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By M. D. Hassialis, Arthur F. Taggart

WARK1 observed some years ago that collector-coating reactions with xanthates and with fatty acids clearly follow paths parallel to those prescribed by the familiar mass-action law for reactions in dilute solutions. He proposed, therefore, the logical hypothesis that they are governed by the solubility=product principle. However, he went astray in the application of his proposal to collector coating by overlooking the fact that coating involves a heterogeneous reaction. A mistaken concept of the meaning of the word adsorption also entered. Wark thought that the concentration of metallic ion that must be used in setting up the solubility-product equation for the coating reaction was that which could be obtained by solution of the mineral. Since this is very low for sulphide ores, and since the amount of the collector ion necessary for coating produces an extremely low concentration, the resulting ion-concentration product, under conditions when coating occurs, is much lower than that which would indicate a saturated solution of the collector-coating compound. Hence he was forced to the position that the solubility product governing the coating is much smaller than the standard solubility product. To justify this position it was necessary to postulate a coating mechanism that did not obey the ordinary laws of chemical reaction. This Wark did by adopting the concept that adsorption is a property of matter, rather than merely a more or less ephemeral local concentration thereof. Thus he says (p. 142 of ref. I): "Adsorption is not a purely physical property of the solid surface, for the specific nature of the adsorbed molecule or ion is important." The result was that he destroyed the great potential utility of his postulate by tying it to this erroneous concept in the words (pp. 142, 143): "It will be obvious that the adsorption solubility product is less than the normal solubility product." The writers have found quantitatively in the case of galena and potassium ethyl xanthate, and semiquantitatively in the case of covellite and the same collector, that the coating reaction does follow the mass-action law to the extent that coating occurs when the ordinary solubility product of the coating compound is exceeded, and that coating does not take place under the reverse conditions. In the course of the investigation leading to the establishment of this fact it was necessary to work with xanthate concentrations so low (down to 0.0004 mg. per liter), that very long conditioning times, and bubble-contact times of as much as 16 hr. were necessary sometimes to follow the reactions. The results have led to some illuminating conclusions as to necessary collector concentrations in normal flotation operations, and the action of the frothing agent in connection therewith. The experimental work comprised. accurate determination of the standard solubility product of lead ethyl xanthate, development of a much less laborious

Jan 1, 1946

Jan 1, 1894

By Leon McCulloch

WIIen clean iron and metallic zinc dust, protected from the air, arc heated below the melting point of zinc, the iron takes on a coating that has excellent protective value. This coating is a brittle alloy of zinc and iron, and the process is called sherardizing. Although the zinc particlcs are covered with oxide and cannot touch the iron, an extremcly small amount of the zinc vaporizes and the vapor, reaching the iron, alloys with it. Other zinc then vaporizes to replace that which has been removed from the atmosphere. This process continues indefinitely at a decreasing rate, for the coating already formed permits zinc to diffuse through it to combine with the iron beneath. In this way, the coating grows outward from the surface of the iron, as the bark grows from a tree. The method of growth was clcarly seen while sherardizing small cubes of cast iron, at about 450" C., in a srnall glass-stoppcrcd bottle enclosed in a rotating drum. The dust contained about 3 per cent. iron, which prevented caking, and coatings % in. thick were grown in a few hours. After a heavy layer had been formed, the cubes mere again treated for a shorter time. The layer last formed was seen to lie next to the iron, instead of at the outer surface, showing that the growth was from the surface of the iron outward. The coatings split at the edges and corners, leaving the iron exposed there. Flakes of graphite from the iron were lifted upward and embedded in the coatings. The composition of sherardized coatings varies from the outer surface inward, as would be expected from the mode of growth. That is, the iron content increases slowly at first, then more rapidly as the iron is approached. At the surface the least amount of iron possible is 6 per cent., as the experiments described below have shown. A study was made of the effect of iron in zinc dust on the proccss and on the resulting coatings. Glass bulbs, holding the small pieces to be sherardized, together with enough zinc dust to make them two-thirds full, were heated in a small, rotating electrically heated and controlled furnacc. The bulbs had 6-in. (15 cm.) necks, of 96-in. (9.Fj mm.) tubing, plugged

Jan 1, 1923

By Marvin L. Kay

In the spring of 1950, just two years after the inauguration of the domestic uranium program by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, the company entered the uranium mining and milling business through a newly formed subsidiary, Climax Uranium Co. This was the first venture into a new field of mining for Climax, which became the first old-time mining company, other than the vanadium producers, to become active in the embryo uranium industry. Twenty-five years earlier, Arthur Bunker, president of Climax Molybdenum, organized and operated the U. S. Vanadium Co. at Rifle, Colo. With this background, he viewed the budding industry of the Colorado Plateau with much interest. Upon its formation, the new subsidiary entered into a con- tract with the U. S. Government and the potential uranium-vanadium properties of Minerals Engineering Co. were assigned to Climax Uranium Co. Funds for the construction of a processing plant and working capital were advanced by Climax Molybdenum Co. The old sugar mill building of the Holly Sugar Co. in Grand Junction was leased to house the extractive plant. Construction of facilities, which were based upon a new process developed for the treatment of both uranium and vanadium ores, was completed and the mill was placed in operation early in 1951. Subsequent to that time several alterations were made and the capacity of the plant increased. In terms of recoveries, the plant has proved to be one of the most efficient on the Colorado Plateau

Aug 1, 1955

By R. J. Colony

THE failure, or disintegration, of concrete in structures, even when the cement, sand, and coarse aggregate used have passed satisfactorily all tests and inspections, is not uncommon. Such failures occur even when proper methods of mixing and placing have been used and where, weather conditions were correct. In these cases, the origin of the trouble must be sought in the cement, therefore some additional mode of determining the quality of cement must be employed. The problem is to find a simple, usable; easily applied method that will supplement the standard tests. The solution of this problem in-volves a knowledge of the chemical composition of Portland cements, also of their constitution (or componental composition), as the behavior of a cement, when gaged, is dependent on the physical and chemical characters of the compounds of which it is composed, the proportions existing between them, and the fineness of grinding. It is likewise essential to know the character, behavior, and composition of the hydration, products of Portland cement. The most promising method of attack makes use of chemical, mechanical, and petrographic methods. Chemical, by determining quantitatively not only the usual constituents, but the carbon dioxide and water. Mechanical, by determining the fineness with the air analyzer,1 which separates into fractions of various grain dimensions all of that portion, which in the ordinary sieve test passes the 200-mesh sieve and constitutes at least 75 per cent. of the total cement. These fractions may be further studied chemically and petrographically and micrometric measurements made of the grains. Petrographic, by the method of immersion, and by making thin sections from test pats of both neat cements and standard` mortars.

Jan 1, 1921

By James C. M. Li

The thermodynamics of the set of functions including the activation enthalpy. the activation free energy, and the activation entropy for the motion of dislocations at low temperatures is formulated without a specific model or a mechanism. The behniiior near absolute zero of all these functions and of other relevant quantities related to dislocation mobility Is examined in the light of the third law of thermodynamics. The velocity measurements of Stein and Low for edge dislocations in Si-Fe are used .for illustrotion. In the plastic deformation of crystalline materials, a fundamental assumption, which is supported by direct measurements using etch-pit techniques,'-4 is that the average velocity of a certain mobile dislocation is a single-valued function of temperature and the effective shear stress exerted on the mobile dislocation: Sometimes under certain assumptions, even without direct dislocation-velocity measurements, an activation volume can be obtained from a change in strain rate in a simple tension test. Similarly an ac tivation enthalpy can be obtained by changing the temperature in a creep test. However, the assumptions involved should be studied carefully before using the results of these tests. Consider, for example, a tensile specimen at some stage of deformation with a distribution of mobile dislocations. Let the total length of dislocations of type i be pi per unit volume. The Burgers vector of these dislocations is hi which makes an angle ?i with the tensile axis. With respect to the same tensile axis, let the normal of the slip plane of these dislocations

Jan 1, 1965

By Warren L. Howes

THIS paper deals primarily with an investigation of ball-mill liners that was conducted by the writer over a period of six years at the Mammoth mill in Arizona. The investigation covered a wide variety of designs of liners in both primary and secondary mills. The comparative results are presented herein as evidence of the extent to which design influenced liner life and mill performance. FLOWSHEET The feed to the Mammoth mill was a complex, oxidized, gold-silver-lead-molybdenum-vanadium ore with rhyolite, andesite and granite as gangue. Although the ore varied between stopes, the long-term average in character remained substantially the same. Capacity was 560 tons per day. [t] Fig. I shows an abbreviated flowsheet of the grinding section of the mill. PRIMARY BALL MILL A 3-ft. Symons shorthead crusher in open circuit crushed to ¼ -in. maximum one-way dimension the feed to the 5 by 10-ft. Marcy open-end ball mill. The mill rotated at 80 per cent of critical speed and was charged with 4-in. forged steel balls. Cast balls were used for a few months at a slight reduction in ball cost, but breakage of the large balls reduced the ball size and grinding capacity to a point where the over-all costs suffered out of proportion to the saving in cost of balls. For metallurgical reasons, the finished product of the mill was maintained at minus 8-mesh. This coarse product, plus the very abrasive ore and the absence of fines in the feed, caused abnormally rapid wear of the mill liners. The resultant high operating cost led to the most extensive phase of the investigation. [ ] In order to clarify the difference in design of the various types of liners used, Fig. 2 shows the profiles with the arrangement in which grinding balls of maximum size would lie on the face of the liners. The results with each type of shell liner in the primary mill are shown in Table I.

Jan 1, 1943

By Moore, Richard B

PROBABLY no other metal excites as much interest, among both scientific men and the general public, as radium. This is due partly to the high cost of radium salts and partly to the peculiar properties of the element. Since radium-bearing ores were discovered in the United States, the interest of American scientific men has been stimulated and, at the present time, more radium is extracted and refined in this country than in all the rest of the world together. HISTORY The property of radioactivity was discovered, partly by accident, by Henri Becquerel, the French physicist, in 1896. He was experimenting with certain fluorescent substances in order to find, if possible, a connection between fluorescence and the recently discovered Y-rays. Among other chemicals which possess the property of fluorescence, he was using

Jan 8, 1918

By C. W. Kempton

IF New England were located in some distant and almost inaccessible region, there is no doubt that its mineral resources would have been ere this well developed and generally acknowledged, but laboring under the disadvantage of nearness, it has been neglected. Its surface, moreover, is not cut up by mountains and canons, and the remnants of many of the old ridges are extensively covered by glacial drift. Having for the past ten months been engaged in the development of a. mineral district in Southeastern Maine, I would take this opportunity to lay before the Institute sketches of results, and try to give some idea of the formations as found. The Sullivan Mining District extends from the town of Franklin, through Hancock, Sullivan, and Gouldsborough, from northwest to southeast, about sixteen miles. A general idea of this locality may be gathered from the map accompanying. (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1879

By W. O. Philbrook, R. H. Spitzer, F. S. Manning

A generalized mathematical model has been developed to describe the kinetics of the gaseous, topo-chemical reduction of porous hematite spheres. Gas-solid reduction is permitted at each of three advancing interfaces and is controlled by a complex series-parallel sequence of chemical and transport steps. Despite the fact that transport resistances are significant to the advance of each interface, little deviation from linear advance is predicted for the first 98 pct of reduction. Calculations to predict the movement of magnetite /wustite interface by a solid-state diffusion mechanism have been incorporated into the earlier dense-pellet model.' The porous-pellet model is found to give a better description than the dense-pellet one for McKewan's measurements2 of interface movements in dense polycrystalline hematite reduced in hydrogen-water vapor mixtures. THIS paper reports a continuation of work"3" directed toward the better understanding of gas-solid reactions and the development of mathematical models that may be helpful in the design or control of ore-reduction processes. Laboratory studies of the reduction of single oxide samples in tube furnaces normally employ an abundant excess of pure reducing gas. Reduction may appear to be adequately described by a model assuming gas-solid reaction solely at the iron/wustite interface.''' However, when iron ore is reduced in either a fixed bed or an efficiently operated counter-current column, there are portions of the bed where the partially spent gas is no longer capable of reducing wustite to iron. Nevertheless, the formation of the intermediate reaction products, wustite or magnetite, can and does continue. In order to account for this aspect of the reduction of beds of particles, three semiempirical mathematical models were devised.' One of these was for the limiting case of completely dense particles, and two alternatives were provided for porous particles. For purposes of the analysis, a dense pellet was defined as one in which the wustite and magnetite layers were impervious to the reducing gas when the atmosphere was capable of forming iron. In a porous pellet, the intermediate product layers were assumed to be sufficiently permeable to allow reducing gas to penetrate beyond the iron/wustite interface to form wustite and magnetite by removal of oxygen as a gaseous product rather than by a solid-state redfiction mechanism. Further progress required a better understanding of the reaction of the individual particles with the gas stream. A comprehensive mathematical treatment was developed' to describe the continually changing interplay of transport and reaction steps

Jan 1, 1967

Albert Sauveur, Cambridge, Mass. (written discussion).— In his introductory paragraph, the author states that he has come to bury Beilby, not to praise him. The paper, however, gives the impression that while he may have dug the grave, Beilby is still at large. I am not one of those whom the author calls enthusiastic supporters of Beilby's amorphous theory and in support of this claim quote from a book I am writing: "Attractive as the amorphous theory is, and notwithstanding the ability with which it has been presented and the renown of its sponsors and supporters, it should not be accepted without reservations as a demonstrated fact.... So long as it explains more satisfactorily than other theories a greater number of phenomena in which it may play a part, we should use it in preference to others as the best available. Let us avoid the danger, however, into which too many fall, of accepting as indisputable truths, statements and theories emanating from those whom we hold in great esteem. It is not what those men themselves would wish us to do. I am entitled, I think, to occupy a position in the middle ground. Neither should Howe be classified with the enthusiastic supporters for he has written that the theory should be classed rather among the precious working theories than among those firmly established," a very wise and prudent statement. Jeffries, on the other hand, I would not hesitate to describe as an enthusiastic supporter. The author reproaches the advocates of the amorphous theory with having taken whatever properties they needed and with having assigned them arbitrarily to the hypothetical amorphous phase. He then applics their method to small crystals. If the existence of an amorphous phase is assumed, its greater tenacity and greater hardness is satisfactorily explained in the words of Howc: '(This greater strength is natural, because the amorphous state lacks the cleavages and slip planes which weaken crystalline substances." Can the greater strength and hardness claimed for small crystals be as satisfactorily explained? Nor do I think that the cold deformation of metals through successive slips within the crystalline grains can he accounted for as acceptably by the "small crystals theory."

Jan 1, 1923

By Robert U. King, John W. Vanderwilt

THE Climax molybdenite deposit in Lake County 100 miles southwest of Denver is located in the central part of the mineral belt extending north-easterly across the state. Principal geographic features and geology are shown on Fig. 1. The first period of molybdenite mining, which began in 1918, ended in April 1919 because of limited demand and a price drop to about 724 per lb. During this time the ore came from the Leal level and surface outcrops at a higher elevation. Rate of mining was 250 tpd and several million tons of ore averaging 0.7 pct molybdenite were developed. Since April 1924, when the second period* began, Climax Molybdenum Co. has been the only operating company. Production in 1924 was 400 tpd and finding ore was a continual problem. When the White tunnel was extended, however, further ore was encountered. The orebody was thought to be tabular until 1926, when B. S. Butler recognized the relation of the developed ore on the Leal and White levels to a central area of fine-grained hydrothermal quartz, and by 1929 diamond drilling had blocked out indicated ore reserves in excess of 100 million tons.

Jan 1, 1955

By Ian William Wark

DIFFERENT parts of the world in which mineral separation by flotation is practiced experience vastly different natural temperatures, and in some districts there is a big difference between summer and winter tempera-tures. It will be shown in this paper that the temperature is of con-siderable importance where it is desired to separate pyrite or arsenopyrite from other minerals. It is probable that some of the differences obtained in the flotation of these minerals at plants working under otherwise similar conditions are due to temperature variations. The influence of temperature on the flotation of galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite by xanthates is less marked than its influence on pyrite flotation.

Jan 1, 1938

By Reed S. C. Rogers, Robin P. Gardner, Kuruvilla Verghese

The development and use of short-lived radioactive tracer methods for the onstream determination of residence time distributions in large-scale ball mills is described. Tests are reported on a pilot-plant ball mill with 0.43 m diameter and 0.86 m length and on an industrial mill with 1.83 m diameter and 2.74 m length. Tests with different tracer feed sizes indicate that the residence time distributions on both mills are independent of charge particle size. Similar tests are planned for a large ball mill of 4.57 m diameter and 9.30 m length. No safety problems were encountered in these tests and none are anticipated in tests of the larger mill.

Jan 1, 1981

By J. Wesley Pullman

It is stated by Dr. Tuttle in a paper read before the New Jersey Historical Society, that the celebrated Dickerson mine at Succasunna, Morris Co., N. J., yielded ore, about as early as 1710, for use at the Whippany forge, on Rockaway River, between Rockaway and Boonton. The ore was, for some time, free to all who chose to dig it. The tract embracing the Dickerson mine mas taken up, on account of its minerals, in 1713 or 1714, by John Reading, who sold it in 1716 to Joseph Kirkbride. John Jackson built a forge in 1722 on the Rockaway River a mile west of Dover. The ore here worked was probably chiefly from the Dickerson mine, but a portion may have been Hibernia. Hon. E. D. Halsey, of Rockaway, K. J., writes me: It is quite possible that the ore was at first taken from the outcrop of Hibernia by anybody who wanted it. The property first had an owner, May

Jan 1, 1886

Jan 1, 1918

By H. E. Sadler, B. Silliman

INTRODUCTORY NOTE. THE research here recorded was undertaken early in the present year, and has been prosecuted steadily for about eight months. While the work has been under my constant supervision and advice, the labor has all been performed by Mr. Sadler, to whom is chiefly due the development of the successive steps which have led to the final result. The process is better than I dared to hope, and we are able to place at the command of chemists and engineers interested in the matter an apparatus of continuous and uninterrupted action, and methods of analysis by which the daily averages of the two variable and inconstant factors of illuminating gas, ammonia and sulphur, may be determined with all needful accuracy, even by those little skilled in chemical manipulation, and with very little loss of time. This research has been carried out in the laboratory of the New Haven Gaslight Company. B. SILLIMAN. October 17th, 1876.

Jan 1, 1877

By B. J. Klee

What is the economic basis for direct, continuous particle size measurement and control? First, precise grinding control is necessary to achieve and maintain a specified recovery and throughput. Second, throughput and recovery are direct functions of particle size-and these two factors control the economic performance of the ore concentration process. Third, only size-based control using a particle size and percent solids monitor (PSM) has achieved the necessary precise control. Recovery, throughput and cost can be accurately measured for various concentrator operating conditions if particle size is closely controlled. From such data the economic results of different particle size grind points can be analyzed. This will reveal the best combination of recovery and throughput to meet objectives established by financial management. Predictable, repeatable response to set-point selection is essential if the projected profitability of the mill is to be reached.

Jan 11, 1976

By C. E. Shoenfelt

The year 1939 witnessed the rapid development of several of the more important Rocky Mountain oil and gas areas and the discovery of new oil and gas fields. As a further result of an active year, many oil fields had their productive limits greatly extended or responded to deeper drilling with oil production in lower horizons. In Colorado there was a substantial increase in refinery capacity, with three new units constructed. Its contribution to the crude-oil supply was an important extension of the producing area of a Western Slope field and a deeper oil-producing horizon in an old field east of the Front Range. Occurrences of gas were reported in two wells in northwestern Colorado, but severe winter weather prevented tests and the value of these discoveries cannot be determined at this time. Montana's northern fields were extended and a number of record wells were completed. The North Cut Bank area gives promise of wide expansion in 1940. The gas-producing area of Wyoming's Elk Basin field was extended into Montana on the north plunge of the anticline. The most important developments in Wyoming oil fields in 1939 were extensions to the producing area of Lance Creek and the discovery of a deeper pay in the Tensleep formation at Wertz dome. A new gas field at Horn Valley in the south central part of the state was the only new field discovered, but wildcatting was at low ebb in Wyoming in 1939. Colorado In Colorado, the year 1939 saw the completion of several interesting tests, but largely with negative results. Oil was discovered, however, in a deeper sand in the old Fort Collins field and the productive area of the Wilson Creek field was extended. Gas had been noted in two Western Slope wells, at Yellowjacket-Buford and at Trull, but their volumes had not been determined at the end of the year. Of principal interest, however, were the failures, descriptions of which will be given presently. One of these established a new depth record for Colorado.

Jan 1, 1940

By G. H. Alani, H. T. Kennedy

One of the major difficulties in predicting the performance of oil reservoirs from their early pressure history lies in the uncertainty of estimating the volume of the liquid hydrocarbons contained in them. As a first step in filling this need, an equation was developed to determine the Inolal liquid volume of pure hydrocarbons over a wide range of temperature and pressure. The second step consisted of adapting the equation to apply to mixtures, with the heary hydrocarbons expressed as c The equatious are similar in form to van der Waals equation. hut the constants a and b tire considered as furnctions of temperature. In addition to the gas constant R, there are four constants characteristic of each hydro- When comptired with experimental values jound in the literal the. the average absolute deviation in the calculated molal volumes is found to be a Maximum of 0.33 per -cem for any of the pure liquid hydrocarbons studied. This maximum deviation was that found when comparing the calculated and observed values over a temperature range of 86° to 482°F and a pressure range from the bubbl-point ro 10,000 psis. The equations expressing the correlation for. mixrurrc were developed from 647 experimental measure-rilents of volume on 47 bouom-hole samples covering ; temperature range of 72" to 250°F and a pressure znge from bubble-point ro 5,000 psig. The average absotute deviation was found to he 1.6 per cent with the maximum for any measurement of 4.9 per cent. INTRODUCTION Accuratc information of the pressure-volume-temper-iiture behavior of hydrocarbon liquids is of considerable importance in the field of both applied and theoretical science and, especially, in the solution of petroleum reservoir engineering problems. These PVT relationships can be expressed graphically, in tabular form or as equations of state. Equations of state for gases have been developed based on the ratio of pressure, temperature and volume to the pressure, temperature and volume at the critical points of the hydrocarbons. These equations have been successful in yielding values fairly accurate for reservoir engineering purposes. For liquids, however, relations of this type are more complex and have not yielded useful results. The composition of reservoir liquids is normally expressed in terms of the moles of hydrocarbons C,? C,. C,. elc, per mole of mixture. The composition must include the fraction of a mixture such as C,,, which cannot be separated with reasonable time and effort into specific hydrocarbons. Although there are several equations of state having variable degrees of accuracy applicable to pure liquid hydrocarbons, none includes a means for estimating the volume of mixtures as a function of temperature. pressure and composition expressed in this manner.