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By J. R. Low

The brittle fracture of a Tic-lnconel cermet at room temperature is shown to occur primarily as a result of the cracking of the larger carbide particles (at a tensile strain of approximately 0.3 pct), followed by cracking of adjacent, smaller carbides and, finally, by the rupture of the lnconel matrix between cracked carbides (at a strain of-1.2 pct). No evidence was found for separation at the interface between carbide and matrix at any point in the fracture process. MATERIAL used in this study was a Tic-Inconel cermet prepared by infiltration (50 pct Tic, 50 pct Inconel: designated as TC66-I). A thin section of this material was brazed to a piece of low carbon steel and then mounted in lucite for metal-lographic preparation." After grinding, polishing, Deformation and fracture of the specimen was accomplished by bending the specimen as a simply supported, centrally loaded beam, in a bending fixture which could be placed in the stage of a microscope, with the tension side of the bend specimen under the microscope objective.? This method of deformation and observation has the advantage that the surface under examination is the most severely deformed portion of the specimen. The procedure followed was to deform the specimen a small amount, scan the surface at Xl OOO for any evidence of deformation or cracking, deform another small increment, scan the surface again, and so on until a

Jan 1, 1957

Capable of processing 3500 tpd of uranium ore, the United Nuclear-Homestake Partners' mill in Grants, N. M., differs considerably from the nearby mills of Anaconda and Kerr-McGee in at least two major aspects: it leaches uranium ore with an alkaline solution of Na2C03 and NaHC03 instead of sulfuric acid; and it recovers yellowcake directly by precipitation from the pregnant alkaline leach solution, without any need of ion exchange or solvent extraction circuits. A first look at the flowsheet shows that this mill has two separate grinding and leaching circuits. Reason for the double circuitry: the mill treats, on a toll basis, uranium ores for Anaconda as well as for the partnership, and it must also treat ores coming from mines separately owned by Homestake Mining Corp. and from mines owned by United Nuclear Corp.

Jan 8, 1974

By Madan M. Singh, William J. Courtney

Pneumatic stowing is commonly employed in European coal mines, but is not used in the United States. This paper reports a study conducted to analyze the conditions under which pneumatic stowing might be advantageously used and the techniques and costs involved in order to effect this. Although stowing may reduce the subsidence in a mining area, this does not entirely eliminate the surface damage. Besides, the cost of stowing will run about $1.50 to $3 per ton of coal mined not including the cost of fill material, if it has to be bought and transported to the mine. Stowing my, however, be economically viable under special circumstances such as in thick, steep, or contiguous seams.

Jan 1, 1976

By B. J. Kochanowsky

To improve blasting methods it is necessary to know how the explosive force acts and how rock resists this force. Because of the tremendous power developed within milliseconds and the great number of other factors directly affecting the technical and economic results, an analysis of the fundamentals of blasting theory is difficult. But since the rules used for layout design and for calculations of size of explosive charges are based on theoretical assumptions, complete knowledge of blasting theory has great practical importance in mining. Analysis of Blasting Theory: It is interesting to note the opinion of blasting experts with respect to contemporary blasting theories. F. Stussi,' Professor of the University of Zurich, stated: "We do not have enough experience yet to change our army engineering regulations in blasting and base it on new fundamentals. It is our duty to collect more practical data and to do more research in blasting to close this gap." K. H. Fraenkel,' editor of the Manual on Rock Blasting published in 1953 in Sweden and written by well-known Swedish, German, Swiss, and French blasting and explosive experts, said: "To the best of our knowledge no suitable formulas for civil blasting work are to be found in the American, French or German literature."

Sep 1, 1955

By Allan T. Fisk, Carl R. Peterson, Richard E. Brooks, James J. Olson

Development of a continuous drill-and-blast excavation capability in mining and high-speed tunneling has been a long recognized goal. Ideally, a machine to meet the challenge should simultaneously perform drilling, explosive loading, initiation, mucking, ventilation, and other functions while remaining at the face, since the elimination or modification of the cyclic nature of the system would significantly improve the advance rate and economy of drill-and-blast tunneling. The Rapidex continuous spiral drill-and-blast concept, one of the continuous excavation schemes presently under evaluation in the US Bureau of Mines' Bedded Deposits subprogram, utilizes an unusual blasting pattern that provides effective fragmentation and involves a partially self-shielding geometry that permits a lightly shielded machine to remain at the face during blasting.

Jan 6, 1977

By William Kranz

THE increased service demands on some of the products of the National Malleable Castings Co. prompted it about eight years ago to investigate the electric furnace, both in America and in Europe. The process bad' already been sufficiently developed in Europe to lead us to believe that the electric furnace would most nearly meet our requirements. After further investigation and consultation with the highest authorities on the subject, we decided upon the Heroult type as the simplest and most practicable. In 1910, we built a furnace of this type, of 300 lb. capacity, for experimental purposes, and although it was crudely constructed the quality of the material we were able to make justified the installation of a 6-ton Heroult furnace in 1912. This furnace has three electrodes, 17 in. in diameter, uses three-phase, 60-cycle current, and is equipped with Thury regulators, which give us good regulation and a uniform load on the line even when cold melting. The power factor of the furnace is 94 per cent. Since July, 1912, the furnace has been in continuous operation, producing up to the present time, over 20,000 tons of both carbon and alloy steels of varying analyses and of exceptional quality. Both cold-and hot-metal charges have been used, with a power consumption of about 150 kw-hr. per ton in the case of hot-metal charges and from 500 to 600 kw-hr. per ton in the case of cold charges. The electric energy consumed varies according to the final analysis of the steel and the amount of refining required. Too much cannot be said about the refining possibilities of the electric furnace, for no other method of steel manufacture can compete with the electric in this respect.

Jan 5, 1915

By James L. Calver

Fuller’s earth is an inexact term applied to certain clays that have a marked ability to adsorb coloring materials from animal, vegetable, and mineral oils. Many clays have this adsorbing power to a slight or very limited degree, and certain other clays, chiefly bentonites, as well as minerals such as bauxite, can be made highly adsorbent by activation with acids or alkalies, but the term fuller's earth is generally reserved for clays that are naturally highly adsorptive. In most fuller's earths and practically all activable clays montmorillonite is a dominant mineral. No definite clay mineral or group is implied in the name fuller's earth, and the distinction between fuller's earth and other clays that have more or less bleaching power is not sharply drawn. The name as generally used has no genetic or mineralogical significance. The fuller's earth produced in the Florida-Georgia district contains the clay mineral attapulgite. This mineral name was first used in 1930 by DeLapparent to apply to a hydrous aluminum magnesium silicate found in the fuller's earth from Attapulgus, Ga., and Quincy, Fla. An essential component of its structure, determined by Bradley in 1940, is that the silica chains of the molecule are arranged similarly to those of the amphibole minerals. The fibrous nature of the lath-like crystals of attapulgite is apparent under magnifications reached by the electron microscope. The ideal formula, [(OH,), (OH), Mg, Si, 0,-4H,O], contains no aluminum, but there is considerable replacement of the magnesium by aluminum. In the classification of clay minerals, attapulgite is associated with sepiolite and polygorskite rather than with mont-morillonite.

Apr 1, 1956

PENNSYLVANIA ANTHRACITE LOCAL SECTION On Saturday evening, Jan. 31, 1914, about 40 members of the Institute met at the Hotel Sterling, Wilkes Barre, Pa., for the purpose of discussing plans for the formation of a local section in the Pennsylvania anthracite region. President Rand; Prof. Joseph W. Richards, of the Board of Directors; Dr. H. M. Chance, Chairman of the Committee on Coal and Coke, and Secretary Stoughton were among the guests present. R. V. Norris acted as Master of Ceremonies, and the arrangements were all made in advance by a Committee under the leadership of Charles Enzian, to whom an enthusiastic vote of thanks was accorded at the dinner. An address was made by President Rand, followed by .Professor Richards, who outlined the procedure necessary for the formation of a Local Section. Addresses were then made by W. J. Richards, F. W. Chase,. C. F. Huber, R. J. Foster, F. A. Hill, H. M. Chance, Bradley Stoughton, and others, after which a rising vote was taken, and it was unanimously decided to petition the Board of. Directors for the establishment of the Pennsylvania -Anthracite Local Section. More than the required number of members then signed -the petition, and President Rand announced the appointment of a Committee to organize the Section and arrange for a meeting in accordance with their By-Laws, consisting of R. V. Norris, W. J. Richards, R. J. Foster, Edwin Ludlow, C. F. Huber, Charles Enzian, Douglas Bunting, F. A. Hill, and J. M. Humphrey.

Jan 2, 1914

By P. Somasundaran, I. J. Lin

There are several methods described in the literature for the determination of the order and the rate constant for the flotation of minerals. These often involve some type of computational or graphical procedures. A relatively simpler method developed on the basis of a technique used by Chang" in chemical kinetics is described in this paper. Chang's technique, like most others in chemical kinetics," is based on the law of mass action which states that the rate of a chemical reaction is proportional to the active masses of the reacting substances at any given time. Application of this law to the flotation of minerals would involve the adaptation of the terms "flotation" for "chemical reaction" and "floatable amount of the minerals" for "the active masses of the chemical reactants." There are indeed a large number of physical processes controlling the actual flotation rate. The most inefficient one of these could be considered equivalent to the slowest reaction in a series of chemical reactions. If variables such as aeration rate and agitation are kept at constant levels, the rate of flotation under free flotation conditions (i.e., conditions under which the suspension is dilute) will be given by the following equation: where C is the concentration of the floatable minerals in the pulp at any given time t, K is the rate constant, and n is the order of the reaction. If we represent the floated fraction of the floatable mineral at time t as m (0 m - 1) and C at t = 0 as Ca, integration of Eq. 1 yields

Jan 1, 1974

Visitors frequently put the question to Kalgoorlie gold miners; "Why don't you concentrate your mining operations?" A mine may be drawing ore from over a hundred different working places which are spread out over several thousand feet of strike and on many different levels. The answer to this question is that "finished" can rarely be written for a section of the mine. The intricate web of mineralization in faults, shears and fractures is an endless puzzle, each solution opens up new avenues to be explored. After the last ore is taken from a stope, a program of drilling may continue for several weeks on different possibilities. Perhaps no ore is discovered and drilling is abandoned, but it is not unusual for another search to begin later in that same area on a new theory with successful results. Wherever a slightly richer mineralization is found, it is needed to "sweeten" the mill heads. Over seventy years ago gold was discovered in the dry wastes of Western Australia. Rich deposits of alluvial gold were found at first and as these were worked out they led to the discovery of the lode ores, which were leaner and harder to extract.

Jan 10, 1964

By Robert C. Bolger, John H. Weitz

REFRACTORY clay, one of Pennsylvania's important nonmetallic mineral resources, occurs at several horizons in beds of Pennsylvanian age. The Mercer fireclay, of Pottsville age (Table 1), is the most important of these clays. A study of this fireclay has been conducted by the Pennsylvania Geologic Survey discontinuously over a period of seven years. The work has included field mapping of a rather large area, as well as petrographic, differen¬tial thermal, and X-ray studies of the fireclay. A comprehensive report on the project is now in preparation.

Jan 1, 1952

By V. F. Swanson

A petrographic study was made of the type and sources of mineral contamination occurring in Florida phosphate rock products. Emphasis was placed on contaminants in the screened rock (+1 mm), since this portion of the product undergoes no physical beneficiation except for scrubbing to remove slimes. Since iron and aluminum contents of the finished product affect the salability, special emphasis was placed on identifying types and sources of these contaminants and relating chemical composition to visual characteristics. Wavellite derived from the overburden was the major aluminum contaminant with some aluminum being included as secondary clay balls. Iron occurred as phosphates in the overburden and as colloidal oxides included in the phosphate pebbles. Chert and limestone contamination derived from the Hawthorne formation underlying the phosphate matrix.

Jan 1, 1972

By J. Intrater, E. S. Machlin

In a study of grain boundary sliding in superpure Copper (99.999 pct),&apos; bicrystals of a specific shape were used, Fig. 1. That shape was adopted in order to minimize the deformation of grains on both sides of the boundary due to clamping. Another requirement was to obtain bicrystals with a rnicroscopically straight boundary, Fig. 2. Single crystals of predetermined orientation (growth axis parallel to <310>) were grown in a graphite mold from seed crystals. The apparatus for growing single crystals consisted of a vacuum system, argon purification train, vycor tube (in which a graphite mold was placed), a carriage for the induction coi1,and a Lepel (7-1/2 KW) high-frequency converter. The graphite mold was heated by induction and the charge in turn was heated by conduction. The induction coil was moved by means of a motor at a speed of 1 1/2 in. per hr. Single crystals of two different orientations were grown from the melt in one-half of a split graphite mold, Fig. 3(a). Two such crystals were then placed in contact with each other in another split mold, Fig. 3(b) using tapered inserts. The pair of crystals was then remelted starting 2 in. from the top to insure that the whole top portion of the crystals was maintained molten. By moving the induction coil

Jan 1, 1960

By James E. Jopling

The county of Marquette, Michigan, includes nearly all the iron-mines that have been worked on the Marquette range, which stretches in a generally western direction from the mines at Negaunee, 10 miles from Lake Superior, to those beyond Michigamme, some thirty miles further. The geographical position of this range, nearer to eastern ports than the other iron-ranges, and its ready access from the lake, gave it for a long time a controlling advantage. The country in which the mines are situated is from 800 to 1000 feet above the level of the lake, and is for the most part broken by steep hills, which rise from 100 to 200 feet; between these the land is rolling or

Jan 1, 1898

By Dilip K. Paul, Charles H. Jacoby

The economic importance of salt domes has been recognized throughout the world, primarily because of oil and gas accumulations on their flanks, and to a lesser degree, for the value of their salt and potash. Recently they have become of value as hosts for cavities used to store hydrocarbons. In the near future we believe that their main value will be a source of geothermal energy. Although tremendous effort has been expended on the understanding of the geology and physical characteristics of the strata intruded by salt domes, relatively little energy has been exerted in the comprehension of the salt dome itself. Salt domes have long been recognized as a geological heat anomaly. With respect to other sedimentary rocks, salt is a good conductor of heat. Expressing values in 10-3cgs units, sedimentary rocks vary from 1.0 to 8.0; metamorphic rocks from 5.2 to 8.4 and igneous rocks from 3.1 to 9.8. Rock salt in its pure form has a thermal conductivity of 17. Thus a salt dome can be expected to act as a conduit bringing heat vertically from deep within the earth&apos;s crust.

Jan 5, 1974

By Richard Moldenke

AmonG the things that will always remain to the credit of the foundry-industry is the circumstance that nearly all the research-work of practical value in daily routine was done by active foundrymen, and the results were freely given by them to the world. Moreover, while consumers felt that to them was due a more systematic and exact method of work, the foundry-men again were the first to act in the establishment of specifications under which their product should be sold. To come to more recent times, the American Foundrymen&apos;s Association has not only made an elaborate series of tests on cast-iron, and adopted tentative specifications based upon them, but, in addition, it has urged the International Association for Testing Materials, through its American representatives, to make the testing and specification of cast-iron a distinct issue. The half-hearted support first granted was greatly augmented by the rapidly-growing recognition accorded to the enormous iron-casting industry; and when the president of the American Society for Testing Materials was instructed to ask for a special commission for this purpose, Europe was ready to cooperate. During the Buda-Pesth congress, at, which America was represented by Prof. Howe, Mr. Wood and myself, it was decided to add five members to the general committee on steel and iron, whose special duty should be to conserve the interests of the cast-iron branch of the industry. America took up the work at once, and enlarged its committee to 67 members, all of whom were actively concerned in the manufacture or study of cast-iron in all of its branches. At the organization-meeting in Philadelphia, April 25, 1903, Mr. Walter Wood was elected chairman, and myself secretary; and, within a week thereafter, the sub-committees were appointed and became active at once. The scope of the work was naturally limited to those branches of the iron-casting in-

Jan 1, 1905

By Ian M. Thomson, Robert W. Greene

To move 7 million tons annually from their new inland coal mines at Camp Breckenridge, Ky., TVA selected a transportation package proposed by American Commercial Barge Line. The land portion includes two cable-driven conveyors covering 12.7 miles; a 260,000-ton storage area on a man-made island with a stacking-reclaiming bucket wheel; and a barge-loading system of 5500-tph capacity. The 183mile river portion will utilize three unit-tows with towboats and barges specially designed to carry the maximum tonnage allowed by locks and channel depth. The system has two noteworthy features. The first is a single-flight cable belt conveyor over nine miles long. The other is a high capacity twin belt conveyor using the principal of two separate belts supported in 60° troughing idlers. This conveyor exhibits a high carrying capacity combined with accurate tracking and lack of spillage. A description is given of the mechanical problems and solutions to the design, construction, and operation of the conveyor system which provides the link between the coal mine and the barge loading dock.

Jan 1, 1974

By W. B. Mather

GEOLOGICAL studies have revealed the occurrence of hundreds of pegmatite dikes in north- east Brazil, Fig. 1, in the three states of Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, and Ceara. Heretofore data have not been available on the possible production of lithium minerals from these areas, and in March, April, and May 1953 the author undertook a reconnaissance survey covering a cross-section of the pegmatites. Sixty-one pegmatites were examined. The pegmatites of Rio Grande do Norte and Paraiba are located in an arid region (Seratao), and except in the most southerly portion there is a mini- mum of vegetation and overburden. The region is easily prospected and relatively accessible by jeep or truck. The pegmatites examined in Ceara are in an area of lush vegetation along the flanks of the Jaqueribe River valley. It is therefore more difficult to prospect, and the dirt roads, as a means of access, leave much to be desired. For all practical purposes rail transportation, except in Ceara, is not available. The rocks of the area1-4 are composed of Pre-Cambrian schist, gneiss, quartzite, and marbles. They have been intruded by granites, monzonites, and diorites and cut by quartz veins and pegmatites.

Jan 9, 1954

By T. R. Cass, M. R. Achter

A technique for measuring the creep and rupture strength of nickel specimens bonded by sintered oxide layers has been developed for the investigation of the role of grain-boundary oxide in the oxidation strengthening of nickel during creep at 817 °C. Prom the inverse dependence of the rate of bonding on the thickness of the starting oxide, it is suggested that the rate of diffusion of Ni++ through NiO is the controlling process at the start of sintering. Cornparisons of the creep and rupture strength and of the microstructure of sintered couples with conventionul creep specimens suggest rupture in nickel is prevented by load-bearikzg, ikltergranular layers of oxide. A number of recent investigations have shown that at high temperature and low stress the creep-rupture strength of nickel and nickel-base alloys may be much greater in air than in an inert gas or vacuum.&apos;-7 For example, at 817°C and 2500 psi, nickep failed in vacuum in 48 hr but not in air after 4000 hr, and a Ni-Cr-A1 alloy5 at 1038°C and 3000 psi failed in vacuum in 4 hr but not in air after 731 hr. Fig. 1 is a typical creep curve in air for materials experiencing this pronounced environmental strengthening. A common feature of these curves is the entry into a third stage of accelerating creep, concurrent with the for-

Jan 1, 1962

By John E. Dowis

Ore distribution being what it is, many of today&apos;s mining companies are forced to develop foreign reserves to satisfy the demands of their customers. This necessity complicates the economic picture for a company, because management must look well be- yond grade and tonnage to determine the feasibility of developing a foreign orebody. Above all, the taxes on such a development must be assessed. The difference that taxes can make in mining profits will be illustrated here for three countries-Canada, Mexico and the United States. For purposes of comparison, identical orebodies will be assumed to occur in all three countries. Only the taxes on these properties will vary. Grade, tonnage, gross income, production costs and production rates will all be the same. The discussion will be limited to federal taxes, because state and provincial taxes are usually negligible by comparison. Assumptions relative to the orebody and the nature of the company undertaking the operation are as follows: (1) Copper is the only value to be recovered. (2) Sixty million tons of ore have been delineated. (3) Underground mining is required, and the production rate will be 3 million tpy. (4) The life of the property is 20 yr. (5) Operations in Mexico or Canada will be handled by a subsidiary of a U.S. parent company. (6) The subsidiary will offer stock.

Jan 1, 1970