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The following description is based on the film's narrative script: The film opens with a description of the terrain--tens of thousands of yearly snows compressed into glacial ice, stretching further than the eye can see. A single massive frozen cap--1 812 992 km2 (700 thou- sand sq miles) covering most of the land mass of the world's largest island, christened strangely enough--Greenland. Greenlanders comprise more than two-thirds of the 40 thousand Danish subjects who brave the elements in the Arctic Circle. Along the coastal fringe where the Gulf Stream sheds its last vestige of tropical warmth to temper Greenland summers, tiny villages survive In virtual isolation. Jagged fjords and creeping glaciers are barriers to conventional communication. There are no roads through the year-round ice. Yet, when there is wealth in the land, there are people to tame it, harnessing those unrelenting forces of nature if they can building and surviving in spite of them if they must. Near the tiny site of Marmorilik in west Greenland a gathering of men from places more benign came to challenge a sheer, frozen rock named Black Angel Mountain to tap a deposit of lead and zinc ore. As far back as the 19301s, surface investigation showed zinc and lead sulfides in the vicinity. In the mid-60's mountaineering geological examinations were made and deep-hole drilling, directed by Cominco Ltd., of Canada, confirmed the presence of an ore body, 600 m (2000 ft) above the fjord. These findings led to the formation In 1965 of Greenex A/S, a'Danish company with principal offices in Copenhagen. A utilization con- cession, with rigorous safety standards and environmental controls to

Jan 1, 1977

By Eli T. Conner

WITH Thomas G. Fear, chairman of the Coal Di- vision, presiding, the coal miners opened their program Monday morning with a general session at which three papers were presented. The first, "The Classification of Coal for Stationary Steam Generation," was presented by the author, Thomas W. Harris, Jr. In discussion, H. T. Coates inquired if it would not be possible to pick out a geographical coal section, certain seams or a group of mines, which would rank high in a desired feature or features, perhaps giving different -- - local sections or different mines something to designate a rating ("good," "fair," and "poor"). This might be done relative to anti-clinkering, free-burning, ,anti-slagging, smokelessness, friability and grindability. These might be listed or arranged on a map or diagram so that the prospective customer could find a coal that rated particularly high in desired characteristics. C. A. Reed pointed out, in part, that coal producers and sellers have found a bad but necessarily present condition in the country, especially with the smaller user of coal. This is entirely due to the fact that the employer expects his purchasing representative to be a genius and have expert knowledge of everything he buys, coal included, whereas in the larger plants he has and uses expert knowledge from the active organization when necessary. J. B. Morrow said that size rating was important in classifying coal and he emphasized that it was impossible to come to a definite basis on analysis alone.

Jan 1, 1933

Map

Jan 1, 1957

By J. V. W. REYNDERS

THE principal manganese deposit of Russia, I one of the four principal sources of the world's supply, lies on the southern slope of the Caucasus Mountains, in what is now the Republic of Georgia, district of Sharopan. Tchiatouri, the principal town, is midway between Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, and Poti, the shipping port on the Black Sea, about 130 " miles distant. The deposit can be most easily visualized by thinking of a nearly horizontal coal seam about 6 ft. thick, outcropping on the slopes about 600 ft. above the Kvirila River. One of the accompanying illustrations shows the river, which nearly bi- sects the district, of approximately 50 sq. miles in area, and with its tributary streams makes the topography rugged, while in the background are the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus range. Another of the illustrations gives a closer view of the outcrop. The roof and floor of the deposit are good, so the methods of working are quite similar to working a coal seam, especially as most of the mineral is soft enough to be mined with a pick. Little machinery is used, except small cars for underground transportation.

Jan 1, 1926

By AIME AIME

YOU can place an exclamation point after the "and How" if you want to, but the way it stands it sum¬marizes the Mining Geology sessions quite nicely; "Why" in the morning, "How" in the afternoon. It is altogether fitting that Prof. McLaughlin and Reno Sales, who have themselves achieved enviable reputations in company work, should have led the program by presenting informally a chapter from the volume dedicated to the beloved dean of all economic geologists, Waldemar Lindgren. In opening the morning session, over which Sydney Ball presided, Donald McLaughlin emphasized the continuous role mining geology should play in operating technique. He pointed out the importance of structural relations in a broad sense, and the preponderant role they play in developing the manner of ore occurrences. He illustrated this by an account of the work at Homestake, using slides to show the stratigraphic sequence, the folding, and the orebodies of that camp. An interesting piece of detail was the distinction they found could be made be¬tween the chlorite near the ore masses, and that in the country rocks. Whether the cummingtonite, characteristic of the rock in which the ore is found, is of regional or of contact metamorphic origin caused some discussion. Dr. Lindgren inclined to the belief that it was contact, but L. C. Graton replied that they had found the weight of evidence was for a hydrothermal origin. D. F. Hewett raised the question as to whether, in the advancing development of the mining industry, there was still a place for the U. S. Survey geologist, and the consensus seemed to be that there should be. His role is changing from that of mapping mining districts in detail, now the task of the companies, towards a more general serving of the industry through the wider perspective his work gives him in contradistinction to the greater detail of knowledge accumulated by the resident geologist.

Jan 1, 1933

By Stanley C. Herold

TWENTY-FIVE years ago no distinction was made between water wells and oil wells except in the nature of the fluid produced. Water wells usually showed no decline in their rate of production; when oil wells showed decline something in the manner of handling them was considered wrong. Both water and oil were believed to be subject to the same physical laws in their underground movement toward the wells. Today a sharp distinction is made between them. Whereas water exists alone in the porous formations at depth, oil is usually accompanied by gas. This mixture does not behave as a liquid alone. It is a frothy, seething mass of foam which approaches and enters the wells. Different physical laws come into play. Twenty-five years ago attention was directed entirely to the well itself; today the well is accepted as a mere hole in the ground, a hole to be equipped properly for efficient service, yet without any value whatever unless it is backed up by a sufficiently prolific reservoir. Then, we were concerned with wells alone, 3000 ft. in depth; now commercial wells and their reservoirs are 10.000 ft. deep. Petroleum engineering concepts have necessarily therefore undergone a change in this last quarter century. What are they today?

Jan 1, 1937

By REED H. HYDE

IN these days of low metal prices and difficult marketing conditions, any treatment that will improve the grade of a product is of interest, particularly when the operation involves little or no addition to the total cost and may even result in a marketable by-product. Such a' combination of circumstances exists, in some cases, in the zinc industry, where it has been found that certain impurities can be removed from .the ore during the Dwight-Lloyd sintering operation, previous to reduction to metal. Consequently it is not surprising that zinc smelters having these sintering machines are paying particular attention to this phase of the operation. Loss of zinc as fume is very low under the conditions obtaining in sintering zinc ores, but impurities such as cadmium and lead are more readily fumed off and it is on this fact that the purification is based. As a result of preferential volatilization of these impurities a sintered product' is made from which purer zinc metal or oxide can be produced, while the fume may be collected and treated to recover the impurity metals. To be effective the operation must be carefully conducted, but no special equipment other than that of a well designed Dwight. Lloyd plant is needed.

Jan 1, 1931

By J. Wes Blakely

In the mid-1950s the importation of foreign oil began to encroach on traditional coal markets such as railroad steam engine fuel, home heating, electrical generating plants, and others. Many of the smaller coal companies with substantial coal reserves subsequently found that they could no longer continue to mine economically and merged in various ways with larger established coal mining concerns. As the seats of top management and authority were removed from the mines to large metro centers such as New York, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, the more personal relationship between mine workers and management that had existed prior to these mergers began to be eroded and replaced by "remote control" mine management. The disappearance of this face-to-face contact of upper management with mine employees tended to create barriers blocking simple effective communications between coal mine management and labor. In examining the human relations aspects of the coal mining industry, many elements, some concerned with work and others not, have depicted the industry as almost devoid of good applied human relations and communications practices, and, in truth, little has been done to alleviate this situation. In past years many coal producing companies, with the exception of one of the largest, failed to adequately define the term "communications ' as it applied to their companies, whether internally or externally. Internally many still place heavy reliance on written communications such as company-wide newspapers to do the job of communicating with their employees which they feel ought to be done. One company puts an inordinate belief in its company "newspaper" as the primary instrument to stimulate its work force into increasing productivity. Primarily aimed at the workers, who greatly outnumber the salaried administrative people, this publication mainly documents the fortunes of individual mine workers who are felt to have achieved something with their lives, e.g., a mine worker who had managed to put four children through universities, the

Jan 1, 1981

By Robert M. Betts

The Cornucopia district is situated in northeastern Oregon 25 miles from the Snake River branch of the Oregon Short Line R.R. and 75 miles northeast of Baker City, in the Wallowa Mountains. The formation is principally granodiorite, which has intruded much older rocks locally known as greenstone, and which are probably altered schists. In the upper horizons of the veins, greenstone is found as inclusions in the granitic mass. Both of these formations have been cut by numerous basalt, aplite, and porphyry dikes. Veins of the district are the result of faulting and the consequent crushing of the wall rock. The ore has been deposited irregularly along these faults and formed a lenticular type of vein. The ore varies in width from a few inches to 20 ft.; the average stoping width is about 5 ft. As the basaltic dikes are subsequent to the ore deposition, they are at times a hindrance in development and mining operations; on the other hand, a dike which has followed a vein as a line of least resistance often serves as a good mall in place of the crushed, rather loose granite. The veins generally strike northeast-southwest and dip about 35" to the west. Orebodies are from 100 to 300 ft. in length and about the same in height. The lenses are irregular; inclusions of wall rock are common in the ore and are a factor in reducing the grade. The ores are quartz, carrying some free gold near the surface, but the metals for the most part are in iron sulfides, sometimes associated with chalcopyrite. The gold and silver are in a mechanical combination with the iron, which requires find grinding to liberate them. The ratio of silver to gold is 5 to 1, by weight. Development The Cornucopia Mines Co. owns, and operated until 1920, two mines and two mills of 100 tons capacity each. The sustained high costs and labor shortage, however, necessitated the abandoning of the Union mine, the oldest in the district. Two crosscut tunnels were then started, first, to cut the Last Chance vein at a much lower horizon and, second, to prospect two parallel veins. The ore from the Last Chance vein will go to the old Union mill and the ore from the new veins to the Last Chance mill.

Jan 1, 1925

By Edward Hart

Having occasion several years since to make ferrous sulphide, I attempted to do so by fusing a mixture of coal-brasses (FeS2) and dried ferrous sulphate. A very nice-looking sulphide was obtained; but on attempting to use it, I found that it was insoluble in dilute hydrochloric and sulphuric acids. The subject was laid aside at the time, but has since been taken up; and some curious results have been obtained, which I believe are new. I have made the material by all of the following methods and the product seems to be pretty much the same, however obtained : (a) FeS2 heated to fusion. (b) FeS2, and FeSO4 heated to fusion. (c) FeS2, and Fe2O3 heated to fusion. (d) FeS2, and FeCO3, heated to fusion. (e) FeSO4, and S heated to fusion. (f) Fe2O3 and S heated to fusion. Obtained in this way the mass after cooling breaks easily and is very nearly black in color. On the upper surface of the fused cake the color is generally reddish or brownish black. When this is treated with dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, it refuses to dissolve; but if touched with the point of a file or any piece of wrought-iron, solution of the sulphide takes place with the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen. If the iron is removed the evolution of gas ceases, and only begins again when the iron is again brought into contact with the fused sulphide. The same thing happens if the iron is connected with the sulphide by means of a platinum wire. But in all the samples of fused sulphide I have obtained, if the iron is allowed to remain in contact with the sulphide for a certain time (which varies with different samples of the fused sulphide) and is then removed, solution of the sulphide continues. Zinc, tin, and magnesium have the same effect as iron. In hydrochloric acid aluminium acts more rapidly even than iron. In sulphuric acid it has little if any effect. Copper in HCl, when brought in contact with the fused sulphide, dissolves quietly without evolution of gas. The solution of copper chloride formed becomes,as it flows down over the sulphide, converted into copper sulphide.

Jan 1, 1887

The following correspondence relating to a paper bearing the above title, presented by J. F. Wolff, at the New York meeting in February, 1917, and published in the Transactions, Volume LVI, page 142, has passed between the author of the paper, and Mr. Anson G. Betts, and is interesting, although it was received much too late for incorporation in its proper place in Volume LVI. ANSON CT. BETTS, Asheville, N. C.-1. I should like to ask Mr. Wolff if he finds-from analysis of the iron formation and of the iron ore, and from the relative amounts of each in each unit area of the formation, unleached and after leaching, that the iron remains entirely insoluble and the total quantity still remains present; or whether he finds that some of the iron is removed, or possibly even added by deposition from the water passing through the formation. 2. The water that passed into the iron formation had to go somewhere; was it absorbed by underlying formations through hydration, or, after passing through the ore formation, did it come to the surface in springs at a lower elevation, or how did it escape from the ground? 3. I should like to ask Mr. Wolff whether he finds that the iron formation in the sedimentary series does not, come next to the quartzites and generally between the quartzites and slates. J. F. WOLFF, Duluth, Minn.-1. In common with others, you appear to have some hesitancy in accepting the fact of the removal, by solution, of the enormous quantity of silica which has been leached out of portions of the Biwabik iron formation, thus forming orebodies of merchantable iron ore. I believe that even Dr. Waldemar Lindgren once hesitated to accept this fact. However, the evidence is so simple and absolutely conclusive that the fact is established beyond all question. At the contact of orebodies with their rock walls, the bands of iron ore in the orebody can be seen in contact with the corresponding bands of original iron oxide in the rock wall, and the chert layers in the rock wall can be seen to give place to fine granular material (fine silica and iron oxide) and pore space. This is especially noticeable where slumping at the rock walls his not been so great as to displace the layers in the orebody from their contact with their corresponding layers in the rock wall.

Jan 9, 1918

By George Watkin Evans

The need for mechanization in coal mining wherever it can be successfully introduced is evident when we take into account the fact that during recent years the coal-mine employee's wages have increased and his hours have been shortened. Coal is no longer King, and a brief study of statistics covering the production of coal, petroleum and natural gas and the development of water power will convince anyone that coal has had very powerful competitors during the past 10 years. Petroleum production in the United States between 1918 and 1936 increased from 100 per cent to 309 per cent. Water power increased from 100 per cent in 1918 to 270 per cent in 1936. Bituminous coal slipped from 100 per cent in 1918 to 75 per cent in 1936. The anthracite industry slipped from 100 per cent in 1918 to 50 per cent in 1932, but climbed to 55 per cent in 1936. In 1918, the State of Washington produced a little over four million tons of coal and the production of California oil, at that time, was a little less than one hundred million barrels per year. By 1929 the production of California oil had increased to a little over 292,000,000 bbl. or nearly 300 per cent as compared with 1918. By 1934 the production of coal in the state of Washington had dropped to about 1 1/3 millions of tons per year. Our neighbors in British Columbia had their coal production reduced from a little over 2 1/2 million tons in 1920 to less than 1 1/3 million in 1933. The North western Improvement Co., a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railroad Co., owns coal properties in various parts of Washington and Montana. The Northern Pacific is one of the very few railroads using any considerable quantity of coal in its operations. Practically all of the American railroads in the Pacific Northwest, except the Northern Pacific, are using cheap California fuel oil or electricity. This problem, of course, is not a new one in coal mining, and all of the progressive coal companies in the country have tried to meet competition from an overproduction of petroleum and an overproduction of natural gas as well as enlarged developments of hydroelectric plants.

Jan 1, 1938

By George Watkin Evans

The need for mechanization in coal mining wherever it can be successfully introduced is evident when we take into account the fact that during recent years the coal-mine employee's wages have increased and his hours have been shortened. Coal is no longer King, and a brief study of statistics covering the production of coal, petroleum and natural gas and the development of water power will convince anyone that coal has had very powerful competitors during the past 10 years. Petroleum production in the United States between 1918 and 1936 increased from 100 per cent to 309 per cent. Water power increased from 100 per cent in 1918 to 270 per cent in 1936. Bituminous coal slipped from 100 per cent in 1918 to 75 per cent in 1936. The anthracite industry slipped from 100 per cent in 1918 to 50 per cent in 1932, but climbed to 55 per cent in 1936. In 1918, the State of Washington produced a little over four million tons of coal and the production of California oil, at that time, was a little less than one hundred million barrels per year. By 1929 the production of California oil had increased to a little over 292,000,000 bbl. or nearly 300 per cent as compared with 1918. By 1934 the production of coal in the state of Washington had dropped to about 1 1/3 millions of tons per year. Our neighbors in British Columbia had their coal production reduced from a little over 2 1/2 million tons in 1920 to less than 1 1/3 million in 1933. The North western Improvement Co., a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railroad Co., owns coal properties in various parts of Washington and Montana. The Northern Pacific is one of the very few railroads using any considerable quantity of coal in its operations. Practically all of the American railroads in the Pacific Northwest, except the Northern Pacific, are using cheap California fuel oil or electricity. This problem, of course, is not a new one in coal mining, and all of the progressive coal companies in the country have tried to meet competition from an overproduction of petroleum and an overproduction of natural gas as well as enlarged developments of hydroelectric plants.

Jan 1, 1938

By Joseph J. Becker

RECENTLY the "oriented growth" hypothesis of recrystallization textures has been receiving considerable attention. According to this view, "whenever a new generation of grains is growing in a highly oriented matrix . . . one may assume . . . that from among available nuclei of a great variety of orientations those with suitable orientation relationship with respect to the matrix have by far the highest rate of growth (oriented growth) and will, therefore, predominate."' This statement includes primary recrystallization of single crystals and of polycrystalline materials showing strong deformation textures as particular cases. While the phenomenon of oriented growth undoubtedly does operate, and may be of importance in coarsening or secondary recrystallization, the writer feels that its extension to primary recrystallization is a different matter. Several aspects of this phenomenon may be pointed out which are difficult to rationalize on the basis of oriented growth. In recrystallizing deformed single crystals of alpha brass, Maddin, Mathewson, and Hibbard2 found that the twin composition planes of the recrystallized grains were parallel to the three operative slip planes they observed, and not to the fourth octahedral plane. The writer's current work seems to indicate further that when only one or two slip systems can be seen to operate, the recrystallized grains are aligned only with those slip planes actually observed. This behavior could hardly be accounted for by oriented growth, because on the latter basis the recrystallized texture of a deformed single crystal should certainly have the same symmetry as the crystal itself. Growth rates could not be expected to distinguish between crystallogra- phically equivalent directions, unless the presence of a visible slip system vastly increases the growth rate in the appropriate direction. This seems unlikely. These relationships were observed by the writer only when considerable care had been exercised before annealing to etch away the effects of cutting out the centers of tensile specimens with a jeweler's saw and to etch off the ends of compression specimens. When these.precautions were not taken, nu-cleation inevitably appeared to occur at the saw cuts or at the ends, and the resulting orientations never showed a [111] rotation but appeared quite random. The provision of many nuclei of many orientations did not enhance the correlation, but destroyed it. Recrystallization textures are sometimes strongly dependent on annealing temperature, which would imply that the anisotropy of growth rates is a suddenly varying function of temperature. This might be regarded as unlikely. Recrystallization textures can be strongly dependent on the degree of deformation. If textures are to be explained by selective growth from among nuclei of all orientations, it is difficult to see how the recrystallization process could have any dependence whatever on the manner or degree of deformation. It is felt that the above points should be considered before the oriented growth hypothesis is applied to primary recrystallization, with the necessary complete divorce of the mechanism of recrystallization from the details of the deformation process. References 1P. A. Beck and H. Hu: Reply to discussion of their paper on Recrystallization Texture and Coarsening Texture in High Purity Aluminum. Trans. AIME, 188, 1057; Journal oF Metals (Aug. 1950) TP 29083. 'R. Maddin, C. H. Mathewson, and W. R. Hibbard, Jr.: The Origin of Annealing Twins in Brass. Trans. AIME, 185, 655; Journal of Metals (Sept. 1949) TP 26763.

Jan 1, 1952

By David Moskowitz, Ira Binder, Robert Steinitz

THE hard refractory borides of the transition elements of the 4th, 5th, and 6th groups of the Periodic System have been the subject of a number of recent investigations.'-' It is well known now that most of these elements form several different borides, and Kiessling8 has summarized the rules which govern to some extent the arrangements of the boron atoms in the various structures. Melting points of a few borides have been published." The systems Fe-B, Ni-B, and Co-B have been reported," but, as these borides are rather low melting, they are outside of the groups of boron compounds considered here. Brewer' has tested the stability of various borides and estimated a number of eutectic temperatures between different borides, but in no case was the complete system of a transition metal and boron investigated. The phase diagram becomes of special importance if the preparation of the borides from the elements in powdered form is considered; the lowest eutectic temperature will determine the first appearance of a liquid phase. Also, the knowledge of high temperature phases, if they exist, is important for the preparation of bodies from these borides by hot pressing or sintering. During the investigation of various metal borides,7 it was found that there were more boride phases existing in the Mo-B system than reported by Kiessling." They occur, however, only at temperatures above 1500°C and were, therefore, not found by him. This led to a study of the equilibrium diagram of the Mo-B system. ranging from 0 to 25 pct B and from room temperature to the liquidus. Part of this investigation was reported during the "Research in Progress" session at the 1952 Annual Meeting of the AIME.11 Raw Materials and Preparation of the Borides The raw materials used were commercial molybdenum and boron powder, both supplied by the Molybdenum Corp. of America. The molybdenum powder was 99+ pct pure? while the boron powder contained about 83 to 85 pct B. A large percentage of the impurities in this powder was oxygen, with the rest formed by iron, calcium, and unknown substances. The low purity of the boron used was, however, not considered detrimental to the final product, as most of the impurities evaporated at the high temperatures at which the borides were formed. The final product always had a minimum purity of 96 to 98 pct (figured as molybdenum and boron), with carbon, iron, and probably oxygen being the remaining products. Carbon is usually present as graphite. The chemical analyses always confirmed the compositions which corresponded to the crystallographic structures as determined by X-ray diffraction, and the boron content of the finished product agreed closely with that of the starting mixture; no boron was lost during the boride preparation. The chemical analysis methods employed for molybdenum and boron were previously described by Blumenthal.12,13 The powders were mixed by hand in the desired proportions, compressed at room temperature under low pressure, and then heated under hydrogen to about 1500" to 1700°C in a graphite crucible to form the borides. Usually, the three well-known borides Mo,B, MOB, and Mo,B,, which are stable at room temperatures, were prepared in this way, and all other compositions were made by mixing these borides in various ratios or by the addition of molybdenum or boron powders for the very low or very high boron contents. Preparation of two-phase compositions directly from the elemental powders was tried only occasionally to check whether equilibrium could be reached in this way. Experimental Procedures The stable borides were mixed in the desired ratios and heated under hydrogen in graphite crucibles to various temperatures. The well insulated crucibles were heated in a high frequency induction furnace. Special care was taken to obtain exact temperature measurement, which proved much more difficult than originally anticipated. It is believed that individual temperature measurements have an error of less than ±25ºC, while melting or transformation temperatures are accurate within ±50°C. The temperatures were measured with an optical pyrometer which was aimed at the closed end of a graphite tube extending down into the crucible. close to the samples. Attempts to measure directly through the hydrogen exit stack failed. The crucible arrangement is shown in Fig. 1. Heating was done at a slow rate to be sure that the temperature inside the crucible was uniform. The specimens were kept at the final temperature for about 30 min. For the investigation of high temperature phases, some samples were quenched. They were heated, without atmosphere protection, in a very small graphite crucible which could be rapidly removed from the high frequency coil, and dropped into water. These quenched samples were afterwards annealed to establish the equilibrium at lower temperatures. The melting points or the positions of the solidus and liquidus lines were determined by heating the specimens to various temperatures and examining them at room temperature for evidence of a liquid phase. These results were checked later on by thermal arrest curves, especially to determine the exact position of the eutectic temperature line. For this purpose about 200 g of the boride were melted in a graphite crucible, in an arrangement similar to Fig. 1. Slow cooling was assured by very good

Jan 1, 1953

By C. E. Lesher

THIS paper reports a study of the reactivity of 950°F and 1650°F cokes as measured by relative rates of reduction of iron oxides at temperatures up to 2200°F. Previous work cited shows general acceptance of the theory that reduction by carbon is a gaseous reaction, and that kind and character of carbon as well as particle size have measurable effect on the velocity of reaction. As will be shown, the data obtained in this study confirm those conclusions. The work was not designed to examine iron oxide reduction equilibrium, but if reaction velocity be defined as the speed with which "a reaction tends to approach conditions of equilibrium," the data here presented may be considered as a study of reaction rates, and the relative degree of reduction to metallic iron as the measure of reactivity. Three standardized combinations of Lake Superior brown iron ore with carbon were tested by similar procedures. One combination was a mechanical mixture of carefully sized high-temperature coke (1650°F) with the ore. The second was a mechanical mixture of the ore with Disco* obtained by carbonizing the identical coal at 950 °F. The third was an agglomerate prepared by carbonizing the coal and ore at 950°F, premixed in proportions to give as nearly as possible the same relative amounts of carbon and ore as the mechanical mixtures. This agglomerate, obtained by heating the finely divided ore (through 30 mesh) with coking coal through the plastic temperature range so as to form solid aggregates, gives a product in which the oxide particles are impregnated with, and intimately bound together with low-temperature coke. The agglomerate-—ore-Disco—was most active in oxide reduction; the mechanical mixtures of Disco and ore next in order, with coke the least reactive. General Discussion: Carbon exists in many forms and it is well known that the form or nature of the carbon used in reduction of oxides is related to the critical temperature of reduction. Sugar carbon, charcoal, and lampblack are forms of carbon that will reduce oxides at lower temperatures than high-temperature coke, and coke will, in turn, give a lower critical reduction temperature than graphite. There have been many investigations of this characteristic of carbons. Johnson' reported a difference of 130°F (70°C) in the critical reduction temperature of zinc oxide as between charcoal 1891 °F (1033°C) and Acheson graphite turnings 2021°F (1105°C) with zinc oxide. Bodenstein2 using charcoal and coke, found a difference of 138°F (77°C) comparing an experimental figure of 2066°F (1130°C) for coke and 1928°F (1053°C) for charcoal, in the reduction of zinc oxide. He concluded that this is very marked and observed that the "type of carbon merely raises or lowers the temperature at which rapid reaction takes place." Comparing the effectiveness of types of carbon in reduction of zinc oxide, it was found that a "brown coal coke" gave 97 pct zinc elimination at 1832°F (1000°C), as compared with 48 pct with "hard coal coke."' A wide range of metallic oxides was studied by Tammann and Sworykin,4 who found that the temperature at which decomposition of oxides begins depends on the nature of the carbon used. Carbon in the form of graphite, lampblack, and sugar carbon was investigated. Sugar charcoal will reduce Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 at 842°F (450°C) as compared with 1112°F (600°C) for coke, according to Meyer." Direct reduction of iron oxides by charcoal begins at 1382°F (750°C), but "first becomes intense" at 1652°F (900°C), whereas with coke, direct reduction begins at 1742°F (950°C), and "first becomes appreciable" at 2012°F (1100°C).6 he total reduction of the sample under certain conditions when heated in a current of CO with charcoal was about 100 pct for limonite and about 77 pct for magnetite. Using coke under the same conditions, the respective percentages were 75 and 47. In a study of processes for sponge iron7 by the Bureau of Mines, the conclusion was reached that a low-temperature char from noncoking subbituminous coal is the most satisfactory solid reducing agent. In a critical study of zinc smelting from a theoretical viewpoint Maier8 concluded that the reduction is by CO, that the reaction between ZnO and CO is intrinsically more rapid than the subsequent reduction of CO2 by C, which is limited by diffusion rates, which in part effectively limits the smelting process. Maier said that the operation is improved with the activity of the reducing carbon. An active carbon, he said, is one maintaining a low CO, content in the retort. Reactivity of Carbon: One form of carbon is more potent in reducing oxides than another. A carbon that reacts faster than another at a given temperature is said to be more reactive. Reactivity is measured by several methods, using carbon dioxide, air, or steam as reactants.9 ebastian and Mayers" have developed a method for the determination of absolute reaction rates between coke and oxygen by a study of ignition points under certain conditions. These and other investigators have established the relative reactivity of types of carbon. Lignite, charcoal, bituminous coal, cokes in the ascending order

Jan 1, 1951

By C. E. Lesher

THIS paper reports a study of the reactivity of 950°F and 1650°F cokes as measured by relative rates of reduction of iron oxides at temperatures up to 2200°F. Previous work cited shows general acceptance of the theory that reduction by carbon is a gaseous reaction, and that kind and character of carbon as well as particle size have measurable effect on the velocity of reaction. As will be shown, the data obtained in this study confirm those conclusions. The work was not designed to examine iron oxide reduction equilibrium, but if reaction velocity be defined as the speed with which "a reaction tends to approach conditions of equilibrium," the data here presented may be considered as a study of reaction rates, and the relative degree of reduction to metallic iron as the measure of reactivity. Three standardized combinations of Lake Superior brown iron ore with carbon were tested by similar procedures. One combination was a mechanical mixture of carefully sized high-temperature coke (1650°F) with the ore. The second was a mechanical mixture of the ore with Disco* obtained by carbonizing the identical coal at 950 °F. The third was an agglomerate prepared by carbonizing the coal and ore at 950°F, premixed in proportions to give as nearly as possible the same relative amounts of carbon and ore as the mechanical mixtures. This agglomerate, obtained by heating the finely divided ore (through 30 mesh) with coking coal through the plastic temperature range so as to form solid aggregates, gives a product in which the oxide particles are impregnated with, and intimately bound together with low-temperature coke. The agglomerate-—ore-Disco—was most active in oxide reduction; the mechanical mixtures of Disco and ore next in order, with coke the least reactive. General Discussion: Carbon exists in many forms and it is well known that the form or nature of the carbon used in reduction of oxides is related to the critical temperature of reduction. Sugar carbon, charcoal, and lampblack are forms of carbon that will reduce oxides at lower temperatures than high-temperature coke, and coke will, in turn, give a lower critical reduction temperature than graphite. There have been many investigations of this characteristic of carbons. Johnson' reported a difference of 130°F (70°C) in the critical reduction temperature of zinc oxide as between charcoal 1891 °F (1033°C) and Acheson graphite turnings 2021°F (1105°C) with zinc oxide. Bodenstein2 using charcoal and coke, found a difference of 138°F (77°C) comparing an experimental figure of 2066°F (1130°C) for coke and 1928°F (1053°C) for charcoal, in the reduction of zinc oxide. He concluded that this is very marked and observed that the "type of carbon merely raises or lowers the temperature at which rapid reaction takes place." Comparing the effectiveness of types of carbon in reduction of zinc oxide, it was found that a "brown coal coke" gave 97 pct zinc elimination at 1832°F (1000°C), as compared with 48 pct with "hard coal coke."' A wide range of metallic oxides was studied by Tammann and Sworykin,4 who found that the temperature at which decomposition of oxides begins depends on the nature of the carbon used. Carbon in the form of graphite, lampblack, and sugar carbon was investigated. Sugar charcoal will reduce Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 at 842°F (450°C) as compared with 1112°F (600°C) for coke, according to Meyer." Direct reduction of iron oxides by charcoal begins at 1382°F (750°C), but "first becomes intense" at 1652°F (900°C), whereas with coke, direct reduction begins at 1742°F (950°C), and "first becomes appreciable" at 2012°F (1100°C).6 he total reduction of the sample under certain conditions when heated in a current of CO with charcoal was about 100 pct for limonite and about 77 pct for magnetite. Using coke under the same conditions, the respective percentages were 75 and 47. In a study of processes for sponge iron7 by the Bureau of Mines, the conclusion was reached that a low-temperature char from noncoking subbituminous coal is the most satisfactory solid reducing agent. In a critical study of zinc smelting from a theoretical viewpoint Maier8 concluded that the reduction is by CO, that the reaction between ZnO and CO is intrinsically more rapid than the subsequent reduction of CO2 by C, which is limited by diffusion rates, which in part effectively limits the smelting process. Maier said that the operation is improved with the activity of the reducing carbon. An active carbon, he said, is one maintaining a low CO, content in the retort. Reactivity of Carbon: One form of carbon is more potent in reducing oxides than another. A carbon that reacts faster than another at a given temperature is said to be more reactive. Reactivity is measured by several methods, using carbon dioxide, air, or steam as reactants.9 ebastian and Mayers" have developed a method for the determination of absolute reaction rates between coke and oxygen by a study of ignition points under certain conditions. These and other investigators have established the relative reactivity of types of carbon. Lignite, charcoal, bituminous coal, cokes in the ascending order

Jan 1, 1951

By G. Don Sullivan

Surface mine operators have organized a voluntary group known as the Mined-Land Conservation Conference for the specific purpose of developing and expanding reclamation programs on mined land. As a part of the Conference program, a Voluntary Industry Program was adopted and subscribed to by its membership. This program stated: "The basic approach to a sound conservation program is the restoration of mined land to its most practical and productive use within the shortest possible time . . . reclamation of mined lands, including planting to grasses or tress, should be done on a planned basis, under technical guidance by personnel trained in this field."

Jan 7, 1965

By J. Nagy, D. W. Mitchell, E. M. Murphy

In 1957 research was initiated in the U.S. Bureau of Mines experimental coal mine near Pittsburgh, Pa., to study factors affecting foam generation and transport, to evaluate the effectiveness of high-expansion foam for controlling mine fires, and to develop techniques for applying the method under U.S. mining conditions. These investigations showed that high-expansion foam containing at least 0.2 oz of water per cu ft of foam is effective in controlling experimental underground fires burning coal, wood, and oil. Sometimes the fire was completely extinguished, but more often, it was brought under sufficient control to permit either a direct attack on the fire with a stream of water or loading of the hot material into cars. A progress report' prepared in July 1958 summarized the initial achievements of the USBM experiments. Since then other phases of the foam-plug method for attacking fires have been studied in the laboratory and in the mine. Previous studies by British engineers' of the foam-plug method for fighting mine fires indicated that high-expansion foam was effective in controlling experimental timber fires in an underground passageway. Their subsequent workx-1 pertained to the practical aspects of fighting large fires within a mining area with a foam-plug. CONTROLLING EXPERIMENTAL FIRES In the USBM tests foam was formed by spraying a dilute solution of a foaming agent on a metal or cotton net of 1/8 to 1/4-in. mesh. Air passing through the continuously wetted net forms bubbles of 1/2 to 11/2-in. diam and produces a honeycomb of foam that fills the passageway. Under the ventilating-air pressure, this light-weight plug moves forward through the passageways, around sharp corners, and over obstacles. as illustrated in Fig. 1. High-expansion foam was transported to a wood fire, an oil fire, and 13 coal fires. Figs. 3 and 4 show a typical coal fire before and after attack with foam. In 12 of the 15 experiments the fire was brought under control when the water content of foam was 0.2 oz or more per cu ft. A fire was considered controlled when the flames were quenched and observers could cross the area without wearing breathing apparatus or protective clothing. In the other three experiments, conducted when the water content was less than 0.2 oz per cu ft of foam, the flames were retarded but the fire was not controlled. Coal fires have been attacked successfully by foam introduced at points varying from 155 to 1010 ft from the fire. The time of burning in coal beds 10 in. thick ranged from 11/2 to 5 hrs or more. Most of the experimental fire beds were 15 ft in length. However, in one experiment a floor fire 25 ft long and 5 ft wide was constructed $5 upwind from another fire 15 ft in length; in another instance, the fire was 100 ft long and 5 ft wide. Foam was applied to the fires for periods ranging from 7 to 36 min. The time required for foam application depends on the extent of the fire, time of burning, water content of foam, foam velocity, and degree of fire control desired. In addition to the coal fires, foam was transported to a fire covering 45 sq ft, produced by 15 gal of oil burning in metal trays on the floor. The foam extinguished the oil fire in about 1 min. In one other test, the burning of 1100 lb of dry sawmill slabs stacked in open cribs 4 ft high and 16 ft long was brought under control by foam in 2 min. Composition of Gases in Return Air: In several of the experiments samples of the return air from fire zones were collected; composition of the atmosphere before, during, and after foam application was then determined. Because of condensation in the relatively cool sampling tube, the amount of water vapor was not determined. Analyses showed that concentration of carbon dioxide and combustible gases increased as the foam began passing over the fire. This resulted from the decrease in the volume of air when foam generation started and from the formation of gases when water reached the fire.* The quantity of gases generated would not be greater than that from an equivalent amount of water applied directly to the fire. The highest total concentration of combustibles (CO, CH1, and H2 mixture) obtained during the experiment was about 2 pct; this occurred 6 min after foam reached the fire. This atmosphere was nonex-plosive, but calculations show that if the air flow were reduced to about 5 fpm and if the rate of gas liberation from the fire remained constant, the mixture would be explosive. The use of foam on a fire in all probability would affect the normal ventilation of a mine. If the mine is gassy, this factor must be carefully considered before the foam is applied. APPLICATION OF THE FOAM-PLUG TECHNIQUE IN MINES Equipment and procedures for applying the foam-plug methods must be adapted to the prevailing conditions at a particular mine. Some factors to be considered in developing equipment are: size or extent of the mine, dimensions and number of entries, ventilation system, mining methods, haulage facilities, availability of water, amount of methane liberated, and existing fire-control apparatus. • In most experiments the initial air velocity of 200 fpm decreased to 50 to 100 fpm as the foam plug increased In length.

Jan 1, 1961

By Walter R. Hibbard, Harold Margolin

DURING preliminary tests on the aging of a Cu-plus 5 pct Ag alloy,' a specimen which had been overaged 24 hr at 550°C was annealed in a nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere first for 2 hr and then for an additional 28 hr at 600°C. After each anneal the specimen was cooled to room temperature in about ½ hr and X-ray photograms were made. The first film, Fig. la, revealed two sets of copper-base lines, one intense and corresponding to the parameter at 550°C, the other fainter and shifted away from the beam, corresponding to the larger parameter at 600°C (see arrows). The 30-hr film, Fig. lb, revealed the same two sets of copper-base lines with a reversal of intensity. In neither case do the copper lines form a broad band which would be indicative of a range of compositions. This phenomenon is thus a "discontinuous" type of solution. A similar phenomenon was observed in a Ag-rich Cu-Ag alloy.' Finlay and Hibbard9 have suggested that directional rather than random solution of precipitate occurs in some alloys. Conceivably, for Cu-Ag alloys, the matrix-transition-precipitate precipitation sequence is reversible for the re-solution of the precipitate caused by rapidly raising the annealing temperature of an overaged specimen. A copper-base transition structure supersaturated with solute might be formed around the precipitate as it dissolves, thus obviating the necessity for a gradually changing solute composition of the matrix. The solute atoms then might be transferred rapidly and locally from the transition to the matrix phase in the proper amount and at the proper location to obtain directly the new ex- panded solid solution. The theory implies a minimum of diEusion of solute in the matrix (i.e., no significant range of matrix composition) and possibly suggests that the composition of the transition structure will vary with the conditions of re-solution. A transition copper phase found in aged Cu-Ag alloys1 might fulfill this function. Evidence regarding this suggestion could be obtained in Cu-Ag alloys by overaging a specimen until no trace of the expanded copper lattice is present and then subjecting the specimen to a retrogression treatment. Re-appearance of the transition copper phase would confirm the theory. Additional details could be secured by varying both aging and retrogression temperatures. References 'H. Margolin and W. R. Hibbard, Jr.: Effect of Ternary Additions on the Age Hardening of a Copper-Silver Alloy. Trans. AIME (1951) 191, p. 174; Journal of Metals (Feb. 1951) TP 3002E. 2 W. Ageew, M. Hansen, and G. Sachs: Decomposition and Changes in Properties of Super-saturated Silver-Copper Alloys. Ztsch. Physik (1930) 66, p. 350. 3W. L. Finlay and W. R. Hibbard, Jr.: Some Effects of Applied Stresses on Precipitation Phenomena. Trans. AIME (1949) 180, p. 255; Metals Technology (Sept.

Jan 1, 1952