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By M. L. White, J. L. Shafer, C. L. Caenepeel

Often an in situ leach is the only practical economic method for copper recovery from small low grade oxide deposits. The decision to develop a copper property by an in situ blast and leach is strongly dependent on ore grade, tonnage, hydrology, and the copper extraction and acid consumption rates. The inherent leachability of the ore will in part determine the desired amount of fracturing of the ore deposit by the blast in order to obtain a copper extraction rate that is economical. For the last several years Occidental Research Corp. (ORC), has undertaken a modest effort to address the question of how to best identify and determine the information necessary to predict and control the operation of an in situ leach for the economic recovery of copper.

Jan 2, 1979

By Clarence Claghorn

ONE of the simplest and most easily effected steps toward mechanization and concentrated mining in coal mines is the substitution of transport or room conveyors for the customary tracks in rooms, thus bringing the coal to the cars instead of taking the cars to the coal. As this involves little or no change in the established room and pillar layout, it appeals to the conservative operator who is more or less fearful of changes in system involving the element of roof con-trol. An increasing number of these room conveyors would seem to attest the favorable commercial results secured. Rooms are naturally driven as wide as roof conditions permit, providing maximum tonnage from each room cut. If the rooms are more than 12 to 14 ft. in width the room conveyor is usually set along one rib, a porta-ble face conveyor being set along the face itself and within easy shoveling distance of it, so arranged as to discharge to the transport conveyor. As the room ad-vances the latter is lengthened and the face conveyor moved up laterally. The advantages of this layout are, briefly, low lifts, no shoveling, no waiting for cars. It gives easy shovel-ing conditions and continuous production so long as there is loose coal at the face. Several loaders are usually employed at the face and the room is loaded out several times each shift. In fact, where the rooms are fairly wide, by judicious management, cutting and load-ing may go on simultaneously. Under these conditions, naturally, the face conveyor plays an important part as it is the appliance on which the coal is actually loaded. Someone has aptly stated that the loading is a question of "foot pounds," which is an appealing way to put it, for it is the number of pounds to be moved by the number of feet which measures the work to be done. It can easily be seen that the design of the face con-veyor is a matter of importance. It might be an im-perfect target for the shovel or of an awkward shape and height, and so involve extra effort on the part of the loader, tiring him when kept up continuously and at the same time slowing up his shoveling speed.

Jan 12, 1927

By Armand Bur, W. R. Reichenstein

Since coal is one of the largest cost items in the production of electricity, its analysis for heat value and composition has been the subject of intensive study. Sampling started with crude hand methods, out of the railroad car or barge or from moving conveyor discharge, and progressed to reliable mechanical in-plant sampling systems. The mechanical system takes its sample from a falling stream of coal such as a conveyor discharge or crusher discharge hopper. But this has a disadvantage in that the identity of the coal is lost. Coal is shipped to the user in train-loads, often made up of shipments from various mines. When the cars are dumped into hoppers and the coal conveyed to the power station, the various shipments become mixed because residual coal remains in hoppers and chutes.

Jan 5, 1959

By W. L. Zeigler

THE tailing from the gravity concentration plant of the Hecla Mining Co., Gem, Idaho, was former-ly loaded into railroad cars to be used for ballast, highway surfacing material, or concrete work, or dis-posed of by an aerial tramway, which dumped it into another gulch. The tailing averages about 1.2 per cent lead and 0.8 oz. silver to the ton. Further treatment for the recovery of the valuable metals had been investigat-ed several times with results that did not warrant the construction of a retreatment plant; but early in 1925 experimental work was again started with small tests, and later with a 10 tons per day flotation test plant. This showed that the tailing could be ground and treat-ed by flotation at a profit. It was decided to make the new flotation plant an addition to, rather than incor-porate it in the old concentrator, the original capacity of which had been increased many times, the present arrangement being by no means ideal. The old mill buildings were of timber and board contruction, creat-ing more or less fire hazard, so all new construction was made fireproof. Construction work on the new plant was started in the middle of July, 1925, and the plant was placed in operation early in December. The building is of concrete and steel with hollow tile walls, steel sash and corrugated asbestos roofing. The ball-mill floor has for its foundation a cellular reinforced concrete block about 14 ft. deep, extending to cemented river gravel, and the cells filled with tailing to give weight to the block. Overhead, built into the steel frame, is a 5-ton hand-operated traveling crane. With both ball-mills running fully loaded, there is not the slightest trace of vibra-tion in the foundation or building. The flotation floor is of reinforced concrete beam construction and spans Canyon Creek. Adjustable plunger feeders are arranged under the the tailing-bin, which feed by gravity to a 14-in. eleva-tor, discharging to a short 18-in. conveyor. From the conveyor the tailing is discharged into a dividing hop-per, from which point the plant is arranged in three separate units. Each unit consists of a ball-mill in closed circuit with a classifier, and an 8-cell flotation machine and has an approximate capacity of 300 tons per 24 hours.

Jan 8, 1927

By J. T. Brown

AS far as could be ascertained, no one had previously investigated the creep strength of silicon poly-crystals. Literature has appeared showing evidence for plastic deformation in silicon single crystals and whiskers.*1"6 Also the fact that germanium, a material of similar crystal structure to silicon undergoes plastic deformation under stress at temperatures above about 60 pct of its melting temperature, has been known for some time.2"4'7 This investigation was performed for the purpose of determining the strength and ductility of silicon polycrystals under creep conditions that would give fairly long times to rupture. PROCEDURE The silicon specimen blanks were obtained by first placing granulated transitor grade silicon (99.999 + pct pure) in a silica crucible. The crucible was surrounded by a graphite susceptor, and induction heating was used for melting the silicon in a vacuum furnace. Blank specimens were formed by freezing molten silicon onto a polycrystalline seed of silicon in a vacuum furnace. The seed was attached to a motor driven revolving rod. As silicon solidified, this rod was gradually withdrawn from the melt. A shape with a contracted center section was obtained by varying the rate of withdrawal from the melt. Specimens for the creep-rupture tests were ground from these "pulled" blanks. Creep-rupture tests were performed in spring loaded machines under constant load at 1800" and 2000° F. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A test specimen which was sectioned longitudinally is shown in the photomacrograph in Fig. 1. Very little deformation has taken place in the portion of the specimen shown, however, slip lines from several slip systems within the same grain, and deformation band formation was seen. The elongated appearance of the grains is due to the method of growing the specimens. One of the most interesting aspects of the results obtained from the creep-rupture tests was the high strength and the accompanying large amount of ductility. The data obtained is listed in Table I which shows the stress to rupture in 100 hr at 2000°F is between 8000 and 9000 psi. This indicates that silicon's strength at 2000°F is about equal to that of the best commercial super-alloys. It is important to mention that silicon has less than 1/3 the density of iron-, nickel-, and cobalt-base alloys. The usual type alloys for high-temperature applications

Jan 1, 1960

By Oliver C. Ralston

A definite field of usefulness has developed for the brine-leaching processes of removing lead from ores and other products, so this paper reviews the developments, both in practice and in research, that have taken place since the publication of two earlier papers on this subject.' Several commercial plants are now in operation and a number of semi-commercial test plants have been operated in an effort to determine the limitations of brine leaching and to compare the results with other forms of treatment. Briefly, the brine leaching of lead depends on the fact that lead chloride and lead sulfate are soluble in saturated sodium-chloride solutions. In dilute brines, the solubility of the lead salt is less than in pure water; but in the strong brines, the solubility is greater than in pure water due, supposedly, to the formation of a double sodium-lead chloride. This is seen in Fig. 1, which shows the results of M. Demassieux2 on the solubility of lead chloride in sodium-chloride solutions of different concentrations and at three temperatures. The curves are not those given by Demassieux but are calculated from his results in order to convert them to units common in metallurgical work. The right-hand branch of each curve shows that if the solution is kept in contact with solid sodium chloride the lead chloride can be almost entirely displaced from solution, but that brines which are saturated with sodium chloride, but are not in contact with the solid salt, have a very high solubility for lead chloride. The diagram gives the analysis of the solution in grams of lead per liter, although the substance actually in solution is lead chloride. At 100" C. as much as 100 gm. of lead per liter can be obtained; but at lower tem-

Jan 1, 1924

By J. O. Brittain, E. Lautenschlager

Yield point measurements were made on polycrys-talline specimens of a iron deformed various amounts at 770, 1950, or 273°K, aged, and redeformed at 77: 195°, or 273°K. When the prestrain temperature is lower than that subsequent to aging, the yield point return is suppressed relative to specimens deformed at the same temperature both before and after aging. The degree of suppression is a function of both the magnitude of prestrain at the lower temperature and the difference between the deformation temperatures before and after aging. It is proposed that the suppression is caused by the formation of dislocation barriers during the initial low-temperature deformation. The aging kinetics of polycrystalline a-iron wires deformed at 77o or 303oK were studied at 44 " and 64 "C using internal friction measurements. No change was noted as a result of the difference in prestrain temperature. IN an earlier investigation1 it was observed that the return of the yield point was suppressed when a poly-crystalline specimen of a iron was plastically deformed at 77oK, aged at room temperature, and subsequently tested at room temperature. In order to investigate this observation, a research program was undertaken to measure the effect of prestrain temperature on the strain aging of a iron.' According to Thomas and Leak,3 return of the yield point and internal friction are similar measures of strain aging since both are dependent on solute atoms leaving the solid solution. The decrease in internal friction as a function of aging time is indicative of the removal of solute atoms from the solution, while the return of the yield point as a function of aging time gives the rate of arrival of solute atoms at the dislocations. According to Cottrell and Bilby,4 the solute atoms create an "atmosphere" which locks the dislocations and causes a return of the yield point upon restraining. In this experiment, both methods of measuring strain aging were employed in order to have two independent measurements of the strain aging phenomenon. In a previous study,5 the strain aging kinetics of a similar lot of a iron were measured for specimens which were prestrained and tested at the same temperature over the range of 77" to 273°K. Although some differences were found in the correlation of the two methods employed for measuring strain aging, the kinetics of strain aging were unaffected by the change of prestrain and test temperature. In another study,6 dislocation line tension and the density of the solute atmosphere were found to contribute to the return of the yield point when ingot iron specimens were prestrained at 303°K and tested at a lower temperature, namely 77°K. This paper is concerned with changes in strain aging kinetics produced by pre-straining at 77" to 303°K and testing at either the prestrain temperature or at higher temperatures up to 273°K. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The polycrystalline a iron specimens used in both the tensile and internal friction tests were 0.033-in. diam ingot iron wires, wet hydrogen treated and re-carburized. A more detailed procedure for processing a 3/16 in. ingot iron rod (nominal wt. pet composition: Fe - 0.013; C - 0.0125; Mn - 0.023; Si -0.005; P - 0.0023; S - 0.11; Cu - 0.004 N) to 0.033 in. diam specimens containing approximately 0.020 wt pet C and no detectable nitrogen with a grain diameter of 0.033 to 0.040 mm is given elsewhere.5 Immediately prior to testing, specimens were solution treated for 15 min at 700o ± 2°C in a static vacuum of less than 50 ?. of Hg and rapidly quenched into an ice-water bath while still enclosed in a 3 mm quartz vial. The internal friction specimens had 8-in. gage lengths and the tensile specimens had 2-in. gage lengths. The wires used as tensile specimens were first run as internal

Jan 1, 1962

By R. C. Hall

In the present work, experiments determined the effect of the order-disorder reaction near the Fe,Al composition on the magnetic anisotropy and magnetostriction of single crystals: A material which is more difficult to magnetize in one direction than in another is anisotropic, that is, the ease with which ferromagnetic materials may be magnetized in different crystallographic directions determines the anisotropy. Two investigators have estimated the anisotropy of the aluminum iron alloys from poly-crystalline data;1,2 however, these estimates should not be considered to be reliable. Siege1 made two accurate measurements of the first anisotropy constant* from single crystals of 4.0 wt pct aluminum sotropy throughout the ferromagnetic aluminum iron system have been described. These results were obtained from single crystals which were slowly cooled and, hence, ordered near the Fe3Al composition.4 Magnetostriction is the change in length per unit length resulting from applying a magnetic field to a ferromagnetic material. For the purpose of this report, the saturation magnetostriction was measured. This is the maximum change in length per unit length resulting from an applied magnetic field large enough to saturate the material in a given direction. This magnetostriction has been determined for single crystals of the ferromagnetic aluminum-iron system.' The crystals near Fe3Al were also ordered. PREPARATION AND TREATMENT OF SINGLE CRYSTALS Single crystal bars were grown from the melt.' The raw materials for these crystals were iron and aluminum of 99.9 and 99.99 pct purity, respectively. From the bars, crystals in the shape of circular

Jan 1, 1959

By R. Stanford

In any discussion of steel pouring too often refractories quality assumes a high level of importance. Unfortunately when one considers the many and varied conditions to which pouring refractories are exposed, it is difficult to isolate the true role of refractories quality alone. Some of the more important, yet often overlooked, variable conditions bearing on pouring performance are heat size, tap time and temperature, steel chemistry, ladle additions, ladle height and preheat, mechanical conditions of the pouring mechanism, hot top or non hot topped ingots and, ingot size, which determine total number of shutoffs, direct or tundish pouring, ingot filling rates, metallurgical demands, etc, etc. These considerations apply for either conventional or slide gate pouring of ingots and, to a large extent, even strand casting. In any event probably the most significant factor on pouring performance in any individual shop is what is considered an "OK" pour. We find considerable variance in this qualification, not only between Republic Steel meltshops, but throughout the industry. Therefore, it is a worthless exercise to draw comparisons attributable to refractories quality alone, except for similar conditions in a single shop.

Jan 1, 1972

By W. S. N. Waring, E. C. Bain, E. S. Davenport

The more familiar compositions of both the iron-carbon-chromium' and the iron-carbon-tungsten2 systems have been investigated with a degree of thoroughness which has permitted the construction of their three-dimensional equilibrium diagrams; and it is probable that these equilibrium diagrams are sufficiently accurate for the present metallo-graphic needs. Strangely enough, in spite of their importance, the alloys of iron, carbon and manganese apparently have not been investigated in the same systematic manner, and so far as is known, no three-component equilibrium diagram for this system is available. Even iron-carbon-nickel alloys3 have been studied rather more thoroughly; for these the solidus and liquidus surfaces have already been determined, but the solid transformations in this, as in the manganese system, have not been reported systematically. The present paper deals with the constitution at equilibrium of a series of 36 iron-carbon-manganese alloys of commercial purity limited by 1.5 per cent carbon and 15 per cent manganese, a range of compositions including most of the manganese steels. The temperature range of melting has not been determined, nor has the high-temperature (delta iron) ferrite equilibrium been included in the study, it being considered that the more important characteristics of the manganese steels are their ordinary transformations in the solid state. The delta iron region is almost certain to be a small tetrahedron not very different in magnitude or contour from that in the iron-carbon-nickel diagram. It is probably true

Jan 1, 1932

A special committee on the Classification of Surface Mining Methods was appointed by the A.I.M.E. Board of Directors on Nov. 17, 1939. The committee was headed by Gerald Sherman, and the members were Chester A. Fulton, C. F. Jackson, Earl E. Hunner and Arthur Notman. The following form of classification was reported to the Board by the Committee on May 16, 1940, as its unanimous recommendation. SURFACE MINING Dry Mining Bottom Benching Bank Mining < Top Benching Dry Mining Dry Mining Bottom Benching Hydraulic Mining Pit Mining Dredging Dry Mining Top Benching Wet Mining Top Benching River Bed Dredging Subaqueous Mining Lake Bed or Dredging Ocean Bed (Hand Mining Ground Sluicing Hydraulicking Dredging In most cases the terms used in the accompanying outline define themselves. Bank Mining is distinguished from Pit Mining by its situation. In Pit Mining the ore is taken from an operation below the level of the surrounding surface. In the secondary classification, Bottom Benching is an operation in which a bench is attacked from below, but the material mined might be hauled up out of the pit or moved out horizontally or downward.

Jan 1, 1940

A special committee on the Classification of Surface Mining Methods was appointed by the A.I.M.E. Board of Directors on Nov. 17, 1939. The committee was headed by Gerald Sherman, and the members were Chester A. Fulton, C. F. Jackson, Earl E. Hunner and Arthur Notman. The following form of classification was reported to the Board by the Committee on May 16, 1940, as its unanimous recommendation. SURFACE MINING Dry Mining Bottom Benching Bank Mining < Top Benching Dry Mining Dry Mining Bottom Benching Hydraulic Mining Pit Mining Dredging Dry Mining Top Benching Wet Mining Top Benching River Bed Dredging Subaqueous Mining Lake Bed or Dredging Ocean Bed (Hand Mining Ground Sluicing Hydraulicking Dredging In most cases the terms used in the accompanying outline define themselves. Bank Mining is distinguished from Pit Mining by its situation. In Pit Mining the ore is taken from an operation below the level of the surrounding surface. In the secondary classification, Bottom Benching is an operation in which a bench is attacked from below, but the material mined might be hauled up out of the pit or moved out horizontally or downward.

Jan 1, 1940

By T. Egleston

The importance of making analyses of gases in furnaces which are used for metallurgical purposes is every day growing more and more evident. It is the only method of understanding the reactions that take place in the furnace, and of economically conducting the operations both with regard to the fuel used and the reactions which take place on the bodies to be subjected to the influence of the heat and gases. As a knowledge of the composition of gases is becoming every day more necessary to the proper conduct of furnace operations, it seems desirable that furnace managers should generally know that the analysis of gas for commercial purposes is neither difficult, tedious, or expensive, and that it does not necessarily imply the use of corrections requiring difficult instrumental observations and long and tedious mathematical calculations. Any method, therefore, which will tend to render these analyses simple will also tend to having them made and repeated as frequently as the analyses of the ores and other materials charged in the furnace. They should be made even more frequently, as their composition is affected by any change in the condition of the furnace, and a knowledge of their composition will give a ready clue to the unseen and otherwise not easily detected changes which are taking place. The only practicable method of making industrial analyses of gas is that of measuring volumes in graduated tubes. The methods by

By T. PH. D. Egleston

THE importance of making analyses of gases in furnaces which are used for metallurgical purposes is every day growing more and more evident. It is the only method of understanding the reactions that take place in the furnace, and of economically conducting the operations both with regard to the fuel used and the reactions which take place on the bodies to be subjected to the influence of the heat and gases. As a knowledge of the composition of gases is becoming every day more necessary to the proper conduct of furnace operations, it seems desirable that furnace managers should generally know that the analysis of gas for commercial purposes is neither difficult, tedious, or expensive, and that it does not necessarily imply the use of corrections requiring difficult instrumental observations and long and tedious mathematical calculations. Any method, therefore, which will tend to render these analyses simple will also tend to having them made and repeated as frequently as the analyses of the ores and other materials charged in the furnace. They should be made even more frequently, as their composition is affected by any change in the condition of the furnace, and a knowledge of their composition will give a ready clue to the unseen and otherwise not easily detected changes which are taking place. The only practicable method of making industrial analyses of gas is that of measuring volumes in graduated tubes. The methods by

Jan 1, 1877

By Mahesh C. Jha

Arsenical gold ores occur in many parts of the world, including numerous mines in Canada and the western United States. Free gold is often finely disseminated in the grains of sulfide minerals, arsenopyrite, pyrite, orpiment and realgar. Generally a sulfide concentrate is produced by flotation. Arsenical ores or concentrates are not amenable to direct cyanidation and therefore are considered refractory. A wide variety of roasting equipment and conditions have been used by the mills to remove arsenic and sulfur from these concentrates. The resulting calcine is easy to cyanide and gold is recovered from the cyanide solution by zinc dust cementation. Room-temperature potential-pH diagrams and high-temperature phasestability diagrams are presented to discuss the chemistry of the gold cyanidation, cementation, and roasting steps in the presence of arsenic. The environmental aspects of arsenic discharge are also included.

Jan 1, 1984

By William G. Schultz

Sylvite’s potash mine probably ranks as one of the most highly mechanized and automated mining operations in the world. Employing, on a normal 10-hr production shift, one supervisor and a crew of seven operators, Sylvite is able to mine at an average rate in excess of 600 tph. The ore is produced by two Marietta miners weighing 258 tons, making them the largest and heaviest piece of equipment ever taken underground. The ore produced by these two Marietta miners is conveyed to the shaft area, cycled through a 15,000 ton storage system and hoisted to surface completely automatically. The operation of all equipment in the mine can be monitored and controlled from a central control panel located underground.

Jan 7, 1972

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

It has long been accepted that blastfurnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirablc in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blastfurnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: . Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the pro duction of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. Functions of Coke and Qualities Required to Perform These Functions Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1942

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

It has long been accepted that blastfurnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirablc in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blastfurnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: . Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the pro duction of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. Functions of Coke and Qualities Required to Perform These Functions Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1942

Following the usual custom, three meetings are planned for the year. The Mid-Continent meeting will be held at Oklahoma City, Okla., Oct. 7 and 8, and the California meeting is planned for Los Angeles, probably also early in October. A program along the usual lines is under way for the annual New York meeting. Discussion and planning of the year&apos;s activity started in March. An effort is under way to secure papers dealing with some overlapping phases of engineering, petroleum geology, geophysics, law, economics, refining, etc. The main reason for attempting a program along these lines is the belief that unusually interesting technical papers can be obtained. The degree of specialization in the technical and related fields has permitted but few individuals to develop a sufficiently comprehensive viewpoint. Also, at times the developments in a particular field are capable of giving great stimulus toward much needed solutions of difficult problems in others fields of activity. With the coming of the period of restriction of production to market demand, many changes have occurred in policy and technique of petroleum production. Some changes have been advances, others have been of retrograde nature. It seems doubtful whether the adjustment to the condition of excess producing capacity has been complete or sound in some major respects. Many changes are in progress and others need to be initiated. The industry has excessive producing capacity so far as immediate market demand is concerned, but reserves for several years hence are generally believed insufficient. Exploration and discovery should go forward but development should proceed with caution and under control. Property rights should be clarified and protected for the new condition— without excessive cost for drilling wells that serve no purpose except that of giving some protection to property rights at the cost of an increased price to the consumer. Under the more steady condition of assured supply for the immediate future, as compared to the hand-to-mouth condition of wide-open production, a greatly advanced technique of development and production is possible and is being developed. Great progress has been made, but much remains to be done. Along some important lines progress can be effected only by better understanding between the engineer and the geologist, the lawyer, the politician, the geophysicist, etc. There is need

Jan 1, 1937

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

IT has long been accepted that blast-furnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirable in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blast-furnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: I. Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the production of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. FUNCTIONS OF COKE AND QUALITIES REQUIRED TO PERFORM THESE FUNCTIONS Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1941