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THE first award of the James Douglas gold medal for achievement in non-ferrous metallurgy was made to Frederick Laist, of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., and the presentation ceremony was a feature of the annual banquet of the Institute at the Waldorf, on Feb. 21. Frederick Laist was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 30, 1878. In his early youth his parents moved to California where, in 1901, Mr. Laist graduated from the University of California, in the course of chemical en-gineering. For one year after graduation he was an in-structor in chemistry at the University of Utah. Fol-lowing this he was employed as a chemist in the lab-oratory of the Washoe Reduction Works of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., where in successive stages he has occupied the position of chief chemist, blast-furnace superintend-ent, assistant superintend-ent of the entire plant, superintendent, and finally manager of the Anaconda company's reduction plants in Montana, which position he now holds. Mr. Laist, in his labora-tory work, manifested great interest in the hydrometal-lurgy of copper and zinc. As chief chemist at Anaconda, he brought the laboratory to a high degree of efficiency.

Jan 3, 1923

By Charles P. Williams

THE successful production of zinc white or oxide on a commercial scale in this country dates from the issue of the patent of Samuel Wetherill, for the preparation of the material (November, 1855), and

Jan 1, 1877

By R. L. Doan

WHEN the Plutonium Project was started in the spring of 1942 there was no technology to produce uranium metal of the required purity. Not only was there no such metal available; no one knew how to make it or fabricate it after it was made. Since this time vast technical effort has been ex-pended in the atomic energy field. A short 15 years later the metallurgy of uranium is probably better known than that of any other metal, with the possible exception of steel. At the beginning of the 1942 drive to obtain pure uranium metal the most available raw material was black uranium oxide (U3O8) of about 92 pct purity from the Great Bear Lake region of Canada. It took only three months for the project chemists to develop a process for bringing the purity of this oxide up to 99+ pct and another three months for Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. of St. Louis to build the purification plant and get it into operation. In early summer of 1942 the purified brown oxide (UO2) started moving to the Metal Hydrides Co. in Beverly, Mass., and to the Westinghouse Research Laboratory in Bloomfield, N. J., both of which had been granted Government contracts to try to make pure uranium metal.

Jan 9, 1957

By M. S. Azun

The article unfortunately has some serious flaws negating the usefulness of the paper. The authors claim that kriging (linear kriging) is superior to other methods such as polygon. This is not the case. The deterministic methods (referring to polygon, ID, IDS, etc.) should not be compared with the statistical methods (linear kriging, disjunctive kriging, etc.) because they differ not only in their assumptions, but also their tools used in estimation. Thus, they give different results. By comparing the results of deterministic methods and linear kriging, the authors conclude that polygon, IDS, and linear kriging give an average thickness close to the value obtained from realizations. Besides, they argue that linear kriging gives less variance than the others [(fig. 2)]. The first conclusion is expected, due to the well-known central limit theorem. The second is the result of the statistical properties of different estimators. Thus, the comparison presented in the paper is rather meaningless because the authors have failed to follow basic statistical procedures. The numerical results of different approaches to an estimation problem cannot be generalized. In conclusion, the paper is not a meaningful contribution, and sadly, quite erroneous.

Jan 1, 1985

By Edward Walsh

The difficulty of securing for experimental research the actual conditions to be found in practice very frequently deters many from engaging in such work. Probably no metallurgical operation is more difficult to imitate in the laboratory than the blast-furnace process. So many complex reactions take place within the furnace, under such varied conditions of time and temperature, with innumerable mechanical, physical, and chemical mutations, that while the results reached may approximate those obtained in practice, there is always something wanting. Much work of this kind has, nevertheless, been done, and is now being undertaken. We are indebted to the bold minds who have attempted it for our present real knowledge of the blast-furnace process. Not that those who have performed series of experiments at a few given temperatures can claim the honor. It required more than this—the ability to make a summary of all preceding experiments, to supply those which were wanting, and to confirm those that were doubtful. Sir I. Lowthian Bell, whose able papers before the Chemical Society and the British Iron and Steel Institute (forming the basis of his great work, The Chemical Phenomena of Iron-Smelting) has

Jan 1, 1889

By Charles P. Williams

The successful production of zinc white or oxide on a commercial scale in this country dates from the issue of the patent of Samuel Wetherill, for the preparation of the material (November, 1855), and

"The Southern Cross mining district was discovered during the early rush of gold seekers over Montana following the discovery of gold in 1861. Placers were worked near the Atlantic Cable mine in 1866, and soon attention was turned to quartz lode mining. High grade ores were discovered in the North Atlantic claim, adjoining the present Southern Cross group. The early metallurgical treat¬ment of these ores was by means of arrastres, a crude form of amalgamating mill, illustrated on the page opposite. This old arrastre located by the roadside on Warm Springs creek, was built by Barker Bros. in 1879. Further discoveries overtaxed the capacity of this plant, and in 1875 Thomas' Stuart employed a contractor named Jeptha J. Corner to convert the old Wilson & Fifer sawmill located at the Big Spring into an up-to-date gold quartz mill. 'For this trans¬formation Corner received the sum of $1,400.00. The illustrations give a good idea of the nature of its construction. Practically no iron was used in the mill, excepting for the stamps, dies and cams and cam shafts. Whether or not the saving attained reached the limits of present day perfection is not known. There being no steam boilers available, the early prospectors believed in the principle of conservation of fire wood, water power was therefore used, generated by a ""direct-connected"" over-shot wheel. Water for power purposes was supplied by the nearby spring. History fails to record the tonnage treated in this relic of early Montana milling practice.The ores of the Southern Cross district have not proved readily amenable to mill treatment, but being largely composed of iron oxides, they are most desirable fluxing ores for smelter operations. The B. A. & P. Ry. extends into the district. Electric power is furnished by the Flint Creek 'station, three miles distant."

Jan 1, 1913

By George H. Ashley

It has been said that the Pittsburgh bed is the most valuable single mineral deposit yet known to man. The figures in Table 1 are presented in substantiation of that claim. Production and Value In order that the figures of Table 1 may have any weight, a statement must be made to show how they were arrived at. Because, to the writer's knowledge, no accurate separate figures ever have been kept of the production and value of the Pittsburgh coal bed, the states will be considered separately. Pennsylvania Accurate figures are obtainable for Pennsylvania for recent years because recent reports of the Pellnsylvania Department of Mines show the production from each mine and the bed worked at each mine. For recent years, therefore, it is only necessary to list the mines working in the Pittsburgh bed and add up their production. The value was obtained by treating each county separately, applying the average price for the county to the production of Pittsburgh coal in that county. Unfortunately for great accuracy, while production figures for individual mines are available for many years, the name of the bed being

Jan 1, 1938

By George H. Ashley

It has been said that the Pittsburgh bed is the most valuable single mineral deposit yet known to man. The figures in Table 1 are presented in substantiation of that claim. Production and Value In order that the figures of Table 1 may have any weight, a statement must be made to show how they were arrived at. Because, to the writer's knowledge, no accurate separate figures ever have been kept of the production and value of the Pittsburgh coal bed, the states will be considered separately. Pennsylvania Accurate figures are obtainable for Pennsylvania for recent years because recent reports of the Pellnsylvania Department of Mines show the production from each mine and the bed worked at each mine. For recent years, therefore, it is only necessary to list the mines working in the Pittsburgh bed and add up their production. The value was obtained by treating each county separately, applying the average price for the county to the production of Pittsburgh coal in that county. Unfortunately for great accuracy, while production figures for individual mines are available for many years, the name of the bed being

Jan 1, 1938

By Oscar Glaeser

THE United Verde Copper Company's mine is at Jerome, Ariz. The orebodies are of the schist replacement type, the main sulfide mass being a large lens-shaped body approximately 7 acres in cross-sectional area. In general, the mineralization is found along the iron schist contact, with the orebodies extending about 1000 ft. along this contact and varying from a few feet to 250 ft. in width. Three types of ore are mined; schist porphyry and the so-called "heavy" or "massive sulfide" ore. Approximately 50 per cent. of the total tonnage mined at present is of the latter class. A representative analysis of this ore indicates 42 to 46 per cent. sulfur. Because of the high sulfur content, blasting in this ore is an extremely hazardous operation. Not only does it endanger the lives of men who may be in the mine at blasting time but it also becomes a potential fire menace when timber is in close proximity to shots being fired in these massive sulfides. The origin of the fires of 38 years ago, embers of which are glowing to this day, may perhaps be attributed to dust explosions due to blasting in the massive sulfides of those, early square-set stopes.

Jan 1, 1930

Advantages to Members of Our Advertising Section.-It is our intention to make the advertising section of the Bulletin as comprehensive as possible, so that members can turn to it for complete information as to where to buy the best mining and metallurgical supplies at the lowest prices. No firms or supplies of dubious reputation are advertised in the Bulletin.. If members, in buying any material, will refer to the advertisement of that material in the Bulletin, or if they do not find it advertised in the Bulletin, will, when ordering, ask the manufacturers why the goods were not advertised in the Institute publication, it will be of material benefit to all of us, because the chief reason why advertisers .are unable to trace direct results is because purchasers do not mention the Bulletin when writing. Finally, if members, when in need of anything whatsoever, will write to the Institute headquarters, an effort will be made to send them a complete list of manufacturers able to supply the desired materials of good quality. The furnishing of these lists will be a benefit to our Advertising Department, as well as to the members. We need .scarcely call attention to the advantages obtained by the members from the motley which advertising brings in, because all this money is returned directly to the members in one form or another.

Jan 7, 1913

By Frederic Benard

RECOVERY of selenium and tellurium at Copper Cliff by the Ontario Refining Co. has been previously described by the writer.1 During 1935 a new building was erected to house this operation and description of the new plant and process form the subject of this paper. The building, of modern steel and tile construction, covers an area of 5900 sq. ft. with a volume of approximately 165,000 cu. ft. The large monitored center bay is flanked by two smaller outside bays, one of which is devoted to the tellurium section. All equipment, ceilings and upper walls, are treated with aluminum paint, giving good illumination and facilitating good housekeeping, essential from a health standpoint in handling material of this nature.

Jan 1, 1938

As will be noted from the paper following, the sampling and estimating of limestone replacement deposits is entirely different from such work on a vein or disseminated ore deposit.

Jan 1, 1925

By G. Carman Ridland

Front Range, Colorado: The majority of the rocks comprising the Front Range of Colorado are pre- Cambrian schists, gneisses, and intrusives which have been elevated to form part of the Southern Rocky Mountain physiographic province. The region is noted mainly for its production of gold and silver, but ores of tungsten, fluorspar, uranium, copper, and iron have been worked. Geological literature describes pitchblende and other radioactive minerals occurring at Jamestown, Boulder County; Central City, Gilpin County; and Lawson, Clear Creek County (fig. 1). These three adjoining counties cover most of the highly mineralized section of the Front Range which extends from James- town to Breckenridge. As far as the writer is aware, uranium has been found only in the portion north-east of Lawson.

Jan 1, 1950

By Alden Greninger

METALLURGISTS have long believed that martensite in steel forms as plates along the octahedral {111} planes of austenite. Much has been written about mechanisms whereby units of the austenite lattice are pictured as transforming to martensite by shearing movements initiated along the octahedral planes of austenite, supposedly resulting in plates of martensite lying parallel to these planes of shear. A critical inspection of two or three photomicrographs of quenched hypereutectoid steel led us to the conclusion that the orientation habit of martensite, at least in hypereutectoid austenite, could not possibly be octahedral. Inasmuch as recent studies30,31 of the martensite-type reaction in nonferrous alloy systems have established the irrational orientation habit as characteristic of this type of lattice transformation, the need for a thorough restudy of the crystallography of martensite formation in steel was evident. The present paper reports the results of such a study, extended to include both cementite and some of the products of constant-temperature decomposition of austenite. Also reported are a few of the results obtained from a microscopic and X-ray study of the austempering process in very high-carbon steel.

Jan 1, 1940

By Rebecca Mae Summer

Increasing urbanization and industrial activity require increased supplies of sand and gravel. This means expanded surface mining and despoiled land near population centers. Highly competitive land use demands justify serious consideration of premining planning for multiple land use and reclamation concurrent with mining, 1-5 Formulating solutions to environmentally and economically sound uses requires a comprehensive approach based on properties of the natural resource base--geology, soils, and water. A study of sand and gravel mining within Pleistocene-Holocene fluvial deposits in Colorado County, Texas (Fig. I) illustrates how physical limitations imposed by the resource base are determined.6,7 Data from drillers logs of water wells, test boreholes, field observations, and laboratory analyses are used to evaluate these physical controls.

Jan 1, 1978

By John Fritz

Gentlemen of the American Institute of Mining Engineers : I desire to thank you sincerely for the distinguished honor you have conferred upon me by electing me to the presidency of this society, a position which in the past has been filled by some of our most distinguished and ablest members, men eminently qualified by education, practical training and a business ability which has enabled them not only to fill the position with credit to themselves, but as well with honor to the society. In deference to a custom long established, by which the presidentelect is expected to read a paper on some subject with which he is more or less familiar, I have thought that a brief review of the methods employed in the manufacture of iron, as witnessed by myself, and reaching back to 1838, would interest some of our older members and give our younger ones a glimpse into the trials and difficulties encountered in those early days by the pioneers in this great industry. In 1840, 12 to 20 tons of pig-iron was the make of a furnace per week—at this time from 1200 to 2000 gross tons. In 1840, 3 to 4 tons No. 4 wire rods per turn. They have lately made 176 gross tons in 11 hours. In 1840 I have not the quantity of puddled iron made; but it was

Jan 1, 1895

By D. J. Oswald, J. G. Ziegler

It is of common knowledge that loading within a grinding mill, whether ball, rod, pebble, or autogenous, is directly related to the lubrication back pressure developed between the mill journal and bearing shoe during mill operation. The merits of both forced-feed and gravitational-feed bearing lubrication methods are discussed with particular emphasis directed toward their applicability to continuous grinding mill inventory control. Data obtained from wet grinding mill applications in the cement and mining industries is presented to more clearly define the influence of such variables as feed consistency, slurry viscosity, mill retention, bearing oil temperature, grind fineness, and grinding media wear on the measured journal lubrication back pressure during automatic mill feed control. Finally, various grinding mill control schemes for maintaining constant mill loading and consequently optimizing mill operating efficiency are discussed and evaluated as to their advantages and/or disadvantages.

Jan 1, 1974

By R. V. Ramani, R. M. Mishra, Y. J. Wang

The validity of the concept of mine resistance in ventilation systems is examined. Mine resistance is the proportionality constant relating the head generated by a fan and the quantity flowing through it when the fan is connected to a mine circuit. It is the total effect of all branches in the mine ventilation circuit. Its importance lies in the fact that for new mine projections, and in the extensions of existing mines, ventilation calculations are usually based upon adjustments of the mine resistance. In ventilation circuits with regulation, and/or with multi-fans, simple adjustments of the mine resistance curve do not lead to correct solution. A ventilation system consists of several interconnected subsystems where one subsystem behavior affects that of the others, and the total system. Through a series of simple but realistic examples, the authors demonstrate the importance of the systems concept in mine ventilation, and its practical application to coal mine ventilation planning. Starting from an initial system with no leakage and one fan, more complex ventilation networks with several leakages, sections and fans, are analyzed to show that ventilation system design on the basis of total systems approach is the correct procedure.

Jan 1, 1979

By John Birkinbine

A specimen of brown hematite, taken from an iron-ore mine near Anniston, Alabama, exhibits a metallic streak or thread running throngh it. This specimen having been sent to me, I have no personal knowledge of its occurrence; but Mr. Albert E. Noble

Jan 1, 1895