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By C. M. Marquardt

Tramp iron and steel moving on a conveyor belt cause small currents to be generated in a coil situated in a strong magnetic field, which are converted to an alternating current and are amplified. The output voltage from the amplifier fires a thyratron with a relay in its anode circuit, which actuates a howler and simultaneously drops a spot of marker material on the belt. THE problem of tramp iron removal from moving ore belts is a long standing one. When heavy ore streams are carried on a belt, magnetic pulleys and strong surface magnets fail to remove tramp buried in the ore stream. Tramp iron buried in the ore stream cannot be pulled from the bed by surface magnets and is carried past the magnetic pulley by the falling ore stream. With the increased use of detachable bits the problem of the detection and removal of tramp has become more necessary and difficult. Several types of tramp detectors have been developed. It would serve no practical purpose here to review exhaustively the literature on the subject. Methods of tramp detection used are: (1) The magnetic method, wherein the small current generated by the magnetized tramp passing a Coil is used. (2) The unbalanced oscillator method wherein the tank circuit of a stable radio- or audio-frequency oscillator is unbalanced causing a change of frequency or a change in plate current due to changes in eddy currents, hysteresis, or dielectric because of the presence of tramp. (3) The bridge methods wherein the impedance of one leg of an alternating current inductive bridge is changed due to the presence of conducting tramp. Each of these methods of tramp detection has its field of usefulness. The second and third methods are excellent for oxide iron ores, coal, sand and gravel, grain, etc. However, these latter methods are not suitable for use on ores that contain rich conducting sulphides, since a large piece of pyrite or galena will cause the same detector response as a piece of tramp iron. At the Caselton, Nevada, plant of the Combined Metals Reduction Co., sulphide ores are treated; therefore, it was necessary that a tramp detector operating on only the magnetic properties of the tramp iron be used. Tramp iron detectors of this type operate on the principle that if a piece of tramp iron moves near a coil in a high intensity, steady magnetic field, the presence of the moving tramp iron causes the magnetic flux lines through the coil to change. This induces a mall current in the Coil. In series with the Coil is generally placed a relay sensitive to currents of 1 to 3 microamp. When the tramp iron passes near the coil the flux linkages change, causing this very sensitive relay to actuate. Since the contacts of such a relay are very small it must actuate a second relay capable of breaking a larger current

Jan 1, 1951

By Robert C. Paddock

INTRODUCTION A way of producing 3,000 tpd from the El Mochito Mine was needed. Of this production, 2,000 tpd must come from the San Juan orebody. The original sub-level stoping method did not give satisfactory results due to ground instability, and the highly irregular ore/waste contacts encountered . The experience gained from the initial system helped guide research into the ground instability problem. Results from this work, combined with knowledge gained about the orebcdy configuration, defined constraints that were previously not fully appreciated. These constraints, and others, combined with objectives, were considered together to develop a new mining method. No single technique was found to be suitable, so a hybrid mining system was developed. A combination of ramping, cut and fill, and vertical crater retreat, with an option to use top heading and benching was developed. To complement the mining system, the type of equipment needed was decided upoun. Also, to support the mining system at this expanded rate of product ion, major modifications of existing infrastructure were required. THE EL MOCHITO MINE The El Mochito Mine, of Rosario Resources Corporation, has been in continuous product ion since 198. The mine began operations in April of that yeas at a rate of 100 tpd. The reserves in 198 were 100,000 tons of silver ore assayed at 1,250 grams per tonne. As of the end of 1979, the El Mochito orebodies have produced over 5.6 million tonnes of ore averaging 516 grams per tonne silver, 6.8 lead, and 7.8% zinc. Present ore reserves are about 7.9 million tonnes, averaging 138 grams per tonne silver, 4.6% lead, and 8.7% zinc, with minor quantities of copper, cadmium and gold. An expansion plan to increase mill production two fold to 2,500 tonnes per day is underway. This expansion will require the mine to produce 3,000 tpd. The mine consists of numerous orebodies, all of which have been mined to a certain extent. Of all the orebodies, the San Juan contains 8% of known reserves. This amounts to about 6.7 million tonnes. The significance of the San Juan orebody to the future life of the El Mochito Mine is obvious. If the required mine production of 3,000 tpd is to be sustained, the San Juan must be the source of the majority of that production. Due to the mineability and overall logistics concerned with the other orebodies, the San Juan must be able to reach and maintain a production rate of 2,000 tpd by 1982. GEOLOGY OF THE SAN JUAN OREBODY The El Mochito Mine is a classic example of a chimney replacement deposit in limestone. Similar deposits axe found in Mexico, at the Naica, Providencia, and Santa Eulia Mines. The El Mochito Mine is located at the south- western end of the Sula Valley on the western edge of the Honduras Depression in the Central Cordillera and Central Highlands of Honduras in a setting of Mesozoic sediments. The orebodies occur in a structural basin developed between NNE trending normal faults and apparently hinged on the south end. Topographically, the Mochito Basin lies between the uplifted Santa Barbara mountain in the west and the Palmer Ridge on the east. The San Juan orebody occurs near the intersection of the NE trending San Juan fault and the ENE trending Porvenir fault. The downward continuation of the orebody is controlled by the westward rake of these NW and N dipping structures. The discovery of the San Juan orebody is attributed to analysis of structural evidence of known ore deposits by in-company geologists. The composition of the San Juan orebody is primarily garnet skarn, with local concentrations of hedenbergite and magnetite. The economically important sulfide mineralization consists of (in decreasing abundance), sphalerite , galena, pyrrhotite , and chalcopyrite. There is some indication that a Cu-Ag mineral such as tetrahedrite may also be present. The skarns were formed by replacement of the original limestone by hydrothermal water migrating upward roughly along the intersection between the Porvenir fault system and the San Juan fault system. Textural evidence suggests that the orebody is a composite of several pulses of hydrothermal activity which would explain, in pat, the great irregularity of the contacts and the large horizontal variation in mineralogy. A general pattern of skarn types can be seen in the orebody, partially accounting for the observed lateral variation in grades. This zonation is very generalized, and one or more zones may be missing in any given locality. The orebody is almost invaxiably surrounded by a 2 cm to 25 cm zone of bustamite skaxn with low values. The border skarn is usually

Jan 1, 1981

By H. Landsberg

MANY of the sedimentary rocks contain small amounts of radioactive constituents. These vary in quantity in different layers. Some recent deposits show rather high activity as; for example, the deep sea oozes and some lake deposits.1,2. Measurements made in boreholes have also shown considerable changes in activity from horizon to horizon. The first to publish data on this fact was Ambronn,3 and recently Russian geophysicists have shown remarkable variations of activity from one layer to the next in various wells. Spak4 felt even that he was able to line up horizons from data measured in two neighboring wells. ? The measuring of radioactive radiation is fairly difficult. Large errors are possible by the circulation of gaseous emanations in the well and porous strata. It is, therefore, never certain whether the activity of the layer where the instrumental device or collector is located will be measured, or that of some adjacent layer, For this reason it seemed to be advantageous to take samples of rocks into the laboratory and test them therefor their contents of radioactive material, Such a method has been followed in the past to distinguish radioactive ore from other rocks. Radioactivity of rocks, especially of the igneous type, was also deter-mined in the laboratory by numerous authors for absolute age investi-gations.6 Corresponding data from studies of sedimentary formations are scarce. Specimens taken from a core of the Bradford oil sandstone were tested by Landsberg and Ingham,7 with the results illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows that within relatively small vertical distances the differences of relative activity were considerable. If one assumes that the distribution of radioactive material is fairly uniform throughout a layer, measurements of radioactive radiation in various horizons would offer additional information for stratigraphic

Jan 1, 1939

By R. V. Wheeler, F. V. Tideswell

The suggestion, which appears to find increasing favor, that the elementary composition of coals should be used as the basis of their classification, makes it important that our methods of expressing this elementary composition should be refined. It is doubtful whether many published ultimate analyses of coals are accurate within 1 per cent. carbon. Many are probably as much as 3 or 2 per cent. in error in carbon. It is, perhaps, not always realized that the extreme variation in carbon content over the range of bituminous coals is but 16 per cent. An error of 1 per cent. in carbon on analysis corresponds therefore with one-sixteenth of the whole range, an amount which is unjustifiable even for the application to commercial needs of a system of classification based on ultimate analysis. For the purposes of scientific research such limited accuracy is of little value. The object of this paper is to examine one important source of error in ultimate analysis, that due to the occurrence in coal of inorganic material, and to emphasize the need for the quantitative measurements (of carbon more particularly) on coals to be rendered independent of their contents of such material. Adventitious Mineral Matter When a determination of calorific value, for example, is made upon a coal, it is customary to correct the measured value with respect to the ash left by the coal on incineration, recording the result as being on an "ash-free basis." It is desirable, before discussing the adequacy of the correction thus made, to demonstrate its validity, which turns on whether the ash is present as an adventitious impurity in the coal and forms no part of the coal substance itself. The inorganic matter associated with coal has originated in several ways1: 1. The "inherent" inorganic materials, occurring as constituents of the plants from which the coal-forming deposits were derived.

Jan 1, 1928

A New Process Builds An Industry

Jan 7, 1951

By E. P. Barrett

THE high-frequency laboratory induction furnace with a rotating liquid crucible enables research workers to conduct certain investigations heretofore very difficult or impossible to realize because vessels are not obtainable that are capable of resisting the physical conditions or the chemical actions to which they are subjected. Applications for patents covering commercial uses of centrifugal liquid crucibles were filed in the United States in 1919,1 in France in 1925, in the United States and Germany in 1926,2 and in France in 1927.3 In 1928, Schuette and Maier,4 of the Bureau of Mines, reported the construction of a whirling table beneath a high-frequency induction furnace. SHAPE AND SIZE OF CENTRIFUGAL LIQUID CRUCIBLES When a vessel containing a liquid is rotated, the inner surface of the liquid takes the shape f a paraboloid under the simultaneous action of centrifugal force and gravity. The internal dimensions of the paraboloid rotating liquid crucible are governed by the diameter of the container and its speed of rotation. Melted Wood's metal was poured into cylinders 2 ½ in. in diameter, which were rotated at 180, 300, and 468 r.p.m. When the metal was solid, a slurry of plaster of Paris was added, and rotation continued until the plaster had set. Fig. 1, a photograph of sections f the cylinders, shows the effect f speed f rotation of the containers upon the shape f the inner surface f the rotating liquid crucibles.

Jan 1, 1938

By Orson Shepard

TEXTBOOKS on fire assaying list the following standard methods of assaying sulphide ores: (1) scorification, (2) litharge-niter, (3) soda-iron, (4) roasting, (5) combination wet and fire. The litharge-niter method has proved the most satisfactory, and is the usual method for assaying sulphide ores and concentrates. It gives good results when suitably conducted and when lead buttons of uniform size are produced so that the cupellation temperature can be properly controlled. The main objection to the method is the inconvenience of determining the amount of niter to add to each assay charge to produce lead buttons of suitable size from a set of fusions. For the assay of different materials, the niter requirement varies with the particular sulphide minerals present, the amount of sulphide minerals present, the slag composition, and the rate of heating the charge in the furnace. Except for some materials, so uniform in composition that the same amount of niter can be used in assaying all samples, the amount of niter must be determined for each sample to be assayed. This is done by either: (1) calculation from an estimate of the kind and amount of sul-phide minerals present in the sample, or (2) a preliminary fusion. Some assayers use one method and some the other. The estimation method takes the least time; but much experience is required to obtain close estimates on a wide variety of materials. At best, the sizes of the lead buttons obtained vary considerably. The preliminary fusion method usually gives lead buttons of fairly uniform size, although sometimes there is a variation because the oxidizing power of niter varies a little with the charge. This variation can be eliminated by two preliminary fusions: one to determine the reducing power of the ore, and the other to determine the oxidizing power of niter in the charge. The objection to the prelimi-nary fusion is the extra time and expense involved.

Jan 1, 1939

By T. Guilford Smith

In presenting the subject of " Armored Turrets for Coast Defense " to this Institute, I am indebted to the Gruson Ironworks, a company incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, for valuable information, model and plans, by which I hope to make clear the construction and peculiar merits of this class of gun-protection. I wish it understood, however, that this is not an undeveloped and untried inventor's ideal, but an advanced and fully perfected system, which has long since passed the experimental stage and has been adopted by most of the foreign governments, after years of extensive experimenting and the expenditure of millions of dollars. The present seems an appropriate time to present the matter to the scientific public, since, for the first time, it is possible to produce these turrets in this country, of American material, and made by American workmen, owing to an agreement entered into between the Gruson Iron-works and the Fried. Krupp Grusonwerk, of Magdeburg-Buckau, Germany, where they have hitherto alone been manufactured. Although its full development and present perfection have been attained at the German works, it may be of historic interest to state that the first idea of using a rotating protected platform for large guns originated with Mr. Theo. Ruggles Timby, a native of the State of New York, who filed a caveat in 1843 for a " metallic revolving fort, to be used on land or water, and to be revolved by propelling engines located within the same and acting upon suitable mechanism." This was followed in 1862 by the issuance to Mr. Timby of two patents (No. 35,846 and No. 36,593) covering the ideas described in his caveat of 1843. The first practical application of this system was made on the " Monitor," of Civil War fame, Mr. Timby receiving $10,000 for two

Jan 1, 1901

By M. Gangal, B. Paul

It may be seen from Maurer's survey (Maurer,l 1966) that most of the common methods used in rock drilling today depend upon mechanical loading of the rock. In order to predict the behavior of rock under an imposed system of stresses, it is necessary to have a valid criterion which delineates those combinations of stress which cause macroscopic rock failure from those which do not. Admittedly, the conditions under which brittle materials fracture depend very much upon statistically variable local effects such as inclusions, grain boundaries, minute imperfections, etc. However, it is extremely desirable to be able to predict fracture under complex states of stress by means of a stress-criterion of failure, where, for a given material, the effects of the other variables mentioned are incorporated into a small number of experimentally observable parameters. One of the most successful of these "macroscopic stress criteria" has been the Coulomb-Mohr theory 2,3 (also see Jaeger 4 and Terzaghi 5), modified by the addition of tension cutoffs (Paul 6). At first thought it might seem rather odd that a macroscopic theory is capable of predicting fractures which originate at highly localized random imperfections at an atomic level (or more likely at the level of individual mineral grains in rocks). However, Griffith7 showed that fractures originating near the tips of randomly oriented elliptical cracks lead to the macroscopic stress criterion of failure indicated in Fig. 1 (a). Fig. I (a) is to be interpreted in the following way: P and Q represent the maxi mum and minimum principal stresses (compression is considered positive) in a macroscopically isotropic body; fracture will not occur for any combination of principal stresses lying within the 'fracture curve' shown, but

Jan 1, 1967

By R. W. Nelson

Methods for determining permeability presented by W. D. Kruger3 in a paper entitled "Determining Areal Permeability Distribution by Calculation" have considerable merit. They can be expected to contribute significantly to analysis of flow in heterogeneous systems. Some rather subtle yet important conditions must be met, however, to assure that the computed permeabilities are correct. The conditions which insure a unique permeability distribution may have been overlooked in the method as proposed and presented in the subject paper. The subtlety of the special requirements may permit good agreement between computed and measured pressures in the reservoir; but the computed permeability may still be in error. The general theory and discussion of the requirements for a unique determination of the permeability distribution are presented elsewhere in more detail.7'8 Accordingly, only major features will be presented here in the notation of Kruger. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS A brief mention of the route to be followed in showing the special requirements may be helpful. The equation to be solved is a quasilinear, first-order, partial differential equation in the unknown permeability. This equation can be solved through an extension of Lagrange's method by reduction to a system of subsidiary ordinary differential equations. Through consideration of the identity of one of the Lagrange subsidiary differential equations with the stream function, a special interrelationship can be shown. The interrelationship has special significance with respect to the boundary condition. If the boundary function satisfies part of the subsidiary differential equation, no unique solution for the permeability distribution exists. In the physical problem this requirement for uniqueness indicates that the permeability measurements used as a boundary condition can not be along a stream tube. The boundary condition must be along a line, or series of lines, which completely traverse the region and pass through every stream tube.

By W. K. Whiteford

Until the beginning of the year 1930, conditions in the oil industry were such that the production engineer was chiefly concerned with improving the efficiency of development and production technique. Good engineering practice had been adopted to devise and improve methods and materials better suited to drilling for and producing oil and gas. These efforts reduced the hazard and expense of deeper drilling, increased the ultimate recovery from reservoirs and lowered production costs. Equipment was of better design and materials were better suited for the work and were more permanent. These improvements naturally have contributed their share toward increasing the volume of crude oil produced each year. The industry is now faced with a need for preventing a waste of this natural resource; waste which came as a result of continued reckless drilling of new reservoirs. To make a careful study of this economic problem and to devise methods for correcting these conditions was a logical problem for the production engineer. Much time and study have been devoted to the question, and remedial plans have been suggested during the last year and a half. The principles of unit operation have attracted the engineer's attention, as they present ideal conditions for the most scientific and economical development of an oil field. Unitization During 1930 unitization of producing and potentially producing areas has made real progress, and as each new unitized development is agreed upon the objections that loomed so large at the inception of the idea fade into comparative insignificance. Undoubtedly the outstanding example of the efficacy of unitization is the Kettleman Hills project in California. Unitizing this structure, with its almost incredible reserve, is an important step forward in the industry's concerted effort toward conservation. With this partial acceptance of the principles of unit

Jan 1, 1931

By Sylvain J. Pirson

The main value of earth magnetic measurements, outside of certain mining problems, resides in the study of deeply buried tectonic phenomena related to regional and local geology. Magnetic surveys are a necessary complement of gravimetric measurements, especially of pendulum surveys. To date, magnetometer prospecting has been used chiefly in the study of sedimentary basins where petroleum structures are associated with the uplifted basement rocks. There are, in the literature, innumerable articles dealing with such surveys as applied to oil geology but few treat of broad geological features related to regional magnetic disturbances of the earth field. An important piece of coordination work has been made by Jean Jungl for the magnetic and gravimetric measurements made in France and their geologic significance. A similar attempt at correlation of the known geology with the anomalies of the vertical component of the earth magnetic field has been made for the United States by George B. Somers2. Taking the magnetic vector as a whole, W. P. Jenny3 made a coordination of magnetism and geology for the main producing oil states of the United States. A more detailed study along the same lines is published by A. Van Weelden4 for southern Oklahoma and northern Texas; in this work magnetic and gravimetric measurements taken at stations as close as one mile apart are compiled and compared to the regional geology of the Ouachita-Amarillo uplifted area. From the literature mentioned, it is evident that reliable interpretation of magnetic' anomalies can be arrived at only when the magnetic stations are numerous and cover the area in a close net of measurements, therefore the works of Somers and Jenny, based on sparsely distributed Government measurements, can be regarded only as preliminary programs indicating lines along which further work should be done, whereas the coordination made by Van Weelden is an example of the contribution to the knowledge of regional geology that can be arrived at by the use of applied geophysics. With the hope that further systematic magnetic measurements will be carried on to solve regional and local geological problems, the author

Jan 1, 1940

By Sylvain J. Pirson

The main value of earth magnetic measurements, outside of certain mining problems, resides in the study of deeply buried tectonic phenomena related to regional and local geology. Magnetic surveys are a necessary complement of gravimetric measurements, especially of pendulum surveys. To date, magnetometer prospecting has been used chiefly in the study of sedimentary basins where petroleum structures are associated with the uplifted basement rocks. There are, in the literature, innumerable articles dealing with such surveys as applied to oil geology but few treat of broad geological features related to regional magnetic disturbances of the earth field. An important piece of coordination work has been made by Jean Jungl for the magnetic and gravimetric measurements made in France and their geologic significance. A similar attempt at correlation of the known geology with the anomalies of the vertical component of the earth magnetic field has been made for the United States by George B. Somers2. Taking the magnetic vector as a whole, W. P. Jenny3 made a coordination of magnetism and geology for the main producing oil states of the United States. A more detailed study along the same lines is published by A. Van Weelden4 for southern Oklahoma and northern Texas; in this work magnetic and gravimetric measurements taken at stations as close as one mile apart are compiled and compared to the regional geology of the Ouachita-Amarillo uplifted area. From the literature mentioned, it is evident that reliable interpretation of magnetic' anomalies can be arrived at only when the magnetic stations are numerous and cover the area in a close net of measurements, therefore the works of Somers and Jenny, based on sparsely distributed Government measurements, can be regarded only as preliminary programs indicating lines along which further work should be done, whereas the coordination made by Van Weelden is an example of the contribution to the knowledge of regional geology that can be arrived at by the use of applied geophysics. With the hope that further systematic magnetic measurements will be carried on to solve regional and local geological problems, the author

Jan 1, 1940

By G. A. Bole, F. W. Davis

The purpose of this paper is not to report, to the Institute, the results so far obtained in the survey, by the Bureau of Mines, of the metallurgical requirements for open-hearth refractories, but to present an outline that we hope will serve as a basis for discussion. The systematic survey that the Bureau proposes to make has not been outlined, although considerable preliminary work has been done in the way of interviewing open-hearth superintendents in several of the larger steel plants from the Chicago district eastward. At the several conferences so many of the opinions were diametrically oppoeite, when considering the same point, that it was thought that such an opportunity as the Institute offers in the way of a clearing house for moot metallurgical topics should not be overlooked. For this reason, the paper has been prepared as a basis for a discussion which, it is believed, will be of value in outlining the program of the Bureau. D. A. LYoN, Assistant Director. The importance of securing suitable refractories for metallurgical operations is daily becoming more universally recognized; particularly in the manufacture of open-hearth steel, where the life and earning power of the furnace depends largely on the judgment and care exercised in the selection of the correct quality of refractory for each of the parts. Any innovation that would make available to the steel manufacturers refractories with longer life or better suited to their needs than those now employed, and at a cost that would permit of their use, would be of enormous value to the industry at large. It is quite probable that revolutionary changes would not be necessary. Material now used in some parts of the furnace might, by more suitable preparation, be made of much greater service; in other parts, possibly entirely different material would be necessary in order to effect much improvement. Inasmuch as different parts of the furnace structure perform different functions and are subjected to different service conditions, a refractory suitable for one part will be entirely unsuited for another. For this reason, to make a comprehensive study of the refractory requirements of the processes, we should consider the furnace as built up of a number

Jan 1, 1924

By D. T. Peterson, T. Carnahan

The diffusion coejTicients of carbon, nitrogen, and oxyget were determined in $ thorium over the tempernilcre range 1440" io 1715°C. The diffusion coyfiicir?zls are given by: D = 0.022 exp (-27,000/RT) jor carbo)~, D = 0,0032 exp(-l7,00Q/RTj for nitrogen, and D = u.0013 expt(-11,UOU/RT) for oxygen. Cavl~orz was found to increase the hardness of thoriunz nearly linearly with concentration over the range 100 to 1000Ppm carbon. ThORIUM has a fcc structure up to 1365°C and a bcc structure from this temperature to its melting point at 1740°C. Diffusion of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen in bcc thorium was of interest in connection with the purification of thorium by electrotransport.' In addition, it was possible to measure the diffusion of all three of these interstitial solutes in the same bcc metal. Only in niobium, tantalum, vanadium, and a iron have all three interstitial diffusion coefficients been measured in a given bcc metal. Diffusion coefficients have been measured for carbon and oxygen in a thorium by Peterson2, 3 and for nitrogen by Gerds and Mallett.4 Activation energies for diffusion are reported by the above authors to be 38 kcal per mole for carbon, 22.5 kcal per mole for nitrogen, and 49 kcal per mole for oxygen. Values of the diffusion coefficients of carbon and nitrogen in 3 thorium have been reported by Peterson et al.' However, these were secondary results of their investigation of electrotransport phenomena in thorium and it was hoped that the present study could provide more precise data. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The specimens used in this study were the well-known pair of semi-infinite bar type. The couple was formed by resistance butt welding two 0.54-cm-diam by 3.0-cm-long bars of thorium together under pure helium, the concentration of the solute being greater in one cylinder than that in the other. The finished couple then contained a concentration step at the weld interface and diffusion proceeded only along the axis of the rod. The thorium used in this study was prepared by the magnesium intermediate alloy method.5 The total impurity content was less than 400 ppm. The major impurities were: carbon, 100 ppm: nitrogen, 50 ppm; and oxygen. 85 ppm. The total metallic impurity content was less than 150 ppm. The high solute concentration portions of the diffusion couples were prepared by adding the solute to the high-purity thorium in a non-consumable electrode arc melting procedure. Carbon and nitrogen were added in the form of spectroscopic graphite and nitrogen gas while a Tho2 layer was dissolved by arc melting to add oxygen. High-purity thorium formed the low concentration portions in the carbon and nitrogen couples. The low oxygen portions were obtained by deoxidizing high-purity thorium with calcium for 3 weeks at 1000°C according to a method reported by Peterson.3 The high C-Th contained 400 ppm C, the high N-Th contained 400 ppm N, the high 0-Th contained 220 ppm 0, and the low 0-Th contained 25 ppm O. The high O-Th was brine-quenched from 1500°C to retain most of the oxygen in solution at room temperature. These concentration levels were all below the solubility limits in 0 thorium at 1400°C. A resistance-heated high-vacuum furnace was used to heat the couples. The samples were mounted horizontally on a tantalum support which had small grooves near each end. Spacer rods of thorium, 0.4 cm in diam, were placed in these grooves to prevent contact between the sample and the tantalum support. This arrangement should have prevented contamination of the sample by contact with the support. In further effort to reduce contamination, the oxygen diffusion couples were sealed inside evacuated outgassed tantalum cylinders lined with thorium foil. Thorium rings around each end of the samples acted as spacers in this case. Pressure during diffusion runs was about 10-6 torr after an initial outgassing stage. Temperature measurements were made by sighting on black body holes in the sample support adjacent to the samples with a Leeds and Northrup disappearing-filament optical pyrometer. Temperatures were constant during a diffusion anneal to ±5C. The observed temperatures were corrected for sight glass absorption after each diffusion run. The pyrometer was checked against a calibrated electronic optical pyrometer and a calibrated tungsten strip lamp with the electronic pyrometer being taken as the standard. All temperature readings agreed to within ±3C over the temperature range 1450" to 1690°C. Time corrections due to diffusion during heating and cooling were necessary because of the short diffusion times. The diffusion times ranged from 6 min for the oxygen sample run at 1690°C to 90 min for the carbon sample run at 1500°C. A series of temperature vs time plots were made for heating and cooling of the samples to the various diffusion temperatures. This data was then used in a method according to shewmon6 to determine the time corrections. The corrections amounted to

Jan 1, 1970

By R. L. Wiegel

This article proposes a physical model for an idealized binary mineral system and for the process of liberation by size reduction. Based on this model, equations are derived relating the amount of each component liberated as a function of the ratio of the volumetric abundance of the two mineral components and the ratio of the mineral grain size to particle size. A definite relationship is shown to exist between the mineral concentration within a locked particle and the frequency of occurrence of such a particle. These relationships are used to obtain theoretical expressions for the concentration-recovery diagram. Physical mineral beneficiation processes are based on breaking a mineral aggregate to liberate the dissimilar mineral grains and then making use of their physical properties to separate the mixture into its components. The effectiveness of the process is therefore dependent on how well the minerals are liberated and how efficiently they are separated. Although a substantial amount of work is being done to improve our understanding of mineral separation processes, the study of mineral liberation itself has been almost completely neglected. The purpose of this theoretical study is to shed some light on the liberation phenomenon by: 1) proposing a physical model for an ideal binary mineral system, 2) treating mathematically the fracture of this system into liberated and locked particles, and 3) deriving an expression for the liberation characteristics of this system. The results of this study are useful in understanding the effect and importance of various parameters in liberation, and provide a basis for comparison with real mineral systems. 'RANDOM' MODEL It is recognized that liberation can be caused by detachment which results from fractures occurring at the mineral grain boundaries, or by size reduction which restricts the occurrence of dissimilar mineral locking to a portion of the resulting particles. The detachment effect is dependent on the relative strengths of the mineral grains and the bonds between them, and must be treated empirically for each mineral system. The size reduction effect, however, can be treated analytically if certain assumptions are made concerning the shape and geometrical arrangement of the mineral grains.

Jan 1, 1968

By Thomas R. Mager

An in.t!estigation has been made of the equilibrium conditions at 1200°C in the reaction between hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfur dissolved in Fe-Si alloys From this the equilibrium constant, activity coefficient, and activity of sulfur in solution were calculated. A number of studies of the equilibrium of sulfur with iron and iron alloys have given closely agreeing results from which the activity and free energy of the dissolved sulfur may be found. Sherman, El-vander, and chipman1 discussed the significant researches of dilute solutions of sulfur in liquid iron prior to 1950, and the results of this study indicated that the relationship between the ratio of PH2S/PH2 in the environment and the percentage of sulfur in solution is not a linear one. Morris and williams2 studied the equilibrium conditions in the reaction between hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfur dissolved in liquid iron and Fe-Si alloys, and reported that silicon dissolved in iron has a pronounced effect on the equilibrium conditions. They found that the activity of sulfur in iron is increased by the addition of silicon. At a silicon content of 4 pet the activity coefficient of sulfur was about twice that for sulfur dissolved in pure iron. Sherman and chipman3 investigated the chemical behavior of sulfur in liquid iron at 1600°C through the study of the equilibrium: H2 + S = H2S; K = PH2S/PH2 . 1/as [1] From the known equilibrium constant of the reaction between H2, H2S, and S and the experimental data, the activity of sulfur in the melt was determined. They found that the activity coefficient of sulfur defined as fs = as/%s is increased by silicon and decreased by manganese. Morris4 and Turkdogan5 also reported that manganese decreases the activity coefficient of sulfur in liquid iron and iron-base alloys. A recent technique of sulfur analysis developed by Kriege and wolfe6 of the Westinghouse Research Laboratories permits an accurate sulfur analysis of 0.5 * 0.2 ppm in the range of 0.1 to 3 ppm, whereas in the range of 3 to 50 ppm the accuracy is ±1 ppm. This technique of sulfur analysis was utilized in this experiment. Previous unpublished data reported that sulfur analysis by the combustion technique was not accurate below 20 ppm. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Five 5-lb ingots of high-purity Fe-Si were prepared. Three of these ingots were prepared without the addition of manganese but with a variation of silicon contents from 2 to 4 pet. The remaining two ingots contained 3 pet Si with the addition of manganese. Ingots were made at each of three silicon levels: 2, 3, and 4 pet. No alloys were made with less than 2 pet Si since below approximately 1.8 pet Si the binary alloy exhibits a to ? transformation. The two additional ingots of 3 pet Si-Fe were made at each of two manganese levels: 0.20 and 0.50 pet. To minimize the effects, if any, of impurities on the activity of sulfur on Si-Fe, the best metals available were used for melting. All ingots were vacuum-melted in magnesium oxide crucibles. After obtaining samples for chemical analyses, the ingots were processed. This consisted of hot rolling and subsequently cold rolling the alloys. Each ingot was hot-rolled at 1000°C, reheating between every pass to minimize grain growth. All heating was done in a protective argon atmosphere. The slabs were hot-rolled to strips 50 mils thick. After hot rolling, all the material was pickled to remove the scale formed on the surface of the strip during hot rolling. The material was then cold-rolled to 12-mil strips. Single strips of the material used in this experiment were hydrogen-annealed at 1200°C for 16 hr in an alumina tube. Chemical analyses of strips M-1, M-3, M-4, M-7, and M-8 are given in Table I. Sulfur, silicon, and manganese analyses were made from the millings from the cold-rolled 12-mil strips. The oxygen analyses were made from slugs of the as-cast material. The hydrogen sulfide used in these experiments was supplied from cylinders containing a mixture of argon and 1 pet hydrogen sulfide. The parts per million of hydrogen sulfide were determined from the analysis of the exit gas of the annealing furnace during each anneal. The flow rate of hydrogen was approximately 1 liter per min in all anneals. The

Jan 1, 1964

By W. D. Potter, E. T. Peters

Single-crystal films of boron have been prepared by thermal reduction of purified BCl3 with subsequent deposition of boron onto oriented silicon substrates. The structural properties of films prepared under various experimental conditions have been determined by light microscopy and "grazing-" angle electron-diffraction analysis. An orientation relationship is proposed for silicon and a-rhombo-heclral boron which can be described as: (111)Si (112)B; [110]Si [110]B ElEMENTAL boron is known to have a high energy gap* and consequently has potential value as a high- *Energy gaps of 1.35 to 1.55 ev1-3 and 2.0 ev4 are reported for ß-rhombohedra1 and a-rhombohedra1 boron, respectively. temperature semiconductor.5 Exploitation of this property, however, has been hampered by the unavailability of pure, single-crystal boron. Two recent symposia6,7 have treated the subjects of purification, crystallization, crystal structure, and properties of boron and provide a foundation for further investigation in these areas. The structure, lattice constants, and observed ranges of stability for four reported polymorphs of boron8°12 are listed in Table I. The rhombohedral structures are generally accepted as true polymorphs whereas the tetragonal structures are believed to be transient. Most currently available single crystals of boron are grown by Czochralski and floating-zone methods. Unfortunately, these crystals generally contain numerous defects and are highly strained as a result of the polymorphic transformations and thermal contractions which accompany cooling. Recently, Armington, Potter, and Tanner13 have reported the formation of single-crystal films of boron on silicon single-crystal substrates through thermal reduction of BC13 by hydrogen. Boron E. T. PETERS, Junior Member AIME, is Senior Scientist, ManLabs, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., and W. D. POTTER is Research Chemist, Air Force Cambridge Research Loboratories, L. G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Mass. formed at temperatures near 1000°C was identified as the a-rhombohedra1 form, consistent with expectation. The present paper describes a continuation of this work with specific reference to characterization of the structural features of the deposited boron films. The ultimate goal of this program is to produce large-area single-crystal films of a-rhombohedra1 boron to be used for electrical and optical studies by other workers. PREPARATION OF BORON FILMS The experimental procedure of preparing thin films is similar to that described by Theuerer14 for the epitaxial growth of silicon by thermal reduction of SiC14 and has already been described as applied to the preparation of boron thin films.13 Briefly, a mixture of BCl3 vapor and dry hydrogen is passed over a heated silicon substrate. Thermal reduction of the BC13 allows deposition of boron on the substrate. The substrates were {111}-oriented, single-crystal silicon. Square specimens 0.63 cm on an edge by 0.1 to 3.0 mm thickness were prepared by

Jan 1, 1965

By W. P. Lass

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1015) THE gold precipitate from the zinc-dust presses in the cyanide plant of the Alaska-Treadwell Gold Mining Co.; Treadwell, Alaska, is treated, in the refinery adjoining, by the Tavener or lead-smelting method. About. 3 or 4 tons of this precipitate are produced monthly having a gold assay value of $40,000 to $60,000 per ton. It was formerly the practice to treat the by-products from this process, consisting of 2 tons of slag, 300 lb. of matte, 500 lb. of refinery refuse, flue dust, etc., in a 24-in. water-jacketed blast furnace. This' practice was discontinued in the summer of 1914 by reason of the difficulty of keeping the lead-well open when treating a high-grade lead product; of preventing the loss of gold in the flue dust; and of avoiding injury to the general health of the refinery operators; a plain single-phase electric furnace was substituted for the blast furnace. The furnace was constructed from an old steel acid drum by cutting off the top and introducing a cable, made from strands of bare copper wire, through the bottom and spreading the strands out fan-shaped on the inside of the drum. Powdered graphite, obtained by grinding up old crucibles, mixed with 10 per cent. cement, was tamped wet into the bottom of the drum, around and completely covering the copper wires. The graphite was carried up to the bottom of the furnace, or lead-well, and acted as the lower electrode. The sides were built up of ordinary firebrick forming a melting chamber 14 in. in diameter by 20 in. high.

Jan 7, 1915

On the following pages are abstracts of papers published by the Institute during the year 1932 as Technical Publications, Preprints, in bound volumes and in Mining and Metallurgy. For abstracts of papers that appear in bound volumes in 1932 but that were published as Technical Publications in 1930 or 1931, see the Transactions for those years. Papers that appear in this volume are not abstracted here. Many of the Technical Publications have been reprinted in bound volumes. Information regarding this disposition, and number of pages in each paper, may be found in the list beginning on page 309. Volume numbers are given as listed on page 3 and in the paragraph at the beginning of the index, page 315. The abstracts are grouped as follows: Page Page Metal Mining.................... 265 ferrous Alloys)................. 279 Milling and Concentration......... 268 Coal Division.................... 287 Iron and Steel Division............ 270 Petroleum Division............... 292 Nonferrous Metallurgy (Reduction Nonmetallic Minerals............. 299 of Ores)....................... 277 Mining Geology.................. 301 Rare Minerals and Metals......... 279 Mining Administration (Accounting, Institute of Metals Division (Found- Taxation, Industrial Relations). . 304 ing and Metallography of Non- Geophysical Prospecting........... 304 Metal Mining The Mineral Industry. By Scott Turner. (Min. & Met., June, 265. 3500 words.) Abstract of an address delivered before the Royal Canadian Institute, Toronto, April 16, briefly outlining the importance of mining in the United States, in Canada, and in the world. Comparison is made of the mineral production for 1886, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1929, showing that in the 43 years from 1886 to 1929 that of the world increased nearly tenfold, of the United States over twelvefold and of Canada thirtyfold, but that Canada's output was equivalent to only 2 per cent of the world total and to 5 per cent of that of the United States in 1929. Statistical tables and graphs show value of production, percentage of world production contributed by Canada and the United States, etc. The mining situation in Canada is briefly reviewed: only those American engineers who have had occasion to examine the figures appreciate the rapidity of growth of Canadian mineral production. The treatment of minerals involves vast complex industries. When we are producing, say, 6 billion annually, the employment of 2 million workers provides indirect support to perhaps 10 million people. Exploiting mineral deposits is peculiar in certain ways, for the deposits are exhaustible, are of rare occurrence when measured in terms of outcrop area compared to total earth area, and may suddenly be handicapped or superseded by new discoveries; moreover, the economic position of the contained metals is 'affected by the use of scrap metal and the existence of invisible stocks. The largest and most valuable of the mineral deposits are not the metals, but rather the fuels. The record of the coal industry in recent years is one of brilliant technical achievement; its economic position is far from satisfactory. A so-called world fuel

Jan 1, 1932