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R. W. Balluffi (Atomic Energy Div., Sylvania Electric Products Inc., Bayside, N. Y.)—Since porosity is known to form in the copper side of Cu-Ni couples during diffusion24,25 it is of importance to consider this factor in interpreting the large variations of chemical diffusivity with copper concentration reported for this system. The presence of porosity may affect the measurement of D in two ways: 1—density changes in the couple invalidate the usual solutions of the diffusion equation, and 2—the pores may act as short-circuiting paths when transport through the vapor or along internal surfaces is appreciable or else as open circuits when these effects are small. The error produced by the first effect may be estimated by a graphical analysis. Fig. 8 shows the porosity generated in the copper side of the Kirkendall interface of a pure nickel vs pure copper couple after diffusion for 350 hr at 1040°C in hydrogen. In Fig. 9 the actual diffusion curve which would be obtained by the usual slicing technique is shown as a solid line drawn to the same scale (from the data of da Silva and Mehl"). The amounts of porosity (obtained by lineal analysis) and of nickel are graphically represented by the hatched areas. The standard solutions of the diffusion equation are valid only when all volume elements of unit length and unit cross section contain equal numbers of atoms." It is possible to correct the experimental curve to satisfy this condition by shrinking the couple in the direction of diffusion in such a way as to eliminate the porosity.* The corrected diffusion curve obtained after

Jan 1, 1954

By Heinrich Ries

The clay-resources of Colorado are but little known, for the reason that little has been published concerning them, and also on account of the hitherto small demand for clay products in the Rocky Mountain region. At the present day the wares manufactured from clay which are used in Colorado include common and pressed brick, terracotta, sewer-pipe, pottery and refractory articles. Most of these are brought from a considerable distance; but with an increasing demand for such goods in the West and a better knowledge of the available materials, there should be considerable expansion in the clay-working industry of Colorado in the future. The notes here presented are an abstract of those collected by the writer in October, 1896, in a reconnaissance of the clay-bearing formations of Colorado. Clay-bearing Formations. We may roughly divide the clay-bearing formations of Colorado into three groups : 1. Loess and alluvial deposits. 2. Jura-Trias and Cretaceous clays. 3. Tertiary clays. . The loess forms an extensive deposit of large area, though not very thick, extending from north to south across the State, and eastward from the foot-hills. It is generally a very sandy clay, with little plasticity, and is underlain by a gravelly stratum, which determines the workable depth. Clay similar to the loess is found underlying the river terraces in many of the broader valleys, such as those of the Arkansas, Grand River, etc. The Mesozoic formations extend along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, and also occur in some of the deeper valleys tributary to the foot-hill belt. They consist of a great series of interbedded shales, sandstones and limestones of Jura-

Jan 1, 1898

By Robert H. Weber

INCREASING acceptance of perlite products, chiefly in the fields of lightweight structural aggregates and thermal and acoustic insulation, has led to expanding market demands that have encouraged many new producers to enter the field. In some instances, however, the failure of these producers to anticipate the variable response of perlite to conventional processing methods has led to difficulty in establishing an economical flowsheet by which a predictable specification product could be obtained. It is not the writer's intent to provide a solution to these problems, but rather to summarize their nature. It is to be hoped that members of the industry who have hurdled some of these obstacles will document solutions arising from their experience. In this treatment the term perlite will not be restricted to the petrographic definition but will apply to all volcanic glasses. Expansible obsidians and pitchstones are accordingly included in this broader industrial classification. Chemical Properties: Although perlite has been reported to range in composition from that of rhyolite to that of andesite, it is probable that most of the glasses have the composition of rhyolite. When recalculated to an anhydrous basis, the five analyzed glasses from New Mexico, representing five distinct physical types from widely separated deposits, show an amazingly uniform oxide composition. Water content is the only major compositional variable; total water ranges from a low of 0.37 pct (non-expansible obsidian) to a high of 8.95 pct (expansible pitchstone). The wide range in expansion characteristics exhibited by these samples cannot be related to significant variations in the composition of the nonvolatile fraction and has been only partially correlated with variations in water content.

Jan 1, 1956

By C. R. Hocott

THE distribution and movement of fluids in oil reservoirs are influ-enced to a great extent by capillary forces, which depend upon the size and shape of the pores in the reservoir rock, the surface characteristics of the rock, and the interfacial tension between the fluid phases. This paper presents the results of an investigation of the interfacial tension between salt water and crude oil containing dissolved gas under reser-voir conditions. APPARATUS AND PROCEDURE In the preliminary phases of this investigation, it was found that a scum formed at the oil-water interface, which made measurement of interfacial tension by either the ring or capillary rise methods unreliable. Accordingly, the drop-weight method, in which a fresh interface is con-tinuously formed, was selected. In this method, a tip through which drops of one fluid can be expelled is immersed in a second fluid. At the instant that the drop becomes large enough to fall, the gravitational force tending to pull away the drop exactly balances the interfacial force tending to hold it. From the size of the drop, the dimensions of the tip, and the density of the two fluid phases, the interfacial tension may be calculated. The apparatus consists of a circulating pump for bringing the oil to equilibrium with gas at the desired pressure, a displacement pump for forming the drops, an interfacial tension cell in which the drops are formed, and a density cell to determine the density of the oil. The density of the water is determined separately in another apparatus. A flow diagram of the assembled equipment is shown in Fig. 1.

Jan 1, 1938

By W. P. Lass

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1015) THE gold precipitate from the zinc-dust presses in the cyanide plant of the Alaska-Treadwell Gold Mining Co.; Treadwell, Alaska, is treated, in the refinery adjoining, by the Tavener or lead-smelting method. About. 3 or 4 tons of this precipitate are produced monthly having a gold assay value of $40,000 to $60,000 per ton. It was formerly the practice to treat the by-products from this process, consisting of 2 tons of slag, 300 lb. of matte, 500 lb. of refinery refuse, flue dust, etc., in a 24-in. water-jacketed blast furnace. This' practice was discontinued in the summer of 1914 by reason of the difficulty of keeping the lead-well open when treating a high-grade lead product; of preventing the loss of gold in the flue dust; and of avoiding injury to the general health of the refinery operators; a plain single-phase electric furnace was substituted for the blast furnace. The furnace was constructed from an old steel acid drum by cutting off the top and introducing a cable, made from strands of bare copper wire, through the bottom and spreading the strands out fan-shaped on the inside of the drum. Powdered graphite, obtained by grinding up old crucibles, mixed with 10 per cent. cement, was tamped wet into the bottom of the drum, around and completely covering the copper wires. The graphite was carried up to the bottom of the furnace, or lead-well, and acted as the lower electrode. The sides were built up of ordinary firebrick forming a melting chamber 14 in. in diameter by 20 in. high.

Jan 7, 1915

By G. E. McElroy

MUCH attention has been directed to mine-air flow in recent years, more especially in Great Britian where there is frequent reference to a theory of fluid flow developed by English engineers. Briefly stated, this theory is that for similar passages of the same relative roughness, in which fluid flow occurs, the conditions of flow are exactly the same for equal values of the product W D V/ µ, where W = density of the fluid, D = diameter of the passage through which flow occurs, V = mean velocity of flow, and µ = absolute viscosity of the fluid flowing. This, the "Reynolds Criterion" of fluid flow, had its origin in the work of Prof. Osborne Reynolds' more than 40 years ago. Later, Lord Rayleigh amplified the theory2 which has been conclusively proved for small pipes by the experiments of Stanton and Pannel3 over a large flow range, and by Lacey4 over a somewhat more limited range. Concordant results on small pipes have also been obtained by numerous other investigators with single fluids over more or less limited ranges of flow. According to this theory results in one medium, such as water, are immediately applicable to another, such as air; and experimental results on models are (theoretically, at least) applicable to full-scale designs. This is of great importance in aeronautics and can be of considerable value in mine ventilation research. Hodgson, in a recent paper,5 has outlined the application of this theory to mine-air flow and recent English experiments" on the resistance of a timbered mine airway have been expressed in this form.

Jan 10, 1926

By C. M. Boss

Throughout the Lake Superior Basin each of the great ironranges, from which vast quantities of iron-ore have been, and are now being mined, presents characteristics differing from each and all of the others. One of the most peculiar of these varying features is found in the dikes of the Gogebic range. From an economical standpoint this feature of the dikes has been studied by our practical mining men more than any other geological phenomena in connection with the deposits of merchantable iron-ore. In the greater portion of our mines these dikes appear to form the riffles in the sluice of the ore formation, against which the particles of iron oxide are deposited in the process of concentration out of the quartzose matrix which is termed the ironbearing formation. In composition these dikes are apparently of a dioritic formation, more or less altered and decomposed, comparatively soft, and sometimes almost steatitic. While frequently showing something of a cleavage in the direction of their pitch, they are devoid of parallel laminæ, and when broken assume the form of irregular angular fragments. They are generally of nil ashy grey color, but sometimes at great depth are found to be quite dark, almost black, and of a very hard massive nature, showing radial or fibrous crystallization. Practically all of the dikes thus far discovered in the iron formation are approximately at right-angles with the dip of the formation, and the greater number of them have an average easterly dip of from fifteen to eighteen degrees. Sometimes, however, they are folded in such a manner as to form long synclinal basins; but while their western or initial extremity is fre-

Jan 1, 1898

By G. E. McElroy

MUCH attention has been directed to mine-air flow in recent years, more especially in Great Britian where there is frequent reference to a theory of fluid flow developed by English engineers. Briefly stated, this theory is that for similar passages of the same relative roughness, in which fluid flow occurs, the conditions of flow are exactly the same for equal values of the product W D V, where W = density of the fluid, D = diameter of the passage through which flow occurs, V = mean velocity of flow, and m = absolute viscosity of the fluid flowing. This, the "Reynolds Criterion" of fluid flow, had its origin in the work of Prof. Osborne Reynolds' more than 40 years ago. Later, Lord Rayleigh amplified the theory2 which has been conclusively proved for small pipes by the experiments of Stanton and Pannel3 over a large flow range, and by Lacey4 over a somewhat more limited range. Concordant results on small pipes have also been obtained by numerous other investigators with single fluids over more or less limited ranges of flow. According to this theory results in one medium, such as water, are immediately applicable to another, such as air; and experimental results on models are (theoretically, at least) applicable to full-scale designs. This is of great importance in aeronautics and can be of considerable value in mine ventilation research. Hodgson, in a recent paper,5 has outlined the application of this theory to mine-air flow and recent English experiments' on the resistance of a timbered mine airway have been expressed in this form.

Jan 10, 1926

By Milton E. Wadsworth

INTRODUCTION The purposes of this conference are aimed mainly at the treatment of fine or ultra fine particles in terms of beneficiation and chemical processing of minerals. For this reason the discussion on leaching will be confined to processes which treat slurries rather than those which treat a large variety of low and medium grade materials by vat leaching or dump leaching techniques. This eliminates such hydro-metallurgical systems as solution mining from consideration. This discussion will focus predominantly upon the behavior of fine particles as associated with their chemistry in leach reactors. Four major sub-headings may be pointed to as encompassing the major areas in which research and engineering design activity should be directed. These are: 1) generation of fine particles, 2) heterogeneous kinetics of leaching, 3) solution chemistry, 4) engineering design and control of flow reactors. Each of these topics will be addressed briefly in this presentation to illustrate current developments and future needs. GENERATION OF FINE PARTICLES As will be pointed out more quantitatively in the next section the generation of fine particles has great influence upon leaching systems inasmuch as in most cases the rate of leaching is related to the surface area of the particles involved. This is true for acid or base leaching of oxide minerals as well as a large variety of sulfides which have been considered in commercial processes and which have in the case of copper received increased attention during the past decade. Mean particle sizes of slurries vary broadly depending upon the type of grinding equipment being used. For example, in the agitation leaching of uranium ore the slurry typically consists of particles approx-

Jan 1, 1979

By Berlen Moneymaker

THE development, within recent years, of core drills capable of drilling holes up to 72 in., or even more, in diameter, has made possible an entirely new and valuable method of geologic exploration, Although little used until recently as an exploratory tool except in the United States, by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Corps of Engineers of the U. S. Army, for the exploration of damsites, the large-diameter core drill may be used to good advantage in other types of geologic exploration. Its princi-pal utility is that of supplementing, rather than replacing, other means of exploration. Although core is frequently recovered intact, the greatest advantage of large-diameter drilling is that the holes produced are large enough to be entered by the geologist and engineer, and thus afford an excellent means of examining undisturbed rock. The walls of the holes are smoothly cut, and in some rocks nearly or quite polished, so that the most minute details of structure and stratigraphy are clearly disclosed. Such features as faults, joints, bedding planes, weathered "seams," and beds or layers of soft materials, which are not always amenable to disclosure by cores recovered from small-diameter holes, are conspicuously displayed in the walls of large holes. Frequent reference to the drilling of large-diameter holes is made in engineering literature, but comparatively little emphasis has been placed on their value in geologic investigation. It is, therefore, intended that the present paper acquaint the geologist, as well as the engineer, with the large-diameter core drill and the technique involved in its use, and also with its advantages, disadvantages and limitations as an implement of geologic exploration.

Jan 1, 1938

By M. G. Cheney

The purpose of this paper is to review the more important developments in the production of petroleum during 1930 in Texas, excluding the Panhandle and Gulf Coast districts, giving emphasis to trends rather than to statistics. Outstanding Developments Aside from increasing curtailment of drilling operations and general prorating of production by state authority the most noteworthy developments for the year appear to have been: 1. Demonstrations of the fictitiousness of potentials as shown first by Darst Creek pool, rated at 180,000 bbl. and having actually 78,000 bbl. daily, and especially by the Hendricks pool of Winkler County, with potential of about 1,000,000 bbl. daily in mid-year and production of only 52,000 bbl. daily when opened to continuous full production in December. 2. Rapid development of the Darst Creek pool under competitive drilling. 3. Orderly and highly successful development of the Van pool under unit operation. 4. Failure of several highly rated structures southwest and northeast of Van. 5. Extension of the deep Simpson production at Big Lake and increased interest in these pre-Mississippian pays in North Central Texas and West Texas. 6. Discovery of prolific wells in northwest Rusk County from sands of Upper Cretaceous age, portending a rapid and extensive development campaign around the northwest margin of the Sabine uplift. North Central Texas It appears logical to discuss the new developments by districts as set out by the American Petroleum Institute, but North Texas and West Central Texas districts will be treated together. Pre-Mississippian,.—The pre-Mississippian beds, which in previous years yielded a few large wells in Young, Cooke and Callahan counties,

Jan 1, 1931

By John E. Udd

Introduction During the very long period in which man has mined minerals from the crust of the earth, falls of ground and collapes of under- ground workings have been the causes of a significant part of those accidents which have resulted in either death or in injury. At present, because of improvements in the approaches to the design of underground structures, in equipment, and in attitudes towards accident prevention, the proportion of accidents due to instability of rock is probably far less than it was historically. Nonetheless, in spite of the many advances which have been made, instabilities still account for about one-quarter of all fatalities, and one-tenth of all of the injuries, in the minerals industry. The means must be found whereby both the numbers of accidents and the accident rates due to falls of ground can be reduced to the lowest levels possible. At the outset it should be stated that, short of suspension of all mining activity, it will probably never be possible for us to eliminate accidents completely. Most human enterprise involves unknowns and risks, and mining is no exception. A certain number of accidents, then, must be viewed as the inevitable consequence of our attempting to work with unknowns and to make decisions that involve uncertainties. However, in retrospect, many instabilities can be attributed to factors which could have been within our control. The preventable accident must be eliminated. It should be our goal that we make every effort to direct our skills and technology to the creation of a safer working environment and should be constantly striving to

Jan 1, 1983

A HIGHLY successful joint conference on coal-mine transportation was held at Pittsburgh on Oct. 20 by the Pittsburgh Section of the American Insti-tute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and Mining Section of the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsyl-vania. C. E. Lesher, executive vice-president of the Pittsburgh Coal Co., presided over 215 members and others in the morning and Graham Bright, sales en-gineer with the Mine Safety Appliances Co., presided over about 180 in the afternoon. There were four prepared papers and much discussion, as well as a good luncheon between the sessions. Mechanical loading in the Pittsburgh district was discussed by L. E. Young, production vice-president of the Pittsburgh Coal Co. More companies in this district are using loading machines, more types of machines are being tried, and more coal is being mined by them than heretofore. The draw-slate above the Pittsburgh seam is the main problem; but devices for supporting and moving draw-slate are being tested. Except in two mines, the slate is being taken down. The fundamentals of the machines are similar, but the electrical drive and other parts have been improved. The problem is to recover or move as much coal as possible without hand labor. Methods of cleaning coal must be improved to meet the new methods of loading. The Pittsburgh Coal Co. has ten Joy machines and others are under order, a Myers-Whaley machine, Jeffrey conveyors, and Eichoff conveyors. The last mentioned are used in entries and other conveyors in rooms. At Montour No. 10 mine, one Joy machine is worked in rooms and one in entries.

Jan 12, 1927

By R. A. David, D. J. Vink, D. L. Katz

A phase diagram showing boundary curve and quantity of liquid in the two-phase region was determined for a mixture of natural gas and natural gasoline in the region of its critical conditions. The temperatures and pressures of phase measurements were in the range of 85 to 212 F. and 1300 to 2600 Ib. per sq. in., respectively, with the critical conditions at 169.5 F. and 2615 Ib. per sq. in. abs. Color phenomena were observed in the region of the boundary curve from 102' to 192 F. Approximate densities of the single-phase and two-phase regions and analysis of the system are included. Boundary curves between the single-phase and the two-phase regions have been determined for several binary mixtures containing hydrocarbons. 2,3,4.6,7,10,11,12,14 These investigators did not report the relative amounts of liquid and vapor within the two-phase region. The equilibrium values obtained from the dew-point and bubble-point data can be used to compute the lines showing percentage of liquid on the pressure-temperature phase diagram8 but the positions of the lines near the critical temperature and pressure are uncertain. Relative amounts of vapor and liquid were obtained for a gasoline and a naphtha1 within the two-phase area but not in the region of the critical temperature and pressure. The bubble-point and dew-point lines, as well as the percentage liquid lines within the two-phase region, were determined by visual observations in glass apparatus. Apparatus An arrangement of the apparatus is given in Fig. 1, showing the Jerguson gauge A with glass windows B. Pressure was supplied by the

Jan 1, 1940

By R. A. David, D. L. Katz, D. J. Vink

A phase diagram showing boundary curve and quantity of liquid in the two-phase region was determined for a mixture of natural gas and natural gasoline in the region of its critical conditions. The temperatures and pressures of phase measurements were in the range of 85 to 212 F. and 1300 to 2600 Ib. per sq. in., respectively, with the critical conditions at 169.5 F. and 2615 Ib. per sq. in. abs. Color phenomena were observed in the region of the boundary curve from 102' to 192 F. Approximate densities of the single-phase and two-phase regions and analysis of the system are included. Boundary curves between the single-phase and the two-phase regions have been determined for several binary mixtures containing hydrocarbons. 2,3,4.6,7,10,11,12,14 These investigators did not report the relative amounts of liquid and vapor within the two-phase region. The equilibrium values obtained from the dew-point and bubble-point data can be used to compute the lines showing percentage of liquid on the pressure-temperature phase diagram8 but the positions of the lines near the critical temperature and pressure are uncertain. Relative amounts of vapor and liquid were obtained for a gasoline and a naphtha1 within the two-phase area but not in the region of the critical temperature and pressure. The bubble-point and dew-point lines, as well as the percentage liquid lines within the two-phase region, were determined by visual observations in glass apparatus. Apparatus An arrangement of the apparatus is given in Fig. 1, showing the Jerguson gauge A with glass windows B. Pressure was supplied by the

Jan 1, 1940

By A. G. H. Anderson, Eric R. Jette

A few years ago, while the writers worked on the constitution of ternary and quaternary alloys consisting mainly of iron, chromium and siliconl,2 some information on microstructures and hardness, not incorporated in the published work, alas obtained. It has not been possible to do any further work on the properties of the alloys. The information possessed is hereby presented for the interest it may have in connection with the constitution of the alloys. Microstructures Referring to the iron-chromium-silicon diagram,' the regions that received most attention were those in which the sigma phase appears. It was found that the mode of occurrence of this phase varied much with the condition under which it mas formed, and the mode influenced considerably the hardness of the alloys. In some slowly cooled alloys, well within the alpha + sigma-phase boundary, sigma occurs in pabterns suggesting a eutectic. The structure of such an alloy is shorn in Fig. 1, showing it to be partly coarsely laminated and partly globular mottled. In other annealed and slowly cooled alloys, the lanlinated structure is entirely absent, and sigma appears in an irregular distribution of sharply cornered elongated areas (Figs. 2 and 3). These areas all possess a more or less mottled structure. A carbide phase is also visible in these two photomicrographs; it is represented by bright white arras of various shapes, sometimes apparently enveloping the sigma. Quenched and aged specimens, whose compositions arc: located near the phase boundary between alpha and sigma + alpha regions, have structures not unlike martensite (Figs. 5 and 6). Fig. 4 shows the structurc of alloy No. 35 as quenched from 1100" C.; it is a typical solid solu-

Jan 1, 1938

By Edgar Bain

IN STUDYING the structural characteristics of martensite it is desirable that a clear conception of the material from which martensite is produced should first be obtained. Any theory of its formation and structure incompatible with the facts of its parent substance, austenite, can be eliminated with little consideration. Austenite is the name applied to solid solutions of carbon and other elements in gamma iron. At temperatures above about 900° C. (1650°, F.), pure iron exists in a system of crystallinity1 entirely different from the crystal structure below that temperature. This high-temperature allotrope of iron is of an atomic structure associated with great ductility, having very manifold symmetry and an abundance of easy slip planes. The exceptionally ductile and malleable metals (gold, silver, platinum, copper, aluminum, and nickel) have this same atomic arrangement-the face-centered cubic. The low-temperature allotrope of iron, alpha iron, the solid solutions of which are known as ferrite, has a body-centered cubic arrangement of atoms. Like it, in crystal structure, are the less ductile and malleable metals, molybdenum, tungsten, titanium and chromium. Fig. 1. shows the two atomic arrangements known in iron; the diagrams are drawn to scale. Either of these modifications of iron may dissolve other elements in the solid state; by so doing, the temperature of the transformation is changed. In general2-7, it appears that a solid solvent metal dissolves a metal solute by substituting foreign atoms in its own space lattice. Thus, iron may dissolve nickel in either of its crystalline forms by permitting an atom of nickel here and there to occupy the normal position

Jan 2, 1924

By G. E. McElroy

Much attention has been directed to mine-air flow in recent years, more especially in Great Britian where there is frequent reference to a theory of fluid flow developed by English engineers. Briefly stated, this theory is that for similar passages of the same relative roughness, in which fluid flow occurs, the conditions of flow are exactly the same for W D V equal values of the product where W = density of the fluid, D = diameter of the passage through which flow occurs, V = mean velocity of flow, and p = absolute viscosity of the fluid flowing. This, the "Reynolds Criterion" of fluid flow, had its origin in the work of Reynolds1 more than 40 years ago. Later, Rayleigh2 amplified the theory which has been conclusively proved for small pipes by the experiments of Stanton and Panne13 over a large flow range, and by Lacey4 over a somewhat more limited range. Concordant results on small pipes have also been obtained by numerous other investigators with single fluids over more or less limited ranges of flow. According to this theory, results in one medium, such as water, are immediately applicable to another, such as air; and experimental results on models are (theoretically, at least) applicable to full-scale designs. This is of great importance in aeronautics and can be of considerable value in mine ventilation research. Hodgson, in a recent paper,6 has outlined the application of this theory to mine-air flow and recent English experiments6 on the resistance of a timbered mine airway have been expressed in this form.

Jan 1, 1927

By Thomas Carnahan

THE mining property of the Utah Copper Co. is situated in the West Mountain mining district, Salt Lake County, Utah, in the Oquirrh Range of mountains. GEOLOGY In a general way the rock formation of the district consists of a series of beds of quartzite and limestone intruded by a body of monzonite porphyry roughly elliptical in shape, with an east-west axis over a mile in length and a north-south axis of about 3,000 ft. This porphyry intrusion, accompanied by strong mineralizing action and fracturing, resulted in the formation of orebodies in the adjacent sedimentary rocks, and was itself sufficiently mineralized to make it one vast orebody. The Utah Copper Co.'s mining property comprises within its boundaries practically the entire outcrop of the monzonite mass, of a commercial grade. GENESIS OF PORPHYRY ORE Following an intricate system of fracturing, mineral solutions circulated freely through the porphyry, depositing small quantities of copper and iron, and resulting in a considerable silicification of the monzonite. The quantity of copper originally deposited was undoubtedly too small to have ever given the porphyry a commercial value, had not secondary enrichment, due to the leaching of the copper from the surface of the mass and re-deposition in the sulphide zone, been active over a long period of years. A large portion of the leached material has probably been .removed by erosion, but there still remains a blanket of leached and oxidized porphyry of varying thickness covering the sulphide ore, known as capping. Over certain sections of the orebody, this capping contains commercial quantities of copper carbonates, but most of it contains little or no copper.

Jan 1, 1916

By Eric R. Jette, A. G. H. Anderson

A few years ago, while the writers worked on the constitution of ternary and quaternary alloys consisting mainly of iron, chromium and siliconl,2 some information on microstructures and hardness, not incorporated in the published work, alas obtained. It has not been possible to do any further work on the properties of the alloys. The information possessed is hereby presented for the interest it may have in connection with the constitution of the alloys. Microstructures Referring to the iron-chromium-silicon diagram,' the regions that received most attention were those in which the sigma phase appears. It was found that the mode of occurrence of this phase varied much with the condition under which it mas formed, and the mode influenced considerably the hardness of the alloys. In some slowly cooled alloys, well within the alpha + sigma-phase boundary, sigma occurs in pabterns suggesting a eutectic. The structure of such an alloy is shorn in Fig. 1, showing it to be partly coarsely laminated and partly globular mottled. In other annealed and slowly cooled alloys, the lanlinated structure is entirely absent, and sigma appears in an irregular distribution of sharply cornered elongated areas (Figs. 2 and 3). These areas all possess a more or less mottled structure. A carbide phase is also visible in these two photomicrographs; it is represented by bright white arras of various shapes, sometimes apparently enveloping the sigma. Quenched and aged specimens, whose compositions arc: located near the phase boundary between alpha and sigma + alpha regions, have structures not unlike martensite (Figs. 5 and 6). Fig. 4 shows the structurc of alloy No. 35 as quenched from 1100" C.; it is a typical solid solu-

Jan 1, 1938