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By H. W. St. Clair

This study was undertaken to provide a more adequate knowledge of the chemistry of the sulfide volatilization process for recovery of tin from low-grade Bolivian ores. The investigation was partly supported by the Department of State under its program for scientific cooperation with South American republics. The results of this investigation demonstrate the conditions under which cassiterite (Sn02) may be converted to stannous sulfide by reaction with pyrite or sulfur vapor, Quantitative data are given on the rate of sulfidization and on the vapor pressure of stannous sulfide.

Jan 1, 1954

The Black Hills Mineral Atlas briefly summarizes all pertinent date available on the mines and mineral deposits in the Black Hills that have been explored, developed, mined, or located. The purpose of the atlas is threefold: First, from available date the general potentialities of the Black Hills region can be determined, although it is not possible to calculate actual ore reserves; second, it will provide the necessary basic information regarding a given property or commodity for further detailed study; and third, the compilation is a comprehensive directory of Black Hills deposits.

Jan 1, 1954

By V. A. Nieberlein

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the reserves of columbium (niobium) minerals in Arkansas and to develop metallurgical methods for concentrating the minerals and extracting the metal. The columbium resources of central Arkansas were explored by drilling and trenching, and a number of samples were taken. On the basis of this exploration the known reserves of the metal were estimated to be over 78,000,000 pounds. The reserves could possibly be extended by additional exploration to 150,000,000 pounds.

Jan 1, 1954

By Arthur Baker III

The orebodies are long bedding-plane lenses of chalcopyrite and sphalerite, associated with garnetite masses. Most of the orebodies are within a 50-ft thickness of Cambrian limestone; other Paleozoic limestones and dolomites are locally metamorphosed but only slightly mineralized. Pre-mineral faults are numerous, but shallow folds were the main ore-localizing structures. JOHNSON camp is in the northwestern part of Cochise County, Ariz., about 50 miles east of Tucson. The nearest major mining districts are Tombstone and Bisbee, respectively 27 and 50 miles to the south, and the Superior-Miami-Globe-Ray porphyry copper group, about 90 miles northwest. Like many mining camps of the Southwest, Johnson camp is said to have been worked by the Spaniards. The first production on record was in the early 1880's, when an unknown amount of oxidized copper-silver ore in the Peabody mine was mined from replacement orebodies in the Pennsyl-vanian Naco formation. From 1904 to 1911 outcropping oxidized ores in the Cambrian Abrigo formation were worked, and an estimated 100,000 tons of copper ore were shipped. In 1912 the first large sulphide orebody of the district, the Republic Manto orebody, was discovered, and in the following few years some 250,000 tons of predominantly sulphide ore were shipped. The average grade of this ore was approximately 4.5 pct Cu, 6 pct Zn, 0.8 oz. Ag, and 0.001 oz Au. The Republic, Copper Chief, and Mammoth mines were the principal producers during this period. Mining ceased in the district after 1920, and until 1943 only small-scale leasing operations were carried on. In 1943 all the mines that had been productive were acquired by the Coronado Copper and Zinc Co., the present operators, and in the 10 years since that time the district production has amounted to approximately 350,000 tons of milling ore averaging 2 pct Cu and 6 pct Zn. Most of this ore was produced from the Republic and Mammoth mines, but since 1950 a large part of the production has been from the new Moore mine. The total known production from the district, then, is about 3/4 million tons of copper and copper-zinc ore of low grade. All of this ore was produced from orebodies associated with garnetite in the middle member of the Cambrian Abrigo formation. In addition to this known production, an unknown tonnage of ore was extracted from the Peabody mine orebodies that lie in the Pennsylvanian Naco formation. Published information on the geology of the district is limited. Aside from brief references in various mining journals, only three papers on the district have been published.1-3 One of these is a U. S. Bureau of Mines report on a diamond drilling program, one is a brief paper on the general geology of the district, and the third is a report on geochemical experiments, with a section on the occurrence of the orebodies. The last two are by John Cooper, of the United States Geological Survey, who has done much detailed work in the area. Stratigraphy The rocks of the mineralized area are Paleozoic sediments ranging in age from Cambrian to Penn-sylvanian. Several disconformities are present in the stratigraphic column, the most important one being between the Cambrian Abrigo formation and the Devonian Martin formation. There are no angular unconformities. Within the district, the Paleozoic sediments lie in a fairly uniform monocline, striking northwest and dipping 30" to 50" northeast. This local monocline is part of a domal struc-ture centered in the Little Dragoon mountains to the southwest. The Texas Canyon stock, a quartz monzonite body intruded probably during the Laramide revolution, lies south of the mineralized area (Ref. 2, p. 33). The Paleozoic rocks dip away from the stock, and on the surface are separated from it by at least 1500 ft of Pre-Cambrian rocks. The outcrop pattern of the northeastern edge of the stock suggests that it may dip gently northeastward, passing below the mineralized area at moderate depth. No quartz monzonite has been found in mine workings or diamond drill holes, which reach to depths of 1000 ft. The only igneous rock found in the mineralized area is a lamprophyre dike cutting the Naco limestone in and near workings of the Peabody mine. With the exception of the lowermost beds—the Bolsa quartzite and the shaly lower member of the Abrigo formation—the Paleozoic sediments are predominantly carbonate rocks, Fig. 1. The middle member of the Abrigo formation, which contains the principal ore-bearing beds, is limestone, with thin shale partings throughout most of its 250-ft thick-ness. Near the top of this member is a sandy bed some 25 ft thick. The upper member of the Abrigo formation and the lower half of the overlying Devonian Martin formation are dolomitic, with num-

Jan 1, 1954

By N. A. Gokcen

THE data of Chaudron,1 Tonosaki,2 and Collins³ on the thermodynamic properties of MOO, disagree widely. These authors, by using essentially similar methods, studied the following reaction: 1/2MoO2(s) + H2(g) == i/2Mo(s) + Ph,o H2O(g),K = —----- [1] Ph2 Tonosaki used a vacuum system consisting of a furnace containing MOO, and a water saturator whose temperature was kept at 25 °C with a thermostat. After repeated evacuation, hydrogen was admitted slowly into the system. The experiments were based upon the fact that at a constant furnace temperature and constant partial pressure of water, the total pressure of gas mixture over MOO? + Mo is constant. Any attempt to vary the pressure by external forces would vary only the amounts of MoO2, and Mo, after which the pressure should return to the equilibrium value in accordance with the equilibrium constant of reaction 1. The actual value of K was determined from the total equilibrium pressure (sum of Ph2o + Ph2) at each temperature. The total pressure of gas was varied within the range of 80.2 to 125.4 mm Hg, within a temperature range of 645" to 823 °C. The results were summarized as log K = 0.9413 — 1444.6/T for reaction 1. The ratio of H2O/H2 was considered to be uniform in spite of the presence of a thermal gradient across the static gas phase. It was shown by Rosenqvist and Cox,' however, that in somewhat similar circumstances the error resulting from thermal diffusion may be large. Collins³ improved Tonosaki's method by attempting to avoid thermal diffusion errors. His equilibrium data were obtained at 700°, 800°, and 900° C, and the result for reaction 1 was expressed as log K = 1.258 — 1822/T. The purpose of this investigation was to study reaction 1, avoiding the thermal diffusion errors, and to obtain equilibrium data in a considerably wide temperature range for the reliable extrapolation of the resulting thermodynamic functions. Experimental Procedure The diagram of the apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. Tank hydrogen was passed through a tube containing platinized asbestos at 425 °C in order to convert a trace of oxygen into water vapor. The flow rate was carefully controlled with a capillary-type flow-meter B and a bubbling column D. The gas was then presaturated sufficiently at P and led into a condenser system immersed in a thermostat, controlled to within ±0.002C. The temperature of the thermostat was measured with a thermometer calibrated against a certified standard. The temperature of P was adjusted to avoid the condensation of unduly large amounts of water as judged from the rate of flow out of the capillary tube M. Argon was purified by passing it through magnesium chips kept at 630°C. After passing through the flowmeter B', it was mixed with moist hydrogen emerging from the thermostat. The resulting gas mixture was then led into the hot zone of the furnace through the heated glass tubing and the silica tube S, thus insuring the same ratio of PII2o/Ph2 from the condenser to the reaction chamber, thus avoiding thermal diffusion. The entire gas system was of all-glass construction, except at the magnesium train. The furnace comprised a glazed alumina tube over which a 15-in. platinum coil was wound. The lower end of the alumina tube was tightly closed with a brass bottom and a silicone rubber gasket, and the upper end with two glass disks, each with a hole of 1/16 in. in diameter, through which the gas mixture escaped into the atmosphere. A back-up coil of kanthal wire facilitated the temperature control of the furnace. A coil of annealed molybdenum strip of 99.99 pct purity, 0.005 in. thick and 0.050 in. wide, and weighing 17 g was hung in the furnace with a 0.010-in. platinum wire attached to one end of a sensitive analytical balance. The temperature of the furnace was measured with a Pt-Pt-10 pct Rh thermocouple checked against a standard. The experimental procedure consisted of heating the gas purification trains, adjusting the gas flow rates, attaining a constant thermostatic temperature, flushing the entire system for 2 hr while heating the furnace to well above the expected equilibrium temperature and then cooling it at a rate of 0.3°C per min during which time the change in the weight of molybdenum was observed on the balance. For a given thermostatic temperature, i.e., a constant Prr,o/Px,, molybdenum oxidized upon cooling slightly below the equilibrium temperature. The procedure was then repeated by heating the furnace and thus reaching a temperature slightly above the equilibrium value. The average of the two temperatures, differing by 2" to 3"C, was considered to be the true equilibrium temperature. In order to determine the stoichiometric composition of the oxide phase present in this investigation,

Jan 1, 1954

By R. L. Grant

Study of the ignition of firedamp by explosives and the phenomena that underlie it is one of the long-term investigations of the Bureau of Mines. This report is the third in e series by the Explosives Branch summarizing the progress made at Bruceton in this study. The first paper described preliminary work on small, carefully controlled cannon shots the second discussed the results of suspended shots.5/ In this paper, experiments are described and interpreted that extend and support the concept of ignition presented previously. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors wish to thank Bernard Lewis, former chief, Explosives and Physical Sciences Division, and Guenther von Elbe, former chief, Physical Sciences Branch, Explosives and Physical Sciences Division, for their guidance and constructive interest.

Jan 1, 1954

By K. K. Kelley

Despite the wide interest in titanium and its compounds, no heat and free-energy-of-formation values for titanates (that is, compounds formed from titania and other metal oxides) have been available heretofore except for ilmenite (FeTi03). Such data are needed for understanding and developing processes for producing titania and titanium tetrachloride from ores (and possibly slags) and in connection with ceramic usage of titania. This paper reports experimental measurements of the heats of formation at ordinary temperature of 11 titanates-ilmenite, perovskite, barium metatinate, strontium metatitanate, barium-strontium metatitanate, barium orthotitanate, strontium orthotitanate, barium-strontium othotitanate, geikielite, magnesium-titanium spinel, and magnesium dititanate. The experimental method was solution calorimetry. The solution calorimeter was operated at 73.7°C. and used a strong hydrofluoric-hydrochloric acid mixture as the calorimetric fluid and reaction medium.

Jan 1, 1954

By W. J. Farley

"The Sherritt Gordon mine is 100 miles north of The Pas in northern Manitoba. Copper-zinc ore was discovered on the property in 1922. Production began in 1931 and continued to June, 1932, when operations were suspended because of the low price of copper. Operations were resumed on August 1st, 1937, and have been carried on continuously from that time to the present (March 1947). The production of metals up to the end of 1945 was copper, 287,129,880 lb.; zinc concentrate (50 per cent) 104,419 tons ; gold, 79,388 oz.; silver, 2,529,974 oz.GENERALThe ore occurs in two deposits, the east and the west. Both are enclosed in gneisses that are highly metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic derivatives. The rock beneath the deposits, and hence forming their footwall, is gneissoid quartzite; the hanging-wall rock is basic garnetiferous hornblende gneiss. Pegmatite commonly occurs along both foot- and hangingwall peripheries and as isolated blocks and fragments within the ore zone . These blocks and fragments are considered to be residuals of unreplaced host rock .The ore is relatively coarse grained and ranges from the massive to the disseminated type. The metallic sulphides composing these, named in the order of their abundance, are pyrite and pyrrhotite ( 2-1 ratio) , chalcopyrite, sphalerite (marmatite) , and minor chalmeriite; subordinate amounts of gold and silver are recovered . The insoluble content of the ore averages about 35 per cent.Another deposit known as the Bob Lake, much smaller and lower in grade but having very similar relationships, occurs about 3 ½ miles to the northeast of the main Sherritt Gordon ore masses.STRUCTUREThe Sherritt Gordon orebodies are of the replacement type, and lie within a pegmatite sill that has been intruded along a contact between quartzite and hornblende gneiss. The two main orebodies are intimately related, for the east deposit is an erosional remnant of the lower, easterly limit of an orebody once continuous with the west body. The ore lies along the southwest limb of an overturned syncline."

Jan 1, 1954

By K. E. Nelson

The effect of thorium and zinc variations on the strength and 100-hr creep characteristics of Mg-Th-Zn-Zr alloys was investigated. Optimum resistance to creep at 650° and 700°F are attainable within a certain range of thorium and zinc contents. This range does not conform to that which develops maximum tensile properties. RAPID advances have been made during the last few years in the development of magnesium alloys for elevated temperature applications demanding high resistance to creep. The beneficial effect of rare-earth metals on the creep resistance of magnesium alloys has been emphasized by a number of publications1-13 and such alloys are now in commercial production. The use of thorium as an alloying ingredient in magnesium was mentioned by McDonald and also in two Alien Property Custodian patent applications.10,17 The initial observation of Sauerwald that thorium contributes still higher creep resistance to magnesium than is attainable with rare-earth metals has recently been substantiated.'" " In fact, it has been demonstrated that the useful temperature range of magnesium alloys is appreciably extended by the use of thorium. In all cases, it was observed that zirconium must be included in the alloys in order to render them fine grained and more readily castable. Several recent publications:2-27 indicate that a still further improvement in creep resistance and a further extension of the useful temperature range can be realized by the addition of zinc to alloys. The primary purpose of this paper is to present the results of a comprehensive study of the effect of zinc on the strength and creep characteristics of Mg-Th-Zr alloys. Compositions covering the range of thorium content from M to 6 pct and zinc content from 0 to 5 pct have been investigated. The creep characteristics at 650" and 700°F reported in this paper are based on results of tests of 100-hr duration. It is appreciated that creep tests of 100-hr duration might not yield adequate data for design purposes for parts with much longer expected life. However, for the purposes of the present discussion, it is felt that the combination of stresses and temperatures used in the 100-hr creep tests have yielded a clear representation of the compositional variation of creep resistance at the temperatures investigated. Creep tests of 1000-hr duration are now in progress on a few of the most promising alloys. Preparation and Testing of Alloys The alloys studied in this intensive investigation were prepared in 25 lb capacity mild steel crucibles. The thorium, zinc, and zirconium were alloyed and poured as described in earlier publications The thorium was introduced into the melt in the form of a Mg-Th hardener," the zinc added in the metallic form, and the zirconium alloyed in the form of the commercial hardener containing magnesium and 30 to 50 pct Zr.10, 26 Fluxing practices for melting and refining were the same as for magnesium-rare-earth metal-zirconium alloys. The melts were sampled for analytical determinations and poured into separately cast 1/2 in. diameter standard tensile bars. The test bars were given a precipitation treatment of 16 hr at 600°F in laboratory furnaces. It has been shown by other tests that a high temperature solution treatment followed by an aging treatment is unnecessary for the development of optimum properties in Mg-Th-Zn-Zr alloys. The selection of 600°F as the aging temperature was based on an attempt to achieve metallurgical stability without coalescence of the undissolved phases and the attendant loss in strength. The thorium, zinc, and zirconium contents of each melt were determined chemically. The zirconium contents are reported in two parts, "soluble" and "insoluble," referring, respectively, to the portions present in the alloy which are soluble and insoluble in dilute HCl acid. Distinction is being made between these two components of the zirconium content in the alloys because it has been found that only that portion of the zirconium content which is soluble in dilute inorganic acids affects the structure and properties of the alloys. The usual impurities consisting of copper, iron, manganese, and nickel were determined spectroscopically. The analysis for each melt is listed in Table I. A description of the methods of tension and creep testing has been detailed in earlier papers. The tests were performed with the cast skin re-

Jan 1, 1954

By Y. C. Liu, H. Margolin

Investigation of martensite habit plane in water-quenched Ti-Mn alloys was carried out in the range of manganese contents between 4.35 and 5.25 pct. On the basis of 22 measurements, the poles were observed to fall into two groups, indicating the existence of two habit planes. The Miller indices of the poles close to these two groups were found to be <334>ß and <344>ß. TITANIUM has an allotropic transformation at 882.1° ± 0.5C1 by which the high temperature ß (body-centered cubic) phase changes to a (hexagonal close-packed) phase. It is well known, as in the case of low carbon steel, that the unalloyed high temperature ß phase cannot be retained no matter how rapid the cooling rate. However, the addition of alloying elements usually lowers the transformation temperature continuously and stabilizes the ß phase to a temperature much lower than the allotropic transformation temperature in pure titanium. A typical example of this behavior is found with manganese-alloying of titanium. Fig. 1 shows the titanium-rich Ti-Mn equilibrium diagram as established by Battelle Memorial Institute.&apos; The addition of manganese lowers the ß transus line and the eutectoid reaction takes place at 550°C, the eutectoid composition being 20 wt pct Mn. However, upon quenching to room temperature from the ß field, the ß phase can be completely retained with much less manganese, see Fig. 2. If the composition is less than that required to stabilize the ß phase completely, a plate-like structure, similar to that of martensite in other alloy systems, appears as shown in Fig. 3. Much lower alloying content merely intensifies the amounts of these transformed structures, as shown in Fig. 4. This paper presents the results of an investigation of the habit plane of these martensitic structures in Ti-Mn alloys. Experimental Procedure Investigation of the pole of a given platelet was made using the two-surface method of analysis." In order that a given martensite trace on two surfaces be readily recognized both at low and high magnifications, it is desirable that only a small amount of martensite be present. From a review of the data obtained at Battelle Memorial Institute4 on quench hardening in Ti-Mn alloys and the results of Duwez" on transformation in Ti-MO alloys, it was decided that the most appropriate Ti-Mn composition for this study would be about 6 pct Mn. A group of alloys containing from 3 to 10 pct Mn was made to bracket this composition. The choice of the 6 pct alloy was apparently proper, since it was later learned that approximately 5.5 to 6 pct Mn is required to stabilize the ß phase on water quenching.

Jan 1, 1954

By W. Rostoker, R. P. Elliott, B. W. Levincer

Phase equilibria in the Ti-Cr-Mo system have been investigated for alloys containing 100 to 40 pct Ti in the temperature range 550° to 1300°C. Five experimental isothermal sections and a surface of incipient melting are presented in addition to a summary projection of the space. Seven vertical sections have been constructed from the isothermal sections. A STUDY of the system Ti-Cr-Mo was undertaken as part of a program sponsored by Watertown Arsenal toward the development of titanium-base phase equilibrium diagrams of potential technical importance to alloy development. The scope of the investigation included the composition range contained by the titanium corner and the line of 64 pct Ti (all compositions are by weight) and the temperature range 550" to 1100°C. A surface of incipient melting was constructed from measurements on a large number of alloys. The system Ti-Cr has been established.&apos;-? The phase diagram is characterized by a wide miscibility field of the solid solution at elevated temperatures and a eutectoid reaction of the type: (15 pct Cr) + TiCr, (685C). The a solid solution has a very limited capacity for solution of chromium (< 0.5 pct Cr). The intermediate phase TiCr2 has at best a very narrow composition range. It has been shown that two allotropic modifications of this phase exist. However, this behavior does not appear to be perceptibly reflected in the form of phase boundaries of the type + TiCr,. In the system Ti-Mo,9-10 the phase is stabilized to successively lower temperatures with increasing molybdenum content. There are no known intermediate phases. The a solid solution is limited to less than 0.5 pct Mo. Because of the very extensive range of the phase, the ternary system was ideally suited to the determination of the phase boundaries by the parametric method of Andersen and Jette." A parametric surface was constructed to provide the necessary basis for the application of this method. Preparation and Treatment of Alloys More than 60 alloy compositions were prepared for the study of this system. Alloy buttons of 10 grams were arc-melted in a nonconsumable electrode furnace using inert atmosphere protection and a water-cooled copper crucible. The construction and operation of this type of melting unit have been adequately described elsewhere.&apos;&apos; To insure complete solution of alloy additions, the buttons were remelted alternately on top or bottom as many as five times. This was accomplished by a suitable mechanism for "flipping" over the ingots. Iodide titanium (99.97 pct Ti) was used as the alloy base. An especially high quality chromium (99.9 pct Cr) was obtained from the National Research Corp. Molybdenum sheet (0.005 in.) of 99.9 pct purity was used.

Jan 1, 1954

By I. Cadoff, J. P. Nielsen

The Ti-C phase diagram exhibits a peritectic point at 1750°C and 0.8 pct C, and a peritectoid point at 920°C and 0.48 pct C. The maximum solubility of carbon in a titanium is 0.48 pct. The 6 region containing the Tic compound (20 pct C) extends to 11 pct C at the peritectic temperature. THE interest in the Ti-C alloy system stems from the fact that carbon occurs as an impurity in titanium alloys when graphite electrodes or graphite crucibles are used in their melting. Since titanium-base alloys are still in the development stage, some virtue may be found in carbon addition to titanium. The Tic compound is currently emerging as an important powder metallurgy base constituent similar to the WC compound. Ehrlich&apos; identified the phases and structures present in the Ti-C system. The peritectoid region of the phase diagram was investigated by Jaffee et al." A preliminary diagram based on theoretical considerations was proposed at the outset of this research." The Tic compound has been investigated extensively and has been reported on in a large number of papers. Experimental Procedure Arc-melted alloys of 24 compositions in the range 0 to 20 wt pct C were investigated using metallography, X-ray diffraction, and, for the liquidus and solidus regions, incipient and complete melting. All alloys were prepared from iodide titanium (New Jersey Zinc Co., 99.95 pct Ti minimum) and spectroscopic grade carbon (National Carbon Co.). To prevent carbon spattering during arc melting the carbon was encapsulated in titanium. For alloys containing less than 1 pct C the powder was inserted into a capsule formed by drilling a hole in the as-received rod. For higher compositions, capsules were formed from titanium sheet. Arc Melting: The charges were melted in the copper-hearth cold electrode furnace shown in Fig. 1. This furnace is similar in principle to the all-metal unit adapted for titanium melting at Battelle Memorial Institute.&apos; The transparent pyrex walls giving unlimited visibility during operation and the multiple-

Jan 1, 1954

By Shiou-Chuan Sun

THE fact that coals of different ranks and even of the same rank differ greatly in their amenability to froth flotation is well known. In recognition of the need for an explanation of this phenomenon, two hypotheses have been suggested. Wilkins1 reported that the floatability of coals increased with an increase of the carbon content or rank. This postulate is handicapped by the fact that bituminous coals that possess moderate carbon contents are actually more floatable than anthracite coals that have high carbon contents, as shown in columns 6 and 9 of Table I. Taggart and his associates&apos; implied that the difference of floatability between bituminous and anthracite coal was caused by the variation of carbon-hydrogen ratio. This is not applicable to the relative floatability of other coals and carbons. For example, column 11 of Table I shows that the carbon-hydrogen ratios of low-floating lignitic coal and non-floating animal charcoal are not only smaller than the moderate-floating anthracite coal, but are also similar to the high-floating bituminous coal. Furthermore, according to this hypothesis, high temperature coke-A (464), Ceylon graphite (1238), and lamp-black (357), all possessing extremely high carbon-hydrogen ratios, should be less floatable than other substances having much lower carbon- hydrogen ratios such as high volatile-B bituminous coal (11.9 to 22), anthracite coal (35.7 to 60.5), lignitic coal (15.6 to 33.6), and charcoal (13 to 26.2). However the former group is actually more floatable than the latter group.

Jan 1, 1954

Delivered at the University of Sydney, on June 4th, 1954.THE TORCH WE HOLDLast year Our Institute celebrated its Diamond Jubilee, coincident with the holding of the Fifth Empire Mining and Metallurigcal Congress in Australia and New Zealand. We can be proud of our growth over the 61 years since the inaugural meeting in Adelaide in April, 1893, which followed suggestions from a provisional committee of mining men, formed in 1892 in Broken Hill.We can also be proud of our technical achievements in the fields of economic geology, mining and metallurgy.Should we be content with the growth of our mining and metallurgical industries over these years? My answer is in the negative. The discovery of new mineral deposits is essential for the continuance and development of the industries we represent.Let me review the background and trends of our industry in an attempt to emphasise the changing factors influencing the search for minerals and their exploitation.Australia was blessed with the discovery of coal in New South Wales in 1796; copper in South Australia at Kapunda, Burra, Wallaroo and Moonta in the eighteen-forties; gold in Victoria and Eastern Australia in the &apos;fifties; tin at Mount Bischoff, Tasmania, and gold at Charters Towers, Queensland, in the &apos;seventies; lead-silver at Broken Hill, New South Wales; gold and copper at Mount Morgan, Queensland, and copper at Mount Lyell, Tasmania, in the &apos;eighties; and gold at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, and zinc-lead atRosebery, Tasmania, in the &apos;nineties. As well, the iron ore deposits of the Middleback Ranges, South Australia, and Yampi Sound, Western Australia, were known before...

Jan 1, 1954

By H. C. Young

This paper deals with roof bolting in Alabama coal mines and iron-ore mines from the time it was introduced in early May 1948 to May 1, 1953, a 5-year period. The Tennessee Coal & Iron Division of the United States Steel Corp. began systematic roof bolting in early May 1948 in a coal mine and in an iron-ore mine, which had some of the poorest roof conditions in the Alabama mines. After the efficiency of roof bolting had been proved by the Tennessee Co. it was gradually adopted by other companies throughout the State, until in May 1953 approximately 53 percent of Alabama&apos;s total coal production and 100 percent of Alabama&apos;s total iron-ore production, mined underground, was being produced from roof-bolted areas. Statistics in this report will show the advancement made in roof bolting in the 5 years and also the amount of roof bolting that was being done as of May 1, 1953. Significant progress has been made in the coal and iron-ore mines of Alabama in reducing the roof-fall fatality rates during the past several years by adopting systematic roof bolting. The groundwork was laid through successful experiments early in 1948 by the Tennessee Coal & Iron Division of the United States Steel Corp. in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Mines. This experimental work was based upon the previous experience of the St. Joseph Lead Co.2/ in its Southeastern Missouri mines.

Jan 1, 1954

By H. C. Hamontre

[The Bureau of Mines well-bore caliper was designed to provide an instrument that could be operated through 2-inch tubing, which &apos;a used particularly in many input wells on water-flooding projects of eastern, Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. It should find wide application elsewhere under many other conditions where it has not been possible previously to make caliper logs with the larger probes used on other instruments. The caliper has three additional advantages over other instruments of this type: (1) It measures 4 radii (up to 18 inches) 90° apart with an accuracy of ± 1/4 inch; (2) the measuring arms can be opened and closed at will by remote control; and (3) it is run and operated on a single-conductor, armored electric cable (Amergraph, type 1-H-0). The caliper probe is 1-3/4 inches in diameter and approximately 6 feet in length. The electrical control and measuring circuits are encased in a stainless-steel tubular case. Measuring arms, made of 5/16-inch aluminum tubing, are attached near the lower end of the instrument. Distances the arms are extended are indicated t the surface by a meter calibrated to read directly in inches. Depths at which the radii measurements are taken are indicated by a wireline depth indicator on the cable-reeling. The instrument is not affected by pressure or temperature, it can be run open hole or under pressure through a lubricator. This paper describes and illustrates the instrument and outlines the operating procedures. A bibliography at the end of the report gives references to articles and patents on the development and use of other well-bore calipers.]

Jan 1, 1954

By G. M. Willis, F. L. Hennessy

The oxygen pressure in equilibrium with silver and Ag2O-B2O3 melts has been measured between 800&apos; and 900°C, to obtain the thermodynamic properties of the liquid. The compound Ag20. 4B20:1 appears to exist in the liquid, which shows marked heat content and entropy effects. A KNOWLEDGE of the thermodynamic properties of binary liquid silicates, borates, and phosphates would be of considerable assistance in the interpretation of the behavior of multi-component metallurgical slags. However, the literature contains comparatively few studies of the thermodynamics of binary slags. The system Ag20-B,O, attracted our attention as it was known to give a single liquid phase,&apos;,&apos; in which high contents of silver could be obtained (up to 61 pct Ag according to Foex2). Further, it would be expected that the partial pressure of oxygen over melts in equilibrium with metallic silver could be used to determine the activity of Ag2O in the Ag,O-B,O, system. In many respects, it may be expected that the reaction of a basic oxide with boric oxide would be analogous to its reaction with silica. Liquid immiscibility frequently occurs in both borate and silicate systems. With B2O3 and SiO reaction with a basic oxide presumably involves a breakdown of the three-dimensional network of the acid oxide by reaction with oxygen atoms common to more than one silicon or boron atom. Ag2O-B2O3 was therefore investigated as a model of a slag system in the hope that its thermodynamic properties would assist in understanding those of other systems. Several methods for determining the activity of a component in a slag have been described in the literature. Chang and Derge" used high temperature electromotive force measurements to obtain the activity of SiO2 in CaO-SiO2 and Ca0-Al203-Si02 slags, but the cell reaction in their work is not clear. low has used rate of volatilization and vapor pressure measurements combined with phase diagrams to obtain activities in the systems KO-SiO,, Na,O-SiO, and Li,O-SiO," and PbO-SiO26 Taylor and Chipman7 extrapolated their results for the distribution of FeO between liquid iron and CaO (+Mg0)-FeO-SiOl slags to obtain the activity of FeO in the binary FeO-SiO2 system. In principle, one of the most direct methods for obtaining the activity of a metallic oxide in a phase is by comparison of the equilibrium oxygen pressure for the system metal-pure oxide with that of metal oxide-containing phase. Schenck and othersa have studied the stabilization of Ag2O on combination with other oxides (MO,) in the solid state by measurements of the oxygen pressure in systems of the type Ag-Ag,O-xM0,-MOy-0, (gas). Schuhmann and Ensio" have determined the activity of FeO in iron silicate slags in equilibrium with solid iron, using CO/CO2 mixtures to establish known partial pressure of oxygen. Although the method gives the activity of FeO without ambiguity, the slag is not a binary system, and interpretation of the results in terms of the hypothetical binary system FeO-SiO, is not possible. If a metal is solid at temperatures at which the properties of the slag containing its oxide are to be studied, this method has the considerable experimental advantage that the metal can be used as the container for the slag, and contamination by contact with refractories is avoided. In this work, crucibles for Ag2-B,O, melts were made from silver, and the liquid brought to equilibrium with definite pressures of oxygen gas. The oxygen pressure PO, thus fixes the activity of Ag20 in the liquid silver borate. For the reaction at a given temperature. is substantially constant, is directly proportional to the square root of the equilibrium oxygen pressure. Varying the oxygen pressure changed the silver oxide content of the liquid and it was possible to obtain the activity of Ag2O over a range of composition. Experimental Procedure In principle, the method consisted of bringing melts in silver crucibles or boats to equilibrium at a fixed temperature under a definite pressure of oxygen and analyzing the glass after solidification. Materials: B2O3 glass was prepared from A.R. quality boric acid by fusion in platinum. The silver

Jan 1, 1954

By J. L. Wyatt

The electrical resistance of titanium as a function of purity and temperature was measured from —325" to 2800°F. Two points of inflection in the data plots were found, and an increase in resistance with increase in temperature above the transformation was observed. IN 1948 Greiner and Ellis&apos; reported on the thermal and electrical properties of titanium, including a study of the effect of temperature on the electrical resistance. The materials used in the research were obtained from the United States Bureau of Mines, where powder metallurgy techniques were being employed for consolidation purposes. These authors found a decreasing resistance with increasing temperature above 1625°F, and concluded that the latter temperature represented the point of transformation from hexagonal close-packed to body-centered cubic structure on heating. They reported a specific resistivity value of 55x10-6 ohm-cm, and showed that dp/dt was positive, decreasing with increasing temperature above ambient. In one of his early texts Hume-Rothery2 mentioned that certain metals, including titanium, exhibited minima in plots of resistance vs temperature. He indicated that this occurred at 212°F. Reporting many years ago on the effect of temperature on the electrical resistance of zirconium, de Boer and Fast³ showed that phase transformation in this sister metal occurred over a range of temperatures, the extent varying with its purity. Graphs of resistance vs temperature, showing transformation effects over a range of several hundred degrees, were presented for relatively impure metal. In the latter case the resistance decreased with increasing temperature throughout the region of partial phase transformation, thereafter increasing as predicted for normal metals by modern theories of the solid state. Since the quality of metal used in previous studies was substandard compared with iodide-type titanium, and in view of the fact that there seemed to be some rather unusual observations in the reported literature, it was decided to undertake a more extensive study of the thermal effects using high purity titanium, and to include temperature ranges beyond those which had been studied in order to ascertain whether or not the characteristics of zirconium would be duplicated. Experimental Materials Materials used in this investigation included commercial quality titanium (Ti-75A produced by the Titanium Metals Corp. of America) in the form of ¼ in. diam rods, and high purity iodide titanium (produced by the Foote Mineral Co.) in the form of crystal bar of irregular size. The latter was cold-swaged into rod form and machined to the desired size. Lead wires to all specimens consisted of 18 gage Ti-75A. Chemical analyses of the stock materials are given in Table I. Experimental Procedures Specimens 2½ to 3 in. in length were prepared with diameters nominally 0.15 to 0.20 in. Two holes,

Jan 1, 1954

The purpose of this paper is to cover in a general way the extent, geology, quality of product, working methods and trials of the coal mining industry. of New South Wales from 1946 to the present day, with particular reference to the Western field.It must be clearly understood that any opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Joint Coal Board.The extent of the Western coal field at the present stage of investigation may be said to be from a few miles east of Katoomha to a few miles north-west of the township of Ulan, the total distance being 150 miles.To the west of a line from the Western Highway from Lithgow through Wallerawang, PortIand, Tyldesley, Ben Bullen, Kandos and Rylstone, there are no signs of coal except for one or two outiiers in the neighbourhood of Portland. To the east of this line the coal-bearing areas extend to the seaboard approximately 80 miles to the east.GEOLOGY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COAL SEAMSThe Western coal measures belong to the Upper or Newcastle series, which have been correlated with the Sciritheru or lllawarra, and the North-western or Gunnedah measures. Being close to the margin of the coal basin the Western measures have an average thickness of only 200 ft. to 500 ft., or approximately one-half of the maximum development of the Newcastle measures. They are underlain by Upper Marine beds which in turn rest directly on Devonian rocks.

Jan 1, 1954

By O. C. Blade

Sales of diesel fuel in the United States exceeded 150,000,000 barrels during 1953 and 140,000,000 barrels during 1952. Following are some figures on the distribution of this fuel computed from data issued by the Bureau of Mines. 2/ [ ] Deliveries of diesel type fuel from refineries totaled 91,170,000 barrels during the first six months of 1954, 3/ a corresponding figure for 1953 was 86,284,000 barrels.

Jan 1, 1954