Search Documents

By E. C. Harder

J. T. SINGEWALD, JR., Baltimore, Md.-I might say a word further in regard to the Miguel-Burnier district. I am sorry Mr. Harder is not here. I had hoped to be able to ask him a few questions in regard to some of the features of those deposits. This Miguel-Burnier district is the other district that I referred to that lies in the State of Minas Geraes. The interpretation that Mr. Harder gives to, these deposits is the same as that given by Harder' and Chamberlin in a previous paper, and that is that they consist of lenticular deposits of sedimentary origin in a series of rocks that also include lenses of limestone, but they seem to think that the manganese ores occur at a definite horizon and at a horizon different from the limestone. We found that the manganese ores occur at several horizons, as also do the limestone lenses, and the limestone masses are of the same shape as the manganese orebodies, so that our own feeling was that these manganese ores simply represent concentrations within the zone of oxidation formed as. a result of decomposition and replacement of this limestone. To the east of Miguel-Burnier there is a big bend in the railroad which cuts through, at right angles to the strike, this series of rocks. Here is shown very well both the local character of the limestone lenses and the local character of the manganese lenses in that, though the distance across the bend is only a couple of hundred yards, the limestone and. ,manganese lenses do not match up at all, and it also shows plainly that both occur at more than one horizon.. Consequently there is no reason why the manganese ore could not represent alterations of this limestone. The mine workings do not as yet give very definite information on this point in that they are all comparatively shallow and within what would be the zone of oxidation so that what they will grade into below that depth, we do not know. On the other hand, the character of the ore suggests that it may, represent such -a product in the zone of oxidation in that it tends to be quite earthy; whereas, if the manganese had been there originally as such it would have undergone the same metamorphism that the other rocks have undergone and one would have expected that it would have been converted into a hard manganese ore that would today stand out pretty much as do the iron ores of that same region and not have the soft, earthy texture which is a prevailing characteristic.

Jan 4, 1917

By A. M. Hall

Sulphur, even in small amounts, may often be harmful to nickel and high-nickel alloys, causing impairment of mechanical strength and destruction of malleability and ductility, as shown by Merica and Waltenberg.l,2 It may act either in the form of nonmetallic inclusions produced in the liquid state during furnacing or as reaction products resulting from its diffusion into the solid metal. In recognizing the action of this element, ability to identify its various forms by means of the microscope is often of considerable importance, especially when direct quantitative methods are inapplicable. Of the sulphur compounds associated with nickel and high-nickel alloys, the sulphides that may be found in malleable nickel, Monelt and Inconel are an important group. These sulphides were investi- gated by metallographic methods in order to provide descriptive data by which to identify them. The nominal compositions of malleable nickel, Monel and Inconel are given in Table I. The term "sulphide" is employed here in a very general sense, to designate a substance in which sulphur and one or more metallic elements are combined. The term includes any combinations of compounds and solid solutions. Method of Investigation Three groups of small laboratory melts were made, one group to represent each of the three types of alloy under investigation. Within each group, a number of ingots with a sufficient variety of chemical analyses were prepared so that the effect of each of the elements entering the complete commercial alloy could be isolated and observed. In most cases, to facilitate metallographic study by exaggerating the number and size of the resulting sulphides, somewhat greater amounts of the minor elements were added than are present in the commercial alloys. Likewise, considerably more sulphur was added than is normal, but not enough to complicate the system. Transverse sections were cut at a point one third of the distance from the butt to the head of each ingot, polished and examined with an inverted stage metallo-graph equipped with a combination polar -izing-analyzing vertical illuminator. The light source was a tungsten-mercury vapor arc lamp.

Jan 1, 1943

By D. M. Davidson

The drill sampling and evaluation of the Piney River ilmenite property was carried out during the early part of 1944 by E. J. Longyear Co., using the company's standard core-drill outfits to complete 44 holes to an average depth of IIO ft., from which were collected 1100 samples. The Piney River ilmenite-apatite lode is 25 miles north of Lynchburg, in Nelson and Amherst Counties, Virginia (Fig. I). Its elevation is about 900 ft. above sea level and it lies in the old pre-Cambrian complex of crystalline rocks that make up the Piedmont physiographic province lying east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The terrain is gently rolling and well watered and is drained by the Piney and Tye Rivers, which are tributary to the James. Geology The Piney River ore body comprises the upper, weathered part of a tabular basic rock, which occurs in a large area of granite-gneiss. The section containing profitable ore is about 3000 ft. long. It is separated naturally by thinning, into northeastern and southwestern segments with widths of 300 and 100 ft. respectively. The dip averages 4.5° southeast but steepens locally (Figs. 2 and 3). The unaltered rock is an even, granular mixture of feldspar, ilmenite, and apatite, to which Watson1 gave the name Nelson-ite. The decomposed ore body, which is now being exploited by open cut, is a yellowish clay material in which black ilmenite and glassy apatite are the only conspicuous minerals. An economically important structural feature of the deposit is a banding of minerals coinciding with the dip and strike of the dike. This is more pronounced in the footwall of the northeastern part of the intrusive, where there is also a higher than average concentration of ilmenite. According to Watson,' the TiO2 content of the Nelsonites of this region ranges from 10 to 42 per cent, while P205 varies from 4 to 15 per cent. It is inexpedient at present to disclose exact metal content of the Piney River ore body; suffice it to say that the average tenor lies well within the extremes noted by Watson. Sampling Methods and Procedure During a preliminary inspection of the ore body, Longyear engineers surmised that because of its soft, clayey character, drill sampling would yield little core, therefore they made all possible preparations to procure accurate samples of the drill cuttings, or sludge. The first requisite in obtaining representative drill cuttings is to secure their full recovery. Only under certain conditions, and by employing a most careful and rigid sampling technique, is this pos sible. There must be no loss of the water circulating in the hole, and the velocity

Jan 1, 1949

By A. M. Hall

Sulphur, even in small amounts, may often be harmful to nickel and high-nickel alloys, causing impairment of mechanical strength and destruction of malleability and ductility, as shown by Merica and Waltenberg.l,2 It may act either in the form of nonmetallic inclusions produced in the liquid state during furnacing or as reaction products resulting from its diffusion into the solid metal. In recognizing the action of this element, ability to identify its various forms by means of the microscope is often of considerable importance, especially when direct quantitative methods are inapplicable. Of the sulphur compounds associated with nickel and high-nickel alloys, the sulphides that may be found in malleable nickel, Monelt and Inconel are an important group. These sulphides were investi- gated by metallographic methods in order to provide descriptive data by which to identify them. The nominal compositions of malleable nickel, Monel and Inconel are given in Table I. The term "sulphide" is employed here in a very general sense, to designate a substance in which sulphur and one or more metallic elements are combined. The term includes any combinations of compounds and solid solutions. Method of Investigation Three groups of small laboratory melts were made, one group to represent each of the three types of alloy under investigation. Within each group, a number of ingots with a sufficient variety of chemical analyses were prepared so that the effect of each of the elements entering the complete commercial alloy could be isolated and observed. In most cases, to facilitate metallographic study by exaggerating the number and size of the resulting sulphides, somewhat greater amounts of the minor elements were added than are present in the commercial alloys. Likewise, considerably more sulphur was added than is normal, but not enough to complicate the system. Transverse sections were cut at a point one third of the distance from the butt to the head of each ingot, polished and examined with an inverted stage metallo-graph equipped with a combination polar -izing-analyzing vertical illuminator. The light source was a tungsten-mercury vapor arc lamp.

Jan 1, 1943

By P. Farrar, H. Margolin

The Ti-Pb diagram was investigated in the region 0 to 58 pct Pb and from 500°C to liquidus temperatures. Three reactions were encountered: I—ß?a+Ti Pb at 725 10°C; 2—ß+L?Ti4Pb at 1305+ 10°C; and 3—the possible eutectic L-+Ti,Pb and y between 1200" and 1300°C. LEAD-RICH alloys have been investigated by Nowotny and Pesl,' who used sintered compacts and studied the region from 37.5 to 100 pct Pb by X-ray diffraction analysis. The only phase found in addition to titanium and lead was the hexagonal compound Ti Pb. Alloy systems of lead with metals of the transition group, such as iron, chromium, tungsten, cobalt, nickel, or manganese, generally show little liquid or solid solubility.' Craighead et al.,3 however, indicated that lead is soluble in a and ß titanium to at least 2.1 pct. They also found that approximately 50 pct of the lead added was lost during the arc-melting of Ti-Pb alloys. In the present investigation, are-melting also was used to prepare Ti-Pb alloys and similarly large lead losses were encountered. Experimental Procedure Alloy Preparation: Considerable difficulty was encountered in the melting of the Ti-Pb alloys and a number of experiments were performed before the method described was developed. Alternate layers of lead and titanium were wrapped with titanium sheet and compacted. This "sandwich" was annealed at 300" to 350 °C and was melted according to the procedure described by Cadoff and Nielsen.' Using a low current, 150 amp, and an argon atmosphere, four to eight 10 to 20 sec melts were made on each alloy, with the button being turned over between each melt to insure homogeneity. In the high lead range, the preliminary sintering was found to be of doubtful value and was eliminated. In the region above the nominal composition of 70 wt pct Pb, the alloys prepared in this manner always consolidated into two phases. The outside appeared to be composed entirely of lead and the inside was a Ti-Pb alloy. In order to determine whether this phenomenon was caused by a miscibility gap, master alloys with a nominal composition of 40 wt pct Pb were machined and mixed with various percentages of lead sheet. This mixture was compacted and melted in the same manner as the other alloys. Although these alloys were not homogeneous, they did not show the layering that was observed

Jan 1, 1956

By D. M. Davidson

The drill sampling and evaluation of the Piney River ilmenite property was carried out during the early part of 1944 by E. J. Longyear Co., using the company's standard core-drill outfits to complete 44 holes to an average depth of IIO ft., from which were collected 1100 samples. The Piney River ilmenite-apatite lode is 25 miles north of Lynchburg, in Nelson and Amherst Counties, Virginia (Fig. I). Its elevation is about 900 ft. above sea level and it lies in the old pre-Cambrian complex of crystalline rocks that make up the Piedmont physiographic province lying east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The terrain is gently rolling and well watered and is drained by the Piney and Tye Rivers, which are tributary to the James. Geology The Piney River ore body comprises the upper, weathered part of a tabular basic rock, which occurs in a large area of granite-gneiss. The section containing profitable ore is about 3000 ft. long. It is separated naturally by thinning, into northeastern and southwestern segments with widths of 300 and 100 ft. respectively. The dip averages 4.5° southeast but steepens locally (Figs. 2 and 3). The unaltered rock is an even, granular mixture of feldspar, ilmenite, and apatite, to which Watson1 gave the name Nelson-ite. The decomposed ore body, which is now being exploited by open cut, is a yellowish clay material in which black ilmenite and glassy apatite are the only conspicuous minerals. An economically important structural feature of the deposit is a banding of minerals coinciding with the dip and strike of the dike. This is more pronounced in the footwall of the northeastern part of the intrusive, where there is also a higher than average concentration of ilmenite. According to Watson,' the TiO2 content of the Nelsonites of this region ranges from 10 to 42 per cent, while P205 varies from 4 to 15 per cent. It is inexpedient at present to disclose exact metal content of the Piney River ore body; suffice it to say that the average tenor lies well within the extremes noted by Watson. Sampling Methods and Procedure During a preliminary inspection of the ore body, Longyear engineers surmised that because of its soft, clayey character, drill sampling would yield little core, therefore they made all possible preparations to procure accurate samples of the drill cuttings, or sludge. The first requisite in obtaining representative drill cuttings is to secure their full recovery. Only under certain conditions, and by employing a most careful and rigid sampling technique, is this pos sible. There must be no loss of the water circulating in the hole, and the velocity

Jan 1, 1949

By J. B. Morrow

AMONG the most notable of Canada's many contributions to the personnel of the mining industry in the United States is J. B. Morrow, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 9, 1886. Soon after completing his schooling at Dalhousie University in 1906 he emigrated to Arizona and Kew Mexico, via Cobalt and Larder Lake, Ontario. After preliminary experience in sampling and mucking he was employed by the Phelps Dodge Corp., first as chemist at the Copper Queen smelter, then, in 1908, with the Corporation's Stag Canyon coal branch at Dawson, N. M., in various capacities fro111 chemist to coke oven and coke department superintendent, and finally as general outside superintendent. While with Phelps he had some contact with the late Dr. Douglas, of whose industrial methods he has always been a great admirer.

Jan 1, 1937

By AIME AIME

NOT a few physical metallurgists started their profession- al careers as chemists or physicists, only to surrender later to the attractions of metallurgy. The present Institute of Metals Chairman varied this more usual sequence in hat his first love was electrical engineering, when as a recent graduate he served on the staff of the General Electric Co., of Schenectady. Soon turning to metallurgy as a more interesting field, he was metallurgist and then chief engineer of the Wads- worth Watch Case Co. from 1920 to 1927. Since 1927 he has been with the International Nickel Co. at the Bayonne, N. J., research laboratories where he is staff adviser.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. W. Hesse

Ventilation of all types of coal mines is fundamentally the same, in that sufficient air must be provided to properly dilute and remove dangerous and obnoxious gases and leave the oxygen content of the air not under 1 9 per cent in all places where men and animals must work. Perhaps animals should not be mentioned, as the speed of mechanical loading leaves livestock behind and outmoded. Since this paper has to do with the influence of mechanical loading equipment on ventilation, the problems will be confined to the splits and the coal-producing places of the mine. The removal of coal dust from the air, or its rapid transmission to the return air courses; the possible increase in the liberation of gases by the multiplication of cuts in the coal made during one shift or multiple shifts; and the additional electrical equipment at the faces, are the factors that cause the added importance to good ventilation in the permissible equipment area of gassy bituminous coal mines. Ventilation tor Mechanical Loading in Gassy Mines In gassy mines, the air currents must be maintained across the faces in such a way as to prevent short cuts to the returns and leaving pockets in which accumulation of gas might occur. To do this, two or more doors are required on almost every entry containing a track to the face, so located that in no event will a trip of cars block open the doors and permit the air to bypass some place or places on the air-approach side. This method frequently requires the use of unusual lengths of duplex cables to reach the mechanical equipment at the faces, particularly where the distances between parallel working places are 100 ft., as at the Nemacolin mine. Fig. I shows a pillar section being worked with mechanical loaders. This layout requires carrying the air in on the right and releasing it on the left, because the track clearance is on the right side and the line brattice is built on this side from the last crosscut to the face. Thus, the air travels to the face with greater velocity and gives more assurance of sweeping out the gas that might be exuding from the crevices of the coal. All working places, in driving through solid coal, are thus treated alike. They are all potentially gassy and must be swept clear of whatever may contaminate the air. Once the air starts into the working section, it is not released until it does a good job. Of course the volume of air must be large enough not only to dilute the gases but to carry away explosive fumes and fine coal dust quickly. Mechanical loading entails cutting and drilling of the coal during the same working period as the loading when two-shift and three-shift operations are employed, and all three processes create finely pulverized coal, which in itself is hazardous if not controlled by some means. If the ventilation is inadequate and gas accumulates, and a spark from defective electrical

Jan 1, 1942

By A. W. Hesse

Ventilation of all types of coal mines is fundamentally the same, in that sufficient air must be provided to properly dilute and remove dangerous and obnoxious gases and leave the oxygen content of the air not under 1 9 per cent in all places where men and animals must work. Perhaps animals should not be mentioned, as the speed of mechanical loading leaves livestock behind and outmoded. Since this paper has to do with the influence of mechanical loading equipment on ventilation, the problems will be confined to the splits and the coal-producing places of the mine. The removal of coal dust from the air, or its rapid transmission to the return air courses; the possible increase in the liberation of gases by the multiplication of cuts in the coal made during one shift or multiple shifts; and the additional electrical equipment at the faces, are the factors that cause the added importance to good ventilation in the permissible equipment area of gassy bituminous coal mines. Ventilation tor Mechanical Loading in Gassy Mines In gassy mines, the air currents must be maintained across the faces in such a way as to prevent short cuts to the returns and leaving pockets in which accumulation of gas might occur. To do this, two or more doors are required on almost every entry containing a track to the face, so located that in no event will a trip of cars block open the doors and permit the air to bypass some place or places on the air-approach side. This method frequently requires the use of unusual lengths of duplex cables to reach the mechanical equipment at the faces, particularly where the distances between parallel working places are 100 ft., as at the Nemacolin mine. Fig. I shows a pillar section being worked with mechanical loaders. This layout requires carrying the air in on the right and releasing it on the left, because the track clearance is on the right side and the line brattice is built on this side from the last crosscut to the face. Thus, the air travels to the face with greater velocity and gives more assurance of sweeping out the gas that might be exuding from the crevices of the coal. All working places, in driving through solid coal, are thus treated alike. They are all potentially gassy and must be swept clear of whatever may contaminate the air. Once the air starts into the working section, it is not released until it does a good job. Of course the volume of air must be large enough not only to dilute the gases but to carry away explosive fumes and fine coal dust quickly. Mechanical loading entails cutting and drilling of the coal during the same working period as the loading when two-shift and three-shift operations are employed, and all three processes create finely pulverized coal, which in itself is hazardous if not controlled by some means. If the ventilation is inadequate and gas accumulates, and a spark from defective electrical

Jan 1, 1942

"The power development at these falls, three miles below the city of Great Falls, was made in 1891 by the original Great Falls Water Power & Townsite Company, and the Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining company, the predecessor of the Boston & Montana Reduction Department mentioned above.The dam is 746 feet long, placed a short distance above the crest of the falls, and giving an effective head, as now constructed, of from 42 to 44 feet. There are power houses on both banks, those on the south bank belong to the Great Falls Power company, the successor of the Great Falls \!\Tater Power & Townsite Company, and the Great Falls Electric properties. The water is led from the dam to these power houses through sheet iron pen-stocks the water wheels are of the horizontal turbine type, and of various sizes.The water is here carried from the dam to the power houses by an open canal or headrace, the walls of which are concrete. This headrace is 100 feet wide at the widest point. The available head was originally less than 40 feet, but this was increased to about 44 feet by means of flashboards and tailrace wall, seperating the tailrace from the main river and delivering the water to the river at a considerable distance below the power house, thus taking advantage of a considerable fall in the river below the sheer fall at Black Eagle.A total of about 12,000 horse power 1s developed at these falls, the Great Falls Power Company, and Great Falls Electric properties developing about 2,000 horse power, and the Anaconda Copper Mining Company developing the balance."

Jan 1, 1913

"The pumping of the underground water of the Butte mines is largely done from two central plants of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The mines of one part of the mining district are served by a modern and mechanically efficient underground plant at the High Ore mine, and the remaining part by a similar one at the Leonard mine. Properties not affiliated with the A. C. M. Co. have separate pumping plants, although in several instances that company handles the water of outside companies, under which arrangement costly single plants are dispensed with. An extensive system of underground crosscuts and drifts connects these mines to both the main pumping plants, so that either may receive the water from all the mines in case there should be a failure in the other to perform its designed service.Quintuple) vertical electric pumps, 7 inches by 12 inches each, of a capacity of 600 gals. per minute under a head of 1,203 feet, are installed at both the plants. Each pump is direct connected to two 150 h-p. motors using 2,300 volts, the motors being on top of the pumps.At the High Ore plant the power cable of 400,000 c. m. is placed in a nearby shaft, the cable at present being hung from the surface to the 2,200 level. From this cable feeders of 300,000 c. m. are laid in connecting crosscuts to the pumping station at the High Ore shaft.The Leonard motors use 440 volts. The practice of building the pumps with the motors on top requires stations with high roofs, but permits the operation of the pumps if they should be submerged by an unusual flow of water."

Jan 1, 1913

By AIME AIME

THE non-ferrous alloys have been placed in the same class with steel by metallurgical research on hardening, and hardenable alloys of all metals except zinc are now manufactured. The hardening of the non-ferrous alloys is accomplished by a process of heating, quenching and ageing. R. S. Dean, head of the research department of the Western Electric Co., told of the results of this research in 'a lecture on "Recent Advances in the Art and Science of Fabricating Metals," given before the Missouri Mining and Metallurgical Association on Jan. 24, 1929.

Jan 1, 1929