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By A. W. Maynard

Simple chemical spot tests for the identification of major alloying elements in aluminum-base alloys are described. The tests are suitable for use by nontechnical personnel working outside a laboratory. Tests for zinc, copper, manganese, and magnesium employ electrographic sampling methods and sample papers. Use of electrographic sampling in a test for magnesium in aluminum is made possible by using glass fiber filter paper. Differentiations between magnesium and magnesium-silicon alloys of aluminum and between aluminum-base and magnesium-base alloys are made by direct chemical solution tests. Description of a device for obtaining reliable electrographic samples is included. A sequence of testing for identification by alloy groups is given.

Jan 1, 1971

By Freeman Bishop

Quietly picking his way through the thorny thicket of conservation issues is William E. Ruckelshaus, director of the Environmental Protection Agency in which President Nixon gathered the various anti- pollution units from the Interior, Commerce. Agriculture and Health. Education and Welfare departments. Mr. Ruckelshaus. EPA's first administrator, moved over from being Assistant Attorney General in charge of the civil division at Justice to this new post. Essentially, EPA is charged with administering swiftly proliferating antipollution programs. This means policing industry cities, farms and everything else. Ruckelshaus has been quietly fitting together the various pieces of this new agency, pulling then1 out of other Federal departments. Some 5800 employees are involved. The budget in 1971 for these segments will total about $1.5 billion.

Jan 1, 1971

By William F. Lawrence

Due to the immense volumes of municipal wastes that are generated in this nation every year, it has become imperative that effective measures be developed to utilize all or portions of these materials in a productive and efficient manner. Nany larger municipalities employ incineration to reduce the bulk of material to be removed to disposal sites: but, even after incineration, approximately one-fourth of the original waste material in the form of non-combustible residue and flyash remain. It has been found that the flyash fraction of the incinerator residue contains varying amounts of copper, silver, gold, aluminum, iron and titanium along with many other important metals. The serious loss of these natural resources contained within the flyash and the monetary expense of current disposal methods present a serious and rapidly increasing problem to the public and to the Federal Government. The growing emphasis upon environmental control, rapidly increasing urban population and "convenience packaging" 'with its attendant increased waste production has led to the initiation of a broad range of studies concerning municipal waste. For example, the U. S. Bureau of I-lines is investigating all aspects of the incineration of municipal waste under its solid waste disposal program.l "In-house" studies range from improved incinerator design to potential recovery and recycling of the various components within the incinerator residue. A major portion of the latter research is being performed at the U. S. Bureau of ;-lines, College Park, Maryland facility while grants for specific areas of study have been issued to several universities and research institutes. In addition, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare has supported programs examining the potential recovery of paper; glass, metals and other components of unincinerated refuse followed by disposal in sanitary landfills.

Jan 1, 1971

By Charles M. Hauptman

The Karst asbestos deposit, discovered seventy years ago, is 32 miles south of Bozeman in southwestern Montana. The deposit is about one-half mile west of the Gallatin River which flows in a deep V-shaped valley flanked on either side by rugged mountains. The Madison range is west of the river and the Gallatin range lies to the east. A busy all-weather highway, U.S. No. 191, follows the river and is the major north-south route between Bozeman and the Gallatin valley to the north and Idaho and the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park to the south. The asbestos deposit is a large body of serpentinized peridotite in which anthophy11ite.occurs, both as distinct veins and as a disseminated mineral in the peridotite mass. The known exposures of the asbestos-bearing rock occur on a steen south slope at an "elevation of about 7000 feet, an elevation 'which is about 1200 feet above the Gallatin River. Over the years, a number of small companies have attempted to exploit the Karst asbestos deposit without continuing success. The present operator, Galaxy Mining Corporation, has attempted a systematic approach to the problem by utilizing geologic and engineering surveys to determine the economic and technical feasibility of a mine and plant to produce a finished asbestos pro-duct. The results of this work indicate a high probability of success for the project. However the company now faces that dilel1lJllB so common to the non-metallic mineral business; that is, whether to continue a research program of further mineralogical and technological studies in conjunction with detailed market surveys or to rely on the work done to date and embark on a pilot progril1n

Jan 1, 1971

By David A. Summers, John Corwine, Li-King Chen

The results from fracturing plexiglas beams are combined in eight existing equations to determine the surface energy of the material. The reliability of each equation is tested, and the equation in use to determine fracture toughness is found to be the most exact. This equation is then used in determination of the surface energy of Barre Granite.

Jan 1, 1971

By D. W. Fuerstenau, G. D. Gumtz

Use of the discretized batch-grinding model for the simulation of locked-cycle grinding tests from batch-grinding data is illustrated. The simulated results were compared with actual locked-cycle experimental data for the dry grinding of dolomite. To illustrate the utility of this simulation method, a number of relationships between operating and performance parameters were generated, including relations between batch grinding and the Bond test, the production rate and the circulating load, and the production rate and the product size. A large amount of testing is done each year in the mineral industry for use with grinding unit cperations, and much of the experimental test data is obtained by the tedious locked-cycle testing procedure. In addition to being experimentally complex and requiring large amounts of sample, the very nature of the locked-cycle experiment yields results that cannot readily be interpreted. The attempts that have been made to model comminution systems during the last few years may provide a better and simpler way to obtain and analyze grinding test data; these models involve elements of both fitting to "model equations" and deterministic representations.1-1 The traditional engineering design techniques for comminution systems have relied mainly upon large amounts of industrial operating data that have been correlated with locked-cycle grinding data.',' Bond's empirical mill-design procedure involving locked cycle testing remains the most generally available method to this day. The purpose of the present paper is to show how much more useful data can be obtained from a simple batch-grinding experiment that provides information which subsequently can be utilized with population balance models of the grinding process to simulate locked-cycle behavior. These simulation results can, of course, be used in Bond's general design scheme. However, the combination of batch-grinding tests and the population balance model allows many more conditions to be considered than do single laboratory tests under specific locked-cycle conditions. The use of these simulation techniques for prediction of locked-cycle behavior represents one of the first practical applications for the simulation method in comminution.

Jan 1, 1971

By H. L. Shergold, O. Mellgren

Concentration of fine quartz particles at the iso-octane/water interface has been investigated under different conditions of pH and dodecylamine concentration. The results obtained from the related studies on the effect of amine concentration and pH on the interfacial tension, adsorption density, electrokinetic potential, contact angle, and concentration of the various amine species in the system are presented. A good correlation was obtained between these different variables. It is well-known that very fine mineral particles are difficult to float in conventional flotation machines. Flotation rate studies have revealed that the rate of flotation of fine mineral particles is much smaller than that of coarser size fractions. The theories accounting for this behavior have been discussed by Arbiter and Harris1 and also Meloy.2 Theoretically, a hydrophobic fine particle might never make contact with a bubble because of the presence of an energy barrier in the vicinity of the air/water interface.' This energy barrier will have electrostatic, hydrodynamic, and Van der Waals force components. It was thought that by using an oil phase instead of air the energy barrier would be decreased so that fine particles could be concentrated at the oil/water interface more readily than at the air/water interface. The technique used involves dispersing the fine particles in water, containing the appropriate chemical reagents, and injecting a fine dispersion of iso-octane oil droplets into the pulp. After vigorous conditioning, the pulp is passed into a separating column where the oil droplets coated with a layer of mineral particles rise to the surface to form a separate layer. Air is introduced into the base of the separating column to ensure that heavy agglomerates of oil and particles report with the organic layer. This technique has been described previously4 and adopted by Lai and Fuerstenau5 who studied the alumina-dodecyl sulfonate system. The interfacial phenomena in the system composed of hematite, water, and iso-octane in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate have been studied and the results reported" earlier. This paper describes the results obtained from investigations into the interfacial phenomena in the quartz/water/iso-octane system in the presence of dodecylamine. The technique used in measuring the interfacial tension, electrokinetic potential, contact angle, and adsorption density were similar to those described previously? Materials Selected pieces of a high purity natural quartz, from the Isle of Man, were crushed in a laboratory jaw crusher and pulverizer. The — 52+72 mesh size fraction was retained and leached with successive washes of hot concentrated hydrochloric acid to remove iron impurities. When no iron was detected in the solution by ammonium thiocyanate, the quartz was washed thoroughly with distilled water until the conductivity of the wash water assumed that of the distilled water. Samples of 25 g of the —52+72 mesh quartz were ground for 5.25 min in an agate vibratory mill. The ground product was 100% —44 m and 57% —10 am, as determined by the Andreasen pipette. The specific surface area of the sample used for the adsorption and flotation tests was 0.94 sq m g-l. This corresponds to a mean particle diameter of 2.4 am. The —44 am quartz sample was stored under vacuum in the presence of silica gel crystals. For the contact angle determination between the three phases, quartz, iso-octane, and water, a piece of the natural quartz was ground into a block about 15 mm long, 15 mm wide, and 5 mm thick. One surface of the block was then polished by successively finer grades of silicon carbide "paper." The final polishing was conducted with alumina on a "hyprocel" paper. The polished quartz specimen was cleaned using nitric acid and ethyl alcohol followed by a wash with distilled water and then stored under distilled water. This pro-

Jan 1, 1971

By Charles T. Holland

INTRODUCTION Insofar as I am aware, the term rock mechanics was not in the English dictionary in 1930 when I started my graduate program at West Virginia University. Hence, I never thought that I was undertaking studies in rock mechanics when I undertook to write a thesis on the physical properties of West Virginia coal. In this case, the subject was primarily concerned with the compressive strength of coal, the elasticity of the coal, the physical weathering properties of the coal and its friability. These days investigations of rocks pertaining to such properties are included in the term "rock mechanics". Other than this aspect, the principle interest in this part of my program was that I became interested in the strength of coal from the standpoint of structural purposes, and also became cognizant of its elastic properties as well as its energy storing properties. This research also tied in with a remark that Professor Lawall made in a Mining Methods class in 1928 when he remarked that a peculiar thing was happening in the southern part of West Virginia, namely, in the Pocahontas coal field. His remarks were to the effect that pillars were blowing up in the mines and when asked why he replied the cause was not known. The failure of three-inch coal specimens, especially those in stronger coal, in non-hydraulic actuated testing machines was reminiscent of his description of those pillar bursts or bumps.

Jan 1, 1971

By Emory J. Douglass

Mining companies are unique in that they extract mineral resources and must therefore deal with ecological disturbances and other special problems. Like most enterprises, however, their primary motive must be to make money. The problem of mining investment starts with the question of what "make money" means. This article proposes an answer consistent with what economists call the theory of the firm and then applies it to two of the common, and perhaps unrecognized, problems connected with min¬ing investment. In essence, the concepts presented here call for thinking to terms of the income change associated with a given change it outlays or operating procedures To illustrate. ABC Distributing Co. has just discovered the power of advertising. It has raised its annual advertising budget from $25,000 to $50,000, and sales have, zoomed from 250.000 to 350,000 units. The company buy, for 50e per unit and sells at $l. This move has produced $50,000 of operating income for $25.000 in additional advertising expense. This looks great, so the next year the advertising budget goes up to $100,000. Sales go to 440,000 units. With 90,000 more units at 50[c] per unit, ABC sales are up by $45.000. Its advertising costs, however, went up $50,000.

Jan 1, 1971

By J. M. W. Mackenzie, C. J. Wood

In attempting to describe the size classification performance of a hydrocyclone, most workers have elected to use either an equilibrium orbit theory or an non-equilibrium orbit theory. The equilibrium orbit theory has been used by the majority of workers including Lilge,' Bradley; and Yoshioka and Hotta. In applying this theory, it is argued that particles in the body of a hydrocyclone attain an equilibrium radial position where the drag force on the particle resulting from the inward radial fluid velocity is balanced by the outward centrifugal force caused by the tangential component of fluid flow. When considered over the full height of the hydrocy-clone, attainment of this radial equilibrium orbit results in the particle following a conical equilibrium envelope. It is then argued that if this envelope lies outside the envelope of "zero vertical velocity," the particle will report to the underflow, while if the equilibrium envelope lies inside the envelope of "zero vertical velocity," the particle will report to the overflow or vortex finder product. The d50-sized particle which reports in equal quantities to the underflow and overflow is assumed to correspond to particles whose equilibrium envelope is coincident with the envelope of "zero vertical velocity." In considering the equilibrium orbit theory, it is apparent that the horizontal position of the particles in the feed inlet pipe should have no effect on their ultimate destination on the hydrocyclone. Each particle should attain an equilibrium position which depends on the density, size, and shape of the particle; the density and viscosity of the fluid; and the flow patterns within the hydrocy-clone. The nonequilibrium orbit or unsteady state theory has been largely developed by Rietema4 and Mizrahi.6 Mizrahi has listed four main objections to the equilibrium orbit theory. These objections center on the short residence time in the hydrocyclone, the fact that the experimental classification curve is much less sharp than is theoretically predicted, and the absence of negative efficiency conditions in hydro cyclones operating on a feed material which is much finer in size than d50. Proponents of the nonequilibrium orbit theory argue that for a particle to discharge with the underflow it must have sufficient outward radial velocity to reach the downward-flowing region close to the hydrocyclone wall in which the flow lines are parallel to the wall and the ratio of vertical to radial velocity is constant. It is then postulated that a d50 particle entering the cyclone at the center of the feed inlet will just reach this downward-flowing region as it reaches the apex. Thus for uniform distribution of particles across the feed inlet, half the d50 particles—that is, those injected in the half of the inlet area nearest the cyclone wall —will report to the underflow while those injected in the other half will not reach the downward-flowing region and will be carried inward to the center of the cyclone and thus report in the overflow. The exact thickness of the down-ward-flowing region of fluid adjacent to the outer wall of the hydrocyclone is uncertain but Mizrahi considers it to be equal to the apex radius minus the air core radius. Particles larger than d50 have a greater outward centrifugal force acting on them than the d50 particles and may reach the wall even if injected at a distance from the wall greater than Di/2 (Di is inlet diameter). Conversely, particles smaller than d50 may not reach the wall even if injected at a distance less than Di/2 from the cyclone wall. Since the equations put forward by the proponents of both theories yield approximately the same values of d50, it is not possible to decide between these theories by measurement of d50. It should be possible however to examine the theories by injecting a small stream of solids into the feed inlet of a hydrocyclone running on clear water. If the efficiency or classification curve is measured for various horizontal injection positions, then the curves should be coincident if the equilibrium orbit theory holds. If, however, the unsteady state theory describes the cyclone operation, then the classification curves should show finer d50 sizes for particles injected close to the cyclone wall. Experimental A 6-in.-diam hydrocyclone with geometry as in Figs. 1 and 2 was used. Quartz particles were injected as a 50% by wt pulp via an 1/8-in. steel probe. For each in-

Jan 1, 1971

Coals from the Southern Coalfield of New South Wales treated in the Port Kembla coal preparation plants of Australian Iron and Steel Pty. Ltd. differ supstantially in their characteristics. Knpwledge of performance not only enables comparison and promotes better control, but also provides the means for predicting results.Evaluation of performance of cleaning equipment has been made in terms of probable error (Ep). Results for Baum jigs, a Chance cone, heavy medium cyclones, and water washing cyclones were examined. The efficiency factors derived from the probable error were applied to the float and sink analysis, mathematically simulating operating conditions. This method was applied to the Balgownie seam.The Balgownie seam lies between the Bulli and Wongawilli seams in the coal measures of the South Coast and mining on a large scale began recently in the Bulli area. It is known locally as the Four Foot seam and exhibits rather difficult washability characteristics, due to a comparatively high middlings content. These properties and the relatively high inherent ash make careful selection of cleaning equipment essential for optimum recovery. The prediction technique is used to determine the possible results when this coal is cleaned in the Port Kembla plants. Predicted values are compared with results from full scale trial washings demonstrating the validity and accuracy of the technique.Applications of result forecasting are listed.

Jan 1, 1971

By Frank B. Fulkerson

This is the second of two interrelated studies of waterborne transportation. The first study discussed transportation of mineral commodities on the inland waterways of the South-Central States.2 Together, the two surveys describe and analyze the flow of foreign and inland waterborne commerce of the gulf coast. All the principal mineral-industry imports and exports of the gulf coast are mentioned in the report, including metals, nonmetals, and mineral fuel products, The gulf coast foreign trade in mineral industry products was determined to be composed of a small number of commodities.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. A. Hustrulid, N. A. Ross

An analysis of the design of medium to hard rock tunneling machines is presented. The developed equations are used to compare performances and machine requirements using kerf and fixed pick cutters to bore a given rock. With the use of pick cutters, required thrusts can be greatly reduced and still achieve the same boring rate as with present day tooth or kerf cutters. It appears that the cutting coefficient, which for most boring machines is of the order of 0.1, should be increased to one or larger to facilitate rock removal by cutting rather than grinding. The depth of cut and the indexing distance should be greatly increased to make use of inherent rock weakness.

Jan 1, 1971

The hydrological cycle in nature, with particular reference to Australia . 2. The definition of water pollution drawing on the experience of several major countries. 3. A description of the pollutants in water, and why they are pollutants. 4. The classification of waters as defined by major overseas countries. 5. The criteria and standards developed by major overseas countries for the classification of waters. 6. A brief- summary of the legislation adopted by overseas countries for the control of water pollution, and of the organisation and administration of controls. 7. A study of Australian legislation and administration of controls of water pollution. 8. General observations and conclusions.

Jan 1, 1971

By Jan Wolf

The iron ore industry presently utilizes two types of de-posits. The first are the high grade deposits generally located in remote areas and, secondly, the low grade de-posits which are normally found nearer to the steel-making centers. The high grade deposits produce a direct shipping ore which has an iron content which may be close to the maxi-mum 70% of Fe. These deposits have reserves which are ex-pressed in billions of tons. The ore needs little or no up-grading and where this is performed is restricted to ore washing. With the large demand for iron ore pellets, plus a national drive to perform as much of the upgrading as possible in the native country, there is a trend to erecting pellet plants at the mine location~ Large iron ore suppliers such as Australia, Brazil, Venezuela and Liberia already have pellet plants in operation, and there are new plants projected or expansion projects under study. The low grade ores are mined at locations closer to steel mills such as in Minnesota, Michigan and Canada. These low grade ores require methods of beneficiation to obtain a commercially accept-able product with the modern beneficiation techniques it is no~, possible to produce iron ore pellets of 68% Fe and 4.5% silica from ores containing as low as 26% Fe. Figure 1 gives a general picture of the types of iron ores and their beneficiation. The final product of the high grade ore is a coarse concentrate, sinter product or pellets. The final product of the low grade ores is pellets and, in some cases, coarse concentrates.

Jan 1, 1971

By Randall E. Brown

Irrigation simulates a climate change so that crops can be grown that otherwise would not thrive. The abundant sunshine and warm weather of many arid regions induces a rate of growth in excess of that in cooler, moister regions. Hence, the arid part of eastern Washington, traversed by the Columbia River, is admirably suited to irrigation. The Pasco Basin lies in south-central Washington at the south end of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Basin, because it lies in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, receives only 6 to 10 inches of precipitation a year with somewhat greater amounts, commonly as snow, on the higher hills. Recent extremes included 3 inches of precipitation from August 1967 to August 1968, and 12 inches in the succeeding "12 months. Most of the precipitation falls during winter. If it were to fall in summer or were evenly distributed throughout the year, evaporation rates probably would produce a true desert.

Jan 1, 1971

By John M. Gomes

The Bureau of Mines investigated two techniques for removing CaO from scheelite (CaW04) prior to electrolysis. In the first technique, a crude tungstic oxide (WO3) containing 0.15-percent lime (CaO) was prepared by digesting scheelite concentrates in hot hydrochloric acid. This oxide was used as cell feed to produce tungsten of 99.9-percent purity. The second technique used a high-temperature, two-phase separation, resulting in extraction of 99 percent of the WO3 in the halide-tungstate phase, while 90 percent of the CaO was retained in the silicate phase. Tungsten of 99.9-percent purity was deposited from the halide-tungstate melt after B203 and NaPO3 were added to form an electrolyte. The two methods were compared with a previously developed technique of depositing tungsten from scheelite concentrate fed directly to the electrolytic cell.

Jan 1, 1971

By Joe B. Alford

Jan 1, 1971

The relationship between the maceral composition of coal and the strength of the coke produced from that coal has received a great deal of attention in recent years.Studies using two Bulli Seam coals, and blends of Bulli and Wongawilli Seam coals, from the IIIawarra Measures of the Southern Coalfield of New South Wales were carried out.The optimum range of vitrinite was found to lie between 45 per cent and 60 per cent (mineral matter free).Above and below this vitrinite range coke strength deteriorated. Coke strength indices increased with rank, and the optimum vitrinite content increased with an increase in rank. These changes require confirmation as trends by testing a third level of rank. It was noted that vitrinite content decreased with an increase in the specific gravity of separation of the coal.Use of petrographic analyses will increase confidence in choosing coals for coking, provided the coals are well known. Such analyses offer the possibility of greater flexibility in coal purchases and the possibility of producing a marketable blend from coals, which have limited market potential. Critical base coals for blends can be conserved.Significantly more work is required before coal reserves can be utilized to optimum advantage. This work would require extension of the studies discussed in this paper and, in particular, the testing of a wider range of rank.

Jan 1, 1971

Jan 1, 1971