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By W. E. Keck, Paul Jasberg

The flotative properties of the principal minerals in Michigan's potential iron ores have been investigated to develop methods of bene-ficiation for the ores. One of these minerals, magnetite, is of considerable importance as a source of iron. Study of its flotation was similar to that of hematite1, another iron mineral in these potential ores. The present research consisted essentially of: (1) a survey of the literature on magnetite flotation, (2) the preparation of pure magnetite, (3) the development of laboratory procedure and (4) flotation experimentation. Literature on Magnetite Flotation.—For the purpose of this discussion, the results of previous work on the flotation of magnetite can be summarized as follows. The mineral has been floated with pine oil2, and it has also been separated from synthetic mixtures with silicates by the use of the same reagent2. Magnetite and apatite in iron-ore slimes have been separated by flotation of apatite with sodium palmitate3. These data were utilized in the present investigation. Preparation of Magnetite.—The pure mineral was prepared from the magnetic-separator concentrate of an iron ore (obtained from the Wither-bee Sherman Corporation, Port Henry, N. Y.). This concentrate was slowly comminuted with laboratory rolls and pulverizer to pass 65-mesh and was then tabled several times. Tabling yielded a relatively coarse magnetite concentrate, tailing and slimes. The two latter materials were rejected insofar as the present work is concerned, and treatment of the magnetite (table concentrate) was continued by separating it into — 65 + 200 and — 200-mesh sizes. Separation of the sizes was made by first dry screening and then wet screening. The —200-mesh material was rejected to eliminate possible introduction of error into flotation

Jan 1, 1939

By Walter Kauenhowen

The crude-oil production of Germany without Austria during 1938 amounted to 3,864,518 bbl., representing an increase of 21.7 per cent over the 3,173,373 bbl. produced in 1937. Adding the Austrian production, the crude-oil production of the new German Reich totaled 4,259,717 bbl. during 1938, representing an increase of 25.3 per cent compared with the respective figures of the previous year. According to published official data, and using a conversion factor of 1 metric ton equaling 7 bbl., the oil production of Germany in 1938 was as shown in Table 1. A semiofficial publication1 states that the program of the crude-oil industry for the second year (1938) of the four-year plan was successfully accomplished. According to the same source, new drilling developments at the following localities were promising: Reitbrook near Hamburg, Heide in Holstein, Eicklingen-Sandlingen near Celle, Steimbke near Nienburg, Worms in the Rhine Valley, Gifhorn near Braunschweig, Mölme near Oberg, and at other places. The drilling activity for oil is illustrated by the figures in Table 2.

Jan 1, 1939

In submitting the accompanying sketch and description, the writer mentions that he has found this "gadget" a useful assay office adjunct.He believes that some millmen and assayers have been confronted, from time to time, with large samples of mill pulp for assay purposes and that although the commonly used method of coning and quartering dry sample is simple and effective, provided the samples are of reasonable proportion, the operator is frequently confronted with samples of pulp, sometimes up to 50 gallons. The writer stresses the advantage of being able to handle these samples. This fact inspired the design of the "gadget,"which was developed at the Kalgoorlie State Battery and has been found to give very reliable results. It has considerably eased the work of the assay office.Description. - A cone of suitable dimensions according to requirements (this one is about six gallons' capacity) is mounted on a light angle-iron frame and has a small hand-operated agitator paddle let into it far mixing purposes. The agitator and head frame are removable to facilitate cleaning. Four outlet pipes at the bottom at right angles to each other are controlled with one common plug, externally operated for discharging the pulp.Each operation of the machine delivers four equal parts; one or more of these can be used for further division as conditions require. Samples can thus be reduced to suitable assay room size in a few minutes.The dotted lines, enclosing the shaded portion, represent the four-bladed paddle.Each paddle is slotted with three parallel slots. Unshaded portions represent slots.

Jan 1, 1939

University of Alabama University, Alabama Mining and Metallurgical Society Meets first and third Mondays each month JOHN MACLEOD MCKEE, President WILLIAM L. ALLMAN, Secretary J. R. CUDWORTH, Faculty Sponsor RICHARD L. BOWRON, Counselor University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona Millers' Society LA MONT WEST, President AL WALLACH, Secretary J. B. CUNNINGHAM, Faculty Sponsor B. R. HATCHES, Counselor

Jan 1, 1939

By J. C. Jr. Vaughan

ALTHOUGH a considerable amount of practical importance attaches to systems involving gases and molten metals, little is known regarding the effects of alloy elements upon the solubility of gases in liquid iron. The solubilities of hydrogen1 and nitrogen2,3 in pure liquid iron are known and it has been shown that small amounts of silicon and aluminum3 exert only a small effect upon the solubility of nitrogen but greatly increase its rate of solution. This paper presents the results of a study of the Solubility Of nitrogen, at pressures approximately one atmosphere, in molten iron containing up to 1.5.5 per cent silicon.

Jan 1, 1939

By McHenry Mosier

This paper describes come mechanical raid electrical signal systems in common use in Metal-mine shafts, together with several distinctive systems that indicate or control the origin of the signal. The latter systems remove the hazard of the movement of the cage from one level in response to signals from another. Previous publications of the Bureau of Mines have covered several meritorious installations One of the best signal systems for deep shafts is at the Homestake mine4/. A successful installation of an induction system in the Lake Superior mining region permits signaling as well as telephoning from cages at rest or in motion5/. El Potosi mine uses a variation of the three-wire electric system6/. A mine in Utah has developed a system of the double trolly-wire type, in which the cage attendant may signal from a moving cage7/. At present no system of the sine-shaft signaling employing radio is available.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. Koster

[In lQ jG thc E'lcct,ro:~(: L7.l :~u..-ic:ll S;%cti ?n of t?c :I. tcIl~tr,-;lcal 3:vi cioa, ?U~CE~U of lv!irtos, bc,~m an 9.ct iv.t In-:?*t ik7;5i GI of r.:ct.l-;c?;is for rccovcrin,; niclrel, cop?ir, an2 ?? cciou:; ~ot-1 c 1;-on or; :; of tile 3unl~crvi~.l~~ tiistrict in C1ni.k Coult:r, !Icl.r. ]

Jan 1, 1939

By John E. Conley

THE production of lime by the burning or calcination of limestone, including all varieties from true dolomites and magnesian limestones to high-calcium types, continues as one of the essential basic industries. In 1937, a total of 4,124,165 tons of lime valued at approximately $30,091,000 was produced in the United States.1 The importance of any contribution to our knowledge on the mechanism of the lime-burning process is, therefore, obvious. The burning of limestone has been practiced since the earliest days of our civilization, and the literature on the various phases of the industry is voluminous. Calcination of the various types of limestone has been studied by many previous investigators, but some points require additional research. Each occurrence of limestone provides an opportunity for specific investigation, because the characteristics of stones in different localities vary Knibbs13 has given an excellent discussion of available data on the theory of lime and magnesia burning. The thermal dissociation of calcium carbonate has been studied more recently by Johnston,2 Smyth and Adams,3 Ralston et al.,4 Furnas,5 Potapenko,6 and Southard and Royster.7 As a result of these investigations the dissociation temperature at atmospheric pressure has been established as 894º to 898º C. The dissociation of dolomite and magnesite, although studied by several investigator,4, 6, 8 still requires clarification by additional data. The calcination of limestone was studied for a twofold purpose: (1) to extend our information on the mechanism of the lime-burning process and (2) to standardize the conditions for calcination of high-calcium and dolomitic limestones for subsequent hydration tests on the lime.

Jan 1, 1939

By W. B. Boggs

A paper describing the Noranda smelter was presented at the 1930 annual meeting of the Institute (1). A lacer article appeared in the Trans-actions of the A.I.M.&M.E. in 1933. Since that time there have been many changes and improvements in plant operation and it is the abject of this paper to give an account of developments up to the beginning of 1939. The Noranda smelter was built originally for a capacity of 30,000 tons a month. At present, the average tonnage being treated is 110,000 tons a month, the tonnage of custom ores alone amounting to almost the total rated capacity of the original plant. This increase has been accomplished by increasing the capacity of the reverberatory furnaces from 700 tons of solid charge per furnace day in 1928 to 1,500 tons per day at the present time. In 1935, it appeared chat the limit of furnace capacity had been reached at about 1,300 tons of charge per day because of the short life of the sprung silica arches. However, the adoption of the suspended magnesite roof, which had been developed at the Flin Flou smelter of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, overcame this difficulty and it is believed that the limit of the capacity of the present reverberarory furnaces has not been reached. A brief account of the changes to equipment in the various departments will be given, followed by a description of the more important features of present smelter practice.

Jan 1, 1939

NORTH AMERICA ALASKA Anchorage.-Neitzert, G. H. Strandberg, H. Candle.-Robbins, J. S. College.-Barber, R. J. Burns, W. T. Coats, R. R. Fox. E. F. Joesting, H. R. McAnerney, J. M. Colorado Station.-Beyer, A. Stanford, J. V. Douglas.-Cahill, W. E. Carlson, L. Fairbanks.-Crawford, J. D. Earling, R. B. Fowler, D. A. Greves, J. H. Henton, H. M. Herbert, C. F. Hopkins, J. E. Kreitlow, E. J. MacDonald, D., III Mathews, T. C. McCarty, W. J. McNair, W. H. Metcalfe, J. B. Mikami, H. M. Mize, R. J. CANADA ALBERTA Calgary.-Johnson, R. V. Link, T. A. Marple, L. E. Slipper, S. E. Thorne, B. L. Thorne, H. L. Vissac. G. A. Edmonton.-Ball, -M. W. Lilge, E. O. Pitcher, N. C. Nordegg.-Shanks, J. BRITISH COLUMBIA Allenby.-Lindsay, W. R. Bralorne.-Almstrom, A. A. Bosustow, R. Currie, J. M. Gibson, S. Schmitt, D. E. G. Wilson, G. H. Bridge River.¬Botterill, T. C. Crane, G. A.

Jan 1, 1939

By E. J. Gleim

In April 1932, the Bureau of Mines published Information Circular 6595, entitled "Data in Reference to Installation of Cables in Shafts and Boreholes", in which were described methods followed in various sections of the United States when electrical circuits are taken into mines by means of cables suspended in shafts and boreholes. In view of the present tendency to extend high-tension cables along entries and passageways from the bottom of the shaft, borehole, or other point of entrance to coal mines rather than over the surface, it is deemed that the various methods of installing such cables deserve careful consideration, particularly in mines in which gas and coal dust contribute to explosion hazards. This is especially true of localities where there is an inclination to restrict the extension of 2,300- and 4,000-volt circuits into the mines. Probably it is feared that accidental contact with the cables of such circuits may result in more serious shock than with lower voltages; also, it is possible that new circuits are regarded merely as explosion hazards additional to those already existing, regardless of the manner in which the new circuits may be installed. It is the firm belief of some engineers that the circuits can be installed so that they will not be damaged by wrecks or roof falls, thereby eliminating the hazard of explosion from this source while at the same time making the chance of accidental contact remote if not impossible. Moreover, some believe that fire hazards from direct-current systems can be reduced by keeping motor-generator sets close to load centers. Thus, although the alternating-current circuits would be lengthened, the size and extent of direct-current circuits would be kept to a minimum.

Jan 1, 1939

By Arthur Wade

During the year 1938, there was some drilling in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, as follows: Queens1and.—At Hutton Creek, lat. (approx.) 25° 45' S.; long (approx.) 149°, drilling was done by Drillers limited (subsidiary Oil Search) to a depth of 4688 ft., to the Lower Permian(?). There were small gas showings. The hole mas abandoned. At Mt. Bassett, lat (approx.) 26" 20' S.; long. (approx.) 149", Roma Blocks Oil Co. No Liability drilled to a depth of 4033 ft. The hole bottomed in granite. There were small showings of' oil and gas above bedrock in what may be Permian but is not yet determined. The company intends to run a formation tester. New South Wales.—At Kulnura, lat. (approx.) 33" S., long (approx.) 151°, the Kamilaroi Oil Company Ltd. (subsidiary of Oil Search Ltd.) drilled to a depth of 6293 ft. The Permian, probably Upper Marine Series, was reached. Drilling is to continue. Victoria.—At Romawi, lat. (approx) 37" 50' S., long. (approx.) 147" 45', a dry hole 3246 ft. deep bottomed in the Jurassic and was abandoned. It was drilled by the Governments of the Commonwealth and the State of Victoria. At Lakes Entrance, 1st. (approx.) 37" 50' S.; long. (approx) 748", a small showing of' oil (a few pints a day) was obtained from a well drilled 1275 It., to the Upper Oligocene-Glaucnnitc series, by the Austral Oil Drilling Syndicate, No Liability. Future Drilling Preparations is are being made by companies fur further test drilling in 1939, and the Governments of the Common wealth and the State of Victoria are continuing test holes for information only in the Gippsland district of Victoria. In Papua and New Guinea, no test drilling was done in 1938, but several companies are carrying on geological investigation and it is expected that, some test holes will be drilled during 1939.

Jan 1, 1939

By Ernest Kirkendall

The amount of research done in the last fen years on the subject of diffusion in solid metals is significant of the importance of this problem. To review the literature dealing with diffusion is unnecessary here. Deschl in 1912 reviewed the work that had been done on diffusion in solids and gave a bibliography of the literature published before that time. Mehl's paper in 19362 is an excellent review of diffusion in metals and contains a large bibliography. Of importance also for it? review and bibliography is an article by 14. I. Krynitsky.~ While considerable material lias appeared in the literature on diffusion in brass, the amount of information is not great compared to that pertaining to some of the other alloys. Most of the information published is of a qualitative nature; that which is quantitative varies considerably. Thus the quantitative determination of the rates of diffusion of copper and zinc in alpha brass by a new method appeared worth while. In the present investigation the rate of diffusion of zinc in approximately the same composition alpha brass has been determined :it three temperatures. Procedure The method used consisted of plating copper on a beta brass, heating it, to allow diffusion to take place, and measuring the concentration of copper by determining the lattice constant of the alloy. This method is unique in that it uses a beta brass of such a composition that at the tem perature at which diffusion takes place the beta brass is saturated wit11 copper. Thus, while the beta brass supplies thc zinc, no diffusion takes

Jan 1, 1939

By Frank C. Greene

The results of drilling in Missouri in 1938 are overshadowed by the leasing activity in northern Missouri, which began about the middle of the year. Nothing like it has ever been witnessed by the oil industry. With no production except a minor amount of gas, and with no drilling except in Clay, Platte and Marion Counties, a leasing campaign has embraced most of the counties north of the Missouri River and spread into southern Iowa, southeastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas. It is reported that nearly all farms that could be leased without payment of a bonus have been leased, mostly on 10-yr. contracts, and at the end of the year a policy of bonus paying is in effect. Many of the major oil companies are leasing in the area and at least 15 of them are represented by scouts. Similarity to the Illinois Basin, low-priced leases and low drilling costs are among the reasons advanced for the leasing activity. Drilling activity in Missouri increased nearly two-thirds over 1937, with a total of 164 completions. The main activity was the extension of the "shoestring" of the so-called Bartlesville gas pool in Jackson County. It now seems that this sand is probably at the horizon of the Burbank sand. A new Squirrel sand oil pool was discovered in Jackson County. Cass County had five oil wells, with 63 bbl. initial production, four gas wells with 542,000 cu. ft. initial open flow, and 15 dry holes. Jackson County had three oil wells, with 24 bbl. initial production, 56 gas wells with 52,021,168 cu. ft. initial open flow and 57 dry holes. In Vernon County seven oil wells, with about 36 bbl. initial production, and two dry holes were completed. The oil production dropped off very quickly. In counties where wildcatting was carried on, new production was found. Clay County had seven dry holes, Hickory and Marion one each; Platte, four and St. Clair, two.

Jan 1, 1939

By Holbrook Botset

EXPERIMENTS performed in this laboratory on the flow of gas-liquid mixtures through unconsolidated sands have been described and discussed in an earlier paper.4 In these earlier experiments a definite relationship was found between the liquid saturation of a sand and its permeability to the liquid or gas phase. Furthermore, the nature of the sand, the permeabilities of the sands over a range between 17 and 260 darcies, appeared to have a negligible effect upon the saturation-permeability relation. Likewise experiments indicated that the viscosity of the liquid, or the substitution of an immiscible liquid for the gas phase, had only a very slight effect on the permeability-saturation relation. This con-clusion has since been definitely confirmed by the experiments of M. C. Leverett3 on the flow of oil and water through unconsolidated sands. The sands used by Leverett were of very low permeability (between 6.8 and 1.04 darcies), while the oil-water viscosity ratio varied between 90 and 0.057. Since the sands that constitute petroleum reservoirs are largely con-solidated, although of widely varying degrees of consolidation, it was desirable to extend the experiments on gas-liquid mixtures to consolidated sand. In the study of consolidated sands additional variables are involved, but for the initial experiments the only new variable to be intro-duced was the cementing material.

Jan 1, 1939

By L. R. Burdick

This paper presents a review of published investigation dealing with the importance of sulfur compounds in the deterioration of materials or providing some basis for estimating the extent of loss shareable to such air pollution. Materials included are cement, stone, metals, paint, leather, paper, sand cloth. The investigations may be divided into two classes, one of the laboratory type in which the sulfur content and the humidity of the air were controlled and the other dealing with the exposure of materials to atmospheres not under control. The first type of work has shown that cement is subject to deterioration by the action of sulfur dioxide gas. The experiments with stone indicate that although limestone takes up sulfur dioxide, from the air, moist sulfur dioxide-air mixtures alone cannot be used for establishing- the comparative weathering- qualities of the different types of stone by accelerated test methods. Laboratory tests indicate that sulfur compounds in the air accelerate the corrosion of iron, steel, zinc, copper, and nickel at normal air temperatures and at certain relative humidities. It has also been indicated that certain types of paint are, affected by high sulfur dioxide concentrations, and that paper is attacked by sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. The investigations of the second type show the amount or variation of corrosion in different localities and under different types of exposure. The investigations (10) (18)4/ during which sulfur determinations were made indicate that sulfur dioxide is a main controlling factor in the corrosion of iron and steel but according to Quick (18) may not be for some nonferrous metals. In general, the laboratory tests do not Jive definite data on the loss due to sulfur compounds at the concentrations normally found in the air. The data from atmospheric exposures are not complete from the standpoint of the exact effect of the sulfur compounds. Damage to materials so exposed is affected by factors such as other chemical contaminants, humidity, rainfall, solid deposits, and sunlight. A simple scheme has been devised in Great Britain which is considered to provide a measure of the attack of sulfur compound, on building materials (1). Small cylinders coated

Jan 1, 1939

By G. W. Jones

Fires in anthracite refuse banks are troublesome and may become exceedingly costly to combat. Instances are known in which refuse-bank fires have grown to such magnitude that entire mining properties have been endangered. In one instance4/ a refuse-bank fire cost the mine management several hundred thousand dollars to extinguish. The exact number of fires formerly existing or now active in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania is not known, There are hundreds of anthracite refuse banks in this region, some very high and large in area, that have never caught fire, although a few are over 50 years old. This would indicate that spontaneous ignition of the material in these banks is improbable, a conclusion confirmed by recent laboratory research.

Jan 1, 1939

By G. E. Steudel

THE study of the possibility of effecting a lower cost in the manu-facture of pig iron reveals the importance of the ever present question of slag chemistry and volume. Factors that determine slag chemistry and volume are the impurities in the ore available, the ash-sulphur content of the coke, and a flux material necessary to promote removal of sulphur. Of these, the ores present by far the major source of impurities and what may prove to be the lowest practical slag volume with desired chemistry in one locality may be considered low or high in some other center of iron manufacture. The Chicago district is not only blessed with ores of high quality, but with excellent coke and flux materials as well. It is the intent of this paper to discuss slag problems at the South Works only, where burdens consist of Mesabi ores, Michigan stone, and coke ranging from 7 to 9 per cent ash and containing an average of 0.57 per cent sulphur. Early in the development of modern blast-furnace practice, the con-sideration of slags was secondary to the many adjustments of mechanical difficulties, such as furnace lines, stock distribution, stove design for obtaining higher blast temperatures, improved chemical segregation and size of raw materials. Furnace operators, after making these improve-ments, turned their attention to the study of other refinements in practice, of which slag chemistry appeared to be the most important. It is only within the last two decades that operators have become familiar with the various aspects of slag compositions. The industry, while rather slow in its recognition, is indebted to such investigators as Rankin,1 Wright,1 Feild,2 Royster,2 McCaffery,3 Kinney,4 Holbrook,5 and Joseph5, whose researches concerning the elimination of sulphur within the blast furnace and the effect of slag composition upon melting point, viscosity, and desulphurizing power have established criteria for the selection of slags of the requisite quality.

Jan 1, 1939

By C. W. Mason

TIN has long been cited as offering a classic example of polymorphism, second in repute only to the allotropy of sulphur. The notorious "tin disease," which Cohen1 has studied so exhaustively in terms of the enantiotropic transformation of tetragonal white 0 tin to cubic gray a tin, has apparently encouraged the expectation that one or more addi-tional polymorphic modifications might exist. The search for confirma-tion of this idea has, as might be anticipated, led to the accumulation of a body of miscellaneous evidence, much of which would probably never have been sought, or taken seriously even by its discoverers, but for previous assumptions. The ball apparently was started rolling in 1880 by Trechmann,' who reported a new modification of tin (y tin), which was brittle and found in "hard head," a highly arsenical, slaggy material produced in a certain stage of tin smelting. A mixture of two kinds of crystals was obtained from a Cornish tin furnace, and those thought to be y tin were studied crystallographically. The results indicated that these crystals were rhombic and of different density from the tetragonal tin prepared electrolytically by Miller.3 Their analysis was given as 98.7 per cent Sn, 1.3 per cent Fe, and traces of As, Sb, Bi and S. In 1881 von Foullon4 obtained similar crystals from a Bohemian tin furnace. Headden5 examined crystals similar to those of Trechmann and von Foullon and reported them to be monoclinic, but of analysis corresponding to stannous sulphide. Later, Stevanovic,6 by goniometric measurements, proved that these crystals of SnS were really rhombic. Groth7 pictures and describes both "rhombic tin" (Fig. 9, vol. 1) and stannous sulphide (Fig. 84, vol. 1); their faces and angles correspond within the accuracy of measurement. Spencer3 in 1921 examined the above evidence critically; he found similar crystals from Cornish tin furnaces, proved them to be SnS, and even was able to analyze some of Trechmann's original specimens, finding high sulphur content. (Apparently Trechmann's analysis had been based on a second lot of crystals, not described crystallographically.)

Jan 1, 1939

By Jos. R. Guiteras

This paper is one of o. series describing mining and milling methods and costs being published by the United States Bureau of Mines. It presents the results of a study of the Alice mine by the writer in December 1936. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is made to J. Fred Johnson, mining engineer off the American Smelting & Refining Co., for permission to visit the property; and to Arthur F. Johnson, general superintendent at the property, for his friendly cooperation in contributing the information contained in the paper.

Jan 1, 1939