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By R. H. B. Jones

THIS paper reviews pertinent geology of the Biwabik iron formation, Mesabi Range, Minnesota. This iron formation is divisible into four members. Each member is distinctive and contains marker horizons, which are recognizable throughout all phases of alteration from lean, fresh rock to high-grade iron ore. Some beds have a larger magnetite content than others. During the process of ore genesis, which is essentially an oxidation process, the magnetite content is lowered. Alteration from iron formation to ore includes both oxidation of iron minerals and silica removal by leaching and these distinct processes progress at variable rates for different locations and structures. Magnetic intensities, of each horizon of the iron formation are dependent chiefly upon its preoxidation magnetite content, upon the subsequent degree of oxidation, upon the character of the enclosing rocks, and on the extent of fracturing, folding, or faulting. The results of a number of magnetic surveys are described and are correlated with results of drill-hole and mine exploration and development. The magnetic anomalies obtained are discussed in relation to phases of formation of ore within the iron formation.

Jan 1, 1946

[Trans. No. Place Date Vol. Page 1. Wilkes-Barre, Pa.* May, '71.. 1 3 2. Bethlehem. Pa Aug., '71.. 1 10 8. Troy, N. Y Nov., '71.. 1 1S 4. Philadelphia, PaFeb., '72.. 117 5. New York, N. Y.*May: '78.. 120 5. Pittsburgh, PaOct., '72.. 125 7. Boston, MassFeb., '78.. 128 8. Philadelphia, Pa.* May, '78.. 2 3 9. Easton, POct., '78.. 27 10. New York. N. YFeb.. '74.. 2 11]

Jan 1, 1946

By Ernest W. Johnson

In most underground iron mines in the Lake Superior district the active workings are at considerable depth. When additional openings into such. nines are needed, operating officials are eager to discover more efficient methods of constructing them. In recent years, openings into two mines in the district were made by the borehole method,-which employs chilled-iron shot as the cutting medium. Others were made by the churn-drill method, in which pilot hole is churn-drilled and subsequently reamed to a desired but relatively small diameter. Both methods are comparatively new and unique, at least in some phases and in their application.

Jan 1, 1946

Jan 1, 1946

The cut-and-fill mining methods in use in the mines of The International Nickel Company of Canada Limited, at Falconbridge Nickel Mines Limited, in the Sudbury District, and at McIntyre Porcupine Mines Limited in the Porcupine District, are typical of the general cut-and-fill practice in both the base-metal mines and the gold mines in the Province of Ontario. The following pages describe the methods in use. HORIZONTAL CUT-AND-FILL STOPING Horizontal cut-and-fill stoping, as practiced in the mines of The International Nickel Company of Canada Limited, falls into two main classifications: (I) transverse cut-and-fill stoping, where ground conditions or wide ore bodies make it necessary to establish narrow stopes and pillars across the width of the ore body; (2) longitudinal cut-and-fill stoping where ore body widths and ground conditions allow safe mining of the full width of the ore body. Transverse Cut-and-fill StopiNg General Stoping Layouts Stope and Pillar Widhs.—For transverse stoping, experience has indicated that narrow stopes and pillars, 27 ft. 6 in and 22 ft., respectively, are most satisfactory. These width are multiples of 5 ft. 6 in., which is the center to center dimension of a standard square set. Thus any stope, or block of stopes, can be readily converted from cut-and-fill to square set-and-fill if ground conditions should warrant such a change. Formerly, pillars were established 16 ft. 6 in. wide, the equivalent of the width of three square sets, with the intention of extracting the pillars by mining an overhand slice one set wide and an underhand slice two sets wide. However, subsequent experience proved that a two-set overhand slice is so much more efficiently mined than a one-set slice, and 22-ft. pillars have been made standard. Chutes.—The stope chutes are established on the longitudinal center line of the stopes and are spaced at 22-ft. centers from footwall to hanging wall. The footwall chute is usually from 5 to 10 ft. from the footwall of the stope. It is offset where necessary at an angle of 52° and vertical chutes are carried from the offset at 22-ft. centers. In sections of the ore body where a flat hanging wall would cut off hanging-wall chutes within a few cuts of the sill, it has proved to be more economical to use temporary chutes or slushers, or both, for these first few cuts, rather than to el permanent chutes at the hanging wall.

Jan 1, 1946

By J. R. Long, C. E. Armantrout, A. H. Roberson, T. R. Graham, R. S. Dean

THE general program of the Federal Bureau of Mines on the study of alloys made with electrolytic manganese has been extended to copper-manganese-aluminum alloys. The initial results of the work are presented in this report and concern a determination of the mutual solubilities of these three metals to form the alpha solid solution. The principal studies of this system, reported in the literature, have been focused on the Heusler alloys containing 10 to 30 per cent Mn with 9 to 15 per cent Al. These investigations concern the ferromagnetic properties and the determination of the crystallization contours, with little emphasis on the phases present in the solid state outside of this area. Heusler1 recognized a breakdown of the beta solid solution of the magnetic alloy, which he says decomposes into the alpha, beta, and gamma phases of the copper-aluminum system, somewhat modified by the presence of manganese. Rosenhain and Lantsberry2 examined alloys ranging up to 10 per cent Mn and io per cent Al but were unable to reach definite conclusions concerning the phase boundaries in that area. Krings and Ostmann3 made magnetic studies and examined the system by thermal analysis. They present contours of the liquidus surface but do not place any of the phase boundaries. Corson4 [ ] has drawn a hypothetical boundary for the alpha field with few data to support such construction. The binary systems involved have received considerable attention by numerous investigators, and their general features are well established. The hopper-aluminum system (Fig, I) has been thoroughly examined by Stockdale,5 who places the limit of solubility of aluminum in copper at 7.4 per cent at the liquidus and 9.5 per cent at room temperature. Smiths established the eutectoid temperature at 570°C. by a study of isothermal decomposition of the beta phase. The copper-manganese system (Fig. 2) has been recently reviewed by Dean and co-workers.7 Using high-purity alloys, they place the solubility of alpha man-

Jan 1, 1946

By A. Shaak

The town of Hedley is some 200 miles due east of Vancouver and lies in the bottom of the Similkameen River valley, at the junction of Twenty Mile creek, at about the 1,700-foot elevation above sea level. The Nickel Plate mine camp is on Nickel Plate mountain at an elevation of about 5,600 feet, four miles slightly east of north from Hedley, to which it is connected by 9 miles of road, and by 10,000 feet of tramway and electric railway. The latter is used both to transport the ore to the 275-ton mill at Hedley and to furnish the mine with supplies. History The Nickel Plate claim was staked in 1898 to cover the sole outcrop of the Nickel Plate system of orebodies. Soon afterwards it was optioned by the Marcus Daly interests of Butte and underground exploration commenced. Early exploration was successful, and a power plant, tramway, and mill were constructed. The mill began operations in 1904. Production under Daly control ensued from June, 1904, to August, 1909, and amounted to 167,000 tons. The Hedley Gold Mining Company was organized and commenced operations in 1909. The capacity of the mill was increased by stages to 200 tons and a steady production, except for short periods in winter, was maintained until 1930. By 1930, gold to the value of nearly $10,000,000 had been produced since the discovery in 1898. The South American Development Company optioned the property in 1932. Active exploration was conducted during 1933 and 1934 by the Kelowna Exploration Company, a subsidiary of the South American Development Company. This work was sufficiently successful that, coupled with the increase in the price of gold from $20.67 to $35.00 per ounce, production re-commenced in December, 1934, and continued uninterrupted until July, i946, when, along with all B.C. gold mines, a strike closed operations. Under the present ownership, the mill capacity was increased to 275 tons.

Jan 1, 1946

By Will H. Coghill, I. L. Feld, G. D. Coe

"INTRODUCTION During the course of research on the beneficiation of the Big Seam iron ores of Birmingham, Ala., an urgent need was felt for quick iron assays of grab samples for mill control. Since the gangue minerals in these ores - quartz, limestone, and clay - all have about the same specific gravity, the use of a specific-gravity method was anticipated as a means of measuring the iron content. The idea of estimating the composition of a mineral mixture by measuring its specific gravity is by no means new. However, the usual method of carry in out this idea proved unreliable when applied to the Big Seam ores. The usual rapid method of determining specific gravity consists of measuring the volume of a known weight of sample that has been dried at high temperature. The inadequacy of this method led to the development of the rapid, modified, specific-gravity determination described in this paper.This work- was an incidental development resulting from research on beneficiation of iron ores by the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of Alabama and ore producing companies of the Birmingham district."

Jan 1, 1946

By Irwin Roman

IN studying the possibilities of a continuously recording magnetometer for use along the surface of the earth and in an airplane, the Federal Bureau of Mines was led to a study of the theoretical resolving power of magnetic observations, both in the variation of the total magnetic intensity and in each of the two components ordinarily measured. Along with this general study, an attempt was made to determine the relative worth of the total intensity anomaly and the vertical anomaly in geophysical prospecting. General considerations led to three conclusions: I. In the northern magnetic hemisphere of the earth, the total intensity anomaly is offset to the south of the vertical anomaly, for a positive anomaly (see Appendix, note I). 2. The resolving power of magnetic observations decreases rapidly with distance from the disturbing body. 3. The horizontal anomaly has little value in prediction of the disturbing body but might be useful in making a choice between bodies suggested by the vertical or total anomaly. Some of the considerations leading to these conclusions were: I. The normal intensity and the anomalous intensity are vectorially additive; hence for a positive anomaly in the northern magnetic hemisphere the total intensity will be a maximum at some point south of the disturbing body and north of the point at which the line to the disturbing body is parallel to the normal earth's field. The anomaly itself has a maximum value directly above the body. For a positive anomaly of constant magnitude, the total intensity will be a maximum when the anomaly vector is parallel to the normal vector. This is shown schematically in Fig. I (not to scale) for a magnetic distribution not restricted to a relatively thin sheet in the magnetic meridian. The normal field has a magnitude Io with vertical component Vo and horizontal component H,. Six station points along a traverse' across the body from south to north are shown at M to S. At each of these stations the normal magnetic field vector terminates at F. At each of these stations the magnetic field vector due to the disturbing body B terminates at A. The line through the station point and the point A passes through B. The magnitude of the anomaly, indicated by the length of the vector terminating at A, is proportional to some power of the distance from the station point to the disturbing body. If the' disturbing body B is a concentrated point of magnetic material, the anomaly is proportional to the inverse second power of the distance. For a uniform magnetic distribution over a line perpendicular to the observed traverse, the anomaly is proportional to the inverse first power of the distance. For surface distributions, the law of intensity is more complicated. At each field point, the total magnetic intensity T is the vector sum of the

Jan 1, 1946

By G. A. Crowe, W. T. Bishop

WHILE the literature in the United States on general polarographic technique is extensive, very little appears to be directly applicable to the analysis of flotation tailings. For this reason, it seemed worth while to present a few polarographic methods of ore analysis that have been in constant use in the laboratories of the Hercules Experiment Station for the past few years. At the time of our initial investigation of the polarographic method, there was little or no mention of its specific application to flotation tailings. It was therefore necessary for us to establish suitable conditions for the analysis of our flotation tailings and to consider possible interfering constituents. The polarograph, or dropping mercury electrode, method was discovered in 1925 by J. Heyrovsky and M. Shikata,1 of the Charles University, Prague. This method has since received extensive development and the literature contains many articles on the use of the polarograph for the quantitative determination of metals as well as anions, oxygen in solution, and reducible organic compounds. Kolthoff and Lingane,2 by the publication of their book, "Polarography," in 1941 did much to advance the knowledge and use of the polarograph. In chapter 25 of that book, methods for the polarographic analysis of brass, steel and iron products, alloys, and zinc ore are given. Aluminum,3 cadmium,3.4 cobalt,4 copper,3-9 gold,10 iron,3,11 lead, 3,12,13 molybdenum," nickel,4.8,9 tin,15 and zinc3,4,5,7 in ores have been analyzed by the polarograph. However, most of the work on tailing samples has been published in Russian journals and translations are not yet readily available. In this paper we will describe the method that was developed and used in our laboratory for the determination of copper, zinc, and lead in flotation tailings. PRINCIPLE OF THE METHOD The polarograph is an instrument for applying a potential to a mercury pool and a dropping mercury electrode separated by a solution, and for measuring the resultant electrical current. The procedure is essentially a small-scale electrolysis, in which the voltage required to reduce or oxidize the material identifies it qualitatively and the current measures the concentration quantitatively. Different constituents in a sample may often be determined simultaneously provided they reduce at sufficiently different voltages. An example is the determination of copper and zinc in the same solution. The reduction potentials are quite far apart, as shown in Fig. I. The polarographic method is particularly useful in the range of concentration between those normally determined by spectographic and chemical methods. In

Jan 1, 1946

[United Engineering Trustees, Inc. ALBERT ROBERTS. '47 R. M. ROOSEVELT, '49 RALPH B. WILLIAMS, '48 The Engineering Foundation F. F. COLCORD. '46 M. A. PRENTIS. Jn.. '48 It. >I. ROOSEVELT. '49]

Jan 1, 1946

By George T. Motock

In Germany the extraction of lithium and its salts has been handled mainly by units of the two major concerns - Metallgesellschaft A, G. and Deutsche Gold und Silber Scheide Anstalt, both with headquarters in Frankfurt. Zinnwaldite, which belongs to the mica group, is the major source of the lithium-containing raw material in Germany. Lepidolite and amblygonite also are used when available, but they are imported, as there are no major deposits of these two minerals in Germany.

Jan 1, 1946

By Parke A. Dickey

Potential differences between strata of shale and sandstone have been recognized for about 15 years, and they form the basis of the electrical logging of oil wells. Hitherto these potentials have been ascribed solely to electro-¦ chemical reactions caused by the disturbing effects of the water in the drill hole through which they are generally measured. Observations by the author in wells empty of water and in a mine shaft suggest that potential differences between sandstones and shales are natural and specific properties of the rocks, although they are moditied in measurement by the disturbing effects of the water in the drill hole. The cause of these potentials probably is to be sought in the relative polar adsorptive capacities of quartz and clay particles. Introduction The existence of potential differences in the surface of the earth has been known for some time, and their measurement has facilitated the discovery of geological discontinuities such as ore bodies. The technique of measurement has been well established.1-3 In measurements in oil wells, it has been found that the potential of shales with respect to some arbitrary reference is very nearly constant in any one well, at least below the zone to which meteoric water has gained access. Sandstones and some other types of sedimentary rocks have a difference of potential with respect to shale that is negative arid may attain a value of 200 millivolts or more. The difference of potential, as usually measured commercially with water in the hole, is distributed over about one foot vertically at the top and bottom contacts of the sandstones. The sharpness of the curve at the formation contacts can be improved by using a short electrode that is close to the wall of the hole' These potentials generally have been ascribed to the disturbing effects of the water in the drill hole. Potentials have been found, however, in wells in which no water was present. In the course of experiments in electrical logging in pennsylvania, carried out by the pennsylvania Geological Survey, observations were made of several phenomena that hitherto have not been described, to the author's knowledge, ill the published literature. The potential differences across the contacts of sandstone and shale are called ill this paper "natural potentials," as distinguished from the potentials caused by electroendosmosis (electrofiltration) and concentration differences, which will be discussed subsequently. Potentials in Cored WeLl In the spring of 1942, the author measured the potentials in an exploratory well (Day 13, near Grand Valley, Pa.) which had been cored With diamond tools. The potentials were first measured with fresh water in the hole. * null balance potentiometer was used in this and all the other measurements described in this paper. One nonpolarizing porous pot electrode, containing copper sulphate solution and

Jan 1, 1946

By R. D. Satterley

The Sherwood mine is an iron-ore mine owned and operated by the Inland Steel CO. in the Iron River district of the Menominee Range in Michigan. The property consists of an 80-acre tract in the village of Mineral Hills, about a mile north of the city of Iron River. The Ore mined is a reddish brown, nonbessemer hematite and limonite. The ore bodies lie in a large syncline having an east-west strike and are associated with a rock structure that is folded in a complex manner. The two 40-acre tracts run north and south and the shaft is at about the center of the north forty. The shaft is 1286 ft. deep, with the principal operating level at a depth of 1000 ft. from surface. A new level at a depth of 1200 ft. is in process of development. The ore body at the 1000 ft. level is east and west at approximately the line between the north and south forties and at this elevation is from 50 to 250 ft. wide and extends above the level at varying heights of from 50 to 250 feet. The 1000-ft. haulage drift extends south from the shaft, through the east-west ore body to the slates on the south side of the body. The ore body was intercepted in the drifting at about goo ft. from the shaft and was about 200 ft. wide at that point. A crosscut was extended to the east and west property lines along the south boundary of the ore body. This east-west ore body is laid out in areas go ft. wide for stoping with pillars 40 ft. wide. With this plan a stope is approximately 80 by 200 ft. and has a pillar on both sides that is approximately 40 by 200 ft. The ore has a height of from 50 to 250 ft. above the elevation of the level, therefore the height of the stopes varies in accordance with the height of the ore body at each location. From the crosscut, two main raises, each 6 by 7 ft., are put up into each 80 ft. stope area (Fig. 1). One of the main raises serves as a manway and the other as an ore raise, through which the ore is transferred from the stope to the tramming equipment. The original layout as for scraping of the ore from under the stopes into the ore raises. The ore raise is put halfway (east and west) along the 80-ft. stope area and usually is in iron formation. The manway and ore raise are on approximately 15-ft. centers. These main raises are Put up to a height of from 22 to 30 ft. above the level floor, then from the toll of the ore raise a scraper drift (8 X 8 ft.) is driven across the width of the ore body, which is in the neighborhood of 200 ft. From the scraper drift, mill raises are put up at 12½-ft. centers, staggered on opposite sides of the drift, and these are extended 23 ft. above the elevation of the scraper-drift floor. The sublevel connecting the top of these mill raises is called a mill "sub." Other sublevels are developed parallel to the scraper and mill subs at 25-ft. vertical intervals above the mill sub. The mill sub and the other subs above the mill sub are known as sublevels or dog drifts, and are 4 ft. wide and 6 ft. high. These dog drifts

Jan 1, 1946

By Frank H. Macpherson

Few people realize the tremendously important part that Saline and Pulaski Counties in central Arkansas have played in the winning of the war The present favorable war situation might have been very different if we had not had the bauxite produced during the past two years from these two small areas, a total Of about 15 square miles. As a general statement, it can be said that the Arkansas bauxite deposits are, individually, relatively small, irregular in thickness, somewhat scattered and, therefore, compared with coal or iron-ore or open-pit copper deposits, relatively ill adapted to a rapid and drastic expansion in output. A few years ago it would have seemed an impossibility for these two counties to produce over six million long dry tons of bauxite in one year. However, with the cooperation of the operators, that is what happened in 1943, when the state of Arkansas achieved the seemingly impossible with a production of 6,020,684 1 long tons (dried equivalent) of bauxite ore during the calendar year, compared with an average annual production of 323,7252 tons in the period 1931 to 1941. It became apparent early in the year '94' that the united States soon might be drawn into the war, and, therefore, that an immediate study of the domestic metal situation was necessary. Aluminum is by far the most important metal used in the manufacture of aircraft and many other implements of war and it was evident that there would have to be a tremendous increase in the domestic production of bauxite, which is practically the only present source of this metal. AS more than 95 per cent of the known bauxite reserves of the United states was in Arkansas, careful preliminary studies were made in that state by representatives of the united States Bureau of Mines, the United States Geological survey and the War Production Board in the summer of 1941 Reserves in other states also were studied. The result of these studies was a recommendation by the War Production Board that mining in the bauxite.producing areas of Arkansas be geared for maximum production, in order to supply sufficient ore for this country's war requirements and, if necessary, to supply the war needs of Canada as well. The annual goal of eight million long tons (dry weight) set for Arkansas by the war Production Board was exceeded in 1943, when in August the output reached a rate equivalent to more than 8,300,000 long tons, dry basis. Because of the comparatively small tonnage of bauxite reserves, Congress appropriated funds for an extensive drilling program to be carried out by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Geological Survey. Drilling began in May 1942 but owing to delay in delivery of drills, and trucks upon which the drills were mounted the program did not get into peak operation until early in 1943. By the end of July 1944, the Bureau of Mines records indicated an addition to the Arkansas reserves of 10,000,000 long tons (wet basis) in place,

Jan 1, 1946

By William Marsh Baldwin, T. S. Howald, A. W. Ross

The related subjects of preferred orientation, directionality in physical properties, and earing tendencies of wrought metal strip have attracted the attention of metallurgists to such an extent that in the past 20 years hundreds of researches have been published on this one general problem. The anisotropy of tensile strength and elongation have been exhaustively studied in their relationship to the occurrence of ears in cups drawn from strip'-~O.~g and, to a lesser extent: yield strength7."-l7 and stress-strain curves'5 have been investigated. Despite the tremendous fund of knowledge thus accrued, no simple quantitative correlation of directionality and earing tendencies has yet been found. In a sense, this is not surprising. The formation of ears in a drawn cup clearly is a special phase of the general study of metal flow; in particular (as will be brought out in the course of this paper), ears are due to anistropy in the rates of deformation of the metal in the radial, circumferential, and "thickness" directions of the original blank. It would be difficult to effect a correlation between caring tendency and a property that may be completely independent of the flow of metal, or at best related to metal flow in an exceedingly complex fashion. Yet, it is this correlation that has been attempted; tensile strength and elongation are attributes of metal rupture. a phenomenon that has quite admirably been shown to be distinct from the phenomenon of metal flow,21 while yield strength and stress-strain

Jan 1, 1946

By J. C. Williams

THE operations described in this paper are those of the flotation plant of the Valley Forge Cement Co. at Conshohocken, Pa., and concern the use of a particular cationic reagent-namely, DP-243. The role of this reagent in this plant may be better understood by first considering the purpose of beneficiating cement rock in general and the specific problems at the Valley Forge plant. The ultimate purpose of beneficiating cement rock is to obtain a kiln feed of the desired chemical composition in a form suitable for the most efficient kiln operation. The chemical composition is governed by the type of cement to be made. Before government restrictions (the purpose of which is to simplify operations during wartime) limited the types of portland cement a manufacturer is permitted to produce, five principal types of cement were generally recognized by the industry. They are based upon chemical and physical specifications proposed by the American Society for Testing Materials, federal and other governmental agencies, state highway departments, water boards and other users of large quantities of cement. The physical as well as chemical specifications for any particular type of cement necessitate proper proportioning of the major components-that is, the silica, alumina, iron and lime-and it is necessary to establish and maintain definite limits for each in the raw mix. The manufacturer must then prepare a kiln feed of a composition that will yield a final product that will fulfill the desired specification. This step is further complicated for kilns using coal as fuel, by the amount and analysis of the ash introduced. The amount and nature of the dust lost during burning will also affect the composition of the kiln feed. The problem of preparing a kiln feed of the desired chemical composition is not a simple one, and it is the final product that governs the methods used to obtain such a feed. For example, in starting with a material deficient in lime for the mix sought, it may not be sufficient to raise it to the required lime content. The other constituents must also be present in the proper proportions. In some cases, it may be necessary to raise the lime content to a point greatly exceeding that of the final mix, then, by addition of one or more other materials lower in lime, obtain the mix. The rock used at the Valley Forge plant is a metamorphosed argillaceous limestone of the Jacksonburg formation, the same formation as that of the Lehigh Valley cement rock (which occurs approximately 50 miles north), and its oxide composition is similar to that of the latter. The only practical differences between the two are that, as a result of metamorphosis, crystallization of the Valley Forge rock is considerably coarser and it contains less carbon than the Lehigh Valley rock as well as slightly more magnesia in the form of magnesian mica. The calcium carbonate content of the various strata in the Valley Forge quarry ranges from about 65 per cent to over 85 per cent, the average for the entire quarry being somewhat under the requirement for manufacture of cement, which usually is from 75 to 76 per

Jan 1, 1946

By A. Dubé

Introduction It is common experience that on re-heating a fully martensitic steel below the Ac, point, a softer and tougher structure is formed as the tempering temperature is raised. The mechanism of tempering of plain carbon and low-alloy steels has been the subject of many investigations. In a very comprehensive study, Cohen and associates have recently established three different tempering stages, the last of which reaches completion at about 700°F., with heating rates of 5°F. per minute. This latter stage has been established ta be the carbide-forming stage, so that the steel consists of a mixture of ferrite and carbide, which are the metastable equilibrium phases. Any subsequent changes which take place at higher temperatures below the Ac, point in the absence of graphitization or carbide lattice conversion normally consist of agglomeration of the carbide particles. This naturally results in the softening of the steel. However, in many cases the Ac, point, as determined by dilatometry, thermal analysis, etc., only gives a rough estimate of the temperature where the reaction, ferrite plus carbides to austenite, is initiated. This appears to be especially true in the case of alloy steels in which three phases can co-exist in certain temperature ranges. Bain has given data on the three-phase equilibrium in both manganese and nickel steels. In these steels, the formation of austenite at temperatures just above the AeIL apparently involves the diffusion of the alloying elements to the first pools of austenite, thereby making the process very sluggish. As a consequence, the critical Ac points determined by ordinary methods at normal rates of heating can be quite distant from the true equilibrium Ae temperatures.

Jan 1, 1946

By F. O. Garrabrant, F. S. McNicholas, Robert Henderson, R. U. King

Several years ago, it was decided to experiment with the use of high-pressure water to bring in finger hangups and reduce the amount of secondary blasting necessary. It was argued that the velocity effect of the high-pressure water would bring down hangups without unduly wetting the ore. Water under a head of about 550 ft. was installed in certain slusher drifts. Ordinary ¾ in. water hose, with a nozzle opening of % in., was used, and water was impinged on the fines under a hangup. Results were excellent. About half the total number of hangups were brought in with high-pressure water without blasting and the cost of this part of the slushing operation was reduced about 50 per cent. Operations were speeded up, dust counts and safety hazards were reduced, and a more desirable working place was secured. The additional water added to the ore was under one per cent and caused no inconvenience in slushing, haulage, or crushing operations. Usually the ore would absorb all of the water, so that none of it would enter the loading drifts. The entire mine, developed by slusher drifts, is being equipped with high-pressure water. Heating Mine by Compressor Cooling Water Several years ago, the problem of heating certain sections of the mine during freezing weather became important. It was calculated that there was sufficient heat in the compressor cooling water to heat the incoming ventilating air current to above freezing, if such heat could be transferred from the water to the air. All schemes of radiation from pipe were rejected as too cumbersome, costly and impractical. It was thought that by spraying the heated water from the compressor cooling system into the incoming air, a satisfactory heat exchange could be accomplished. The only objection was that the sprayed water would freeze and might fill the air-intake drift. However, when water at about 75° to 80°F. was sprayed at the rate of 200 gal. per minute through a bank of sprays into the incoming and freezing air current, this air was thereby heated to above freezing; and although some ice was built up in the air drift, the amount was not objectionable. Occasionally the built-up ice was picked down into the outgoing water stream, which removed it. The entire south and westerly parts of the mine were prevented from freezing. Concreting for Hangups Considerable trouble was experienced in securing hangups of fine ore in slusher fingers that needed repairing. Regular methods of timbering were unsatisfactory. Now, a slab of concrete is poured over the top of the muck by Pumperete machine, almost filling a finger, which gives a satisfactory slab to work under for making the needed repairs. Derailers Some trouble has been caused by motor-men not observing safety lights and

Jan 1, 1946

By T. E. Leonitis, F. N. Rhines

The oxide scale that forms upon magnesium at elevated temperatures is non-protective in the sense that the rate of oxidation is constant and thus does not decrease with the growth of the scale as it does with other common metals. This generality was first stated by Pilling and Bedworth' and has been verified by Suzuki2 and by ScheiL3 Pilling and Bcdworth argued that the nonprotective characteristic could be predicted from the fact that magnesium oxide occupies less space than does the metal from which it springs, wherefore the scale is not expected to cover the metal so completely as to exclude all direct access to the atmosphere. Linear oxidation is thought by Scheil to be common to all cases where the reaction occurs at the oxide-metal interface. According to Suzuki," he product of high-temperature oxidation in the air is MgO contaminated with no more than traces of a nitride. When the metal is allowed to burn freely a fume composed of cubic crystals of Mg04 is given off. Delavaults observed that excrescences form upon liquid magnesium and alloys in thc course of oxidation. Beyond this it is known that the use of atmospheres containing small quantities of sulphur dioxide6 or carbon dioxide serve to retard the oxidation of solid magnesium and that beryllium' and calciums minimize the oxidation of molten magnesium exposed to the air. Many studies have been devoted to the nature and rates of "protective" oxidation, as exemplified by the cases of copper and iron, wherein the rate is characteristically parabolic. The theory of parabolic oxidation is well developed.~ Linear oxidation, on the other hand, has received but little attention and the theories proposed by Pilling and Bedworth and by Schcil have yet to withstand careful examination. There exists no comprehensive survey of the high-temperature oxidation of magnesium (or of any other metal that exhibits linear oxidation) over a broad range of temperature, under a variety of atmospheric conditions and covering a large group of alloys. It has been the purpose of the present investigation to provide such a survey, with the object of gaining a fuller understanding of linear oxidation, especially as applied to magnesium. Experimental Procedure and Results The experimental studies undertaken were of two kinds: (I) measurement of the rate of oxidation as influenced by the 6c

Jan 1, 1946