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By V. A. Zanadvoroff

The mine and concentrator of the Howe Sound Co., Chelan Division, are at Holden, in a remote section of the Cascade Mountains of northwestern Washington. Holden is at an elevation of 3200 ft., in the narrow valley of Railroad Creek. This creek drains into Lake Chelan, at a point some 40 miles up the lake from the town of Chelan. The concentrator treats 2000 to 2500 tons of low-grade copper-gold-zinc ore per day. Concentration is achieved by the differential flotation process, with recovery of 94 per cent copper and 82 per cent gold in the copper concentrate, followed by the recovery of 65 to 70 per cent zinc in the zinc flotation circuit. The final flotation tailing is deslimed, and coarse . sands, representing 60 to 70 percent of the total, are cyanided. The tonnage of tailing material amounts to 1900 to 2370 tons per day. General Considerations The property is within the Chelan National Forest. Railroad Creek is a fishing stream, being stocked regularly with trout from State hatcheries. Consequently, in planning a milling operation, the Howe Sound Co. was obliged to avoid any pollution of the stream by tailing material, and also destruction of valuable stands of timber. Moreover, the selected tailing- disposal sites should not mar the natural beauty of the valley. In addition to these requirements, the problem of tailing disposal at Holden was complicated by topography and climatic conditions. The valley is long and narrow, averaging 1200 to 1500 ft. in width. Its walls are flaring at a steep angle. There are no extensive flat areas suitable for deposition of tailing. All valleys tributary to Railroad Creek, also the well-marked paths of snowslides, must be avoided. Finally, the direction of prevailing winds and possible dust hazard arising therefrom dictated the necessity of selecting the tailing-disposal sites downstream from the mill building and two campsites. Heavy snowfall during the winter months of November to March, inclusive, impedes building of the retaining dike, making it necessary to prepare the needed storage space during the summer months. It is inadvisable, also, to do any dike building during the freezing weather, because the dike becomes unstable with the spring thaws, producing inevitable "sloughing" of the built-up borders. Tailing-disposal Sues The existing tailing-disposal areas are near the south wall of the valley. They were developed, and put to use in the following sequence: No. I. Area.—Covers approximately 10 acres. Built up to the height of 60 ft. and abandoned. Total length of dike border is 1900 feet.

Jan 1, 1947

By V. A. Zanadvoroff

The mine and concentrator of the Howe Sound Co., Chelan Division, are at Holden, in a remote section of the Cascade Mountains of northwestern Washington. Holden is at an elevation of 3200 ft., in the narrow valley of Railroad Creek. This creek drains into Lake Chelan, at a point some 40 miles up the lake from the town of Chelan. The concentrator treats 2000 to 2500 tons of low-grade copper-gold-zinc ore per day. Concentration is achieved by the differential flotation process, with recovery of 94 per cent copper and 82 per cent gold in the copper concentrate, followed by the recovery of 65 to 70 per cent zinc in the zinc flotation circuit. The final flotation tailing is deslimed, and coarse . sands, representing 60 to 70 percent of the total, are cyanided. The tonnage of tailing material amounts to 1900 to 2370 tons per day. General Considerations The property is within the Chelan National Forest. Railroad Creek is a fishing stream, being stocked regularly with trout from State hatcheries. Consequently, in planning a milling operation, the Howe Sound Co. was obliged to avoid any pollution of the stream by tailing material, and also destruction of valuable stands of timber. Moreover, the selected tailing- disposal sites should not mar the natural beauty of the valley. In addition to these requirements, the problem of tailing disposal at Holden was complicated by topography and climatic conditions. The valley is long and narrow, averaging 1200 to 1500 ft. in width. Its walls are flaring at a steep angle. There are no extensive flat areas suitable for deposition of tailing. All valleys tributary to Railroad Creek, also the well-marked paths of snowslides, must be avoided. Finally, the direction of prevailing winds and possible dust hazard arising therefrom dictated the necessity of selecting the tailing-disposal sites downstream from the mill building and two campsites. Heavy snowfall during the winter months of November to March, inclusive, impedes building of the retaining dike, making it necessary to prepare the needed storage space during the summer months. It is inadvisable, also, to do any dike building during the freezing weather, because the dike becomes unstable with the spring thaws, producing inevitable "sloughing" of the built-up borders. Tailing-disposal Sues The existing tailing-disposal areas are near the south wall of the valley. They were developed, and put to use in the following sequence: No. I. Area.—Covers approximately 10 acres. Built up to the height of 60 ft. and abandoned. Total length of dike border is 1900 feet.

Jan 1, 1947

By H. R. Aldrich

THIS paper presents some of the results obtained during the field season of 1919 while mapping, in detail, the stratigraphy of the Gogebic Range in Wisconsin. The detailed stratigraphic section for the range was first published, in 1919, by W. 0. Hotchkiss,1 State Geologist of Wisconsin. The idea of the continuity of the definite succession thus established was the result of underground work in the productive part of .the range in Michigan and Wisconsin, where most of the required data also were obtained. The bulk of the range in Wisconsin is heavily covered by drift; in fact, there is but one satisfactorily exposed section across the entire formation; few partial sections, and only scanty outcrops of any size. Evidently mapping of the detailed members of the formation could only be established at a few points; and if from these small areas the unexposed portions were to be mapped by projection, the only apparent method for projection was straight-line interpolation modified or supported by data from the scanty outcrops and from test workings. It was found that by tracing a magnetic line, the position of which in the formation may be determined from test pits and outcrops, the projection of that member through the drift-covered areas can be accomplished. The magnetic line serves as a datum horizon within the formation to which reference may be made in correlating outcrops and ledge matter thrown from test workings. The foot wall is easily located also, and from the two datum horizons thus available and the known proportional thickness of the several members in the type sections, outcrops and artificially exposed ledges can be correlated by lithological characteristics. As a result, the tracing-of magnetic lines became the basis of our work on the stratigraphy and we were able to carry the mapping of detailed members throughout the length of the range. It was found that the magnetic horizon at the base of the Tyler slate was most easily followed

Jan 8, 1920

By M. Cohen

THERE seems to be a natural urge for the human mind to wonder about the beginning of things. When an explosion occurs, we immediately inquire "what set it off?" If a person contracts a disease, we are likely to ask "how did it happen?" On a much loftier plane, when we reflect about the universe, there is the inevitable question "what, or rather Who, started it all?" In principle, these varied queries have at least one attribute in common: they are attempts, whether earnest or casual, to search out the origin of events in nature. Accordingly, they involve not only scientific, but philosophical and even re1igious matters of deep concern. It is evident that, in a broad sense, the phenomenon of nucleation is enmeshed in this enticing concept of "the beginning", but we must extract the scientific component of the problem for our present purposes. Nucleation, as in the case of phase transformations, is best regarded from the standpoint of kinetics. There are then two main steps, which may come in either order: (a) Experimentally, one attempts to measure the frequency with which transformation centers spring into existence; and (b) theoretically, one seeks a model that will account for this observed birth-rate. Temperature, composition, strain, and prior history are some of the important variables that must be considered both experimentally and theoretically when dealing with nucleation in the solid state. Such interaction of theory and observation is an integral part of science in general, but it is particularly significant in the nucleation problem because the very beginning of a phenomenon invariably occurs on too localized a scale in both space and time to be detected with available techniques. Thus, there is little hope of making direct measurements on the nucleus during its birth or to ascertain the exact nature of the process; one can only infer the details of nucleation from the model whose predicted behavior seems to harmonize best with the measured rate of nucleation and its dependence on known parameters. In the field of solid-state nucleation, both theory and experiment call for much ingenuity, but somehow the conceptual schemes have spawned faster than they can be tested by observation. This is not to say that there are many basically new ideas in modern nucleation theory; rather, as we shall see, it is because the required fine-scale measurements are of immense technical difficulty. Quite likely, some of the nucleation models existent today have survived only because of the latitude permitted by meager data. There is great need to bring theory and experiment into better balance in this important area of physical metallurgy. Although one can

Jan 1, 1959

Application of technology to the search for new deposits went on apace in 1963. Traditional methods, aided by modern communications, were successful in some out-of-the way corners of the world that had not been adequately prospected, but the co-ordination of several mutually supporting techniques is necessary to define exploration targets in most areas today. Although these obviously include geophysics and geochemistry, which are treated elsewhere in this issue, geology continues to play a major role. As the search focuses on less and less obvious targets there will be more need than ever to "pull out all the stops." Any anomaly may have significance and must be evaluated as a possible lead. Ability to detect them increases as the laboratory workers refine techniques for measuring physical, chemical, and isotopic properties; it will be increasingly the responsibility of the exploration geologist to understand and apply these to economic problems. Simple propecting, the search for outcrops of recognizable ores of traditional types, was perhaps most successful for iron. Potentially large deposits of high-grade magnetite-specularite-hematite ore have been found in the Mary River area near the north end of Baffin Island. The ore holds up four hills that stand some 1500 ft above the surrounding country; obviously they were ripe for discovery by the first person to come across them, in this case Murray Watts, president of British Ungava Explorations, Ltd, As preliminary examination indicates a lump ore averaging 68 to 70% iron, these deposits may be commercial in spite of the unfavorable climate and their isolation from world markets.

Jan 2, 1964

By Waynw P. Myers

Electricity, as normally thought of by a layman's definition, is a man- made force that has no color, no odor, is not visible, cannot be heard, yet man can control it and make it perform his work for him. A person dare not cheat on it, for it then will master him. It has laws, rules, and regulations that must be strictly adhered to if it is to perform in the safest, most reliable, and economical manner. In the early days of coal mining the power source was man himself. Later man employed steam and compressed air to reduce his muscle power requirements needed in the extraction of coal. By the turn of the 20th century, electricity had become the most common source of power for the coal industry. Steam and compressed air are still found in use in isolated cases today for specific applications; however, they are rapidly being replaced by electricity. Electrical laws and regulations are quite extensive and somewhat complex for the proper generation and use of electricity. Man-made laws, rules, and regulations for the care and handling of electricity, designed for man's safety, are rigidly enforced by Mine Safety and Health Ad- ministration (MSHA), as well as the various state departments of mines. BACKGROUND Until recent years most underground coal mines used direct current exclusively for all movable and for some stationary equipment. Exceptions were for permanent pumps, tipple, fan, and outside buildings where alternating current was normally employed. However, over 60 years ago there were mines with dual systems. Alternating current was used for cutting machines, drills, and pumps ; direct current for locomotives. There were no other machines as these were hand-loading mines. Later, during early mechanization in the 1920s, alternating current was also applied to loading machines at some mines. Use of dual electric systems then declined until fairly recently when

Jan 1, 1981

By C. L. Clark, J. Russ

FOR many years attempts have been made to develop a laboratory test that would serve to indicate the proper temperatures to be used in the various hot-working applications to which metals may be subjected as they are being processed from the cast ingot to the desired finished products. That these attempts have not been very successful is indicated by the fact that most of the temperatures in use today in these operations have been developed over a period of years by trial and error. In other words, the selection of the proper temperatures for the hot-working of metals is generally an art rather than a science. Our knowledge with respect to the behavior of metals at elevated temperatures has been greatly extended during the past several years. While most of the work in this field has been done at proposed operating temperatures of equipment, rather than at processing or fabricating temperatures, one outstanding fact has been developed, which is applicable to the entire high-temperature range; that is, that the rate of deformation to which the metal is subjected is of the same order of importance as the temperature. The failure to properly recognize this fact has greatly retarded the development of a suitable laboratory test for determining hot-working temperatures. INFLUENCE OF RATE OF DEFORMATION ON HIGH-TEMPERATURE PROPERTIES It is not the intent of this paper to survey all the work that has been done on the effect of deformation rate on the properties of metals. The importance of this factor, however, was shown by Zay Jeffries1 as early as 1919, when he called attention to the existence of the so-called equicohesive temperature and to the effect of certain factors on the location of this temperature. Fig. I is a diagrammatic sketch showing the effect of temperature on the relative strength of the crystals and grain boundaries and the type of fracture that will result, depending on the location of the test, or working temperature with respect to the equicohesive temperature. Since the type fracture varies, it also follows that at temperatures below the equicohesive temperature the major deformation occurs in the grains; while at temperatures above, the deformation results either from the movement of the grains with respect to each other or recrystallization of the strained material occurs almost instantaneously, producing new crystals at the fracture. As previously indicated, it is an established fact that the position of this equicohesive temperature for any given metal is dependent on the deformation rate. For example, in 0.15 per cent plain carbon steel the location of this temperature under

Jan 1, 1945

By G. B. Gould

THE softening temperature of coal ash, as determined in the labora-tory, has been used for years as an indication of the tendency of coal to form clinker and slag. It has not, however, provided an index of unfail-ing and complete reliability for forecasting the relative performance of different coals, even in the same plant and under the same conditions of operation. A large amount of investigation has been done in attempts to account for this, but practically all of this has been in the direction of studying the chemical constitution of coal ash. Much has been learned, but without much progress toward a better practical application of knowledge to the selection of coal. There has always seemed to be an important factor that eluded discovery. It has long been recognized that the ash-softening temperature as determined in the laboratory had one weakness, in that it represented the temperature at which a thorough mixture of the whole ash of the coal would melt, the mixing having taken place before the heat was applied. This does not, of course, simulate what takes place in practice. With certain exceptions, which will be noted later, almost all of the investiga-tions that have been made, especially the chemical studies of coal ash, have likewise dealt with a mixture of the whole ash in the coal. The present investigation differs from these fundamentally in its approach to the problem. It started from the observation that some clinkering and slagging obviously takes place in a boiler furnace at tem-peratures below the laboratory-determined ash-softening temperature of the coal. Knowing that coal as it is shipped to market is a hetero-geneous mixture of diverse mineral substances, each of which may act independently of the others in the initial stages of clinker and slag formation, it seemed logical to investigate separately the softening tem-perature of the ash in physically separable portions of the coal, and to determine the relative quantities of ash contributed by each portion.

Jan 1, 1940

By W. B. Gogarty, W. C. Tosch

A new recovery process for producing oil under both secondary and tertiary conditions utilizes the unique properties of micellar solutions (also known as microemulsions, swollen micelles, and soluble oils). These solutions, which displace 100 percent of the oil in the reservoir contacted, can be driven through the reservoir with water and are stable in the presence of reservoir water and rock. Basic components of micellar solutions are surfactant, hydrocarbon and water. They may also contain small amounts of electrolytes and co surfactants such as a1cohol.r. The specific reservoir application dictates the type and concentration of each component. A salient feature of [he process is the capability for mobility control. Micellar solution slug mobility, by way of viscosity control, is made equal to or less than the combined oil and water mobility. Mobility control continues with a mobility buffer that prevents drive water from contacting the micellar solution. Laboratory and field flooding have proven that the process is technically feasible and that surfactant losses by adsorption on porous media are small. Introduction projects are under way to recover the maximum amount of oil under the most favorable economic conditions.' : New techniques are being developed to increase oil recovery,3" Polymer solutions are becoming an important means of controlling mobility in a waterflood. Thermal methods such as in-situ combustion and steam injection are being used in reservoirs containing highly viscous crudes. Surfactant flooding is receiving attention as a method of reducing interfacial tension to increase recovery.*'" Exotic recovery processes have been considered primarily for ' perations. Economics are unfavorable in most cases for tertiary recovery. studies at the Denver Research Center of the Marathon oil CO. have led to a new oil recovery method.* Micellar solutions (sometimes called microemulsions, swollen micelles, and soluble oils) are used to recover oil by miscible-type waterflooding. Basically, these solutions contain surfactant, hydrocarbon, and water. The method can be used in either secondary or tertiary operations. First, thc concept of thc process is considered in terms of the requirements for an effective miscible waterflood ing operation. Next, micellar solution properties are described including structure, composition, and phase behavior with reservoir fluids. Fluid characteristics are then considered as related to mobility control, and, finally, laboratory and field results are presented to illustrate the efficiency of the process. Concept of the Process Unit displacement efficiency and conformance determine the effectiveness of any oil recovery mechanism. In theory, a miscible waterflood should be capable of a 100-percent unit displacement efficiency with a correspondingly high conformance. Requirements for the slug of a miscible waterflood include (1) 100-percent displacement of oil in the reservoir contacted, (2) controllable mobility, (3) the capability of being driven through the reservoir with water, (4) a low unit cost to enhance economics, and (5) the ability to remain stable in the presence of reservoir water and rock. Micellar solutions satisfy requirements for the slug of a miscible waterflood process. Our discovery that these solutions acted as though they were miscible by displacing all fluids in the reservoir and by being displaced by water solved the miscibility problem. Adequate mobility control is possible by variations in solution viscosity through compositional changes. Economic requirements are met since micellar solution costs below $6/bbl appear possible, Mi cellar solutions stabilize surfactant in the presence of reservoir rock and water, thus reducing the importance of the problem of surfactant loss by adsorption. Fig. 1 illustrates schematically how these solutions are used. Operations start with injection of a micellar solution slug that serves as the oil displacing agent. Next, a mobility buffer of either a water-external emulsion or water solution containing polymer (thickened water) is injected to protect the slug from water invasion. Finally, drive water (water used in a regular waterflood) is injected to propel the slug and mobility buffer through the reservoir. Reservoir oil and water are displaced ahead of the slug, and a stabilized oil and water bank develops as shown in Fig. 1. Stabilized bank saturations are independent of original oil and water saturations. This means that, for a particular type of reservoir, the displacement mechanism is the same under secondary and tertiary recovery conditions. Oil is produced first in a secondary operation. For tertiary conditions, water is produced first. Movement of the slug through the reservoir is stabilized by the mobility buffer. An unfavorable mobility ratio usually exists at the interface between the buffer and drive

Jan 1, 1969

By H. S. Bell

It seems unnecessary to dwell upon the advantages of the modern pipe still as compared with the older type of distillation equipment used by oil refiners. The relatively low installation cost, coupled with remark-able operating efficiencies of pipe stills, precludes the consideration of other types except in rare instances where some peculiarity of product or plant may have an influence. The question of the actual heat required to distil petroleum is quite involved. We have extensive data on the latent heats of the various hydrocarbons under different conditions of pressure. We also have information regarding the specific heats of various oils and the effect of temperature thereon. Because of the complexity of petroleum and of each fraction, it seems impossible to analyze theoretically the partisl-pressure effect of the great number of hydrocarbons upon one another during distillation. If a distillation curve and percentage analysis of any crude or product are available, it is possible to construct a curve with ordinates representing per cent. distilled and B. t. u. per pound or per gallon, or other desired unit. To do so the crude is split into fractions, of 5 or 10 per cent. The boiling point and gravity of each fraction being determined, it is possible to evaluate the heat required. As each fraction is removed, the residue must be raised to a higher temperature and latent heat supplied for the successive fraction. As the calculations progress, the latent heats decrease while the specific heats increase. Such a curve is illustrated by Fig. 1 for a typical 39.9° Be. North Texas crude. The chart is illustrative of batch distillation. Theoretically, if the oil were heated by a single flash in a pipe still, the partial-pressure effect of the light products would result in the removal of the same amount of vapors at a lower temperature. Practically, we find that because of the necessarily extensive fractionating equipment required when separating many products all in vapor phase, the oil has to enter the separator at temperatures corresponding to or even above those required in the batch still. Furthermore, in single-flash distillation the vapors evolved in the heater must be superheated to the outlet temperature. Very little is

Jan 1, 1928

By R. B. Yerxa, C. F. Green, H. O. Hofman

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, In refining copper, the metal is melted down in a reverbera tory furnace in a more or less oxidizing atmosphere and then further subjected to an oxidizing smelting in order to eliminate the common impurities, most of which have a stronger affinity for oxygen than has copper. In these operations some of the copper is oxidized to cuprous oxide and dissolved by the metal bath. When the quantity of dissolved cuprous oxide has reached about 6 per cent, the metal is said to have been brought to " set-copper." A button-sample will show a depressed surface and, when broken, a single bubble at the apex of the depression; the fracture will be brick-red and dull. It is essential to carry the oxidation to this point in order to know that the impurities have been oxidized as far as it is possible under the given working-conditions. Nearly all the cuprous oxide of the set-copper is now reduced to the metallic state by poling, when "tough-pitch" copper will be obtained. A button-sample will show a flat surface. Upon breaking, it will be found that the former bubble has disappeared and that the fracture has become rose-colored and shows a silky luster. The quantity of cuprous oxide allowed to remain in the copper will vary with the impurities still present in the metal and with the degree of pitch that it is desired to reach. It is essential for the general physical and the mechanical properties of the resulting copper that such impurities as arsenic, antimony, bismuth, lead shall be present in the oxidized state, as they are

Jan 1, 1904

By Arthur J. Boynton

In the preparation of this paper the writer has been influenced by the fact that descriptions of various means of cleaning blast-furnace gas have been published and that further descriptive treatment of the subject will probably be less interesting than a statement of conclusions with regard to preferable methods which have been reached by him as a result of experience and observation in this country and also as a result of somewhat detailed investigation of the subject made toward the end of the year 1927 on the Continent of Europe and particularly in Germany. Owing to various circumstances, including a cost of fuel that is extremely high in relation to the wages of labor, the German iron and steel industry has accumulated experience in gas washing which is as yet in part lacking in the United States of America. The paper begins with a statement regarding the economics of the use of blast-furnace gas, then considers the principles and practices employed in its purification. Uses of Blast-furnace Gas For many reasons having to do with the utilization of coke-oven and blast-furnace gases in steel manufacture and with the use of hot metal, the blast furnace is now usually a part of a steel-producing unit, which also includes coke plant and rolling mill. Therefore both blast-furnace and coke-oven gas are usually applicable to any of the iron and steel-making processes, including the generation of power, and their allocation in any given works should be considered as a single problem. The uses to which blast-furnace gas, either alone or mixed with coke-oven gas may be put, include the following: Regenerative Heating of Ail. for the Blast Furnace.—This is the oldest and metallurgically the rnost important of all uses. It is universally performed with unmixed blast-furnace gas and under proper conditions should require not over 23.5 per cent. of the total gas generated for a blast temperature of 1350" F. For Steam-raising Purposes.—This is almost universally done with unmixed blast-furnace gas. From the standpoint of quantity used, it is at the present time the most important application in American steelworks practice.

By Ralph V. Higgins

This paper concerns the magnitude of the amount of supersaturation that occurs in an underground reservoir during the flow of oil and gas to wells and to the amount of undersaturation that occurs during repres-suring of an oil reservoir where some effective permeability to gas exists. The study is based on earlier laboratory findings of other investigators on the rate of diffusion of gas in oil as a function of the depth of oil. Utilizing these relationships and the principles of reservoir mechanics, a quantitative estimate of undersaturation and super-saturation was calculated. The results showed that the diffusion of the gas is rapid enough that for all practical purposes no supersaturation exists during the flow of oil to wells or undersaturation during repressuring in reservoir sands having some effective permeability to gas. The reason diffusion of the gas virtually keeps the oil saturated is the long time required in radial flow for oil to reach the well and the slow rate at which pressure in reservoirs is increased during repressuring. INTRODUCTION Knowledge of the phase relationships during flow of gas and oil in an underground reservoir is essential to operating the reservoir in the most efficient manner. In material-balance calculations and in fluid-flow studies, the oil is assumed to contain all the gas that it will dissolve at given temperature and pressure. Pressure-volume-temperature relationships are normally obtained in the laboratory using "bottom-hole" or combined samples of the reservoir fluids. In such laboratory determinations equilibrium is obtained between the oil and gas in the pressure cells by mechanical agitation. During the flow of oil and gas in reservoirs, however, no comparable agitation occurs to mix thoroughly these fluids to aid in effecting equilibrium between the two phases. During repressuring of a partly depleted underground reservoir, the gas is usually injected into the reservoir faster than the oil can absorb it; consequently, the oil is undersaturated. On the other hand, as the oil flows through the reservoir to the wells during producing operations the pressure decreases faster than the gas in solution can diffuse through the oil to the gas phase. The oil therefore is supersaturated with gas. Where the oil is undersaturated, gas diffuses away from the gas-oil interface, and where it is supersaturated the gas diffuses toward the interface. In either case the gas moves from a higher to a lower saturation. This report contains the results of a study of the factors influencing the degree of nonequilibrium of the phase relations of oil and gas in porous mediums during the flow of oil through reservoirs to wells and also during the injection of gas into partially depleted sands. Data from an underground reservoir are presented and the degree of supersaturation during the flow of the oil through the reservoir to the well is approximated. Also data from another reservoir are used and the degree of undersaturation during the repressuring operation is calculated. In addition, the flow rates of oil in laboratory experiments and in underground reservoirs are compared, as data from the laboratory are often used to interpret events in the reservoir, and the rates of flow influence appreciably the degree of nonequilibrium. Much of the contents of this report was prepared in 1943; but, because of other activities during and since the war, the manuscript was left untouched until 1952, when it was decided to include an estimate of the amount of undersaturation during repressuring as well as supersaturation during flow.

Jan 1, 1955

Inflation, fuel shortages, environmental restrictions, and a worldwide recession that sharply curtailed the demand for goods and services, were the main causes for the poor performance & virtually all industrial minerals in 1975. This poor showing was not a surprise. As Felix Shay correctly predicted in his introductory remarks to last year's industrial Minerals Review (ME, Feb. 1975, p. 70), ". . . the minerals industry will soon be facing falling demand as a consequence of sharp declines in auto production, housing, appliances, and other consumer goods. Moreover, when sales weaken. the high-volume, low-priced industrial minerals will incur sharply.

Jan 3, 1976

By C. W. Phillips, R. S. Busk

WITH most cast metals the grain size may vary within wide limits, depending upon the conditions at the moment of freezing. These conditions are subject to control in magnesium-base alloys, by proper melting and superheating techniques, enabling production of quite uniform and fine-grained castings, almost independent of section thickness. However, such variations of grain size as do exist, in common with all metals, are reflected in corresponding changes in mechanical properties. It is the intent of this paper to present data giving the relationship between grain size and mechanical properties. Data are also included on the combined effects of grain size and microporosity. In addition, a short discussion of factors influencing the grain size of sand castings is included. MEASUREMENT OF GRAIN SIZE By grain size is meant the statistical distribution of volumes occupied by the individual crystallites in a metal section. Since this is almost always impossible of direct measurement, several methods of estimating and expressing the size have been evolved. Most exact methods make use of the microscope. This involves study of a single plane cut at random through the metal. What is seen in the microscope are polygons, each the cross section of a grain. The diameters or areas of these polygons are then measured and the grain size is expressed as an average diameter, number of grains per unit area, average area per grain, or, rarely, average volume per grain. Rutherford, Aborn, and Bain3 have discussed extensively the errors involved when using a plane section to estimate volume. They clearly point out that the tendency is to underestimate the true grain size because of the nature of the measurement. The A.S.T.M.. recommends that measurement be made by comparison with a standard chart, by means of Jeffries' planimetric method' or Heyn's intercept method. The Society recommends that the notation be in terms of the number of grains per unit area (as is the grain-size number used for steel) or as an average diameter, expressed in inches or millimeters (as for copper and brass). The method of measurement used for this study was comparison with a standard chart, which has been described by P. F. George.', The chart was constructed by photographing at i00 diameters a uniform specimen with an average grain diameter of 0.003 in. The average diameter of this specimen was determined by numerous measurements, using both the Jeffries and Heyn methods. The other grain sizes were then obtained by appropriate enlargement of the master sample. Careful comparison of the chart method with other methods on identical samples indicates that though the differences be-

Jan 1, 1945

By E. H. Bunce, E. C. Handwerk

The inherent difficulties of zinc smelting arise from the fact that metallic zinc is volatilized at the reducing temperature of zinc oxide and thus is liberated in the form of a vapor. This vapor must be subsequently condensed to obtain metallic zinc, first in molten and eventually in solid form. Zinc vapor is sensitive to oxidation not only by air but by combustion gases containing carbon dioxide. It is, therefore, necessary to carry out both the reduction and the condensation operations in a closed system consisting of an externally heated muffle with attached condenser from which extcrnal oxidizing agencies are excluded. However, the reoxidation of zinc vapor cannot be entirely prevented by excluding external sources of oxidation. Internal sources of oxidation are necessarily present when oxidic zinc ores are reduced by a carbonaceous reducing agent. The reduction reactions themselves involve, first, the production of carbon monoxide in an amount at least equal in volume to the zinc vapor produced in the reaction, and, second, the formation of carbon dioxide. Not all of the carbon dioxide is reduced again to carbon monoxide by the excess carbon in the time available, and the slightly oxidizing condition, which results, seriously affects the efficiency of the condensation of the zinc vapor to the metallic state. In the past the difficulties arising from these causes have limited practical zinc smelting on an industrial scale to the use of small retorts equipped with small condensers. The retorts had to be small, because a closed refractory container capable of excluding oxidizing gases from the heating chamber surrounding the retort could not be built in large dimensions. The size was also limited because ordinary refractories when thin enough to conduct heat readily are not capable of sustaining a heavy load of charge at high temperature. Moreover, a loose charge of zinc ore and carbonaceous reducing material such as fine anthracite coal or coke breeze is a poor conductor of heat, thus limiting the cross section of the retort. The operation of these small retorts requires arduous

Jan 1, 1937

By David White

Attention has been given to the sources and supply of the raw vegetal matter and the conditions of its submission to the process of sedimentation. An original and most valuable review has been made of the more important or significant chemical compounds originally contained in the organic dct,ris, and of the biochemical changes undergone by the latter during deposition. Consideration also has been given to the factors controlling the selective biochemical decomposition, in whole or in part, of this debris, and the deposition, as sediments, of the undecom-posed plant structures and compounds, together with more or less of the so-called "ulmic," or "humic," organic decomposition products in colloidal so1ution. Biochemical Changes End in Peat Formation The biochemical process terminates in the peat stage of coal formation, and with the cessation of this process organic sedimentation is completed. All subsequent changes result from geological causes and conditions. The deposits are in the form of peats of different types, organic muds, oozes, etc. They are essentially uncompressed and are wholly uncon-solidated, and their water content is great, amounting to over 85 per cent, near the surface of the deposit. Many of the chemical compounds remain as in the once living organisms; others are biochemically broken down and new ones formed. Geochemical and Geophysical Changes in Buried Deposits Subsequent Changes " Dynamochemical" The changes which subsequently take place through dehydration, lithification, and simultaneous progressive chemical alteration, by which organic sediments are advanced to brown lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, semianthracitic, and graphitic ranks, are geochemical and geophysical, and the process, which really is metamorphic,2 takes place under dynamic influences. In fact, the essential changes, including loading,

Jan 1, 1925

ONE of the fundamental reasons for the extreme rapidity with which the Porphyries developed after the trail had been blazed at Bingham was the amenability of the deposits to prospecting and proving of the ore either by churn-drilling or by diamond-drilling. At Ray churn-drill data formed the principal basis for early calculations of ore reserves; and in 1913, Inspiration floated its first bond issue for $6,000,000 on the strength of the estimate of 45,000,000 tons of sulphide ore assaying just over 3 per cent copper. The money was obtained in spite of the fact that no one ever had actually laid eyes on more than a minute fraction of that ore. The customary method of developing a copper deposit before the Porphyry era had been to sink shafts or drive adits and then to follow and expose the veins or lodes with horizontal and vertical underground workings-drifts, crosscuts, raises, and winzes. The excavated material sometimes was sampled in bulk; but always the walls of the openings would be channeled at intervals to obtain small samples representative of the ore left in place. This process was known as "blocking out" ore. It was costly and it required a great deal of time to prove the existence of immense tonnages. The early development at Utah was done in this way; likewise, at Miami. This fact helps to explain why only 3,000,000 tons of ore was reported as being developed when J. Parke Channing wrote the report on which the original Miami financing was based in March, 1908. Fortunately, his 3,000,000 tons averaged 3'per cent copper. At Ray, Seeley W. Mudd estimated 3,000,000 tons of ore in June, 1908, developed principally by underground working; but by the end of 1909, Henry Krumb was able to report 50,000,000 tons as the fruit of a little more than a year of churn-drilling.

Jan 1, 1933

By S. J. Hubbard, S. D. Michaelson, A. W. Last, B. H. Ensign

Of the seventeen western states, five-Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, and Nevada-produce about 90 pct of this country's primary copper. All seventeen of these states occupy 60 pct of the nation's land area but receive only 25 pct of the country's total precipitation. Seventy percent of this precipitation returns directly to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration, leaving very little for ground reservoir recharge or immediate domestic, agricultural, or industrial use. With so limited a supply available for all, competition for water rights among users is severe. The result does not always permit using the limited supply to produce the most valuable end product. Most of industry and much of agriculture can shop around for suitable operating locations. Where water is critical to their purposes, they can and do locate in areas where the needed amounts are available. Such is not the ordinary lot of the mining industry, which must locate in the area of the deposit it is planning to mine and concentrate. In the case of copper this happens to be, for the most part, right in the heart of the semi-arid regions of the West.

Jan 7, 1960

By W. J. West, T. D. Mueller, J. E. Warren

The authors have presented valuable information on the influence of the interfacial tension and the contact angle on the recovery efficiency of the waterdrive process. It is considered, however, that the following points deserve a closer examination. 1. As pointed out by Wyllie and Spangler1 the displacement pressure PD i.e. the pressure required to initiate the displacement of the wetting phase from the core, is a measure of the maximum pore diameter dmax. If the capillary pressure Pe as a function of the wetting

Jan 1, 1956