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By Frank W. Harris

THE strength of hard drawn copper wire is a question of considerable importance to both manufacturer and consumer. Unlike steel and alloy wires, in which strength is governed by both chemical and physical considerations, the high conductivity required for copper wire in the electrical industry generally precludes the possibility of obtaining tensile strength through the use of alloys. Consequently, this strength is largely a matter of the physical structure, and all factors known to affect this structure, such as rolling temperature, die contours, lubricants, drawing speeds, etc., are matters of prime importance. The experiments described here have been carried out during the past year at the Baltimore plant of the American Smelting & Refining Co., in connection with a general investigation of some of the questions mentioned above, with the object of studying the physical structure of hard drawn copper wire and the influence of certain factors on that structure. The work has been of an exploratory nature, rather than comprehensive, but it was thought that the results might prove of sufficient general interest to warrant their publication. The bulk of the hard drawn copper wire used in places where strength is an important factor is manufactured to strict specification, based usually in the United States on that of the American Society for Testing Materials (B-1-23). This specification calls for almost as high a value of tensile strength, consistent with elongation, as it is possible practically to obtain, and only physically perfect material can be relied on to meet such a specification. Obvious defects, such as laminations produced through fins in the original rods or brittleness due to overdrawing, are usually recognized and need only passing reference. Laminations can be detected by twisting and untwisting the wire several times; they will show up on the surface in the form of fins. Fig. 1 shows a very bad example of this defect. The wire may be perfectly smooth before twisting but when such laminations are present they will readily show up under this treatment. This trouble is caused by similar defects in the original rod produced by overfills in rolling. Fig. 2 shows the cross-section of the rod from which the wire in Fig. 1 was drawn.

Jan 1, 1928

FRENCH steel makers are ready to support the Schuman plan. Pierre Ricard, vice-president of the French Steel Chamber syndicate, announced the industry's readiness to cooperate with the plan, which is aimed toward giving Europe an integrated steel industry. Steel men appear to have decided in favor of the plan because of its promise to unify the continent. Behind approval is the emphasis placed by French steel plant operators on continuation of the Franco Saar economic union. The French have an, abiding fear of German steel production potential. France is currently producing at an annual rate of 11 million tons, while Western Germany is producing 15.5 million tons of steel. The Saar output is placed at 3 million tons. French industrialists feel that as long as the marriage of French and Saar steel production continues, France can compete reasonably well with Germany. If Saar production should suddenly become part of the Western Germany total, it could result in an unequal competitive situation, giving Germany a production level of 18.5 million tons of steel annually, or 60 pct more than France.

Jan 1, 1952

Members whose deaths were reported from Mar. 5, 1919, to Apr. 5, 1920. Elected Died 1895 ANDERSON, ROBERT HAY 1920 1916 ATWATER, M. W 1919 1905 BARD, D. C 1920 1893 BECKER, GEORGE F 1919 1914 BIGELOW, BRAXTON 1917 1917 BLACK, HERBERT F 1919 1911 BOWLER, ROBERT P 1919 1902 BROWN, ARTHUR H 1919 1913 BURNHAM, WILLIAM 1918 1905 Carnegie, Andrew 1919 1900 CARPENTER ROLLA C 1919 1908 CONNER H. MCKEAN 1919 1883 COOK, ROBERT A 1919 1903 COOPER, JOHN 1919 1875 CROXTON, SAMUEL W 1919 1889 DICKMAN, R. N 1919 1893 DUFOURCQ, EDWARD L 1919 1917 FAY, CHARLES H 1918 1875 FOHR, FRANZ 1919 1879 FRICK, H. C 1919 1880 GAYLEY, JAMES 1920 1917 GARVIN, JOHN C 1920 1915 GIBBS, CHARLES H 1919 1917 GODBE, RALPH T - 1918 GREGORY, A. E 1919 1917 HAMILTON, A. McL 1918 1914 HEISE, HENRY C - 1913 HINCKLEY, E. R 1918 1884 JENNINGS, HENNEN 1920 1895 JOHNSON, J. E., JR 1919 1895 KANN, MEYER M 1919 1895 KAYSER, H. W. F 1919 1918 KENNEDY, DANIEL J 1903 KING, PAUL S 1919 1901 LANGTON, JOHN 1920

Jan 1, 1923

By Earl Hunner

IT is common knowledge that the iron orebodies of the Mesabi range lie nearly horizontal and are of trough or blanket-like types. These orebodies are from a few feet to several hundred feet thick and vary from a few acres in extent to the size of the largest one, at Hibbing, Minn., which is over 1 mile wide and 3 miles long. They are covered with sand, boulder and clay overburden and occasionally, shallow depths of ledge material, varying in total depth from about 20 to 200 ft. Large areas are not capped with overlying ledge material; the top of the ore lies directly underneath the surface material. Because of the comparatively great tonnage of ore, open-pit mining has made tremendous strides since the first open-pit ore was shipped from this range by the Merritt brothers, from the Mountain iron mine in October, 1892, and along with the great development of open-pit mining on the Mesabi range has gone a tremendous change in the character of equipment used.

Jan 1, 1930

By C. M. Haight

The mine blacksmith and drill-steel sharpening shop at the Franklin mine of the New Jersey Zinc Co. is on the surface, adjoining the main shaft. It is a brick building, 51 by 30 ft. inside dimensions, with a corrugated iron roof and concrete floor. .About two-thirds of the steels used are brought up through the main shaft; the remainder through two auxiliary shafts and are carried to the shop by team or truck. At each shaft sufficiently large stocks of sharp drills of various typcs are kept to replace all the dull steels that may be sent up; while at the shop enough sharp drills are kept to replace the dull steels in the stocks kept at the auxiliary shafts. Though this entails keeping a larger number of drill steels in service than might be required by other methods, there is less hurry in the sharpening shop and the steels have a longer period of rest. If a rest from use enables steel to recover from fatigue strains, this method secures that rest. The forms shown in Fig. 1 are supplied to each shift boss in books of 100. These are used to requisition sharp drills from the shaft stocks and cnable the men at the tops of the shafts to sort out the required sizes and to hare them ready to be sent to the various shaft stations. At one of the auxiliary shafts, the dull drills are placed on a platform from which they are dumped into the body of the wagon that takes them to the shop.

Jan 1, 1927

By P. W. Rainier

THE Chivor emerald field is situated on the eastern slope of the Andes in the Department of Boyacá, at an elevation of about 8000 ft. above sea level. It overlooks the Llanos (plains) of the Orinoco and is watered by many streams flowing into the Rio Meta, the Orinoco's largest tributary. The Rio Meta is navigable from the Orinoco to a point within about 50 miles of the Chivor district and may eventually prove to be the reasonable outlet for the future development of this part of the country. The topography of the district is extremely rugged and mountainous (Fig. 1), the difference in elevation between two points on a mining claim 1 km. square being sometimes as much as 4000 ft. The ground is covered with dense forest growth and the available timber is suitable and sufficient for mining purposes, but it is becoming gradually depleted by Indian clearings as the country around the mines becomes settled. The many streams combined with the rough topography give good possi-bilities for hydroelectric power. The center of population nearest to Chivor is Bogota, the capital of the republic and a city of some 300,000 inhabitants; the distance is two and one-half days' travel. The first stage of the journey from Bogota, is accomplished by rail to Chocontá, some 4 hr. travel. From Chocontá the journey is made in the saddle, one night being spent in Guateque. The latter is a small town and the nearest post office to the mines, being some 10 hr. ride distant. The roads are mere bridle paths, in parts hazardous and almost impassable in the wet season. All supplies brought to the mines, other than those produced locally, are carried by pack mule; mule freight from Chocontá costs 3 centavos1 per pound. The climate of the Chivor district is healthful and bracing. The wet season begins in March and concludes in November, the remaining months being dry. The annual precipitation is about 150 in. The temperature throughout the year is nearly constant, varying from about 45° F. to about 65° F. shade temperature. The rains are cold and unpleasant, and for the greater part of each day in the wet season the country is shrouded in dense mist. A fire can with comfort be kept burning in a living room all the year round. There are a few slight

Jan 1, 1929

By W. R. Crane

MINING of the red iron ores of the Birmingham district has been carried on energetically during the past 50, years, and their development has created a large iron and steel manufacturing, center, the only important one in the South. The district produces approximately 10 per cent. of all the iron ore of the United States (80 per cent. of the Alabama ore mined is red ore) ; also, 43 of the 419 blast furnaces of the country are in the district tributary to Birmingham. The rapid growth of the district has been made possible through investigations that resulted in radical changes in furnace practice, and a still greater impetus will come from the study of the low-grade, high-silica ores, as a result of which they will be made amenable to treatment by concentration. Mining practice in this district has been comparatively simple because of the occurrence of the ore; but with the-rapid extension of the work-ings and the disturbed condition of the ore bed at some distance from the outcrop, more difficult conditions are encountered and the tendency is toward worse rather than better conditions. Should the high-silica ores of the lower bench of the Big Seam become available through beneficiation, mining practice will have to be modified to meet the new conditions, which will be rendered more difficult by the increased weight of cover that will exist at considerable distances from the outcrop. Support of workings will require greater attention and the efficient and economical operation of the mines will depend largely on the successful solution of the problems of working-and handling the ore.

Jan 9, 1924

By Bradley Stoughton, Henry M. Howe

This paper presents an experimental verification of some of the predictions made by one of us1 concerning the influence of certain conditions of casting upon the size and position of the pipe, and the position of the segregate, in steel ingots. The predictions which we have been able to verify are the following: A. That the pipe is shortened and the segregate raised: 1. By slow casting; 2. By casting with the large end up instead of down; 3. By retarding the cooling of the top, e.g., by means of a sinking-head. B. That the pipe is shortened by slow cooling. C. That the pipe and segregate lie in the last-freezing part. Our procedure was to cast ingots of wax (commercially pure stearic acid) containing a little bright green copper oleate (usually 1.5 per cent.) under varying conditions; to saw each ingot open along a longitudinal plane passing through its axis; and to examine the longitudinal section thus laid bare. In order to make the segregate or enriched part more distinct in color from the impoverished part, a very little red cerasine was added. An experiment which will be described later showed that the cerasine itself does not segregate markedly, if at all. Hence we may assume that the strong contrasts between the green and red shown in so many of our ingots are due, not to segregation of cerasine, but to that of the green oleate, in the wax which in itself is uniformly reddened with cerasine.

Jan 1, 1908

Jan 4, 1950

By P. de Vitry, Oliver Bowles

THE conventional wire saw, introduced in the slate district of Pennsylvania by the Bureau of Mines in 1927, and used thereafter with remarkable success, consists of a three-strand steel cable having a diameter of 3/1 6 or 1/4 in. The equipment, methods used, and accomplishments have been described in previous reports.1-7 Similar wire saws have been used extensively in Europe, in quarries and in shaping blocks and slabs. During the period 1932-1937, competition in European marble quarries was keen, prices were declining, and orders were not abundant. When orders were received, there was generally an urgent call for speedy delivery. Because of the diversification of demands, it was impossible. to maintain in stock marbles of the color, size, and thickness called for,, therefore the material generally had to be fabricated after the order was received. The wire saw enabled stone mills to fill. such, orders promptly. With skillful handling, 7/8-in. slabs could be cut accurately and rapidly with this equipment. It was found, however, that, as the three-strand wire became worn, the cutting speed dropped rapidly and the cut became less accurate. To overcome these difficulties the junior author of this paper, after much experimentation, developed a new type of wire consisting of a single ribbon-shaped strand, twisted as shown in Fig. I. To ensure straight sawing, the twist of the ribbon is reversed from right to left and vice versa every 25 ft. The reversal of the [ ] twist is shown in Fig. 2. This is not a new feature; it has been used to advantage with the three-strand wire both in Europe and America for several years. However, some difficulties arise in splicing the three-strand reverse-twist wire, and the claim is made that cutting is less accurate as the wire becomes worn. To make an endless belt, the ends of the single-strand wire are brazed together with

Jan 1, 1941

By Charles Wraith

THE property of the Roan Antelope Copper Mines, Ltd., is situated at Luanshya, north-central part of Northern Rhodesia, and is connected with the main line of the Rhodesia Railways, Ltd., by a 24-mile branch line from N'dola. Most of the material and supplies that are not available in Africa are shipped into the country via Beira, on the East Coast of Africa, a distance of 1473 miles from Luanshya and the nearest ocean port. The output of copper is shipped by rail to Beira and thence by boat to the market. Passenger travel is mostly via Cape Town, a distance of 2162 miles from Luanshya. Excellent passenger trains operate on regular schedules between Cape Town and Northern Rhodesia. Luanshya is 13° south of the equator at an elevation of 4000 ft. above sea level, and has a mild healthful climate. During the rainy season, from October to March, the rainfall averages 53 in. The area is pro-fusely covered with vegetation. An ample supply of water for industrial and domestic purposes is available throughout the year. The more important supplies for smelting purposes, such as wood, coal, limestone, silica, quartzite, and clay for "dolly" mud, are con-veniently available. Excellent grades of coal, coke and firebrick are obtained from the Wankie Colliery Co., Ltd., Southern Rhodesia. The Wankie colliery has just completed the erection of equipment for the manufacture of silica brick. An ample supply of quartzite of good grade is available for this purpose. Silica brick is also obtained from the Belgian Congo and from India. Limestone is quarried from a large deposit a few miles from Bwana Mkubwa, which is 30 miles by rail from the smelter. An abundant supply of clay for "dolly" mud and for lining launders is available within a short distance of the smelter.

Jan 1, 1933

By P. G. Beckett

The problem of handling the large quantities of water encountered in the Old Dominion mine presents many features of interest. In the present paper are discussed the probable sources of water, the pumping equipment, the increased flow into the mine in the early part of 1915, culminating in the flooding of the 18th and 16th levels in March of that year, and the difficulties that were met with during the high-water period. I. PRELIMINARY The Old Dominion mine, situated 1 mile north of the town of Globe, Ariz., has long been one of the prominent copper producers of the State, and until the opening up of the copper schist deposits in the neighboring mines of Miami, was responsible for the greater part of the copper output from the Globe district. As the gradual exhaustion of its orebodies near the surface led to the downward development of the mine, more water was encountered in the western portions directly underlying the dacite formation until the drainage problem became a serious factor in the operation of the mine and in the economical extraction of the ore. A heavy inrush of water on the 10th level of the mine in 1906, preceded by still earlier water difficulties, rendered imperative the immediate installation of a pumping equipment capable of handling large flows of water. While the Old Dominion has been recognized as a wet mine since its early days and one in which the complete control of the water situation was of paramount importance in the development of the lower levels, it is chiefly in the last nine years, since the installation of the increased pumping equipment, that the mine has developed and handled large quantities of water. Its maximum pumping record was reached in the first six months of 1915, during which time, following a prolonged period of abnormal precipitation, the pumps handled 1,624,740,000 gal. of water; while in the month of March alone, over 407,000,000 gal. of water were pumped from the mine.

Jan 1, 1917

By J. David Lowell

For the first time in several years, Chile is again opening its doors to foreign investment. In its new investment code, the Chilean government has announced its willingness to become a partner in joint Chilean-foreign projects for a number of government-controlled porphyry copper deposits at the developed, semi-developed, or prospect stage; and, that it will allow privately owned deposits or deposits discovered by new exploration to be developed with up to 100% foreign ownership. Three deposits of particular interest are: El Abra, with at least 300 million mt of +100% Cu; Los Pelambres, with at least 428 million mt of 0.78% Cu and 0.03% Mo; and Andacollo, with 350 million mt of 0.70% Cu and 0.015% Mo. (El Abra is almost entirely government- controlled; but both Los Pelambres and Andacollo are mostly under private ownership.)

Jan 11, 1974

By Gary E. Melickian

Last year's review was characterized as a year of politics and began an era of legislation. The 1972 review can be similarly characterized, with even more rigid health and safety regulations and environmental legislation. The mining industry should be aware of what's happening in the nuclear power and other fields as a result of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, where the environmental impact of most major construction activities are already under close scrutiny. Section 102 of NEPA requires that all federal agencies include a detailed statement on specified environmental conditions as part of every report on proposed actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. All such environmental reports must consider the same general conditions: • The environmental impact of the proposed action. • Any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented. • Alternatives to the proposed action. • The relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity. • Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented.

Jan 2, 1973

By E. C. Patton

Jan 1, 1947

By E. C. Patton

Jan 1, 1947

Calendar of Events

Jan 11, 1961

By R. P. Brown

To gain some idea of the progress recently made in the measurement of high temperatures, we must review the temperature-measuring devices of the past. As far back as 1782, Wedgewood, a famous potter in England, attempted to measure his, kiln temperatures by means of clay trials, or test pieces, that indicated the expansion or contraction that occurred with certain changes in temperature. He also produced cones off clay, formed of various mixes, to form a whole series for the range of temperature met with, in firing clay products. These cones are still extensively used to measure kiln temperatures in the pottery industry. Cones are affected not only by time but by temperature and the rate, of firing, consequently, they are not an accurate measure of temperature. In addition it has been common practice for years to attempt to measure temperatures with fusible salts. Capsules of these are inserted in the furnace and indicate, by melting; when a certain temperature, has been attained. While' such salts cannot be considered a precision form of temperature-measuring device, they have proved reasonably accurate in checking temperature.

Jan 9, 1919

By Paul Foote

The temperature of a material may be ascertained by measurement of the intensity of the radiant energy it emits. This measurement may refer to the radiation of all wave lengths emitted by the material, or, if the material is glowing, the measurement may refer to the visible light emitted, or to the radiation in n very restricted portion of the visible spectrum. In general, the intensity of radiation depends not alone upon the temperature of the source, but, also upon its nature. Thus, glowing carbon appears to the eye about three times as bright as glowing platinum, at the same temperature. This is technically expressed by saying that the emissive power or emissivity of carbon is about three times that of platinum. A material having the highest theoretically possible emissivity is known as a "black body;" it is customary to assign a numerical value of 1 to the emissivity of a black body. A black body is experimentally realized by uniformly heating a hollow enclosure and observing the radiation coming from a small opening in the wall. The intensity of radiation emitted from this opening depends only on the temperature of the walls, and not on the material of which they are constructed. If E is the emissivity of any non-transparent material and R is its reflection coefficient, it can be shown that E + R, = 1. If a material having an emissivity of, say, 0.40, and hence a reflection coefficient of 0.60, is placed inside a black body it becomes indistinguishable from its Surroundings, because the total intensity of radiation leaving the material is the same as that emitted by the black body. While the material actually emits only 40 per cent of the intensity of a black body at the same temperature, 60 per cent. of the radiation falling upon it from the walls of the enclosure is reflected. However, if the material is removed from the black body and placed in the open air, the reflected intensity is no longer present and the object appears but 40 per cent. as bright as a black body at the same temperature.

Jan 8, 1919

By J. Volney Lewis

The following paper is based chiefly on work done for the North Carolina Geological Survey, and is presented here by permission of Professor J. A. Holmes, State Geologist. It represents, in a very general way, the field-results obtained during the summer months of 1893, and 1894, and part of 1895; and the portions pertaining to North Carolina are, to a certain extent, abstracts of a report shortly to be published as Bulletin No. 11 of the State Survey. Less emphasis, however, is here laid on the petrographic descriptions of the peridotites, and more detailed treatment is given to subjects pertaining to methods of mining, cleaning, and utilization of the commercial product, corundum. Some of the most extensive fields for investigation which this subject presents have been scarcely more than suggested.

Jan 1, 1896