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Jan 1, 1949

By R. W. Hyde, B. S. Old, S. E. Eaton

One of the most important problems facing the steel industry at the present time is that of maintaining at a minimum the sulphur content of many grades of steel where sulphur is known to have harmful effects On both quality and yield. The present outlook in this struggle to reduce the amount of sulphur in steel is rather gloomy since the sulphur content of the raw materials available in the United States is gradually rising, with little relief in sight. A flow sheet of sulphur in the steel process is shown in Fig I. The values used here were obtained by averaging coke oven and blast furnace data at No. 5 furnace in Cleveland and are considered typical for high top pressure practice. The sulphur evolved in the blast furnace top gas was obtained by difference and since the amount is relatively small, little significance should be attached to this particular value. From Fig I it is apparent, however, that coals used in the production of metallurgical coke represent by far the largest single source of sulphur in steel-making. As an indication of the decrease in quality of these coals as regards sulphur content the weighed average annual sulphur analysis of the coals supplied to two different steel plants, since 1925, is plotted in Fig 2} The sharp rise since 1940 is strikingly apparent. Another indication of this trend is found in estimates of coking coal reserves. Thus in the case of Pittsburgh seam coals available in Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in Pa. as of Jan. 1937 only 25 pct of the coal reserves would contain less than 1.50 pct sulphur after washing.2.3 Many of these lower sulphur reserves have been seriously depleted in recent years because of accelerated war demands. still another demonstration of the increasing sulphur content of coals on a country-wide basis is found in a report by the Bureau of Mines4 which shows a steady increase in the sulphur content of coke made in the United States. It should be noted that this increase continues in spite of the wider use of coal washing in recent years. Sulphur occurs in coal in three forms, pyritic (FeS2), organic sulphur, and a small amount of sulphate sulphur (CaS04). The sulphur is subsequently found in the coke in combination with carbonaceous material of is composition and as calcium and iron sulphides' In considering the general problem of sulphur elimination, the Republic Steel Corp. was interested in determining which, if either, of the two major forms of sulphur in coal contributes the greater portion of sulphur to the coke. Since the ratio of pyritic to organic sulphur varies widely in different coals, it was thought that if it could be shown definitely that the major part of the sulphur occurring in coke originates from one of the two ""jar forms of sulphur in the coal, it would then be possible to select with confidence coal which, although high .in total sulphur, would yield coke of fairly low sulphur content. Using the new

Jan 1, 1949

By W. R. Hibbard

The term lineage was first introduced by Buergerl to denote dendritic branches, grown from a crystal nucleus during solidification from the liquid, with imper- fections in alignment of the order of 10 : to 10-4 cm. These imperfections are associated with distortions of the dendrites caused by the subsequent solidification of the inter-dendritic filling and are illustrated in Fig I. Buerger etched zinc single crystals made by the Bridgman3 method to develop this dendritic pattern and show lineage microscopically. Since maximum crystal growth in face-centered cubic metals occurs along the [IT] directions,2 lineage would appear in copper as small deviations of dendritic branches from these directions. Elam4 and others5"8 reported etching effects resulting from coring along the cube face traces of various copper alloy crystals. These traces were used by Samans8 to orient single crystals. Williamson9 noted a "lined structure (in alpha brass single crystals) consisting of an ordered arrangement of etch pits" which were probably traces of {IOO} planes but somewhat uncertain because they were never straight (that is, apparently lineage). Greningerl1 described the distortion and multiplicity of Laue spots in back reflection X ray photograms of copper single crystals showing lineage. The present investigation -includes metal-lographic, X ray, and property studies of lineage in large grain and single crystal specimens of copper. Preparation of Specimens specilnens 10 in. long 35 1/2 in. diam of oxygen-free copper (o.F.H.c.) (99.985 pet) were' melted vertically in graphite crucibles under an atmosphere of commercial nitrogen purified through a gas train including sulfuric acid, potassium chloride, magnesium chiorate, hot copper chips and phosphorus pentoxide. After a temperature of 1200°C had been maintained for 1/2 hr, the furnace was turned off and the specimens cooled at a rate of about 150°c an hour' This method of direct solidification was used by Greningerlo to produce single crystals with marked lineage and in this investigation produced a fair yield of single crystal specimens in

Jan 1, 1949

By Bert Taylor

"The Mining concessions of Quemont Mining Corporation, Limited, are located at 48°16'N latitude, 79°00'W longitude, in Rouyn township, northwestern Quebec. Six hundred and forty acres in area, they lie directly north of, and contiguous to, the Horne mine of Noranda Mines Limited. The north arm of Osisko Lake covers a large area of the southern part of the property. The orebodies lie below the Jake with one body extending through to the bedrock surface.The property was staked in 1922, and was originally known as the Murray Claims. The group attracted interest from numerous exploration companies because of the proximity of the Noranda orebodies.The United Verde Extension Company, of Arizona, optioned the claims in 1926. They sank a shaft to a depth of 235 feet, at a short distance from the Noranda boundary. From a level established at a depth of 215 feet they completed 3000 feet of exploratory driving from which 6000 feet of diamond drilling was done. Only a small body of siliceous gold ore was found before they dropped their ·option.In 1928, The Mining Corporation of Canada purchased a 90 per cent interest in the property. An operating company, later named Quemont Mining Corporation, was formed. An electrical survey was carried out on a portion of the property, followed by deepening of the shaft to 922 feet. Levels were established at 500 and 900 feet, and 4,800 feet of driving and more than 3000 feet of diamond drilling were carried out from them.Geological knowledge at that time recognized that a major break, the Horne Creek fault, lay not far inside the south boundary. Striking north 80 degrees east, the fault dipped south at 85 degrees. The rock on the north side of the fault was massive rhyolite; to the south, meta-diabase and a little rhyolite. A left-handed movement was indicated by a 600-foot offset on a north striking diabase dyke. The small body of siliceous gold ore, referred to previously, was confined to the 215 level."

Jan 1, 1949

By Ernest V. Deshayes

The Colorado Minerals Co. calcite properties in Archuleta and Hinsdale Counties, Colo., (fig. 1) were examined by Bureau of Mines engineers in 1943. The demand for optical calcite during the war prompted the examinations and resulting development programs on the Meadows and Seavy ranch properties near Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County. Development was begun on the Meadows property in November 1943 and continued to the Seavy ranch property. The work consisted of stripping the overburden from the calcite areas and excavating pits and trenches with a bulldozer. The pits and trenches exposing the most promising calcite veins were then deepened by hand, and one shaft was sunk to a depth of 30 feet. A total of 36 trenches and 9 pits were excavated by bulldozer and. hand methods (figs. 2, 3, and 4). The calcite deposits occur as veins and irregular bodies filling fractures in the Mancos shale of Cretaceous age. The fractures persist for considerable distances along the strike, although the calcite filling may not be continuous for more than a few feet. The widths of individual veins range from a few inches to several feet. The calcite crystals uncovered at the surface and in pits, trenches, and shafts were found to be unsuitable for optical purposes because of fracturing and color in the crystals.

Jan 1, 1949

By D. T. MacRoberts

A simple disturbance in a gas reservoir travels with a finite velocity which is nearly independent of the amplitude of the disturbance. As a result very complex transients may be set up which seriously affect observation at a well. The time of transient is much longer than commonly supposed. INTRODUCTION A change in pressure at a gas well is not propagated through the reservoir instantaneously but with a definite fin- ite velocity. Knowledge of the period ! of this transient is of value because: 1. Observations of pressure and flow-rate during the transient may affect interpretation of back-pressure tests. 2. Interference effects between wells may be used to determine continuity of formation. 3. Additional information concerning the physical characteris- tics may possibly be deduced from the behavior of a well during the transient. MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT It will be assumed that the well is initially closed in and that the pressure is constant throlughout the reservoir. As the initial disturbance passes outward from the well it is further assumed that a logarithmic pressure distribution is established between the most distant point reached and the well, so that: <l> = ((/)r-<t>w) I ------------ + (/) . (1) Manuscript received at office of the Branch September 15. 1948. Paper presented at Branch Fall Meeting, Dallas. Texas. Oct. 4-6, 1948. r. = distance to any point between r and rw r = radius of drainge iw= radius of well (/) = potential (P for incompressible fluids, P2 for perfect gases) Up to the time the effect reaches the point r the production from the well will be: W= (Pr-P,,,) . (2) i b W = volume produced t = sand thickness F = fractional porosity Pr = reservoir pressure Pm = average pressure between r and rw Pb = atmospheric Pressure All pressures will subsequently be stated in atmospheres and the constant Pb will be omitted. This will be produced at a rate: dw t k (Pr³-PW2) do d 0 - . (3) log — Pw = pressure at the well k = permeability 0 = time = viscosity

Jan 1, 1949

By E. J. Matson

The Little Castle Creek chromite deposit was examined in February and May 1941, respectively, by W. O. Vandenburg and O. H. Metzger, engineers of the Bureau of Mines. The Federal Geological Survey started a magnetometer survey of the area in November 1940 and completed its work during April and May 1941. Field work by the Bureau of Mines was conducted during May and June 1941. The purpose of the Bureau of Mines investigation was to search for a continuation of the chromite mineralization. The property at one time was the largest chromite producer in California.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. E. Burke, Y. G. Shiau

Several attempts have been made to account for the fact that grains in a fully recrystallized metal will coarsen on annealmg. Two fundamentally different hypotheses have been advanced, with several variations of each. One school considers that the cause of grain growth is the surface energy of the grain boundary. The theory of Jeffriesl that grain size and grain size contrast control growth is an example. The second school considers the primary cause to be a difference in the lattice energy on either side of the grain boundary. The more perfect grains are considered to grow at the expense of their less perfect neighbors, with a decrease in free energy, and a consequent increase in the stability of the system. Burgers2 presents the case for the strain or lattice imperfection theory of grain growth quite completely. The latter theory is attractive, since there is no doubt that differences in lattice energy or lattice perfection can cause grain boundary migration. A recrystallization nucleus grows for this reason as was beautifully demonstrated by van Arkel and Ploos van Amstel.³ Although it is generally stated that grain growth does not precede recrystallization, several workers4-5 have shown that small strains may induce a single crystal in an aggregate to grow, or at least may cause some grain boundary migration. The origin and nature of the imperfections that are considered to be responsible for normal grain growth have never been clearly described, but it is generally agreed that they are a consequence of the difficulty of atomic reorientation in the solid state, and that they do not seriously differ from the type of imperfection that can be introduced by mechanical deformation. An object of the present work was to determine whether the introduction of mechanical deformation would cause grain growth in a specimen which would not otherwise show it under the conditions used. It was also planned to determine the effect of such deformation on the rate of growth in a specimen which would show growth in the unstrained condition. Recently Maddigan and Blank6 have indicated that slightly strained specimens of alpha brass can undergo considerable growth prior to recrystallization if annealed at low temperatures. French7 has reported that at deformations less than 17 pet it is very difficult to detect the beginning of recrystallization in the same material. It was therefore planned to broaden this work to include a complete study of the microscopic behavior of alpha brass under condition~ of temperature, time, grain size and deformation such that recrystallization would not occur or would occur to only a Small extent. Experimental Procedure The brass was prepared by melting cathode copper and commercially pure zinc

Jan 1, 1949

Jan 1, 1949

Jan 1, 1949

By G. L. Oldright

The first Report of Investigations of the present series (No. 4562) was on the fundamental properties of lead compounds, and the manner in which they set limits to the richness of lead products treated in the usual sintering-blast furnace units. These properties of the compounds were emphasized, as&apos; it was desired, also, to learn the limitations of smelting the same compounds in present ore hearth practice; the hearth has a competitor in these "usual" units, even with the rich lead feeds best adapted for the hearths. Operating conditions that were followed in older metallurgical processes, when rich products, were treated, were outlined. The second report of the series (R. I. 4563) was on the development of the ore hearths of the types now used in the Tri-State from the viewpoint of the features, functions, and dimensions of the earlier hearths that had been most changed. Experimental data, for both well and poorly desulfurized charges being considered, were given to show the relative changes in the sizes and compositions of the charges after they were added to the ore (Scotch) hearths. A general picture was given of the charge column and of the conditions prevailing there when the operation was satisfactory. In this third paper, the composition of the gases prevailing in the charge column at various elevations will be correlated with what has been learned of the nature of the charge column in order to trace the steps of operation by which lead sulfide is converted into metallic lead. The metallurgical factors that govern operation and the lines along which improvements may be made will be noted.

Jan 1, 1949

By Howard I. Smith

POTASH is of prime importance as a plant food and is also widely used in industry. The term "potash was applied to a crude pearlash obtained by evaporating, in iron pots, solutions leached from plant ashes. Later it included caustic potash obtained by treating pot ashes with lime, and now it is applied generally to various compounds of potassium used by agriculture and industry. Herein it applies to the theoretical equivalent in potassium oxide (K20)--a compound never found in nature or manufactured in commerce but generally used as a common denominator for comparison of all potassium compounds. Potash was made from plant ashes at an early date, but potassium in mineral form was not noted until 1797, when it was identified in leucite.3 The importance to plant life of potash in the soil was first recognized by von Liebig3 and his published reference thereto appeared in 1840. In 1843, potash was discovered in the brine of a well drilled for salt near Stassfurt. HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN POTASH INDUSTRY Among the colonists reaching Virginia in 1608 were men from Poland skilled in making potash from wood ashes19 and records show that the production of potash was begun in other colonies also, soon after their establishment. The American product entered the trade in 1635, and at various times since that date the production of potash for industry has been subsidized by the Government or protected by tariffs. The production of potash from wood ashes reached its peak in 1825. Beginning in 1823, a cheaper product, sodium carbonate, made by the Leblanc process, was substituted for much of the potash used in industry. Production rapidly declined after the Civil War, when the forests most productive of potash had become depleted and labor had become

Jan 1, 1949

Jan 1, 1949

By A. M. Cummings

During August 1943, the Bureau of Mines undertook sampling and measuring of the Kennedy zinc tailing pile near Hazel Green, Lafayette County, south-western Wisconsin, as part of a general investigation of this lead-and zinc-producing area at a time when it was extremely important to increase the production of metals for the Nation&apos;s War program. The tailing pile was the residue from old jigging plants that treated ore from the Kennedy mine, one of the oldest and. largest mines in the district. Because retreatment of tailing by modern milling methods was proving economically successful at other sites in the southwestern Wisconsin field, the Bureau?s investigation was designed to assist the potential operators in evaluating the feasibility of a retreatment operation at this site. The study involved measurement of the tailing pile and sampling by means of auger to determine the average metal content within the narrowest possible limits. A total of 46 auger holes ranging in depths up to 40 feet and aggregating 886.5 feet of bore were drilled in the tailing pile, and weighted samples from each hole were analyzed and averaged to determine the zinc and iron content of the tailing.

Jan 1, 1949

Jan 1, 1949

By W. Bradley, R. G. Hall

This paper will attempt to show how a metallurgical problem at one California quicksilver mine was solved, and how the solution was applied successfully at another mine. The pronouns "we" and "our," as used below, refer &apos;0 the Bradley &apos;lining Co. of San Francisco. The term "concurrent firing" for the purpose of this paper can be defined as feeding and firing a a kiln at the same end—that is, of course, the upper end&apos; This is as opposed to "countercurrent firing," the orthodox method, in which a kiln is fed at the upper and fired at the lower end. The terms "quicksilver" and "mercury" are used interchangeably. Early References The earliest work on nonferrous metallurgy, we believe, was The Pirotechnia of Vannocio Biringuccio,l its first edition having been printed in Italy in 1540. Quoting from its chapter entitled "Concerning Quicksilver and Its Ore": Quicksilver ... is one of the gods and has divine strength in itself, and also, to the annoyance of the alchemists, it is winged. Hence, when it sees that it is in gravest danger, it loosens itself from . . . every bond . . . and fies away into the heavens, escaping from the hands of those who crucify it. Almost laughing, it leaves all its adversaries mocked and scorned, with their phials and filters empty . . . How thorough a job, under certain conditions, it can do of mocking its adversaries and leaving their phials and filters empty, was found out four centuries later at the Sulphur Bank mine, on the east shore of Clear Lake, in Lake county, California, The other mine mentioned in the title is the Reed, in Yolo County, California, 35 miles by road southeast of Sulphur Bank, Reed and Sulphur Bank ranked respectively Nth and seventh in U. S. production in 1943. The earliest direct reference we can find to furnacing troubles at these mines was by Thomas Egleston in 1890.2 Speaking of Sulphur Bank, Egleston says: of there is more sulphur than cinnabar in the ore, which is a detriment to both . . . making the sulphur impure, and rendering the cinnabar difficult to work on account of the soot. In some of the early . . . furnaces the accumulation of soot from the excess of sulphur has been known to penetrate as far as the fan blower at the end of the . . . condensers, and completely prevent its revolution. In order to get rid of the inconvenience of this accumulation . . . , as well as to get a commercial value from the sulphur, it (the sulphur) is now separated by steam and sold. It is claimed that the sulphur alone pays all the expenses of ... the mine. The mine was first worked for sulphur, and the cinnabar it contained was considered to be an inconvenience, and was carefully picked out and thrown away, as its richness and value were not

Jan 1, 1949

By M. Howard Berliner

The Harding pegmatite dike is well known for the production of spodumene and lepidolite in the period 1920 to 1930. It attained greater prominence during the last war by being the largest producer of domestic tantalum ore from the rare mineral microlite. The deposit is believed to be the only proved reserve of tantalum ore in the United States today. In 1943 the main portion of a large tantalum-bearing zone in the Harding dike was developed by the Bureau of Mines with the assistance of the Federal Geological Survey. Analysis of this zone from 39 diamond drill holes and quarry exposures showed a large deposit containing 2 pounds of microlite per ton and 21 percent spodumene, In September 1948, the Bureau of Mines resumed development of the deposit with a view to extending the tantalum-bearing zone farther to the southwest or delimiting the ore body. Seven diamond-drill holes failed to penetrate the ore zone in its southwestward projection, Much of the following general information is summarized from the report on the first exploratory work of the Bureau of Mines by John H. Soule.2/

Jan 1, 1949

By Paul Zinner

An exhaustive program of geologic studies and mapping has been conducted by the Geological Survey in the Iron River district of Michigan since May 1943. Means of contributing to the success of these studies were sought by the Bureau of Mines, and eventually a program involving geophysical studies and core-drilling was undertaken in the area. All of the work was done either to develop data that would contribute directly to geologic studies or to investigate geophysical methods that might be used as a primary means for the discovery of minable iron ore.

Jan 1, 1949

By R. F. Evans, J. M. Avert

Much has been written of the glamour of magnesium from sea water, the Aladdin-like creation of a huge magnesium plant in the Nevada desert using cheap hydroelectric power from Boulder Dam; the marvels of the Hansgirg process for the electrothermal reduction of magnesium oxide by carbon, and the ferrosilicon process for producing magnesium from dolomite. This is the story of the production of magnesium by the electrolytic process, using steam-electric power supplied by a public utility, in a plant at Painesville, Ohio, 30 miles east of Cleveland on the shore of Lake Erie. The story is not without interest, since it involves several unique developments that provide the answer to a question frequently asked: How is it possible to produce magnesium metal economically at such a location as Painesville, Ohio? Basically, the answer lies in making use of facilities already in existence for the production of soda ash, which makes it possible to manufacture magnesium chloride, the principal raw material, cheaply enough to offset the high cost of electric power. To this is coupled the successful conversion of by-product chlorine into a product required for the war program. The source of magnesium for this opera- tion is the enormous surface deposit of high-grade dolomite in the region south of Toledo, within reasonable freight haul of Painesville. This same geological stratum underlies the Painesville plant, but unfortunately at a depth of about 3000 ft.— apparently too great a depth to permit underground mining to compete with the delivered cost of rock from surface quarries in other areas. The cost of dolomite obviously is an important factor, since the rock contains only some 12 per cent magnesium (20 per cent MgO) so that one dollar on the cost of stone means more than $8 in terms of its magnesium content, and more than that in terms of recoverable magnesium metal. Production of Magnesia from Dolomite In the summer of 1941, the Diamond Alkali Co. was well along with construction of a plant intended for the commercial production of refractory and other grades of magnesia from dolomite. The process to be used was designed to make maximum economic advantage of existing plant and operations by tying the production of magnesia in with the manufacture of soda ash in such a way as to make use of the lime [CaO)., value of calcined dolomite. The process finally adopted after a lengthy research and development program has much in common with the old Clerc-Nihoul process, but includes certain innovations found to be necessary or advantageous. Essentially, the process is based upon the following series of reactions:

Jan 1, 1949

By Harrison Schmitt

The definitions of the terms commonly used in connection with metamorphism at elevated temperature near igneous contacts are re-examined. As the study of tactite zones associated with igneous contacts progresses, more and more emphasis is put on the localization of the ore by structural forms. The generally early age of the silicates and late age of the sulphides is well established. Postsilicate structural deformation is likely to localize ore bodies. The silicates are often replaced by the ore minerals. we may not be far from proving that the elements involved in the formation of silicate aureoles are merely normal "volcanic" emanations, that silica, lime, magnesia, and alumina, and probably soda and potash, are likely to undergo local transfers only. The work of Newhouse suggests the agents of the formation of sulphides in deposits of various classifications are the volcanic emanations. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to define the terms commonly used in connection with the subject, to briefly review and discuss the broad features of the aureoles, to indicate some of the features lately recognized: to discuss the genesis, and to suggest how the associated ore deposits can best be studied and developed. When developing a subject in mining geology one is soon conscious of the vast amount of pertinent literature and that most relevant ideas, no matter how obscure, have been considered. One can only hope to make some small contribution in point of view, a few confirmatory observations, or, perhaps, suggest a small new idea indebted to the most recent data. It is nearly impossible, also, to give specific credit, and adequate credit, to all the contributors to a given subject. This study, furthermore, was not intended to cover the field exhaustively, nor is the bibliography complete. Definition OF Terms There is much confusion in the use of the broad terms concerned. Needless to say, metamorphism means change of form; metasomatism, change of substance. The term contact metamorphism, however, has been widely misused possibly by a majority of economic geologists and engineers. As originally adopted by European investigators it meant changes effected largely by heat (thermal effects) in the rocks invaded by plutonic intrusives, but did not include those local changes usually at the immediate contact brought about by the addition of substance, i.e., by metasomatism. The term has become clouded. In Europe it has

Jan 1, 1949