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By E. J. Roberts

Prior to 1916, thickening was an art, and any accurate decision as to what size of machine to install to handle a given tonnage of a specific ore must have been one of those intuitive conclusions, based on both intimate and extensive acquaintance with thickners and ore pulps. Then in 1916 "knowledge of acquaintance," became "knowledge about" with the publication of the Coe and Clevenger paper.' The unit operation of thickening had graduated to the status of an engineering science. The fundamental similitude relationships for the two major phases of the operation were defined so clearly that batch tests on models as small as liter cylinders could serve to specify protypes as large as 325 ft in diameter.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. W. Byrkit

Design features and operating methods at the new Ajo smelter are described in detail. Successful operation of a novel method of handling and charging wet concentrates to a deep bath type reverberatory furnace contribute to the daily production of 200 tons of anodes with good results from the standpoint of both metallurgy and economy. THE New Cornelia Branch of the Phelps Dodge Corp. is located at Ajo, Ariz. Large scale mining operations were started at Ajo in 1917, when a 5000 ton leaching plant was put in service to treat the copper carbonate ore that overlaid the sulphide ore-body. In 1924 a 5000 ton flotation plant was built to treat the sulphide ore and the leaching operation was abandoned a few years later. Changes in practice and additions to plant facilities have resulted in a gradual increase in the milling rate which now approaches 30,000 tons daily. Prior to the erection of the Ajo smelter, flotation concentrate was shipped by rail to Douglas, Ariz, where it was treated in the Phelps Dodge smelter. Construction of a one reverberatory furnace smelter to produce an average of about 200 tons per day of copper anodes at Ajo was started early in 1949. Initial heating of the reverberatory furnace was begun on June 21, 1950. Charging the furnace was started on july 8, and the first anodes were cast on July 14. Neither the anode furnace nor the reverberatory furnace has cooled since the initial firing. Fig. 1 is a photograph of the new smelter. Built primarily to eliminate the '300 mile haul of concentrate to the Douglas plant, the new smelter was designed to treat the Ajo concentrate, with a minimum of capital investment. A novel, and relatively simple, method of concentrate handling and furnace charging made unnecessary the installation and operation of expensive storage facilities and reclaiming equipment, and obviated the necessity of holding in storage large quantities of copper-bearing materials. (Patents are pending in the United States and abroad on the Ajo process.) In the selection and arrangement of equipment, consideration was given to the full utilization of all smelting facilities, reducing the amount of idle equipment to a minimum. The layout of the smelter is shown in Fig. 2. The important problem of internal transportation was minimized by arranging the reverberatory furnace, converters, and anode furnace in a compact group and providing storage bins inside the smelter building, within reach of overhead cranes, for fluxing materials and other supplies needed in the daily operation. This can be seen in the sectional view of the smelter given in Fig. 3. Incorporated in the design were many innovations in smelting equipment intended to facilitate operations and effect economies in maintenance expense and manpower requirements. Table I gives operating data of the entire plant. Metallurgy The metallurgical practice at Ajo is based essentially upon the use of a single, deep bath reverberatory furnace for smelting wet concentrate, without concentrate storage facilities. The large reservoir of slag and matte maintained in the furnace serves to equalize, to some extent, the day to day variations in the nature and grade of concentrate and permits

Jan 1, 1954

By H. A. McKinstry, F. F. Lange

A vector analysis of orientating single crystals using the Laue back-reflection X-ray technique is given. Briefly, the analysis involves using a few data taken from a Laue photography and defining the crystal co- ordinate axes in a reference coordinate system. After a few matrix multiplications, the proper goniometer angles can then be determined to orient the crystal coincident with the reference frame. This analysis is easily programed for a digital computer to provide a fast, precise, and efficient method of orienting many crystals which are identical. The general procedure is as follows. The crystal is mounted on a goniometer. Laue photographs are taken until an array of diffraction spots is observed that includes a Laue spot that represents a rotational axis of symmetry. The rotation angles of goniometer are recorded. These angles are defined as positive for a counterclockwise rotation. When the axis of symmetry is located on the Laue photograph, the crystal coordinate axes can be defined in the reference coordinate system* as follows. Two Laue spots are chosen, one of which corresponds to the rotational axis of symmetry and the other to a set of planes whose zone axis is a known crystallographic direction and normal to the rotation axis of symmetry. The Laue spots are used to determine these two crystal directions in the reference coordinate frame. This is done by placing the Laue photograph on a sheet of polar coordinate graph paper and determining the polar coordinates (r, o) of these two diffraction spots in the reference coordinate frame. Their third coordinate is the distance between the crystal and the film (-D). The coordinates Xni of the two crystal directions Nn, (n = 1, 2) in the reference frame are then calculated by the following equations: Xn1 = -D X2n = Ancos on X3n = A, sin on where -tan- 1 rn/D An =Dtan(tan-1rp/D/2) By taking the proper cross products of these two directions (normalized to unit vectors), the crystal coordinate axes 3 (i = 1, 2, 3) can be determined in the reference frame. This is illustrated in Fig. 1. The next step is to determine the relation between

Jan 1, 1969

By E. P. Klier, Volker Weiss, George Sachs

IT has been shown that the isothermal transformation of austenite in a special steel can be modified by isothermal holding in the high subcritical transformation range.' Since this treatment potentially leads to increased hardenability, limited testing has been completed to determine if the stabilization effects observed with this treatment can be used to advantage in the heat-treating of 4340 steel. As an index of the effects of the several austenitizing treatments on the hardenability of the steel, Jominy-type hardenability tests were completed for specimens 2.5 in. in diameter and 8 in. long. Since the steel studied is to be used at strength levels where notch sensitivity is of major concern, notch sensitivity after selected austenitizing treatments has been evaluated by notch tensile tests for several specimen sizes. The steel composition and the austenitizing treatments are given in Table I. The test specimens are presented in Fig. 1. The hardenability data are given in Fig. 2 and the notch tensile properties are presented in Fig. 3. The hardenability of the steel investigated when determined by use of the standard Jominy test specimen2 as high and remained essentially unchanged for the different austenitizing treatments. For the larger test specimen, as has been shown by other investigations," the characteristic hardenability indexes are changed and it becomes possible to isolate austenitizing treatments which promote maximum hardenability. The stepped austenitizing treatment promotes higher hardenability as is indicated in Fig. 2. The evaluation of notch sensitivity for very high strength steels is best accomplished by means of the notch tensile test. The experimental conditions of the test, however, modify the notch strengths measured, and in the present experimentation an effort was made to achieve a limiting notch condition by fixing the notch root radius at 0.001 in. while the specimen diameter was allowed to increase from 0.3 to 1.1 in.* For this root radius the notch strength, 0.3-in.-diam specimen, and this trend differs from that for the larger specimens. At the highest tempering temperatures the 1.1-ip.-diam specimens yield comparable results for the austenitizing treatments compared. However, as the tempering temperature is progressively lowered below 800°F, em-

Jan 1, 1958

By Clarence P. Linville

(Pittsburg Meeting, March, 1910.) IT is recognized that, in all metallurgical operations, the greatest possible uniformity in all conditions is essential to the best results. It is the constant aim of metallurgists to secure this uniformity, and their success in this respect has been in many cases the cause of great advances in the metallurgical processes themselves. Of all such processes, the production of pig-iron in the modern blast-furnace is perhaps the most complex and the most difficult of control. Notwithstanding the great progress of recent years, there is still great difficulty in obtaining anything like uniform conditions and results in the manufacture of pig-iron. The reason is not far to seek. The ores vary in composition and physical properties, often carrying a varying amount of gangue material, unevenly distributed The coke may vary in composition, cell-structure, moisture, hardness, and other properties. The blast, the weight of which far exceeds that of any other constituent, varies in its moisture-content and consequently in its chemical composition ; and its temperature, by reason of the method of heating, is not uniform, but, besides varying from time to time with atmospheric and other outside conditions, has a maximum and minimum for every changing of stoves. Now, with regard to these variations, the modern demand for uniformity has been greatly aided. Chemical analysis has made it possible to select ores so that the composition of the charge can be kept fairly constant; coal may be obtained from a given field, and coked in the same kind of ovens under conditions which . make the fuel practically uniform ; the Gayley

Mar 1, 1910

By T. L. Fritzlen

Extrusion of aluminum alloys in this country is performed mainly by direct extrusion, therefore this paper is confined only to factors affecting the rate of extrusion by this method. Many factors affect the rate of extrusion of aluminum alloys. It is the purpose of this paper to present a discussion on the factors that are subject to technical control. Most of them are closely related, so that a clear-cut distinction between them is rather difficult. However, an attempt will be made to evaluate the effect of each factor separately, as far as possible. The most important factors only will be considered, and these will be discussed in detail under three general headings: (I) characteristics of the equipment, (2) size and structure of the ingot, and (3) temperature of ingot, cylinder, and other parts. It is a well established fact1 that the pressure and the speed of extrusion are related and are exponential functions of one another. Therefore, whenever a certain condition tends, for instance, to increase the pressure required for extrusion, it will reduce the extrusion speed if the pressure is maintained constant. For this reason, in this paper the effect of various conditions is expressed either in regard to their effect on the pressure required or the extrusion speed. Another established fact is the relation- ship between the temperature of the material being extruded and the pressure required to extrude. According to Schi-shokin,= this relationship is of the exponential type, and as the temperature is increased the pressure required is decreased. It would seem from the preceding that the greatest rates of extrusion can be obtained by the use of higher temperatures. However, as is well known, other factors intervene to limit the rate of extrusion of aluminum alloys when increasing the temperature. These factors will be discussed in detail later. Characteristics of the Equipment The capacity of the press determines * the maximum unitary pressure that can be applied for any given cylinder diameter. Pressures used for extrusion of aluminum alloys range from approximately 50,000 lb. per sq. in. to 150,000 lb. per sq. in., dependent upon the alloy and the size of the shape extruded. Higher pressures could be used to advantage, but existing steels limit pressures employed in the production of extrusions. Numerous mechanical characteristics of the extrusion press affect extrusion rate. The most important characteristics of the press itself are: (I) sensitivity of the main pressure valve and accuracy of pressure gauges, (2) accuracy of equipment to heat the cylinder uniformly and to control cylinder temperature, and (3) accuracy of means of measuring the speed of extrusion. The variables subject to control during the extrusion operation are pressure, temperature, and speed, and it is evident that the preceding characteristics

Jan 1, 1946

By T. L. Fritzlen

Extrusion of aluminum alloys in this country is performed mainly by direct extrusion, therefore this paper is confined only to factors affecting the rate of extrusion by this method. Many factors affect the rate of extrusion of aluminum alloys. It is the purpose of this paper to present a discussion on the factors that are subject to technical control. Most of them are closely related, so that a clear-cut distinction between them is rather difficult. However, an attempt will be made to evaluate the effect of each factor separately, as far as possible. The most important factors only will be considered, and these will be discussed in detail under three general headings: (I) characteristics of the equipment, (2) size and structure of the ingot, and (3) temperature of ingot, cylinder, and other parts. It is a well established fact1 that the pressure and the speed of extrusion are related and are exponential functions of one another. Therefore, whenever a certain condition tends, for instance, to increase the pressure required for extrusion, it will reduce the extrusion speed if the pressure is maintained constant. For this reason, in this paper the effect of various conditions is expressed either in regard to their effect on the pressure required or the extrusion speed. Another established fact is the relation- ship between the temperature of the material being extruded and the pressure required to extrude. According to Schi-shokin,= this relationship is of the exponential type, and as the temperature is increased the pressure required is decreased. It would seem from the preceding that the greatest rates of extrusion can be obtained by the use of higher temperatures. However, as is well known, other factors intervene to limit the rate of extrusion of aluminum alloys when increasing the temperature. These factors will be discussed in detail later. Characteristics of the Equipment The capacity of the press determines * the maximum unitary pressure that can be applied for any given cylinder diameter. Pressures used for extrusion of aluminum alloys range from approximately 50,000 lb. per sq. in. to 150,000 lb. per sq. in., dependent upon the alloy and the size of the shape extruded. Higher pressures could be used to advantage, but existing steels limit pressures employed in the production of extrusions. Numerous mechanical characteristics of the extrusion press affect extrusion rate. The most important characteristics of the press itself are: (I) sensitivity of the main pressure valve and accuracy of pressure gauges, (2) accuracy of equipment to heat the cylinder uniformly and to control cylinder temperature, and (3) accuracy of means of measuring the speed of extrusion. The variables subject to control during the extrusion operation are pressure, temperature, and speed, and it is evident that the preceding characteristics

Jan 1, 1946

By J. J. Jakosky

The strategic importance of the metallic minerals in our industrial economy, and the declining rates of discovery have focused attention on means of exploration for new mineral deposits. A consideration of exploration techniques leads to an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of geo- physics as a tool for mining exploration. One means of evaluation will be to compare the use of geophysics in petroleum exploration with its possible uses in mining.

Jan 1, 1949

By AIME AIME

The following acts of the Directors are reported for the information of members:¬ At a meeting held November 3, 1905, Messrs. Henri Le Chatelier, of Paris, France, and Andrew Carnegie, of New York, N. Y., having been nominated by a large number of members, and recommended by unanimous vote of the Council, were unanimously elected Honorary Members, in recognition of their distinguished services to the arts and professions represented by the Institute. At a meeting held February 7, 1,906, Dr. James Douglas, of New York, N. Y., having been" nominated by a large number of leading members, and recommended by unammous vote of the Council, was unanimously elected an Honorary Member, in recognition of his distinguished services to the practice and the literature of mining and metallurgy, his zealous and loyal devotion to this Institute, his fraternal generosity towards professional colleagues, and his effective advocacy, by public utterance and private example, of the free communication of technical knowledge and experience. At the same meeting, By-Law IV., which now authorizes the Secretary to appoint an '1 Assistant Editor," was amended by substituting the words, " Assistant with the title of Editor." At the same meeting, the resignation of Mr. Theodore Dwight, as Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer of the Institute, was presented and accepted, and the Secretary was instructed to express to Mr. Dwight the thanks of the Board for his loyal and efficient services, and its regret that he could not continue in that position. . [SECRETARY'S NOTE.-Mr. Dwight's resignation, dictated solely by the demands of private business, covers only his immediate management of this office. He is still a Director and Councilor, and a representative of the Institute in matters connected with the new Carnegie Building, etc.-R. W. R.] At the same meeting, the Secretary and the Treasurer reported respectively their appointment of Mr. Henry WT. B. Howard as Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, to fill

Mar 1, 1906

By Ronald C. Whiting

SINCE the advent of what has been aptly called "chemical flotation," about 1920, the number and complexity of the various chemicals used in practice have increased enormously. Over 300 patents have been issued dealing exclusively with flotation reagents, and many of these embrace from two or three up to a score or more of specific compounds. The exact number of compounds actually finding a practical use in flotation would be difficult to determine, though the U. S. Bureau of Mines gives an annual list by groups.

Jan 1, 1938

By George M. Fowler

DURING 1937 the subject of mining geology was probably given more attention and more mining geologists were usefully employed than at any previous time. Of the many contributing factors the most important were: (1) a higher degree of prosperity in many countries, (2) a. better understanding of geologic phenomena, and (3) the apparently diminishing reserves of several important minerals. Mining companies have come to look upon geology with a growing appreciation of its aid in the more effective exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits. Most of the larger and more active companies have one or more geologists permanently attached to their staffs and some have well organized and efficiently managed geological departments. Even the smaller companies, who feel they cannot afford to employ a geologist on a permanent basis, are seeking the advice of competent men in this field with increasing frequency. One of the most significant trends has been the growing tendency to base exploratory work on more thorough geologic studies instead of empirical "hunches,"on which so much off the work in the past has relied. Likewise, mining companies are apparently more willing to expend larger sums on the basis of geologic possibilities in a district.

Jan 1, 1938

By John V. Beall

Beall: Mr. Bennett, you have had a very successful -and a very colorful-career in mining. Would you tell us about your first job in the mining industry? Bennett: I was a mine surveyor on the Mesabi and Marquette ranges, working both open pit and underground. I worked two years for the Meriden Engineering Co., formerly the Meriden Iron Co., which was founded in 1904 to operate mines and to act as a lessors' agent for inspection. At the time I was there, Meriden was operating one open pit and one underground mine, and acting as agent or inspector for some lessors, the owners of the fee interest.

Jan 1, 1968

Discussion of the paper of Ralph Hayden, presented at the Butte meeting,. August, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 80, August, 1913, pp. 1443 to 1467. JOHN V. N. Done, Denver, Colo.:-Mr. Hayden has placed the metallurgical profession greatly in his debt .for this valuable paper. The importance of such a complete description of the research work on which is based the building of a plant to add at least 10,000,000 lb. of copper per year to the production of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., at small expense, will be appreciated by all our members, and especially those who are facing similar problems. The information given in regard to the treatment methods discarded will be a great help to many workers, as it is often of as much importance to know what ? not to do" as what method to adopt. I Some further comment on the tests of the Dorr thickener may be of interest, as they have led to developments which I believe will prove of great importance. Before the Dorr thickener was installed, I had shown Mr. Laist reports from the Steptoe Valley concentrator, in which it was stated that one thickener 17 ft. in diameter was the equivalent in settling capacity of twelve 8-ft. cones, although the latter-contained double the surface area.. Mr. Laist, had made careful tests on the settling capacity of in 8-ft. cone on Anaconda slime, and we naturally expected the thickener would show a much higher capacity for equivalent area. When, is Mr. Hayden stated, the tests showed no increase, I realized that we were comparing it with a cone under test conditions, while the Steptoe results were based on operative conditions, find the explanation given by Mr. Waddell for the great difference had been, that " there is only one unit to watch instead of twelve, without the constant result of feed to twelve cones becoming unbalanced. Also the one 1 1/8-in. spigot used on the Dow requires no attention compared with the dozen 3/8-in. spigots of the cones.' I realized also as a. result of the tests that the total settling area required to handle the immense tonnage of the Anaconda company would be enormous, and very expensive in view of the housing required by Montana climatic conditions. After studying the matter over, I told Mr. Laist that I believed a thickener operating in a much shallower tank would have nearly the same capacity. I asked him to test it out in the same tank filled 3 ft. deep, and stated that if my idea

Jan 11, 1913

By K. D. Jacob

IN the decreasing order of the tonnages involved, the uses of phosphates can be grouped conveniently into three general classes, namely, fertilizer; chemicals for military, industrial, and technical purposes; and mineral feed for livestock. The quantity of phosphate used as fertilizer, principally in the form of superphosphate, has always exceeded by far that used for all other purposes, though in recent years a marked increase has occurred in its consumption for the other two general classes of uses. Prior to the present century large quantities of superphosphate, as well as a considerable portion of the production of phosphorus chemicals, score made from bone materials which were plentiful and cheap in some areas and which could be more easily processed than phosphate rock for the manufacture of chemicals. Today, however phosphate rock has almost completely displaced bone as a raw material for the manufacture of chemically processed phosphates in nearly all countries of the world.

Jan 1, 1944

By K. D. Jacob

MONTANA Phosphate Produucts Co., a subsidiary of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada Ltd., operates three properties near Garrison, Mont., known as the Anderson, Graveley, and Luke mines. All three are underground operations, mining the same narrow bed at points several miles apart. The Anderson, the oldest and largest of the three, has produced about 700,000 long tons since 1929. The Graveley has produced slightly over 100,000 long tons since 1940, and the Luke, acquired in 1943, is still in an early stage of development. The great bulk of the output has been shipped to the Trail, B. C., plant of Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. for use in the manufacture of fertilizers. The phosphate seam is the basal member of the Permian Phosphoria formation. In all three mines it has a uniform thickness of 3 to 4 ft. of oulitic phosphate, with a few shaly partings. The overlying part of the formation comprises about 50 ft. of chert and the immediate footwall consists of a few feet of shale and sandstone. underlain by the Quadrant quartzite.

Jan 1, 1944

By N. V. Hansell

l. INTRODUCTION. THE last few years have shown an increasing interest in the subject of beneficiating iron-ores -in all iron-producing countries. In the United States, this movement has been slower than in certain parts of Europe, for the obvious reason that the abundance and relative cheapness of the Lake Superior iron ores has hindered the development of enterprises for the preparation of low-grade ores. Gradually, however, conditions have changed. The world's consumption of iron is increasing enormously. Being in 1900 about 40,000,000 tons, in 1910 ii was already 60,000000; and there is no reason to doubt that for the near future the increase in iron-consumption will continue at the same rapid rate, especially with, the development of China, certain parts of Africa, and other regions which have hardly been touched as yet by modern industrialism. It is. therefore, not surprising that apprehension is felt that the known available iron-ore resources of the world are gradually being depleted. Signs of this feeling are the recent investigation, under the direction of the U. S. Geological Survey, of the iron-ore resources of the United States, and the estimate presented to the last International Geological Congress, at Stockholm, Sweden, of the iron-ore resources of the world. These investigations have emphasized the fact that the known high-grade ore-deposits are limited in extent, and will, at a not distant future, be exhausted, compelling the iron industry to depend for raw material on the enormous deposits of low-grade ores which are distributed over almost all the world. The discovery of new deposits of high-grade ore, in countries not yet thoroughly explored, will not materially change this prospect. Of course, the part which such new deposits will play in the future cannot be forecast. The difficulty and cost of transportation will probably exclude many of them from use at the present centers of the iron industry.

May 1, 1912

By F. M. F. Cazin

In my first paper, relating in general to the movement of solids in a medium, I stated a newly-discovered natural law, and explained its application to mechanical ore-concentration. This law, as applied primarily to the motion of ships in water, had been announced, demonstrated and defended by me in the Journal of the Franklin Institute for March, April and May, 1893, and has not been controverted since then. I therefore contented myself in my first paper with the simple statement of it; and in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, I refer the readers of this paper to that statement (ante, p. 81) and to the earlier publication already mentioned.*

Jan 1, 1895

By Walter F. Gries

AN ounce of prevention is worth A a pound of cure' is an old proverb that has sometimes been forgotten in programs having to do with the health of workmen. Realization of the truth of this maxim is increasing, however, and today the iron-mining industry, with which I am particularly concerned, is becoming more alive to the prevention of illness and the conservation of health, thus decreasing the need for treatment after diagnosis has established its necessity. The healthy workman is the happy, efficient workman, and new programs tending to make him more health-minded are being put into operation. Preventive medicine is less costly than corrective medicine, to say nothing of the better results obtained. Periodic physical examinations, with close follow-up attention when required, have reduced the time lost because of illness, workmen's compensation costs, and group-insurance benefits for nonindustrial disabilities.

Jan 1, 1939

By H. H. Klepfer, M. E. Snyder

UNTIL very recently, the commercial availability of the rare earths as metals has been very limited. Fabrication of mill products from these metals has not been studied in most cases. This note reports the results of the development of fabrication techniques for thulium. Thulium has a melting point of about 1550°C and a hexagonal close-packed crystal structure. It oxidizes in air to give a black oxide (TmzO,). The procedures for producing thin thulium foil were developed on one ingot weighing about 220 g and were subsequently applied in processing about a pound of metal to foil. Several alternates for the various fabrication steps were investigated and will be discussed. The metal fabricated was in the form of commercial chill-cast ingots 1 in. in diam and 2 in. long weighing approximately 220 g. Impurities in the ingots were reported by the vendor to be 4000 ppni tantalum, 2000 ppm calcium, 200 ppm nickel, 100 to 200 ppm iron, 100 ppm europium, and less than 100 ppm copper, lutetium, and ytterbium. In addition to these impurities, several salt-like inclusions as large as l/8 in. in diam were revealed along the center line of the one ingot sectioned. Preliminary tests indicated that small wafers cut from the as-cast ingot would not fabricate readily by rolling. Forging of copper-jacketed wafers was therefore attempted. At 1550"F forging was satisfactory but an apparent reaction of copper with thulium demanded investigation of lower temperatures. Therefore, the remainder of the test ingot was forged at 1450°F—with only minor cracking. All ingots forged were inserted into copper tubes of 1 in. 1D and 0.125-in. wall thickness. The jackets were sealed by flattening the ends of the tubes and welding under helium. Heating time at 1450°F was 30 min. Press forgings of 1/8 in. per pass were used, followed by 10 min reheats. When the ingots had been squared and reduced to 0.250 in. in thickness, the original copper jacket was stripped off and replaced by a new jacket in preparation for hot rolling. Hot rolling at 1450" F without edge cracking was readily accomplished after forging. Excellent results were obtained with 10 pct reductions of thickness followed by 5 to 10 min reheats. After reduction of thickness from 0.250 to 0.100 in. the copper jacket was removed. It was found, in fact, that hot rolling in air was possible. A tenacious black oxide similar to that seen on zirconium was formed during 3 min reheats at 1450°F. Reduction in air to 0.010 in. foil was possible taking 10 pct reductions per pass. The oxide coat formed during hot rolling in air could best be removed by sand blasting and pickling. Common pickling solutions containing polar solvents were found to attack the metal too rapidly and a concentrated nitric-hydrofluoric acid mixture attacked neither the oxide nor the metal. The most satisfactory pickling solution was 52 vol pct concentrated nitric acid-48 vol pct glacial acetic acid. After forging to 0.250 in., vacuum annealing and cold rolling was found to be another satisfactory alternate to hot rolling in copper jackets. After forging. a hardness of Rockwell B76 was found. Annealing in vacuum (2 X l0-5 mm of Hg) for 1 hr at 1200"F did not alter this value. Annealing at 1470"F for 1 hr brought the hardness down to R;]63. With cold rolling (5 pct per pass) the hardness returned to about R,1:76 after 20 pct reduction and edge cracking became noticeable. However, cold rolling to a total of 40 pct reduction in thickness (RI,,83) was possible before edge crack propagation became serious. Good surface finish was obtained, and the metal loss due to oxidation was minimized by cold rolling and vacuum annealing. Using this procedure the yield of 1.25 in. wide by 0.010 in. thick foil from a 1-in. diam ingot was about 40 pct.

Jan 1, 1961

By Oliver Bowles

A NORTH CAROLINA miner dreamed that he found high-grade mica by excavating a certain corner of his mine. The next day he sank a hole on the exact spot and found mica of excellent quality. The dream came true. May not this be as good a method as any yet known for forecasting the valuable mineral content of pegmatites? The Federal Geological Survey has found in its recent detailed studies in New England that good sheet mica occurs most abundantly in zoned pegmatites, particularly in zones lying along the wall or contact of the pegmatite mass. Although this conclusion may be a valuable guide, pegmatite mining operations must still be classed as most uncertain and hazardous enterprises. Finding of the second largest diamond ever discovered in the United States-a stone of good gem quality weighing more than 34 carats-during the course of a horseshoe pitching contest at Peterstown, W. Va., is another example of unorthodox mining methods. These should not be considered, however, as characteristic mining methods developed in 1944.

Jan 1, 1945