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By James A. Barr

The writer's first experience with flotation was during World War I, in the bene-ficiation of Alabama graphite schist ores. One plant used a cone with a peripheral overflow; dried ore was distributed by a rotating disk onto the surface of the water. No reagents were added' The flake-graphite film floated along with some fine silica. Dewatering screens separated the flake. Naturally unit capacities were low but results were satisfactory. Minerals separation mechanical flotation machines were used in another graphite mill. pine oil was added directly to the head cells, with very good results. All the graphite concentrates from both types of flotation were carefully refined after drying by passing through burr mills, followed by very close sizing on sifters. In March 1927, the writer ran a very successful flotation test on minus 28-mesh, deslimed, Tennessee brown phosphate "sand,"† using a mechanical laboratory machine built in the shops of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., through the courtesy of Ernest Klepetko. The machine was soon converted to a subaeration type, with improved results. This phosphate research program was greatly enlarged and led to the formation of the phosphate Recovery corporation. The development of nonmetallic flotation followed rapidly. The first flotation machine for bene- ficiation of phosphate was installed in January 1928, in a pilot mill, by International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, at Mulberry, Florida. These machines were Minerals Separation, 24-in., sub-,,,tion types, with weir control of pulp between cells. The sand bleeders were very small—about 1¼-in. diameter. As the feed flake. Is to 25 per cent plus 28-mesh material, the cells choked up frequently. This was corrected by cutting a 2 by 6-in. bleeder opening above the impellers, at grid level, which short-circuited the coarse fractions directly into the feed of the next cell. The matter of size classification and grinding was a considerable problem, which does not come within the scope of this article. Because of the troubles noted above, cascade-type roughers were installed in the second flotation plant, built about 1930. Experimental cells had been tried in 1928. General plant layout is shown in Fig. 1 and details of the cascade construction in Fig. 2. The cascade installation in plant NO. 2 gave good results and eliminated troubles due to choke-ups and coarse feed. The capacities and metallurgical results equaled those of the modified 24-in. Minerals Separation flotation machines in plant No. I The objections to the cascade installation are the floor space and mill height required. In 1939 an improved Minerals Separation machine was tested in parallel with the cascades. Extensive tests indicated

Jan 1, 1947

By James A. Barr

The writer's first experience with flotation was during World War I, in the bene-ficiation of Alabama graphite schist ores. One plant used a cone with a peripheral overflow; dried ore was distributed by a rotating disk onto the surface of the water. No reagents were added' The flake-graphite film floated along with some fine silica. Dewatering screens separated the flake. Naturally unit capacities were low but results were satisfactory. Minerals separation mechanical flotation machines were used in another graphite mill. pine oil was added directly to the head cells, with very good results. All the graphite concentrates from both types of flotation were carefully refined after drying by passing through burr mills, followed by very close sizing on sifters. In March 1927, the writer ran a very successful flotation test on minus 28-mesh, deslimed, Tennessee brown phosphate "sand,"† using a mechanical laboratory machine built in the shops of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., through the courtesy of Ernest Klepetko. The machine was soon converted to a subaeration type, with improved results. This phosphate research program was greatly enlarged and led to the formation of the phosphate Recovery corporation. The development of nonmetallic flotation followed rapidly. The first flotation machine for bene- ficiation of phosphate was installed in January 1928, in a pilot mill, by International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, at Mulberry, Florida. These machines were Minerals Separation, 24-in., sub-,,,tion types, with weir control of pulp between cells. The sand bleeders were very small—about 1¼-in. diameter. As the feed flake. Is to 25 per cent plus 28-mesh material, the cells choked up frequently. This was corrected by cutting a 2 by 6-in. bleeder opening above the impellers, at grid level, which short-circuited the coarse fractions directly into the feed of the next cell. The matter of size classification and grinding was a considerable problem, which does not come within the scope of this article. Because of the troubles noted above, cascade-type roughers were installed in the second flotation plant, built about 1930. Experimental cells had been tried in 1928. General plant layout is shown in Fig. 1 and details of the cascade construction in Fig. 2. The cascade installation in plant NO. 2 gave good results and eliminated troubles due to choke-ups and coarse feed. The capacities and metallurgical results equaled those of the modified 24-in. Minerals Separation flotation machines in plant No. I The objections to the cascade installation are the floor space and mill height required. In 1939 an improved Minerals Separation machine was tested in parallel with the cascades. Extensive tests indicated

Jan 1, 1947

As already announced, the Arizona Meeting of the Institute is to be held from the 18th to the 25th of September. There will be a special train from New York City to Arizona and return, to take members and guests of the Institute to the meeting. The Committee in charge consists of Walter Douglas, Chairman, Cleveland E. Dodge, John C. Greenway, Arthur S. Dwight and Julius Kruttschnitt, Jr., and while the plans of this Committee are not complete, it may be announced that the train will be run with the requisite number of Pullman, dining and baggage cars to accommodate those who desire to go, which will accompany the party during the entire week of the Arizona Meeting as per the following program, including, of course, the visit to the Grand Canyon. As soon as details have been worked out, a circular will be issued giv¬ing full information concerning the trip.

Jan 7, 1916

By H. O. Hofman

At the Lake Superior meeting, September, 1904, Messrs. A. Gibb and R. C. Philp presented a paper entitled " The Constitution of Mattes Produced in Copper-Smelting,"' in which they concluded that ferrous and cuprous sulphides formed the chemical compound, 5 Cu2S, FeS. They arrived at this inference from the observed fact that a matte containing Cu,S, 90.4, and FcS, 9.6 per cent. (or, in round figures, Cu2S, 90, and FeS, 10 per cent.), did not contain any metallic copper, while one with more than 10 per cent. of FeS readily dissolved copper, and with less than this amount retained copper in mechanical suspension. Although they determined the melting-points of five mattes containing from 32.6 to 80.1 per cent. of copper, they did not draw a freezing-point curve, as the necessary apparatus was not available. A microscopical examination of 11 polished samples gave them a grayish-black field of very uniform appearance, except that five of the specimens showed the presence of metallic copper. The object of the present investigation was to supplement the above paper by drawing the freezing-point curve of the ferrous sulphide-cuprous sulphide series, and to see how the constitution could be further revealed by microscopical work. The results obtained lead to conclusions very different from those of Gibb and Philp. While their paper bears the date 1904, it was published only in 1906.2 In the meantime, Bolles3 had presented his paper, " The Concentration of Gold and Silver in Iron-Bottoms." The raw material which formed the basis of the research was a matte containing Fe, 61.68, and Cu, 11.20

Jan 1, 1908

By D. H. Forbes, I. B. Cadoff, H. M. Manasevit

Single-crystal silicon films have been obtained on several natural crystal faces of BeO using the thermal decomposition of silane and the hydrogen reduction of silicon tetrachloride. From an analysis of X-ray diffraction data it was determined that the following film-substrate orientation relationships exist: (111) Si 11(0001) BeO, (111) Si 11(1011) BeO, (100) Si 11f1010) BeO. and (110) Si 11(1010) BeO. An analysis of the crystallographic relationships between the film and substrate indicates that a match occurs between the silicon atoms in the film and the berylliuni ion sites in the substrate. This correspondence is in agreement with previous work on the deposition of silicon on sapphire.1-3 silicon on spinel: and tungsten on sapphire. The high resistivity, thermal conductivity, and radiation resistance of beryllium oxide make it an important substrate material for the deposition of thin films of silicon or other semiconductors. The importance of semiconductor-insulator composites to the field of integrated microelectronics has been well-documented in the case of silicon on sapphire.'-' The successful growth of large-area single-crystal silicon on an insulator, sapphire, was first reported in 1963.1,2 Since that time studies have been made of the crystallographic relationships between the deposited film and the sapphire substrate. On the basis of the observed relationships, a model has been proposed relative to the crystallographic requirements for epitaxy between the semiconductor film and the metal oxide substrate.3 It is proposed in this model that epitaxy is the result of a match between atoms of the deposited film and the metal ion sites of the substrate plane. This match is not limited to a 1 to 1 correspondence between sites in the two lattices. Sub- sequent studies of the deposition of silicon on spinel4 and tungsten on sapphire5 have yielded data which support this model. On the basis of this previous work it was felt that silicon on BeO should also fit this model. In the present study, the choice of substrate orientation was limited to the natural faces of synthetic BeO crystals. Of the faces available, the (0001) plane seemed the most favorable for epitaxial growth. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Silicon films were deposited from silane and silicon tetrachloride in the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. The hydrogen ambient gas was purified by passage either through a DEOXO unit, molecular sieves, and a liquid nitrogen cold trap, or through a heated Pd-Ag thimble. The gas was then mixed with the silicon source materiai and passed over the substrate which lies on a spacer above an inductively heated silicon pedestal. The following deposition conditions were used: a hydrogen flow rate of 3 liters per min with silane and silicon tetrachloride concentrations of 0.2 mole pct and a pedestal temperature of 1175" * 5°C as observed with an optical pyrometer assuming an emissivity of 1.0. Deposition was preceded by a 15- to 30-min hydrogen-etch period conducted at a temperature of 1275°C (obs). Adherent silicon films from 2 to 10 u were grown on the various BeO faces. The substrates were synthetically grown beryllium oxide single crystals ranging from 5 to 10 mm in

Jan 1, 1967

By C. H. Mahoney, A. L. Tarr, P. E. Le Grand

Magnesium, it is now generally realized, differs in some important aspects from most other structural metals, not excepting even its close neighbors, the aluminum-base alloys. This is particularly true with respect to the effects of elevated temperatures on the two light metals when in the molten state. Aluminum, 0' the one hand, should not be raised above its melting point any higher than is absolutely necessary if one is to avoid danger of gas absorption and a tendency toward grain growth in the resultant casting.' Magnesium alloys, in sharp contrast, actually benefit by being heated to temperatures considerably above their melting point, It is a commonly accepted practice to establish the desired fine grain in the industrial magnesium alloys of the aluminum-hearing group by raising the temperature of the melt after the refining treatment to some 250°C (482°F.) above the melting range. To recall briefly the typical practice for magnesium alloys, the molten metal is refined by fluxing at about 730°C. (I350°F.), and after the melt has been covered with a suitable flux, the temperature is raised to between 870°C. (I600°F.) and 930°C. (1700°F.). It is then cooled as quickly as possible to the casting temperature. This superheating, as it is called, results in a fine-grained cast metal structure which has superior mechanical properties, enhanced amenability to 'solution heat-treatment, and better machinability than cast metal that has not been superheated. The minimum temperature of superheating varies to some extent with the composition of the alloys to be treated and usually increases with the percentage of magnesium in alloys containing the same constituent metals.' It should be noted that the grain-refining effect of superheating is markedly apparent only in connection with the alloys containing aluminum as an alloying Constituent—the binary alloy containing 1.5 per cent manganese, for example, is not refined in grain to any noticeable extent by a superheating effort. While the phenomenon of superheating is well known in the magnesium industry, the mechanism of the process has remained a mystery During the superheating cycle something occurs that forces a fine grain upon the solidifying metal. The process has been controlled in an empirical manner, and occasionally, especially on large-scale melts, and for no apparent cause, no grain refinement is obtained from a superheating treatment. Only a few papers of importance have been published on the subject. Of these, one of the most helpful is the paper by Achenbach, Nipper and Piwowarski,3 which gives considerable data concerning the effect of superheating on various properties such as fluidity, shrinkage and hot crack

Jan 1, 1945

By E. W. Davis

IF the tonnage of merchantable iron ore remaining in the Lake Superior district is divided by the average of the annual shipments for the past 20 years, it will be found that this ore supply will be exhausted in approximately 35 years. This computed exhaustion period would be an indication of the future activities of the iron-mining industry if it were not for the fact that merchantable ore is being manufactured from low-grade ore, of which there is an almost inexhaustible supply in the Lake Superior district. It is true that at present only the simplest of these low-grade ores are being concentrated to any considerable extent, but progress is being made with the treatment of the more complex ores, and now, in addition to 20 washing plants on the Mesabi Range, three plants are equipped with jigs for the treatment of ore that cannot be concentrated simply by washing. The latest addition to the ore-treating plants of the Mesabi Range is a magnetic roasting and concentration plant at Cooley, Minn., in which ore that cannot be concentrated either by washing or by jigging is roasted to the magnetic state and concentrated on magnetic separators. This plant is beginning its third season of operation, and while it is too soon to make definite predictions, there are strong indica-tions that this new process may make commercially possible the manu-facture of high-grade, merchantable iron ore from large quantities of low-grade ore now considered worthless. After the iron oxide contained in an ore has been converted to mag-netite, almost any desired grade of concentrate can be produced, using magnetic-concentration equipment of the types now in general use for the concentration of the natural magnetites of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The conversion of hematite (Fe2O3) to magnetite (Fe3O4) is easily accomplished by heating the ore to a dull red tempera-ture in a reducing atmosphere. The reaction is slightly endothermic, and while it requires 200 B.t.u. to heat to 900° F. one pound of hematite ore containing 45 per cent Fe, it requires only 100 B.t.u. to convert the oxide into magnetite. In the laboratory, using small quantities of ore, this conversion is very simple, but large furnaces suitable for commercial

Jan 1, 1936

By W. E. Mitchell

ELECTROLYTIC, production of cadmium at the Great Falls plant started in the first part of the year 1925. Prior to that time, an experi¬mental unit had been in operation for a few months during the year . 1922. At present the plant is the largest producer of cadmium, not only in the United States but in the world. Electrolytic cadmium is characterized by its very low content of impurities. The main impurities, which are lead, copper, zinc, and iron, do not aggregate more than 0.05 per cent., leaving a cadmium content better than 99.95 per cent. The consumption of cadmium has increased rapidly since the war, with the growing use in the plating industry. Cadmium plating has come into prominence because of its connection with the automobile and radio industries. As a protective coating, a deposit of, cadmium is superior to zinc. Cadmium is also used extensively in alloys. Important among these is the alloy with copper used in telephone and trolley wire. In proportion of 0.5 to 1.2 per cent., cadmium adds materially to the strength and wearing qualities. Practically all commercial zinc concentrates contain a small amount of cadmium. In the electrolytic zinc process, the cadmium that is dissolved in the regular leaching operation is removed from solution with metallic zinc, generally added in the form of zinc dust. This precipitate also contains the copper taken into solution and the excess of zinc dust, which is required in order to insure a complete removal of all impurities. The precipitate is treated by a separate process to recover the copper, cadmium and excess zinc. In order to make the metals more soluble and to render insoluble such impurities as iron, arsenic and antimony, the precipitate is roasted. The roasting is carried out in gas-fired McDougall furnaces, with a roasting temperature of about 700° C.

Jan 1, 1930

By William E. Newman

When Hugh Lee Pattinson discovered, in 1829, that the crystals formed during the slow cooling of molten lead were poorer, and the remaining liquid richer in silver, than the original lead, an important step was made in the metallurgy of this metal. Being the first process applicable to the desilverization of low-grade lead bullion, it soon found its way into all European countries having such a product to treat, thereby effecting the saving of many ounces of silver annually which previously had been thrown away. The old hand process was expensive, as viewed from the standpoint of more modern methods; the labor was great and the tonnage was small, but on the other hand the results were fairly satisfactory. This process flourished for some time after the introduction of the cheaper Parkes process in 1852 and it is still in use in a few European smelteries. Only one notable improvement was made on the original process, that of Luce and Rozan at Marseilles, France. It consisted in the application of steam for stirring and the tapping of one-third of the liquid lead, through perforated plates covering the tap holes flush with the bottom of the kettle, thus leaving two-thirds in the form of crystals in the original kettle. This modification considerably lowered the operating costs as it permitted of much larger kettles, an increased tonnage and eliminated much of the slow, hard labor of the hand process. The Luce and Rozan process has persisted in its original form to the present day. Stephen Tredinnick, English born, spent most of his years around the Luce and Rozan plants at Marseilles and elsewhere in Europe, coming later to Eureka, Nev., in 1878, to operate the Luce and Rozan plant at that point. Mr. Tredinnick was a competent Luce and Rozan operator and being devoted to the process he firmly believed that with modifications the costs could be so lowered as eventually to supplant the Parkes process. Out of many schemes he decided that this could be accomplished by placing the Luce and Rozan kettles upon hydraulic rams so that each

Jan 1, 1918

By A. D. Zunkel, A. H. Larson

Equilibrium arsenic contents of Pb-As alloys in contact with PbO-As2O3 slags containing less than 30 mol pct As2O3, were determined at 650°, 700: and 750 C in an inert at?rzosphere. In this temperature range, the arsenic content of the alloy increased with increasing temperature in the single-phase liquid slag region and decreased with increasing temperature in the two-phase slag region and the single-phase solid-solution slag region. The PbO-As2O3 phase diagram below 22 mol pct As2O3 was determined by thertrzal analysis and by application of a log ?As2O3/?PbO vS log XAs2o3 /x3pbO plot determined from the equilibrium actiuity data. The resulting phase diagram was not well-defined since the eutectic temperature was not detected in the thermal analysis experiments, although a region of terminal solid solubility of As2O3 was found. Results from the phase diagram determination are compared with an existing diagram in the literature. THIS experimental investigation is an extension of a study by the authors1 on the slag-metal equilibria in the systems concerned with commercial lead refining processes such as softening and dross fuming. The first part of this investigation was a study of the slag-metal equilibria in the Pb-PbO-Sb2O3 system. The only experimental work previously done on the Pb-PbO-As2O3 system was by Pelzel2,3 in which the phase diagram for the PbO-As2O3 system was determined below 50 wt pct As2O3 and the equilibrium constant for the reaction 3Pb + As2O3 + 3PbO + 2As was determined as a function of temperature. No slag-metal equilibrium data have been determined. It is due to the scarcity of information regarding the Pb-PbO-As203 system that this work was undertaken. This paper describes the determination of the slag-metal equilibria in the Pb-PbO-As203 system by equilibrating Pb-As alloys with PbO-As2O3 slags in an inert atmosphere, the effect of 1 wt pct additions of bismuth and copper on the slag-metal equilibria, and the PbO-As2O3 phase diagram both by thermal analysis and the use of the slag-metal equilibria data. EXPERIMENTAL Materials. The materials used in this investigation were analytical reagent-grade and assayed as follows: 1) 99.8 pct PbO (0.014 pct insoluble in CHJCOOH, 0.02 pct not precipitated by H2S, 0.1 pct CaO, and 0.08 pct SiO2); 2) 99.95 pct As2O3; 3) 99.99 pct Pb; 4) 99.0 pct As; 5) 99.99 pct Cu; and 6) 99.97 pct Bi. Room-temperature X-ray patterns revealed no detectable impurities in any of these materials. Apparatus for Equilibrium and Thermal-Analysis Determinations. The resistance-heated crucible furnace used in this investigation employed nichrome elements and was mounted so that it could be raised to surround the reaction tube during each experiment and, subsequently, lowered. A schematic diagram of the apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. Each charge was heated in a 3+-in.-OD by 31/2-in.-high 416 stainless-steel crucible placed in a 41/4-in.-1D by 18-in.-long fused-silica reaction tube which was closed at one end. On a shoulder around the crucible was placed a 3: -in.-OD by 12-in.-long open-end fused-silica condenser tube. The open end of the reaction tube was covered by a water-cooled brass cap with ports for 1) admitting an inert atmosphere to the system through a stopcock, 2) introducing a stainless-steel, motor-driven, paddle stirrer into the crucible, 3) evacuating the system with a mechanical vacuum pump, and 4) sampling the melt with Vycor sampling tubes. The brass cap was fitted to the open end of the reaction tube with a silicone gasket and collar clamp. The furnace temperature was controlled by a Barber-Coleman Capacitrol controller and a chromel-alumel thermocouple. Due to the corrosiveness of the melt, the controlling thermocouple also served as the measuring thermocouple. The temperature of the melt was calibrated against the controller temperature and was checked periodically during each test with a Vycor-enclosed calibrated chromel-alumel thermocouple. The temperature measurement and control can be considered accurate to ±3°C. Procedure. The charge placed in the crucible for each experiment consisted of 1000 g of Pb-As alloy and 300 g of PbO-As2O3 slag. The crucible was then placed in the reaction tube, the condenser tube was placed on the shoulder of the crucible, the silicone gasket and brass cap were fitted on the open end of the reaction tube, and the entire system was evacuated and filled with argon ten times. After the last flushing, a positive argon pressure of 1 psig was impressed on the system. The furnace was then raised to sur-

Jan 1, 1968

By C. D. Hunter, I. B. Browning, Ralph Thomas

Production of oil in Kentucky during 1938 was 5,566,154 bbl., showing a substantial increase over that of the year 1937; while in the gas areas development was somewhat retarded although deliveries were similar to those of 1937. In eastern Kentucky there was an oil increase during 1938 of over 150,000 bbl. above that of 1937. No new pools were developed and the increase was almost entirely due to the installation and expansion of secondary recovery methods and to the further development of the Maxon and Big Lime, Mississippian pools in Floyd and Martin Counties. With this development eastern Kentucky reached a level near that of 12 years previous, when the development of several large producing areas had just been completed. In eastern Kentucky during 1938 not over 50 gas wells were completed. Although the pipe-line deliveries were approximately the same as during 1937, development was retarded because of an excess of gas already developed and the intensive development of the Oriskany fields in West Virginia. In western Kentucky, in the part of the Illinois Basin lying in the state and known in Kentucky as the Western Coal Basin, the increase was due to the discovery of a number of new pools, the largest and the one producing the biggest wells being known as the Birk City pool. In fact, the discovery of this pool with the McClosky "sand" (St. Genevieve limestone) as the producing formation was in a large measure responsible for the increased activity, which in turn brought the discovery of the other areas. The discovery well in this pool is the C. T. Blackwell, which came in flowing 1000 bbl. daily from the McClosky sand at a depth of 1870 ft., drilled in April 22, 1938. This discovery, coming at a time when the major companies and many others were conducting an intensive leasing campaign and making extensive subsurface and geophysical surveys in the deeper part of the basin, resulted in renewed activity over the entire area and brought much new drilling. It also brought to Kentucky for

Jan 1, 1939

By C. D. Hunter, I. B. Browning, Ralph Thomas

Production of oil in Kentucky during 1938 was 5,566,154 bbl., showing a substantial increase over that of the year 1937; while in the gas areas development was somewhat retarded although deliveries were similar to those of 1937. In eastern Kentucky there was an oil increase during 1938 of over 150,000 bbl. above that of 1937. No new pools were developed and the increase was almost entirely due to the installation and expansion of secondary recovery methods and to the further development of the Maxon and Big Lime, Mississippian pools in Floyd and Martin Counties. With this development eastern Kentucky reached a level near that of 12 years previous, when the development of several large producing areas had just been completed. In eastern Kentucky during 1938 not over 50 gas wells were completed. Although the pipe-line deliveries were approximately the same as during 1937, development was retarded because of an excess of gas already developed and the intensive development of the Oriskany fields in West Virginia. In western Kentucky, in the part of the Illinois Basin lying in the state and known in Kentucky as the Western Coal Basin, the increase was due to the discovery of a number of new pools, the largest and the one producing the biggest wells being known as the Birk City pool. In fact, the discovery of this pool with the McClosky "sand" (St. Genevieve limestone) as the producing formation was in a large measure responsible for the increased activity, which in turn brought the discovery of the other areas. The discovery well in this pool is the C. T. Blackwell, which came in flowing 1000 bbl. daily from the McClosky sand at a depth of 1870 ft., drilled in April 22, 1938. This discovery, coming at a time when the major companies and many others were conducting an intensive leasing campaign and making extensive subsurface and geophysical surveys in the deeper part of the basin, resulted in renewed activity over the entire area and brought much new drilling. It also brought to Kentucky for

Jan 1, 1939

As already announced, the Arizona Meeting of the Institute is to be held from the 18th to the "25th of September. There will be a special train from New York City to Arizona and return, to take members and guests of the Institute to the meeting., The Committee in charge consists of Walter Douglas, Chairman, Cleveland E. Dodge, John C. Greenway, Arthur S. Dwight and Julius Kruttschnitt, Jr., and while the plans of this Committee are not complete, it may he announced that 'the train will be run with the requisite number of Pullman, dining and baggage cars to accommodate those who desire to go, which will accompany the party during the entire week of the Arizona Meeting as per the following program, including, of course, the visit to the Grand Canyon. It is especially desirable that the Committee should know, at as early a date as possible, the number of those who desire to make the trip; and those who desire special accommodations such as drawing rooms, state rooms, etc., are especially requested to communicate as soon as possible with the Secretary of the Institute, stating the number in their party.

Jan 6, 1916

By M. E. Wadsworth

The region about the south shore of Lake Superior is to geologists one of the most interesting districts of the United States, embracing as it does, in a limited area, old crystalline rocks, together with forms that are almost in their original condition of a beach sand and mud. In this region was first established the base of the geological column, the Azoic (" without life") System of Foster and Whitney, or the Archæan (" the beginning ") of Dana. Overlying this system are found the sandstones and limestones of the Paleozoic (" ancient life "), and their associated lava-flows (Algonkian ?). These systems possess a strong economic interest, owing to the stores of iron in the Azoic and of copper in the Paleozoic or Eozoic of this district, which forms one of the most important mining regions in America. The geology of this section is so difficult and complicated that, in its general discussion, perhaps no proposition can be stated concerning any portion of it to which exceptions cannot be taken. Indeed, out of the general discussion of different points comes in time the truth, and various geologists, even now, are working over this region in the endeavor to arrive at some consensus, or at least to determine upon what points they can agree, and upon what points difference of opinion will have to exist between them at present, until further evidence can be obtained. The writer will endeavor to give in a brief form that which appears to him at present to be the most correct statement of the geological structure of the region, admitting that from time to time, as more complete evidence shall be obtained, he expects to change his views in the future, as he has done in the past, if that evidence shall cause him to believe that he has been mistaken.

Jan 1, 1898

By E. B. Swanson

Crude oil production in Iraq during 1932 was maintained at slightly higher levels than in 1931, but the output continued to be restricted to the requirements of local consumers. The Iraq Petroleum Co., representing British, American and French interests, which has been operating within its concession east of the Tigris River since 1926, began drilling operations on Apr. 5, 1927, and completed its first well at Baba Gurgur on Oct. 14, 1927, to which area the company has since confined its drilling activities. Relatively small quantities of oil have been produced annually, but the products have been utilized in company operations and have not been offered on the Iraq market. The Khanaqin Oil Co., which has its field of operation at Naft Khana in the so-called Transferred Territories, has been supplying the Iraq market with petroleum products from Iraq wells since March 12, 1927. The output of the Khanaqin Oil Co. refinery, at Alwand, during the past three fiscal years ending March 31, has been as follows: (In Barrels of 42 Gallons Each) 1930 1931 11931 Gasoline................................. 102,940 104,571 118,012 Kerosene................................ 104,010 108,112 111,624 Fuel oil...........................1 286,9001 332,142 354,244 503,850 544,825 583,880 The Iraq Petroleum Co. has a small topping plant, with a capacity of about 150 bbl. a day, used in the manufacture of petroleum products for the company's own needs. During the 1932 fiscal year, the production was 3918 bbl. of gasoline and 2235 bbl. of kerosene, as compared with 8157 bbl. of gasoline and 6308 bbl. of kerosene during the preceding fiscal year.

Jan 1, 1933

By Joseph E. Pogue

Proration in the petroleum industry has come to mean a method for curtailing the production of crude petroleum by artificial effort, and it is in this sense that the term is employed throughout this paper. Although a contrived curb on supply has been invoked at various times in the past in particular fields and to meet specific situations, it is not until the past few years that this procedure has become general and assumed a dominant role in the oil business. In the sense that we now understand it, proration had its inception in the Seminole area of Oklahoma in 1927, from which time and place the practice spread to include practically all the flush oil fields of the country, especially those of California, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. At present there is perhaps no phase of the oil business that commands more attention than proration, nor one that engages more time and effort on the part of executives in the business. The practice of proration, indeed, has not only become an integral part of the policy of most companies and operators, but it has also taken on the aspects of a "movement" involving two schools of thought with considerable feeling, and at times some bitterness, on both sides. In this atmosphere it is difficult to find calm, dispassionate consideration of proration, for most discussions are either vigorous exhortations by its proponents, or else sharp condemnations by its opponents; although it appears that the majority of the industry is clearly "in favor of" proration. It is hoped that this analysis will be taken as an attempt to appraise the movement as an economic force, without bias and without regard to the incidence of the conclusions upon any preconceptions that the industry may entertain. Evolution of Proration To appreciate the causes that brought proration into being, it is necessary to view briefly the development of the petroleum industry over the past twenty years, approximately the span of the gasoline era., For the first ten years of the period, the industry was seeking capital

Jan 1, 1932

By Stanley D. Michaelson

THE selection of the proper size of grinding mill for a given installation has long been a subject of discussion by mill manufacturers, consulting engineers, and their clients. It would be presumptuous for the author to propose a simple cure-all. Instead this paper describes a method that has been used over a period of years to determine mill size with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Furthermore, this method claims no theoretical background, for ball milling, as practiced today, is still an art. The selection of the proper size and type of mill must, therefore, be made on an empirical basis. A ball mill, in order to grind, must deliver power through its grinding media to the material to be ground. Assuming that a mill is properly supplied with grinding media, ore pulp, and power, the amount of grinding done is closely proportional to the power expended. With this as a basic premise we can, for the moment, forget about type of mill (i.e., overflow, low-level mill, or other design) and base our calculation of mill size on the total power required to grind a ton of a particular ore from a given size of feed to a given size of product. When this is determined the type and size of mill, its speed, and the weight of the load of grinding media can be selected to absorb this amount of power. DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUE Some years ago, W. L. Maxson, F. Cadena, and F. C. Bond, working in the Minerals Research Laboratory of Allis-Chalmers Co., Milwaukee, developed and described a laboratory technique for comparing grindability (or relative ease of grinding) of various ores at different mesh sizes of grind.1 Additional papers2 have described the work done since that time, and the most recent paper3 summarizes results for hundreds of tests on many ores and materials. The essentials of the testing method are: a I a by 12-in. laboratory mill operating at a constant speed of rotation, using a constant volume of ore, and a constant ball load having a relatively constant grinding surface. Tests are run at 250 per cent circulating load with the feed, circulating load and products screened on calibrated Tyler standard screens. Certain ores from operating mills, representing various mineralogical types, were selected for reference and designated "standard ores." In most cases, detailed studies of the grinding circuits were made when samples of mill feed were taken for grindability tests. Each analysis formed a basis for comparison of the grindability in the laboratory with actual power requirements for a particular grinding circuit. In addition, a critical study was made, to evaluate the differences in the various grinding circuits so that two or more field installations having different layouts (single-stage grinding, two-stage grinding, or others), and using mills of various diameters operating at various speeds with differing circulating loads, etc., could be compared. Large-scale tests by mill operators complemented by laboratory investiga-

Jan 1, 1945

By Charles White Merrill

Mankind's progress is measured in minerals. Man's emergence from prehistory is marked by passage through a Stone Age and a Bronze Age and into the present era, sometimes called the Iron Age or the Age of Metals. With the evolution of civilization and the development of a modem industrial economy, minerals become more and more important. Structures, roads, and machines are built largely of minerals; the energy to heat the structures and to drive the machines is mostly mineral; agricultural fertility is maintained by mineral fertilizers and water; and military strength is provided by fortresses, armaments, and munitions, largely of mineral origin. Thus in the material world, in the productivity of the economy, access to minerals has paramount importance. Every evidence indicates increasing dependence on minerals in the modem economy, particularly on the mineral fuels as energy sources to provide the power base for advancing industrialization. Both the total and the per capita consumption of almost every mineral is increasing in the industrialized nations. Moreover, nations with predominantly agrarian economies call themselves underdeveloped and universally strive to industrialize. Most mineral consumption trends in the more advanced economies have been greatly exceeding population growth-which itself has been advancing at an accelerating rate-and sometimes have surpassed the growth in real income. Some minerals have only recently been adopted or grown to importance in use. Titanium metal did not appear as a commercial product until 1948, and even coal seriously displaced wood as a source of heat less than two centuries ago. On the other hand, minerals have always played an important role in construction. The prehistoric megaliths that form the dolmens of Salisbury Plain are stone; the pyramids are andesite faced with limestone; and many other ancient structures are built of mineral materials. In modem times the whole course of architecture has been redirected by new building materials, mostly mineral. Most conspicuous is the sky-

Jan 1, 1964

Engineers who are in charge of industrial operations, and their number is legion, sense as much as anyone the present feeling of unrest in the' country and more than anyone else realize the present inefficiency of labor. Undoubtedly the two phenomena are closely correlated and no doubt are due to a multitude of causes which it will be impossible to enumerate. From my experience in mining I estimate that the present efficiency of labor is only about two-thirds of what it was under pre-war conditions. In the mining industry, at least, we have not a large surplus of men looking for work and usually under these conditions men are rather more independent and will not work as efficiently and faithfully as if they felt there were plenty of men ready to take their places. Wages in metal mining have advanced more than the increased cost of normal and sane living. The result is that the men often work fewer days in a month and do not seem to have very much interest in their work while actually engaged in it. Then again, they have been listening to the more or less vague propaganda of the I. W. W. and the radical wing of the socialists, who are harping on the fact that the distribution of newly created wealth is unfair and that the laborer really is not working for himself or his fellow laborers but is carrying on his exertions for the benefit of a small and lim-ited class of exploiters. A continued harping on this view is bound to influence the judgment of even a conservative workman who is not a student of economics and who hears little or nothing upon the other side. I am a great believer in the common sense of the American people and in the long run I do not think that they will be carried away by unsafe doctrines. The trouble with so many of these propagandists of industrial in-equality is that they do not differentiate between production and dis-tribution. Even if we admit that distribution is unfair, unless goods are produced there will be nothing to distribute. A great many unthinking people seem to feel that wages are paid out of a pot which is inexhaustible and do not realize that eventually what comes out of the pot can never exceed what is put into it. The workman is not paid in money but is paid in goods, money as we all know being used simply as a measure of value and a medium of exchange, and that all that can be used to pay the laborer is what he produces.

Jan 11, 1919

By H. E. Stauss, G. Sandoz

THE purpose of this note is to draw attention to the possibility that a melt may be contaminated by a material not in direct contact with it by means of gaseous intermediate agents. In recent years silicon has assumed a position of importance because of its use in rectifiers and transistors and close attention has been required to control of both purification and contamination during all stages of preparation.' This note reports the observation that a graphite heater may have contaminated silicon ingots without direct physical contact through reactions that developed gaseous products. Several ingots made with the equipment of Hino and Stauss,2 using a graphite heater in a dried helium atmosphere, were found to have a small amount of a very hard substance on the free surface. X-ray analysis by F. W. von Batchelder showed the sub- stance to be Sic. Similar contamination was not found when the heater was tantalum, indicating that the carbon had not come from an original impurity in the silicon powder. One source of the carbon could have been volatile matter released from the graphite heater. This heater had been used about ten times at the time of the observations. A second source of carbon could have been a direct reaction between the quartz crucible and the graphite heater to form CO, or an indirect reaction involving a crucible-melt interaction and volatile SiO as an intermediate product. Such reactions should have developed Sic on the heater; and in fact a yellow powder did form on the inside of the graphite heater although its composition could not be determined. References 'H. C. Torrey and C. A. Whitmer: Crystal Rectifiers (1948) Chapter 10. New York. McGraw-Hill Book Co. 2 J. Hino and H. E. Stauss: Trans. AIME (1952) 194, p. 656; Journal of Metals (June 1952).

Jan 1, 1954