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By W. C. Phalen

SALT-MAKING PROCESSES THE production of salt in the United States divides itself at the outset into two distinct classes: (1) The mining of rock salt and its purification and separation into marketable sizes, and (2) the production of salt by evaporation from brines, bitterns, and other solutions. The processes employed at the present time in the manufacture of salt by evaporation may be outlined as follows: 1. Solar evaporation. 2. Direct-heat evaporation (a) in open kettles; (b) in open pans. 3. Steam evaporation, (a) in jacketed kettles, (b) in grainers. 4. Vacuum-pan evaporation. In this paper only the solar-evaporation processes practised in different parts of the United States will be described. SOLAR EVAPORATION Localities In the Eastern States the solar-evaporation process is not generally employed for climatic reasons. In the Western States, particularly in California and Utah, the great bulk of the salt produced originates in the solar-evaporation process. Of the Eastern States producing salt, this process, so far as the writer is aware, is employed in New York State only.

Jan 9, 1914

By R. H. Frazier, C. H. Lorig, F. W. Boulger

This investigation establishes the effect of ferrite grain size resulting from various heat treatments on the transition temperature of a semikilled steel plate. Different austenitizing temperatures and various cooling rates were used. The ductile-brittle transition temperatures were determined by the Navy tear test and the keyhole Charpy test. THE data presented in this paper deal with quality characteristics of ship-plate material which were investigated in a research project sponsored at Battelle by the Bureau of Ships, Dept. of the Navy. Specifically, the object of this investigation was to establish the effect of ferritic grain size (resulting from various heat treatments) on the so-called transition temperature of ship-plate steel. Transition temperature is not a fixed property of steel. It is derived from a series of static or dynamic tests made at various temperatures and is qualified by specifying the type of test employed as well as the testing criteria. Because in earlier investigations of ship-plate quality1,2 the so-called Navy tear test and standard notched-bar tests (keyhole Charpy) proved to be useful in interpreting instances of brittle behavior of ship plate in service, these tests were used in the investigation reported in this paper. By definition,' in the Navy tear tests the highest temperature at which one or more of four specimens breaks with a brittle fracture (that is, when less than 50 pct of the fracture area has a dull fibrous texture) is termed "transition" temperature. In the Charpy tests, the 12 ft-lb level of energy absorption was used as a criterion indicating the "transition" temperature, although other levels of energy absorption were also used for comparison. Earlier work" on ship-plate steels indicated that the temperature at which ship plate is finished has a very significant effect on its notched-bar properties. Plates rolled in the laboratory, where the finishing temperature can be carefully controlled, showed a 16°F decrease in tear test transition temperature when the finishing temperature was lowered 200°F (from X" to Y°F). The same plates showed a drop of 10°F in the keyhole Charpy transition temperature from the same decrease in finishing temperature. Commercially finished plates' exhibit a similar trend. When the ferrite grain size of the hot-rolled laboratory plates was determined, a close relationship was found between the ferrite grain size and the notched-bar transition temperature." " he indicated relationship between grain size and transition temperature was in agreement with the findings on low carbon steels of Hodge, Manning, and Reichhold' despite the differences in composition of the steels. The cooling rate after rolling varies from one steel plant to another. This variation changes the micro-structure" and appears very likely to affect the notched-bar properties of the steel plates. In the investigation summarized in the present paper, heat treatments simulating finishing practices in the hot rolling of ship plate were used in order to vary the ferritic grain size. It is believed that the indicated relationship between grain size and transition temperatures of the ship-plate material will prove useful in estimating the effect of rolling temperature and of cooling rates from rolling temperatures on the notched-bar properties of semikilled steel plate. Material The semikilled steel plate used in this investigation was a ¾ in. hot-rolled plate from an open hearth heat. Other plates from this heat have been used on many other studies performed for the Ship Structure Committee," "," and the heat has been identified as project steel "A". The chemical composition of the plate1 was 0.25 pct C, 0.49 pct Mn, 0.011 pct P, 0.045 pct S, 0.04 pct Si, and 0.004 pct N.

Jan 1, 1956

By C. C. McDermond, Others, B. N. Zavoico

Production of crude oil in Venezuela for the year 1937 was 186,653,-916 bbl., as compared with 155,228,982 bbl. produced in 1936, an increase of almost 31,500,000 bbl. The oil-field strike, which started on Dec. 14, 1936, lasted until Jan. 25, 1937, when a total of 10,000,000 bbl. of production was estimated to have been lost (5,750,000 bbl. in 1936 and the remainder in 1937). Of the total of 186,653,916 bbl. produced in 1937, the Lagunillas field contributed 45.6 per cent, a drop of approximately 10 per cent under 1936 figures; Tia Juana, 14.3 per cent; Quiriquire field, 14.0 per cent; La Rosa area, 13.3 per cent and the Mene Grande field, 7.6 per cent, these being the five leading contributors of the year's production. Detailed production figures by fields and by companies are shown on Table 1. Of the total production of Venezuela the following four major companies accounted for the greater proportion: Standard of Venezuela and Lago Petroleum Corporation together, 48.3 per cent; Shell, 37.4 per cent and Venezuela Gulf, 14.0 per cent. At the end of the year, 2491 wells were producing, of which number 1291 wells were pumpers, or about 52 per cent. Production The accompanying statistics of production record of Venezuela oil fields from its inception to Dec. 31, 1937, shown on Table 2, indicates that the cumulative production reached 1,503,283,228 bbl. In order of importance, Lagunillas leads all the fields, having accounted for about 50 per cent of Venezuelan production, followed by La Rosa area, which produced about 21 per cent; Mene Grande, which produced about 13 per cent, and Quiriquire, which produced 6.5 per cent. Table 3 shows the age of each field. Mene Grande is the oldest, having produced for 24 years; Tarra is next, 21 1/2 years old, and El Mene third, 171/2 years. The gravity of the crude from the various fields, also shown on Table 3, remained unchanged, the only addition being the new Tia Juana field, which averages 15.6' A.P.I. Table 4 shows the method of production by fields as of Jan. 1, 1938; at the end of the year 2491 wells were producing, compared with 2005 wells producing at the beginning of 1937, or an increase of 486 wells. The completions for the year reached 512. Of the 2491 wells producing crude oil, 1291 wells, or approximately 52 per cent, were pumping, 925 (approximately 37 per cent) were flowing naturally and 275 (11 per cent) were on

Jan 1, 1938

By G. M. Ritcey

Sulphuric acid leaching has been up to the present, the most popular of the leaching routes. Oxide ores are usually leached with sulphuric acid directly by dump leaching, as practiced at the Bagdad or Bluebird Mines in Arizona, or by vat leaching as done at Inspiration Mining in Arizona. Upgrading of the low-grade oxide ores by dump leaching followed by cementation of the copper from solution by scrap iron has been replaced by the leaching-solvent extraction-electrowinning route which results in a high purity product at the mill site at reduced production costs compared to previous practice. High-grade oxide ores, vat leached with H2SO4, can contain, for example, 25 g Cu/l and 25 g H2S04/,l, or higher concentrations of both, and are presently fed directly to electrorefining plants. Advantages of coupling solvent extraction-electrowinning with the low cost dump leaching instead of using cementation, are as follows (1): a) the production of high purity electrolytic copper rather than cement copper;

Jan 1, 1978

By Kjell Lidin, Christer Nordström

INTRODUCTION LKAB produces iron ore in several mines in northern Sweden, and has been doing so for nearly 100 years. Total production to date is 600 million tonnes of finished products of various kinds (pellets, lump ore, fines). Close to 400 million tonnes have been produced by sublevel caving. This method has been the company's standard method for more than 20 years. A review of the development of equipment over the past 15 years and an outlook up to about 1990 leads to the following general re- flections concerning probable trends. Trends for all equipment are increasing precision and stricter environmental requirements will necessitate cabs, remote control etc to an increasing extent. Conventional sublevel caving can be broken down into the following unit operations: 1. Planning incl prospecting drilling. 2. Horizontal drilling. 3. Fan drilling. 4. Charging and blasting. 5. Loading and haulage at sublevels. 6. Ore drawing in chutes. 7. Rock reinforcement. 8. Production service. This lecture will deal in brief with each of these unit operations and the trends we are experiencing for them. A number of slides illustrating equipment

Jan 1, 1981

By P. D. Merica, A. N. Finn, R. G. Waltenberg

CeRtain compositions of the light, i.e., aluminum-rich, alloys of aluminum with magnesium and copper have become quite well known within the past ten years under the name of duralumin. These alloys are used for rolling and forging and can be so treated as to develop quite remarkable mechanical properties. Thus a properly heat-treated alloy containing about 4 per cent. of copper and about 0.5 per cent. of magnesium, rolled into sheet or rod, will have a tensile strength of approximately 55,000 1b. per sq. in. (3866 kg. per sq. cm.) with an elongation in 2 in. (50.8 mm.) of about 15 per cent. This alloy, duralumin, was developed by Wilm,1 and its properties more fully described by Cohn.2, The authors considered it worth while to investigate the mechanical possibilities of the light alloys of two somewhat analogous ternary series; namely, of aluminum-magnesium-nickel and aluminum-magnesium-manganese, to study the effect of variation of composition upon mechanical properties within the alumimum-rich group of the aluminum-magne-

Jan 1, 1921

By H. H. Waller, C. H. Brehaut

At the Jeffrey mine of Canadian Johns-Manville Co. in Asbestos, Que., automatic batched concrete from surface is placed underground pneumatically for distances of 2500 ft directly into forms or to a second placer for greater distances, through 6-in. pipe of high carbon steel. The use of Celite C-4-C in addition to the usual aggregates achieves greater compressive strengths, lowers cost, reduces segregation, and improves workability and placeability results. Each year 25,000 cu yd of concrete are placed without interrupting production and development work in the mine, making possible a cheaper concrete that can be poured wherever and whenever it is needed. In about 90 pct of the underground openings in the Jeffrey mine concrete is necessary to preserve them in their original sizes and shapes for production. In the remaining 5 pct, the greater portion is united with or without steel support. When large quantities of concrete were forecast for underground use at the Jeffrey mine, preliminary and first hand information regarding pneumatic placing was acquired from articles by Bernhardt and Swanson and visits to their respective mines.

Apr 1, 1956

By D. B. Crouch, D. A. Poulter

The engineering and metallurgical assessment of the McLaughlin Project ore body concluded that an open-pit mine and cyanide leach mill process would be feasible, producing both waste rock and residual mill tailings. As a part of the planning and permitting process, site selection studies were conducted for the tailings and waste rock disposal. The site selection process began with a regional identification of potential disposal sites and proceeded through 1) regional screening, 2) elimination of sites with obvious fatal flaws, 3) qualitative ranking of site evaluation criteria, 4) quantitative ranking of sites, 5) field investigation, 6) evaluations of field data, and 7) selection of preferred sites. Based on this approach of site rankings and field evaluations, tailings and waste rock disposal sites were selected and recommended for the preliminary design phase of the permitting and project development process. The site selection study provided the documentation necessary to justify the use of these sites for waste disposal and enabled Homestake Mining Co. to anticipate and integrate environmental concerns with agency requirements into the planning process.

Jan 1, 1986

By N. A. Gokcen, S. Fujishiro

THE pressures of Mn(g) in equilibrium with Mn7C3 and graphite have been measured by McCabe and Hudson' and Butler, McCabe, and paxton2 by means of graphite, zirconia, and Ta-Mo Knudsen cells. The details of corrections in their measurements were somewhat different from those of the authors;3'4 hence, further independent results at higher temperatures seemed to be warranted. The stoichiom-etry of Mn7C3 in equilibrium with graphite and its stability up to the vicinity of 1373 °K have been satisfactorily established by Kuo and persson5 (See also Hansen and Anderko).' The method of investigation has been described elsewhere in detail.3'4 The carbide was prepared in the manner described by McCabe and Hudson. In order to avoid possible reactions with refractory oxides, only graphite cells were used for the effusion experiments. The authors' results are the runs M-1, M-2 and M-3 listed in Table I, together with those of McCabe and co-workers. The heat capacity, c;, of Mn7C3 is not known; therefore McCable et al. plotted their data as log P vs 1/T and the results were only expressed first' as, and later2 as logP=- -14220+6.06 without further thermodynamic calculations. However, it is possible to estimate closely the necessary heat capacity as follows: When H; - &98 of CrC, or MnO, is plotted vs x, corresponding to various compounds, with temperature as the parameter, it is seen that the relationship is represented by a line of very small curvature. This relationship is also followed by other compounds which do not exhibit solid state phase transformations. In view of the fact that chromium and manganese have the atomic numbers of 24 and 25 respectively, it is reasonable to assume that H; - H;ae vs x for MnC, follows the same type of lines as those for CrC, for which adequate data are available.7 Similar correlations appear to be valid for oxides of two neighboring metals for which reliable data are available. The procedure is thus to move the lines for CrC, vertically (parallel to the axis of HT - H298) until they coincide with the points for MnC1/3, the only carbide of manganese whose H; - HO298 has been

Jan 1, 1963

By P. D. Merica

Certain compositions of the light, i:e., aluminum-rich, alloys of aluminum with magnesium and copper have become quite well known within the past ten years under the name of duralumin. These alloys are used for rolling and forging and can be so treated as to develop quite remarkable mechanical properties. Thus a properly heat-treated alloy containing about 4 per cent. of copper and about 0.5 per cent. of magnesium, rolled into sheet or rod, will have a tensile strength of approximately 55,000 lb. per sq. in. (3866 kg. per sq. cm.) with an elongation in 2 in. (50.8 mm:) of about 15 per cent. This alloy, duralumin, was developed by Wilm,1 and its properties more fully described by Cohn.2 The authors considered it worth while to investigate the mechanical possibilities of the light alloys of two somewhat analogous ternary series; namely, of aluminum-magnesium-nickel and of aluminum-magnesium-manganese, to study the effect of variation of composition upon mechanical properties within the alumimum-rich group of the aluminum-magne-

Jan 7, 1919

By A. M. Gaudin, R. T. Hukki

PREVIOUS work on the principles of comminution has shown: (I) that the surface produced is proportional to work input (Rittinger law, 1a-3); (2) that there is regularity to the weight distribution of the fragments according to size.4-10 In this paper it is brought out that the surface on the fragments is distributed in definite and simple relation to size. The experimental work has involved: I. Construction of an apparatus capable of measuring the surface of mineral fragments independently of the chemical composition of the fragments and independently of the site of the surface; 2. Refining the methods available for measurement of particle size; 3. Designing and building a crusher capable of operating on very small quantities of mineral, if necessary on single crystals, and in such fashion as to minimize handling losses of material. Complete experiments have been carried out with massive quartz and individual quartz crystals. Partial experiments, lacking surface measurements, have been made with glass spheres, galena, sphalerite, fluorite, salt and coal.

Jan 1, 1944

By C. V. Millikan, Herbert F. Beardmore

Declining Productivity Index, as considered herein, is a productivity index that has a substantially and consistently decreasing value when measured over a period of a few hours. If not recognized, it may be interpreted as representing an unsettled or unstable condition in a producing well. It forms the basis of a number of predictions as to future performance compared with the performance of wells in which the productivity index does not decline. The nost important of these are that: (I) the rate of oil production will decline more rapidly, (2) the gas-oil ratio will usually increase abnormally, (3) the amount of water ultimately produced will be negligible, if any, (4) stop-cocking will increase current production and decrease gas-oil ratio. When such relative well performance is indicated, it follows that certain reservoir performance and operating practices may be anticipated: (I) disappointing recovery, (2) longer natural flow, (3) no active water drive, (4) better evaluation of acidizing, shooting and reworking, (5) intermittent operation of wells, (6) smaller pumping equipment required. It is significant that the basis of these important predictions is bottom-hole pressure tests that can be made immediately after completion of the wells. Introduction "'Productivity index" is the number of barrels of oil produced per day per pound per square inch of differential pressure between the reservoir and the bottom of the well. "Declining Productivity Index," as considered herein, is a productivity index that has a substantially and consistently decreasing value when measured over a period of a few hours. Productivity index can be determined only when the rate of production can be stabilized. In most wells the rate of production and bottom-hole pressure are easily stabilized to give a constant productivity index for a period of many hours. A few produce so erratically as to preclude probability of an acceptable test in the usual sense. A satisfactory productivity index can be determined in some wells only by gauging the production accurately by hours, measuring the bottom-hole pressure continuously, and from these data calculating the productivity index for successive hours. Such figures frequently will have a decreasing value—that is, a declining productivity index—and when plotted on double. logarithmic cross-section paper with productivity index as ordinate and time as abscissa will be a straight-line curve. The angle between the curve and the abscissa is referred to as the rate of decline. Declining productivity index may appear to be the result of change in permeability to oil due to decreasing saturation of oil and increasing saturation of gas in the reservoir. It is possible that such is in fact the cause, but if so, more is involved than merely relative saturation of oil and gas. This seems evident because the rate of decline in productivity index is substantially the same regardless of the pro-

Jan 1, 1945

By William B. Stephenson

IN the pumping of sands, slurries and slimes, practices developed over the years are the real keystones of successful operation. These practices are necessarily based on modifications of familiar theories. Practical methods used in the solution of problems involving the pumping of materials are set forth in the following discussion. BASIC REQUIREMENTS To pump sands and slurries economically, a few basic requirements must be met by the pumping system as a whole. A pipe-line velocity must be established that will move the fluid mixture throughout the entire system without any possibility of the solids settling out. To accomplish this, the velocity of flow must be slightly in excess of the critical velocity of the mixture. The critical velocity of a mixture varies from 3 ft. per sec. to 18 ft. per sec., depending on the screen analysis, concentration, and specific gravity of the solids in the mixture. Most tailings are pumped at a minimum velocity of 4 ft. per sec. if they include slimes, whereas the pipe lines of sand and gravel dredges require velocities as high as 18 ft. per second. A number of articles have been written on the determination of the minimum velocities required to maintain solids in suspension. Studies have also been made on the friction and pumping heads developed when handling solids in suspension.1-4 Our experience so far has shown that, within the normal operating limits of a pumping system, the friction factor follows more nearly the basis described by Howard,1 who says, among his conclusions: " ... values of ƒ (friction factor) .. . will decrease with an increase in velocity." This conclusion is borne out by our actual experience. When the velocity in a pipe line is not sufficient to keep the solids in suspension, the total friction head is greater than when the velocity is increased to a point where the solids are in suspension. A slight increase in the volume of feed to the pump and a slight increase in the pump speed are usually all that is necessary to put the system in balance. MAINTAINING CONSTANT VOLUME Within reasonable limits, the volume of mixture to be handled through a pipe line should be held constant, so that the required velocity will be provided at all times. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished. The commonest is to provide a sump of sufficient capacity to take care of slight surges in the volume of mixture being fed to the pumping system. This sump, however, should not be as large as a settling chamber. The use of a float-controlled, fresh-water make-up valve in a sump will guarantee a constant volume. Where variations in volume are slight,

Jan 1, 1946

By W. B. Stephenson

In the pumping of sands, slurries and slimes, practices developed over the years are the real keystones of 'successful operation. These practices are necessarily based on modifications of familiar theories. Practical methods used in the solution of problems involving the pumping of materials are set forth in the following discussion. Basic Requirements To pump sands and slurries economically, a few basic requirements must be met by the pumping system as a whole. A pipe-line velocity must be established that will move the fluid mixture throughout the entire system without any possibility of the solids settling out. To accomplish this, the velocity of flow must be slightly in excess of the critical velocity of the mixture. The critical velocity of a mixture varies from 3 ft. per sec. to 18 ft. per sec., depending on the screen analysis, concentration, and specific gravity of the solids in the mixture. Most tailings are pumped at a minimum velocity of 4 ft. per sec. if they include slimes, whereas the pipe lines of sand and gravel dredges require velocities as high as 18 ft. per second. A number of articles have been written on the determination of the minimum velocities required to maintain solids in suspension. Studies have also been made on the friction and pumping heads developed when handling solids in suspension.1-4 Our experience so far has shown that, within the normal operating limits of a pumping system, the friction factor follows more nearly the basis described by Howard,' who says, among his conclusions: "... values of f (friction factor) . . . will decrease with an increase in velocity." This conclusion is borne out by our actual experience. When the velocity in a pipe line is not sufficient to keep the solids in suspension, the total friction head' is greater than when the velocity is increased to a point where the solids are in suspension. A slight increase in the volume of feed to the pump and a slight increase in the pump speed are usually all that is necessary to put the system in balance. Maintaining Constant Volume Within reasonable limits, the volume of mixture to be handled through a pipe line should be held constant, so that the required velocity will be provided at all times. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished. The commonest is to provide a sump of sufficient capacity to take care of slight surges in the volume of mixture being fed to the pumping systen]. This sump, however, should not be as large as a settling chamber. The use of a float-controlled, fresh-water make-up valve in a sump will guarantee a constant volume. Where variations in volume are slight,

Jan 1, 1947

By W. B. Stephenson

In the pumping of sands, slurries and slimes, practices developed over the years are the real keystones of 'successful operation. These practices are necessarily based on modifications of familiar theories. Practical methods used in the solution of problems involving the pumping of materials are set forth in the following discussion. Basic Requirements To pump sands and slurries economically, a few basic requirements must be met by the pumping system as a whole. A pipe-line velocity must be established that will move the fluid mixture throughout the entire system without any possibility of the solids settling out. To accomplish this, the velocity of flow must be slightly in excess of the critical velocity of the mixture. The critical velocity of a mixture varies from 3 ft. per sec. to 18 ft. per sec., depending on the screen analysis, concentration, and specific gravity of the solids in the mixture. Most tailings are pumped at a minimum velocity of 4 ft. per sec. if they include slimes, whereas the pipe lines of sand and gravel dredges require velocities as high as 18 ft. per second. A number of articles have been written on the determination of the minimum velocities required to maintain solids in suspension. Studies have also been made on the friction and pumping heads developed when handling solids in suspension.1-4 Our experience so far has shown that, within the normal operating limits of a pumping system, the friction factor follows more nearly the basis described by Howard,' who says, among his conclusions: "... values of f (friction factor) . . . will decrease with an increase in velocity." This conclusion is borne out by our actual experience. When the velocity in a pipe line is not sufficient to keep the solids in suspension, the total friction head' is greater than when the velocity is increased to a point where the solids are in suspension. A slight increase in the volume of feed to the pump and a slight increase in the pump speed are usually all that is necessary to put the system in balance. Maintaining Constant Volume Within reasonable limits, the volume of mixture to be handled through a pipe line should be held constant, so that the required velocity will be provided at all times. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished. The commonest is to provide a sump of sufficient capacity to take care of slight surges in the volume of mixture being fed to the pumping systen]. This sump, however, should not be as large as a settling chamber. The use of a float-controlled, fresh-water make-up valve in a sump will guarantee a constant volume. Where variations in volume are slight,

Jan 1, 1947

By R. W. Heckel, H. W. Paxton

The growth of grain boundary films and Widmanstiitten plates of proeutectoid cementite in hypereutectoid steels ulas considered quantitatively in three plain carbon steels and one "pure" iron-carbon alloy. Growth was found to take place at a slower rate than would be predicted on the basis of a model invoking rate control by long range diffusion of carbon. The films in the pure alloy grew faster than those in the plain carbon steels. A possible explanation is suggested. In 1904, Nernsst' and Brunner2 postulated that ionic crystals growing in supersaturated aqueous solutions grew at rates determined by diffusion through the solution to the growing crystal interface. The gradient down which the diffusion took place was assumed to be fixed by the supersaturated bulk solution concentration, the concentration dt the crystal surface and some arbitrary distance. The flux of material to the crystal was described as Flux where D is the diffusion coefficient, A the crystal surface area, Ci the bulk solution concentration, Co the saturated solution concentration, and 6 the thickness of the diffusion zone. It is obvious that the expression is an adaptation of F+ick's3 first law of diffusion (steady state). This was the initial formulation of what will be defined here as "diffusion controlled growth," i.e., growth limited by the long range diffusion of a component either to or from the advancing interface assuming both phases at the interface to be in equilibrium. This idea of equilibrium interface concentration implies an infinite reaction rate at the interface. Volmer, Zener,' and 11schner6 have derived expressions for the diffusion controlled growth of spherical precipitates in metallic systems. These analyses agree that the growth in a given direction should be parabolic with time. Brown and Hawkes7 observed that graphite, formed both from the decomposition of cementite and from the decomposition of eutectoid austenite in cast irons, grew according to a parabolic relationship and, therefore, concluded that the laws of diffusion controlled growth, as defined above, were obeyed. They, among others, failed to consider, however, that parabolic growth is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for diffusion controlled growth. Mehl and Dube"' have pointed out that equilibrium may not be realized because the concentration at the interface cannot change instantaneously from that of the bulk to the saturation value. Furthermore, they propose that an equilibrium solute concentration in the parent phase adjacent to the precipitate would remove the thermodynamic activity gradient across the interface and, thus, stop the growth process. Frisch" has also emphasized the importance of interface concentrations that vary throughout the growth of a new phase. The variation in activity across an interface, as discussed by Onol' and Cahn and Hilliard,12 is of fundamental importance to this question. Ham13 considered the data of Turnbull14 on the growth of barium sulfate in aqueous solutions. He concluded that the data could be analyzed in terms of a radiation-type boundary condition. Flux across interface = K (c, - C,) [21 where C, is the concentration in the solution at the interface, Co the saturated solution concentration, and K the proportionality constant. The edgewise growth of Widmanstlitten plates, frequently referred to as the rate of lengthening, was first considered by Zener.'' Basing a mathematical analysis on steady-state (constant velocity) growth he concluded that where G is the growth rate, D the solute diffusivity, Ci the concentration in the bulk, Co the equilibrium interface concentration, C, the concentration in the precipitate, a a constant, Y the radius of curvature of the edge of the plate, and rC the critical radius, i.e., the radius which would increase the activity of solute at the interface at equilibrium under the influence of capillarity to that of the bulk. Zener1'

Jan 1, 1961

By Kendall Y. Keuhey

The Mercur Mine, developed and operated by Getty Mining Company, is designed to process 3,000 tons/day of gold ore from the historic Mercur Hill mining district. The mill process involves crushing, grinding, and cyanide carbon-in-leach for recovery of gold from ores ranging from 0.08 to 0.10 oz/ton. During the mining of normal grade ore, a substantial tonnage of material containing 0.02 to 0.05 oz/ton is mined and would be available for heap leaching. Also, Getty Mining is developing methods to test and prepare lower grade material for heap leaching by rejecting a coarse rock fraction from the grinding SAG mill circuit. This lower grade fraction is suitable for heap leaching, and its removal will upgrade the regular mill feed. Other test methods are directed toward leaching techniques on some 4.0 million tons of tailings that resulted from roasting and/or cyanide leaching Mercur ores in the early 1900's. The natural carbons associated with the Mercur deposits require special treatment to reduce their gold adsorption effects when leached with cyanide.

Jan 1, 1984

By Shiou-Chuan Sun

There are several postulations for the mechanism of slime-coating. Incel proposed the electrostatic hypothesis, del Giudice2 suggested the chemical theory; Bankoff3 reported that slime-coating is inhibited whenever the surfaces of the slime particles are ionized sufficiently for Brownian movement to occur, and is facilitated when they are not. These postulations were examined by experiments involving the Burton tube, the cataphoretic cell, and slime-coating. The techniques involved will be described elsewhere in this paper. The electrostatic hypothesis, supported by migration experiments in a Burton tube, was abandoned by del Giudice.2 Experiments of mineral migration in a Burton tube. after the idea of Ince with modification, indicated that this apparatus was inefficient for accurate observation. A cataphoretic cell was constructed. The experimental data, as shown in this paper, enable the correlation and advancing of this hypothesis. Del Giudice's chemical hypothesis considered that slime particles are attached to the galena surfaces by a cement formed as the result of a metathetical reaction between the sulphide and the slime particles. Applying this hypothesis, the calcite slime particles were cemented to the galena surface by the formation of a cementing lead carbonate. In a similar way, lead silicate was considered as the cement of quartz slime coating on galena. Experiments verifying this hypothesis were carried out according to the following procedure: Fresh mineral particles selected from the central part of the broken lumps and examined first under a microscope for ascertaining a clean surface were placed in a small beaker (1.5-in. dia. by 2.5 in. deep) half filled with one kind of slime pulp. The dilution of all slime pulp was 4:I and the particle size of slime was minus 400-mesh. After agitation for 5 min. the specimen was removed by a sharp-end tong and washed gently three times in three separate distilled water baths. It was dried before a small electrical fan and examined immediately under a microscope. A photograph was made of the observation. With reference to the published solubilities,' several of these experiments, which contradict the chemical hypothesis, are listed as following: I. The coating of fluorite slime on the galena surface was light but the coating of galena slime on the fluorite surface was heavy. In a similar way, the coating of quartz slime on the galena was fairly light, but the coating of galena slime on the quartz particle was heavy. According to the chemical hypothesis, using the same constituents and regardless of which is the slime, the density of the coating should be expected to be the same. This, however, as shown above, is not true. Moreover, fluorite (CaF2), having a solubility of 16 mg.4a per liter of water, should not be

Jan 1, 1943

By Shiou-Chuan Sun

There are several postulations for the mechanism of slime-coating. Incel proposed the electrostatic hypothesis, del Giudice2 suggested the chemical theory; Bankoff3 reported that slime-coating is inhibited whenever the surfaces of the slime particles are ionized sufficiently for Brownian movement to occur, and is facilitated when they are not. These postulations were examined by experiments involving the Burton tube, the cataphoretic cell, and slime-coating. The techniques involved will be described elsewhere in this paper. The electrostatic hypothesis, supported by migration experiments in a Burton tube, was abandoned by del Giudice.2 Experiments of mineral migration in a Burton tube. after the idea of Ince with modification, indicated that this apparatus was inefficient for accurate observation. A cataphoretic cell was constructed. The experimental data, as shown in this paper, enable the correlation and advancing of this hypothesis. Del Giudice's chemical hypothesis considered that slime particles are attached to the galena surfaces by a cement formed as the result of a metathetical reaction between the sulphide and the slime particles. Applying this hypothesis, the calcite slime particles were cemented to the galena surface by the formation of a cementing lead carbonate. In a similar way, lead silicate was considered as the cement of quartz slime coating on galena. Experiments verifying this hypothesis were carried out according to the following procedure: Fresh mineral particles selected from the central part of the broken lumps and examined first under a microscope for ascertaining a clean surface were placed in a small beaker (1.5-in. dia. by 2.5 in. deep) half filled with one kind of slime pulp. The dilution of all slime pulp was 4:I and the particle size of slime was minus 400-mesh. After agitation for 5 min. the specimen was removed by a sharp-end tong and washed gently three times in three separate distilled water baths. It was dried before a small electrical fan and examined immediately under a microscope. A photograph was made of the observation. With reference to the published solubilities,' several of these experiments, which contradict the chemical hypothesis, are listed as following: I. The coating of fluorite slime on the galena surface was light but the coating of galena slime on the fluorite surface was heavy. In a similar way, the coating of quartz slime on the galena was fairly light, but the coating of galena slime on the quartz particle was heavy. According to the chemical hypothesis, using the same constituents and regardless of which is the slime, the density of the coating should be expected to be the same. This, however, as shown above, is not true. Moreover, fluorite (CaF2), having a solubility of 16 mg.4a per liter of water, should not be

Jan 1, 1943

By A. U. Seybolt, D. H. Haman

The rate of oxidation of the lowest nitride of chromium, Cr2N, was measured to be equal to the rate of oxidation of chromium metal. It was found that, while the presence of Cr2N in chromium does not affect the oxidation mechanism, a long exposure at high temperature affects the morphology of Cr2N in chromium, causing a massive internal nitriding along chromium pain boundaries. Marker expen' -ments showed that the rate of oxidation of Cr2N layers on chromium is determined by the rate of chromium diffusion through Cr,03. The rate of formation of Cr2N is determined by diffusion rate of nitrogen through Cr2N. This rate at 1000°C is around thirty times faster than the rate of oxiahtion. Evidence is presented which suggests that nitrogen from the air reaches the chromium through the Cr2O9 by migration through pores or cracks rather than by a diffusive process. IT has long been recognized that, when chromium or alloys containing substantial amounts of chromium are oxidized in air, some chromium nitride (Cr2N) is formed under the oxide scale. Although the presence of this nitride layer has often been described, there appears to have been no systematic study of the role played by the nitride during the oxidation process. Indeed, there have been conflicting re-ports'92 on the kinetics of oxidation of chromium and chromium alloys in air and in oxygen. However, it is now well-established'-5 that the rate-controlling process during the parabolic oxidation of chromium to Cr2O3 is chromium-ion diffusion through Cr2O3. Because of the importance of chromium-containing alloys as oxidation-resistant materials, it seemed desirable to investigate the behavior of chromium during oxidation with and without the presence of chromium nitride. Since a semicontinuous Cr2N layer forms relatively early during the oxidation of chromium in the air, chromium atoms must either pass out of or through the Cr2N layer to become incorporated in the growing Cr2O3 scale. Therefore, it seemed desirable to examine the oxidation behavior of the pure nitride. MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The chromium used in this investigation consisted of slices of an ingot made from "five-nine" iodide chromium which had been argon-atmosphere melted in a Y2O 3-stabilized ZrO2 crucible in an induction furnace. The only impurity of any significance was 625 ppm of 0, which was usually reduced to a microscopically invisible amount by hydrogen annealing at 1400°C. However, one sample of chromium was used with the as-cast oxygen level as explained below. The samples were used after abrading through 600 Sic paper and then washing in toluene and alcohol. Both nitriding and oxidation experiments were performed in a vertical tube furnace connected to a glass vacuum system. 'This system was equipped with pressure measuring instruments for the range of 10 p to 1 atm, and a cartesian-diver pressure-control device was used in conjunction with a needle valve to allow control of pressure in the range of about 10 to 760 mm. The nitrogen or hydrogen gas was purified by passing through hot copper chips at 600°C, anhydrous calcium sulfate (Drierite), and liquid nitrogen. Oxygen gas was dried through the Drierite column and a dry-ice trap (-78°C). Changes in specimen weight were followed by a Pyrex helix used in conjunction with a cathetometer which could reproducibly be read to +0.001 cm, yielding an accuracy of about +0.2 mg. The spring was maintained in the cool upper part of the furnace tube where the temperature did not rise above about 35°C. The nitride in equilibrium with metallic chro-

Jan 1, 1964