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By C. D. Woodward

The Anaconda Copper Mining Co. purchases 25,000 kw. of electric power for its mining operations at Butte, Mont. This power is delivered, over duplicate feeders, in the form of 60-cycle, 2400-volt, three-phase current, to five compressor plants, where most of the energy is used for driving air compressors. At the compressor plants are located the switching apparatus for controlling the 2400-volt power and distributing it to the various mines. At these points, also, there are a number of motor-generator sets for converting the alternating current to 275-volt direct current for the haulage systems. Pole lines convey the powcr from the compressor plants to outdoor transformer substations at most of the mines. When it is not economical to distribute the power at the lower voltages in the mines, transformers and motor-generator sets are placed at strategic points underground. All power is purchased on a maximum-demand basis; therefore there is installed at one of the compressor plants an eight-element totalizing graphic wattmeter. This instrument records simultaneously the value of all power taken at the numerous points of delivery, which not only climinates the diversity factor but permits load dispatching between compressor and pumping plants, and thus materially reduces the maximum demand from the power system. As most of the mine hoisting is done by 90-lb. compressed-air winding engines, the air-compressor equipment for the winding engines and mining operations is quite extensive. The standard air compressor has a rating of 7500 cu. ft. per min. of free air, and most of the compressors are directly connected to synchronous motors. The synchronous motors are designed for 80 per cent. loading power factor, thus facilitating power-factor correction of total mine load. Consequently by cooperation with the power company, the voltage of the power received at the compressor plants is constant. In the mines there are installed an induction motor load of approxi-mately 10,000 hp., and 4500 kv.-a,, in transformer capacity. It is the practice to install 2200-volt motors in the mincs, except those rated below 50 hp, hence there are in operation underground about 5000 hp., in the

Jan 1, 1923

By C. D. Woodward

The Anaconda Copper Mining Co. purchases 25,000 kw. of electric power for its mining operations at Butte, Mont. This power is delivered, over duplicate feeders, in the form of 60-cycle, 2400-volt, three-phase current, to five compressor plants, where most of the energy is used for driving air compressors. At the compressor plants are located the switching apparatus for controlling the 2400-volt power and distributing it to the various mines. At these points, also, there are a number of motor-generator sets for converting the alternating current to 275-volt direct current for the haulage systems. Pole lines convey the powcr from the compressor plants to outdoor transformer substations at most of the mines. When it is not economical to distribute the power at the lower voltages in the mines, transformers and motor-generator sets are placed at strategic points underground. All power is purchased on a maximum-demand basis; therefore there is installed at one of the compressor plants an eight-element totalizing graphic wattmeter. This instrument records simultaneously the value of all power taken at the numerous points of delivery, which not only climinates the diversity factor but permits load dispatching between compressor and pumping plants, and thus materially reduces the maximum demand from the power system. As most of the mine hoisting is done by 90-lb. compressed-air winding engines, the air-compressor equipment for the winding engines and mining operations is quite extensive. The standard air compressor has a rating of 7500 cu. ft. per min. of free air, and most of the compressors are directly connected to synchronous motors. The synchronous motors are designed for 80 per cent. loading power factor, thus facilitating power-factor correction of total mine load. Consequently by cooperation with the power company, the voltage of the power received at the compressor plants is constant. In the mines there are installed an induction motor load of approxi-mately 10,000 hp., and 4500 kv.-a,, in transformer capacity. It is the practice to install 2200-volt motors in the mincs, except those rated below 50 hp, hence there are in operation underground about 5000 hp., in the

Jan 1, 1923

By A. B. Young

T HE smelting industry in Utah is represented by four plants: The Midvale of the United States Smelting, Refining & Mini.ng Co., the Murray of the American Smelting and Refining Co., the Garfield of the same company and the Tooele of the Inter- na.tiona1 Smelting Co. The first two are lead smelters, the Garfield plant is a copper smelter while the last named embraces both a lead and copper smelter. A total daily smelting capacity of over 10,000 tons is represented, of which 4000 tons is lead smelting capacity. With the exception of Tooele, forty miles distant, all of these smelters are within twenty miles of Salt Lake City. Pyrometallurgical operations in this district are con- fined entirely to the production of unrefined bullion, which is shipped east to the various refineries of the respective companies. The smelting industry in this state had its beginning away back in the latter days of the Civil War, many years before the completion of the trans-continental railroad. Ox teams were still bringing their companies of better fixed Mormon emigrants across the plains to the valley of the Great Salt Lake and those in lesser circumstances were still pushing their hand- carts over the same roads to the temporary abode

Jan 1, 1925

By F. E. Bash

IN recent years, there have been a number of experiments conducted to determine the rates of heating and cooling of various sizes and shapes of steel ingots. Up to date, however,-most of the published data has dealt with small sized ingots, the largest being an 18-in. (46 cm.) cube, the data on which was presented before the Iron and Steel Institute in May, 1918, by E. F. Law. It is due to thus lack of information on the rate at which large ingots absorb heat and come to temperature that the heating- practice varies so widely in different plants. One of the questions over which there is much debate is the proper rate of heating of large ingots for forging and the time actually required for the center of a mass of steel to come to forging temperature. As a continuation of experiments described by M. E. Leeds1 and at the request of Mr. G. R. Norton of the Sizer Forge Co. and Mr. R. C. Drinker of the Emergency Fleet Corpn., the test described in this paper was carried out on a 24-in. (61 cm.) round ingot and the rate of heating and cooling determined under regular production conditions. The ingot had been partly forged at one end but, on developing a flaw, had been scrapped so that it was available for test. The size and shape of the ingot and its position in the furnace are shown in Fig. 1.

Jan 9, 1919

By G. P. Connell, R. E. Gilmore, J. H. H. Nicolls

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a procedure for indicating the dividing line between noncaking coals and those that have weakly caking properties. A laboratory agglomerating test as an aid in classifying weakly caking coals is outlined and its merits in comparison with the standard agglutinating method advanced by the U. S. Bureau of Mines are discussed. No attempt, however, is made to discuss in detail either the different methods for determining "caking" and "agglutinating" indices or the various systems of classification. Two methods, differing somewhat in procedure, have been employed and recognized as suitable for determining the caking or agglutinating values of coals; namely, those in which an inert material such as sand, electrode carbon, etc., has been mixed with the coal before being heated, and those in which the coal is carbonized alone. In all such methods, the coal with or without the inert material is in the finely divided state and the index or value sought is derived from the examination of the residue after heating in a closed crucible or other container. The procedure outlined by Selvig, Beattie and Clellandl is the most recent representative of the method using sand as inert material, while the agglomerating test described below is representative of the method in which the coal is carbonized alone. The standard volatile-matter determination affords a means for observing the coking properties of a coal, and this has been described by Rose2 as the simplest of all coking tests. According to him, "the resulting coke button will indicate whether the coal is noncoking, feebly coking or strongly coking," despite the fact that "almost every condition in this test is at variance with large-scale carbonizing practice." Lessing,3 the

Jan 1, 1934

"World Mining and Metals Technology" is the title of this year's SME-AIME Fall Meeting and Exhibit in Denver, Sept. 1-3, where a record number of exhibits are scheduled for display. The international theme is particularly appropriate, for in addition to the annual SME session, the Third MMIJ-AIME Joint Meeting will be held.

Jan 8, 1976

By E. B. BESSELIEVRE

THE great work of Gorgas in stamping out yellow fever in Panama during the construction of the Canal was one of the chief factors contributing to the ultimate accomplishment of the task, two previous attempts having failed largely through the demoralization of workers by epidemics of contagious diseases. Mining camps, rapidly constructed during the boom days of the rushes to new fields, have been frequent sufferers from typhoid when, as so often used to be the case, little or no attention was given to bacterial examination of the water supply or to the method used for disposing of the sewage.

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

WITH the recent increase in the price of gold, its economic recovery at depths formerly considered impractical has become a present possibility. Two important difficulties must be met: pressure bursts of the rock, and the reduced efficiency of human labor subjected to the higher temperatures and the increased humidity at the greater depths. In the following abstract of a paper by J. H. Dobson, presented before the South African Institution of Engineers on

Jan 1, 1935

By F. W. Gordon

Since the waste gases of the blast-furnace came to be generally utilized in heating the blast and raising steam, the gradual improvement in the economy of fuel, mainly through the nse of higher temperature in the blast, has impoverished the gases. The increased output per unit of measurement of the furnace, and the increased height of the furnace, have markedly increased the resistance to the blast, thus enormously increasing the duty required from the gases. In other words, a gas reduced in heating power by a further dilution of CO, is required to raise the temperature of the blast to 1800' Fahr., where formerly 600' was a good temperature, and at the same time to raise steam enough to drive the air into the furnace at a pressure of from four to eight pounds in coke practice, and from eight to twelve pounds in anthracite practice, and also pump at least double the water formerly used at furnaces. Hence the necessity for the employment of the best scheme for thoroughly consuming these gases with the least dilution of air, and the use of the best device for absorbing the heat prodnced for the purposes above mentioned. In a former paper before this Society the writer called attention to such improvements as had been made by his firm, by which it was claimed 1400' Fahr. could be maintained in the blast by a less consumption of gas than was required to maintain 900' when using pipe-ovens; and it would not be too much to say that 1600' Fahr. might now be written in place of the 1-400. The object of this paper is to give the practice of our firm in the

Jan 1, 1884

By W. A. Sheaffer

Electric furnace installation and tough-pitch copper-casting operation at Canadian Copper Refiners Ltd. are described. General layout, power supply and control, refractories, induction pour hearth, casting equipment, metal temperature control, and oxygen-content control are discussed. E LECTRIC furnace at Canadian Copper Refiners Ltd. was put into operation in August 1949. The installation was designed primarily to melt electrolytic copper cathodes and to produce vertically cast tough-pitch shapes. To meet emergencies during reverberatory furnace shut-downs, provision was made for casting horizontal tough-pitch wire bars. Due to the ease with which metal temperatures, melting rates, oxygen content, and casting hours can be altered to suit production demands, the electric furnace has met the requirements admirably. General Layout The plant has been described by H. S. McKnight' and by J. H. Schloen and E. M. Elkin.2 Since these papers were written, the electric furnace has been installed in a 140 ft extension of the original casting building. The extension, 264 ft in width, is divided into one 24 ft and four 60 ft bays, each a continuation of similar bays in the older building. Fig. l, a partial floor plan of the extension, shows the location of major equipment. Power Supply and Control Power for the electric furnace and its auxiliary equipment is delivered by Quebec Hydro over two 12 kv three-phase, 60 cycle pole lines. One line is in use, while the second serves as an emergency standby. Connections for the electric furnace from these lines, which also feed the refinery power house, are made to a substation on Canadian Copper Refiners Ltd. property. Connections between this substation and the furnace transformer room are in underground conduit. The are-furnace transformer, 550 v auxiliary-equipment transformer, and 12 kv switchgear are in the transformer room near the furnace. Stepdown from 12 kv to are-furnace voltages is done by a 7500 kva oil-immersed water-cooled three-phase 60 cycle transformer. This unusually high kva rating is available because the arc furnace and transformer were adapted from a steel-melting unit. Secondary voltages are available in 16 steps between 251 and 95 v (across phases). A four-position tap changer, operated from the furnace switchboard is connected to taps yielding 199, 164.5, 127, and 115 v, respectively. The transformer primary feeder is equipped with a General Electric Magne-Blast circuit breaker. The pour hearth, casting wheel, bosh conveyor, and other auxiliary equipment are fed by a 12 kv to 550 v, 750 kva three-phase 60 cycle transformer. Graphite electrodes, 14 in., with tapered nipples are held in the are-furnace electrode arms with steel wedges. The arms, fed from the transformer secondary busbars by flexible cable bundles, are actuated by winch cables. Direct-current motors operating the winches are supplied by a 250 v motor-generator set. Power input to the furnace is controlled from the furnace switchboard. The board has the usual combination of remote controls for the 12 kv breaker and transformer tap changer, meters, overload relays, automatic and manual electrode motion controls, switchgear, etc. When power is on the furnace, automatic electrode feed is used; the power draw on a given voltage tap then is governed by current-limiting rheostats. The rheostats work through a Westinghouse bal-lanced-beam control circuit which, in turn, operates reversing contactors in the winch motor circuits. Arc Furnace The arc furnace is a standard-type NT Pittsburgh 'Lectromelt with inside shell diameter 12 ft 3¾ in. By hydraulic-lift cylinders, the furnace can be tilted forward to 39 ½ ° and backward to 5" from horizontal. A roof-swing cylinder is also installed but not used. Fig. 2 shows refractory-lining details. With the lining as shown, operating life between repairs is 6 to 9 months of two-shift casting operation. Charge slot, skim door, and roof refractories then are replaced completely, and any necessary repairs made to side walls. Bottom life is longer and the original under courses are still in service, while the top course was replaced in October 1951. The launder is lined with high chrome-magnesite trough brick backed by fireclay and insulating brick. The trough is covered with fireclay brick and asbestos sheet. At intervals, openings 12x6 in. are left in the permanent covering. These are covered with

Jan 1, 1956

By N. Pessall, A. D. McQuillan

The phase relalionsllips in an isothernzal section of the Ti-Zr-H system at 750°Chave been investigated by measurement of hydrogen equilibrium pressures. The resulting diagram indicates that the hydride phase has an anomalously wide range of homogencity extending from 66.6 to 30 at. pct H in alloys containing about 15 al. pet Zr. Measurement of the heat of solution of hydrogen as a function of alloy composition in ß-phase alloys indicates no anomalous behavior in the region of 15 at. pet Zr, and suggests that the extensive range of homogeneity in the hydride phase at about this composition must he attributed to an enhanced stability of the, hydride phase. THE manner in which titanium and zirconium react with hydrogen and the constitutional diagrams of the two metal-hydrogen systems are qualitatively very similar,'-6 as can be seen from Fig. 1 which shows the constitutional diagrams of the two systems. Quantitatively, however, there are some differences. For example, the exothermic heat of solution of hydrogen in ß titanium is smaller than that in ß zirconium, and consequently the equilibrium hydrogen pressure of a Ti-H alloy is higher than a Zr-H alloy at the same temperature and hydrogen concentration. Other differences manifest themselves in the hydride phases which exist at high hydrogen concentrations. In the Ti-H system, above room temperature, there exists only a single hydride phase in which the metal atoms are arranged on a fee lattice, but in the zirconium system there are two hydrides, and whereas the hydride of lower hydrogen concentration has a fee structure, the higher hydride has a face-centered tetragonal structure. The tetragonal hydride retains its stability up to temperatures in excess of 450oC.7 From the foregoing, it would be expected that the constitutional diagram of the ternary Ti-Zr-H system would have a very simple form, especially as titanium and zirconium are completely miscible in both the a and ß forms.8 The present work, which consists of a study of an isothermal section of the ternary system, was carried out in order to check the assumption frequently made that the electronic structure of the two metals and the mechanism by which hydrogen is held in solution in the metals is the same for each. Although this proved largely to be true, certain inter esting and unexpected features of the ternary system emerged which must be explained before we can really say that the reactions of titanium and zirconium with hydrogen are fully understood. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The most convenient method of studying hydrogen-metal systems is by the measurement of the hydrogen pressure in equilibrium with the hydrogen dissolved in the metal as a function of hydrogen concentration and temperature. In binary systems, the results are easily interpreted in terms of alloy constitution, since two-phase regions can be recognized by the fact that the hydrogen pressure at constant temperature does not vary with the hydrogen concentration in the alloy when it is in the two-phase condition. This criterion does not apply in ternary systems, but there is usually a marked change of slope in the isothermal pressure-composition curves when a phase boundary is crossed, and with care, and a knowledge of the limiting binary systems, the phase structure of the alloys can usually be deduced. In the

Jan 1, 1962

By Donald E. Cummings

MEASURES appropriate for the control of the silicosis hazard in mining cannot be formulated precisely, but sufficient has accumulated during the past quarter century to permit the suggestion of useful, though partly empirical, rules for its alleviation. The industrial hygienist today recognizes that the peril incurred by the inhalation of harmful dust is a function of two variable factors-the degree of harmful exposure and the specific susceptibility of the exposed individual to pulmonary injury. Control of the danger arising out of prolonged contact with pernicious air- borne particulate matter is consequently best exercised by influencing both of these recognized variables. Obviously the problem has two broad aspects-one, medical; the other within the province of the engineer. I-FACTORS COMPRISING THE DEGREE OF INDIVIDUAL SUSCEPTIBILITY Thorough investigations conducted among miners who have labored for years in the presence of recognized silicosis hazards usually reveal an impressive difference in the injury incurred by men whose exposure to dust has been nearly identical. After a quarter century underground, one individual is short of breath and incapacitated with miners' complaint, while a fellow workman suffers no pulmonary embarrassment and is in good health. Physicians ascribe this oft-observed difference in reaction to individual susceptibility and express a universal regret when they deplore the fate that chose to make the predisposed youth a miner rather than a farmer. To trust the health of miners to fate at the present time is even more unfortunate, because many of the factors that influence man's susceptibility to dust are known, and can be accurately determined by competent medical methods. Among the most important factors comprising susceptibility to injury by dust are the anatomical peculiarities of the individual's respiratory mechanism, his physiological response to the inhalation of dust, his previous dust exposure, the existence of pulmonary infections or other pathological processes in his lungs, his age,

Jan 1, 1938

By R. P. Fischer

The Colorado Plateau region has been the principal domestic source of uranium, vanadium, and radium. The value of these commodities produced from the region through 1964 slightly exceeds $2 billion. Most of the deposits occur in streamlaid lenses of sandstone in the Chinle and Morrison Formations. The ore minerals below the zone of oxidation are low-valent oxides and silicates of uranium and vanadium; all of these, except the quite stable vanadium silicates, oxidize readily to a variety of high-valent uranium and vanadium minerals. The ore minerals partly replace fossil wood but mainly impregnate sandstone, typically forming tabular ore bodies that are nearly concordant to the bedding of the host rock. The deposits range in size from those containing only a few tons of ore to those containing more than 1 million tons. Stratigraphic, lithologic, and sedimentary structural factors obviously influenced the localization of these deposits, but igneous activity, hydrothermal mineralization, and tectonic structures show no similarly consistent influence on localization. The deposits are epigenetic, but the source of the ore metals, the nature of the ore-bearing solutions, and the time of ore emplacement are uncertain. A few uranium deposits in the region are dominantly discordant to bedding and occur in collapsed breccia pipes or along linear fractures. Their origins are also uncertain.

Jan 1, 1968

By F. J. Cuddeback

For low-head pumping of small quantities of water, the water jet, or hydraulic educter, has been used to advantage by Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting Co. in the Tri-State district. Water-jet pumps are used for draining sumps and pockets up to 15 ft. in depth. They have been used very successfully when only moderate amounts of water are encountered in taking up bottom. A small, easily handled unit is desirable in this work, especially while opening and deepening a new stope. Small air pumps are convenient but can be used only on the day shift, when air is available. Obviously, a jet pump of smaller capacity but operating 24 hr. prevents lost time at the start of each shift. No tests have been made on their power efficiency, but admittedly it is low. However, for certain kinds of work this is offset by their handiness, low initial cost, low upkeep, and reliability. They will handle slime and sand without ill effect, and will continue to pump indefinitely on air. This foolproof 24-hr. performance has led to their continued use at some places even after electric pumps with better power efficiency could have been installed. The success of jet pumps depends largely upon a cheap source of high-pressure water. Owing to mine depths in the Tri-State district, pump pressures range from 100 to 150 Ib. per sq. in. In many mines it is common practice to handle the normal inflow water with triplex pumps ranging in size from 3 to 8 in. The pumps operate 24 hr. per day, and, in order to handle emergency conditions, are speeded slightly faster than necessary to pump the normal inflow. The sump level is governed by controlling the by-pass water with a butterfly valve and float. This method is somewhat wasteful of power, but permits the pumps to operate with a minimum of attention. Such an installation is visited once a day to check lubrication. Hence, if some of this water, normally by-passed to the main sump, were used to operate a jet pump, the power cost could be considered low regardless of efficiency. Figs. I and 2 show two water jets that have done satisfactory work. The one in Fig. 2, made up entirely of pipe fittings, may be of interest partially because of its novelty, but does better work than its appearance indicates. The pipe fittings for this jet as shown cost $2.20. Some improvement in its design may be made by cutting out the 135 by 1¼-in. reducer to a smoother taper as shown by dotted lines. A 3-in. suction pipe is sometimes used in order that the discharge may be as straight as possible. A 2-in. discharge line has been used frequently, but 3-in. pipe is used where several hundred feet of discharge is required.

Jan 1, 1946

By Eugene McAuliffe

AS anthracite is no longer used to a marked extent by the rail- ways of the United States (1,513,000 tons in 1933), that portion of the mining industry engaged in the production of bituminous coal is, and will continue to be, the one chiefly concerned with the future use of its product by the railways. In a period such as the present, when all enter- prise is unsettled, when fundamental principles of industrial management and control are being swept aside or else changed overnight, it is difficult to predict what will happen. The relation between the total production of bituminous coal and the volume consumed by the steam rail- ways of the United States, Classes I,

Jan 1, 1936

By John B. Miles

THE present period of depression in the iron industry, with the resultant close approximation of the cost of production to the selling-price of pig-iron, should make the discussion of this subject at this time not only interesting but, profitable. It is possible that it may result, in the collection of data, which when added to those set forth in this paper will clearly indicate the influence of the rate. of driving a blast-furnace upon its fuel-economy. The question is not whether an excessive rate of driving (meaning a rate definitely in excess of the average rate in the United States) results in, an increase in the fuel-consumption, but rather whether a rate considerably less than the average does not result in a marked decrease in the fuel-consumption. The commercial and metallurgical sides of. this problem must be kept separate. With a large margin between the cost of production and the selling-price of pig-iron, and a plant already in operation, it is frequently profitable to sacrifice a couple of hundred pounds of fuel per ton of pig-iron in order to secure the greater gross profits resulting from a larger tonnage. When this margin decreases with a plant in operation, or when the determination of the size of a new furnace intended for a certain production . confronts the management, a clear understanding of the effect of the rate of driving upon fuel-economy becomes necessary. If it be granted that slow driving leads to low fuel-consumption, it should he borne in mind in the design of a new plant for the production of a certain tonnage that the adoption of an economical rate of driving increases only the size of the furnace proper, whereas, due to the decrease in quantity of blast required on account of the decrease in fuel burned, the stoves, the blowing-engines, the boilers and the piping may be de-

Sep 1, 1908

By M. G. Fowler

A GENERAL decline in copper production for most American producers occurred during the past year as a result of shortage in available labor. Few noteworthy technical developments have been reported; undoubtedly, many changes and improvements have been made but have not been reported because of lack of time. During the war years through 1944 the pressure for sustained high production has been of prime importance and during 1945, with slackening of production, many operators were faced with the problem of catching up on repairs and maintenance of plants, with inadequate labor supply. In hydrometallurgy there were some important developments that undoubtedly will be reported during 1946. Several operators in the Southwest have instituted experimental leaching programs to exploit low-grade oxidized and mixed ore bodies. The Bureau of Mines is conducting pilot-plant experimental work to determine the possibility of producing a satisfactory sponge iron at an attractive cost from deposits of iron ore and coal in Arizona. The sponge iron would be used for the production of cement cop¬per. The cell house of the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. at Inspiration,

Jan 1, 1946

By Richard Franchot

DISCUSSION of a paper is sometimes more in-teresting in what has not been said than in what is said. In the present case the paper is mainly directed to certain thermo-dynamic relation-ships in the blast furnace. Careful reading of the dis-cussion fails to show a single use of the term, heat unit, or its equivalent. If we wish to know very-much about the furnace action it is necessary to count calories or B.t.u. Nothing much is. said about the availability of heat at high temperatures, although it will be generally admitted that in seeking underlying limiting factors in the furnace economy the hearth heat relations offer-the most promising clues. Those discussing the paper, with exceptions of course, apparently have failed to recognize an outstand-ing fact. It is a fact that the heat actually generated by the air oxygen in CO formation (including the blast heat) is in excess, after charging off radiation, etc., by from 70 to .90 per cent over the heat absorbed in melting the iron and slag and calcining the stone reduction by CO absorbing no heat. The fact stands out as plainly as does the fact that the furnace functions largely as a gas producer. The surplus heat is there. It is in the picture. Why not take a look at it, face the fact? That the surplus heat is necessitated by the hearth conditions admits of very little if any doubt. The furnace is really two separate pieces of apparatus: the hearth, doing certain work, and the superimposed shaft, doing certain other work. The combustion of fuel in the hearth, primarily serving the hearth pur-poses, generates much more heat and gas than the shaft requires, or can use, in smelting work. The result is surplus heat makes still more gas in the heat-absorbing reaction between CO, and coke; what is left of the surplus going to top heat. Here we have a simple yet adequate sketch of the furnace action. Having obtained a fairly comprehensive view of the existing heat relations of both hearth and shaft, the way to improvement seems quite plain. Either do more of the work above the hearth or put more heat into the hearth. Since there is already a great surplus of heat above the hearth, probably little needs to be done by way of increasing the proportion of the work done in the shaft. The shaft can, however, probably do much more work than it is now doing provided that a way, can be found to get more work, done in the hearth. The hearth heat is nicely balanced. Losses by radiation and water cooling and other losses are already taken care of. Any increase of hearth heat development could be utilized in taking care of increased smelting work. Aside from the possibility of increased blast heat, there is one sure way of putting more heat into the hearth, and this is to blow more air. And since the shaft already has more gas than it needs, the increased gas resulting from the greater blast volume can be withdrawn from the bosh after it has done its work in the hearth. Now an increase of burden will cool the shaft, cut down solution loss and thereby supply addi-tional coke in the hearth to burn with the additional air blown. The hearth heat per pound of coke charged will be proportionately increased. The balance between hearth and shaft will be better. Gruener's ideal will be more nearly attained, if not exceeded. Most inter-esting of all perhaps, the more the burden is increased, the more coke will reach the hearth and the more burden can be added. The effect is to be cumulative.

Jan 3, 1927

By L. O. Howard

R. HATCH, Garfield, Utah.-The object of the meeting, I believe, is to determine the proper chemical composition to insure long wear of a ball in a mill, This might also apply to rods. I feel that there is only one way of determining accurately the wearing qualities of balls in mills, and that is by actually wearing out 400 or 500 tons of different kinds of balls. Two things add to the wearing qualities of a ball: (1) the tenacity, with which the particular particles of iron or steel are cemented together; (2) the individual hardness of each particle. My experience is that a ball that has a Brinell of 550 to 650 will give comparatively long life. There is considerable difference of opinion as to the best steel and iron alloys necessary to produce a satisfactory grinding ball. Some favor chrome, some manganese and some nickel. Personally, I believe cast iron alloyed with chrome makes the best ball for small sizes; for large sizes (3 1/2 in. and up) steel alloyed with manganese is best. L. 0. HOWARD, Pullman, Wash.-How would this method apply to lining? A. KissocK, New York, N. Y.-I do not subscribe to that exactly. As I am connected with the Climax Molybdenum Co. you would hardly expect me to. We have been much interested in trying to work out this grinding-ball problem and have spent a great deal of thought and effort on it. As we are associated with the American Metal Co. and have a number of properties of our own, we are in position to try our ideas on ourselves first. We have tried different compositions, but have not done anything very remarkable with them yet, except that we have been able to say that the combination of chrome and molybdenum has given the best wearing ball. Mr. Hatch feels that iron is the best medium for grinding, but since toughness as well as hardness is a factor in wearability we feel that a well made steel is better for this purpose. Another difficulty with cast, or chilled, iron is lack of uniformity from day to day or from heat to heat and the impossibility of producing balls free from blow or shrinkage holes which materially affect their life. If cast iron is made hard it becomes brittle and lacks stretch or toughness. This prevents its use in the larger sizes, as breakage is a serious handicap to efficiency. We have tried hard and brittle balls and softer but very tough balls and have proved that maximum hardness, with sufficient toughness to prevent breakage, is the most important factor in resistance of a steel to abrasion. It is well known that chromium is one of the best hardening agencies for either iron or steel, and molybdenum is recognized as an element capable of introducing toughness. In other words, the proper combination of chromium and molybdenum permits unusual hardness with still sufficient toughness to stand up under severest impact. It is yet too early to give any actual mill results of this new combination and though we are proving our ideas at our own properties we have to depend on others to help us make the data more general and more worth while and would like to get some tests

Jan 1, 1928

By G. F. Olsen

ON superficial consideration a technical library might be considered a luxury to the business institution that possesses one. After all, public libraries and research institutions probably contain all the data that would be found in a private technical library, and able consultants are available both within and without a company. In all probability the technical men of a company have in their combined personal libraries sufficient information to answer most inquiries. Nevertheless, possession of such a department is of real economic benefit because of the time it saves its users, because it prevents expensive duplication of technical literature in a company, and lastly, but most important, be- cause it makes readily available a central storehouse of technical facts classified and indexed to meet the demands of the industry or industries concerned.

Jan 1, 1940