Search Documents

By F. F. Poland

The purpose of this paper is to describe a new process for the refining of secondary copper-base metals and a specially designed high-temperature electric-resistor furnace used in the process for the distillation of zinc from these metals. The process was used for the conversion of nickel silver to cupronickel and to recover the zinc content in metallic form. It also proved applicable and economical for the treatment of scrap brass for separating and reclaiming the copper and zinc. The relatively large furnace developed for the distillation of zinc is described in detail, for it made economically possiblc the direct recovery of metallic zinc from scrap brass, which is a new step in the processing of such material. Considerable interest has been shown in the utilization of the distillation furnace for other metallurgical processes, where it is of advantage to operate in a controlled neutral or reducing atmosphere, or to avoid having the processed metal in contact with refractories other than carbon, or to operate at temperatures between 3000 and 4000°F. Purpose of Development It was recognized early in the war effort that nickel would become a critical metal. therefore all nickel stock and alloys containing relatively high percentages of nickel were frozen immediately. Among these alloys were considerable quantities of various grades of nickel silver, an alloy containing copper, nickel, zinc, and in some grades lead, also minor amounts of iron, manganese and other constituents. At the time there was no existing plant or process to eliminate the zinc, lead, and minor constituents so as to convert this metal to cupronickel, one of the important alloys needed by the U. S. Navy for condenser parts. Therefore the Bureau of Industrial Conservation of the War Production Board requested the executives of the leading nonferrous metal companies to have their metallurgical staffs study the problem of converting this metal to cupronickel conforming to U. S. Navy Specification 44T40. The composition specified therein is as follows: nickel, 29 to 32 per cent; zinc, 1.00; iron, 0.00 to 0.60; lead, 0.05; tin, 1.20; manganese, 0.00 to 1.00; total of other elemcnts (maximum). 0.50; copper, remainder. The problem in converting these alloys to cupronickel was the elimination of zinc, lead, iron, manganese, and other elements without appreciable loss of nickel to slags or other by-products. Revere Copper and Brass Incorporated, through its Research and Development Department, undertook to solve this problem. A Government-owned plant was built at Rome, N. Y., and there the conversion was made successfully.

Jan 1, 1949

YEAR OF ELECTION 1913. FRANK DAWSON ADAMS, Montreal, Canada. 1921. WILLIAM CUTHBERT BLACKETT Sacriston, Durham, England. 1935. GUILLAUME DANIEL DELPRAT Melbourne, Vic., Aust. 1920. HENRY STURGIS DRINKER Merion Station, Pa. 1933. KARL EIKERS NEW YORK, N. Y. 1922. FEDERICO GIOLITTI Torino, Italy. 1906. SIR ROBERT A. HADFIELD London, England. 1928. JOHN HAYS HAMMOND New York, N. Y. 1921. FRANK WILLIAM HARBORD London, England. 1917. HERBERT HOOVER Washington, D. C. 1905. HENRI LECHATELIER Paris, France. 1931. WALDEMAR LINDGREN Cambridge, Mass. 1921. C. McDERMID London, England. 1913. EZEQUIEL ORDONEZ Mexico City, Mexico. 1935. ROBERT PEELE New York, N. Y. 1911. ROBERT H. RICHARDS Cambridge, Mass. 1934. T.A. RICKARD Victoria, B.C., Canada 1933. ALBERT SAUVER Cambridge, Mass.

Jan 1, 1936

By Alfred H. Bell

IN 1945, Illinois produced 75,210,000 bid. of oil, or 4.4 percent of the total for the United States, and ranked sixth in the nation in oil production for the third consecutive year. Production decreased about 3 per cent from that of 1944, when the total Illinois production was 77,413,000 bbl. This is the smallest percentage of decrease in production in the state for any year since a peak was reached in 1940. Daily average production for 1945 was approximately 206,000 bbl. Daily averages by months were as follows:

Jan 1, 1946

By J. T. Ryan

POISONOUS, irritating, or explosive gases are found in almost every industry, and manufacturers of gas masks are called upon to provide gas mask protection for a great variety of conditions, such as operators in horseradish factories, fumigators of homes and ocean liners, and men engaged in the manufacture of tetra-ethyl-lead, the new motor fuel. The modern type of gas mask and respirator, to provide protection against all such industrial gases, is an outgrowth of the gas mask developed during the World War to protect the soldiers against the poisonous war gases. So far, it has been possible to develop ample mask protection from all known noxious gases and fumes present in atmospheres encountered in mines, metallurgical works, and chemical and other industries, so long as there is sufficient oxygen present to support the flame of an oil lamp. The most important development of the gas mask was in providing protection against carbon monoxide- which is the noxious gas that mining men are most concerned with and, in fact, is the noxious gas that man is most frequently exposed to. This paper will be con- fined largely to the discussion of masks for underground use in metal mines. Gases that contaminate the normal air in mines can be divided into two classes: those that are given off normally by the workings, and those that are produced in mine operation.

Jan 1, 1926

By Richards J. W.

J.W. RICHARDS, South Bethlehem, Pa. (communication to the Secretary?).-Mr. Howland's paper, data and conclusions have interested me intensely, and have led me to study carefully the record-of his 26 furnaces therein given. Mr. Howland is undoubtedly right in his conclusion that when expressing the amount of carbon burned at the tuyères in percentage of the total

Jan 1, 1917

By R. J. Keene

The South Works high-tonnage billet caster was started in late March 1971, with the first heat being successfully cast to completion. Currently, over 31,500 tons per month are being produced. U. S. Steel designed and built this caster with the objective of producing quality-steel billets for critical bar, rod, and wire applications. The essential design parameters were based on studies conducted on the Research Laboratory's pilot caster, also located at South works. 1,2,3)* The caster is a four-strand, straight-mold machine that produces 7.5-inch- square billets at rates exceeding 300 tons per hour. An in-line-reduction mill reduces each strand to either 6-inch-, 5-inch-, or 4-inch-square billets.

Jan 1, 1972

By A. U. Seybolt

A. U. Seybolt (General Electric Research Laboratory)— As pointed out in an earlier paper,41 it appears to be very difficult to nucleate Si3N4 in Si-Fe of silicon content up to around 5 pet. Therefore, one observes, as did Pearce, that equilibrations with nitrogen gas yield only nitrogen in solid solution at temperatures above about 700°C, or, as Pearce found, 770°C. Evidently, the free energy of formation of Si3N4 only becomes high enough at -770°C to overcome the reluctance of Si3N4 to nucleate. However, as mentioned in Ref. 41, if some Si3N4 is first formed by a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen, one can then replace this gas mixture by nitrogen gas, and either increase or decrease the amount of Si3N4 present at any temperature by suitable adjustment of nitrogen pressure: that is, to equilibrate with Si3N4. In the equilibration experiments cited in Ref. 41, equilibrium was approached from both sides, and it was found that samples up to 944oC, at least, were in equilibrium with Si3N4. Higher temperatures were not employed, as this would have necessitated a redesign of the apparatus for using nitrogen pressures in excess of 1 atm. To summarize, the results of Pearce's experiments and those of Ref. 41 cannot be directly compared because two quite different equilibria were studied. Therefore, the statement by Pearce on p. 1398 indicating apparent error in Ref. 41 is unjustified. M. L. Pearce (author's reply)— There was limited evidence obtained in the current investigation which would indicate that excessive "supercooling" did not occur. A small piece of the same resulting from heat treatment No. 5 in Table III was subsequently held at 800°C for 16 hr in 95 pet N-5 pet H. Isotope-

Jan 1, 1964

By FREDERICK C. BROWN

THE practice of fine-grinding is now being so successfully - carried on in some fields, notably in West Australia, and its advisability has been so frequently pointed out' that the matter in this paper is not put forward as being new ; its chief object being to call attention to the importance of fine-grinding in the treatment of comparatively low-grade ores. I have been engaged during the last five years in the cyanide-treatment of ores in the Ohinemuri district (North Island), New Zealand, and I consider that, in the near future, extremely fine-grinding (almost sliming) will become a very important feature of the milling-methods in this field, since it seems absolutely necessary to reduce the most of ores to a very fine state of division if a high extraction is to be obtained; and, in most cases, the extra percentage of saving will leave a good margin above the increased cost of treatment due both to the fine-grinding and to the interest on the capital spent for the grinding-machinery. The average ore of the Ohinemuri field is composed of a quartz-gangue with some calcite, carrying the gold-value in the form of an alloy of gold and silver in about equal proportions, and the silver-value in the form of mixed sulphides of silver, usually associated with a considerable amount of iron pyrites. In the upper levels, the ores are decomposed and carry large quantities of black manganese oxide and some iron oxide, but, as. depth is reached, the decomposed ore gives place to sulphides and, in some mines, rhodonite, manganese silicate, is present in fairly large quantities. The average value of the

Jan 1, 1906

By Thomas L. Kesler

I all of the 14 million tons of kaolin produced in Georgia through 1949 had been mined from a single deposit 20 ft thick, it would represent a mined-out area of less than 1 sq mile. This measure of depletion is in such strong contrast with the large size of the area shown in Fig. 1, from which most of the output has come, that there has developed an optimistic outlook concerning future supplies of kaolin equal in grade to that already mined. Dozens of mines are widely but not evenly distributed within this area, which consists mostly of parts of Twiggs, Wilkinson, and Washington counties. There are scarcely half a dozen kaolin mines elsewhere in the state that have been appreciably productive, although the areas in which they occur may have good possibilities. Most of the efforts to find new deposits, therefore, will be confined to the area shown in Fig. 1, for it is here that the industry has established its facilities, and prospecting is encouraged by relatively numerous outcrops and opened deposits of kaolin. The Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers drain the area. They and their main tributaries have flat, swampy floodplains covered with alluvium and for the most part thickly wooded. The divides between these streams are intricately dissected by the minor tributaries, which are spring-fed in steep-walled, cirque-like heads. Gullying and under-cutting are active along the streams but are partly controlled by unusually dense vegetation. The mean altitude is about 350 ft above sea level, and locally the relief ranges up to 200 ft. The area is near the inner margin of the Coastal Plain, and is underlain by Cretaceous and Tertiary formations. Its general location is shown in black in Fig. 1. The division between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont plateau is actually a very sinuous line, the fall line, marking the extent to which erosion has stripped the Coastal Plain sediments from the southeastward-sloping surface of the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont. Cretaceous Host Formation The kaolin deposits, which are described in the succeeding section, occur sporadically in lenslike bodies in a thick series of poorly sorted clayey sands constituting the lowermost of the Upper Cretaceous formations, the Tuscaloosa. The basis for this correlation has been reviewed by Cooke.1 The same formation has been termed the Potomac group by Ladd2 and the Middendorf formation by Smith' in reports on the kaolin deposits. In another report, Veatch4 called the formation the Tuscaloosa but correlated it with the Lower Cretaceous. The Tuscaloosa in this area consists of fine to very coarse sands, commonly cross-bedded, which contain widely different proportions of white, pink, and yellow kaolin and considerable white mica. A few of the coarser beds contain quartz grains up to 3 in. in length, with bodies of pure white kaolin of equal size that appear to have been formed by the weathering of feldspar grains in place. In the kaolin-producing area, gravel and cobbles occur mainly at the base of the formation. Fig. 2 shows the relations of the Tuscaloosa and its kaolin deposits to the adjacent formations. Its base, on the eroded surface of the crystalline rocks, dips southeastward 50 to 60 ft to the mile, according to LaMoreaux.5 The upper surface of the Tuscaloosa is also an unconformity,

Jan 1, 1952

By Arthur L. Walker

DURING my trip around the world last year, covering a total of 45,000 miles, I saw many things of especial interest from an engineering viewpoint. Sailing from New York, I went through the Panama Canal, down along the west coast of South America, then over the Peruvian and Bolivian Uplands; thence to the celebrated copper mines of Chile; across the Andes, to Buenos Aires, then to Rio Janeiro; across the Atlantic to Lisbon, Portugal; through Spain to the Rio Tinto mines; across southern Europe to Italy; thence to Alexandria and Cairo; up the Nile to Assouan, to Palestine through the Suez Canal, Red Sea and across to Bombay; up to the country of the Moghul Emperors; then to Calcutta, from which point I shipped to Singapore, as having crossed the Equator twice, I wished to shake hands with it again; thence to Shanghai and Pekin; up to the Great Wall of China, back to Nanking and up the Yangtse to Hankow; then back and eastward across the Pacific Ocean. The climatic changes were sudden and severe; there was winter where, for me, it should have been summer and vice versa. The weather man was very kind, however, and until I was near the Aleutian Islands there were only three rainy days in a total of 220.

Jan 1, 1924

By Walter S. Weeks

CONFUSION appears to exist in the discussions of fan testing because engineers do not agree on what energy should be credited to the fan in certain cases, and because certain terms that are used in the discussions seem to have double meanings. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to discuss the useful energy that should be credited to the fan and the methods of determining this energy, and to suggest changes in nomenclature for the sake of clearness. The instruments commonly used in the measurement of fan pressures are the manometer, the static tube, and the impact tube. The static tube is a tube with small pinholes in it. When connected to one leg of the manometer and placed in the air current with the holes facing at right angles to the direction of the current, this tube causes the manometer to register the static pressure, unaffected by the impact of the air. The impact tube is a tube with an opening that faces the air current. When connected to one leg of the manometer, this tube causes the manometer to register a pressure which is the static pressure modified by the impact of the flowing' air on the end of the tube. If the static tube is connected to one leg of the manometer and the impact tube to the other leg, and both instruments are inserted close together in the air current, the static pressure is eliminated and the manometer registers the impact pressure. The efficiency of a fan is the percentage of the expended power utilized in useful work. The items to be included as useful work are a matter of convention, and as the conventions are not universal I feel that the matter is open to discussion.

Jan 1, 1929

BOSTON LOCAL SECTION Executive Committee HENRY L. SMYTH, Chairman ALFRED C. LANE, Vice-Chairman AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. ROBERT H. RICHARDS ALBERT SAUVEUR Meets on the first Monday evening of each winter month Twenty-fourth Meeting The Twenty-fourth meeting of the Boston Local Section was held at the Exeter Street Theater, Boston, Monday, Jan. 4, 1915. The Chairman, Henry L. Smyth, introduced Mr. S. Le Fevre, of Mineville, N. Y., who presented an exhibit of moving pictures, illustrating the various operations of mining and milling iron ore as carried out at Mineville. Mr. Le Fevre pointed out, as the pictures were run off, the dangers of the various operations, and the precautions that should be taken to avoid or minimize these dangers. . After the exhibition of pictures, the members adjourned to the University Club, where dinner was served. At the close of the dinner and an impromptu recital by Mr. Weeks, the meeting was adjourned. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary.

Jan 2, 1915

By Edward W. Parker

At the Seventy-sixth meeting of the Institute, held in New York, N. Y., February, 1899,I presented a paper on this subject entitled, Coal-Cutting Machinery,' which has become somewhat out of date, in view of the decade's development in this feature of the coal-mining industry. It should be explained that the present paper is limited to the use of mining-machines in bituminous mines. Practically all of the anthracite mined is "shot from the solid," no undercutting being done. Anthracite-mining is therefore not considered in the statistics or other references. The statistical record as compiled by the U. S. Geological Survey shows that in 1898, the year preceding the presentation of my former paper, there were 32,413,144 short tons of coal undercut by the use of machines. In 1907 the machine-mined coal-product amounted to 138,547,823 short tons. In sympathy with the general decrease in coal-production during 1908, the output of machine-mined coal decreased to 123,183,334 short tons, but the proportion of machine-mined coal to the total output, nevertheless, showed an increase, from 35.1 per cent. in 1907 to 37 per cent. in 1908. In 1898 only 19.5 per cent. of the total product was unclercut.by the use of machines. The number of in use in the bituminous mines of the United States has increased from 2,622 in 1898 to 11,144 in 1907, and to 11,569 in 1908. The total production of bituminous coal in the United States in 1908 mas almost exactly double that of 1898, while the machine-

Jan 1, 1911

By E. T. Turkdogan, J. H. Swisher

The solubility of oxygen in zone-refined iron was determined in the temperature range.from 881" to 1350°C. The solubility in a iron at 881°C ms found to be about 2 to 3 ppm; in y iron, the solubility was found to increase from about 2 to 3 ppm at 950°C to about 25 ppm at 1350°C. The permeability of oxygen in an iron -0.1 pct Al alloy was determined in the y iron range, using an internal oxidation technique. By combining the permeability and solubility data, the diffzisivity of oxygen in y and a iron was calculated. The oxygen diffusivity in solid iron may be s~immarized as follows: 8820 For 6 iron and IN a recent paper, Hepworth, Smith, and Turkdogan1 reported on the solubility, permeability, and diffusivity of oxygen in 6 iron, together with permeability data for oxygen in a iron. In the present investigation, similar measurements were made in the ? phase region. In addition, a solubility measurement was performed in the a phase region to permit calculation of the diffusivity of oxygen in a, iron. References to early work on this subject are given in the previous publication.' EXPERIMENTAL Solubility Measurements. The oxygen solubility was determined by equilibrating cylindrical samples 0.3 in. diam by 14 in. long of zone-refined iron in water vapor-hydrogen gas mixtures. The zone-refined iron was prepared by B. F. Oliver of this laboratory, using an apparatus and technique described elsewhere.2'3 Six zone-melting passes were used to achieve a total impurity level of about 30 ppm. Of this 30 ppm, the combined nickel and cobalt content was about 20 ppm, oxygen was 4 ppm, and all oxidizable impurities less than 1 pprn each. A vertical resistance furnace wound with molybdenum wire was used for the experiments. The temperature was measured before and after each experiment with a Pt/Pt-10 pct Rh thermocouple. In the gas train, flow rates of hydrogen and argon were measured with capillary flow meters, and the resulting mixtures were passed through a column containing 90 pct oxalic acid dihydrate and 10 pct anhydrous oxalic acid to obtain predetermined ratios of H2O to H2. The vapor pressure of H2O above this mixture as a function of temperature is well-known.4 The exit gas was ana- lyzed periodically for H2O, and good agreement (+3 pct) with the calculated composition was obtained. The zone-refined iron specimens were held in the furnace for a sufficient length of time for equilibration, e.g., 18 hr at 1350°C and 1 week at 881°C, then quenched in a brine solution. After removing the surface oxide from the samples by machining, duplicate analyses were obtained by a combined vacuum fusion-infrared method; oxygen analysis was reproducible within 2 ppm. Permeability Measurements. The permeability of oxygen in alloys containing about 0.1 pct A1 was determined by internal oxidation and measurement of the subscale thickness as a function of time. The experimental alloys were prepared by adding aluminum to electrolytic iron (grade 104A plastiron) that had previously been vacuum-carbon deoxidized. The resulting ingots contained about 20 ppm O, 100 pprn C, 40 pprn Si, 50 ppm Mo, 20 ppm P, 20 ppm S, and 20 pprn Zr as the principal impurities. After hot rolling the ingots to 1-in.-thick slabs, specimens were machined from the stock in the form of rectangular plates, 4 by 5 by 2 in. The general procedure for the permeability experiments was the same as those for the solubility measurements. The specimens were cooled in a reducing atmosphere rather than quenched, however, in order to maintain a clean surface for measurement of the sub-scale thickness. This measurement was made on a polished cross section of each specimen, using a microscope with a micrometer stage. The inclusions formed at the lowest temperature 1033°C were too small to be seen with an optical microscope. An electron micrograph showing the size and shape of individual particles is shown in Fig. 1. The dark band in the picture is a boundary between two subgrains. The subscale thickness in these samples was measured with an optical microscope after heavily etching in 2 pct nital, which gave contrast between the subscale and the unoxidized zone.

Jan 1, 1968

By D. W. Brunton

THE maps of our large mines are usually prepared with the greatest care; and it is somewhat singular that, in comparison with the great amount of time and money spent in surveying and platting, so little actual use is made of them. Almost the only purpose for which a completed survey-map is afterwards consulted, is the determination of the relative position of the different workings to each other, and to the boundary-lines of the property. After the completion of such a map, it should be made the beginning of another, and in most cases a far more important, undertaking, namely, its utilization as -a starting-point for a complete inventory of the company's underground possessions. The ordinary mine-survey map, being nothing but a record of what has been done, is, in one sense, only ancient history. To increase its value, such additions should be made as will render it a complete statement of the amount and value of ore in sight at any particular time, and a guide for future develop¬ments. Comparatively little extra labor is involved in this undertaking, since the larger and most expensive part of the work has already been completed when the mine has been surveyed and mapped. The necessary additions consist in working out, and platting on the maps, the geology of the mine as exposed in the workings, in such a manner that the geological survey may be of daily use in the development and operation of the mine. The first step towards the production of a geological map consists in tracing individual level-sheets from the general or composite map. The area to be included, outside of the property in question, will depend very much on local conditions; but, for geological, legal and commercial reasons, it should be extended as far as reasonably practicable. The scale to be

Sep 1, 1905

By H. 0. HOFMAN AND W. MOSTOWITSCH

I. INTRODUCTION. THE mineral gypsum, CaSO, + 2 H2O, has been used for many years as a sulphurizing and basic flux in several smelting¬operations. Thus, in smelting oxide nickel-ore in the blast furnace, it is commonly added to the charge to furnish the sulphur necessary for collecting the metal in a matte, and a base for slagging the siliceous gangue. In the concentration of lead-copper matte in the reverberatory furnace it has been used for years at Freiberg, Saxony1 for a similar purpose, and for producing at the same time a copper-matte with less than 0.15 per cent. Fe. The latest use gypsum has been put to is in the blast-roasting process of Carmichael-Bradford.2 The term "blast-roasting," given by A. S. Dwight3 to the Dwight-Lloyd method of roasting and agglomerating ,I is a happy generic term which covers the ground better than the " lime-roasting" of Ingalls' or the " pot-roasting " of Austin,6 in that it leaves the operation independent of the character of the flux and the form of apparatus, and retains the characteristic feature of this class of processes-namely, that of using forced draft. In the Carmichael-Bradford process the dehydrated material, mixed with galena-concentrate, acts as a diluent and a flux. The process differs in this from the Huntington-Heberlein7 and the Savelsberg8 processes, in both of which limestone is used.

Jan 1, 1909

Z. W. Bartlett, J. C. Carrington, H. C. Petersen and K. T. Price were elected vice-presidents of the Freeport Sulphur Co. Blandford C. Burgess was transferred on January 1 to the new Defense Materials Procurement Agency as strategic materials specialist. In May the Region III headquarters of this organization was moved to London. L. C. Campbell was elected president of National Coal Assn. Mr. Campbell, who has been a member of the National's Board of Directors and Executive Committee for many years, is vice-president of the Coal Div. of the Eastern Gas & Fuel Associates and in charge of their extensive mining operations in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Vern H. Christoph has been transferred to Panama Canal Co., Marine Bureau, Navigation Division, Port Captains Office, as an admeasurer at Cristobal, Canal Zone. Eugene Cline, recently graduated from the University of Kentucky, has been employed by Pond Creek Pocahontas Coal Co., at Evanston, Ky. Sanford S. Cole, assistant manager of research at the Titanium div. of National Lead Co., received the Alumni Citation from his alma mater, Alfred University, Alfred, N. Y. This was in recognition of outstanding achievements and services in the field of ceramics which have brought honor to the institution. U. K. Custred, recently graduated from University of Kentucky, and may be reached now at Box 87, Monterey, Tenn. Robert E. Dwyer, executive vice-president of Anaconda since 1940, was recently elected president of this company and its subsidiaries, Chile Copper Co., Chile Exploration Co., and Andes Copper Mining Co. As president, Mr. Dwyer succeeds the late William H. Hoover who died in Butte, Mont.

Jan 1, 1952

By E. H. Sellards

ON Oct. 9, 1929, a sink formed in the Sour Lake salt dome oil field in Texas, and on Oct. 12 a second smaller sink formed at the north margin of the first. The purpose of this paper is to give such observations as it has been possible to make on the earth movement incident to this subsidence. Sour Lake salt dome is typical of the salt domes of the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas. Structurally the dome is a plug of salt which rises to within 900 ft. or less of the surface. Above the salt is a cap rock consisting of anhydrite with more or less calcium carbonate. The salt plug, as contoured on the cap rock, is circular in outline with, however, some appreciable irregularities. Overlying the cap rock are relatively uncompacted sediments consisting of sand, clay and gumbo.. At the crest of the dome these deposits are no more than 700 or 800 ft. thick. However, the sides of the dome are steep, and the sediments thicken rapidly away from the crest. The sink formed about 1500 ft. northeast of the crest of the dome where the sediments overlying the cap rock are from 1000 to 1200 ft. thick. The cavity permitting the subsidence was quite certainly either in the cap rock or in the salt below the cap rock, so that the sink was formed by the caving of as much as 1000 or 1200 ft. of earth.

Jan 1, 1930

By R. W. Kewish

The preparation of massive uranium metal containing very low concentrations of a number of light elements by bomb reduction of UF4, with calcium is described. Details of procedures are given for preparing high-purity ingredients for the bomb reduction. The as-reduced uranium metal contained, on the average, less than the following amounts of light element impurities, in ppm: Li, 0.1; Be, 0.1; B, 0.1; C, 25; 0, 70; Na, 1; Mg, 3; Al, 2; and Si, 7. Other impurities for which the metal was examined averaged, in ppm: Ca, < 10; V, < 10; Cr, 2; Mn, 6; Fe, 50; Co, < 5; Ni, 8; and Cu, 1. THE preparation of very high-purity uranium metal in massive form for research purposes is of great importance. Recently the kilogram-scale preparation of uranium metal containing less than 70 ppm of detected impurities was accomplished by Blumen-thal and coworkers by vacuum remelting of high-purity crystals of uranium obtained by fused salt electrolysis.1"3 Albert and coworkers4 have reported successful experiments in lowering the concentrations of certain impurity elements in uranium, notably iron, to a few ppm by the zone-melting method. The present paper describes the preparation of high-purity massive uranium metal by the bomb reduction of UF4, with calcium. Early in 1951 a program was undertaken at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory to prepare uranium metal of very high purity with respect to a number of the light elements. The methods considered for this purpose were 1) bomb reduction of a uranium halide with calcium, 2) electrolysis of fused salts, and 3) hot wire decomposition of UI4, The first of these processes had been used extensively at Los Alamos since 1943 (and still is used) for the production of uranium metal.5 In considering the three processes it was evident that either of the last two would require an extensive development program with no certainty of success. On the other hand, a study of available data showed that uranium metal of very high purity with respect to some light elements had occasionally been made in routine processing by the first method. It was therefore decided that an intensive study of the bomb-reduction process would be made to see if it could be improved to yield uranium metal with very low concentrations of light elements. DEVELOPMENT OF PROCEDURES The bomb-reduction process used at Los Alamos consists of reducing UF4 with calcium, using iodine as a booster. The reaction is carried out in a magnesium-oxide crucible enclosed in a steel bomb. Argon is used in the bomb to avoid objectionable side reactions which would occur in the presence of air. All ingredients for this bomb-reduction process were examined as possible sources of light elements. It was known that high-purity UF4 was required. The calcium used in the reductions was a source of carbon and magnesium. The magnesium-oxide crucibles were sources of boron, silicon, and magnesium. The iodine did not appear to be a source of any impurities. Pure UF4- The UF4 for bomb reduction is prepared from U3O3 , by successive reduction to UO2, with hydrogen and hydrofluorination of the UO2, with anhydrous HF. Since it was known that no impurities were normally introduced during the gas-solid reactions, effort was directed toward the preparation of high-purity U3O3. Of the many possible procedures for the purification of uranium solutions the following were investigated: 1) Precipitation of uranium peroxide. (Two procedures were tried. The first consisted of simultaneously adding hydrogen-peroxide and ammonium-hydroxide solutions to a uranyl-nitrate solution, containing citric and malonic acids, at such relative rates that precipitation was carried out at a constant pH of 1.5 The second consisted of simultaneously adding uranyl-nitrate, ammonium-hydroxide, and hydrogen-peroxide solutions to an aqueous solution

Jan 1, 1960

By J. Ellzey Hayden, Lucien Eaton

The Cliffs Shaft mine of the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co., located in the city of Ishpeming, Mich., is the largest producer of hard hematite ore on the Marquette iron range. The two shafts, A and B, lying 820 ft. (250 m.) apart on the east-west trend of the ore formation, were sunk in the early eighties, and, except for four years, have been steady producers of iron ore. Their location, on a hill overlooking the general offices of the company on the one side and the city of Ishpeming on the other, has made the shaft houses landmarks. In the spring of 1919, as the old wooden shaft houses had become shaky and out of line, and would soon be unsafe, it was necessary to replace them with the least possible delay. Three plans of construction were, therefore, considered: To replace the old shaft houses by somewhat similar structures made of wood; to use steel and radically change the design; or to build reinforced-conerete shaft houses outside of the wooden structures, completely enclosing them. The first plan was disapproved, because it is anticipated that the mine will have a long life and the proximity of other buildings makes the danger from fire rather great. Delay in receiving material, and the necessity for closing the shafts during erection, were other factors in the situation. The second plan was disapproved on account of the high cost of steel, slow delivery, and interference with hoisting during the period of erection. The presence near one of the shafts of a large bed of hard gravel suitable for concrete made the cost of the third plan considerably less than the second, and little, if any, delay in hoisting was expected. Our expectations in this regard were fully realized. Furthermore, the work could be done by unskilled labor, which was plentiful, and the erection could be quickly started. When the proposition was submitted to W. G. Mather, president of the company, he recommended that, on account of the prominence of the buildings due to their location, an effort should be made to combine in the design as far as practicable something of architectural beauty. Following his recommendation, the original plans were submitted to the

Jan 1, 1922