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By J. Visman

"Cyclone separators of different design are being used in increasing numbers in the coal industry of today. One recent addition, the Compound Water Cyclone, is finding application in the North American and Australian coal fields for the beneficiation of coking coals and for the reduction of sulphur and ash in steam coals. In this paper, the combination of specific-gravity separation, thickening, classification and water recovery are discussed. All of these operations can now be accomplished by means of cyclones that are effectively combined in circuits of compact design. In the layout of such integrated plants, three main sections are distinguished, namely: a Main Section for cleaning the plus-28-mesh fractions; an Effluent-Beneficiation Section for treating the minus-28-mesh fractions; and a Water-Recovery Section, where the wash water is reconditioned, and the fine solids are removed in a semi-solid state as slugs or pellets. Depending on the nature of the coal and the specifications of the purchaser, water-cyclone circuits can be flexibly combined with HM Cyclones and froth flotation, as well as with ancillary equipment for dewatering and drying."

Jan 1, 1968

By L. W. Pommier

In the field of minerals processing the concentration of valuable minerals normally takes place in suspensions of ore particles in liquids. The fluid resistance offered by Newtonian liquids to the movement of free settling spheres for the limiting cases of creep flow and turbulent flow is well described by Stokes' and Newton's Laws. However, these equations are not applicable to non-Newtonian fluids, since the relationship between applied shearing stress and resulting rate of shear is a non-linear function, and more than one viscosity parameter is necessary to describe their rheological properties. For this reason, the term "apparent viscosity," which has been commonly used to explain the flow resistance of the non-Newtonian systems including suspensions, may be misleading. A rigorous analysis of the mechanisms of momentum transport of solid-liquid systems is complex indeed. There are many variables that affect the properties of such systems, and precise limitations and assumptions are necessary in order to produce quantitative relationships for predicting their behavior. Very dilute suspensions of spherical particles in Newtonian liquids of identical density as the solids have been examined in the past (12); however, the study of suspensions in which there is a considerable difference in density, between the liquid and the suspended solids has been neglected.

Jan 1, 1968

By Robert L. Clayton, Arthur Baker

Two massive sulfide zinc-copper ore bodies are in quartz-sericite schist (probably formed by regional metamorphism of sediments) and andesite of the Precambrian Yavapai Series, on opposite sides of a large rhyolite mass. The Copper Queen ore body is conformable with bedding of its schist host rock, but the Old Dick ore body probably crosscuts the strata. A lens of low-grade mineralization in chlorite schist, associated with the Old Dick ore body, crosscuts through 150 feet of strata. The ore bodies are almost entirely enclosed by premineral faults with less than 150 feet of displacement. The minerals of the ores are pyrite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, with minor arsenopyrite and galena and small amounts of intimately associated chlorite, sericite, and calcite. Old Dick sphalerite-chalcopyrite intergrowths have mutual boundaries, and sphalerite grains contain abundant exsolved chalcopyrite. Copper Queen sphalerite-chalcopyrite intergrowths have extremely ragged boundaries, the sphalerite contains no exsolved chalcopyrite, and the ore overall has a schistose texture. The pre-mineral fault on the hanging wall of the Copper Queen ore body has had 100 feet of post-mineral displacement. Wall rocks of the Old Dick ore body locally have been sericitized. Andesite and quartz-sericite schists for at least several hundred feet around both ore bodies have been chloritized erratically and contain traces of copper.

Jan 1, 1968

Jan 1, 1968

By G. Reed Marchant

The control systems engineer is often faced with the problem of designing tests or experiments where the cost of obtaining information is expensive. This is true in aerospace as well as in process industries. In these situations the details of test design should be carefully evaluated before any test is executed so that the maximum amount of information is obtained for the effort expended. In recent years there has been a steady trend towards increased automation, In the process industries this has resulted in extensive review of process variables and, instrumentation techniques, development of more accurate system mathematical models, and extensive investments in complex control system as well as completely automated plants. When planning and developing these systems, where each measure of a process variable is usually expensive, it behooves the design engineer to give considerable thought to the details of test design before instrumentation is procured and installed so that the maximum amount of information can be obtained for the expense incurred.

Jan 1, 1968

By John R. Keith

Keith, John R. 1968. Relationships of lead and zinc contents of trees and soils, Upper Mississippi Valley District. Preprint, Fall 1968 Meeting, Soc. Mining Engineers of AIME. Lead and zinc contents of elm, maple, and oak trees and of soils in which the trees grew were determined in samples from the Upper Mississippi Valley mining district, and from an area outside but contiguous to the district. The lead and zinc analyses of plant materials served to differentiate the mineralized and non-mineralized areas. Stems contained about two times as much lead and about 2-5 times as much zinc as did leaves taken from the same stems. Lead and zinc analyses of all soil horizons could be used to differentiate between the two areas. Soils at most sample sites in the mineralized district seemed to be more reliable than plants for geochemical prospecting and are a more practical sampling medium. Soil samples from areas with thick loess cover, however, failed to indicate the presence of mineralized bodies whereas tree samples from the same sites contained anomalous amounts of lead and zinc. It is suggested that in areas of thick loess cover plant samples could be used in prospecting for lead and zinc.

Jan 1, 1968

By John G. Hall

Everyone forms his own mental picture when the subject of copper is mentioned. To an architect, copper is a warm, enduring metal with a quiet beauty; to the historian, man's first metal; to the product engineer, the best electrical and thermal conductor of all commercial metals; to the investor, a volatile stock; to the speculator, the daily price quotation; to those in the mining industry, the challenge of producing copper for rising needs in the face of rising costs and lower grades of ore. At this meeting, we will look upon copper as a key raw material in industry, in national defense, in technology, in world trade, and as a principal commodity in the economies of several developing countries. As miners, and most of us here are miners, we are prone to view our role as suppliers of copper. We locate, mine, smelt and refine the metal. In the complexities of today's world, however, following a period of the longest domestic copper strike in history which caused critical world-wide shortages and widely fluctuating prices; it becomes necessary for all of us to concern ourselves with the whole spectrum of copper affairs -"from mine to consumer " But first we need to look at the miner's side of the picture -- capacity and production. We will examine these functions in terms of the whole world -- not simply the free world. Nature did not endow all regions of the earth equally, and copper in world trade has a way of ignoring political boundaries. Science and technology, as well, know no national boundaries. It is said that the "Engineering & Mining Journal" has as many readers in the Communist World as in the Free World. Nor is this a one-way street. We presently have available to us in the. U.S., cover-to-cover translations of many Communist World mining and metallurgical journals.

Jan 1, 1968

By T. P. Floridis, J. H. Young

The need for close control of the phosphorus content of steels has led to numerous investigations on the equilibria of the dephosphorization reactions. Winkler and chipman1 have established the general conditions for effective dephosphorization of steel. They are high slag basicity, high oxygen potential, and low temperature. Other investigators have made additional contributions to the understanding of the dephosphorization process. The current status of the understanding of the dephosphorization of steel is concisely presented by Bodsworth2 and by Ward. The investigation reported in this communication was undertaken with the purpose of establishing the effect of additions of barium oxide and calcium fluoride on the dephosphorizing capacity of slags. Esin and Gel'd4 proposed that barium oxide, being more basic than calcium oxide, should cause an increase in dephosphorizing capacity when added to steelmaking slags, or when used as a substitute for calcium oxide. Derge5 has also proposed that in the future conventional slags might be replaced by BaO-Al2O3 slags. There is, however, no experimental evidence confirming the effect of barium oxide on the dephosphorizing capacity of slags. The effect of calcium fluoride on the dephosphorization of steel is not clearly understood. It is generally recognized that additions of calcium fluoride are beneficial. It is not clear, however, whether calcium fluoride affects the equilibrium of the dephosphorization reaction, or whether it simply causes an increase in the fluidity of the slag and, consequently, faster approach to equilibrium. The experimental procedure consisted in equilibrating synthetic molten slags with liquid copper at 1550°C under a gas stream containing argon, hydrogen, and water vapor. In all experiments the argon to hydrogen ratio was approximately 4:1, and the hydrogen to water ratio was 5.42:l. Molybdenum crucibles were used as containers for the slag and metal. Under the above-described conditions of temperature and composition of atmosphere, there was no observable attack of the crucibles by the metal, slag, or atmosphere. Copper was used instead of iron, because iron attacks molybdenum. The equilibration was made in a tubular furnace consisting of a recrystallized alumina tube. The alumina tube was heated by electrical resistance. A Pt-40 pct Rh wire winding was used for most runs. A silicon carbide tubular resistor was also used for some runs. Temperatures were measured with a Pt-Pt-Rh (10 pct Rh) thermocouple and kept constant within ±5°C. Equilibrium was approached from both sides, i.e., by adding the phosphorus either as oxide in the slag or as a phosphorus-rich alloy of phosphorus and copper. The holding time at the equilibrium temperature was 6 hr. At the end of each run the crucibles were rapidly cooled and removed from the furnace. The slag and metal were separated and analyzed. The experimental results are shown in Table I. The phosphorus content of the slag is expressed both as percent phosphorus pentoxide and as percent phosphorus. The basicity ratio is computed by dividing the number of moles of basic oxides-oxides of barium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium—by the number of moles of acidic oxides- oxides of aluminum, phosphorus, and silicon. Calcium fluoride is not included in the computation of the basicity ratio; i.e., calcium fluoride is assumed to be neither basic nor acidic. The distribution ratio of phosphorus—percentage of phosphorus in the slag divided by the percentage of phosphorus in the metal- is plotted in Fig. 1 against the basicity ratio. The results indicate that slags containing barium oxide have greater dephosphorizing capacity than slags containing calcium oxide. The high dephosphorizing capacity of slags containing sodium oxide and the low dephosphorizing capacity of magnesia-containing slags which already have been reported in the literature2 are confirmed by the results of this investigation. It appears that calcium fluoride has a beneficial effect on the distribution of phosphorus between slag and metal in acid slags only. Although the obtained distribution ratios between the phosphorus contents of slag and copper are not directly applicable to the dephosphorization of steel, they are sufficient for evaluating the effect of slag additions on the dephosphorizing capacity of slags in general. An increase in the ratio of distribution of phosphorus between slag and metal indicates lowering

Jan 1, 1968

By Edward C. Stephens, Robert R. Coats

High-grade copper ore was discovered in 1932 in the long-dormant Mountain City (Cope) mining district, Elko County, Nevada. From 1932 to 1947, the one producing mine in the district, the Mountain City Copper Mine, produced 1,109,878 short dry tons of ore averaging 9.745 per cent copper, 0.274 ounces of silver, and 0.0057 ounces of gold per ton. The Mountain City Copper Mine is developed in eugeosynclinal rocks of Ordovician age, the Valmy Formation, which is part of the upper plate of the Roberts Mountains thrust. On the Valmy were deposited unconformably first, a elastic formation of Devonian or Mississippian age, the Grossman Formation, succeeded unconformably by a ·sequence of three conformable formations, the Banner, the Nelson, and the Mountain City. The Banner Formation probably is early Late Mississippian in age; the ages of the Nelson and Mountain City are not known precisely but are believed to be of Late Mississippian and Carboniferous(?) age, respectively. A thick formation of elastic rocks, limestone, and volcanics, the Reservation Hill Formation, has been thrust over the Mountain City. The age of the Reservation Hill is unknown but is presumed to be Pennsylvanian(?) and Permian(?). Several plutons of Cretaceous quartz monzonite intrude the Paleozoic formations; they and the intruded formations have been laid bare by erosion, and several sequences of volcanic rocks of Miocene and Pliocene age, and perhaps in part older, have been successively deposited on irregular erosion surfaces. The primary mineralization of the Mountain City Copper Mine is believed to postdate the deposition of the Nelson Formation and to predate the intrusion of the quartz monzonite. The primary ore bodies are lenticular in shape and are composed largely of quartz, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. The ore lenses, in general, strike northwestward and dip northward. They occur in the Valmy Formation within a definite stratigraphic sequence composed largely of shales with associated minor quartzite lenses. The ore is epigenetic. The principal ore body, the "200," was completely leached to the 200 level. Abruptly beneath the barren gossan was supergene copper sulfide ore, much of which assayed 50 per cent copper. The secondary copper minerals are sooty and massive chalcocite, bornite, and covellite. The supergene enrichment of the ore may have required a large part of Tertiary time.

Jan 1, 1968

By Sheldon P. Wimpfen, Nelson Severinghaus

13.2-1. Introduction. Man's first association with industrial minerals came at the dawn of history when a remote ancestor first put a few rocks together to protect a fire or selected colored clays to decorate his face. He was dealing with industrial minerals when he selected flint to tip his arrows or scrape a hide. From that inauspicious beginning shrouded in the mists of man's earliest history, industrial minerals have grown tremendously in importance to our civilization. The growth rate of the industrial minerals, or nonmetallic group, has been considerably greater than that of the metals group, as can be seen by the following Fig. 13.2-1: [ ] Industrial minerals produced in the five-year period of 1961-1965 had more than twice the dollar value of the metals produced:

Jan 1, 1968

By Keshavan Nair

In connection with Project Payette, which is concerned with the detection of underground nuclear explosions, it was necessary to determine the technical feasibility of constructing and maintaining a large (approximately 315 feet in diameter) unsupported underground cavity at a depth of approximately 2700 feet in the Tatum Salt Dome in Mississippi. The dimensions and the location of the cavity in the salt dome were governed by criteria laid down by the Atomic Energy Commission. Within the framework of the specified criteria, cavities of various shapes and dimensions could be utilized. One aspect of the feasibility study was to investigate the structural stability of various cavity shapes and to recommend a preferred shape. This paper summarizes the studies that were conducted to evaluate the structural stability of various proposed cavities.(l)

Jan 1, 1968

By D. R. Forshey

The recent occurrence of fatal accidents in copper mines, presumably due to premature ignition of loaded holes by the heat from reacting ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (AN-FO) and pyrite-bearing ores, has led to an examination of this reaction. The reactivity of prilled AN-FO mixtures with pyrite-bearing ores and the effects of water, dilute sulfuric acid, and potential inhibitors on reactivity of the mixtures were evaluated. Initiation of an exothermic reaction was observed as low as 150° F with acid in the absence of inhibitors. Low concentrations of urea, calcium carbonate, zinc oxide, and magnesium oxide were effective in inhibiting the reactivity of the mixtures. The temperatures produced during the reaction of mixtures of AN-FO and pyrite-bearing ores, in the absence of inhibitors, always exceeded the temperature at which electric blasting caps are thermally initiated.

Jan 1, 1968

By Lawrence Adler

The design of an underground opening involves the coincidence of two highly complex and poorly specified components. First, the structural or mechanical characteristics of a geologic rock mass are not only extremely variable but are also very difficult to evaluate. Second, the general lay¬out of mine workings contains a large degree of indeterminancy as to the structure itself as a result of the indefiniteness of the mining process, and also because of the inherent redundancies associated with bulky and weighty structures. Even for the relatively simple problem of tunneling this complexity is well recognized to be "without question that to which the study of geo¬logy (for the Engineer) can most fitly and usefully be applied".1 It can, therefore, be appreciated that the comprehensive opening design problem involves a complicated assemblage of component structures made up of a sketchily defined, or sometimes even an undefined material and acted upon by largely unknown tectonic forces.

Jan 1, 1968

By Patrick E. Cavanagh

"A pilot shaft furnace was operated for one year at Steep Rock to produce special high-grade products from coarse ore, using lignite as fuel. The furnace is 10 ft in diameter and 60 ft high. When operated to heat coarse Steep Rock ore to drive off combined water and give a 64-per-cent-Fe product, the fuel consomption was 900,000 Btu's per long ton of product. The furnace was run in this way from September 1966 to January 1967 to establish the technique of feeding and discharging the furnace and controlling the gas composition and temperature. The furnace is similar in operation to a lignite water gas producer containing a large proportion of catalytic iron oxide. Steam injection is used to control the temperature. The product was tumbled in a rotary trommel to stabilize it. The resulting fines could be fed to the conventional pellet plant at Steep Rock. The furnace was next operated to make 77-per-cent-Fe metallized coarse ore. Several major modifications in de-sign were made and the furnace was successfully operated for short periods to maintain the required conditions to remove 75 per cent of the oxygen from the ore to give a 75-per-cent-reduced product at a grade of 77 per cent iron. The furnace cooling zone was operated under positive pressure, with internai alkaline water sprays to cool the charge. The product was discharged from the open bottom of the furnace without serions reoxidation. The metallized ore was magnetically separated from the discharge. Most of the charred lignite discharged along with the ore is re-cycled. Fuel requirement was 11,000,000 Btu's per long ton of product. This metallized coarse ore is intended for blast furnace feed. A short test run was carried out to establish the conditions for making a highly reduced melting stock for steel furnaces. To achieve 90 per cent reduction and over 90 per cent Fe, the furnace must be slowed down so that the production rate is about one-half the rate when making a 75-per-cent-reduced metallized product. Fuel requirement is 15,000,000 Btu's per long ton of product. The simple shaft furnace developed is similar to the top half of a blast furnace, with some major modifications to allow discharging into the open air. This Low Temperature Blast Furnace program has been technically successful and has resulted in making data available for the design of a commercial plant. Study of the commercial feasibility of large-scale production of metallized coarse ore at Steep Rock is still continuing."

Jan 1, 1968

By A. M. Laird

Endako Mines' molybdenum operation is located near the geographic center of the province of British Columbia, Canada. The property is six miles south of the Northern Transprovincial Highway and the northern main line of the Canadian National Railway. The area is broken by high hills covered with dense stands of spruce and pine with vast areas of the valley floors covered with aspen and poplar. The climate is moderate with precipitation averaging 22 inches per year. Approximately four feet of snow accumulates in the winter, and temperatures range from 900 F. in summer to -40° F. in winter. The orebody, a lowgrade porphyry type deposit, occurs in a widespread granitic intrusive which has been locally weakened at the intersection of two regional faults. In this vicinity the quartz monzonite has been further shattered to permit the entry of mineralizing solutions and local dykes. Two types of mineralization occur within the orebody. The most prom¬inent is the six inch to four foot wide continuous quartz veins with characteristic ribbons of molybdenite and frequently finely-divided grains of molybdenite within the quartz. The second type occurs as fine fractures filled with quartz molybdenite in the form of a stockwork halo radiating out from 20 to 200 feet from the quartz veins. Minor hematite, magnetite and chalcopyrite are also present. Mineralization is roughly proportional to the extent of kaolinization in the quartz monzonite, kaolinization being one of three distinct forms of hydrothermal alteration. Pyrite is commonly associated with molybdenum mineralization within the orebody and a pyrite halo is recognized on the south side of the orebody.

Jan 1, 1968

By H. K. Pelzer

Belt conveyor systems for long-distance haulage are nowadays in a competitive position with conventional methods of transportation such as railways, truck haulage, and also pipelines for solid materials. In a number of cases, the economical use of conveyors is obvious. This is in all those cases where typical features of a conveyor system are showing the outstanding economical position in the very first approach for a certain project. Regarding downhill conveyors, with today's level of belt conveyor techniques nobody would reasonably doubt the justified application of a conveyor system, - as for instance at the Marcona Mining Installation, or at the iron ore mine of Lamco in Liberia.

Jan 1, 1968

By R. G. Ward, D. R. Gaskell

Using the maximum bubble pressure technique, the densities of iron silicates at 1410°C have been measured blowing helium, nitrogen, and argon. By ensuring equilibrium between the melt and the blowing gas with respect to oxygen potential and by minimizing tempcrature cycling of the furnace, iron precipitation in the melt has been prevented. Thus the previously reported effect of blowing-gas composition on the densities of the melts has been eliminated. Consideration of the oxygen densities of the melts gives an indication of the structural changes accompanying composition change. The density-composition relationship of iron oxide-silica melts in contact with solid iron has been the subject of several investigations1-7 and considerable disparities exist among the various results obtained. Of these investigations, all except one5 have employed the maximum bubble pressure method. In the most recently reported of these investigations1 the density-composition relationship obtained blowing nitrogen differed from that obtained blowing argon. The measured densities obtained under nitrogen were greater than those obtained under argon, the difference being a maximum at the pure liquid iron oxide composition and decreasing with increasing silica content. This observation rationalized the disparities existing among the results of the earlier investigations, showing that two lines, one for nitrogen and the other for argon, could be drawn to fit all the earlier results. No explanation for this phenomenon could be offered. Chemical analysis of rapidly quenched samples of melt for dissolved nitrogen, and direct weighing measurements, excluded solution of nitrogen in the melt from being the cause of the increase in density. The range of blowing gases was extended by Ward and Hendersons who measured the density of liquid iron oxide bubbling helium, nitrogen, neon, argon, and krypton. The measured density was found to decrease smoothly with increasing atomic number of the bubbling gas. The work reported here is a continuation of the program initiated by Ward and Sachdev7 to study the densities in multicomponent melts in which the iron oxide-silica system is the solvent. As such it is necessary to explain or eliminate the anomalous densities of iron silicates under different atmospheres, and the present rede termination was carried out towards this end. EXPERIMENTAL The maximum bubble pressure method of density determination was again employed and the experimen- tal apparatus used was essentially the same as that used by Ward and Sachdev.7 A molybdenum-wound resistance furnace heated an ingot iron crucible of internal diameter 1 in. containing a 2-in. depth of melt. The bubbling gas was blown through a 1/4 -in.-diam mild steel tube onto the end of which was welded a 2-in. extension of 1/4 -in.-diam ingot iron rod, drilled out to 5/32 in., and chamfered to an angle of 45 deg. The blowing tube was introduced to the furnace through a sliding seal and its position was controlled by a vertically mounted micrometer screw which allowed the depth of immersion to be determined with an accuracy of ± 0.01 cm. A Pt/Pt-10 pct Rh thermocouple was located below the crucible and temperature control was effected initially by means of an on-off controller and later by a saturable core reactor. The bubble pressure was determined by measurement of a dibutyl phthalate manometer using a cathetometer. PREPARATION OF MATERIALS Iron oxide was produced by melting ferric oxide in an inductively heated iron crucible in air. The liquid was quenched by pouring onto an iron plate. Silica was prepared by dehydrating silicic acid at 650°C for 12 hr. RESULTS Before any measurements of the density of a melt were made, the density of distilled water at room temperature was measured bubbling helium and argon. Both gases gave the density as 1.00 ± 0.01 g per cu cm which showed that the density of the manometric fluid (dibutyl phthalate) was not affected by contact with the blowing gas. With the furnace controlled by an on-off temperature controller an attempt was made to measure the density of pure liquid iron oxide by bubbling argon. The furnace atmosphere gas and bubbling gas were dried over magnesium perchlorate and deoxidized over copper turnings at 600°C. It was found that the pressure required to blow a bubble at a given depth increased slowly with time, and thus it was impossible to obtain a unique value for the density of the melt. Inspection of the blowing tube after removal from the furnace showed that rings of dendritic iron had precipitated from the melt onto the immersed part of the tube. This is shown in Fig. l(a) where the various "steps" correspond to different depths of immersion. The precipitation of iron was considered to be due to one or both of two possible causes: i) The composition of the liquid iron oxide is that of the liquidus at the temperature under consideration and can be expressed by the equilibrium

Jan 1, 1968

By G. H. Gronhovd

The U.S. Geological Survey estimate of the total remaining reserves of lignite in this country as of Jan. 1, 1967 was about 448 billion tons. This represents 27 percent of the total coal reserves on a tonnage basis and about 17 percent on a thermal basis. Approximately 98 percent of these reserves are in a vast lignite field located in western North Dakota and eastern Montana. This field also extends north into the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Despite these large reserves and relative ease of mining by stripping operations, lignite production historically has accounted for less than 1 percent of the national total. This is largely due to the fact that the lignite deposits are located in an area that has no large centers of population and the economical radius of transportation is limited by its relatively high moisture and low heating value. Commercial utilization of North Dakota lignite for power production became firmly established in the mid-1920's with the development of the first successful lignite-burning equipment. Most of the early lignite-fired boilers were equipped with spreader stokers, but as the size of the plants increased, pulverized-coal firing became the more popular method, and with few exceptions, the plants built during the past 15 years are pc-fired.

Jan 1, 1968

The reactions between molten aluminium and cryoIite have been determined from a material balance of all components involved in the process. The interpretation of results were supported by x-ray diffraction studies of the evolved vapours, quenched electrolyte samples, and side-reaction products.The most important reaction involves the formation of both Na2F (sodium subfluoride) and chiolite in the fused electrolyte. The Na2F accelerates vaporization of the melt. Some AIF (aluminium monofluoride) may also be formed but the proportion of this is much less than for the former subvalent compound.

Jan 1, 1968

By N. Christensen, B. Augland, T. H. Johansen

Samples of an Fe-Nb alloy were brought to equilibriurtr with hydrogen-methane mixtures in the temperature range from 950° to 1050°C, and subsequently analyzed on their carbon contents. The solubility pvoduct L = [%Nb] [%C] may be represented by the equation Approximate solubilities indirectly assessed through hardness measurements have been included from a previous report. These data are shown to be in a fair agreement with the present solubility measurements. IN an investigation based on hardness measurements by de Kazinczy, Ms, and pachleitnerl the molal heat of solution of NbC was estimated to 11.5 kcal per mole. This value was considered rather small, and an investigation using a similar technique was carried out. The results indicated a heat of solution about 35 kcal per mole.2 At this stage it was decided to determine the solubility under conditions of true equilibrium . During the course of this work a similar investigation was published by Smith. 3 His heat of solution, 41.6 kcal per mole, is not very different from the value resulting from the present work (42.5 kcal per mole). Our solubility product, on the other hand, is at considerable variance with that reported by Smith. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed below. Mori, Tokizane, and saheki 7 have studied the behavior of niobium in commercial steels, with special attention to the formation of niobium carbide, nitride, and sulfide. Assuming a carbide composition Nbco.87 based on X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis of residues extracted from Fe-Nb-C-S alloys, the molal heat of solution of niobium carbide was estimated to 35.2 kcal per mole. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT The chemical analysis of the materials is given in Table I. Electrolytic iron* was used in the preparation of

Jan 1, 1968