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By H. L. Teichman, E. M. Sipprelle

ENACTMENT' of Public Law 290 by the 78th Congress authorized the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, to conduct an experimental program to develop the technology for obtaining oil from oil shale. In adopting and later extending this legislation, the Congress recognized the impending necessity of supplementing ground petroleum reserves with synthetic fuels. Under the provisions of this legislation, the Bureau of Mines, among other things, was charged with the responsibility of developing mining techniques, methods, and equipment for mining the oil shales of the Green River formation of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The oil shales of western Colorado are apparently richer, more accessible, and more amenable to exploitation than elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain region. The site chosen for the Bureau's Experimental mine is about 10 miles west of Rifle in northwestern Colorado. It is within a 1000-sq-mile area from which, it has been estimated, 300 billion barrels of shale oil could be produced from a 500-ft measure near the top of the formation. One hundred billion barrels of this amount could be produced from the Mahogany ledge, a 60 to 100-ft section near the bottom of the 500-ft measure. This ledge is considered to have economic importance at present. The Green River formation was laid down as sediment in the bottom of vast, shallow inland lakes during Eocene time. The deposit is flat-lying, and there are no faults, fissures, or local rolls. Oil shale is actually a strong, tough magnesium marlstone, which will stand unsupported over relatively wide spans. These and other natural physical characteristics favor mechanized, low-cost mining, which is essential for establishment of an oil-shale industry. It was realized from the outset that an extensive research program would be necessary to develop mining methods, equipment, and techniques for a mechanized, low-cost operation. The program was designed to include research. into all the productive phases of mining, such as drilling, blasting, loading, transportation, and maintenance of the mine structure. The methods, equipment, and techniques developed as a result of this research have established a production of 116 tons per man-shift total labor at a direct cost of $0,292 per ton. Another important phase of the research program that has received little publicity because of its theoretical nature is study of the roofstone behavior and determination of mine structure stresses. This paper purposes to discuss this phase of the research program. Preliminary studies of the physical properties of the Green River oil-shale formation were made in the Barodyramics Laboratory at Columbia University during the latter part of 1945 and the early part of 1946.* The purpose of these studies was to determine the maximum size of unsupported underground openings that would be commensurate with safety and still permit the use of large, efficient mining equipment. Also to be determined were the pillar support to extraction ratio and the shape, size, and spacing of supporting pillars. Selected samples of possible roofstones near the top of the Mahogany ledge, as well as representative samples of different rock types found within the ledge, were obtained from the Bureau's oil-shale mine for these studies. The maximum safe unsupported roof span calculated from this work was 200 ft. Using a safety factor of four, it was theoretically determined that openings 60 ft wide could be advanced under a roofstone at the top of the Mahogany ledge. To support the overburden, 60-ft-sq pillars would be left in a checkerboard pattern. From visual observations made of core samples through the selected roofstone at the oil-shale mine, it was determined that the roofstone was actually a plate 6 to 8 ft thick. Because the calculations were theoretical and allowance had to be made for unknown cracks and fractures in the formation, openings 50 ft wide and pillars 60 ft sq were originally contemplated in the Bureau's Experimental mine. This would be the minimum allowable width that would permit use of large underground mining equipment. For lower mining costs and greater efficiency larger openings were desirable. Different but analogous approaches were made to the problem at the Bureau of Mines Applied Physics

Jan 1, 1951

By H. L. Teichman, E. M. Sipprelle

ENACTMENT' of Public Law 290 by the 78th Congress authorized the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, to conduct an experimental program to develop the technology for obtaining oil from oil shale. In adopting and later extending this legislation, the Congress recognized the impending necessity of supplementing ground petroleum reserves with synthetic fuels. Under the provisions of this legislation, the Bureau of Mines, among other things, was charged with the responsibility of developing mining techniques, methods, and equipment for mining the oil shales of the Green River formation of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The oil shales of western Colorado are apparently richer, more accessible, and more amenable to exploitation than elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain region. The site chosen for the Bureau's Experimental mine is about 10 miles west of Rifle in northwestern Colorado. It is within a 1000-sq-mile area from which, it has been estimated, 300 billion barrels of shale oil could be produced from a 500-ft measure near the top of the formation. One hundred billion barrels of this amount could be produced from the Mahogany ledge, a 60 to 100-ft section near the bottom of the 500-ft measure. This ledge is considered to have economic importance at present. The Green River formation was laid down as sediment in the bottom of vast, shallow inland lakes during Eocene time. The deposit is flat-lying, and there are no faults, fissures, or local rolls. Oil shale is actually a strong, tough magnesium marlstone, which will stand unsupported over relatively wide spans. These and other natural physical characteristics favor mechanized, low-cost mining, which is essential for establishment of an oil-shale industry. It was realized from the outset that an extensive research program would be necessary to develop mining methods, equipment, and techniques for a mechanized, low-cost operation. The program was designed to include research. into all the productive phases of mining, such as drilling, blasting, loading, transportation, and maintenance of the mine structure. The methods, equipment, and techniques developed as a result of this research have established a production of 116 tons per man-shift total labor at a direct cost of $0,292 per ton. Another important phase of the research program that has received little publicity because of its theoretical nature is study of the roofstone behavior and determination of mine structure stresses. This paper purposes to discuss this phase of the research program. Preliminary studies of the physical properties of the Green River oil-shale formation were made in the Barodyramics Laboratory at Columbia University during the latter part of 1945 and the early part of 1946.* The purpose of these studies was to determine the maximum size of unsupported underground openings that would be commensurate with safety and still permit the use of large, efficient mining equipment. Also to be determined were the pillar support to extraction ratio and the shape, size, and spacing of supporting pillars. Selected samples of possible roofstones near the top of the Mahogany ledge, as well as representative samples of different rock types found within the ledge, were obtained from the Bureau's oil-shale mine for these studies. The maximum safe unsupported roof span calculated from this work was 200 ft. Using a safety factor of four, it was theoretically determined that openings 60 ft wide could be advanced under a roofstone at the top of the Mahogany ledge. To support the overburden, 60-ft-sq pillars would be left in a checkerboard pattern. From visual observations made of core samples through the selected roofstone at the oil-shale mine, it was determined that the roofstone was actually a plate 6 to 8 ft thick. Because the calculations were theoretical and allowance had to be made for unknown cracks and fractures in the formation, openings 50 ft wide and pillars 60 ft sq were originally contemplated in the Bureau's Experimental mine. This would be the minimum allowable width that would permit use of large underground mining equipment. For lower mining costs and greater efficiency larger openings were desirable. Different but analogous approaches were made to the problem at the Bureau of Mines Applied Physics

Jan 1, 1951

By J. W. Halley

Copper has frequently been recommended as an alloying element for steel and the precipitation-hardening of steels containing from 1 to 2 per cent copper has been studied by a number of investigators. The straight copper steels, however, have not been used extensively and little advantage has been taken of the precipitation-hardening of complex steels containing appreciable amounts of copper. It is difficult to produce a satisfactory surface on the straight copper steels and undoubtedly this has discouraged their use. During recent years a number of steels containing enough copper to make them susceptible to precipitation-hardening have been put on the market. These steels belong to the group usually referred to as "low-alloy high-tensile " steels. They were designed for use in the " hot-rolled" condition; transportation equipment and large structures that cannot be readily heat-treated have been their chief application. Little emphasis has been placed on the possibility of strengthening those containing substantial amounts of copper by precipitation-hardening. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the precipitation-hardening characteristic of one of the "low-alloy steels." Previous Work The first complete study of the effect of time and temperature on the precipitation-hardening of plain copper steels was made by Nehll in 1930. At about the same time Bucholtz and Koster2 studied copper-chromium steels but did not determine the relation between time and temperature to produce maximum hardening. Later, Smith and Palmer3 determined the rate of hardening at various temperatures for two I per cent copper steels containing different amounts of carbon. Their tests indicated that the higher carbon content decreased the rate of hardening. They made tests on many steels containing other alloying elements in addition to copper, but did not determine the time-temperature relationship for maximum hardening for any of the complex steels. Norton,4 in studying the limit of solid solubility of copper in iron, determined the time for maximum hardening of a 2.06 per cent Cu iron

Jan 1, 1940

By J. W. Halley

Copper has frequently been recommended as an alloying element for steel and the precipitation-hardening of steels containing from 1 to 2 per cent copper has been studied by a number of investigators. The straight copper steels, however, have not been used extensively and little advantage has been taken of the precipitation-hardening of complex steels containing appreciable amounts of copper. It is difficult to produce a satisfactory surface on the straight copper steels and undoubtedly this has discouraged their use. During recent years a number of steels containing enough copper to make them susceptible to precipitation-hardening have been put on the market. These steels belong to the group usually referred to as "low-alloy high-tensile " steels. They were designed for use in the " hot-rolled" condition; transportation equipment and large structures that cannot be readily heat-treated have been their chief application. Little emphasis has been placed on the possibility of strengthening those containing substantial amounts of copper by precipitation-hardening. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the precipitation-hardening characteristic of one of the "low-alloy steels." Previous Work The first complete study of the effect of time and temperature on the precipitation-hardening of plain copper steels was made by Nehll in 1930. At about the same time Bucholtz and Koster2 studied copper-chromium steels but did not determine the relation between time and temperature to produce maximum hardening. Later, Smith and Palmer3 determined the rate of hardening at various temperatures for two I per cent copper steels containing different amounts of carbon. Their tests indicated that the higher carbon content decreased the rate of hardening. They made tests on many steels containing other alloying elements in addition to copper, but did not determine the time-temperature relationship for maximum hardening for any of the complex steels. Norton,4 in studying the limit of solid solubility of copper in iron, determined the time for maximum hardening of a 2.06 per cent Cu iron

Jan 1, 1940

By M. J. Hordon, M. A. Wright

The well-defined increase in fatigue life observed o many metals cyclicly strained at vacuum levels below 10-1 to 10-3 torr has been attributed to the critical retardation of oxygen or water vapor chemisorption at the crack tip during crack propagation.1-3 In the absence of strongly adsorbed surface films, crack re-welding during cyclic compression or dislocation escape from the plastic zone around the crack tip has been proposed to account for the observed decrease in the rate of crack growth. The increase in the critical pressure required for the transition in crack growth rate with temperature experimentally determined for aluminum was found to be generally in accord with the adsorption rate model.4 However, although the adsorption mechanism would also predict an increase in transition pressure and fatigue life with increase in cyclic loading rate, and such effects were noted by Snowden5 for lead and Hordon3 for aluminum, the opposite results were reported by Kramer et al.B in studies on aluminum. The present note describes some recent measurements of the fatigue properties of 1100-H14 aluminum at low pressures to determine the specific effect of cyclic strain frequency in the transition pressure range. Flat cantilever-type specimens of 1100-H14 aluminum shaped to produce a uniform strain gradient along the gage length were tested in reverse plane bending at constant deflection amplitudes in two independent multi-specimen vacuum fatigue systems. One series of tests using 2-in. gage length specimens was conducted in an ion pumped apparatus with 107 torr and 50 cps capacity, denoted as Unit I, utilizing fixed mechanical cams to impose the strain amplitude. An independent test series using shorter 1-in. gage length specimens was conducted in a cryopumped apparatus designed for extremely low pressures below 10-10 torr, denoted as Unit II, using an electromechanical vibrator at non-resonant frequencies up to 150 cps to provide the deflection. Both vacuum fatigue units and associated test procedures have been described previously.3'7

Jan 1, 1969

By P. S. Roller

P. S. ROLLER,*College Park, Md.-The author introduces the idea of a grind limit, or lower size limit of the particles formed directly by grinding, and this is stipulated to be 0.70 micron. I wonder where all the particles come from that lie between the resolving power of the microscope and 0.7 micron, which are seen under a microscope in examining a sample of grind? There is also introduced the idea of excess fines; this is all right in itself but the author's quantitative definition seems to be virtually impossible to justify, and, moreover, is obscure. Just why E, the excess fines, should he defined as the distance between an F line and a y line is hard to follow, and just where the distance should be measured does not appear to be stated, as it should be since the F and y lines intersect and the distance between will depend upon where that distance is measured. The basis of the presentation is the relation of log weight against log size that was "discovered" by Schuhmann. While this relation is implied to fit, the only evidence that I can see is a slightly irregular line in Fig. x between 2 per cent and 18 per cent by weight and then a precipitous drop at 18 per cent away from any sort of straight line. Some of the conclusions are rather startling. It is stated that E, the excess fines, remains constant for all the comminution products of any particular material, except that it may decrease for some coarse crusher products. No reason is given for this assertion. One would, on the contrary, expect that excess fines, if such a concept is permissible, would generally vary with different conditions instead of being constant. Again, "as much net energy is required to reduce a ton of quartz to particles of the grind-limit diameter (namely, of course, 0.7 micron) by grinding as is required to melt the quartz." This would require many data to prove, but no proof is given; any consideration would reveal the impossibility of such a result. Still further, ore samples "ground to widely different sizes, and with different circulating loads and different size distributions or product, show the same production of new surface area per revolution of the mill, when this grind limit is used." This statement is confuted by ordinary experience, which teaches that grinding efficiency varies generally with the condition of material. For example, the cushioning effect of fines is widely accepted, while the inefficiency of a ball mill when the feed is too coarse is also well known. R. SCHUHMANN, JR.," Cambridge, Mass. Contrary to Mr. Bond's stand, there is a great deal of miscellaneous experimental evidence that comminution does not stop at around 0.7 micron, nor does it cease consuming energy at that point. Comminution is in fact recognized as an important method of producing colloids., Mechanical comminution methods were used by von Weimarn6 to produce colloidal dispersions of a variety of solids, including the minerals chalcocite, galena, hematite, stibnite. Utzino7 gives average particle sizes ranging from 0.02 to 0.09 micron for colloids produced by mechanical comminution of several crystalline solids. Andreasen and Berg' have ground

Jan 1, 1941

By Joseph L. Jernegan

The Whale Lode occurs in the main range of the Rocky Mountains, Park County, Colorado Territory, at Hall Valley. It has been opened up and worked to some extent by the Whale Mine, situated some 11,300 feet above the level of the sea. The mine, with 700 feet of the lode on either side of the discovery shaft, is the property of the Hall Valley Silver-Lead Mining and Smelting Company. The adjacent country rock is a compact, fine-grained gneiss; its general strike is about north and south, dipping steeply to the west. In the immediate vicinity of the mine, the strata are very nearly vertical. The gneiss incloses numberless veins of a reddish granite, in which the feldspar largely predominates over the quartz and mica, the latter oftentimes being scarcely perceptible. As a general rule these granitic veins seem to more frequently follow the lines of stratification of the gneiss than otherwise. They are of varying width, some large, some small; the larger are from 5 to 6 feet wide. Gash veins of feldspar and quartz are also of very frequent occurrence. The general trend of the lode is about northeast. and southwest, intersecting the country rock at about an angle of 45 to its stratification. It dips to the northwest at an angle of 65. I am unable to state accurately how far this lode has been traced upon the surface, but it is at least well known to extend entirely through the mountain upon which the mine is situated, and is traceable over the ridge by a hollow extending for some distance along the surface, in which the lode crops out. This hollow in the surface rock has probably been formed through decomposition of the vein matter by atmospherical influences. The width of the crevice is variable, generally between 5 and 10 feet; the pay vein varies from an inch, or less, to 36 inches. The vein is generally accompanied both on foot and hanging walls by a whitish, semi-decomposed fock, composed of quartz and decomposed feldspar, and in some places—where the process of decomposition has not reached as advanced a stage—a lightgreenish or black mica. This rock, therefore, is in places composed of all the constituents of gneiss, and is undoubtedly nothing more or less than the same in a decomposed condition. It is often very strongly impregnated with iron pyrites, generally crystallized in minute cubes, and it is probably owing to the presence of this min-

By Charles Hart

The art of electric smelting came with the turn of the present century and owes its existence to the introduction of alternating current, which found its first wide use in the establishment of the great power plants at Niagara Falls, N. Y. Prior to that time current was largely direct. The furnaces were electrolytic in nature and found their first metallurgical use in the production of aluminum, and this process still prevails. The normal production of pig iron up to that time was carried on in blast furnaces in which charcoal, coke and anthracite were used as the fuel. This new electric process called for sufficient carbonaceous material to reduce the oxides and impregnate the pig iron with sufficient carbon, but the remainder of the energy was to be supplied by electric power. The chemical reactions are essentially the same in electric smelting as obtains in the older blast furnace. All of these data are so well known in both methods as to need no discussion at this time, for they can be found in scientific : publications and books written during the first two decades of this century. Types of Furnaces The 40 years devoted to the practice of electric smelting may be divided into two . periods of 20 years each. The first was devoted to experimentation with furnace types and with many publications on theories and processes. The second half of this term was devoted to perfecting the types of furnaces and their active commercial operation. The arc furnace may be found in three types: (1) the direct-heating arc furnace with the positive electrode included in the bottom and the other electrode suspended above; (2) the independent arc furnace with its electrodes entirely above the charge, which of necessity depends upon heat reflected from the roof; (3) the direct-heating series arc furnace equipped with two or more electrodes suspended from the roof. Of these three types, only the last is used in electric smelting of iron ore at the present time. The elimination of the other types automatically removed many of the early designs, to the end that there are now only two general types in operation: (I) the " Electrometalls" or high-shaft furnace of Sweden, and (2) the low-shaft or pit-type furnace as offered by Tysland-Hole and Siemens-Halske. The "Electrometalls" furnace takes its name from the corporation formed by the engineers that had undertaken its perfection. After trying several designs they brought forward the furnace shown in Fig. I, which by the way is the highest development of this type of furnace as of today.l Note the trend in the lines, which have kept pace with modern blast-furnace design. The high-shaft furnace lends itself to skip filling and is fitted with tuyeres immediately under the crucible roof, whereby the gases are recycled and the roof preserved. The failure of the Electrometalls furnace in Norway, because of its inability to meet

Jan 1, 1941

By Charles Hart

The art of electric smelting came with the turn of the present century and owes its existence to the introduction of alternating current, which found its first wide use in the establishment of the great power plants at Niagara Falls, N. Y. Prior to that time current was largely direct. The furnaces were electrolytic in nature and found their first metallurgical use in the production of aluminum, and this process still prevails. The normal production of pig iron up to that time was carried on in blast furnaces in which charcoal, coke and anthracite were used as the fuel. This new electric process called for sufficient carbonaceous material to reduce the oxides and impregnate the pig iron with sufficient carbon, but the remainder of the energy was to be supplied by electric power. The chemical reactions are essentially the same in electric smelting as obtains in the older blast furnace. All of these data are so well known in both methods as to need no discussion at this time, for they can be found in scientific : publications and books written during the first two decades of this century. Types of Furnaces The 40 years devoted to the practice of electric smelting may be divided into two . periods of 20 years each. The first was devoted to experimentation with furnace types and with many publications on theories and processes. The second half of this term was devoted to perfecting the types of furnaces and their active commercial operation. The arc furnace may be found in three types: (1) the direct-heating arc furnace with the positive electrode included in the bottom and the other electrode suspended above; (2) the independent arc furnace with its electrodes entirely above the charge, which of necessity depends upon heat reflected from the roof; (3) the direct-heating series arc furnace equipped with two or more electrodes suspended from the roof. Of these three types, only the last is used in electric smelting of iron ore at the present time. The elimination of the other types automatically removed many of the early designs, to the end that there are now only two general types in operation: (I) the " Electrometalls" or high-shaft furnace of Sweden, and (2) the low-shaft or pit-type furnace as offered by Tysland-Hole and Siemens-Halske. The "Electrometalls" furnace takes its name from the corporation formed by the engineers that had undertaken its perfection. After trying several designs they brought forward the furnace shown in Fig. I, which by the way is the highest development of this type of furnace as of today.l Note the trend in the lines, which have kept pace with modern blast-furnace design. The high-shaft furnace lends itself to skip filling and is fitted with tuyeres immediately under the crucible roof, whereby the gases are recycled and the roof preserved. The failure of the Electrometalls furnace in Norway, because of its inability to meet

Jan 1, 1941

By John B. Hastings

The occurrellce of such a large amount of gold in the Hart-eel granite, even though the surmised existence of similar areas is not new, brings freshly to mind the pegmatite type of mag-matic differentiation lately brought again to attention by occurrences at Silver Peak, Nev., described by Spurr; and in Alaska, described by both Spurr and Brooks. In both localities granitic rocks or dikes are thought to pass into metalliferous quartz-veins. An interesting association in this connection is the occurrence of diamonds in residual pegmatitic clay of Sail Juao de Chapado, Brazil, described by Derby :' (P. 142) "Bodies of pegmatite are quite common in the older rocks of Brazil, both in the diamond regions and elsewhere, occurring not only in the gneiss and granite, but in the schistose series as well. Those that have been examined are dike-like in their mode of occurrence and granitic in composition.'' (P. 143) '" The question of the eruptive or secretionary origin of pegmatites has long been a subject of discussion among geologists.... The recent studies .. seen] to have clearly established that most if not all of them are essentially eruptive masses, though possibly modified in some way by aqueous agencies. Even before becoming acquainted with the literature of the subject this view had seemed to me to be the only acceptable one as regards the typical pegmatites of Brazil." What is pegmatite ? J. F. Kemp says :2 "... veins or dikes—it is an open question which is the more correct term— are met formed of very coarsely crystalline aggregates of the same minerals that constitute granite. These are called pegmatite and in them is the home of graphic granite, the curious intergrowth of quartz and feldspar, such that a cross fracture of the blades of quartz suggests cuneiform characters.... In regard to the larger veins or dikes it seems improbable that true igneous fusion could have afforded such coarsely crystalline aggregates, and so we are forced to assume such abundance of steam and other vapors, i.e, mineralizers, as to almost, if not quite, imply solution."

Jan 1, 1909

By O. B. Hopkins

The total production of oil in Peru in 1940 was 12,127,135 bbl., or about 10 per cent less than in 1939. Most of the reduction can be attributed to the fact that the export market under war conditions is much restricted and naturally is more than ordinarily competitive. Development and Exploration in Older Areas As evidenced by Table I, almost all production continued to come from the three established fields in coastal northwestern Peru. Zorritos Field.—Exploration in this small field, which was purchased by the Peruvian Government in 1939, continued with that in near-by areas in the adjoining National Reserve. Several wells were drilled, regarding which details are not as yet available. It is estimated that the production rate for a total of some 45 old and 15 new wells approximated zoo bbl. per day, or about 3 bbl. per well per day. Lobitos Fields.—The Lobitos area produced 2,435,504 bbl.; about 10 per cent less than the amount for 1939. La Brea-Pari9zas.—This property of International Petroleum Co. continued to account for nearly 80 per cent of Peru's production. During the year, drilling was stepped up to 139 wells, as compared with 73 wells completed in the previous year; 123 were producers and aggregated a total of 287,867 ft. Of this total, more than 85 per cent was drilled by rotary tools, which are steadily displacing other equipment. Although most of these wells were drilled in the proved or semiproved areas, eight

Jan 1, 1941

By O. B. Hopkins

The total production of oil in Peru in 1940 was 12,127,135 bbl., or about 10 per cent less than in 1939. Most of the reduction can be attributed to the fact that the export market under war conditions is much restricted and naturally is more than ordinarily competitive. Development and Exploration in Older Areas As evidenced by Table I, almost all production continued to come from the three established fields in coastal northwestern Peru. Zorritos Field.—Exploration in this small field, which was purchased by the Peruvian Government in 1939, continued with that in near-by areas in the adjoining National Reserve. Several wells were drilled, regarding which details are not as yet available. It is estimated that the production rate for a total of some 45 old and 15 new wells approximated zoo bbl. per day, or about 3 bbl. per well per day. Lobitos Fields.—The Lobitos area produced 2,435,504 bbl.; about 10 per cent less than the amount for 1939. La Brea-Pari9zas.—This property of International Petroleum Co. continued to account for nearly 80 per cent of Peru's production. During the year, drilling was stepped up to 139 wells, as compared with 73 wells completed in the previous year; 123 were producers and aggregated a total of 287,867 ft. Of this total, more than 85 per cent was drilled by rotary tools, which are steadily displacing other equipment. Although most of these wells were drilled in the proved or semiproved areas, eight

Jan 1, 1941

By AIME AIME

TOTAL shipments of iron ore from the Lake Superior district totalled 21,672,410 long tons in 1933, according to a compilation in Skillings' Mining Review. The producers ranked as follows in order of output shipped:

Jan 1, 1934

By Dewey J. Sabin

THE Rio de Canada Honda placer property is situated at an altitude of 5500 ft. above sea level in the San Luis Mountains of the Province of San Luis, Argentina. The mine is reached by 70 km. of fair truck road, from the nearest railway station on the Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacifico. The Pan-American airport at Villa Mercedes, 1.40 km. distant, serves as the most convenient point for shipment of gold. Placer mining in the Rio de Canada Honda dates from the time of the Incas and the present native population depends on the gold washed from this river and the adjacent arroyos as a means of livelihood as did the many generations before them. They dig pits to bedrock where they are not driven out by water, and mine the bedrock gravel by means of tunnels and caves. No timber is available and the ground is supported by rock cribs carefully built with the boulders encountered; or with angular blocks of slate rock taken from quarries on the surface.

Jan 1, 1936

By T. Egleston

circumstances, would prefer the steel with which they are now familiar, to a specimen that Mr. Sandberg has described as having broken into seventeen pieces under the wheels. After blowing such low manganese steel, it may be coaxed into a rail, but it is a wonder that it holds together so long as it does, with so great a nornber of minute flaws. I would not in any way depreciate chemistry, but I think it should be kept in its proper sphere. Let the chemist look after the quality of pig metal, and apply common sense in the avoiding of extremes, then the most fastidious railroad cannot find fault with the result. PROFESSOR EGLESTON, New YORK City : It is not my place as an engineer to apologize for the chemists, but as no one seems disposed to do so, and as they have had more than their share of criticism, 1 am glad to say that I believe there are chemists in this Institute whose work and word are just as reliable, arid perhaps even more so, than that of the average engineer. But we ought to make a distinction; there are chemists and chemists. With the ordinary commercial chemist, who looks upon the science as so much merohandise, I have not a particle of sympathy; but with the chemist who looks upon his profession as engineers do upon theirs, I have every sympathy. When matiufactorers and engineers go to a chemist and ask him to make an investigation, and scretv him dowu to the lowest point, turning the equivalent of his brains into cents and mills, they ustially get an exact equivalent in poor work for miserable pay, and no one has or should have any sympathy with them, and the under these conditions has no right to ask for any, and no reason to criticise any work that he may get under such circumstances. But I am disposed to think that the chemists who have been replwented and discussed at this meeting do their work conscientiously, and that it is as reliable as that of almost any profession. I believe, however, that this problem of steel rails is being investigated in a wrong direction. I said so at the Pittsburgh meeting, and I think the discussion of this meeting will prove it to all those who have heard it. I think the chemigt is incapable of solving this problem unlees he goes very far into the domain of physical chemistry, so far that it becomes physics and not chemistry; and that the physicist will be the one on whom we must rely in the future for the elucidation of the subject. The chemist may aid the physicist, but it is my decided opinion that we are looking in the wrong place to get the explanation of the phenomena.

Jan 1, 1881

By Herman Garlichs

THE development of the extensive Southeast Missouri deposits greatly preceded that of the Iowa and Wisconsin deposits. It began about 1720 at Mine La Motte and other localities, and has continued uninterruptedly to the present time. It is estimated that this district produced about 184,000 tons of lead in the year 1916, having a value of approximately, $25,000,000. This is a new high record. The Southwest Missouri orebodies were hardly known before 1845 and were not extensively developed until 1870: Lead production in South-west Missouri for 1916 was 38,788 tons. Oklahoma produced 14,399 ,tons and Kansas 2,345 tons, making a total for Southwest Missouri, and the adjoining districts in Oklahoma and Kansas, of 55,532 tons of lead. The first metallurgists in Missouri were the Indian and the hunter. The early settler learned to procure his bullets either by melting ore in his camp fire or by throwing pieces of galena on an old stump and depending on the usual roasting and reaction method to obtain the metal. A little more refined method was to arrange two flat stones in the form of a V. Wood and galena were placed in the furnace and ignited. As heat developed, some of the metal was extracted and molded into bullets. The next step in utilizing the lead ores was the log hearth. All lead in Missouri was smelted in this crude affair before 1820. It was built on sloping ground, and consisted of a hearth of stone, surrounded on the front and two sides by a stone wall. The wall was 7 ft. high in front. The top and rear end were left open and in front an arch or opening was made, forming the eye of the furnace. In front of this a pit was dug in the ground, to receive the molten metal. Large logs were rolled in at the back and made to rest upon ledges formed inside, to raise them from the hearth and to give a draft. These logs filled the entire width of the furnace. Small split logs were then set up around the two sides and the front, and the ore was piled on until the furnace was full. Finally, the mass was covered with logs and fuel until the ore was completely surrounded. A gentle heat was started, which was raised very gradually. After 12 hr. the heat was increased and continued for 12 hr. more, 24 hr. being required, for each smelting. The furnace treated about 5,000 lb. per 24 hr. and the ore yielded about 50 per cent. of its metallic lead. A considerable quantity of the ore was not desulphurized, and fell between

Jan 7, 1917

By H. Furman Byars

INTRODUCTION of bottom dump hauling units into the Ray, Ariz., stripping operation of the Isbell Construction Co., was motivated by several reasons, with what appears to be debatable results. The accepted theory of truck design for use in open-pit holds that end dump vehicles are the most adaptable for the work. But, because operations of the bottom dump, under certain construction and haulage conditions, proved economically feasible, the unit was put to work in the Ray copper pit. The decision to try bottom dump was reached after considerable observation of the unit in action on construction of earth filled dams, levees, airport construction and several other similar tasks. Basic tire design also motivated the choice. All things being equal, a vehicle running on low pressure single tires will outperform another operating on dual high pressure tires, providing load carrying capacities are the same. The investment required to equip a vehicle with four single tires to handle the same load as one with dual tires mounted on two axles and single front axles is about 60 pct greater. Thus, in order to reach the break even point on tire costs, single tires must operate 60 pct longer. Comparison is made with a truck outfitted with 10 16:00x25 tires. Two other factors were considered in selecting bottom dump trucks. It was felt the bottom dump principle would work well in dumping ore into a hopper where gate design fits this particular method. Also, with the absence of hydraulic dumping, ore pollution with oil is reduced. The mechanical simplicity of the unit also lent weight to its choice. Ordinary reasoning indicated maintenance costs would be low compared with other units carrying similar loads. The bottom dumping principle is not new. It dates back to the days when horses were used to haul the same kind of rig. The unit employed at Ray holds 25 cu yd struck measure, or approximately 42 short tons. Dumping is accomplished by releasing an air cylinder opening a dog holding the doors. Doors are closed by a cable system operating off a wheel wind deriving power by friction with the trailer tire. The unit is mounted on four 27.00x33 and two 14.00x24 tires on the front axle. The power unit is a 300 hp Cummins engine. Hydraulic power boosts the steering. A straight mechanical drive and friction clutch with 10 speeds is used. Conditions Not Ideal Top performance of the truck can be expected only under the conditions for which it was designed, in particular grades under 5 pct, handling fine material, and dumping where one thin layer can be placed on top of another. The machine will handle 42 tons per haul, operating at high speed, with only seconds used for dumping. On a 2 or 3 pct grade over a one mile haul,

Jan 1, 1952

By Fred Mosley

The present operation is located on Whitewood Creek about two miles downstream from Deadwood, South Dakota. Early day placer gold operations took place on this creek from Crook City to an area several miles upstream from Deadwood. Early discoveries were in the Deadwood area. In this particular zone, much of the early work was accomplished at stream level and at various elevations above. In the original operations, it was not possible to reach bedrock in many places due to the ground water level plus the existence of numerous large boulders in the same area. The bedrock in this area is approximately twenty feet deep, consisting of Cambrian and Ordovician sediments. Shortly after the early operations began, many small lode mines and several larger mines released mill tailings directly into Whitewood Creek. This practice continued for a full century, thereby limiting the amount of clean water available for sluicing. These tailings in the stream carried large amounts of heavy minerals along with the natural heavier minerals introduced from erosion and were immediately caught in the riffle boxes, resulting in the suspension of many small sluicing operations. No large scale sluicing or mining was ever done at bedrock level in this area, resulting in an almost virgin placer gold deposit. The old tailings cover much of the area, contributing an additional deposit carrying appreciable gold values. In recent years, a company known locally as New Era Mining Company attempted with some success to exploit the area at bedrock level. The equipment used included a Marian dragline with. a three- yard bucket, a washing trommel mounted on a 40 ft by 20 ft floating pontoon barge, together with two banks of Humphrey Spirals and a secondary spiral for collecting concentrate from the two primary

Jan 1, 1983

By A. G. Metcalfe, Koeneman

A study of the structure of chemically deposited nickel by Goldenstein, Rostoker, Scpssberger, and Gutzeit has been reported recently. In this work it was shown that the nickel deposit produced by the catalytic nickel-reduction process was an amorphous solid. Crystallization occurred at elevated temperatures when the original powder pattern which showed only a diffuse ring with a d-spacing of 2.01A became sharp, revealing nickel and nickel-phosphide lines. The phosphide was indexed provision%lly on a tetragonal lattice of parameters a = 9.01A and c = 4.42A, which is in reasonable agreement with the structure of Ni3P proposed by No-wotny and Henglein.3 The transformation from the amorphous to the solid state occurs abruptly (e.g., after 7 min holding at 400°C) with the evolution of considerably more than 1000 cal per gm-mole. A more detailed analysis of these effects requires a knowledge of the solubility of phosphorus in nickel. Konstanti-now3 mapped out the phase diagram in 1908 but did not determine the solid solubility. The eutectic was placed at 11 pct P and 880°C. The purity of typical catalytic nickel deposits is very high.' Spectrographic analysis for heavier elements showed only trace amounts of aluminum, calcium, iron, magnesium, lead, and silicon. The term "strace" is a qualitative definition for less than 0.1 pct and probably less than 0.01 pct. Analysis for the interstitial elements yielded 0.04 pct C, 0.0023 pct 0, 0.0005 pct N, and 0.0016 pct H. Some of this material with 7.5 pct P was used in the present work. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Alloys were prepared from carbonyl-nickel shot and a master composition containing 7.5 pct P. Cold-crucible, nonconsumable-arc melting was used.

Jan 1, 1959

By D. W. Fuerstenau

Measurement of zeta potentials is a useful tool to study the surface chemistry of minerals under flotation conditions. Because there is continued interest in this approach, the apparatus for obtaining zeta potentials of nonconducting solids by the streaming potential method is outlined here. Fig. 1 illustrates the streaming potential apparatus. The streaming potential cell or plug consists of two 24/40 standard ground joints (4) joined with a piece of pyrex tubing 60 mm long and 12 mm in diam (5). The electrodes are made of bright platinum disks 19 mm in diam and 1 mm thick through which 0.5-mm holes have been drilled (6). To the surface of each is welded a piece of 80-mesh platinum gauze. Each electrode is permanently mounted on the ends of the inner parts of the two standard joints by means of a platinum wire (7) which connects it to the tungsten seal at the end of the cell (8). For ease in cleaning and handling the apparatus, the streaming cell is fastened to the 500-ml reservoir flasks (1) by means of two 18/9 ball and socket joints (2). This particular arrangement permits passage of the solution in either direction through the plug of particles. Flow of solution can be stopped by a stopcock (3). One of the reservoir flasks has a large opening to permit insertion of either a thermometer or a pair of electrodes for measuring pH of solutions within the system. In making the experiments, the plug is filled with 48 to 65-mesh particles, but a layer of 28 to 35-mesh particles is placed at each electrode to prevent any of the finer particles from passing through holes in the electrodes.

Aug 1, 1956