed most pertinent to the topic of porphyry copper deposits. Pre-Middle Jurassic: Figs. 40 and 41 contain the principal structural and crustal ele¬ments found in the Cordilleran orogen after Anderson (1966), Schmitt (1966), Coney (1972), Rogers, et al. (1974), and Lowell (1974, 1976), together with location of some of the more important porphyry copper deposits. The western limit of the Precambrian craton is shown in Fig. 40 (Rogers, et al., 1974). East of that limit the crustal environment through which the porphyry copper plutons ascended includes the Precambrian basement as well as varying thicknesses of Paleozoic shelf and platform accumulations. The northwestern and western portion of the southern Cordilleran orogen west of the Rogers, et al. (1974) limit of Precambrian basement has what Churkin (1974) calls a thin continental crust. Brooks (1976) and Churkin (1974) describe oceanic volcanic

Jan 1, 1978

By P. A. Vukmanic, M. Gensamer

Only recently has it been realized that preferred orientations are common in hot-rolled steels. In a recent paper, N. P. Gossl stated that hot-rolled mild steel exhibits a texture different from that characteristic of cold-rolled steel. No complete study of these hot-rolling textures has been reported using the pole-figure method of Wever. The material used in the work reported in this paper was the same material used by Gensamer and Mehl2 in a recent study of preferred orientations in cold-rolled steel, to which reference may be made for the composition and thermal history of the steel. Automobile-body sheet bar 1/4 in. thick was hot-rolled at two temperatures, 780' and 910' C. (1436' and 1669' F.). These temperatures refer to the temperature of the furnace in which the steel was heated; after each pass the steel was returned to the furnace and held there long enough to return to temperature. Although no accurate method was used to measure the temperature after each pass, it was estimated by color that only a slight drop in temperature occurred. In order to determine the effect of any preferred orientation that might have persisted through the normalizing treatment, one specimen at each temperature was rolled in the same direction as the original working direction and the other at right angles to it. The total reduction in each case was 85 per cent, the specimens having been reduced from 0.250 to 0.0375 in. in five passes. Final cooling was in air. Pinhole reflection photograms were taken of all four specimens, with the rolling direction vertical and the X-ray beam at an angle of 7' with the transverse direction (the transverse direction is defined as that direction in the rolling plane perpendicular to the rolling direction). These photograms, taken with a Mo target at 35 kv., are reproduced in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. They show that a more pronounced texture was developed by the low-temperature rolling (780' C.), and that of the two

Jan 1, 1937

By Richard L. Gordon

THE PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS Toward the end of the 19th century, American industry began a drastic reorganization. The many, small, often-regional firms were supplanted by large national corporations-often produced by mergers among the existing firms. Giant companies appeared throughout American industry and many of them were engaged in the mineral industries.a The largest combines, by far, to emerge during the period were United States Steel and Standard Oil. Long before the restructuring had run its course, widespread concern arose over the process of concentration. Efforts were made to control, if not stop, the transformation. The concern produced the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the first of many federal regulatory agencies-the Interstate Commerce Commission (see Refs. 24, 31, 42). The basic objectives of these policies remain unclear to this day. The crucial issue is whether the goal is primarily to insure development of a more competitive economy or to preserve a social structure leaving more scope for small businesses. Complications arise from difficulties in agreeing upon the meaning of these terms. Studies of the early years of the antitrust movement suggest that it involved no particular concern over the mineral industries. Objections were directed at big companies in general. To be sure, the conservation movement arose in roughly the same period and did stress the evils of monopoly control of minerals. However, direct, continuing influence of conservation policy on antitrust is not apparent. Many of the most important antitrust cases, nevertheless, involved minerals. This, of course, may be sheer coincidence; the choice of cases has never followed any obvious pattern. Certainly, no simple hypothesis can explain the interest consistently. Once it may have been true that mineral industries were more likely than other sectors to be dominated by a few large companies. Yet, often sharp reversals of such tendencies -e.g., in oil and aluminum-have not removed antitrust interest. The importance of minerals to the economy cannot satisfactorily rationalize antitrust interest. The equally

Jan 1, 1976

By F. W. Apgar

THe valuable results that have followed the application in recent years of microscopic methods of research to problems of ore genesis have been significant, but possibly the recognition of their practical importance is not as general as might be, and while, as a scientific method of investigating ores and rocks, the advantage derived through the use of the microscope is unquestioned, its utility as an aid in solving mining problems arising during actual every-day mine examination and operation may not be fully appreciated. Perhaps the most logical method of showing some of these practical applications of the microscope will be to consider first the prospect stage of a mining venture, then the uses to which the instrument may be put during the operation of a working and developed mine, arid, finally, to discuss some of the problems of a metallurgical nature that may arise during milling and smelting the ore. The valuation of mining property as a preliminary to acquiring ownership or determining the advisability of investing time and money in an enterprise is one of the most important and delicate problems that come before the mining engineer. The many and variable factors that have to be taken into account, as, for example, the geology of the district, availability of supplies, probable mining costs, transportation facilities, and the quality of ore, require a careful balancing of costs against recoverable values. Primarily, however, a study of the local geology is of first importance, since, in a prospect with little development work, the question of character and probable quantity of the ore and its value can only be approximated with any degree of accuracy by a thorough investigation of geologic conditions, and a general knowledge of ore deposits. Unless these are favorable and pay ore reasonably certain, other factors need not be considered. The character of the outcrop, evidences of mineralizing agencies in the adjacent rocks, and geological structure, are the data of chief significance.

Jan 1, 1914

By H. H. Podgurski

Above 200°C the observed increase in the apparent solubility of hydrogen in low alloy steels caused by cold work is attributed to the formation of methane in microvoids. This methane can be isolated quantitatively, and furthermore, the amount of methane is in accord with the equilibrium 2H2 + Fe3C = CH4 + 3Fe. The micro-void volume, calculated from the methane content via the equation of state for methane, corresponds approximately to that calculated from the measured density decrement produced by cold work. THIS investigation was undertaken with the intent of employing the hydrogen atom as a probe in detecting specific crystallographic defects in cold worked steel. It was expected that different degrees of chemical interaction of hydrogen with the various types of defects could be utilized. The original aim was to assign concentration values to defect sites. The success of this approach requires that experimental conditions can be attained under which lattice-dissolved hydrogen equilibrates primarily with only one type of defect. A set of experiments which appeared potentially to embody these requirements was described several years ago by Keeler and Davis.1 They noted in the case of a mild steel (low carbon) that the solubility of hydrogen between 200° and 400°C near atmospheric pressure was notably increased by cold working the steel. The observed solubility was an order of magnitude greater than the normal lattice solubility. * Although the Keeler and Davis studies suggested that the density decrement effected by their cold-working operation might be related to the anomalous solubility of hydrogen, they offered no explanation of the relationship between the two effects. Prior to this work, Darken and smith3 had noted a similar effect of cold work upon enhanced sorption of hydrogen by steel when charged by acid pickling. In the light of present-day concepts, interaction between lattice-dissolved hydrogen and dislocations was strongly suggested. More recently, Hill and Johnson,4 working with a

Jan 1, 1962

By D. Turnbull, J. E. May

THE (110) [001] texture in silicon iron is of considerable interest both from the technological and scientific points of view. Its occurrence was reported more than 20 years ago.1-4 The texture develops by means of secondary re crystallizatjon5 and can be very strong, that is, greater than 90 pct alignment even thouh the primary re crystallization texture is weak or complex. This behavior is in contradistinction to the face-centered metals which develop their strong secondary recrystalliza-tion texture from a strong primary recrystalliza-tion texture.', The microstructural changes accompanying the (110) [001] texture formation in silicon iron are as follows: When properly prepared cold-rolled sheet (i.e., 0.015 in. thick) is annealed at about 800°C, primary recrystallization occurs and a fairly stable fine-grained primary recrystallized matrix of about 0.02-mm-diam grain size is produced. The material at this stage does not have the strong (110) [110] texture. As the temperature is raised to about 900°C, relatively large grains appear in the finegrained matrix and they grow at the expense of the smaller grains to many times the sheet thickness. In time the complete sample is consumed by these large grains. This process of the growth of relatively few grains (about one in 105 primary grains) at the expense of many grains is called secondary recrystallization. Since all the secondary grains are of essentially (110) [001.] orientation, the strong texture is developed by this secondary recrystallization process. Theories of the (110) [001] texture in polycrystal-line silicon iron have been proposed by Decker and Harker and by Dunn.Decker and Harker have shown that grains initially in the (110) [001] orientation will upon annealing after cold-rolling, re-crystallize back to the initial orientation. To account for the sharp texture in silicon iron they propose that (110) [001] grains become more highly strained than grains in other orientations and therefore recrystallize first. They are then the lowest energy grains and can consume their higher energy neighbors. Grains in orientations other than (110)

Jan 1, 1959

By Paul M. Tyler

Mineral raw materials, because they are essential to our industrial prosperity and military strength, must be made available in substantial quantities regardless of cost. Variations in the cost of procuring minerals, as compared with the cost of obtaining other commodities, and changes in the cost of production of different minerals relative to one another, will naturally influence the quantities of a given mineral item that can be marketed readily. However, in the last analysis, the cost of winning minerals from the ground usually constitutes only a small fraction of the value of the end-use products and services derived from them. The miner's share of the cost of a typewriter, telephone circuit, or even a modem office building, is almost insignificant. Far more important to the ultimate consumer, therefore, than any minor saving in cost is the assurance of ample supplies of the minerals needed to aliment our expanding economy. To create a successful metal mining operation involves (1 ) the discovery and systematic development of a mineral deposit, (2) extraction of the ore, (3) the mechanical and metallurgical processing to eliminate worthless or harmful impurities, and (4) the profitable disposal of the product. The fist step of the technological process belongs chiefly in the realm of the geologist, the second is a mining engineer's job, the third is mainly up to the millmen and extractive metallurgists; whereas the fourth and equally important step poses a commercial problem that has aspects in common with the marketing of other products. Ore finding is far from being an exact science. There is no mathematical criterion for evaluating the efficiency of prospecting and exploration. Lady Luck shares the honors or assumes part of the blame along with the prospector and geologist. Marketing like- wise involves factors that seemingly defy engineering analysis. Although the other steps can be measured with some degree of mathematical accuracy, even they tend to vary so widely in basic principle, as well as in

Jan 1, 1964

By L. L. Wyman

IN order to clarify and amplify the existing data concerning the action of the cementing material in cemented tungsten carbide alloys, the authors have initiated this investigation of the entire range of cobalt-tungsten carbide alloys. Inasmuch as the ultimate objective is relative to what actually goes on during the sintering of cemented tungsten carbide materials, this work was necessarily restricted to heat treatments similar to those used in actual production of these materials. In the course of numerous experiments, the authors have noted several conditions that indicated that there was a solubility to be considered. Among these factors are the following: 1. Many of the alloys showed a much larger amount of binding constituent to be present than could possibly be accounted for by the cobalt content. 2. In many areas, grains of the carbide constituent are much larger than the particles of carbide originally added. In addition, these grains are of very regular contour. 2a. In samples of cemented tungsten carbide which had been fused in the atomic hydrogen torch in the presence of excess hinder constituent, immense grains are formed, and their shapes are very regular. This is also true when the cemented tungsten carbide of 13 per cent. Co content is fused alone in the atomic hydrogen torch. Contrary to general expectation, chemical analysis of this material, after fusion in the atomic hydrogen torch, checks the analysis of unfused material. 3. In making the cemented tungsten carbide materials by the process of exerting the pressure at the time of heating a certain portion of the contents squeezed out of the mold. Chemical analysis has shown that this material contains approximately 12 to 20 per cent. of tungsten. The microstructure shows a cored dendritic structure interlaced with eutectic network, and some graphite, as shown in Fig. 1. 4. Thermal analysis of these materials has consistently indicated an arrest point close to 1350° C.

Jan 1, 1930

By Zay Jeffries

EACH generation accepts the developments of the preceding generations without full appreciation of the difficulties that had to be overcome or of the effect of any given development on society. Today, the production of pig iron is the yardstick with which general industrial health and progress are measured. So natural and logical does this seem to us, that it is difficult to picture conditions prior to the fourteenth century when pig iron was unknown. Not only was pig iron unknown but iron or steel could not be melted and poured into castings; all iron and steel articles were forged from sponge iron. All castings, as well as many worked articles, were made of non-ferrous metals or alloys. In many parts of the world, over long periods of time, not only was the annual exchange value of non-ferrous metals greater than that of iron and steel, but their combined tonnage was greater. At present, the value of the pig iron produced in a year is of the same order of magnitude as that of all non-ferrous metals combined; the tonnage of pig iron is, however, about twenty times that of all non-ferrous metals combined. Owing to lack of records, we will probably never know the relative importance of the various metals at all periods in historic times. A certain conclusion is that the iron and steel industry, since the discovery of pig iron and the cheap methods of converting it into steel, has grown at a much more rapid rate than the non-ferrous metal industries. Notwith-standing their fundamental fitness for man's needs, iron and steel owe their importance in no small degree to the low cost of production. The low cost was a result of increased knowledge of the production appliances and of the metallurgical processes. This increased knowledge is the key to our modern industrial civilization.

Jan 5, 1924

By O. G. Paasche, Yuan-Shou Shen

THERE is a disagreement among the various authors about the exact manner of transformation of ZrCr2. Rostokerl and others2 stated that ZrCr2 had a C-14 (MgZn2) type of structure below 1000°C and a C-15 (MgCu2) type of structure at temperatures above 1000°C. Alisova3 and others4 reached the opposite conclusion and stated that the transformation temperature is close to the melting point of ZrCr2. A literature survey shows that various investigators3'= who homogenized the specimens at a temperature higher than 1000°C have concluded that ZrCr2 had the C-15 structure at room temperature. Meanwhile, Jordan et al.4 reached similar conclusions without annealing the specimen. Other investigators1,2,6,7 who X-rayed the specimens in the as-cast condition without annealing reached different conclusions. The investigation reported herein was conducted with the aim of exploring the exact manner of transformation of ZrCr2 by various heat treatment tests. The alloys for this examination were prepared from iodide-reduced zirconium crystal bars, 99.9 pct purity, and electrolytic chromium, 99.9 pct purity. They were melted in a nonconsumable electrode arc furnace with water-cooled copper crucible in a helium atmosphere. The melting loss of each alloy was less than 1.5 pct by weight. Chemical analysis of a randomly selected specimen indicated that there was a very close agreement between calculated and analyzed compositions. Before being heat-treated each specimen was encapsulated in a vycor or quartz tube inside which an argon atmosphere was maintained at a pressure of lower than 1 atm. In determining the crystal structure of each specimen with a Debye-Scherrer camera, the standard procedure8 for X-ray quality analysis (Hanawalt method) was followed. The different series of heat treatment tests in this investigation are tabulated in Tables I and 11. The tests in Series I, specimens from 1-1 to 1-9, which were similar to Rostoker's experiment1 indicated that the transformation temperature seemed to fall between 870° and 900°C and that the crystal structure of ZrCr2 at lower temperature seemed to be of the C-14 type. However, once the compound is transformed to C-15 type, it is impossible to reverse the transformation back to the C-14 type by first heating the specimen above 900°C and then annealing it slowly below 900°C as shown in Experiments II-1 to II-3. Thus, it appears that the specimen of ZrCr2 will transform from C-14 to C-15 structure when heated above 900°C but will not transform from C-15 to C-14 when annealed slowly passing 900° C even after the extremely slow cooling process such as indicated in the experiment of Specimen II-3. As a valid transformation temperature is a temperature at which the transformation is reversible, therefore the temperature 900°C (or other temperature close to 900°C) is not the transformation temperature for ZrCr2 and the C-14 structure is not the stable structure of ZrCr2 at lower temperatures. The C-14 structure is retained at room temperature because the transformation to C-15 structure is very sluggish and the fast cooling after melting does not allow enough time for the transformation to take place. Additional energy is required to alter the metastable condition of the C-14 structure. The sluggishness of this transformation was again demonstrated through another series of experiments. Four specimens with C-14 structure were taken. Then they were annealed at 900°C but each specimen was soaked for a different period of time, Table 11. X-ray diffraction patterns of this group indicated that the C-14 structure gradually disappeared as the soaking period was lengthened. The figures listed under the column "C-14 Structure, pct" were estimated from the intensity of the d = 2.330 line of the diffraction pattern corresponding to the structure. Notice that the intensity of this line became weaker for longer soaking periods. To determine the transformation temperature of ZrCr2, specimens with C-14 structure (as-cast condition) were annealed at 1300°, 1400°, 1500°, 1550°, and 1600°C, respectively. A final specimen was first heat-treated to 1500°C in order to transform it to C-15 structure, then heat-treated at 1600°C again. From the X-ray analyses of this series of tests, Specimen Nos. III-1 to III-6, it is evident that a transition from C-15 structure at lower temperatures to the C-14 structure occurs at some temperature between 1550° and 1600°C.

Jan 1, 1969

The Institute is still in need of additional copies of the Bulletin for January, February and March, and will be glad to pay members the regular price of fifty cents per copy. Copies may be sent express collect, or postage may be used and the amount will be refunded in addition to the fifty cents.

Jan 10, 1916

MINING ASSOCIATION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA At a meeting of the Mining Association of the University of California, held Feb. 12, officers for the present semester were elected as follows: President, Richard C. Kerr, '19; vice-president, Glen T. O'Brien, '20; secretary, Kenneth V. King, '19; treasurer, Sam Grinsfelder, '20. KENNETH V. KING, Secretary.

Jan 4, 1919

By W. P. Haynes

The 1938 production for all of Rumania amounted to 48.984.200 bbl., as compared with 53.239.500 bbl. in 1937. which represents a drop of 4.255.300 bbl., or 8 per cent. Of the various fields. there are only two major increases in production—Baicoi-Tintea with 3.092.400 bbl. And

Jan 1, 1939

By W. P. Haynes

The 1938 production for all of Rumania amounted to 48.984.200 bbl., as compared with 53.239.500 bbl. in 1937. which represents a drop of 4.255.300 bbl., or 8 per cent. Of the various fields. there are only two major increases in production—Baicoi-Tintea with 3.092.400 bbl. And

Jan 1, 1939

Procurement of uranium is vital to the future of the Nation. Its utilization for atomic energy can destroy mankind or raise an unsurpassable civilization-the problem of the statesmen. Uranium poses a challenge to the mining profession. Evanescent in occurrence, its discovery and mining can mean substantial profits, plus safeguarding the future of the Nation.

Jan 9, 1951

By William P. Blake

In view of the present exposition at Atlanta, and the timely meeting of the Institute in that city, and the expressed desire of the Council for contributions to the knowledge of the mineral resources of the Southern States, I may be permitted to offer some desultory notes upon the subject, chiefly in the form

Jan 1, 1896

By Kenneth K. Humphreys, J. W. Leonard, T. S. Spicer

INTRODUCTION Reasons for Thermal Drying The continuing increase in the percentage of - '/4 in. ( -6.3 mm) coal produced as a result of the increased use of mechanical mining methods has, over the years, tended to shift considerable portions of the work of producing salable coal to the fine coal cleaning section of the preparation

Jan 1, 1979

By AIME AIME

MIING Engineer. Metallurgist, Economist-in any of those three capacities Paul Tyler should be able to make a living. Further- more, he has proved his ability as an operating man teacher, researcher. and prolific writer. For the last three years he has been chief engineer of the non-metal Economics Division of the. U. S. Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1941

By W. C. Krumbein

GEOLOGICAL problems are approached from a geometrical (space relations) viewpoint, a kinematical (time sequence) viewpoint, or a dynamical viewpoint. The first two require sound training in conventional geology and in field methods. The third approach requires a solid foundation of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Modern training for geologists should include close integration of basic sciences with geological principles.

Jan 1, 1941

By P. D. Zemany, G. W. Sear, B. W. Roberts

Vanadium metal is embrittled by hydrogen at a temperature as low as 250°C when held in the presence of manganese metal and water vapor in a rough vacuum. It is established that the property changes are caused by the catalytic decomposition of water vapor at the vanadium surface and the diffusion into and solution in the vanadium of the resultant hydrogen. It is found that manganese is a necessary component of the catalyst. The manganese is transported in the vapor phase by an unknown molecule. A deuterium tracer experiment demonstates the role of water vapor in the embrittle-ment process. VANADIUM metal foils were observed to become embrittled' at a temperature of about 300 °C when held in the presence of manganese metal and a small amount of moist air, This paper describes the investigation to find the embrittling agent and an understanding of the relatively low temperature reactions that are involved. Experimental The vanadium metal foil used was prepared by cold-rolling and pack-rolling 32 mil sheet" in a series of steps down to 1 mil foil. The original observation was confirmed by sealing vanadium foils of 3 x 10 sq cm into individual Pyrex tubes with manganese powder† and a con- trol tube containing only the vanadium foil. These tubes were evacuated to 10 -5 mm Hg without baking and sealed. After heat treatment for 200 hr at 300°C, the control foil showed no change in duetility, whereas the foil contained in the manganese— containing tube was embrittled. The visual appearance of each was unchanged. A series of Pyrex sample tubes, about 2.5 cm diam and 25 cm long, were prepared, each containing a 3 x 10 sq cm piece of foil and 5 g manganese powder at the lower end of the tube. By reducing the time of anneal and the temperature of these samples, it was found that embrittlement could be created at 250°C in a time as short as 1 hr. Since the vanadium metal used here has been drastically cold-worked by rolling, it is assumed that it contains a maximum number of dislocations. To check the possible necessity of dislocations in this low temperature reaction, a vanadium foil sample was annealed in Vycor for 2 hr at 800°C to re crystallize and reduce the dislocation concentration. Metallographic examination showed grains which were not visible before annealing. The embrittlement procedure was carried out at 300°C and 3 hr. Upon checking the foil no embrittlement was observed. Further experiments demonstrated that about 6 hr at 300°C are required to create embrittlement in the foil. This delay in the onset of embrittlement in the vanadium foil suggests but does not prove that dislocation channels play a role in the embrittlement phenomena. If manganese metal is necessary for this low temperature embrittlement, do other elements in the transition metals group yield the same result? To check this qualitatively, a group of elements of similar atomic radii were obtained and sealed as before into Pyrex tubes with a sheet of vanadium foil. These tubes were annealed at 250°C for 6 hr and included (with radii)-2 A1 (1.4A), As (1.25A), Be (1.2A), Co (1.25A), Cr (1.45A), Cu (1.25A), Fe (1.25A), Ga (1.2A), Ge (1.25L%), Mn (1.3A), Ni (1.25A), Si (1.2A), Ti (1.45A), Zn (1.3A), air, H,O, 10 cm Hg of dry hydrogen, and MnO, powder. Upon testing the above sample foils for brittleness, only the manganese-containing tube yielded a brittle foil. Manganese Transport—To eliminate contact of manganese metal powder and vanadium foil, sample tubes were prepared with fritted glass barriers. The embrittlement reaction was still found to occur. Thus, the mode of transfer of manganese is certainly vapor transport. A vanadium foil was embrittled by this mechanism in an evacuated Pyrex tube for 8 hr at 300°C. By means of X-ray fluorescence analysis,' the amount of manganese added to the surface was established at 5 ±2 x 10 -6 g per sq cm. Since the average rate of manganese deposition is known, an effective average pressure of an assumed carrier compound can be computed. ___ P = M/T v2p mkT

Jan 1, 1959