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By F. F. Poland

The purpose of this paper is to describe a new process for the refining of secondary copper-base metals and a specially designed high-temperature electric-resistor furnace used in the process for the distillation of zinc from these metals. The process was used for the conversion of nickel silver to cupronickel and to recover the zinc content in metallic form. It also proved applicable and economical for the treatment of scrap brass for separating and reclaiming the copper and zinc. The relatively large furnace developed for the distillation of zinc is described in detail, for it made economically possiblc the direct recovery of metallic zinc from scrap brass, which is a new step in the processing of such material. Considerable interest has been shown in the utilization of the distillation furnace for other metallurgical processes, where it is of advantage to operate in a controlled neutral or reducing atmosphere, or to avoid having the processed metal in contact with refractories other than carbon, or to operate at temperatures between 3000 and 4000°F. Purpose of Development It was recognized early in the war effort that nickel would become a critical metal. therefore all nickel stock and alloys containing relatively high percentages of nickel were frozen immediately. Among these alloys were considerable quantities of various grades of nickel silver, an alloy containing copper, nickel, zinc, and in some grades lead, also minor amounts of iron, manganese and other constituents. At the time there was no existing plant or process to eliminate the zinc, lead, and minor constituents so as to convert this metal to cupronickel, one of the important alloys needed by the U. S. Navy for condenser parts. Therefore the Bureau of Industrial Conservation of the War Production Board requested the executives of the leading nonferrous metal companies to have their metallurgical staffs study the problem of converting this metal to cupronickel conforming to U. S. Navy Specification 44T40. The composition specified therein is as follows: nickel, 29 to 32 per cent; zinc, 1.00; iron, 0.00 to 0.60; lead, 0.05; tin, 1.20; manganese, 0.00 to 1.00; total of other elemcnts (maximum). 0.50; copper, remainder. The problem in converting these alloys to cupronickel was the elimination of zinc, lead, iron, manganese, and other elements without appreciable loss of nickel to slags or other by-products. Revere Copper and Brass Incorporated, through its Research and Development Department, undertook to solve this problem. A Government-owned plant was built at Rome, N. Y., and there the conversion was made successfully.

Jan 1, 1949

By R. S. Sanford

The Claim Point chromite deposits are at tidewater near the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula in southwestern Alaska, The United States Geological Survey had a field party in the region from July until September 1940 under P. W. Guild, assistant geologist; maps and geological data were assembled and made available to the Bureau of Mines. A preliminary investigation of the deposits at Claim Point by the senior author during July 1941 was followed by surface sampling and core drilling to determine the quantity and grade of the ere, The Geological Survey was represented at the project by George O. Gates, geologist. Cores were checked and the structural data revealed by drill cores were interpreted. The principal chromite deposits have been sampled and delimitated by trenching and core drilling. Other deposits were trenched and sampled but were too small or too low-grade to warrant core drilling.

Jan 1, 1949

By S. Benedict Levin

In the spring of 1944, during the emergency In the supply of strategic mica, the Bureau core-drilled six aggregating 913 feet, at the Blister mica Trim. Cheshire County, N.H. These holes indicated a downward extension or the mica shoot which was being mined at that time and developed information essential for economic mining of the deposit.

Jan 1, 1949

By Michael Tenenbaum

The importance of semikilled steel as a high tonnage grade has long been recognized. The increasing severity of the applications for which semikilled steel is used makes it desirable to obtain further information regarding the features of open hearth practice and ingot structure that can affect steel performance in subsequent rolling and fabricating operations. Accordingly, an investigation is being carried out studying the structure of various types of semikilled steel ingots. This paper reviews some of the observations made and information gathered in this investigation. By definition, semikilled steel may be considered to include all nonrimming steels in which the natural shrinkage occurring during ingot solidification is offset to an appreciable degree by gas formation. Accordingly, this type of steel includes the entire range intermediate between rimmed and fully killed steel. The resultant ingot structures range from those of steels that have been capped to suppress a weak rimming action to those steels that have been killed in the furnace or ladle to the extent that no mold deoxidizer is required. A survey reported to the 1946 -AIME Open Hearth Conference' reviewed the practices being used at 28 major plants for the deoxidation of semikilled steel. It was found that most plants divide the deoxidizing additions between the ladle and the mold—many of the plants adding only minor amounts of deoxidizer to the bath or none at all. Silicon, aluminum and titanium were the only elements used for ladle and mold deoxidation. Mold deoxidizers were added as capping additions or as uniformly fed additions. Several practices were reported in which the steel was deoxidized in the ladle to the extent that little or no mold deoxidation was needed. No reference was made to grades capped by using special mold designs or special closures over the top of molds. .Accordingly, specific examples of this type of practice will not be considered in this paper. It appeared from this survey of deoxidation practice that semikilled steel can be divided into three types, namely, capped semikilled, in which aluminum is added near the end of pour or after shut-off, intermediate semikilled steels, in which aluminum is fed uniformly throughout the pour, and semikilled steels requiring no mold deoxidation. In an attempt to cover the ingot structures obtained by the range of practices reported in the preceding survey, three series of experimental heats were made using increasing amounts of aluminum, silicon and titanium for ladle deoxidizers. The ladle deoxidizers were added as stick aluminum, 50 pct ferrosilicon and 20 pct ferrotitanium (4 pct carbon), respectively. Two methods of studying ingot structures were used. Ingots were removed from production, burned longitudinally and machined to allow observation of the central pipe and coarse blowholes. During the machining operation much of the finely porous subsurface structure was obliterated. Accordingly, observations were also made

Jan 1, 1949

By Nelson B. Russell, Donald C. Bond

The effects of various antifreeze agents on the formation of hydrogen sulphide hydrate have been studied. On a molar basis the relative lowering of Tm (the maximum temperature at which solid hydrogen sulphide hydrate can exist in equilibrium with the given solution) for the various agents is: sodium chloride 1.00, calcium chloride 1.71, methyl alcohol 0.57, ethyl alcohol 0.68, ethylene glycol 0.73, diethylene glycol 0.73, sucrose 0.87, dextrose 0.71. On a weight basis the relative lowering of TM is: sodium chloride 1.00, calcium chloride 0.91, methyl alcohol 1.08, ethyl alcohol 0.89, ethylene glycol 0.69, diethylene glycol 0.41, dextrose 0.23, and sucrose 0.15. Introduction The solid hydrate of hydrogen sulphide, H2S.6H20,1 is in equilibrium with water and liquid hydrogen sulphide at 85°F at a partial pressure of hydrogen sulphide approximately equal to the vapor pressure Of hydrogen sulphide at that temperature. At temperatures below 85°F, in the presence Of excess hydrogen sulphide (greater than the amount required to react with the water present) the hydrate is in equilibrium with liquid hydrogen sulphide at approximately the vapor pressure Of hydrogen sulphide. In the presence of excess water, the solid hydrate is in equilibrium with liquid water, containing dissolved hydrogen sulphide, at a pressure lower than the vapor pressure of liquid hydrogen sulphide at the same temperat~re.2 The lower the temperature, the greater the difference between the decomposition pressure of the hydrate and the vapor pressure of liquid hydrogen sulphide at that temperature. Conditions conducive to the formation of solid hydrogen sulphide hydrate may exist in wells producing a gas containing a high percentage of hydrogen sulphide under high pressure, or in the lead lines from such wells. This paper gives the results of tests made with various antifreeze agents which might be useful in decomposing the hydrate or in preventing the formation of the hydrate of hydrogen sulphide Apparatus Fig , shows a diagram of the apparatus used. The sample under observation was contained in a glass tube 34 cm long, having a 6 mm id and a wall thickness of 2.5 mm. The lower end of this tube was closed- with a plug of butyl rubber. The upper end of the tube was connected to a diaphragm gauge, with a stainless steel diaphragm, a manometer, a vacuum pump, and a cylinder of hydrogen sulphide, The tube was held nearly horizontal, with the liquid resting along the lower side of the tube. It was found that when the tube was held in a vertical position, it broke with ex. plosive violence as soon as it became filled with solid hydrate. Presumably this was caused by the expansion which occurred on solidification of the hydrate. The difficulty disappeared when the tube was held in an inclined position during the tests.

Jan 1, 1949

By Walter Rose, W. A. Bruce

Improved apparatus, methods, and experimental techniques for determining the capillary pressure-saturation relation are described in detail. In this connection a new multi-core procedure has been developed which simplifies the experimental work in the study of relatively homogeneous reservoirs. The basic theory concerning the Leverett capillary pressure function has been extended and has been given some practical application. Some discussion is presented to indicate the relationship of relative permeability to capillary pressure, and to provide a new description of capillary pressure phenomena by introducing the concept of the psi function. INTRODUCTION For the purposes of this paper the capillary character of a porous medium will be defined to express the basic properties of the system, which produce observed results of fluid behavior. These basic properties may be classified in the following manner, according to their relationship to: (a) The geometrical configuration of the interstitial spaces. This involves consideration of the packing of the particles, producing points of grain contact, and variations in pore size distribution. The packing itself is often modified by the secondary processes of mineralization which introduces factors of cementation, and of solution action which causes alteration of pore structure. (b) The physical and chemical nature of the interstitial surfaces. This involves consideration of the presence of interstitial clay coatings, the existence of non-uniform wetting surfaces; or, more generally, a consideration of the tendency towards variable interaction between the interstitial surfaces and the fluid phases saturating the interstitial spaces. (c) The physical and chemical properties of the fluid phases in contact with the interstitial surfaces. This involves consideration of the factors of surface, interfacial and adhesion tensions; contact angles; viscosity; density difference between immiscible fluid phases; and other fluid properties. Fine grained, granular, porous materials such as found in petroleum reser~oir rock possess characteristics which are expressible by (1) permeability, (2) porosity, and (3) the capillary pressure-saturation behavior of immiscible fluids in this medium. These three measurable macroscopic properties depend upon the microscopic properties enumerated above in a manner which defines the capillary character. Systems of capillary tubes or regularly packed spheres may be thought of as ideal and numerous references can be cited in which exact mathematical formulations are developed to show the relationships governing the static distribution and dynamic motion of fluids in their interstitial spaces. The capillary character of non-ideal porous systems such as reservoir rock also is basic in determining the behavior of fluids contained therein; although, in general, the connection is not mathematically derivable but must be approached through indirect experimental measurement. This paper gives consideration to the evaluation of petroleum reservoir rock capillary character. The methods employed may be applied to the solution of problems in other fields, and the conclusions reached should contribute to the basic capillary theory of any porous system containing fluid phases. In this paper, a modification of the core analysis method of capillary pressure is employed and it is intended to show that the capillary character of reservoir rock can be expressed in terms of experimental quantities. A very general method of interpretation correlating the capillary pressure tests with fundamental characteristics such as rock texture, surface areas, permeability, occasionally clay content and cementation is introduced. Eventually an attempt is made for establishing a method of deriving relative permeability to the wetting phase from capillary pressure data. The experimental evaluation of capillary character must be approached in a statistical manner if reservoir properties are to be inferred from data on small cores. This is implied by the heterogeneous character of most petroleum reservoirs, and suggests that considerable intelligence should be applied in core sampling. Finally, this paper supports the view that once the capillary character of a given type of reservoir rock has been established by core analysis, fluid behavior can then be inferred in other similar rock. Although no great progress has been made in establishing what variation can be tolerated without altering the basic fluid behavior properties, evidence will be presented to indicate that certain reservoir formations are sufficiently homogenous with respect to capillary character that the data obtained on one core will be useful in predicting the properties of other cores of similar origin. Tests have shown that cores under consideration can vary widely with respect to porosity and permeability and still be considered similar in capillary character. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS AND TECHNIQUES Various types of displacement cell apparatus for capillary pressure experiments have been described in the literature. Bruce and Welge; Thornton and Marshall; McCullough, Albaugh and Jones3; Hassler and Brunner; Lever-

Jan 1, 1949

By William F. Jahn

Because of the' situation in Europe during the summer of 1939, with the possibility of war and consequent curtailment or loss of supplies of tin to the United States, the Bureau of Mines undertook an investigation of domestic tin resources. This was permitted by the Strategic Minerals Act of 1939, which authorized investigation of possible domestic resources of strategic minerals necessary in a national emergency. The minerals selected were in short supply, and the United States depended almost entirely on imports to meet normal requirements. The Black Hills of South Dakota were selected for investigation as one possible source of tin because of the occurrence of the mineral there has been known since 1876, although production had never been important. The Tinton area, in the northern part of the Hills, had received the most attention and contained some minor indicated and inferred tin deposits.

Jan 1, 1949

By William C. Martin

"Consolidated Sudbury Basin Mines Limited owns two mines, 4 miles apart, near the southwest end of Sudbury Basin. The Errington mine lies close to the north boundary of Creighton Township and about 18 miles by car from Sudbury. The Vermilion Lake mine is in Fairbank Township, on the south side of Vermilion Lake.The first discovery of base-metal mineralization within Sudbury basin was made by James Stobie in 1897 at Stobie Falls on the Vermilion River, half a mile west of the Errington mine. A few years later Alphonse Oilier made a discovery of massive pyrite with base-metal sulphides near the west end of the present Errington workings.No work of consequence was done on these discoveries until 1924, when Joseph Errington acquired options on a large acreage of ground which was later taken over by the Treadwell Yukon Company Limited. After considerable diamond drilling this company sank No. 1 shaft in 1926. In the next three years, a large amount of underground development was done, a pilot mill was constructed and operated for two years. All operations ceased in 1931 with the fall in metal prices. While in operation the pilot mill treated 186,172 tons of ore the average grade of which was 1·07 per cent copper; 1 10 per cent lead; 4·60 per cent zinc; 0·03 ounces gold; and 1 70 ounces silver.Up to the time of closing in 193 l there had been completed at the mine 26, 790 feet of lateral work and 75,500 feet of surface and underground diamond drilling. The company records, however, showed no figures on ore reserves, except broken ore in stopes amounting to about 60,000 tons. A study of the plans, prior to reopening the mine in 1952, showed 1,450 lineal feet of ore (at 1952 prices) opened up by drifting on the 300-foot and 500- foot levels. It is clear that no comprehensive picture of the structure was had at this time. The orebodies were considered to be very irregular pods scattered through masses of quartzite-carbonate in a sheared zone about 800 feet wide. In some way the ore was believed to be related to the tuff-slate contact zone. With this picture it was impossible to make a reasonable ore estimate or even gauge the tonnage potentialities with any feeling of reliability."

Jan 1, 1949

By O. S. Perry, D. F. Kidd

"BEAVERDELL IS IN the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, 25 miles east of Penticton, B.C. In 1897, small but rich silver-bearing veins were found on Wallace Mountain, 2 miles east of Beaverdell. Production from the camp, at first of a modest character, started in 1901 and has never ceased. Over 90 per cent of the values in the ores have been in silver. Remaining values present are in lead, gold, zinc, and cadmium.There have been four principal mines in the camp. A fifth is approaching production. The four mines lie within a northeasterly trending rectangle about 5,000 feet long and 2,000 feet wide, the fifth mine being at the northeast end. From southwest to northeast the mines, with their silver production to Sept. 30, l 955, are: -Wellington Mine - 1,463,948 oz.Sally Mine (includes Rob Roy claim) - 1,930,124 oz.Bell Mine - 3,460,815 oz.Lass Mine - 12,557,956 oz.Other production - 331,252 oz.Total, Beaverdell Camp - 19,744,095 oz.The camp is near the centre of an area geologically mapped in 19 l l by L. Reinecke for the Geological Survey of Canada (1). The rocks of the camp comprise:1. Beaverdell stock of porphyritic quartz monzonite;2. Westkettle batholith of quartz diorite;3. Wallace formation of tuffs and lavas.The Wallace formation borders the east edge of the camp, and has been intruded by the Westkettle batholith. The batholith is the host rock for the orebodies. The Wallace-batholith contact dips gently east. Some of the Beaverdell ores at depth, while in the batholith, are under Wallace formation mapped on the surface above.West of the camp, Reinecke mapped a stock one by one and one-half miles in size, of porphyritic quartz monzonite, which he considered much younger than the Westkettle quartz diorite (I). Recent petrographic work by White and Dolar-Mantuani (3) suggests that in the vicinity of the camp the Westkettle batholith is more quartz monzonite than quartz diorite, and little different in composition from the Beaverdell quartz monzonite. They suggest a consanguinity with the Westkettle batholith."

Jan 1, 1949

By Pol Duwez, H. E. Martens

The high temperatures encountered in the operation of jet engines have imposed most drastic requirements upon the materials used in their construction. There are two different approaches to the materials problem connected with the design of parts in contact with high temperature gases. The first approach is to use a material which will perform satisfactorily at a temperature comparable to that of the gas. The second approach is to use a cooling system so that the material is maintained at a temperature appreciably lower than that of the gas. Besides the conventional method of cooling by means of a liquid in contact with the material exposed to a high rate of heat transfer, a less orthodox method consists of making the part to bc cooled of a porous material', so that the cooling fluid can be forced through the pores, In this scheme, the temperature of the coolant moving in a direction opposite to that of the heat flow increases gradually while passing through the porous material, and the coolant forms a protective layer on the surface exposed to heat, This method, referred to as ((sweat cooling," was pro- posed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in September 1944, and the experimental work on the preparation of porous metals was started early in 1945. The sweat cooling method opens new lines of research in powder metallurgy by extending the field of application of porous metals. The porous metals available at the present time are used mostly as bearings or filters, and a rather limited number of alloys are made for these applications. In addition, the fabrication of bearings or filters does not require a very close control of the permeability, while in the case of sweat cooling such a control is of primary importance. In designing a sweat cooled part it is imperative to assure a given rate of flow of coolant under certain conditions of Pressure drop. Generally, the Proper pressure drop and the rate of flow of coolant are deduced from heat transfer and design considerations, and consequelltl~ the Permeability of the Porous metal to be used is also determined. It is therefore necessary for the designer to have available a continuous series of porous metals covering a range of permeability as wide as possible. Contrary to the requirements established in the fabrication of filters, the actual pore size of a porous metal intended for sweat cooling is of little consequence, except for its effect on permeability. The tensile strength is likely to be of great importance for some applications. Since the tensile strength of a porous alloy decreases with increasing porosity, an important problem is to develop porous alloys having the maximum permeability with minimum porosity.

Jan 1, 1949

By M. N. Dunlap

This article summarizes the successful incorporation of a flash-flooding stream into the tailing-disposal system at the St. Joseph Lead Company's Federal Division mill, in St. Francois County, Missouri. The mill was built in 1906, by the Federal Lead Co., as its No. 3 mill for the concentration of southeastern Missouri lead ores, and damming Davis Creek was first considered in 1908. Plans were made also in 1925 and in 1937. Dam layouts varied from a reinforced concrete structure to a barrier built of tailings alone. .All were abandoned because of liability that would be incurred by flash-flood rupturing of an incompleted dam. By 1942 mill capacity had reached 12,000 tons daily and increasing tailing-disposal costs again focused attention on the Davis Creek basin. This time the problem of riskless dam building was solved. Moreover, most of the items that appeared in the answer were materials that normally required wasting and the major portion of labor involved performed functions that it mould normally have done, without constructive benefit, elsewhere. The new layout also made possible advantageous changes in mill-water supply pumping; static head being reduced from 514 ft to 9; ft, friction head from 4900 ft to 2860 ft, and pumping can be done now at periods of low power demand. The following facts about the Davis Creek watershed explain the 36-year reluctance to reach these, and other, benefits. Size: 3600 acres. Outline: roughly pear-shaped, 21/2 by 3 miles at the largest dimensions. Topography: mostly hill land with steep valleys. Relief: 760 minimum to 1153 maximum. Maximum rainfall: 3.36 in. per hour. Permanent water: none natural. Now 2200 gpm discharged through 16-in. drill hole from mine pumps underground. Geology: the 17 acres near dam centerline is Bonne Terre dolomite covered with sand and gravel eroded from Pleistocene beds that cap some of the hills. The remainder of the pond basin is on Davis shale. Soil cover: mostly second-growth timber with some abandoned fields; all subject to careless burning, which reduces water-retaining ability. Flood history: flash-flooding that had taken at least one life. Downstream values: two railroad bridges before creek intersection with Flat River. Immediately below confluence, a highway bridge, a low-water crossing, a few business establishments and several blocks of residences. In July 1942 the following segments of an ingenious plan were put into operation. A ditch 270 ft long, 16 ft wide and 51/2 ft deep was excavated to bedrock in the gravelly soil along the proposed dam's centerline. This excavation, which exposed many gravel-filled channels, was run full of slimes drawn from a riser set in the top of an adjacent tailings-disposal

Jan 1, 1949

By H. G. Doll

The S.P. log is shown to be a measurement of the potential drop along the drill hole, caused by ohmic effect in the mud. The notion of static S.P. is brought forward, and its relation to the S.P. log is discussed. Other factors influencing the shape and amplitude of the log are considered; attention is given to conditions encountered in practice. Numerous figures are given illustrating graphically the results; these figures are of particular interest for comparison with field examples. The S.P. log, although indicating permeability, is not an absolute measurement of permeability, nor of porosity, of the formations traversed by a drill hole. It is affected by several parameters, such as resistivity of formations and mud, thickness of formations, and others, which should be appraised carefully. Simple rules have been established for a better distinction of the boundaries of permeabl: sections, particularly in difficult cases, such as those encountered in highly resistive formations. A systematic application of the established principles will assist in obtaining more information from the S.P. log than was possible thus far; for instance, under favorable conditions, presence of oil may be detected, or amount of shale in sands may be estimated. Introduction The S.P. log, or spontaneous potential log, has been known and widely used during the last 15 years for the location of permeable beds traversed by drill holes.1,2 In electrical logging practice, the S.P. log is shown on the left hand side track of the record (as may be seen in later examples) where it can be easily correlated and interpreted with the resistivity curves located to the right. Usually, the S.P. log consists of a base line, more or less straight, having excursions or "peaks" to the left. The base line frequently has been found to correspond to impervious beds, while the peaks are usually found opposite permeable strata. Measurements which will indicate positively the presence of permeability in the formations, and which will give accurately the boundaries of the permeable zones, are of great importance in oil-field practice. Thus far, the S.P. log is the best approach to such determinations; unfortunately, its interpretation is not always evident. With respect to the base line of the S.P. log, it may be noticed that this line is not always at a definite location on the chart. Sometimes it may shift abruptly, while other times a gradual drift is apparent. As far as the peaks are concerned, their shape is not uniform; some are rounded while others are sharp. Also, from other data, it may be found that occasionally the peaks extend appreciably beyond the boundaries of permeable zones into zones which are not everywhere permeable. A comparison with permeability measurements made on cores has often confirmed that there was no definite correspondence between the magnitudes of the peaks and the permeability values. In the same geological horizon, it generally will be found that most of the thick and permeable for-

Jan 1, 1949

By M. G. Pelipetz

High-pressure, high-temperature hydrogenation of coal has been known and practiced for many years. A full' understanding of the mechanism in this process by which coal is converted to oil and gas must rest on a critical interpretation of the manner in which external variables influence the rate and the course of the coal-hydrogenation reactions. Same Bureau of Mines studies on the effect of temperature, catalyst, and rank of coal on these reactions have been published. The effect of pressure was not studied in this earlier work, and the effect of reaction time was complicated by the interruption of long reaction periods in order to refill the autoclave with hydrogen. It is the purpose of this paper to present data from more recent autoclave experiments that extend the results of Storch, et al, on the kinetics of coal hydrogenation. These data must be explained by any comprehensive theory of coal hydrogenation; their detailed evaluation, however, will be deferred until a later publication.

Jan 1, 1949

By Enid C. Plante

This paper deals with the flotation of the mineral fluorite (calcium fluoride) and of two associated gangue minerals, calcite and quartz. The aim of the investigation was to produce "acid-grade" fluorite, which must contain less than one per cent of silica. Several reagents are used successfully in practice for floating fluorite from its ores. Oleic acid is the most widely used collector, usually at temperatures above 60°C, with sodium silicate as a dispersant for quartz and quebracho or tannin to depress calcite. Sulphides (e.g., galena) are often removed first by xanthate flotation. Many investigators23 report results in which more than 80 pct of the fluorite is recovered in a concentrate assaying 96 pct or more of fluorite and less than I pct of silica. This investigation was undertaken with the intention of floating the gangue, which is the minor constituent of the ore, from the fluorite. Hence emphasis was first placed on the cationic compounds that float quartz. No satisfactory separations were obtained in this way, and other reagents were investigated to discover whether these were more effective than oleic acid in floating fluorite from quartz in the usual way. The first part of the paper describes experiments with several long-chain collectors available commercially. Most of this work has been by captive-bubble and cylinder flotation tests, with some batch tests in a flotation machine. The second part describes the use of sodium cetyl sulphate as a collector for fluorite and includes laboratory tests and extension of the work to batch tests in the flotation machine. A method for determining the adsorption of sodium cetyl sulphate on fluorite has been developed and is described. Theory of Collection by Paraffin-chain Salts It may be assumed that these compounds are adsorbed at the mineral surface in one or more of three ways outlined by Kolthoff:12 1. Exchange adsorption between lattice ions in the mineral surface and collector ions in solution. Closely related is adsorption by the collecting mechanism postulated by Taggart,17 in which there is metathesis between the collector and the mineral cation or anion. 2. Exchange .adsorption between adsorbed gegen ions (p. 67, ref. 19) and collector ions in solution. 3. Adsorption of nonelectrolytes (polar-nonpolar) without displacement of adsorbed ions. With cationic collectors, inorganic cations in the solution (e.g., hydrogen ion) compete with the collector ions and therefore act as depressants, while inorganic anions have the same effect with anionic collectors. From this follows the general conclusion that ions of the same charge as

Jan 1, 1949

By Enid C. Plante, K. L. Sutherland

Practical metallurgists are unanimous in stating that oxidation of mined sulphide ore adversely affects separation of the constituent minerals under standard conditions in a mill. Frequently, the need for different operating conditions in different plants is attributed either to the extent of oxidation of the mineral surfaces or to soluble oxidation products. The investigations reported in this paper study the effect of oxidation on the primary condition necessary for flotation, namely that of adhesion of an air bubble to the mineral. Oxidation Products from Sulphide Minerals Weinig and Carpenter1 state that the relative rates of oxidation of some sulphides are: FeAsS > FeS2 > CuFeS2 > ZnS > pbS > Cu2S tetrahedrite. They also show that oxidation is rapid at first, that sulphides of older geological formations are more stable than those of recent date and that mixtures oxidize more rapidly than any one mineral alone. The more rapid oxidation of mixtures is borne out by results of Gottschalk and Buehler2 who found that PbS, zns and cus oxidized 8 to 20 times faster when pyrite was present. Only the end products of oxidation, sulphate and the metal ion, were identified in these tests. Gaudin3 states that pyrite is difficult to oxidize in the laboratory. Winchell,4 using pyrite containing 99.98 pct FeS2, allowed water to percolate through a bed of this ground material. At the end of three months only a trace of Fe+++and So4- were found. Even after 10 months the quantity of Fe+++ was only 7.8 mg and SO4- 25.5 mg per liter of percolating solution. Car-michael5 confirmed Winchell's results on the slow oxidation of pyrite. Usually the oxidation of sulphide surfaces has been conducted in neutral or acid solutions, the acidity being caused by the oxidation products. Eliseev and Nagir-nyaka found that treatment of pure pyrite with lime gave only thiosulphate, but considered it possible that thiosulphate was obtained not by oxidation of the pyrite itself, but by oxidation of calcium disul-hide. Mitrofanov7 suggested that thiO~ulphate was formed by the following process: oxidation of sulphide to give free sulphur (this frequently happens with marcasite), followed by oxidation of the sulphur to sulphur dioxide and reaction of the sulphur dioxide with sulphur to give thiosulphate. Ferric and ferrous hydroxides, or similar compounds, were shown to be present. The Research Staff of the United Verde Copper Co.8 treated ore from the United verde mine with lime. Thiosulphate, sulphide and polysulphides were stated to be

Jan 1, 1949

By L. M. Dwarkin

Strip mining in Western Canada, though of considerable importance, is a fairly recent development for many of the operators in the district. Adding to the difficulty of unfamiliarity is the fact that a great deal of the stripping is done on pitching seams, for which the engineering and economic principles of setting the most advantageous strip ratio are not readily apparent. The novelty of the operation combined with the complexity of the principles involved can easily lead to misconceptions as to the determination of the economic ratio. Definition of Strip Ration There are two commonly accepted meanings of the term strip ratio: (1) The ratio of feet of overburden to be stripped per foot of coal recoverable. (2) The ratio of cubic yards of overburden per cubic yard or ton of coal. The first definition is inapplicable to pitching seams so, throughout this paper, strip ratio will be taken as the ratio of cubic yards of overburden to be removed per cubic yard of coal recoverable. Economic Ratio In the case of flat seams, the strip ratio is fixed by existing natural conditions, and the magnitude of this ratio determines whether stripping is economically feasible. With pitching seams, however, the strip ratio is a variable. On the outcrop, there is usually some coal which can be obtained with little or no stripping. As the work is carried down the pitch of the coal seam, the proportion of overburden continually increases until a point is reached where it is no longer economical to continue the operation. The question immediately arises as to the location of this point, and this resolves into the problem of determining the most favourable strip ratio, or, to use the accepted term, the economic ratio.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. B. Hess, R. L. Dietrich

In the mechanical twinning of magnesium on the {1012} planes the crystal-lographic deformation is such that, in the direction of the hexagonal axis [0001], twinning is possible only undef tension stress, while in the directions perpendicular to the hexagonal axis, twinning is possible only under applied compression. Thus in extruded magnesium and magnesium alloys where the extruded textures are best described as either [1010] or [1120] fibers,' the basal planes are all nearly parallel to the extrusion axis and such material is susceptible to ( 1or2 ) twinning by compression in the direction of the extrusion axis. In order to explain the results of cyclic stressing in alternate tension and compression upon the tangent elastic modulus in such material, Dorn and Thomsen2 have postulated that, following twinning under applied compression, a retwinning or un-twinning occurs as a result of residual microtensile stresses immediately upon removal of the applied compressive force. Recently, Carapella and Shaw4 have used this supposition of untwinning in magnesium in discussing their results on indentation hardness and on cold drawing of MI sheet. In trying to confirm this hypothesis by suitable direct experiments, the authors have been unsuccessful in detecting any evidence whatsoever that untwinning follows the release of applied compression and are forced to conclude that this hypothesis is improbable or, at least, that the quantity of material involved is small. For the experiments, small cylindrical specimens 0.040-in. diam. X 0.120- to 0.140-in. long were etched from 0.0625-in. extruded rod. The ends of the specimens were accurately faced off parallel in a jeweler's lathe. The compression jig was simply an ordinary set of micrometer calipers with an anvil interposed between the spindle and the specimen. The anvil was free to move axially but restrained from rotating so that the rotation of the spindle would not introduce a twisting stress on the specimen. With this arrangement the compressive strains could be estimated to 0.0001 in. and X ray pinhole photographs could be taken with or without load as required. Fig I is the pattern of an uncompressed specimen of AZ3I alloy, showing the approximate [1010] extrusion fiber. The X ray beam is normal to the extrusion axis; in this position it is particularly sensitive in detecting twinning if one directs his attention to the diffraction ring from the basal plane. Since twinning on (1072 planes produced an 86" reorientation of the crystal lattice, the original basal reflections occur at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions while the (0002) reflections from any twinned material will occur at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions. Fig 2 shows the same specimen compressed 3.0 pct, photographed while still under load. This strain has been just enough to produce a detectible amount of twinning and the sensitivity is roughly indicated by the fact that no alterations were produced in the intensities or maxima of the other diffraction rings. A strain of

Jan 1, 1949

By L. W. Strock

Metallurgists handling lead and zinc ores have long been familiar with the spectrograph as a routine analytical tool, as its earliest regular use by American industry was in controlling impurities of zinc metal and its alloys. This application has been extended to other metal industries on an extensive scale, accompanied by refinements of procedure to such an extent that a large part of some metals produced, especially magnesium, aluminum and steel, are checked only by spectrographic methods for conformity to specifications. The spectrographic analysis of ores and other poorly conducting powdered solids presents difficulties not encountered with metallic samples, which can be arced or sparked as self-electrodes or can be readily dissolved, so that their solutions can be analyzed, as in the American Society for Testing Materials standard methods for zinc and zinc-base alloys. Spectra of powdered solid samples can be prepared by using carbon electrodes provided with a crater of suitable size, into which the sample is packed. Ore samples and many other powdered solid materials usually analyzed in the chemical and metallurgical laboratory are more complex and varied in composition than samples of metals produced in large tonnages. 'lore preliminary work therefore is usually necessary in devising a spectrographic method for analyzing a given type of powdered sample than for analyzing metal samples, in order to use that method with confidence. The howledge that the standard samples and unknowns produce equivalent line intensities at equal concentration is the fundamental basis of any quantitative spectrographic method. On the other hand, powdered samples have an advantage over metals in that any desired number of chemical compounds can be mixed dry in any desired ratio to produce a synthetic standard. Expcrience has shown, however, that spectra of elements in finely divided compounds introduced into a standard in preparing a synthetic ore sample do not always behave in the electric arc in a manner that produces spectral line intensities similar to those observed at the same concentration in a natural mineral. In ore samples minor elements frequently are contained in the crystal lattice of larger particles of an abundant ore mineral. Their dissociation and volatilization from the sample into the arc then proceeds differently in the standard and sample, with resultant differences in intensity. During the past 10 years I have devised and applied several quantitative spectrographic methods for determining various elements in rocks and minerals in connection with studies on their geochemistry,' but the incentive has gradually changed since the summer 0. 1940 to the specific practical problem of searching for domestic sources of rare and stratcgic metals. The

Jan 1, 1949

By E. B. Hughes, F. G. Norris

Oxidation is characteristic of all processes for making steel from pig iron. This thought has been aptly expressed by H. W. Graham13 in the recent Howe Memorial Lecture, "The process of steel-making consists of using iron oxide to reduce the carbon content of the pig iron to the desired level." Direct oxidation refers to the reaction that results from introducing oxygen either alone or mixed with other gases directly into the steel bath. In working a heat, oxygen in some form is added to the steel to remove the undesirable constituents as oxides. There are two general methods of supplying this oxygen to the open hearth bath. The method in which the oxygen is added as a compound such as Con or iron ore is designated an indirect method because the steel bath must first decompose the compound to attain oxygen in a usable form. The other method in which oxygen is added to the bath in the elemental or gaseous form, more or less diluted by other gases such as nitrogen, is a direct method because no decomposition is necessary before the oxygen reacts with iron to form FeO which is dissolved in the bath in a usable form. Bubble formation (at least of a macroscopic size) presents no problem in case of direct oxidation because the reacting agent (oxygen) is in the form of bubbles when entering the metal. Regardless of whether oxygen is intro- duced into the bath directly or indirectly, several reactions proceed concurrently. In the presence of the bath of molten iron, FeO is formed either by oxidation of iron by oxygen or reduction of oxides by iron. This FeO dissolved in the molten iron is the source of oxygen for the oxidation of manganese, carbon, silicon, and phosphorus if these are present. The oxidation of carbon from steel is the controlling steelmaking reaction. The introduction of oxygen into the bath, its reaction in the elimination of impurities, and its control by the use of de-oxidizing additions have been subjects of importance since steel was first made by the bessemer process. Direct oxidation is, in a sense, an application of the bessemer principle to the open hearth process. Graham13 states: "The use of oxygen or air jets introduced into the metal bath is essentially an effort to approach in the open hearth the turbulence, rapid interface reaction, and high production rate per hour that exists in the bessemer process." The general subject, "Oxygen in Steel-making," was given new life by the studies of Herty and associates starting about1925. The current interest in elemental oxygen is intimately related to the large scale production of oxygen developed during the war period. Some of the first applications were made during the early summer of 1946 at the Steel Co. of Canada using oxygen with the fuel. Such a use is of considerable interest and importance in contributing to faster heats but is not the subject of the present discussion which deals entirely with the introduction of elemental oxygen directly into the open hearth bath.

Jan 1, 1949

By John G. Tate, George W. Nicolson, James L. Bruce

For more than 25 years modern mining has been carried on in the Island of Cyprus, Mediterranean Sea, by the Cyprus Mines Corp. of Los Angeles, Calif. The general features of these operations have been described.' From 1935 to June 30, 1940, top slicing in the Mavrovouni mine produced in excess of 2,000,000 long tons. The rate for the last part of this period was approximately 50,000 tons per month. Description of Ore Bodies The shape Of the Ore body now being top sliced in the Mavrovouni mine is an inclined irregular pyritic pipe or chimney of large dimensions) extending from unknown depths below the bottom level at elevation 250 ft below sea level) to the highest level at elevation 400 ft above sea level. The present surface above the ore body lies between 550 and 650 ft elevation. Undoubtedly the Ore body extended to surface and was Mined by the ancients by opencast and underground methods. The old pits were gradually filled up by erosion until now they show as slight depressions in the topography. The largest area of the Ore body is at elevation 170 ft below sea level, where the horizontal section is almost elliptical, with a width of 600 ft and a length of 1000 ft. Below this elevation the shape of the ore body continues to be elliptical but with reduced dimensions. Above this elevation it rises flatly towards the south with a substantial depression in the upper-side of the chimney and irregular ridges or wings rising on each side. It gradually grows smaller as it rises. The ore body is a pyritic replacement of andesitic extrusives which occur as flows and pillow lavas. With the exception of the upper portions of one or two small offshoots rising from the main ore body, all ore is completely surrounded by andesite. Most of the andesite lying above the ore body is covered by marl and Clay sedimentaries of Miocene and later age, The Miocene is presumed to be older than the ore mineralization. That portion of the andesites which lies between the sedimentaries and the ore body has been broken by slumpage, and weathered, and iron-Stained by the descending meteoric waters, It is a mass of crushed material that caves and follows downward readily as the top-slice stopes retreat. The main ore body is a heavy cupreous pyrites mass assaying on the average about 4.0 pet Cu; 48.0, S; and 42.0, Fe. In places the copper drops below 1.0 pet. on the borders of this heavy sulphide ore body lie disseminated cupreous pyrites ore deposits of large dimensions. some portions of these appear to be closely related to the heavy sulphide ore, as the ratio of copper to pyrite is about the same. The greater part of the disseminated ore, most of which lies immediately to the east of the main Ore body, contains less than 0.10 pct Cu and about 25.0 to 30.0 pct S. 'This probably can

Jan 1, 1949