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By John C. Hartley

Large areas of the anthracite beds in the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., region have been first-mined in such a manner that over half of the original coal has been left underground as pillars to support the overburden. To recover the maximum amount of this remaining coal, improved devices to support the roof while pillars are being extracted are needed. Also needed are suitable backfilling systems that will stabilize the strata during the mining and effectively limit the inevitable subsidence after pillars are removed. Accordingly, the Federal Bureau of Mines furnished 400 yielding steel props that had been purchased abroad, where this type of prop had been used successfully. The cooperating company arranged for concurrent tests with a mechanical stower designed and built by an American manufacturer. In the area in which the experiments were conducted, pillar removal, using conventional timbering, was most difficult because the roof fractured badly, the installation of timbers consumed a substantial part of the work effort, and some coal nearly always was lost. With the application of the yielding props, the time needed for securing the roof was reduced 33.9 percent; production per man-shift was in¬creased over 33 percent; coal recovery was improved more than 9 percent; and the convergence between roof and floor, during mining and backfilling, amounted to as much as 8.03 inches without any break in the roof. However, in September 1953 some roof rock fell in pillar 10 owing to insufficient props in a small area where the ends of three top holes drilled in the coal face extended up into the roof rock.

Jan 1, 1956

By J. S. Browning

The purpose of this Bureau of Mines project was to develop a method for recovering kyanite and sillimanite from the present zircon-mill tailing of the Jacksonville and Starke, Fla., plants of Humphreys Gold Corp. The kyanite and sillimanite in the ore are not being exploited at present, but procedures for recovering the two minerals were worked out by the Bureau in the interest of conserving natural resources. The current zircon-mill tailing of the Starke plant contains up to 20 percent of a mixture of kyanite and sillimanite. A similar product of the Jacksonville plant contains up to 15 percent kyanite and sillimanite. The average annual production of the tailing now being stockpiled contains several thousand tons of the two minerals. Laboratory batch-flotation tests were made on the materials to determine the feasibility of flotation methods for recovering high-grade concentrates. Various reagents were employed under different conditions to determine the optimum conditions for flotation of kyanite and sillimanite and retardation of the gangue materials. The results of the preliminary flotation tests were encouraging enough to warrant more comprehensive testing of a larger sample of the ore in the laboratory pilot plant.

Jan 1, 1956

By H. B. Humphrey

The solvents used most widely in industry may be divided into groups according to their chemical and toxicological properties. These groups, with representative members, follow: Petroleum distillates (aliphatic hydrocarbons) Examples: Gasoline, benzine, Stoddard's specification solvents. Alcohols, esters, ketones, ethers, and ether alcohols Examples: Denatured alcohol (ethyl alcohol to which various denaturants may be added), methanol (methyl alcohol), ethyl acetate, amyl acetate (banana oil), acetone.

Jan 1, 1956

By David Schlain

The galvanic corrosion properties of titanium in contact with commercially pure aluminum, copper, or type 302 stainless steel in some of the common organic acids were investigated. Acids used in these experiments were 10 percent formic, acetic, lactic, citric; 1 percent oxalic and tartaric; and 9 percent oxalic. Electrode-potential measurements and several types of galvanic couple experiments were carried out. Solutions were aerated by three methods: Flow of air, flow of helium, and natural aeration. Work was done at 35° C. with couples consisting of equal areas of the 2 metals. Titanium was resistant to corrosion in most of the organic acids studied, whether alone or in contact with a dissimilar metal. However, titanium coupled with aluminum did corrode in 1- and 9-percent oxalic acid solutions. Contact with titanium usually caused aluminum to corrode by galvanic action. Copper was subject to galvanic attack in 10-percent acetic acid with a flow of air. Contact with aluminum to some solutions in which titanium is ordinarily inert and noble with respect to aluminum caused titanium to corrode

Jan 1, 1956

By J. S. Marsh

OPPORTUNITY to pay tribute to the memory of Professor Henry Marion Howe is a strenuous assignment as well as an honor. Upon recalling Howe lecturers and lectures of the past 25 years, glancing over the list of those earlier, and rereading Howe's books, I arrive at several conclusions: 1—Many lecturers either worked under or knew Professor Howe. 2—It is virtually impossible to pick a subject on which Professor Howe did not touch. 3—There is precedent for a technical paper based upon pursuit of a single subject. 4—There have been listening lectures and reading lectures. There is solid comfort only in 2: the subject field is wide open. I did not know, nor even ever saw, Professor Howe, so can supply no fitting reminiscence. As a college student I was dimly aware that he counted among the giants. Fuller appreciation of his stature came with reading his books and papers, growing acquaintance with some of his associates, and the intrinsic dignity of the climax of the Annual Meeting, beginning at four o'clock of a Thursday afternoon in the auditorium of the Engineering Societies Building in New York. As for producing the technical paper sort of thing, it is my lot to have reached an age and assignment such that to do so would be to filch information from those who did the work and whose story is theirs to tell; for this I have no enthusiasm. As for the final conclusion, Professor Howe was one of the chosen few so highly expert at expository writing that he could produce a lecture or paper that reads as though it would also have listened well. One of his tricks was the free use of words not ordinarily part of the technical vocabulary, provided that such words were likely to communicate most precisely what he had in mind. How wonderful it would be for all who must read reports by the ton if ability at exposition could be taught with the effectiveness open, say to, differential calculus! Perhaps Professor Howe should be required college reading even if for no other reason than to prove that technical writing need be neither dull nor diffuse. My assignment is clearly still strenuous. Another point to consider is the fact that metallurgy is now so tremendously diversified that hope of finding a topic of universal appeal is negligible, even if one were competent enough to be permitted free choice. That which follows is, therefore, a compromise composed of necessity and of the obligation to attempt to avoid boring to slumber those of you who are not especially interested in the general subject chosen. The Iron and Steel Div. is now essentially a process metallurgy division, heavily concerned with the smelting of iron and the making of steel. The American Iron and Steel Inst. figure for present steel capacity of this country is 125,828,310 net tons; how this is divided among processes is indicated by the production totals for 1953, shown in Table I. The glamor girls and boys make the front page and so it is with steelmaking processes. If there is an Antarctic Daily Bugle, it undoubtedly has carried stories of revolutionary development, such as oxygen processes and vacuum melting, and stories of the incomparably rosy destiny of electric arc melting. All such certainly have their place and their future; meanwhile, it is the sturdy and old reliable open hearth that accounts for the bulk of production reported back on the financial page, and it is the old reliable that is most likely to continue to account for the bulk for some perfectly sound raw material, technologic, and economic reasons. This, plus the fact that next year marks a centennial (for it was in 1856 that Frederick and William Siemens conceived the regenerative open hearth), is reason enough to talk about open hearth furnaces, but is not the real one. The real reason is that in some years of association with open hearths, I have accumulated—in addition to a genuine liking and respect for them—certain odds and ends of fact and fancy that this lecture provides a unique chance

Jan 1, 1956

By H. A. Steane

THIS BRIEF PAPER presents the information available on the use of Dorrclon?is in the middling re-grind unit at the lead-zinc mill of Canadian Exploration Limited. The plant throughput is 1,650 tons per twenty-four hours. The flotation feed is ground to 60 per ?Cent passing through 200 mesh. It contains some composite 11articles of sphalerite in calcite, and these reported either in the final zinc concentrate, thus lowering the grade, or in the tailing, with loss of zinc. The re-grind unit was set up in the zinc flotation circuit to liberate the sphalerite from these middling particles, to raise the grade of concentrate and improve recovery. Grinding through 325 mesh should give substantial liberation of locked sphalerite. The middling regrind unit consists of two Dorrdones and one ballmill arranged as shown in the -accompanying flow-sheet. The Hardinge ball-mill, size 7 ft. x 36 in., was free for this use as a result of recent plant expansion. The two Dorrclones were purchased, and the necessary pumps and pipe lines were installed to complete the regrind unit. The unit has been developed over a period of two years by several steps and various flow schemes until reaching tl1e present flow scheme. These steps are not elaborated here, because the changes were made to determine the best product to work on for flotation metallurgy, and not because of the Domrolone classifying ability.

Jan 1, 1956

By J. E. Rehder

IN A DISCUSSION of use of any material of ?construction in the mining industry, two points of view must 'be kept in mind - that of the producer or manufacturer of mining and metallurgical equipment, and that of the maintenance and operating staff of the mining plant. In the first case, the choice of material of construction is up to the manufacturer and the user of the equipment has little direct say in the matter. However, if materials are badly chosen and the equipment does not function properly, wears out rapidly, or costs too much, repeat orders ?will likely go to a different manufacturer, so that, in the end, the consumer or mine operator does have the final voice. In the case of materials for maintenance work and plant operations, however, .the mill personnel have direct control over purchases and it is then that a well-balanced knowledge of materials, their properties, and their costs, can be directly useful. With all materials of construction, the final criterion is unit cost versus service performance, so that the lowest possible total operational cost will be obtained. Sometimes this means using the cheapest material available, sometimes the most expensive, but in any case careful analysis of service performance, replacement cost, and material cost is essential to determining the material that produces lowest total cost.

Jan 1, 1956

By Irving Hartmann

As part of the continuing effort by the Bureau of Mines to promote mine safety, research work is being conducted at the Experimental coal mine, Bruceton, Pa., on the prevention of coal-mine explosions and on other mine-safety problems. The principal subjects studied during the past 2 years are briefly described in this paper. Although at present these problems are relevant particularly to the mine layout and to high-speed mining practices in numerous American coal mines, it is hoped that the findings will prove interesting and useful also to our European research colleagues. Some of the investigations treated here will be presented in greater detail in forthcoming Bureau of Mines reports. 1. UNDERGROUND STORAGE OF COAL CUTTINGS The seams in mist American bituminous-coal mines are undercut, shear-cut, or top-cut before blasting. The cuttings arc generally loaded out with the balance of the coal. However, in some mines it is not economical to load and remove cuttings from the mine. This applies especially if the cut section of the seam is of appreciably lower grade than the rest of the coal, or if the cut is made partly into an adjacent stratum that is high in incombustible content. In such mines the cuttings are sometimes stored in random heaps in rooms or other areas, along the ribs of mine entries, or in layers on the floor of rooms or entries.

Jan 1, 1956

By James Westfield

A brief résumé follows of some of the most recent activities of the Division of Coal-Mine Inspection that have had a favorable effect. on health, safety, and injuries at coal mines: 1. There were approximately 8,510 active coal mines in the United States during 1955. In all, 82,389 regular Federal inspections of coal mines have been made since Public Law 49 became effective in May 1941; 9,823 of these inspections were made during 1955. 2. The Bureau of Mines introduced the revised Coal-Mine Accident-Prevention Course for Supervisors in the coal-mining industry on March 1, 1948. Since that date, 19,455 supervisors and those aspiring to official positions have completed such training conducted by personnel of the Division of Coal-Mine Inspection.

Jan 1, 1956

By M. L. Skow

Large tonnages of the manganese ores found in Aroostook County, Maine, are refractory to conventional mineral-dressing techniques and to the common chemical- extraction procedures. The Maple Mountain-Hovey Mountain ores are typical of this type. Because the most promising method of recovering the manganese from these ores has been a chloridizing roast in which the ground ore is in contact with gaseous hydrogen chloride, preliminary batch tests were made with a fluidized bed. On the basis of these tests, it was concluded that fluidization, with careful control of operating conditions, could be employed for this cloridization and warrants further study. Selective volatilization of the iron at 600° C. was unsuccessful. An operating temperature of approximately 950° C. was necessary for a practicable rate of volatilization of manganese chloride. Hydrogen chloride contents of 10 to 100 percent of the fluidized gas gave essentially equivalent manganese recoveries with an 80- minute retention time, For shorter periods reaction was more complete with the higher hydrogen chloride concentrations. At the 80-minute retention period the lower hydrogen chloride concentrations volatilized somewhat less iron and also improved the physical operation of the process. Fluidization gave results superior to comparable tests on chloridization in a fixed bed.

Jan 1, 1956

By H. C. Vacher, C. J. Newton

EXTENSIVE investigations in the field of residual strain measurement by X-ray diffraction have been made by Bollenrath, Hauk, and Osswald,1 by Smith and Wood,2'3 by Greenough; by Rosenthal and Norton." and many others. Since X-ray strain measuremeits apply only to those crystals of the test body which are of the proper condition and orientation to diffract and since the residual strains revealed may be accompanied by either body or tex-tural stresses, there has been considerable disagreement among investigators with respect to the validity of conclusions in this field. Although the experi-mentors have employed a variety of loading schemes, surface preparations, and X-ray wave lengths, the observations almost invariably have been made only on the outer surfaces of the specimens. The present note is not to be construed as an exposition of a new method of stress analysis by X-ray strain measurements on sections but as a presentation of some results which point to interesting possibilities for further experiments with sections. The two test rods used in this study were of ingot iron annealed at 910°C. The initial length of the gage section was 2 in. and the diameter was 0.415 in. Cross-sections were cut from the ends of the annealed rods to provide strain-free material. The tensile rod was axially loaded the desired amount in a commercial testing machine. A 1 in. portion of the gage length was cut from the other rod and was subjected to compression in the same machine. Details of this plastic straining of each rod are given in the upper half of Table I. A half-cylinder piece about 1/4 in. long was obtained by making a short longitudinal plane cut containing the axis of the rod near the center of the gage length. From adjacent material a disk about 1/8 in. thick was cut to provide the cross-section specimen. Later another section was cut from this same region with an angle of 30" between the normal to its surface and the axis of the test rod. A cross-section and a longitudinal section were cut from the compression rod in a similar manner. All of these as well as the strain-free cross-sections were mounted in Bakelite and used as specimens for the following X-ray strain measurements. During the course of the study, it became apparent that the condition of the surface of a specimen was a highly critical factor. One of the annealed strain-free specimens as a control was subjected to about 24 hr of polishing with fine alumina, interrupted about every 2 hr for etching with 1 pct nital. Its lattice parameter was determined at intervals from measurements on back-reflection X-ray diffraction patterns, which were calibrated with diffraction from tungsten powder. The parameter gradually approached the value found in the literature for strain-free iron and remained there, within the limits of the experimental error. This determined a long polishing and etching procedure which was adopted for all the specimens and which gave X-ray results from the surfaces believed to be representative of each specimen as a whole. A large number of back-reflection patterns were made with cobalt and chromium radiation, all at normal incidence. Except for some preliminary stationary exposures made to monitor the removal of cold work from the surfaces, each exposure was made with the specimen slowly translating and the film slowly rotating. In appropriate cases a thin layer of a standard metal powder, tungsten with cobalt radiation and silver with chromium, was dusted over a film of vaseline on the surface of the specimen to serve to calibrate the X-ray patterns. After the preliminary work, four films were made,

Jan 1, 1956

By S. F. Reiter, W. R. Hibbard

A survey of the effect of heat treatment on the room temperature hardness of Fe-Mo alloys has been made. Constant strain rate tensile tests were performed between room temperature and 1800°F. These data were analyzed to determine the effect of temperature and composition on the strain hardening coefficient and strain rate sensitivity. Constant load creep-rupture tests were made on these alloys and the results related to composition and structure. A relation between the high temperature strength of the precipitation hardened alloys and the volume of precipitate has been observed. IN view of the extensive use of ferritic materials at elevated temperatures, it is surprising to note the limited amount of information relating the variables of plastic deformation, i.e., composition, structure, temperature, stress, strain, and strain rate. Hollomon and Lubahn' showed how the several variables of plastic flow might be treated analytically. No data were available on carbon-free iron and its alloys in a form suitable for this analysis. Several German investigations2-" constitute most of the experimental work relating high temperature properties to the constitution of these types of materials. In order to obtain new data, the iron-rich alloys of the Fe-Mo system were selected for detailed investigation for the following reasons: 1—Some of the important effects of molybdenum on the mechanical properties of iron have already been studied.' , 821 2—By suitable heat treatment of selected alloys, it is possible to study strengthening effects of four types: AT -a transformation, B—substitutional, C—precipitation, and D—dispersion of hard inter-metallic compound. Materials and Treatment Four-pound ingots were vacuum cast, employing the same melting schedule previously used.? The raw materials were electrolytic iron and lamp-grade molybdenum. The ingots were forged to l/z in. sq. rod and one portion swaged to 0.350 in. diam rod for the production of 1 15/16 in. long button-head specimens. The button-head specimen blanks were solution treated for 16 hr at 2100°F in hydrogen of —70°C dewpoint and then water quenched. They were subsequently plunge ground to the standard 0.160 in. diam test bar. Micrographs of the solution treated alloys are given in Figs. la through Id. The higher molybdenum alloys contained large equiaxed ferrite crystals similar to those in Fig. Id. A portion of the % in. rod was hot rolled to 0.100 in., sandblasted, and cold rolled to 0.020 in. Strip tensile specimens having a 0.020x0.200 in. cross-section and a 2.25 in. gage length were machined from the sheet. The alloys containing molybdenum were subsequently annealed 1 hr at 1560°F. The iron strip was annealed 4 hr at 1300°F in wet hydrogen. The resultant structures are shown in Fig. 2a through h. The ASTM grain sizes were 1 to 3 as solution heat treated or 3 to 4 as annealed. The chemical analyses of the alloys are given in Table I. Carbon contents were obtained after the heat treatments in hydrogen. Alloy 15.9 pct Mo was tested as a cast alloy.'

Jan 1, 1956

By C. A. Hope, H. B. Wishart

THE number and severity of surface imperfections on rolled slabs, assuming the reception of uniformly good quality heats from the open hearths, depend upon a number of conditions associated with heating and rolling of steel in the primary mills. While there are other elements that have an effect on surface quality, rather than make this paper too lengthy the discussion of mill processing variables will be limited to three factors in order to illustrate their effect on slab surface quality: 1—amount of reduction between ingot and slab, 2—slab finishing temperatures, and 3—influence of roll changes. Measurement of the percentage of surface removed by scarfing on the flat surfaces of the slabs was used for evaluating quality in this study. A study of this nature must be made on slabs that are inspected and conditioned under uniform conditions and standards. In order to be certain that steel of the best possible steelmaking quality was received at the rolling mills, a low carbon deep drawing grade of rimmed steel, made for sheet mill application and manufactured under carefully controlled open hearth practices, was selected. Use of this particular steel thereby reduced the steel quality factor as a possible source of variation. The measure of slab surface quality is the amount of surface removed by scarfing during yard conditioning and is expressed as percentage of surface removal. This percentage was estimated by experienced personnel to uniform standards and it should be noted that these percentage figures are representative only for the grade selected and under the rigid inspection standards to which the slabs were subjected. Surface removal is a matter of concern because the imperfections, if undetected, often are the cause of poor surface quality in the finished product and their removal, by conditioning, add to the total plant costs. The data was collected at various times over a period of six months and, with normal weekly fluctuation in the level of quality, it is to be expected that for any period of sampling there will be some variation in the plotted results. The type of defect that is responsible for most slab conditioning at Gary Steel Works is a light angular surface break. This defect is usually interconnected to form large defective areas and occurs mainly on the bottom half of the slab on both sides. This type of defect is illustrated in Fig. 1, showing a bottom portion of a slab; while a close-up of an area of the same slab where the surface breaks were found is given in Fig. 2. The large dark areas are heat patterns, results of hot stacking and cooling. Independent of these light breaks, but sometimes associated with them, are larger and deeper isolated breaks. However, most of the surface removal occurs from conditioning the large areas of small breaks. There are also occasional scabs of varying degrees of severity but these are relatively infrequent. The slabs are generally free of rolled-in scale. Ingot to Slab Reduction vs Quality Some ten years ago at Gary Steel Works, the minimum slab ingot thickness was 30 in. Subsequent operating and other quality features indicated the desirability of using an ingot of reduced thickness with the result that a series of molds that would produce a 22 in. thick ingot with various widths was adopted as standard. A minimum number of the thicker mold sets are still used. From the standpoint of quality difficulties from pipe and segregation, the smaller ingots are an improvement. From a quality surface viewpoint, the slab product from the thin molds requires approximately twice the surface removal as the slab product from the thick molds. This is shown in Fig. 3 where the percentage of surface removal is plotted against slab product rolled from

Jan 1, 1956

By E. A. Gulbransen, K. F. Andrew

Thermodynamic information on the solubility of hydrogen in exothermic metals is limited. Thus, the overall solubility decreased as the temperature rose, which suggests the heat of solution of hydrogen in the metal is negative; yet the terminal solubility in the metal phase increased, which suggests an endothermic reaction. A thermodynamic analysis, therefore, was made of the several equilibria involved when hydrogen dissolved in the metal. Equations were derived expressing the solubility, terminal solubility, and decomposition pressures of hydrogen in terms of the heat, entropy, and free energy of solution of hydrogen in the given phase. The relations between the thermodynamic functions for the a-zirconium and 8-hydride phase were developed. The thermodynamic quantities were determined experimentally by the measurement of the decomposition pressures over a broad composition and temperature range. Two new methods of analyzing the experimental data were developed for determination of the terminal solubility. STUDIES', ' of the impact strength of zirconium at room temperature indicated that small quantities of hydrogen, of the order of 10 parts per million, embrittles the metal. Micrographic' and X-ray diffraction' studies showed this embrittlement to result from the precipitation of a second phase upon slow cooling. These studies suggested that the terminal solubility of hydrogen in the metal phase increased with increase of temperature. This behavior appeared to contradict the effect of temperature on exothermic hydrogen occluders such as zirconium. For these metals, the solubility of hydrogen should decrease with increase of temperature. Before these facts could be understood, a thorough analysis of the several equilibria was essential. It was the purpose of this paper to consider the several equilibria involved when hydrogen was reacted with zirconium from both the theoretical and experimental points of view. Since the overall solubility of hydrogen in the metal has been considered by a number of workers, it was proposed to study the composition range 0 to 6 atomic pct H in detail. Literature Schwartz and Mallett' determined the terminal solubilities of hydrogen in the metallic phase from diffusion studies. They extrapolated concentration-penetration curves to the boundary between the solid solution phase and the hydride phase at the surface. Their results showed values of 2.6 atomic pct at 400°C and 5.2 atomic pct at 500°C. Extrapolations of the data to room temperature suggested very low values for the terminal solubilities. This study confirmed the hydrogen embrittlement results and indicated that the terminal solubilities increased as the temperature was raised. The solution of hydrogen in zirconium over the complete concentration range was studied by Hall, Martin, and Rees3 and by others. The results showed that hydrogen was absorbed up to a maximum composition of 66 atomic pct or ZrH This composition represented the t-hydride phase. The maximum amount of hydrogen absorbed increased with pressure and decreased with temperature. Due to this temperature behavior, zirconium was classed as an exothermic occluder." In 1930 Hägg studied the crystal structures of the Zr-H alloys over a broad composition range. Four hydride phases were found. However, the range of homogeneity of the several phases was not studied. Gulbransen and Andrew" recently studied the phase diagram of this system by X-ray diffraction methods and by a thermodynamic method based on decomposition pressure measurements. The results showed that only two hydride phases existed for low temperatures, the 6 and the .-phases of Hagg.' Both phases had broad regions of homogeneity. The lower limit of the two-phase region of a and d-phases suggested a terminal solubility of 4 atomic pct at 500°C. This value was in agreement with the results of Schwartz and Mallett.' To avoid hydrogen embrittlement at low temperatures, it was necessary to heat the metal in high vacuum at elevated temperatures. To choose the conditions of temperature and high vacuum, it was

Jan 1, 1956

Theories of ore genesis. have both practical and philosophical application-practical in that they influence our search for new ore bodies; philosophical in that they provide a test for our theories of petrogenesis-and our ingenuity.For example, the theory of granitization requires an explanation of ore genesis compatible with the general concepts of granitization.Our understanding of some processes of ore formation, such as supergene enrichment, or the formation of residual lateritic iron ores, is so complete as to permit of nq controversy.For other ores, like the oolitic iron ores of England and France, and elsewhere, or the segregations of chromite or ilmenite in basic igneous rocks, the broad principles are generally agreed on; dispute is limited to details of process.But for a wide range of ore deposits there is no such agreement. Completely incompatible hypotheses are advanced to explain' identical facts, and we have difficulty in finding new facts or criteria that will distinguish unambiguously between them.In thinking about such ores, a co:n;venient starting point is provided by Schneiderhohn's (1953) fourfold division of ore deposits:1. The secondary hydrothermal ore deposits occurring in Mesozoic-Neozoic cover strata of Europe.2. The "regenerated" younger ore deposits in Alpine type mountain chains.3. Post-Cambrian primary hydrothermal ore deposits.4. Ore deposits of the PreCambrian shields.To these we may add a fifth group:5. Stratigraphically controlled sulphide deposits.

Jan 1, 1956

By J. D. McLenegan

The purpose of this investigation was to prepare a market survey of the refractories industry in California and Nevada (referred to in subsequent paragraphs as the region), and to determine the degree of self-sufficiency and the potential capacity for anticipated growth. The report includes estimates of the total annual refractories consumption, the quantity of refractories imported into the region, the tonnage of raw materials required for their manufacture, and the resources of fire clay and high-alumina minerals in the region.

Jan 1, 1956

By J. M. Riley

A fluorometric method using morin in an alkaline-buffered chelating solution has been developed by the Bureau of Mines for determining beryllium in ores and mill products. Apparatus for measuring fluorescence intensities of the beryllium-morin reaction is described. Preparation of the sample for analysis consists essentially of digestion with sulfuric, nitric, and hydrofluoric acids, fusion of the residue with sodium carbonate and sodium borate, Solution of the melt with sulfuric acid, and proper dilution. Chemical separation of other ions is usually unnecessary. The method rave reliable beryllium determinations on samples in the 0.01- to 0.37-percent BeO range. The method is particularly applicable to low-grade beryllium ores; however, semiquantitative beryllium determinations have been made on beryl containing 12.0 percent BeO.

Jan 1, 1956

By A. J. Kauffman

The alluvial deposits of the Pacific Northwest have been investigated and worked with varying degrees of intensity since about the middle of the 19th century. Earlier efforts, of course, were centered about the placer-gold content of the deposits; later, the Oregon beach sands were exploited for their chrome content, and, still more recently, deposits in Idaho were worked for their content of monazite, a rare-earth mineral which also contains significant quantities of thorium. The composition of alluvial deposits seems to depend mainly upon the nature of the source rock from which the detrital material was derived and upon the resistance of the individual mineral grains to the agencies of weathering and transportation. The processes of crushing and concentration used in ore dressing are applied in a leisurely but nonetheless effective manner when exposed rock masses are eroded by natural forces. Weathering effects a continuous disintegration and chemical decomposition, wherein resistant minerals are set free as individual grains and new minerals are formed. Erosion carries these detrital products down the slopes into natural waterways, where a mechanical separation of heavy particles from light is accomplished by the running water. The accumulation of such resistant, heavy particles through the ages has resulted in formation of the black-sand deposits. In addition to the associated gangue minerals, heavy sand deposits in the Pacific Northwest may contain the following constituents of possible economic value: Gold, platinum, chromite, ilmenite, magnetite, garnet, zircon, monazite, columbite-tantalite, and radioactive blacks.

Jan 1, 1956

By R. W. Barnes

This circular presents results of a survey conducted by the Bureau of Mines to ascertain the extent to which dust-control practices are employed in the coal-mining industry. This survey was initiated because of increasing realization of the possible harmful effects of the inhalation of dust upon the health of coal-mine workers and the advent, during recent years, of new types of mining machinery and new mining methods that may have a direct effect upon the extent of exposure to airborne dust experienced by persons mining coal. Anthracite Mines The survey covered 169 anthracite mines that were operating from November 1, 1953, to July 1, 1954. It showed that large mines employing more than 100 men were doing most to control dust produced during mining.

Jan 1, 1956

By F. A. Forward, V. N. Mackiw

The paper relates to the laboratory and pilot plant studies that have been carried out by Sherritt Gordon Mines Ltd., Metallurgical Research Div., in developing the ammonia pressure leach process for extracting copper, nickel, cobalt, and sulphur from high grade nickel concentrate produced from Lynn Lake ores, and describes in some detail the chemistry of the process. IT is well known'.' 2 that copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, ferrous iron, and a number of other metals combine with ammonia in aqueous solution to form complex ions of the form [Me(NH,)x]"+. The stability and solubility of these ions depend on the concentration of the metal ion in solution, on the amount of NH, present, and on the amount and type of anions present, e.g., OH-, C0;-, NO,, C1-, SO;-. If ammonia is partially or completely removed from such solutions, for example by boiling, the soluble ammines tend to decompose and the metals precipitate as basic salts. These properties of metal ammines have found practical application in the commercial recovery of copper, nickel, and cobalt from a variety of ores. In an operation formerly conducted at Kennecott"" the mill tailing containing 0.80 pct Cu as copper carbonate was leached by percolation with an ammonia-ammonium carbonate solution to dissolve the copper as the ammine. At Calumet and Hecla0-" With a mill tailing containing about 0.4 pct Cu as metallic copper, it has been found necessary to aerate the ammonia-ammonium carbonate leach solutions between stages to oxidize the solubilized copper. At Nicarol"-" where nickel and cobalt occur as oxides and silicates which are not soluble in ammonia, the ore is heated to decompose silicates and to selectively reduce the nickel and cobalt to metal, leaving the iron as Fe,O,, and is then leached with ammonia-ammonium carbonate solution accompanied by aeration to dissolve nickel and cobalt as ammines. In each of these leaching operations, the anion present is CO, and the metals can be precipitated from the leach solution as oxide (copper) or hydroxide and carbonate (nickel and cobalt) by boil- ing off NH, and C02 both of which are recycled to treat a subsequent ore charge. The products-—oxide, hydroxide, or carbonate—can be treated by conventional smelting, calcining, or electrolytic methods to convert them to refined metals. Thus the procedures mentioned utilize the properties of the ammines to extract copper, nickel, and cobalt from nonsulphide ores and separate them from the leach solutions. These processes have the advantage that they can be carried out in closed vessels at atmospheric pressure, that the leaching solutions are specific for the desired metals, that the metals can be recovered as relatively pure compounds by the boiling operation, and that the NH, and CO, can be recycled. Also, as the leach solutions after boiling and filtration are substantially free of metals, NH,, and CO,, they can be discarded, thus facilitating the control of the water balance in the leaching circuit. When, as is the case with Sherritt Gordon concentrates, sulphides are treated with ammonia solution in the presence of oxygen, the leach solution contains SO,--, and an entirely different set of conditions is encountered. The ammine sulphates (of nickel, for example) are more soluble than the carbonates and can be only partially decomposed by boiling. The SO, and NH, in the solutions can not be recovered by boiling. Thus, despite the more favorable leaching conditions resulting from high solubility of the ammine sulphates, the recovery of metals, NH,, and SO, from the solutions must be effected by other means. Sherritt Gordon Nickel Concentrate Treatment The Ni-Cu-Co flotation concentrate produced at Lynn Lake'" contains 12 to 16 pct Ni, 1 to 2 pct Cu, 0.2 to 0.5 pct Co, 33 to 40 pct Fe, 28 to 34 pct S, 8 to 20 pct insoluble, and less than 0.02 oz per ton precious metals. The nickel is present chiefly as pentlandite, the copper as chalcopyrite, and the iron as pyrrhotite and pyrite. Most of the cobalt is thought to be present in pentlandite, although it is known that a small amount occurs as Co-Ni-pyrite.

Jan 1, 1956