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By ARTHUR S. DWIGH

Discussion of the paper of W. W. NORTON, presented at the Salt Lake meeting, August, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 92, August., 1914, pp. 1993 to 1999. ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, New York, N. Y.-Mr. Norton's chief argument is directed against the idea that the D. & L. sinter is any better material for the blast furnace than the H. & H. product. He supports this by citing two experimental furnace runs. Reducibility.-To discuss a furnace record like that quoted by Mr. Norton for the five days' run in August, 1912, is manifestly difficult for an outsider, but a possible explanation for the poor reduction on Furnace No. 5, smelting D. & L. sinter, may lie in the fact that both sets of furnaces carried the same fuel charges. Other things being equal, if 11 ½ per cent. coke was right for the furnaces smelting H. & H. product, it Was too much for the furnace smelting D. & L. product, as I shall endeavor to show later, and incipient overfire, accompanied by higher leads in slag and matte, was induced. It may sound like a paradox to say that excessive fuel sometimes produces poor reduction, but it is a sad fact. In certain plants where practically the entire charge to the blast furnaces receives a preliminary treatment by being sintered on the D. & L. machines the peculiarities of this problem have had to be very carefully studied, for serious metallurgical difficulties presented themselves when the change was first made to D. & L. sinter in large quantities. Some of these plants had blast pots before they had D. & L. machines, and many opportunities were afforded for comparative study of this very point. There is reason to believe that, clue to the long period of blowing and the higher temperatures developed in the pots from greater mass action, the iron in the H. & H. product is present chiefly as Fe203, perhaps in the form of ferrites, while in the D. & L. product the iron is present as FeO. The fuel charge in the blast furnace must be so proportioned as to exactly meet the chemical and thermic requirements of reduction and melting. If ally of these functions have been performed before the material enters the furnace, a corresponding allowance should be made or the fuel balance will be disturbed and bad work will result. One of the functions of the coke is to reduce enough metallic Fe for the matte requirements, leaving the remainder of the iron as FeO to go into the slag. In smelting almost any other material than D. & L. sinter the iron must-be reduced from the higher oxides, Fe203 or Fe304, to the protoxide, FeO, before a true comparative basis is reached. Experience has shown that with about one-half D. & L. sinter on the charge the coke should-be cut about 10 per cent. This theoretical benefit is borne out by the practical blast-furnace results on a large scale in numerous plants. In fact, wherever this very important factor is ignored the evil symptoms of excessive fuel will be indicated,

Jan 11, 1914

By H. Ries

THE term "clay" is applied usually to certain earthy rocks whose most prominent property is that of plasticity when wet. This permits them to be molded into almost any shape, which they retain when dry. Furthermore, they harden under fire. Clays contain hydrous aluminum silicates-the clay minerals-in appreciable amounts, but aside from this a number of other mineral grains, particularly quartz, may be present. Texturally clays are fine grained, and the so-called true clay particles are usually under 2µ in diameter. MINERALS IN CLAY Certain hydrous aluminum silicates that predominate in many clays are known as the clay minerals"." and are grouped by Kerr41 as follows: [ ] The kaolin group has been found to consist of a number of minerals with the same chemical composition but different crystalline structures .83 Kaolinite is commonly formed by the weathering of other mineral particles, particularly feldspar, but some deposits, like those in Cornwall, England,36 and others in the Washington-Idaho district, are thought by some to be of hydrothermal origin. Dickite and nacrite are thought to be due usually to waters of

Jan 1, 1949

By G. L. F. Powell, L. M. Hogan

Large degrees of undercooling have been produced in bulk samples, 400 g, of copper and Cu-O alloys by melting in a slag of commercial soda-lime glass. The maximum degrees of undercooling obtained for copper, hypoeutectic and hypereutectic Cu-O alloy samples were 208°, 218°, and 97°C, respectively. No grain refinement as a function of undercooling was observed for the pure copper samples although in Cu-O alloys there was a marked decrease in grain size at degrees of undercooling greater than 150°C. The grain size change is the result of recrystallization during or immediately following the freezing process. THE first report of a large degree of undercooling in a bulk sample of metal was that by Bardenheuer and Bleckmann1 who produced 258°C undercooling in a 150-g sample of iron by melting in a glass slag. Garbeck2 extended this technique to nickel, cobalt, and copper and reported maximum undercoolings of 220°, 230°, and 60°C, respectively, while Fehling and schei13 undercooled a large number of metals as 2 to 20-g samples slagged in glass. Subsequently, one of the authors4 applied the glass slag technique to bulk samples, -500 g, of silver and obtained a maximum undercooling of 250°C. It was concluded that impurities which normally catalyze nucleation at small degrees of undercooling could be removed by oxidation and solution in a glass slag. Large undercooling of bulk samples of iron, nickel, cobalt, and their alloys has also been reported by other authors.8'10'11 Of the five metals mentioned above, copper was the only one which had not been undercooled by at least 200°C in the form of a large bulk sample. Since copper exhibits high liquid solubility for oxygen, as do iron, nickel, cobalt, and silver, it was considered that a much larger degree of undercooling than that observed by Garbeck for copper should be possible. This was obtained by modification of the technique applied previously to silver and the results of undercooling experiments with 400-g samples of copper form part of this paper. The undercooling behavior of Cu-O alloys was also studied, and the influence of a small oxygen content on the grain structure of undercooled copper was observed metallographically. 1) EXPERIMENTAL The copper was obtained as oxygen-free high-conductivity copper, the major impurities of which were Fe 0.01 pct, Zn 0.015 pct, and Si 0.02 pct. Melting was carried out in an open-ended vertical cylindrical fur- nace wound with Kanthal wire. A schematic diagram of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 1. The undercooling technique previously used for silver4 involved preoxidation of the samples by melting the silver in contact with the atmosphere. The oxygen content was subsequently reduced by freezing the samples under a glass slag, whereby the oxygen was evolved as gas and the continuous glass cover over the surface prevented re-solution of oxygen when the sample was remelted. Since oxygen is not released as gas when a Cu-O alloy is frozen. the technique had to be modified for use with copper. Also, copper is oxidized during fire refining so that an in situ preoxidation treatment of the samples was not considered to be a prerequisite to large undercooling. Experimentation proved that this supposition was correct. Instead, it was found that care was necessary during melting of the copper under glass to minimize oxygen pickup. Samples of copper weighing 400 g were prepared by adding 50-g pieces of copper to a vitreous silica crucible partly filled with soda lime glass at a temperature of approximately 1000°C. Each piece was quickly immersed in the glass slag and held at this temperature until the oxide coating on the surface decomposed. This change was easily observed and coincided with the formation of gas bubbles in the glass

Jan 1, 1969

By Dirk A. Benham, William A. Warfield

INTRODUCTION Whenever a mine operator is faced with a decision between various mining methods or even equipment selection, he must be assured that his decision will have a positive effect on his economic operating goals. For instance, if a mine operator has a choice of using an LHD mining system or a slusher mining system, then his decision to use either must not only fit within the operational limitations of the mining plan (such as production requirements, physical features of the ore body, mine plant facilities, manpower requirements, etc.), but also assure that the ore is being extracted at the least possible cost. To aid in his decision making process, the operator will commonly compare acquisition costs, operating costs, maintenance costs, and the operational advantages and disadvantages of each system in addition to considering his personal observations and feelings. A decision to select a mining system using only those criteria aforementioned will not necessarily lead the operator down the path to maximizing profits. In addition, the operator should also compare the economic effects of each system upon the overall mining operation. A relatively simple method for determining the economic effects is to calculate and compare the break-even grades for each system under consideration. By implementing such an analysis, the operator can now select a mining system which can operate within the limits of the mining plan as well as extract the ores at the least possible cost, thus yielding maximum profits. This paper will present the geologic and physical conditions of a mine being operated by the Hypothetical Mining Company in the Grants Mineral District. An LHD and Blusher mining system are under consideration and are compared by examining operating costs, equipment availability, and the conventional operational advantages and disadvantages of each. Finally, the economic effects of each system upon the overall mine's operation are compared by utilizing break-even grade analysis. DESCRIPTION AND MINING METHODS The Hypothetical Mining Company has located an ore body in the Grants Mineral District. After extensive surface exploration drilling and cost considerations are evaluated, it is decided to open a mine. The following tasks must now be performed: 1. outline ore body and it's basic characteristics, 2. look at mining methods currently in use in the area, and 3. determine mining techniques and methods for exploitation of the ore body. For the sake of argument, the newly discovered ore body is located towards the western edge of the Grants Mineral Belt. The host rock for uranium mineralization is the Westwater Member of the Morrison Formation. The Westwater Canyon sands are overlain by the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation and underlain by the Recapture Member, all of Jurassic Age. Westwater Canyon sandstone is a fine to very course grained subarkosic sand with interbedded green and red mudstone. The Brushy Basin Member consists predominantly of greenish-gray mudstones and contains thin lenses of sandstone and a few thin beds of limestone. The Recapture Member consists of alternating thin beds of reddish brown, grayish red, and light gray sandstone and siltstone. The Recapture interfingers with the Cowsprings Sandstone in the area of the mine. The mineralization is based on the groundwater flow within the Morrison Formation. Primary ore distribution is based on three basic parameters: ore migration in a geochemical cell, lenticular mudstone interbedding, and enrichment along fault zones. In areas where two fault systems intersect, ore thicknesses of up to 30 m (100 ft.) are encountered. In those areas where the ore is well defined and thicknesses facilitate full face mining, the mining methods are determined more by ground or operating conditions, equipment availability, and access to working areas than they are in the fringe areas of the ore body where grade control is more important and split-shooting and break-even grade determines the mining technique. If a modified room-and-pillar mining method using systematic development is selected, better control of the ventilation, equipment utilization, and mining plan can be obtained. Figure I shows a typical mining area where the ore is thick,

Jan 1, 1982

By D. N. Collins, J. R. Stevens

New expressions in the technical assessment of mineral concentration processes have been defined as Concentration Efficiency: Concentration Index: where h is the percentage of head grade; c, percentage of concentrate grade; maximum percentage of concentrate grade obtainable at 100 pct recovery; and R, percentage of recovery. In developing these expressions, the basic requirements for the technical assessment of concentration operations have been defined and the various expressions suggested by others for asses-sing the results of such operations reviewed and criticized. The derived expression for E, depends on a simple combination of recovery (R) and a new term selectivity (s), where S is (c-h)/(c,,, -h), by definition. Limitations of the new expressions are discussed and examples given of applications to concentration operations. It is also shown that the formulae for E, and I, can be applied to scatter diagrams, multi-component systems, size-assay analyses, and classification data. Many methods of quantifying concentrating operations have been proposed. These include direct presentation of weights and assays together with the derived data for other items such as ratio of concentration, recovery, rejection losses, and enrichment ratio. These terms are now accepted mineral dressing nomenclature, and in the assessment of the results of concentration processes, concentrate grade and recovery are together the most widely accepted measures of concentration efficiency. For practical purposes when the concentrate grade is equal to or greater than a predetermined acceptable value, test or operation results may be assessed by the recovery figures alone. Similarly when recovery is within specification, the operation can be assessed by concentrate grade. The ultimate assessment and selection of a concentration operation is—admittedly with a few ex-ceptions—a matter of economics. There is however an intermediate stage in laboratory and pilot plant testing when evaluations must be made without the assistance of an economic yardstick. Numerous techniques are employed to facilitate such evaluations among which may be mentioned graphical plots of grade vs recovery, cumulative weight vs cumulative recovery, scatter diagrams, etc. The desirability of combining metallurgical results and product weights and assays into a single value has been recognized and discussed by many workers1-" with the resultant suggestion and use of such terms as Metallurgical Efficiency ,' Summation Index,' Selectivity Index,'- and Absolute Efficiency B None of these expressions completely satisfies all the requirements of a selectivity or efficiency formula and it is proposed in this report to define the terms, relating to the technical efficiency of a concentrating operation, concentration index and concentration efficiency. Examples are given of their application and a comparison is made of their use in relation to other formulae. All product grades in this paper will be referred to in terms of mineral percentages and a list of symbols is given in Table I. CONSIDERATION OF EXISTING FORMULAE A number of the existing efficiency and index terms used in quantifying concentrating operations are considered below. Metallurgical Efficiency:

Jan 1, 1961

By R. Kossowsky, W. C. Johnston

CONSIDERABLE experimental data has been published in recent years on a few directionally solidified aluminum base eutectic alloys. The mechanical properties of A1-Al3Ni eutectic have been studied by Lemkey, Hertzberg, and Ford1',2 and Salkind et a1.3 where the alloy has been demonstrated to behave as a whisker reinforced composite with superior properties over many aluminum alloys. It has also been shown4 that aluminum reinforced with Al3Ni whiskers R. KOSSOWSKY, Member AIME, is Senior Metallurgist, Westing-house Research Laboratories, Pittsburgh, Pa. W. C. JOHNSTON, formerly with Westinghouse Research Laboratories, is Head, Department of Physics, George Mason College, University of Virginia, Fairfax, Va. Manuscript submitted March 28. 1969. IMD__________________ possesses excellent microstructural stability to 508°C. The effect of lamellar structure in A1-CuA12 eutectic was compared3 to the rod-like structure in the A1-Al3Ni eutectic, and was found to be better in low cycle fatigue. This was rationalized3 by postulating that a lamellar reinforcement was more efficient at blocking lateral plastic flow than a rod-like rein-forcement. The purpose of this study is to explore eutectic strengthening in other aluminum base alloys. The Al-Pd system5 forms a eutectic with aluminum and the intermetallic compound A13Pd at 25 wt pct Pd, and has a melting point of 615°C. A13Pd has an orthorhom-bic structure and transforms to hexagonal Pd2A13 at 785°C. Growth characteristics, compression yield strength, creep rupture, and microstructural stability of directionally solidified and as-cast alloys are investigated. Eutectic ingots having a nominal composition of 25 wt pct Pd were prepared by first compacting 1/2 in. diam by a in. high pellets from 99.99+ pct A1 and 99.99 pct Pd powders. The pellets were then levitation cast into 1/4 in. diam by 2 in. long copper molds. Directionally solidified bars were prepared by grinding the cast ingots to 0.195 in. diam, inserting them into alumina

Jan 1, 1970

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

SINCE the Sixth Book has described the iron tools, the vessels and the machines used in mink, this Book will describe the methods of assaying1 ores; because it is desirable to first test them in order that the material mined may be advantageously smelted, or that the dross may be purged away and the metal made pure. Although writers have mentioned such tests, yet none of them have set down the directions for performing them, wherefore it is no wonder that those who come later have written nothing on the subject. By tests of this kind miners can determine with certainty whether ores contain any metal in them or not ; or if it has already been indicated that the ore contains one or more metals, the tests show whether it is much or little ; the miners also ascertain by such tests the method by which the metal can be separated from that part of the ore devoid of it ; and further, by these tests, they determine that part in which there is much metal from that part in which there is little. Unless these tests have been carefully applied before the metals are melted out, the ore cannot be smelted without great loss to the owners, for the parts which do not easily melt in the fire carry the metals off with them or consume them. In the last case, they pass off with the fumes ; in the other case they are mixed with the slag and furnace accretions, and in such event the owners lose the labour which they have spent in preparing the furnaces and the crucibles, and further, it is necessary for them to incur fresh expenditure for fluxes and other things. Metals, when they have been melted out, are usually assayed in order that we may ascertain what pro- portion of silver is in a centumpondium of copper or lead, or what quantity of gold is in one libra of silver ; and, on the other hand, what proportion of copper or lead is contained in a centumpondium of silver, or what quantity of silver is contained in one libra of gold. And from this we can calculate whether it will be worth while to separate the precious metals from the base metals, or not. Further, a test of this kind shows whether coins are good or are debased ; and readily detects silver, if the coiners have mixed more than is lawful with the gold ; or copper, if the coiners have alloyed with the gold or silver more of it than is allowable. I will explain all these methods with the utmost care that I can.

Jan 1, 1950

By H. M. Manasevit, R. L. Nolder, L. A. Moudy

The observation that silicon-on-sapphire crystallo-graphic relationships exist which are unrelated to one another implies that there are regions of sapphire orientations containing these relationships which are separated by boundaries. The presence of these boundaries is demonstrated, initially on rounded cylindrical surfaces md more definitively on flat sapphire substrates with orientations along primary crystallograPhic zones. By means of reflection electron and X-ray diffraction techniques the crystallographic relationships have been studied. Two new relationships have been found, viz., (111) Si (1014) sapphire and (001)Si (1012) sapphire. Also found were multicrystalline relationships. The approximated boundaries between the crystallographic regions for each relationship are shown by means of a stereo-graphic projection. These studies also clarify discrepancies in the literature concerning the silicon-sapphire relationships on the (1120) sapphire substrate. SINCE the first report of the deposition of single-crystal silicon on sapphire in 1963' this epitaxial system has been the object of study by many semiconductor laboratories. In particular, there has been strong interest in the crystallographic relationships between the two materials. In 19652,3 we demonstrated that at least four distinct modes of orientation relationships can occur, namely, (100)Si (0112) sapphire, (111)Si 11 (1124) sapphire, (111)Si (1120) sapphire, and (111)Si (0001) sapphire. Each relationship could be obtained when the substrate plane was at the particular orientation indicated. Other workers as well as our laboratory concurred in general with the initial results. However, two discrepancies were observed. First it was observed by Joyce et a1.4 that on a (1120) substrate a (110) silicon deposit could be obtained. This was actually consistent with the (111)Si (1124) sapphire mode. Second, two other laboratories,5,6 as well as our own,7 have found a deposition on the basal plane which is different than our initial findings. Even though a (111)Si deposit was obtained, the crystallographic relationships were not identical to those previously found. Subsequent work in our laboratories has confirmed that the form found in these later investigations of the basal plane is by far the more predominant, and the original finding was an anomaly. The relationships which have been previously estab1.ished are summarized in Table I. It is seen that at present a rather small number of possible substrate orientations has been investigated. Therefore, it seemed appropriate that a systematic investigation of silicon epitaxy on various sapphire substrate orientations would be of value. It was expected that the answers to three questions could be obtained from such an investigation. These are as follows: 1) Since we know of at least four distinct modes of orientation relationships, over what range of substrate orientation do these modes occur and what is the form of the boundary expected between the different regions in which each mode occurs? 2) Are there other modes which occur on substrate orientations not previously investigated? 3) What is the explanation for the discrepancy between our laboratory's findings and those results reported by Joyce et al.4 concerning the relationships occurring on (1120) substrates? APPROACHES AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Two different approaches were used. Initially, depositions were carried out on rounded cylindrical surfaces which lay perpendicular to the (0112) plane.* By this means the presence of boundaries and their approximate positions could be determined. Finally and more definitively, depositions on flat sapphire substrates with a variety of orientations, mostly along primary crystallographic zones and about the (1120) plane, were studied by means of reflection electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction (using back-reflection Laue patterns and full circle goniometer techniques) in order to determine crystallographic relationships. The sapphire orientations investigated by these means

Jan 1, 1969

By S. Arthur Krom

ThE James diagonal-plane slimer is specially adapted to handle the finest slimes, but it will also handle sands as coarse as 40-mesh. The saving efficiency of this machine is due to the original construction ,of the deck, and to the rapid reciprocating movement imparted to it by the head-motion. The deck consists of a plurality of connected planes, having a certain fixed ratio of inclination one to another. These planes intersect each other diagonally to the stroke-line of the table and are arranged so as to give the pulp on the table a double treatment. This double concentration performed by the diagonal-plane deck produces cleaner concentrates and tailings than those obtained by the operation of two separate machines. The action of the diagonal planes settles, combines, and holds all the concentrates in one compact mass, sharply defined from the gangue, and easily cut away without loss. Many slime-concentrating machines distribute the feed-pulp for a distance of 4 or 5 ft. only, and upon a very limited settling-surface. This results in a thick, heavy deposit, from which it is impossible to stratify the values and wash away the gangue, the resulting products being dirty concentrates, and tailings carrying high values. The diagonal-plane slimer distributes the feed-pulp for a distance of 10 ft., and upon a settling-surface having an area of 40 sq. ft.; in other words, it spreads the pulp thinly on the table, which allows the metallic values to settle through the gangue quickly, forming a bottom stratum from which the thinly-distributed overlying stratum of gangue is easily brushed away by the feed-water without disturbing the underlying concentrates. Referring to Fig. 1, plane A is the main settling-section of the table. The feed pulp flows gently down this plane and is

Jan 1, 1913

By C. A. Lemke

THE ores now milled at the Midvale concentrator of the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. come mostly from ;the company's mine in the Bingham district, about 18 miles west of Midvale. Custom ores from this same district and from other western mining districts are also milled at times. The Bingham ores consist of galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite in a gangue of quartz, quartzite, limestone, and porphyry. The percentage of chalcopyrite is small, usually about 0.5 per cent., while the galena, pyrite, and sphalerite combined constitute about 60 per cent. of the total ore. These three minerals vary considerably' in amount and, at times, all three are somewhat oxidized. The ores also contain gold and silver, the former being mostly in the pyrite while the latter is generally with the galena. The crystallization of the economic minerals varies from fairly coarse to extremely fine. The ores are carried to Midvale by the Bingham & Garfield and the Los Angeles & Salt Lake railroads or by the Denver h Rio Grande Western railroad, in 50-ton, steel, full dump cars. The milling problem is to recover the silver-bearing galena, the gold-bearing pyrite, and the chalcopyrite in a product suitable for the lead smelter and containing the least possible amount of gangue and sphalerite and then recover the sphalerite in a product suitable for a zinc smelter. The minerals are recovered partly by water concentration and partly by water concentration combined with electrostatic treatment.

Jan 9, 1925

By N. L. Britton

About two years ago Dr. Newberry referred to me for study a considerable collection of fossil plants sent him by Dr. Arthur F. Wendt, engineer of the silver mines " El Cerro Rico de Potosi" in Bolivia. As I had been interested in working up the extensive accumulations of existing plants made by Dr. H. H. Rusby in the Bolivian Andes further north, and in assisting Dr. Rusby in the study of those now being collected by Mr. Miguel Bang in other parts of that country, I was glad of an opportunity of ascertaining something of the Tertiary flora of the region. I was unable to take up the subject at that time, but have since been able to conclude the investigation, and the results are here presented. At a time when the mineral resources of the Southern States are attracting such widespread interest and attention, I have thought it appropriate to give a short general description of the iron-ore deposits of a territory concerning which little is as yet known and nothing published, so far as I am aware. The data used here are due to the preliminary examinations of the North Carolina Geological Survey, on which work I was engaged during the past summer, and my acknowledgments are due to Prof. J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, and Messrs. Harris, Ashe, and Lewis, of the survey, for their co-operation in the work; also to Messrs. A. S. McCreath and C. B. White for analyses which they Kindly furnished. Other analyses were made by Mr. Charles Baskerville, assistant chemist to the survey, and this may be understood where the name of the chemist is not mentioned. All samples for analysis were dried at 212' F. The accompanying map has been prepared from the revised sheets of the United States Geological Survey by Mr. H. L. Harris, and will be referred to throughout this paper. Ashe county lies in the extreme northwestern part of North Carolina, bordering on Tennessee and Virginia; it is drained principally by the north and south forks of New river and their tributaries, and is therefore on the eastern edge of the great Mississippi drainagebasin. The country is exceedingly rugged and mountainous, having an average elevation of about 2900 feet above sea-level. Jefferson, the county seat, near the center of the county, is 45 miles nearly due south from the Norfolk and Western R.R. at Marion, Va., and 30 miles northwest from the Richmond and Danville R.R. at Wilkesboro, N. C. Geologically the ore-deposits described in this paper are situated in the area of the crystalline rocks, consisting chiefly of gneiss, hornblende-schist, and micaceous schists.

Jan 1, 1893

An "international gold conference" was held at Spokane, Wash., on Sept. 5, 1918, under the auspices of the Northwest Mining Association, which was attended by a large number of engineers, mine operators, and bankers, representing the northwestern states, as well as Alaska and British Columbia. The principal subject under consideration was the doleful condition of the gold-mining industry, gripped between the diminished purchasing value of its product, and the increased cost of its operation. Two resolutions were adopted by the meeting. The first approved the resolution adopted Aug. 12 by the American Gold Conference, a permanent organization formed at Reno, Nev., in which it is stated that relief by the United States to the gold producers of this country should he made to correspond with the increased cost of production, the extent of the relief to be fixed from time to time to Meet changing conditions. The second resolution, adopted after serious and long-continued discussion, was introduced by F. A. Ross, mining engineer, of Spokane, and a member of the Institute, and was as follows: WHEREAS, it is now clearly understood and agreed by the allied nations that national gold reserves must be augmented without delay if rapidly expanding credits are to be secured; and WHEREAS, at this time, the production of gold is daily decreasing to an alarming extent because of well known conditions that, render the mining of gold-bearing ores unprofitable; and WHEREAS there is no way by which the mining of gold-bearing ores may be made profitable except by the direct' aid and influence of the government; and WHEREAS the government has appealed to the mining industry for practical information and practicable suggestions upon this subject; therefore, be it

Jan 10, 1918

By Robert Maes, Robert de Strycker

The solidifzcation reactions in the Cu-Sn-As system were determined by microscopic examination, thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction. The system presents no ternary compound. There is a quasi-binary section, of a simple eutectic type, between the compounds Cu5As2 and SnAs; the system presents, in addition, one ternary eutectic reaction, one ternary peritectic reaction, and seven transitional reactions. The temp-peratures corresponding to each of these reactions were determined, most of them with an accuracy of *lLC. The isothermal lines of the liquidus surface were also established for almost the entire diagram. NO reference was found in the literature relative to the Cu-Sn-As phase diagram and this is believed to be the first study on this subject. The Cu-Sn diagram was taken from Hansen and Anderko;' it is represented by Fig. 1, with the phase designation which will be used in the remainder of this work. For the Cu-As diagram, the solution proposed by Hansen and ~nderko' must be modified to take account of recent data, principally from Heyding and Despault~ and from Hume-Rothery and Burns; this yields the diagram represented by Fig. 2. As for the Sn-As diagram, it is not established with certainty, particularly so far as concerns the solid solubility of tin in arsenic and the solidification reactions near the compound SnsAsz. For this last point, Hansen and Anderko propose two solutions: congruent melting of Sn3Asz with a eutectic SnsAsZ + SnAs or incongruent melting implying a peri-tectic reaction L + SnAs = Sn3As2. Microscopic examination of the few binary alloys prepared in this composition range made us prefer the second of these solutions, which gives the diagram shown by Fig. 3. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS The experimental techniques used in this work were microscopic observation and thermal analysis; a few X-ray diffraction patterns were taken to verify the

Jan 1, 1967

By Walter E. Lewis, Robert L. Marovelli

Underground support has a long history as evidenced by Agricola's general description in Dc Re Metallica:1 "The timbering of these openings is done as follows: stulls are set at intervals into hitches in the hanging and footwall, and upon them smooth poles are laid continuously; and that they may be able to bear the weight, the stulls are generally a foot and a half thick. After the ore has been taken out and the mining of the vein is being done elsewhere, the rock then broken, especially if it cannot be taken away without great difficulty, is thrown into these openings among the timbers, and the carriers of the ore are saved toil, and the owners save half the expense. This, then, generally speaking, is the method by which everything related to the timbering of shafts, tunnels, and drifts is carried out."

Jan 1, 1971

J. J. MCLELLAN, Webb City, Mo.-The Media mill, at the time it was built, was the largest mill that had been designed in the Joplin district. It was put up in a hurry, to take advantage of the high prices for zinc ore in 1915, by the owners of an adjacent plant, which had been very profitable. They owned a compound Corliss engine, and to take advantage of a single-unit drive it was necessary to build the mill in the form chosen, which involved making the hopper feed directly through the breakers and rolls, the undersize from the screen passing at once to the jigs, the oversize going through the rolls and returning to the original trommels. The mill was built in fairly good proportion; crushing was done by jaw breakers, Webb City pattern,' and three sets of 42-in. (106.7-cm.) Cornish rolls for reducing the oversize. The jigs were larger than the usual practice. The roughers were two six-cell jigs, with 42 by 48-in. cells. The cleaner jig was the largest ever constructed in the district up to that time, having seven 36 by 48-in. cells, for treating the rougher jigs. There was also a chat rougher. "Smittem," as used in our district, is the partly concentrated product from the rougher, which is finished on the cleaner jigs. "Chats" are the middlings proper, that is, they are the grains of chert with included particles of sulphide; the very low-grade smittem is sometimes included among the chats. When drawing chats from a jig, we also draw about ten times greater quantity of barren chert in order to insure complete recovery of mineral. This mixture of middlings and tailings is taken to a set of 30-in. rolls, the crushed product then going to a chat rougher, a comparatively small jig, with 26 by 36-in. cells. The principal departure of the Media mill from the usual practice was to build a hopper sufficiently high to give gravity feed to the jigs, without using elevators. The sludge plant, for table treatment of sand and slime, also contained several innovations in the manner of distributing the feed. The tables were arranged in two rows and the feed ran around the outside in a launder having two or three cone classifiers

Jan 1, 1918

By Kefton Teague

The minerals discussed in this section have experienced a gradual, although not spectacular, growth in general. Obvious exceptions are the gradual decreasing use of talc and bentonite as filler materials, partly because of availability and relatively lower sales price of competitive materials. Mineral fillers and filter minerals are used principally in those countries that are heavily industrialized. Except for diatomaceous earth of filter grade, most industrialized countries are reasonably self-sufficient in the various filler and filter minerals. Prices of the various mineral commodities during the period 1950-1970 increased approximately as follows: barite, 43%; diatomaceous earth (filler), 49%; diatomaceous earth (filter), 55%; fuller's earth, 55%; talc. 77%; and bentonite, 94%. Actual usage of these mineral commodities as fillers and filters, during this period, showed changes approximately as follows: (1) Decrease-fuller's earth, 6%; talc, 15%; and bentonite, 29%. (2) Increase-barite, 113%; diatomaceous earth (filler), 150%; and diatomaceous earth (filter), -194%. A relationship between the amount of the various fillers and filters used and price increases is apparent. For example, barite increased only 43% in price, but its use as a filler has increased by 113%. On the other hand, talc, which increased 77% in price, decreased in filler use by 15%; and bentonite, which increased 94% in price, has decreased for filler and filter purposes by 29%. The actual decrease in the use of some of these commodities is not entirely caused by an increase in price. Competitive materials frequently have made substantial gains in the various filler and filter markets. For example, much of the bentonite used in the late 1940s and early 1950s for clarification of mineral and vegetable oils has been replaced by competitive materials. BARITE Occurrences and Sources In the United States, barite is produced from about 14 states, listed in approximate order of importance as follows: Missouri, Arkansas, Nevada, Georgia, Alaska, Tennessee, Kentucky, California, New Mexico, North Carolina, Washington, Idaho, South Carolina, Texas, and others. During the 20 years ending in 1970, almost equal amounts of barite were produced from Arkansas and Missouri. Within recent years, Nevada has replaced Georgia as the third leading barite--producing state. West Germany is second to the United States in barite production. Other important barite-producing countries include: Mexico, USSR, Italy, Greece, Canada, and Ireland. Ireland has become an important barite producer only recently. Barite is obtained from vein and cavity fill-

Jan 1, 1976

By R. Philip Hammond

MONAZITE has had a Cinderella-like history. Although nearly go per cent pure rare-earth compound (rare-earth phosphate) it was sought at first not for the rare earths but for the sake of a minor constituent-thorium. The thorium, essential for the Welsbach gaslight mantle, was present in only small quantities and the principal constituents, the rare earths, were largely discarded. Gradually, however, the rare earths have developed uses of their own and today have left the thorium far behind in value. OCCURRENCE Monazite was first produced commercially about 1886, in North Carolina, where it was collected in small sluices by farmers who found it in stream beds on their land. The deposits were later exploited on a larger scale, but were mostly abandoned in a few years, when monazite from Brazil came upon the market in far larger quantities. Domestic production ceased entirely in 1906. The Brazilian source is still active, together with Indian, Dutch East Indies, and Australian deposits. Several other localities in the United States have yielded monazite, but none of these has produced commercially as yet. Monazite occurs originally in pegmatites and gneisses, through which, unfortunately, it is scattered in highly dispersed form. All commercially useful deposits consist of transported monazite sands liberated by erosion and concentrated by the action of water, which has sluiced away lighter materials and concentrated the heavy (D = 5.0 to 5.2) grains of monazite, together with ilmenite, zircon, garnet, and other dense minerals. The Carolina deposits were in stream beds; most of the other deposits mentioned are on or near the seashore, where the action of the waves has served to concentrate the monazite. In most cases today, the sands are worked to obtain the ilmenite and zircon, as well as monazite. The minerals are separated by means of sluices, dry tables, and magnetic separators, and each is finally obtained nearly pure. No crushing or grinding is necessary. The concentrates are shipped in fiber bags. COMPOSITION OF MONAZITE As Table I illustrates, monazite is the anhydrous orthophosphate of the cerium [ ] group of rare-earth elements. A small amount of yttrium and terbium group phosphate is also present.* All the rare-

Jan 1, 1946

By S. R. Rao, J. Leja, K. S. Moon

A prolonged grinding of sulphide ores in steel mills appears harmful to flotation recovery and selectivity whenever xanthates are used as collectors. Particles finer than about 10µm show a pronounced decrease in floatability. A supposition was made that the cause of the reduction in floatability of ground sulphides is the presence of metallic iron abraded during grinding and deposited on the ground particles. Electro- chemical measurements were made of mixed potentials developed by different sulphide-mineral electrodes (galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite, marmatite, pyrrhotite) in xanthate solutions, without a direct con- tact or in contact with a metallic iron electrode. These measurements showed that without a galvanic contact between the sulphide and the iron, the values of mixed potentials were in the vicinity of the xanthate/dixanthogen redox potential. When contact with iron was established, the mixed potentials shifted towards the more negative reducing or cathodic values. The shift was greater the higher was the ratio of the surface areas: iron electrode to sulphide electrode. Further, the shift in mixed potentials was greater the more reducing were the conditions on the sulphide electrode. Chemical analysis of reaction products produced on the surfaces of sulphides and in the bulk solution showed that less thiosulphate was formed in all of the sulphide-xanthate systems and that more elemental sulphur was detectable on the pyrite and marmatite surfaces. Adsorption of xanthate parallels the amount of thiosulphate formed with which xanthate is exchanged by metathesis. If the supply of oxygen is limited, the demand for oxygen by the abraded metallic iron competes with that by the valuable sulphide, resulting ultimately in poorer hydrophobicity. If excessive amounts of pyrite or pyrrhotite are present as well, the conditions are so reducing that there is little adsorption of xanthate ions on the valuable sulphides to make them hydrophobic and floatable. The presence of increased quantities of sulphur on pyrite or marmatite is responsible for a non-selective flotation. Flotation tests on synthetic mixtures with and without metallic iron powder in the feed confirmed the above conclusions from electrochemical and chemical measurements.

Jan 1, 1976

By H. G. Moulton

THE INCREASING scale of mining operations over the past decade, particularly in connection with the exploitation of large bodies of comparatively low-grade copper ores, has made necessary the study of the behavior of rock under failure. When extractions of as high as 40,000 tons a day are reached in steam-shovel operations and as high as 20,000 tons per day in underground mining operations, it is evident that excavations soon become of such size that the behavior of the rock will often be dependent on fundamental principles applicable to more or less homogeneous materials under stress, rather than on weathering or local planes of weakness. In the ordinary rock excavations encountered in civil-engineering practice, such as excavations for subways, highways, railroads, etc., rock faces are not carried to depths sufficient to develop any pressures, or consequently any failures, except those due to loose masses resulting from local planes of weakness. When, however, orebodies whose tonnage is measured by hundreds of thousands are to be extracted by steam-shovel operations in open pits, it is necessary to determine if possible in advance the slopes that the sides of the pits will assume, for these slopes influence the shape of the excavations and thereby the amount of ore that may be extracted by the open-pit method. When large orebodies are mined underground at depths of 300 to 500 ft. (91 to 152 m.) by caving methods, the surface subsiding as the ore is withdrawn, it is necessary to determine in advance the outermost limits of fracture in the subsiding surface, for on the delineation of these limits depends the location of surface improvements, mills, smelters, etc. and also the location of development work, such as hoisting shafts, main haulage levels, and all other underground openings that must remain undisturbed during the period of ore extraction. Heretofore, in civil-engineering practice, it has been assumed that earth and rock behave differently in failure. For the calculation of earth

Jan 2, 1920

By Max Roesler

W. L. CUMINGS,* Bethlehem, Pa. (communication to the Secretary+). -In this discussion of Mr. Roesler's paper, I shall follow Kemp in using the term "granite" to refer to the acid rock called syenite by Kimball. Diorite, as I understand it, is the dark basic rock invariably closely associated with the orebodies. The types of rock of intermediate composition, mainly intrusives, are not under discussion. It is difficult for me to conceive that this granite is the ore-bearing agent, for the following reasons: 1. No isolated orebodies in the granite are known. It would seem that if this rock is the mineralizer, some small bodies, or at least patches and small masses of ore so situated would exist. 2. In 1909 the writer conducted explorations on the Pequena and Grande claims about 1 mile north of West Mine No. 5. This work was done after a very careful magnetic survey had shown a large and uniform area of attraction. As exploration progressed, it became evident that in this case the magnetic attraction was due to disseminated magnetite. Much ore of 40 per cent. Fe was found, but very little commercial ore was shown up. This ore was entirely in the diorite and no granite outcrops are near. The occurrence could easily have been described as "ore formation but very little ore." I cannot conceive how a remote granite intrusion could impregnate a diorite mountain with 40 per cent. of Fe, and prefer to believe that this 40 per cent. of iron was in its real home, rather than in a sort of dioritic "boarding house" after having been evicted by granitic parents. 3. The Ocaña mine, which has produced nearly 500,000 tons, shows no evidence that the granite is the mineralizer. This is admitted by Mr. Roesler on p. 1827. 4. I believe it will not be disputed that all the iron-ore deposits extending along the south coast for 60 or 70 miles are of a similar origin. Evidence available at other points might properly be referred to in discussing the article under review. At the La Plata mines, about 60 miles west of Santiago, the writer has also made explorations. No granite is in evidence. At one point in the bed of a creek is a small body of magnetite about 10 ft. long, entirely surrounded by a hard fresh diorite. To me

Jan 3, 1917