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By R. H. Lee

So far as I am aware the references to the " kerosene blow-pipe" in the Transactions comprise only a skeptical opinion from Mr. Witherow (ix., 70), and accounts of the use of the blow-pipe by Mr. Witherbee (xiii., 675) and Mr. Gayley (xiv., 779), together with brief remarks by Mr. Weeks and Mr. Kennedy on Mr. Witherbee's paper. The subject can scarcely be considered novel, in view of these references, yet it is not so far exhausted that an additional account of the successful application of the blow-pipe would be out of place, especially if accompanied with some new details and a drawing of the apparatus itself, showing its simplicity and safety. Some time ago, owing to a variety of causes, my furnace was working very badly, the troubles culminating suddenly one morning in a chilled hearth, solid from the bottom to the tuyeres, with the exception of a narrow passage-way from above to the cindernotch, which remained open. Through this we continued to flush and cast, with the prospect of a long and troublesome siege, in working down to the iron-notch. At the end of two days matters had not greatly improved, and we seemed no nearer the desired result than on the morning of the chill, when, at the suggestion of Mr. Farrell, of Glamorgan, I decided to use the coal-oil blow-pipe; the intention being to cut a hole from the iron-notch up to the tuyeres, and then let the furnace melt out the chilled mass. In four hours from the time of starting, the hole was made and

Jan 1, 1887

By L. G. Jones

The objective of this paper is to present a better method for determining reservoir reserves of gas from extended drawdown test data. Means are proposed for conducting the test with or without the requirement of prior build-up to a static reservoir pressure. The test is based upon solutions to unsteady-state gas flow developed in an earlier paper and is believed to be superior to previous methods for determining reserves from flow-test data. The limitatiom of such tests are discussed, with emphasis on the subject of test duration. The test can supply useful information if the mechanics and limitations of it are understood. This type of information can be particularly valuable in deciding whether or not to drill offsets to producing wells. INTRODUCTION In the life of any gas or oil field, the engineer in charge must decide if certain wells need stimulation and whether or not to drill more wells in the field. Well production tests can aid in making these decisions. For instance, the value of stimulation can be estimated by determining formation permeability and the amount of well damage from drawdown or build-up tests. These tests are freely used in the oil industry. A less well-known type of analysis uses data from extended drawdown tests for determining reservoir reserves. Into this category fits the "reservoir limit test" of Jones,'-3 and the "reservoir reserve test" presented in this paper. The chief value of these tests is their ability to "see" reservoir boundaries and thus prevent costly dry holes. Methods for determining reserves of both gas and oil reservoirs were proposed in the work of Jones. His proposals appear sound for single-phase liquid flow. The generality of his work on gas flow is open to question, however, since the analysis is based upon solutions to liquid-flow equations. The test for gas reserves presented here is derived from unsteady-state gas-flow solutions presented in a previous paper.' In deriving this reservoir reserve test, it has been assumed that all of the reservoir energy is provided by expansion of the reservoir fluid and that the reservoir is radially symmetrical. No mention has been made of the effects of deviations from Darcy's law such as quadratic (turbulent) flow and well damage. Since the terms representing these effects are function of rate only, since the rate is constant and since the data are plotted in a differential form, it seems reasonable that these terms will not affect the test results in any way. No attempt has been made to estimate the effects of water drive, faults, or other departures from an idealized and isolated reservoir. For a qualitative discussion of some of these effects, the reader is referred to a paper by Jones3

By C. E. Julihn

Technology concerns the ways of doing things; mineral technology the ways of performing operations required for obtaining minerals from the earth and extracting their valuable constituents for man's use. At any particular time, technology is relatively fixed, as everyone tries to adopt the way of doing things that has proved most profitable; but improvements evolve from minor changes here and there, and occasion- ally entirely new methods are discovered. Technologic improvement thus characterizes any long-time view of the mineral industries. Its test lies always in reduction of costs; there is no other incentive for the adoption of new methods. Reduction in cost of producing metal from ore decreases, in turn, the amount of metal that must be obtained from ore in order to pay for its production. An advancing technology thus is characterized by utilization of ores of lower and lower grade. A very important result of this is an increase in the gross quantity of metal obtainable at any price level, since the earth's crust contains vast amounts of very low-grade ores and relatively insignificant amounts of very high-grade ores. Technologic advances have, therefore, been the means of rendering the metals both cheap and abundant. Though concern as to possible exhaustion of the world's ore deposits is warranted, it is conceivable that a transcendent technology of the future might supply metal requirements from what we

Jan 1, 1932

By R. G. Coyle

This paper describes a model of operating policies in an underground metal mine. The purpose of the model is partly that the problem of controlling a mining operation in the face of shocks from its economic environment is interesting in its own right, and also as an input to a larger research project on policy-making in mining companies. The model includes, mining, development and milling sectors together with cash flow and finances. In particular, it shows how the policies used to control the various sectors in the face of environmental shocks from metal prices and changing state of the system are connected by feedback loops. The use of feedback theory differentiates the model from 'ordinary' simulation and assists in the design of 'robust' policies which always achieve effective control. This model is the first stage of a major project and approximations have been made, simply to get the model going. The purpose of this paper is to show the kind of output this type of model produces, to lay our explicitly what is in the model and above all, to invite contributions from mining people on what the model should show and what should be put into it. We claim no virtues for this model. It is just a research tool so that later models will be more worthwhile and useable in practice.

Jan 1, 1977

By F. D. Rosi, C. H. Mathews

THE plastic properties of face-centered cubic metals below room temperature present a field of investigation which has not been extensively ex-plored. The work by Schmid and Boas1 has demonstrated the importance of temperature upon such properties as strain hardening and critical resolved shear stress. The work by Yamaguchi2 upon the shear stress as related to the number of slip bands accentuates the necessity for further experiments of a similar nature. The approach to a mechanical equation of state from the standpoint of thermal fluctuations and activation energies by Becker3 and more recently by Kauzmann4 further emphasizes the need for a quantitative and more comprehensive analysis of the dependence of fundamental plastic properties on temperature. The purpose of the present work was to investigate specifically: (1) The gross shape of the stress-strain curves at several temperatures, (2) the change in the critical shear stress as a function of temperature, and (3) the number and appearance of slip bands as a function of strain and temperature. Preparation of Specimens Single-crystal specimens of 99.996+ pct alumi-num, 1/2 in. in diam and 5 to 6 in. in length, were made by the Bridgman method of gradual solidification from the liquid state. The crystallographic orientation of the single crystals was determined from back-reflection, Laue X-ray photograms ac-cording to the method described by Greninger.6 In most specimens the Laue photograms showed double diffraction spots indicative of the lineage structure type of imperfection, discussed in great detail by Buerger.7 The angular spread of these spots was never observed to exceed 2". Most of the crystals were radiographed to insure against microporosity. In preparing the metal surface for optical microscopy, the following sequence of operations gave good results: The as-cast crystals were turned down in a lathe, 0.001 in. per cut, to obtain a 2.5 in. gauge length. The cold-worked layer resulting from this operation was removed chemically by etching with Tucker's reagent. Then the specimen was polished mechanically through 2/0 metallographic emery paper, after which it was etched again to remove the cold-worked layer resulting from the mechanical treatment. A 48-hr anneal at 580°C ±10°C followed so as to insure an essentially stress-free single crystal. After the annealing treatment, the specimen was electrolytically polished in a 2:l solution of methyl alcohol and concentrated nitric acid. With a current density of 10 amp per sq dm (decimeter) the time required to obtain a satisfactory surface varied from 10 to 12 min. The polish-ing was carried out for short periods of 2 min to avoid rapid deterioration of the solution as well as to enable the rotation of the specimen 180" for uniformity of polish. It was necessary to place the solution in a bath of dry ice in view of its explosive nature at room temperature. Etching of the electrolytically polished surface was accomplished by using the fuming etch-pit method recommended by Lacombe and Beaujard8 for high-purity aluminum. Method for Tensile Testing A modification of the loading equipment devised by Miller9 was used. In this apparatus, the specimen was suspended from a chain and gimbal arrangement (for axial loading) in a heavy steel framework connected at the bottom to a balanced 6:1 lever and bucket system. Loading of the specimen was accomplished by allowing sand to flow from a reservoir into the bucket suspended from the longer end of the lever-arm at a rate of approximately 3 lb per min. Strain measurements were made using the Baldwin SR-4, bonded, resistance-wire, strain gauge and an SR-4 portable strain indicator (type K), which permits a reading accuracy of 2 microinches per inch. For low-temperature study, the gauge was calibrated by measuring the elastic modulus of an annealed stainless steel rod, which is known to be independent of temperature."

Jan 1, 1951

By B. B. Zavoico

There were no radical changes in the petroleum situation in the Russian Soviet Union during the 1926 to 1927 operating year. The developments of the previous year were continued, but the major undertakings were far from being completed. The pipe lines from Baku to Batum and from Grozny to Touapse, and the large refineries on the Black Sea are delayed in their completion by the insufficient authorizations; until their completion the changes in the general situation will be necessarily of a halfway nature. The marketing situation was subject to much controversy during the past year and, though certain statements are quite true, the bulk of the criticism against the petroleum industry hardly deserves mention. The home market in Russia is steadily growing, with the per capita kerosene consumption already exceeding the prewar figure and fuel oil consumption obviously gaining. The foreign trade is making rapid and well-grounded success, but continues to suffer from low world quotations. There is no apparent sacrifice of home consumers in favor of export trade. The production of all Russian fields increased by 13,750,000 bbl. as compared with the 1925 to 1926 operating year, and next year's program anticipates a further increase of 9,720,000 bbl. (Table 1). The increased and improved refining facilities will make the real gain in production in the next year even larger than these figures indicate.

Jan 1, 1928

By Rex B. McLellan, W. A. Oates

FROM a consideration of the application of the Gibbs-Duhem equation to multicomponent systems arken' derived the following equation applying to dilute solutions of a solute, 2, dissolved in a binary solution, 1-3:

Jan 1, 1969

By E. L. Jr. Spain

This study was undertaken primarily to determine the reasons for certain varia-tions in the soundness of gravel aggregate taken from a number of widely separated points on the Tennessee River. Under laboratory tests, concrete made with these various aggregates it some cases exhibited marked differences in specific gravity, crushing strength and durability. Gravel was studied in detail from Chattanooga to the mouth of the river and to a lesser extent from Chattanooga to Knoxville. The causes of variation were determined, and variational curves were constructed, which accurately predict the composition of aggregate at any point on the river and therefore its relative suitability for use in concrete. The aggregate at any point is suited for making sound concrete; the variance of suitability is due to varying percentages of sandstone and weathered material, which are less sound than other constituents.

Jan 1, 1937

By Charles R. Keyes

Continued discussion of the paper of Charles R. Keyes, Trans., xxxix., pp. 139 to 169, 850 to 856, and Bulletin Ho. 34, October, 1909, pp. 945 to 947. CHARLES R. KEYES, Des Moines, Iowa (communication to the Secretary*):-It is with pleasure that I acknowledge the value and interest of the historical notes on early mining at Lake Valley, contributed by Messrs. MacDonald and Courtis. In my own paper there was no attempt to enter into this phase of the subject; partly for reason that the intention was to take up this in detail in another connection, partly because there was not space enough to. devote to it in a brief geologic paper, and partly on account of the fact that the strictly mining features are quite distinct from the purely geologic characteristics. As may be inferred from its perusal, the brief historical paragraph prefacing my paper was in reality geologic in its bearing. The events referred to therein relate to the published information concerning the geologic structure. The personages principally mentioned were noted merely to show how the names of several of our most distinguished scientists came to be closely associated with that of Lake Valley. Far from my intentions was it to slight the memory of any , of that brave band who, with lives in their hands, took so active a part in the early development of the mines. The value of their records is perhaps much greater than that of any published notes. The narratives of Messrs. MacDonald and Courtis are as thrilling as many other experiences related of that time and place. Few of us at the present time can appreciate the dangers of that early day, when the fierce Apache all but swept the. white man from that part of the country, when renegades from Texas overran the land, and when the outlaws of the nations took their last stand before advancing civilization. In marked contrast do we to-day reach Lake Valley by means of the 11 iron horse"; and out of a luxurious Pullman

Apr 1, 1910

By C. H. Mathewson, P.W. Bakararian

The greatcr part of the literature on the plastic behavior of magnesium dates back to that active period of research in crystal mechanics immediately following the widespread preparation of isolated metallic crystals large enough for the application of conventional methods of mechanical testing. These investigations, performed on single crystals, revealed an analogy between zinc and magnesium with respect to their fundamental mode of deformation. in the operation of glide and twinning, respectively, on crystallographically similar planes. Mathewson and Phillips (1928)' by geometrical analysis identified the plane in magnesium as the twinning plane. Schiebold and Siebel (1931) confirmed this twinning planc, established the basal plane as the plane of slip, and a digonal axis I as the slip direction. They also rcported twin formation in a secondary role on the {IOI} plane. Schmid (1931)³ summarized and discussed the earlier evidence and presented the results of his own experiments on the effect of temperature and small amounts of soluble elements. From X-ray studies on extended wire single crystals, he concluded that slip along the basal plane in the direction of the digonal axis I closest to the stress direction was the sole slip system operating at atmospheric temperature. This conclusion was based on experiments with crystals of many different orientations relative to the stress axis. Special attention was directed to the basal plane and the digonal axis I, as the plane and direction of greatest atomic density. Determinations of resolved shear stress at the onset of plastic yielding-—i.e., the critical resolved shear stress—were also made; the average of these calculations showing 82.9 grams per sq. mm. This value varied only slightly up to 300°C. at which temperature it was found to decrease to 70.5 grams per sq. mm. The extension of his crystals at temperatures above 225°C. further disclosed the presence of new slip systems. After the origince specimens of circular section had been

Jan 1, 1943

By C. H. Mathewson, P. W. Bakararian

The greatcr part of the literature on the plastic behavior of magnesium dates back to that active period of research in crystal mechanics immediately following the widespread preparation of isolated metallic crystals large enough for the application of conventional methods of mechanical testing. These investigations, performed on single crystals, revealed an analogy between zinc and magnesium with respect to their fundamental mode of deformation. in the operation of glide and twinning, respectively, on crystallographically similar planes. Mathewson and Phillips (1928)' by geometrical analysis identified the plane in magnesium as the twinning plane. Schiebold and Siebel (1931) confirmed this twinning planc, established the basal plane as the plane of slip, and a digonal axis I as the slip direction. They also rcported twin formation in a secondary role on the {IOI} plane. Schmid (1931)³ summarized and discussed the earlier evidence and presented the results of his own experiments on the effect of temperature and small amounts of soluble elements. From X-ray studies on extended wire single crystals, he concluded that slip along the basal plane in the direction of the digonal axis I closest to the stress direction was the sole slip system operating at atmospheric temperature. This conclusion was based on experiments with crystals of many different orientations relative to the stress axis. Special attention was directed to the basal plane and the digonal axis I, as the plane and direction of greatest atomic density. Determinations of resolved shear stress at the onset of plastic yielding-—i.e., the critical resolved shear stress—were also made; the average of these calculations showing 82.9 grams per sq. mm. This value varied only slightly up to 300°C. at which temperature it was found to decrease to 70.5 grams per sq. mm. The extension of his crystals at temperatures above 225°C. further disclosed the presence of new slip systems. After the origince specimens of circular section had been

Jan 1, 1943

By Robert H. Richards

It will hardly be worth while to spend time over the discovery of this mine, how lumps of galena were picked up and brought to town, and how legends were told of an old mine from which Revolutionary bullets were made. This is an entirely new mine, with no evidences of former or ancient workings in its immediate vicinity to guide or attract the prospector. The first pit was opened in May, 1874. In August I made a visit to this pit, which was 6 feet wide in the northwest direction, 12 feet long north 80° east, and 6 feet deep..About 4 tons of a galena carrying gray copper, siderite, and quartz, had been taken from this pit. The lumps were all of them evidently float specimens, and varied from 8 to 12 inches thick, and showed very distinct indica-

By William J. Robinson

What is the cummulative rate of recovery of copper from a sulfide leach dump? The technical answers to this frequently asked question may vary from "I don't know" to "quite good" from people of the same company. Management also poses this question because it plays a vital role in planning future production. The answer is difficult because of the many variables between different operations such as physical construction of the dump, topography of the original site, characteristics of dump material, mineralization and water application. Each of these factors and others have a bearing on the rate of recovery. Anaconda's method of water distribution at Butte is unique in that each dump is drilled to allow physical injection of water into the dump. The injection holes are drilled vertically on 25 ft centers from the surface of the dump. Normally, the holes are drilled 40 ft deep and cased with 4-in. PVC perforated pipe. The pipe is perforated at one-foot intervals with four 1/2 in. diam holes at 90" spacing on the pipe circumference.

Jan 9, 1972

By E. M. Murphy

Eight years ago the Hecla mine, a lead-silver producer, situated at Burke, Idaho, was producing ore from but two levels, the 300- and the 600-ft. All hoisting was done with a 12- by 16-in. slide-valve, double-reel, hoist. The hoist was being worked to its capacity and was unsuitable for hoisting from greater depths. As the work of opening a new level was about to be started, it became necessary to remodel the then-existing equipment or install a new hoist. The recent advent of electricity from Spokane had made available a cheaper power than steam. By a series of tests conducted throughout the Cæaur d'A1ene district, it was found that it cost $109 per year to generate a horse-power with steam. Electric power was to be had for $50 a horse-power per year. It was decided to substitute for the engines a motor-drive, of sufficient capacity to operate from the 900-ft. level, and ultimately install an entirely new hoist. After disconnecting the engines, installing a new shaft, and making a few minor changes, a 300-h-p., 2,300-volt, 514-rev. per min., variable-speed motor of the induction type was geared to the reel-shaft. The reels were supplied with 3/8- by 4-in. flat rope, and the duty of the hoist was about as follows: Cage, 1,700; ore, 2,600; car, 1,400; rope, 2,250; total, 7,950 pounds. The Bristol ammeter chart, Fig. 1, shows the combined current-consumption of the hoist- and mine-motors. The large intermittent load is clearly shown; this produced harmful fluctuations in the voltage of the long, lightly-loaded, 60,000-volt transmission-line from Spokane to the Cæmur d'A1enes. The power company received no compensation for the increased cost of producing power for this intermittent or fluctuating load. In order to protect its system from similar excessive

Jan 1, 1913

[ ] Utilizing tendencies for low grade ores in the Sudbury District of Ontario to cave after higher grade ore has been mined, International Nickel Co., of Canada, Ltd., is recovering millions of tons of nickel-copper ore once regarded as submarginal. Inco is working lower grade ore than ever mined before from its underground operations because of the caving method and metallurgical practices. In the caving method, blocks containing as much as 1.5 million tons of ore are undercut. As ore from the undercut block is withdrawn, the block to be mined breaks away and starts to disintegrate as it moves downward. Inco is also using the blasthole method, using explosives to break slices of harder, tougher ore from solid material. Inco has built a new concentrator at one of its most recent shafts for handling the increased tonnages of low grade ore. The concentrator presently has a 10,000-ton per day capacity, and is scheduled to be increased to 12,000 tons. Hoisting from the mine is by push-button control and the ore is milled on the spot. A 7 ½ -mile pipeline carries bulk concentrate to reduction plants at Copper Cliff. Giant crushers, weighing 165 tons each, have been installed underground. Twenty-ton electric locomotives haul ore to the crushers. The expansion program is expected to lift total annual production of nickel in the free world to 375 million pounds annually, an increase of 150 million pounds. Inco is presently mining more than 1 million tons of ore per month from combined surface and underground operations.

Jan 1, 1952

By G. Howell Clevenger

PAGE Introduction,............891 L Nature of Precipitates,.........892 11. Experimental Work Upon Alloys,......895 Silver,............895 Gold,............896 Conclusions,............896 111. Present Methods of Refining,.......897 1. Refining by Roasting,.........897 2 Refining with Acid,..........898 3. Smelting with Lead,.........902 Tavener's Method,..........903 Merrill a Method,.,........903 Comparison of Costs of Acid-Refining and Smelting Processes,. . 904 Detailed Costs of Refining Cyanide Precipitates at Lead, So. Dak., September 29, 1903,.........904 Cost of Acid-Refining at the Horseshoe Mill, Terry, So. Dak.,. . 907 IV. The Removal of Zinc by Distillation,.....908 Experimental Distillations,.....,...910 Analysis of Precipitates Used for Distillation-Experiments,. . 910 Discussion of the Results of the Distillation-Experiments,. . 915 V. General Conclusions,.........917 VI. Outline of a Proposed MEthod OF Treatment,.... 917 Introduction. Attempts to discover, for the cyanide process, a better precipitant than zinc have been unsuccessful. Hydrogen sulphide, sulphurous acid, ferrous sulphate, etc., precipitate gold and silver from cyanide solutions either not all or incompletely.

Jan 1, 1904

By Russell Spry, Paul Schutz

The property of Pioneer Gold Mines of B.C. Limited is in the Lillooet mining district of British Columbia. It is on Cadwalleder Creek, 54 miles distant by motor road from Shalalth, a station on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Interests identified with the present company installed a small amalgamation plant on the property in 1924, consisting of a jaw crusher, Bryan mill and amalgamation plates, in which 75 per cent extraction was made on mill feed averaging 1.0 oz. gold per ton, the tailing being stacked for future treatment. That plant was operated until 1928, when the present company was formed and a 100-ton continuous counter current decantation cyanide plant was built. A second unit, having a nominal capacity of 200 tons daily, was added in 1932 and put into operation during September of that year. When handling ore comparatively free from slow-settling material, the combined capacity of the two units is 400 tons, the original plant now handling about 140 tons maximum. Production to date, from Pioneer, has been about $6,500,000, the present monthly production being better than $250,000 from about 370 tons ore daily, the recovery being 97 per cent. During the fiscal year ending March 31, 1934, a total of 112,936 tons ore and old amalgamation tailing was milled, the mill feed averaging 0.7670 oz. gold and the recovery amounting to 0.7422 oz. gold per ton, or 96.77 per cent. Milling costs, including refining and mint charges, during this period, amounted to $1.45 per ton of ore. Since the building of the first unit of the cyanide plant in 1928, direct cyanidation has been employed, no attempt being made to remove coarse gold from the circuit, other than that cleaned up from the grinding mills during relining and from the classifiers, as occasions permit. In the hope of still further increasing recovery, researches are going forward at this time with the view to removing some of the sulfides after primary grinding, the expectation being that selective treatment of this more refractory portion of the ore may hold economic possibilities.

Jan 1, 1935

By H. J. Oberson, J. H. Brown

Comminution devices such as rod or ball mills are characteristically nonselective in their operation in that all material fed to a mill is ground to some extent. This is unfortunate when the object of comminution is liberation, for not only is energy expended in breaking pure gangue particles wasted, but, since gangue is frequently the predominant phase, the opportunity for such loss is great. Ideally, in this application a comminuting device should develop fracture only in locked particles. In the present investigation an attempt was made to use the large density difference which may exist between minerals to prevent comminution of one while grinding the other. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT The two minerals used in this work were -8-mesh galena and -8+ 20-mesh quartz. All tests were made on 2000-g charges containing 50 pct by weight of each mineral. Heavy media suspensions consisted of -100-mesh ferrosilicon in water. For grinding, a laboratory mill 10 in. diam by 12 in. long was filled to about 30 pct of its volume with either a ball or a rod charge. The balls ranged in size from 3/8 to 1 1/8 in. in diam; the rods ranged from 5/8 to 1 1/4 in. diam by 11 in. long. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE In all tests employing heavy media, the ground pulps were treated as follows: 1) After recovering the ground charge from the mill but before drying, the pulp was wet screened on 200 mesh. 2) After drying the + 200-mesh product from step 1, the ferrosilicon was removed magnetically. 3) The nonmagnetic quartz and galena product from step 2 was sized on 10-mesh through 200-mesh screens. 4) The mineralogical composition of each screen fraction was determined by measuring its specific gravity. The specific gravity was related to the weight of galena in the fraction through the relationship

Jan 1, 1961

By Roshan B. Bhappu, Thomas J. Lien

The DYNA WHIRLPOOL Processor (DWP) is a cylindrical dynamic heavy media vessel. It is used to beneficiate fine ore sizes from one and one-half inches in diameter down to 65-mesh. Process units available treat up to 80 tons per hour. Units can be manifolded for higher capacity plants. Finely ground magnetite and ferrosilicon are used for media. , Installed capital costs are from $4,000 to $6,000 per ton hour of feed. Operating costs are from $0.30 to $0.50 per ton of feed. The DWP is used to beneficiate metallic and non-metallic ores and coal. The OCC Vessel is a static heavy media separator used to beneficiate coarse ore up to six inches in diameter and auto scrap. Process units available treat up to 300 tons per hour.

Jan 1, 1978

By Arthur Taggart

IN 1900, Elmore found that if an acidulated pulp was stirred up with an oil which was relatively insoluble in and lighter than water, and the mixture was al-lowed to stratify, much of the sulfide would be found hanging to the lower surface of the floating body of oil and could be skimmed off or overflowed with it. The action of the flotation agent here is two-fold, first to select the sulfide from the gangue-what to-day is called collection-and second, to buoy the col-lected sulfide away from the gangue. The action in collecting is illustrated by Fig. 1, which contrasts the behavior of drops of oil brought, under water, to the surfaces of gangue and sulfide particles, respectively. The oil displaces water from the surface of the sulfide; the water displaces oil from the gangue surface. If, instead of considering the solid particles the fixed parts of the system of oil, water and solids, we consider the oil and water fixed and the solids pre-sented to the surface of contact, the condition will be as shown in Fig. 2 ; the sulfide tends to be drawn into the interface and the gangue to be excluded. The sul-fide particles are held in the oil-water surface by the tension of this surface. The buoyant effect is supplied by the oil droplets in bringing the sulfides to the water surface, but not in holding them there.

Jan 6, 1928