Search Documents

By P. H. Brace, N. A. Ziegler

The study of the relations between gases and metals is one of pcren-nial interest to all who are connected with the production of high-grade metallurgical products. The data reported here are the outcome of work of which the object is to determine the effects of dissolved gases upon the properties of metals and to gain a more detailed knowledge of the reactions between gases and molten metals, particularly iron, under definitely controlled conditions. We have attempted to reduce our margin of error by dealing with relatively large quantities of metal, from 4 to 13 Ih. (2 to 6 kg.), and keeping the ratio of refractories to metal as small as practicable. The ingots produced are large enough to provide adequate material for making determinations of magnetic and other physical properties. In choosing the bell-jar type of furnace we were influenced by the results of considerable experimentation along the same general line which indicated that, for the scale on which we were to work, it was important to have the furnace structure independent of the vacuum enclosure. The use of a bell-jar surrounding the entire furnace accomplishes this and also gives great freedom of observation during operation and ready accessibility for the replacements which are necessary after each run. Our choice of analytical method was made in the light of the results secured by H. M. Ryder, who used a method similar in principle for the analysis of very small quantities of gas extracted from strips of metal heated electrically in high vacuum. We have presented some selected preliminary experirnental data as being illustrative of the quantity and nature of the gases which occur in iron of different origins, but do not urgc any hypothesis at this time. The Furnace Our furnace may be described as "a high-frequency induction furnacc of the bell-jar type." It is similar in a general way to that described by Cain and Peterson1 though we have introduced certain refinements of

By S. A. Falconer

One of the outstanding achievements in connection with this country's war efforts has been the ability of our mining industry to supply from domestic sources many of the minerals of strategic importance that formerly were obtained principally from abroad. In order to meet the war-born demands for these scarce minerals, it has frequently been necessary to develop special methods for treating ores and waste products hitherto considered too lowgrade to be workable; and to improve the efficiency of older beneficiation processes. Important in this respect have been the recent technological advances in the field of froth flotation of nonsulphide minerals. Because of the refractory nature of many of these domestic ores, and, in many cases, the limited available technical data regarding their treatment, much research work has been necessary. The following examples describe the procedures and reagents used, and the results obtained, in certain laboratory flotation investigations conducted by American Cyanamid Company's engineers at the Cyanamid Ore Dressing Laboratory on ores containing such minerals as scheelite, manganese oxides and carbonate, ilmen-ite, brookite, kyanite, garnet, spodumene, mica, feldspar, celestite, fluorite, chromite, corundum, and cassiterite. In presenting these data, we wish to point out that many of the minerals listed have previously been tested, and their amenability to flotation reported, by other investigators—notably those of the United States Bureau of Mines. In some instances the procedures and reagents used in the treatment of some of the following described ores follow rather well-established lines, and with one or two exceptions, the reagents used were well known. However, many of the ores tested did not respond well to simple conventional procedures and it was necessary to adopt special methods of conditioning and desliming, reversal of the usual order of floatability of some of the minerals, multiple cleaning, etc., in order to secure separations. Except where otherwise noted, all numbered and trade-marked reagents mentioned in this paper are marketed by the American Cyanamid Co. or the American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation. Tungsten ORes Tungsten minerals, vitally important in the war industries of the United States, rank high in the list of those we formerly had to import in order to supply our needs. Most of our domestic ores of tungsten contain scheelite as the valuable mineral. Today there are in the neighborhood of twelve tungsten operations in this country where flotation is used as the main or accessory form of benefication. It has, of Course, been known for some time that scheelite and other tungsten minerals respond to treatment by flotation.

Jan 1, 1947

By S. A. Falconer

One of the outstanding achievements in connection with this country's war efforts has been the ability of our mining industry to supply from domestic sources many of the minerals of strategic importance that formerly were obtained principally from abroad. In order to meet the war-born demands for these scarce minerals, it has frequently been necessary to develop special methods for treating ores and waste products hitherto considered too lowgrade to be workable; and to improve the efficiency of older beneficiation processes. Important in this respect have been the recent technological advances in the field of froth flotation of nonsulphide minerals. Because of the refractory nature of many of these domestic ores, and, in many cases, the limited available technical data regarding their treatment, much research work has been necessary. The following examples describe the procedures and reagents used, and the results obtained, in certain laboratory flotation investigations conducted by American Cyanamid Company's engineers at the Cyanamid Ore Dressing Laboratory on ores containing such minerals as scheelite, manganese oxides and carbonate, ilmen-ite, brookite, kyanite, garnet, spodumene, mica, feldspar, celestite, fluorite, chromite, corundum, and cassiterite. In presenting these data, we wish to point out that many of the minerals listed have previously been tested, and their amenability to flotation reported, by other investigators—notably those of the United States Bureau of Mines. In some instances the procedures and reagents used in the treatment of some of the following described ores follow rather well-established lines, and with one or two exceptions, the reagents used were well known. However, many of the ores tested did not respond well to simple conventional procedures and it was necessary to adopt special methods of conditioning and desliming, reversal of the usual order of floatability of some of the minerals, multiple cleaning, etc., in order to secure separations. Except where otherwise noted, all numbered and trade-marked reagents mentioned in this paper are marketed by the American Cyanamid Co. or the American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation. Tungsten ORes Tungsten minerals, vitally important in the war industries of the United States, rank high in the list of those we formerly had to import in order to supply our needs. Most of our domestic ores of tungsten contain scheelite as the valuable mineral. Today there are in the neighborhood of twelve tungsten operations in this country where flotation is used as the main or accessory form of benefication. It has, of Course, been known for some time that scheelite and other tungsten minerals respond to treatment by flotation.

Jan 1, 1947

By G. L. F. Powell, L. M. Hogan

Large degrees of undercooling have been produced in bulk samples, 400 g, of copper and Cu-O alloys by melting in a slag of commercial soda-lime glass. The maximum degrees of undercooling obtained for copper, hypoeutectic and hypereutectic Cu-O alloy samples were 208°, 218°, and 97°C, respectively. No grain refinement as a function of undercooling was observed for the pure copper samples although in Cu-O alloys there was a marked decrease in grain size at degrees of undercooling greater than 150°C. The grain size change is the result of recrystallization during or immediately following the freezing process. THE first report of a large degree of undercooling in a bulk sample of metal was that by Bardenheuer and Bleckmann1 who produced 258°C undercooling in a 150-g sample of iron by melting in a glass slag. Garbeck2 extended this technique to nickel, cobalt, and copper and reported maximum undercoolings of 220°, 230°, and 60°C, respectively, while Fehling and schei13 undercooled a large number of metals as 2 to 20-g samples slagged in glass. Subsequently, one of the authors4 applied the glass slag technique to bulk samples, -500 g, of silver and obtained a maximum undercooling of 250°C. It was concluded that impurities which normally catalyze nucleation at small degrees of undercooling could be removed by oxidation and solution in a glass slag. Large undercooling of bulk samples of iron, nickel, cobalt, and their alloys has also been reported by other authors.8'10'11 Of the five metals mentioned above, copper was the only one which had not been undercooled by at least 200°C in the form of a large bulk sample. Since copper exhibits high liquid solubility for oxygen, as do iron, nickel, cobalt, and silver, it was considered that a much larger degree of undercooling than that observed by Garbeck for copper should be possible. This was obtained by modification of the technique applied previously to silver and the results of undercooling experiments with 400-g samples of copper form part of this paper. The undercooling behavior of Cu-O alloys was also studied, and the influence of a small oxygen content on the grain structure of undercooled copper was observed metallographically. 1) EXPERIMENTAL The copper was obtained as oxygen-free high-conductivity copper, the major impurities of which were Fe 0.01 pct, Zn 0.015 pct, and Si 0.02 pct. Melting was carried out in an open-ended vertical cylindrical fur- nace wound with Kanthal wire. A schematic diagram of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 1. The undercooling technique previously used for silver4 involved preoxidation of the samples by melting the silver in contact with the atmosphere. The oxygen content was subsequently reduced by freezing the samples under a glass slag, whereby the oxygen was evolved as gas and the continuous glass cover over the surface prevented re-solution of oxygen when the sample was remelted. Since oxygen is not released as gas when a Cu-O alloy is frozen. the technique had to be modified for use with copper. Also, copper is oxidized during fire refining so that an in situ preoxidation treatment of the samples was not considered to be a prerequisite to large undercooling. Experimentation proved that this supposition was correct. Instead, it was found that care was necessary during melting of the copper under glass to minimize oxygen pickup. Samples of copper weighing 400 g were prepared by adding 50-g pieces of copper to a vitreous silica crucible partly filled with soda lime glass at a temperature of approximately 1000°C. Each piece was quickly immersed in the glass slag and held at this temperature until the oxide coating on the surface decomposed. This change was easily observed and coincided with the formation of gas bubbles in the glass

Jan 1, 1969

Papers in Classes A-Metal Mining, B-Milling and Concentration, H-Industrial Minerals, and I-Mining Geology are distributed in MINING TECHNOLOGY, which is issued every other month. Papers in Classes C-Iron and Steel Division, D-Nonferrous Metallurgy and E-Institute of Metals Division are distributed in METALS TECHNOLOGY, which is issued twice quarterly. Papers in Class G-Petroleum Division are distributed in PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, which is issued every other month. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS in Classes F-Coal Division, J--Mineral Industry Education Division, K¬-Mining Administration, and 1-Geophysics, are issued as separate pamphlets. Contributions are papers that when printed or mimeographed are available but only on request.

Jan 1, 1944

By M. R. Goldick

The Roan Antelope concentrator was originally designed with a nominal milling capacity of 6000 tons of copper ore per day but this was subsequently considerably exceeded. In broad outline the plant consisted of two No. 30 McCully gyratory crushers for coarse crushing, five 5½-ft Standard Symons crushers in open circuit for secondary crushing, ten No. 98 Marcy ball mills arranged in five sections, each two-mill section with primary and secondary Dorr classifiers for two-stage grinding. One stage of flotation roughing was followed by two stages of cleaning, all in airlift type pneumatic flotation machines, with the final concentrates filtered on Oliver drum filters. Tailing was thickened in a 250-ft Dorr traction type thickener before pumping to the tailing dam. Concentrating operations commenced in June 1931, on the completion of the first two ball-milling sections and output was increased during the next few months as the remaining sections were finished. From the start, very few technical difficulties were experienced but a number of evolutionary changes have been made as a result of operating experience and the availability of improved equipment. These have resulted in plant and ore-flow alterations although the general scheme of ore treatment remains substantially as before. The main changes to date were the installation of a new crushing plant at Storke shaft, some 7000 ft west of the original Beatty shaft; the completion of a two-stage secondary crushing plant; an increase of 20 pct in ball-milling capacity; a change-over from pneumatic to a mcchanical type of flotation machine for flotation roughing; the reduction of flotation cleaning from two stages to one stage. Ore Treated Typically the ore treated consists of metamorphosed shales and sandstones with shales as the principal mineral-bearing rock carrying chalcocite, bornite and chalcopy-rite as the main copper minerals. Chalcocite predominated in the original eastern end of the ore body but there is a pronounced trend to an increased proportion of the copper-iron sulphides as mining proceeds westward. Although the ore can be described as soft, this advantage is offset by the extremely fine dissemination of the copper minerals which calls for a high degree of comminution of the ore (go pct minus-zoo mesh Tyler standard) to give a reasonably satisfactory separation of mineral from gangue. Latterly, there has been a tendency for the ore to become harder as shown by a reduction in the ball-milling rate from a previous figure of over goo tons per ball-mill day to the present output of some 800 tons. Chalcopyrite is not so finely disseminated and has also proved more amenable to flotation than chalcocite. Nonsulphide minerals are mainly the so-called oxides such as malachite, cuprite and melaconite with some chrysocolla and

Jan 1, 1949

By J. N. Ong, J. P. Ratledge, J. H. Boyce

SINCE German operators opened the Tsumeb mine in the early 1900's, continuous operation has been interrupted only by enforced shutdowns during two world wars and the depression of the 1930's. Original metallurgical practice was blast furnace smelting. This was applicable only to low zinc ore, leaving large tonnages of high zinc ore to be stockpiled on the surface. A gravity concentrator using tables, buddles, and jigs operated for several years, but differential flotation of the ore did not get beyond the experimental stage. When the property was put up for sale by the South African Custodian of Enemy Property there was an estimated 434,000 tons of ore on surface dumps. The dump material, assaying 4.48 pct Cu, 15.8 pct Pb, and 10.9 pct Zn, had become highly oxidized during a stay of many years on the surface. But these dump ores had to be used in evaluating possible metallurgy because the shaft became flooded after the 1940 shutdown and underground ore was unavailable. Many companies examined Tsumeb but quickly lost enthusiasm because of the formidable metallurgical problems presented by the dump ore. However, on the basis of extensive test work, the present company decided that differential flotation would be successful and purchased the property after competitive bidding. Geology and Mineral Association is Complex The Tsumeb mine lies near the northern boundary of South West Africa at an altitude of 4200 ft. The village of Tsumeb is 335 air miles northeast of Wal-vis Bay, territorial port of entry. The orebody is a hydrothermal replacement deposit associated with an irregular intrusion of aplite cutting folded pre-Cambrian dolomite beds. In plan the deposit is a lens of 250x600 ft maximum dimensions. In section the orebody dips 55" south from the surface to 2000 ft, below which there is a reversal in dip to 75" north. Mineralization is localized in the aplite and in the adjoining brecciated dolomite. In the upper levels the ore is largely confined to a single lens, but below the 1890 level massive sulphide ore forms north and south lenses that partially enclose a pipelike body of medium to low grade disseminated ore, part of which is of too poor a grade to mine. Drilling below the 24th, or bottom level, has disclosed that a high percentage of the mineralization from the 3000 to 3300-ft horizons is comprised of copper and lead oxides. The deep oxidation may be local, since it appears due to circulating waters in a major fault cutting the orebody. Tsumeb ranks as one of the highest grade base metal deposits in the world. It is geologically and mineralogically famous for 41 copper, lead, zinc, vanadium, and germanium ore minerals, but its complex mineral assemblage is not attractive to metallurgists. In addition, there is a gradual change in oxidation intensity from the upper levels to the lowest level now operating, which is the 24th. This is well illustrated by the copper minerals. In the upper levels malachite and azurite are predominant, in the intermediate levels chalcocite, and in the lower levels tennantite. Throughout the mine there are sufficient heavy metal soluble salts to activate zinc, and large amounts of depressants are required even for so-called clean sulphide ores. When the same sulphide ore is exposed to prolonged oxidation aboveground, as was the case with the dump ores, reagent requirements become fantastic. Plant Construction First staff members arrived at Tsumeb in March 1947, and by May essential services had been restored and mine unwatering began. In 2 1/2 months company employees built a temporary jig and sorting plant for treating existing dumps to provide a saleable product during high metal prices. Meanwhile, concentrator design and construction was contracted to a South African firm, with subcon-

Jan 1, 1956

By James Norman

SEPARATION of minerals by froth flotation is rightly called an art. It can truthfully be said that no two ores separate in the same way. The difference in results obtained when natural and synthetic mixtures of minerals are separated is so great that such tests frequently have been worthless in attempting to select conditions in which a natural mixture will separate. With a few rare exceptions, the natural mixture is much more difficult to treat than a synthetic mixture, and a much poorer separation is obtained. Perhaps several experimenters have wondered why 10 or 20 per cent of a mineral being floated from an ore does not float and is different from the 90 or 80 per cent that is recovered. In experimental tests on pure sphalerite, observers1 have noted that varying amounts of sphalerite may be froth-floated with pine oil alone, the amount recovered in the froth depending apparently upon the source of the sulphide. The only explanation of results such as these, barring insufficiency of frother or time of flotation, is that the surface of the mineral floated is different from that of the mineral depressed. This difference often has been found to be caused by natural contamination of mineral surfaces, apparently brought about by weathering and exposure to natural solu-tions. There is virtually no rock that is absolutely unweathered. One of the writers had an exceedingly instructive experience in 1931 while working with United Verde copper-zinc iron sulphide ore in Arizona. Nonselective flotation of chalcopyrite and sphalerite away from some of the pyrite was all that could be accomplished. All known depressants produced only slight effect. Sodium cyanide showed some effect, but so much had to be used that only a small amount of chalcopyrite could be

Jan 1, 1939

By J. H. Scaff, H. C. Theurer, E. E. Schumacher

The microwave region of the radio spectrum was effectively utilized in radar designs during the recent war and it has become of increasing interest in the field of communications. Work in this field has led to an important use for silicon—that of the point contact rectifiers†1 in the frequency converter of microwave (radar or radio) receivers—and has stimulated considerable interest in the electrical properties and preparation of silicon and its alloys. Silicon is an electronic semiconductor. Its conductivity at room temperature results principally from the presence of certain impurities. While for metals an increase in impurity content increases the resistivity, for semiconductors such as silicon the opposite occurs and, in general, the addition of impurities lowers the resistivity. Silicon materials may be classified into one of two groups depending upon the manner in which the impurities contribute to electrical properties. These have been termed for convenience p-type or n-type. P-type silicon develops a very large positive thermal emf against metals, has a Hall coefficient of positive sign and a low resistance direction in point contact rectification with the silicon positive with respect to the point. N-type silicon, on the other hand, develops a negative thermal emf against metals, has a Hall coefficient of negative sign and a low resistance direction in rectification with the silicon negative with respect to the point. Impurities which produce n-type silicon are called donors inasmuch as these elements contribute to electrical conductivity by donating electrons to an unfilled energy band in the silicon. On the other hand, elements which produce p-type silicon are known as acceptors as these impurities contribute to the electrical conductivity by accepting electrons from a filled energy band permitting what is known as conductivity by "holes" in which the sign of the carriers appears to be positive. A general treatment of the mechanism of conduction in semiconductors from the viewpoint of modern band theory has been given recently by Pearson,2 by Becker, Green and Pearson,3 and by Torrey and Whitmer.4 In this investigation boron and aluminum have been found to be acceptors, and phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony to be donors in silicon. Data on the effect of boron and phosphorus on the electrical properties, when present singly and in combination, have been acquired. These data are discussed in the present paper. Raw Materials Used and Methods for Adding Seeond Constituents Silicon from two sources was used in this work and these will be referred to as A and B respectively. Silicon A is a material of high purity supplied by the Electro Metallurgical Co. It is prepared by chemical purification of "commercial" silicon obtained from the arc furnace reduction of SiO2. It contains 99.8 pct silicon, minimum, with small amounts of calcium, iron, aluminum, boron, and phosphorus as the principal impurities. This material was extensively employed in these studies as well as in the commercial preparation of rectifier materials. Silicon B is a material of high purity from the du-Pont Co. It is prepared by a pyrolytic reduction of Sicl4 and is free of analytically detectable amounts of boron and phosphorus. Its use permitted study of the effect of boron and phosphorus individually on the properties. This material contains, however, spec-troscopic traees of a number of metals, some of which affect electrical and rectification properties. Typical analyses for the two grades of silicon are given in Table 1. To make controlled additions of boron to the charge it was necessary to employ a low boron content master alloy since the quantity of boron to be added was usually only a few thousandths of one percent. The alloy containing nominally one percent boron was prepared by melting chemically pure boron with silicon A using the melting techniques for 320 g silicon

Jan 1, 1950

By Turno De Michelis

The Porto Marghera plant was erected in 1936 for the production of 10,000 tons of electrolytic zinc annually. Since then it has been continuously enlarged until annual production of the metal reached 40,000 tons in 1969. At the same time the processing cycle was modified bringing it up to date with modern techniques, and was completed by installations for the recovery of by-products in the minerals treated and subsequent processing of the base metal. 90% of the zinc produced is of 99.993% purity . At present the plant comprises, first of all, the zinc blende desulphuration department which has a single modern fluid bed furnace capable of processing 220 - 250 tons of dry crude mineral daily; it is connected to the sulphuric acid plant with its three catalysis sections each capable of producing 60-70 tons of sul9huri.c acid monohydrate daily. The roasted blende is conveyed pneumatically to plants for leaching of the zinc and purification of the resulting solution. During recent years this department has been completely transformed from the discontinuous cycle, for which it was built, to the continuous cycle, paying great attention to

Jan 1, 1970

By Edwin C. Barringer

IRON and steel scrap has again become page one news, as it was during the war. To many this is anomalous because the common concept is that the theaters of war are literally paved with scrap as the by-product of war damage and abandoned materiel. To an extent this is true, the bottleneck being the ferreting out and transportation of this scrap. While you as consumers of the electric-furnace grades of scrap-the premium grades-are concerned primarily in only one segment of the scrap market, I believe you ill be interested in a general discussion of the market with subsequent funneling down to your specialty.

Jan 1, 1947

By Murray F. Hawkins, Marion L. Kimmel

sage' appears to have been the first (1933) to design a rolling ball viscosimeter for the express purpose of measuring the viscosity of oils with natural gas in solution, i.e., under reservoir conditions. In 1940 Hocott and Buckley' further refined the rolling ball instrument in both design and method of operation, and their instrument, known as the Humble type, was the forerunner of present day viscosimeters used in petroleum production and research laboratories. They also initiated the technique of charging the viscosimeter with a sample directly from a bottom hole sampler. In 1948 the committee on engineering research 01 the Petroleum Division of the AIME in Part 3 (1) of

Jan 1, 1955

By E. DeGolyer

The only known direct method of discovering oil deposits is by the drilling of test wells. Such exploration is always hazardous and generally very costly. The problem of the prospector, therefore, is to select test sites that are favorably located and so to reduce the odds against his venture. Early in the history of the oil industry, it was realized that oil and gas deposits, other conditions being favorable, were usually found in anticlinal types of structure. This very undestandable and rational habit of occurrence furnished the first substantial clue to the prospector. Oil occurs in sedimentary rocks, and beds of such rocks are deposited originally in approximately parallel layers. An anticline at the surface, therefore, could be accepted as an indication of an anticline in lower beds. Structural geology became the tool of the prospector, and by its use in the past two decades the majority of the known important oil deposits of the world have been discovered. This is but a partial, and the simplest, statement of the problem, Nine-tenths and more of the important oil pools of the world belong to the great class of accumulations controlled by structural traps—anti-clines, faulted structures, salt domes, etc.—but by no means all of these structures are clearly or adequately expressed at the surface. As the more obvious anticlines were explored and the search for new deposits led to the testing of progressively deeper beds, it became more and more apparent that marked favorable structures involving petroliferous rocks can, and do, exist without any marked surface expression. There are great areas where the surface, covered by some masking material such as water, alluvium, glacial deposits, or sand dunes, affords no clue to structural conditions in the subsurface, and there are also regions where the surface formations are unconformable with the oil-bearing formations. The structure in which the prospector is fundamentally interested is that of the oil-bearing formation itself, together with roof and floor beds. No other geologic information is of interest or importance to him except as it affords clues to the stratigraphy and structure of the supposed oil-bearing formations.

Jan 1, 1932

By D. Collins, B. Pina, G. Snell

The conversion of moisture and ash free (maf) coal to pyridine solubles and gas was investigated in a microautoclave batch reactor. Two washed Kentucky coal samples (KY # 9 and KY #11) were studied in liquefaction solvents of various donor strength. The liquefaction solvent hydrogen donor strength was varied by changing the tetralin content of a mixed 1 -methylnaphthalene-tetralin mixture. Primary liquefaction conversions in excess of 90 wt% in 10 minutes of reaction time @ 700° K (427OC or 800°F) were achieved with liquefaction solvents of moderate donor strength, i.e. 40% tetralin. A modified irreversible first order rate expression (eq. 1) described the experimental data:

Jan 1, 1986

By Robert Peele

TWO outstanding members of the Institute will be honored at the Annual Meeting this month: Robert Peele, who will accept his election to the small group of Honorary Members; and Clinton Hoadley Crane, president of the St. Joseph Lead Co. and William Lawrence Saunders Medalist for 1936. Eminence in the profession character, interest in Institute activities, and general recognition as a gentleman and a friend by so many people, have contributed to the election of Professor Peele. The Saunders Medal is for "achievement in mining." In awarding it to Mr. Crane the citation reads "For distinguished achievement in the successful development and operation of low-grade lead mines."

Jan 1, 1936

By William Newnam

WHEN Hugh Lee Pattinson discovered, in 1829, that the crystals formed during the slow cooling of molten lead were poorer, and the remaining liquid richer in silver, than the original lead, an important step was made in the metallurgy of this metal. Being the first process applicable to the desilverization of low-grade lead bullion, it soon found its way into all European countries having such a product to treat, thereby effecting the saving of many ounces of silver annually which previously had been thrown away. The old hand process was expensive, as viewed from the standpoint of more modern methods; the labor was great anti the tonnage was small, but on the other hand the results were fairly, satisfactory. This process flourished for some time after the introduction of the cheaper Parkes process in 1852 and it is still in use in a few European smelteries. Only one notable improvement was made on the original process, that of Luce and Roan at Marseilles, France. It consisted in the application of steam for stirring and the tapping of one-third of the liquid lead, through perforated plates covering the tap holes flush with the bottom of the kettle, thus leaving two-thirds in the form of crystals in the original kettle. This modification considerably lowered the operating costs as it permitted of much larger kettles, an increased tonnage and eliminated much of the slow, hard labor of the hand process.. The Luce and Rozan process has persisted in its original form to the present clay. Stephen Tredinnick, English born, spent most of his years around the Luce and Rozan plants at Marseilles and elsewhere in Europe, coming later to Eureka, Nev., in 1878, to operate the Luce and Rozan plant at that point. Mr. Tredinnick was a competent Luce and Rozan operator and being devoted to the process he firmly believed that with modifications the costs could be so lowered as eventually to supplant the Parkes process.

Jan 5, 1917

By Harold A. Linke

The following article presents notes and data compiled and computed by the writer for use in the determination of: size and slope of mill launders, details of junction boxes and downspouts, and distribution of pulp. It also includes pulp formulas, volume of discharge through bushings, paths of discharging streams, banking of turns and curves. In the design of a concentrating mill, the draftsman usually considers launders to the extent of providing ample "head" for transmission of pulp from one department of the mill to another. The superintendent of construction aims to build his launders wide and deep, and on a slope steep enough to ensure positive flow. So launders are laid generally on too steep a slope, with the result that the repair gang works to maintain launder bottoms and sides against the erosive action of the conveyed pulp. To this end many kinds of liners have been devised: concrete, mastic, white iron, glass, rubber. True, the reduction of slope to the point where a pulp will flow with minimum wear, will minimize labor and expense; but when the desired slope is not predetermined, the millman hesitates to readjust his launder slopes by cut-and-try methods. To the end that the desired size and slope may be found readily, the writer has: (1) conducted experiments with pulps of different specific gravity, screen analysis and dilution; (2) gathered a few graphic data from standard reference works (such as Peele's Mining Engineer's Handbook and Taggart's Handbook of Ore Dressing); (3) computed several tables; and compiled results that have proved dependable for Utah Copper ore. It is quite possible that the following tables and graphs may not be applicable to all ores, but it is hoped that they may prove helpful, even in slight degree, in alleviating a portion of the trouble and migraine of some other millman. Launder Slopes The main object in the study of launder slopes is to provide grade steep enough to prevent "sanding" by a safe margin, and to avoid

Jan 1, 1943

By Harold A. Linke

The following article presents notes and data compiled and computed by the writer for use in the determination of: size and slope of mill launders, details of junction boxes and downspouts, and distribution of pulp. It also includes pulp formulas, volume of discharge through bushings, paths of discharging streams, banking of turns and curves. In the design of a concentrating mill, the draftsman usually considers launders to the extent of providing ample "head" for transmission of pulp from one department of the mill to another. The superintendent of construction aims to build his launders wide and deep, and on a slope steep enough to ensure positive flow. So launders are laid generally on too steep a slope, with the result that the repair gang works to maintain launder bottoms and sides against the erosive action of the conveyed pulp. To this end many kinds of liners have been devised: concrete, mastic, white iron, glass, rubber. True, the reduction of slope to the point where a pulp will flow with minimum wear, will minimize labor and expense; but when the desired slope is not predetermined, the millman hesitates to readjust his launder slopes by cut-and-try methods. To the end that the desired size and slope may be found readily, the writer has: (1) conducted experiments with pulps of different specific gravity, screen analysis and dilution; (2) gathered a few graphic data from standard reference works (such as Peele's Mining Engineer's Handbook and Taggart's Handbook of Ore Dressing); (3) computed several tables; and compiled results that have proved dependable for Utah Copper ore. It is quite possible that the following tables and graphs may not be applicable to all ores, but it is hoped that they may prove helpful, even in slight degree, in alleviating a portion of the trouble and migraine of some other millman. Launder Slopes The main object in the study of launder slopes is to provide grade steep enough to prevent "sanding" by a safe margin, and to avoid

Jan 1, 1943

By E. C. Bitzer

THE primary object of the work described in the following pages was to simplify the equipment in the separating circuit of the heavy-media process by substituting a spiral classifier for the separatory cone. Mechanical considerations were the leading attraction and the best that was hoped for on metallurgical performance was that the new vessel would give results equal to those obtained by conventional equipment. Tests have demonstrated in commercial operation on iron ore that the mechanical advantages of the spiral separator are about as predicted; also, the metallurgical performance is superior to the cone on the ores treated. Treatment of iron ore involves the separation of two products: a concentrate that sinks and a float product that contains true float material plus a controlled division of interfering middling. The middling material is heavier than the average specific gravity of the separating medium. Recent work with the spiral separator on Tri-State zinc ore showed that the middling material had to be recovered as concentrate because this fraction contained the bulk of the-zinc in the ore. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to make three products with the new separator on an ore such as this: a float tailing, a float middling, and a high grade heavy sink product. It appears from this last work that the new separator has definite mechanica1 and metallurgical advantages over any type of separating cone for treating feed that contains large amounts of material of a specific gravity close to that of the separating medium. However, either type of separator should perform equally well, metallurgically, on feed that is free of middlings. Each series of experiments with the spiral separator as required additional work to fully develop the possibilities of the machine. For this reason the paper is divided into chronological parts. History of Development A drag-type classifier was first proposed as a substitute for the cone separator by Butler Brothers technicians during the initial tests with galena medium at Crosby, Minn., in 1937. The desire for finding a substitute for the cone arose from trouble with interfering middlings and certain operating disadvantages of the cone. The possibility of using a spiral classifier was also suggested at this time by Emmett Butler and C. J. Abrams. However, inability to satisfactorily recover fine galena, which was used as a medium, terminated all development work at Crosby. During the winter of 1937--1938 investigation started on magnetic medium with concurrent s development of the inverted or closed- top cone, which was found necessary to eliminate iron-ore middlings with the float product. About

Jan 1, 1947

By Alexander Squire

ONE of the principal factors that have contributed to the hesitancy of design engineers to use metal-powder parts is the difficulty experienced in the determination of the mechanical properties of compacted components. Because standard test: methods cannot usually be applied in the inspection of such parts, and because adequate special test methods have not been developed, it has been considered desirable to investigate the methods that are applicable. These may then be included in specifications for metal-powder materials' and components in order that the design engineer may be assured that the subject parts possess the desired mechanical properties for satisfactory performance. It is known that direct relationships exist between usually nonmeasurable properties as tensile strength and elongation and shear strength and the angle through which compacts may be plastically deformed before fracturing. These correlations are valuable in the inspection of specific parts, but it is necessary to set up standards before they may be satisfactorily employed. Apart from the use of correlations, the number and character of the inspection methods that are applicable to almost all powder parts is limited to three-chemical analysis, density, and hardness. The last of these may or may' not be a pertinent characteristic, since the indentation hardness of many powdered-metal materials is so low as to have little significance. It is, however, occasionally desirable to use hardness measurements as an indication of the uniformity of the structure of pieces of a given type. Chemical analysis reveals very little about the physical properties of metal-powder compacts, since the unpressed powder is usually of a composition almost identical with that of the finished pieces. Density determinations are simple, to perform and have the advantage of being nondestructive in character. If the dimensions of a machine part are known (and usually they are), the average density may be determined by weighing a given number of pieces and dividing by the calculated volume of the parts. More accurate measurements may be made by the water-displacement method. , It. is recognized that mechanical properties of metal-powder materials are related to their density, but usually these relations are determined for only one type of powder, processed under a given set of conditions. Comparisons of the properties of compacts formed from different types of powders are made on the basis of compacting... pressures instead of density, and for. this reason the results obtained by using powders of different types appear widely variant.

Jan 1, 1947