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By Neil Johnson

IN the cyanidation of gold, silver and mixed ores, the solids suspended in the pulp after fine grinding, primary settling and series agitation are subjected to a washing step known, generally, as countercurrent decanta-tion, abbreviated C.C.D. The conventional C.C.D. plant consists of a series of separate thickeners-three to five in number-arranged in series on slightly different elevations. Solids settled in the first thickener are pumped at maximum density into the second thickener, where they are diluted with weak solution overflowing the third. After settling in the second thickener they are pumped to the third, where the process of repulping with still weaker solution is repeated, and so on throughout the system, until they reach the last thickener and are repulped with barren solution or water. Recently there has been developed a new type of thickener, known as the Dorr Washing Tray Thickener, consisting of up to five individual thickeners, which performs in a single unit all the functions of a conven-tional C.C.D. plant. Fig. 1 illustrates the essential features. It is a multicompartment tray thickener, in which the trays operate in series instead of in parallel for countercurrent washing. Feed enters the top compartment via a central, semisubmerged feed well. Strong solution overflows into a peripheral launder. Solids settle to the bottom, are raked to the center and flow into the top of the second compartment, directly below, via an inverted cup and seal. Solids pass downward, compartment by compartment, against a counter flow of wash solution and finally of fresh water. Thus, in accord-ance with the basic C.C.D. principle, the solids transfer the dissolved metal content to the wash solution and finally are removed by a dia-phragm pump from the bottom compartment virtually free of valuable material. Similarly, the wash water, as it flows through the system, becomes increasingly enriched in dissolved metal until it overflows from compartment two and returns to the process.

Jan 1, 1939

By R. F. Stahl, W. A. Martin, R L. Huntington

A marked gravitational segregation of liquid has been observed to take place in a number of volumetric fields toward the later stages of their oil-producing periods. This phenomenon has been pronounced in thick, highly permeable sand formations such as those of the wilcox zone in Oklahoma City. This observation has prompted considerable research directed toward the semiquantitative determination of the equilibrium saturation distribution of oil vertically throughout a formation at final depletion. In this paper, data are also presented showing the transient distribution of liquid at different stages of the depletion period. Other experimental results show the effect of temperature on the drainage rates of water, Wilcox crude oil, and a close-cut heptane fraction. Intermittent drainage of liquid produced saturation gradients that might well be expected from the flow theories involved, Yields of the various liquids varied from 50 to 75 per cent of the original fluid content of the sand-packed (4 in. by 8 ft.) vertical tube. Introduction In certain volumetric Oil fields the performance of the reservoir during the latter part Of its producing life is governed to a large extent by the downward movement of liquid due to the force of gravity. This is especially true of formations having thick or tilting beds of uniformly high permeability, free of shale breaks. Laverett4 and Katz3 have presented original data and discussed the theory relating to the capillary and gravitational forces acting On liquids contained in a sand body. These investigators have pointed out the importance of such studies in the estimation of future reserves as well as the original fluid content of a reservoir. In this previous work, no data have been reported showing the history of saturation distributions during the drainage period. Since a knowledge Of these transients is helpful in obtaining crude Oil from such a reservoir, the authors have obtained these data during this investigation. Experimental Apparatus The drainage tests were carried out in two vertical tubes, 8 ft. high and consisting of 2-in. and 4-in. standard wrought-iron pipe, respectively. Each tube was equipped with a water jacket, which could be kept virtually isothermal ( ± 1.0ºF.). A diagrammatic sketch of the 4-in. tube and its auxiliaries is shown in Fig. 1. At 6 in. above the base of the tube, and at every foot above this point, core nipples were inserted through the water jacket. These nipples were closely fitted with steel-plug inserts during each drainage run. At the end of the run, these inserts were removed so that cores could be obtained from the sand-packed tube.

Jan 1, 1943

By R. F. Stahl, W. A. Martin

A marked gravitational segregation of liquid has been observed to take place in a number of volumetric fields toward the later stages of their oil-producing periods. This phenomenon has been pronounced in thick, highly permeable sand formations such as those of the wilcox zone in Oklahoma City. This observation has prompted considerable research directed toward the semiquantitative determination of the equilibrium saturation distribution of oil vertically throughout a formation at final depletion. In this paper, data are also presented showing the transient distribution of liquid at different stages of the depletion period. Other experimental results show the effect of temperature on the drainage rates of water, Wilcox crude oil, and a close-cut heptane fraction. Intermittent drainage of liquid produced saturation gradients that might well be expected from the flow theories involved, Yields of the various liquids varied from 50 to 75 per cent of the original fluid content of the sand-packed (4 in. by 8 ft.) vertical tube. Introduction In certain volumetric Oil fields the performance of the reservoir during the latter part Of its producing life is governed to a large extent by the downward movement of liquid due to the force of gravity. This is especially true of formations having thick or tilting beds of uniformly high permeability, free of shale breaks. Laverett4 and Katz3 have presented original data and discussed the theory relating to the capillary and gravitational forces acting On liquids contained in a sand body. These investigators have pointed out the importance of such studies in the estimation of future reserves as well as the original fluid content of a reservoir. In this previous work, no data have been reported showing the history of saturation distributions during the drainage period. Since a knowledge Of these transients is helpful in obtaining crude Oil from such a reservoir, the authors have obtained these data during this investigation. Experimental Apparatus The drainage tests were carried out in two vertical tubes, 8 ft. high and consisting of 2-in. and 4-in. standard wrought-iron pipe, respectively. Each tube was equipped with a water jacket, which could be kept virtually isothermal ( ± 1.0ºF.). A diagrammatic sketch of the 4-in. tube and its auxiliaries is shown in Fig. 1. At 6 in. above the base of the tube, and at every foot above this point, core nipples were inserted through the water jacket. These nipples were closely fitted with steel-plug inserts during each drainage run. At the end of the run, these inserts were removed so that cores could be obtained from the sand-packed tube.

Jan 1, 1943

By L. W. Pommier, F. B. Brien

In order to determine the ability of cyclones with heavy liquids to preconcentrate ores, a study of the variables which govern the behavior of the solids in the apparatus has been made. To assess the test results, the cyclone products have been examined by sink and float analysis at various specific gravities and the results examined by the Tromp type curves. This analysis has allowed the development of the SG50 unit — specific gravity of the particles, 50% of which goes to overflow and 50% to underflow — rather than the d50 (size) unit used in classification. The results of tests using the closed circuit laboratory cyclone assembly with dry feed samples show the validity of the equation: Results indicate that 83% of the feed may be rejected containing 0.1% Sn. Recoveries in excess of 80% are obtained at a grade of 1.7% Sn from feed samples assaying 0.4% Sn. As water-wetted particles may comprise the plant feed, separate tests were performed to examine the effect of water in the feed material. Results indicate that the entrained water divides into two fractions, one of which is defined as free water and is rejected to the cyclone overflow, the other fraction forms an adhering envelope of water on the ore particles, altering their effective size and density. The presence of the envelope of water on the particles increases the ease with which the heavy liquid can be recovered but decreases the concentration efficiency. It is proposed that the detrimental effect of water in the cyclone may be minimized by using a higher feed pressure cx by the use of surfactants. A higher feed pressure, by increasing shearing forces, would reduce the thickness of the water envelope on the particles. The surfactants, by adsorbing on the particles and producing hydrophobic surfaces, would displace the water envelope and allow the heavy liquids to wet the modified surfaces. In both cases a larger proportion of the entrained water would report to the cyclone overflow as free water, thus minimizing the detrimental effect of water on the concentration efficiency. Additional testing is required on the behavior of water in the system; to determine the optimum particle size for the preconcentration step; to determine final particle size for optimum liberation and subsequent treatment of the products in present plants and to determine the efficiency with which the heavy liquids may be recovered from the products. For many years tin mining in Bolivia has been very important to the economy of the country. In recent years the tin content of the ore reserves has been steadily declining. An improvement in concentration efficiency is highly desirable in order to increase productivity from the present low-grade mine ores and to allow retreatment of the many millions of tons of tailings from past operations, some of which equal the present ores in tin content. A number of investigators have been or at present are working on various phases or approaches to the problem. Gravity concentration is used in Boliva today as it has been in the past to recover tin minerals from the mine ores. An objective of the work reported in this paper was to examine the possibility of treating present low-grade ores and sink-float tailings products, at a relatively coarse grind, in order to produce a higher grade feed material to the present gravity concentration plants. The possibility of using heavy liquids in cyclones to treat large tonnages with a minimum of outlay presented itself and is of particular interest since heavy liquids are now available with physical properties which lend themselves to simple recovery methods. Tests were carried out using a closed circuit laboratory cyclone assembly. It was desirable to determine the value of using the SG50 concept and Tromp curves for analyzing the cyclone concentration test results. The effects of entrained water on the behavior of ore particles in the cyclone were examined. THEORY AND TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS Three types of heavy liquids are available: aqueous solutions of very soluble salts, salts or mixtures of

Jan 1, 1964

By Robert W. Hunt

There are certain physical characteristics of steel resulting from its treatment while being formed into useful products which have been, and are, well known to its manipulators ; but under the stress of business competition and other controlling influences, all knowledge is not always given either full sway, or even full acknowledgment. Such has been the case in the making of steel rails. It is universally acknowledged that steel rails of heavy sections, made during the last tell years, have not given as good service as the rails of lighter sections produced before that time. While certain fundamental principles of steel-making have been acknowledged, their application to the steel-rail manufacture has been, if not actually denied, completely ignored.

Jan 1, 1902

By H. Herbert Hughes

THE trend in modern building construction is definitely toward the use of weight-reducing materials. The basic advantage of lighter structural weight is obvious; reduction of dead load with retention of equivalent strength affords the possibility of increasing the live load, or if this is not desirable or necessary it makes feasible a reduction in size of structural steel members and corresponding savings in other phases of construction. Among the weight-reducing materials and practices rapidly gaining favor are the use of light-weight patented insulating board to replace back-up tile or units, particularly in home construction; introduction of aluminum alloys to replace steel for many purposes; manufacture of porous brick, the use of which materially reduces the weight of masonry walls and partitions; and the use of self-rising vesicular concrete, diatomite and sawdust tile, porous gypsum, or gypsum tile for nonload-bearing partitions and walls. Even building accessories are being designed to save weight and space; one of the most striking examples of this is improved radiator construction. Concrete technique is keeping pace with the rest of the industry. Burned shale aggregates now available in many sections of the country will make concrete weighing only 100 lb. per cubic foot, saving roughly 35 per cent. in weight and sacrificing none of the strength of a rock-sand mix. It may be more expensive, but actual experience has shown that the saving in dead load will effect a reduction in structural steel which in many instances will more than offset the increased cost of the aggregate. The vesicular nature of most light-weight aggregates gives the concrete especially good insulating, fireproofing and soundproofing properties; yet absorption is comparatively low. Strangely enough, however, the increased use of light-weight aggregates appears to have augmented the demand for ordinary aggregates in concrete construction rather than to have decreased it. Light-weight aggregates have widened the field for concrete structures and, since the producers do not attempt to recommend the use of their material except where weight or other special properties are important factors, impetus- has been given to sales of other aggregates.

Jan 1, 1931

By T. Prof. Ph. D. Egleston

THE importance of having perfectly pure metals has led me to present to the Institute a record of some of the trials that have been made to obtain these metals, and also to show one of the largest specimens of extremely thin metal plate which has ever been made. The malleability of metals varies generally directly with their purity, and hence it is only with very pure metals that thin sheets can be obtained. The competition among different manufacturers has been so great at times as to lead to expensive and apparently useless experiments in obtaining in the first instance very thin sheets, and afterwards very large and thin sheets of metal, apparently with no other purpose than that of being able to say that they had produced the thinnest or the largest thin sheet that had ever been made. These experiments were at first confined exclusively to iron, their object being to show the great dexterity of manipulation, as well as the purity of the metal manufactured. They have since been extended to almost all metals by electrical action, and have gone far beyond the limits of what was possible with purely mechanical means. The processes which have been used are rolling or hammering, electrical deposition in a vacuum, and lastly, electrical deposition on plates, easily soluble in acids. The first and last of these methods have been known and practiced for a very long time, having been used to make thin sheets of almost all the metals. The other is of quite recent application. In the iron manufacture, the strife to produce these thin sheets was commenced in the year 1865, by the Sligo Iron Works writing to a firm in Birmingham, England, on a sheet of iron containing 270 square centimeters, and weighing only 4.469 grams. For some time this was considered to be the thinnest sheet iron that could be made. T. W. Booker & Co., of Cardiff, England, however, produced a few months afterward, a sheet of the same size, weighing only 4.015 grams. This was succeeded by one rolled by Neville and Everitt, of Llannelly, weighing only 3.174 grams. This was followed by one from Hallam, of Swansea, which was 283 square centimeters in size, and weighed but 2.979 grams; and this by one rolled by R. Wil-

Jan 1, 1879

By L. B. Ticknor, M. B. Bever

An isothermal calorimeter suitable for measurements of heats of solution in liquid tin as solvent is described. Measurements of the heats of solution of gold, silver, copper, and a gold-silver alloy are reported. The heat of formation of this gold-silver alloy is also reported. HEATS of solution in liquids can be determined directly, but few such data have been published for metals as solvents. Knowledge of heats of solution is desirable because it contributes to the general understanding of energy relations in metallic solutions. Thermochemical measurements of this type also furnish answers to specific problems: For example, from the heats of solution of an alloy and of a mixture of its constituent elements in a given solvent, the heat of formation of the alloy may be found. Similarly, differences in the energy content of samples of the same metal in two different states, such as the annealed and cold worked states, may be determined. In the work reported here, gold, silver, and an alloy of gold and silver were dissolved in liquid tin at 240°C and gold, silver, and copper were dissolved in tin at 300 °C. The experiments yielded the heats of solution of these metals in tin. The heat of formation of the gold-silver alloy was also determined. The same calorimetric method is being used to measure the energy stored in metals during cold working and preliminary results have been published.' Equipment and Experimental Procedure The isothermal calorimeter used in this work, Fig. 1, consisted of a Dewar flask completely immersed in a constant-temperature salt bath. A long neck provided space for thermocouple leads and a stirrer shaft and permitted the injection of solute samples. The metal bath in the calorimeter flask was stirred at about 100 rpm by a small glass impeller driven by a constant-speed motor. The shaft of the stirrer passed through a Wilson vacuum seal.2 All measurements were made under vacuum in order to eliminate temperature disturbances resulting from gas convection and to prevent the oxidation of tin. The calorimeter flask was joined by an all-glass connecting line to a gas-control system which made possible the use of a protective atmosphere of deoxidized and dried hydrogen. At the operating temperature of the calorimeter tin oxide was not reduced by hydrogen, presumably because the reaction rate was too slow. Part of the closed system was a removable side tube through which the solute sample could be introduced and in which it was held at a temperature of 0°C prior to injection into the metal bath. The salt bath containing a mixture of sodium, lithium, and potassium nitrates was similar to that described by Beattie3 and was equipped with a stir-

Jan 1, 1953

By Simon D. Strauss

INTRODUCTION The changes in ownership, management, and operation of the non-fuel minerals industry since the Second World War have been dramatic. World-leading enterprises have lost their identity; host countries have taken over operations from multi-national firms; marketing practices have been drastically altered - and yet the world industry is supplying minerals on a scale far greater than had been anticipated in projections made at mid-century. The world's known mineral resources have been enormously expanded, despite the doom sayers who for decades have been predicting that depletion of non-renewable resources would impose limits to growth. PALEY REPORT One can set the stage by reviewing how the minerals outlook was regarded in a thoughtful and comprehensive analysis made in the years 1950 and 1951. During the War years, President Harry Truman of the United States had come to appreciate the decisive role played by minerals resources through his chairmanship as a U.S Senator of a committee that investigated the procurement and allocation of natural resources. In 1950, in the Cold War era that resulted in actual military conflict in Korea, he appointed a prestigious five-man commission to study the problems of Materials Policy over the following quarter century. Their findings, published in five impressive volumes in early 1952, became known as the Paley report. The text was prepared by expert scientists and economists who spent 18 months assembling statistics, making projections of future demand, and interviewing leaders in industry, academia, and government. [ ] The Commission had correctly foreseen that aluminum would replace copper as the largest volume non-ferrous metal, but it had fallen short of reality by a wide margin indeed for all three materials. Even though the Commission's expectations for growth proved to be extremely understated, it had concluded its report with grave foreboding about the effect of its estimates of demand in relation to supply, as follows: "Consumption of almost all materials is expanding at compound rates and is thus pressing harder and harder against resources which, whatever else they may be doing, are not similarly expanding. This materials problem is thus not the kind of 'shortage' problem, local and transient, which in the past has found its solution in price changes which have brought supply and demand back into balance. The terms of the materials problem we face today are larger and more pervasive." With respect to some minerals, the Paley Report expressed scepticism that, in fact, supplies would be forthcoming regardless of price. Because the Paley demand forecasts understated the actual growth in demand for virtually every mineral, one could logically have expected frequent and protracted shortages in the years since 1950.

Jan 1, 1985

By W. L. Phillips

Aluminum and copper single crystals were strained in shear, unloaded and rotated 60, 120, and 180 deg. The magnitude of the Bauschinger strain increased rapidly during the easy glide region and became constant as the easy glide limit was reached. An increment in stress was not required to continue slip in any close-packed plane or in the reverse direction during easy glide. A qualitative theory is proposed to explain the present results. FOLLOWING the initial work on tin by Bausch,' there have been several investigatorsB7 who have employed the shear test to study the deformation of aluminum. In all cases the shear technique was employed in an attempt to obtain a more homogeneous shear than in the conventional tension test The direct shear technique has the obvious advantage, relative to the tension test, that a crystal may be stressed in any predetermined plane and direction, including the reversal of strain sense. In the present investigation the shear technique was employed with aluminum and copper single crystals and their behavior was studied with respect to deformation in all close-packed directions in the octahedral plane. In contrast to previous investigations, the shear technique was used in an attempt to obtain a stress-strain curve in shear which is identical with the corresponding tension curve and then to use the additional degree of freedom of the shear test to study the mechanical behavior of crystals in all close-packed directions in the octahedral plane. PREPARATION OF CRYSTALS Single crystals 1/2 in. in diam and 6 to 7 in. long, were prepared from aluminum containing 0.001 pct Si, 0.001 pct Fe, and 0.001 pct Zn, by spectro-graphic ana1ysis and from OFHC copper. Crystals were grown from the melt in graphite at a rate of 1 5 in. per hr. The copper crystals were grown under an argon atmosphere. No lineage structure was observed in Laue patterns, though small angle boundaries were present in the crystals. The aluminum and copper crystals were annealed at 640" and 900°C, respectively, for 24 hr and furnace-

Jan 1, 1962

By J. P. Lesley

The old do not love to see the young pass away from the light of the sun before them. Fathers would fain keep their sons by their side to the. end of life ; but the old Greeks, who loved the old gods, were wont to moderate their grief with the sweet superstition that only those whom their gods especially loved died early. The Christian church found consolation in that superstition applied in a new form to its new sorrows, and paid its most enthusiastic devotion to the memories of its young and beautiful martyrs. The natural science of our century is robbing us fast of this and all other superstitions, sweet as well as bitter, and leaving us for consolation to the teaching—colder, yet kinder—of personal fortitude and that optimism Which intelligently translates the Cosmos of Humboldt back into its old name of the Harmonia of Pythagoras. The Homeric Kataclothes, the three fates, are dead and gone for us, with that old world which comprehended none of the laws of cause and effect, and sorrowed for those who were cut off from the land of the living without hope of more than a shadowy existence beyond the river of death. All the more the ancients cherished the memory of their dead and lavished their choicest art upon their monuments. We moderns have lost the monumental arts, but we better keep the monuments which our dead leave behind them. No one of us who has done good work can fail to be remembered; and in an Institute like this, which keeps the press at work, an immortality in the memory of men is more possible, more certain, for every one of its members than the greatest heroes of antiquity could anticipate for themselves. In old apocalyptic times the works of men followed them through death to the throne of God to be their advocates in judgment, but in these modern times our works remain this side the grave, to follow the name of the departed one as it takes its course along the history of his peculiar art or science advancing slowly to perfection. We write the epitaph, not upon the mouldering stone of a tomb, but on the pages

Jan 1, 1890

By R. V. Smith, E. J. Dewees, R. H. Williams

Before this paper was presented, the terms "f" and "v1/f in flow equations had been called "friction coefficient" and "friction factor," respectively. However, many authors have used the names for the terms interchangeably, with the result that considerable confusion has existed in the literature on flow of fluids. In an effort to establish a clear and concise terminology for these terms, the authors have designated f as "resistance coefficient" and dm as "transmission factor." Transmission factors for the flow strings of gas wells were determined by tests on wells in six fields of Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. Data were collected on 14 gas wells while gas was flowing through 1 1/4, 2, 21/2, and 3-in. tubing and 51/2 and 7-in. casing. The transmission factors developed from these data were found to follow the resistance equation published by Nikuradse1 for turbulent flow in "rough" pipes with an average absolute roughness of 0.000,65 in. This average absolute roughness is believed to be representative generally of the flow strings of gas wells with the exception of those that have been exposed to corrosion or other conditions causing undue roughness. Also, use of an absolute roughness of 0.000,65 in. probably will result in transmission factors that are more representative of gas-well conditions than those in common use today, provided that the transmission factors are calculated by the methods outlined in this report. The authors believe that use of these transmission factors will permit calculation of more accurate subsurface pressures in gas wells than those in use today. Engineers use transmission factors in flow equations to compute subsurface pressures in flowing gas wells from measured wellhead pressures. These subsurface pressures are necessary for determining the productivity of gas wells from "back-pressure" tests. The methods of calculating pressures in flowing gas wells, as outlined by Rawlins and Schellhardt2 in Bureau of Mines Monograph 7, are based on the transmission factors in the well-known Weymouth formula" Natural gas engineers have realized that errors introduced by using transmission factors as given by the Weymouth formula are relatively unimportant in testing low-capacity gas wells; but they also know that such factors are important considerations in testing large-capacity wells. Accordingly, the research described in this report was undertaken to fulfill the need for more accurate means of calculating subsurface pressures in gas wells. This report is part of the Bureau's study of the flow of natural gas through pipe and commercial pipelines. Several of the conclusions regarding flow in the flow strings of gas wells were influenced by the results of the study of flow in horizontal pipelines. These instances are mentioned in the text of this report. METHODS OF COMPUTING TRANSMISSION FACTORS Methods and procedures for computing transmission factors for turbulent flow in circular pipes from test data taken on gas wells have been derived and explained in detail in a paper by Smith4. As these methods were used to calculate the transmission factors presented in this report, a summary is included. Starting with

Jan 1, 1955

By H. C. Howarth

This paper gives observations on ground movement and subsidence resulting from pillar drawing in the Lick Run section of Montour No. 10 mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Co. adjacent to solid coal owned by the U. S. Bureau of Mines at its Experimental mine in Snowden Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The investigation was planned by George S. Rice, chief mining engineer of the Bureau, who arranged the necessary cooperation with Dr. L. E. Young, vice president of the Pittsburgh Coal Co. Engineers of that company placed permanent monuments on the surface to establish the boundaries of the coal owned by the Bureau and to furnish fixed points to which all levels were referred. Engineers of the Experimental mine staff then covered the ground under observation with a checkerwork of monuments made of oak pegs set into the ground at 50-ft. intervals in two directions at right angles to each other. The level of these pegs was determined first from Dec. 16 to 30, 1929; again from May 25 to June 5, 1930, and finally from July 7 to 15, 1931. Observations were then discontinued because work had been stopped temporarily in this part on Montour 10 mine. General Conditions Fig. 1 is a plan of the part of the area under observation with which this paper deals. The mine is developed on a room and pillar system known locally as half advancing and half retreating. As Nos. 35 and 36 butt entries were advanced, rooms were driven from No. 36 and drawing of the room pillars followed their completion. When the entries reached the boundary, rooms were started from No. 35 butt beginning at that point, and all remaining pillars were drawn as rapidly as possible. The rib lines of Jan. 9 and June 13, 1930, were surveyed a week to 10 days after the first and second sets of levels were run, and there was some advance in that period. The rib line of July 15, 1931, agrees in time

Jan 1, 1934

By M. E. Wadsworth, K. J. Richards

The oxidation rates of tantalum in various partial pressures of carbon dioxide in the temperature range 700°to 950°C were measured with a thermo-gravimetric balance. Oxidation involved a surface -controlled reaction associated with the formation of a nonprotective layer of Ta2O5. Below about 720°C, there was a change in the rate-determining mechanism, and above 830°C the linear rate was preceded by a complex region of nonlinear oxidation behavior. The linear oxidation of tantalum has been explained quantitatively in terms of carbon dioxide adsorption, followed by a rate-controlling surface reaction. The initial adsorption has been expressed both as an equilibrium process and as a steady-state reaction. The enthalpy for chemisorption of CO, was determined to be -17.3 kcal per mole. The surface-controlled reaction had an activation enthalpy of 40.4 kcal per mole. A considerable amount of interest has been shown in recent years in the oxidation of tantalum and the nature of the oxide film produced. This interest is associated with the increasing demand in our technology for structural materials to withstand high temperatures and corrosive atmospheres. The low oxidation resistance of tantalum has severely restricted its application as a high-strength, high-temperature material. As a fundamental approach to the realization of the full poten- tials of this metal, the kinetics of the oxidation of tantalum in oxygen and air have been extensively studied; however, very little work has been reported on the effect of other gases, including carbon dioxide. According to Miller,' the only reported study of the reaction between tantalum and dry carbon dioxide is a restricted observation by O'Driscoll et al.2 at 8 atm absolute pressure and 500°C. Therefore, this study was made to investigate the reaction of tantalum with carbon dioxide. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHODS The vacuum-annealed tantalum used in this study was obtained from Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. as 0.025-mm-thick sheet stock. This material had less than 0.1 pct total impurities, and the maximum individual impurity concentrations were

Jan 1, 1964

By J. J. Lillie

Sublevel stoping was first developed in the Michigan iron mines many years ago. Since that time this method, and modifications with long hole drilling, have been used in a number of non-ferrous mines and have been described in various papers and articles. With a few exceptions, the operations where sublevel methods have been applied are producers of large daily tonnages from ore bodies of considerable size. In selecting mining methods for small properties or relatively small detached ore bodies, sublevel methods often have been overlooked. The method has been used successfully in relatively small operations at Copper Canyon, Nevada, and, more recently, in mining small ore bodies at Darwin, Calif. As a result of this experience, we believe that a review of the general procedure, the advantages noted, and the results obtained will be of interest to many operators of relatively small mines. General Description Briefly, sublevel stoping consists of, first, driving sublevel drifts at predetermined vertical intervals through the length of the stope block; second, breaking an initial mining slot across the stope; third, driving crosscut benches from each sublevel by slabbing into the slot; and, fourth, breaking the ground between benches. Applicability Since this is an open stope method, it requires wall rock that will stand over reasonable stope lengths without caving or excessive slabbing. Ore must be moderately firm but need not be hard. The method is best adapted to steep dipping, tabular or lenticular ore bodies but may be applied to ore bodies of almost any shape if their vertical extent is appreciable. It can be used with dips that are too flat for successful shrinkage stopes and can be modified for use with slushers on dips below about 40". Initial mining at the Copper Canyon operation consisted of sublevel stopes for the wider ore sections and shrinkage stopes for the narrow sections where ore widths averaged about 15 ft. After some experience and a study of comparative results on completed stope blocks, sublevels were substituted for shrinkage stopes even in the narrow ore widths. Practical stope lengths depend upon the character of the walls and the continuity of values within the ore body. Where blocks of low grade or waste are included in the stoping limits, these areas can readily be left as pillars for intermediate wall support and longer stope lengths may be planned. Raises can be spotted in narrow or low grade areas and stope lengths adjusted accordingly. Stoping Details To illustrate stoping details, assume that we have an ore shoot 15 to 30 ft wide and about 200 ft long, with walls that would stand over a stope length of 80 to 90 ft (Fig1). PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT Preliminary development for sublevel stoping would be simple. A service raise is driven at about the center of the block and stope limits planned to leave a pillar around this raise. Sublevel drifts driven each way from this central raise will outline the

Jan 1, 1950

By Howard C. Dunkle

Various factors can affect the quality of B1112 and B1113 steel as produced in a bessemer plant; among them: vessel-charging practice, blowing practice, ingot-pouring practice, ingot delivery-time practice, pit-heating practices, and ingot-rolling practice. Evaluation of the influence of ingot delivery time on quality has been chosen as the subject for this paper because this time is completely within the control of the operator, and on this particular factor there is a tremendous amount of information in the dusty archives of the average steel plant. In order to know how much improvement can be made and when attention should be directed to other factors that influence quality, in the continual struggle for improvement, the effect of ingot delivery time must be accurately evaluated. Once this is done, the importance of other variables can be accurately obtained, thus eliminating the necessity of resorting to opinions that are of doubtful value at best. In the study described herein, extensive use was made of the statistical card system as a method of determining the effect of ingot delivery time as a quality factor in bessemer screw-stock grades by simple direct correlation. The value of this statistical method as a means of accurately determining the influence of various factors has been amply demonstrated by Work1 for the bessemer process and by Hand and Gould2 and Fetters and Chipman3 for the open-hearth process. The quality records of 300,000 tons of bessemer screw-stock billets were used in this study of the effect of ingot delivery time on the rejections for breaks, pipe, check and seams. The reduction in the number of rejections for poor quality reduces the costs and increases the productivity per man-hour. The operator today, more than ever before, must know how to keep costs down, how to do it most quickly and in the best way, and how to obtain the highest quality in line with the ever increasing demands of the customer. It is necessary for him to know the individual relations and interrelations between various factors affecting the quality of the manufactured product if he is to produce material that will meet competitively the cost, performance, and quality demands of the trade. SIGNIFICANCE OF STEEL MANGANESE, MIXER SILICON AND STEEL SULPHUR AS QUALITY FACTORS In order to obtain the highest grade of material it is necessary to control many factors-not just one or two, as operators

Jan 1, 1945

By David B. Reger

The year 1936 in West Virginia was characterized by increased activity in natural gas. The number of actual completions was only slightly increased but many more wells were drilling than at the end of 1935 and there was almost feverish activity in taking new leases. This pronounced revival is partly due to the fact that the extremely cold winter of 1935-1936 showed that additional supplies of gas would be desirable and partly to the hope of finding new pools in the deeper sands. No new pools have actually been found, but the Oriskany sand (L. Dev.) development of Kanawha County, which was already assured by the end of 1935, was greatly extended into wider and richer territory. The Middle Devonian shale (Childres sand), reached incidentally by Oriskany exploration as well as by direct design, has been productive of gas in much wider areas of Boone, Lincoln, Putnam and Kanawha Counties than heretofore known. Routine drilling to the upper sands in dehed territory, also, was greatly increased, although not yet much reflected in completions. Thc supply of marketable gas, however, has been substantially enlarged. In preparation for further exploration there has been an extensive leasing campaign throughout the entire territory where gas seems at all probable, or ever possible. Exact figures are lacking, but new leases have certainly been taken on more than 1,000,000 arres. One operator estimates that 500,000 acres have been leased in the Appalachian geosyncline alone between Parkersburg and Charleston. Exploration, both for shallow and deep-sand gas, on some of these new leases is now under way. There was little activity in oil. No special search for new pools was made and none was found, but the usual routine drilling in old pools occurred. One major gas pipe-line enterprise was undertaken and completed. Operating technology was much the same as usual. In certain localities repressuring for oil has become a matter of routine, and in others the use of acid in treating small wells in calcareous beds has been continued. Financially, the year has been eventless. Some attempts to buy and

Jan 1, 1937

By George Otis Smith

That an oil-land law is the most needed item in the proposed program of mineral-land legislation follows from the fact that Congress has never enacted a law really applicable to petroleum and natural gas. The action of Congress in 1897 in authorizing entry of oil lands under the placer law, enacted 27 years before for the mining of gold in surface gravels, was plainly only makeshift legislation. Naturally the provisions of this placer law with its requirement of discovery as a prerequisite to location are nothing less than absurd when applied to petroleum deposits hundreds or thousands of feet beneath the surface. Other reasons which render oil-land legislation an urgent necessity arise first from the large acreage of lands believed to be valuable for their deposits of oil and gas and therefore withdrawn by Executive order from all entry pending the enactment of . an appropriate law for their disposition—a withdrawal that has been specially ratified by Congress in the case of one State, Utah—and second from the exceptional importance of this resource to the nation, the large industrial worth of petroleum, and indeed its paramount value to the navy, not being suspected 17 years ago when Congress last legislated upon this subject. Mineral land of this type is also well adapted to serve for purposes of illustration in discussing the general principles that demand recognition in legislative reform. Most of the issues involved in the consideration of oil-land legislation are clean-cut, and essential differences of opinion will be seen to be based upon radical divergence in economic theory rather than upon conflicting views concerning unimportant details. For the last five years or more the geologists of the Federal Survey have discussed this subject and prepared memorandums and reports on the various bills introduced in Congress. Most of the provisions suggested in the present outline have been under consideration at one time or another during that period, and many of the statements which follow can be said to represent the consensus of opinion among those of us who, both in the field and in the office, have given special attention to the public oil lands.

Jan 1, 1915

By William S. Hannan, H. Rush Spedden

FLOTATION may be defined as a process whereby mineral particles are concentrated by selective adhesion to air-liquid interfaces. The process involves attachment of desired mineral particles to air bubbles, and removal of the mineralized air bubbles from the surface of the pulp as a mineral concentrate. PROBLEM Although great strides have been made in understanding the principles of flotation, one part of the process which has not been adequately explained is the mechanism by which selected mineral particles become attached to air bubbles. A glance at the froth of an operating flotation cell demonstrates adequately that use of proper reagents and conditions will result in such attachments; but how such attachment takes place is not definitely known. A better knowledge of this factor might lead to improved flotation practice either through altered machine design or the application of scientific innovations. Direct observation of the behavior of mineral particles and bubbles in an operating cell does not appear promising because of the complexity of the system. For this reason, conclusions concerning the problem must be deduced from theoretical considerations or from observation of simplified systems designed to reproduce conditions thought to exist in an operating cell. PRESENT THEORIES Two mechanisms have been recognized as fundamental in particle-bubble attachment: gas precipitation and direct encounter. It is a simple matter to demonstrate in the laboratory that attachment can be brought about by either mechanism. As to the relative importance of the two in a particular flotation system, however, there is a divergence of views. Taggart1 states, Under exceptional circumstances sufficient force and time to effect attachment may conjoin in an ore pulp undergoing agitation, and a preformed bubble adhere to a collector-coated mineral particle, but the occurrence is rare. . . . Pulp-body froth flotation effects selection in the body of a conditioned pulp by causing gas bubbles to precipitate from solution in the liquid phase preferentially at the surfaces of collector-coated particles, and to cling to these particles. Gaudin2 states that, within the pulp body of an agitation machine, attachment of mineral particles to air bubbles occurs as a consequence of contact between the two. This theory has been supported by theoretical reasoning and much circumstantial evidence. Perhaps the most interesting bit of evidence in favor of this theory is the difficulty in the flotation of fines. If attach-

Jan 1, 1947

By F. V. Lene, E. J. Westerman

The recrystallization behaviors of two extruded and cold-drawn experimental sintered aluminum powder alloys, containing 1.75 and 3.0 pct Al2O3 by weight, were compared with that of extruded and cold-drawn commercially pure alumirzum. The kinetics of recrystallization of the alloys are described semiquantitatively. For the alloy containing 1.75 pct A l203 the rates of nucleation and of growth were also semiquantitatively determined. THE most striking property of aluminum alloys strengthened by a dispersion of Al2O3, the so-called SAP alloys, is their stability at elevated temperatures. One of the manifestations of this stability is their resistance to recrystallization after they have been cold worked. Most of the commercial grades of either the Swiss SAP or of Alcoa's Aluminum Powder Metallurgy Products have not been recrys-tallized after cold working, even when they are heated for a long time at a temperature near the aluminum melting point. Lenel, however, observed that the dispersion strengthened aluminum alloys with a larger spacing between the oxide particles than that of most commercial grades would recrys-tallize.1 It appeared to be of interest to further investigate the mode and kinetics of recrystallization of these alloys, and to compare their recrystallization behavior with that of commercially pure aluminum. Because homogeneous deformation of these SAP alloys in tension did not provide sufficient cold work to induce recrystallization, they were cold worked by wire drawing; the nonuniformity of this deformation unavoidably complicated the interpretation of the recrystallization studies. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS Extrusions—Two types of sintered aluminum powder extrusions were used in this study. One type, designated AT-400, was produced from Reynolds atomized aluminum powder consisting of spherical particles averaging 3µ in diam and containing 1.75 wt pct of Al2O3. This powder was very similar to the R3M powder from which extrusions were previously prepared with an average spacing of 0.9µ between oxide particles.2 The second type, designated MD 2100, was produced from Metals Disintegrating Co. flake powder containing 3.0 wt pct of Al2O3, with an average flake thickness of 0.8µ. The average spacing between oxide platelets in MD 2100 extru- sions was 0.45µ.2 Powder compacts of 3/4-in. diam were extruded at 1000°F into 0.097-in. diam (AT-400) and 0.093-in. diam (MD 2100) wires by methods previously described.3 In order to compare the recrystallization behavior of sintered aluminum powder extrusions with that of wrought commercially pure aluminum 3/4 in. rod stock of 1100 F aluminum was extruded at 1000°F into 0.102-in. diam wire. Wire Drawing—Tungsten carbide dies were used for the AT-400 and 1100 F alloys. They had an included angle of about 15 deg and reduced the wire area approximately 7 pct per pass. Steel dies with an included angle of 11 to 13 deg and an average reduction per pass of 10 pct were used for drawing the MD 2100 alloy, because drawing this alloy through the carbide dies produced overdrawing defects. Heat Treatment—The cold-drawn wires were cut into small samples, and the deformed ends were etched off. The samples were each wrapped tightly in a single layer of aluminum foil, and individually isothermally annealed in a lead bath. Metallography—The modes and kinetics of recrystallization were determined by metallography. Mounted and polished specimens were anodized in a solution of 1.8 pct HBF4;4 examination under polarized light clearly revealed their grain structures. The recrystallized grains were generally much larger than those of the unrecrystallized matrix, and could clearly be distinguished because they alternated between maximum and minimum light reflection when the microscope stage was rotated, while the unrecrystallized matrix had a comparatively homogeneous "salt and pepper" structure. The fractional recrystallized volumes of the dispersion hardened alloy wires were determined by cutting and weighing of recrystallized and total transverse areas on photomicrographs. The recrystallized grains in the 1100 F alloy were too small to be cut out individually; therefore a combination of cutting and lineal analysis was used in this case. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Modes of Recrystallization—The modes of recrystallization of the three alloys varied widely. In the 1100 F alloy nucleation and growth started in the region midway between the center and the surface;

Jan 1, 1961