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By Paul T. Allsman

1.1-1. Current Status. The history of surface mining is essentially that of mining coal, copper, and iron ores, and the nonmetallic minerals--clays, gypsum, phosphate rock, sand, gravel, and stone. Table 1.1-1 is a comparison of the estimated world production of crude metallic and nonmetallic ores and coal with that of the United States for 1964, in short tons. It includes an estimate of the quantity produced by surface mining methods. Two-thirds of the 8.8 billion tons are mined from surface, ranging from a third of the coal, half the metallic ores, and nearly all clays, stone, sand, and gravel. In the United States, production by surface methods parallels that of the world with two major exceptions: 74% of copper ore and 90% of usable iron ore are mined from the surface, whereas outside the country less than 40% of copper ore and only 50% of usable iron ore are mined from the surface. In surface mining of both metallic ores and coal, much waste is stripped, but in mining nonmetallics the ratio between waste and ore is small. Assuming that the stripping ratio for surface mining in the United States will apply equally to world production, it is estimated on a weighted basis that over 21 billion tons of waste, or a total of nearly 27 billion short tons of material, are mined annually in the world by surface methods. Data are not available to confirm the assumption for waste stripping outside the U.S., but the estimate expresses an order of magnitude that is worth noting. Table 1.1-2 shows the materials-crude ore, coal, and waste-mined by surface methods and the relation to total mined by both surface and under- ground methods in the United States during 1964. Eighty-two percent of all crude metallic and nonmetallic ores and coal was mined from the sur- face, including 82% of metallic, 96% of nonmetallic ores, and 35% of coal. Copper and iron ore comprise 83% of the metallic ores mined from the surface, and clays, gypsum, phosphate rock, sand, gravel, and stone

Jan 1, 1968

By William Metcalf

IT is the object of this paper to oppose unnecessary changes, and the introduction of new and confusing terms. From the earliest times of which we have any record on the subject, iron has been divided into general classes. Whether iron was first known in the form of wrought iron or of steel, is a matter of no importance; but at the time when cast iron first became a prominent article of commerce, wrought iron and steel were old products¬steel, at that time, being generally made from wrought iron by the process of cementation. As steel was then properly defined as iron containing more carbon than wrought iron, so cast iron was appropriately defined as iron containing more carbon than steel. Until the year 1776, when Huntsman first began the manufacture of a new kind of iron by melting wrought iron and steel in crucibles, the above definitions were all that could be desired. At first, probably, owing to imperfect appliances, only a highly carburized iron was melted in crucibles, and this led to its being called cast steel. If our ancestors had found a name for this material not involving the use of the word steel, we would have been saved the trouble of the present discussion. As the arts developed, new uses were found for steel, and the products of the crucible were varied, until at the present day it is quite common to find steel containing no more carbon than average wrought iron, and other steel containing nearly or quite as much carbon as some cast iron. All of these various products of the crucible have retained, or received, the name cast steel, usually abbreviated to the simple word steel, without causing any confusion among producers or consumers in regard to terms or their meaning. In 1855, twenty-one years ago, the Bessemer process was introduced ; this was followed in a few years by the Siemens-Martin process, and the products of both were at once, and have ever since been, called steel, from the fact that they were identical in chemical and physical properties with crucible cast steel. At the present time, then, we have three subdivisions of cast steel, viz.: Crucible cast steel, Bessemer cast steel, and Siemens-Martin,

Jan 1, 1877

By P. Nicholls

PATENT records show that the attempt to improve the burning of fuel by mixture or pretreatment with chemicals dates back to the early years of the last century. By 1845 English and French patents had included the specific beneficiations of elimination or reduction of smoke, soot and clinker; reduction of the ashes; elimination of sulphur fumes; increase of the rate of burning; increase of the time a given charge of fuel would last; and, in most patents, a saving of fuel. The earlier patents specified additions up to 80 lb. or more per ton of fuel, but after 1860 the quantity was seldom more than 4 lb. There is no record of the extent to which these patents were commercialized, but after 1874 many American patents were assigned to companies specializing in treatment of coal, so it is probable that the products were marketed on a considerable scale at least as early as that date. From 1900 on, many proprietary products were marketed under the general name of "fuel savers," the principal sales being in small packages for the use of householders; savings of from 10 to 40 per cent of the coal were promised. Starting with 1927, the use of proprietary or other mixtures of chemicals was extended to power plants and to treatment of coals at the mines, the claims of saving of fuel being subordinated to those of general improvement and, in particular, to reduction of clinkering. Such expectations are attractive and a number of companies experi-mented with or adopted the practice. There were reports of improved operation, but, apparently, few were confident enough that these improvements were due to the salts to publish the results of tests or their records of operation. There are no data on the yearly tonnage of coal treated but indirect reports suggest that it has been relatively large. Since its establishment in 1910, the U. S. Bureau of Mines has con-tinually received inquiries about these products. At the request of. other governmental departments it made tests in 1910, 1916 and 1930, using certain proprietary products applied according to the instructions of the vendors; these tests were made with eastern coals in domestic and

Jan 1, 1937

By Dr. O’Neil Thomas J., Donald W. Gentry

Money is like an arm or leg-use it or lose it." -Henry Ford INTRODUCTION If it were not for the existence of interest, the analysis of investment opportunities would be greatly simplified. In the absence of interest, investors would be indifferent as to when cash outlays are made or cash benefits are received. It would, in fact, be irrelevant whether the outlays preceded or followed inflows as long as both amounts are known with certainty. Of course, it does make a considerable difference whether, for example, a firm receives $1 million now or five years from now. The reason is that money does, indeed, have a value which is a function of time. Interest is how this time value is measured. Interest is generally defined as money paid for the use of borrowed money. In other words, interest is the rental charge for using an asset over some specific time period. The rate of interest is the ratio of the interest chargeable at the end of a specific period of time to the money owed, or borrowed, at the beginning of that period. In order to understand why interest exists, it is necessary to take the lender's viewpoint. The lender can justify charging interest for several reasons: 1) Risk: The lender is faced with the possibility that the borrower will be unable to repay the loan. 2) Inflation: Money repaid in the future will be in units of lower value due to inflation. 3) Transactions Cost: There will be expense incurred in preparing the loan agreement, recording payments, collecting the loan, and other administrative tasks. 4) Opportunity Cost: By committing limited funds to one borrower, a lender is unable to take advantage of other available opportunities. 5) Postponement of Pleasure: By lending money, an individual (or organization) is postponing the pleasure which that money could purchase. Each of these is a valid reason for a lender demanding interest from a borrower. The level of interest is, like the price of other assets, determined by supply and demand. Nonetheless, from time to time various analysts have taken a then current average interest rate and broken it down into the components described previously.

Jan 1, 1984

By P. Nicholls

Patent records show that the attempt to improve the burning of fuel by mixture or pretreatment with chemicals dates back to the early years of the last century. By 1845 English and French patents had included the specific beneficiations of elimination or reduction of smoke, soot and clinker; reduction of the ashes; elimination of sulphur fumes; increase of the rate of burning; increase of the time a given charge of fuel would last; and, in most patents, a saving of fuel. The earlier patents specified additions up to 80 lb. or more per ton of fuel, but after 1860 the quantity was seldom more than 4 lb. There is no record of the extent to which these patents were commercialized, but after 1874 many American patents were assigned to companies specializing in treatment of coal, so it is probable that the products were marketed on a considerable scale at least as early as that date. From 1900 on, many proprietary products were marketed under the general name of "fuel savers," the principal sales being in small packages for the use of householders; savings of from 10 to 40 per cent of the coal were promised. Starting with 1927, the use of proprietary or other mixtures of chemicals was extended to power plants and to treatment of coals at the mines, the claims of saving of fuel being subordinated to those of general improvement and, in particular, to reduction of clinker-ing. Such expectations are attractive and a number of companies experimented with or adopted the practice. There were reports of improved operation, but, apparently, few were confident enough that these improvements were due to the salts to publish the results of tests or their records of operation. There are no data on the yearly tonnage of coal treated but indirect reports suggest that it has been relatively large. Since its establishment in 1910, the U. S. Bureau of Mines has continually received inquiries about these products. At the request of other governmental departments it made tests in 1910, 1916 and 1930, using certain proprietary products applied according to the instructions of the vendors; these tests were made with eastern coals in domestic and

Jan 1, 1938

By William P. Blake

The Rainbow Lode is situated at Walkerville, in the Summit Valley mining district, Silver Bow County, Montana Territory, about one mile from Butte City. It was so named ill 1876 by Mr. J. E. Clayton, in recognition of the broadly-sweeping curve of the outcrop across the rounded surface of the eastern slope of a granitic mountain, at an elevation of about 6000 feet above the sea-level. It is on the western side of the range which divides the waters of the Missouri from those of the Columbia. History.—The history of the district is an instructive one. The water-courses and flanks of the hills were worked for years for placer gold. Millions of dollars' worth of low-grade gold have been washed out of the surface gravels below the veins of the district. Missoula Gulch and Silver Bow creek, just below Butte, are noted for their rich placers, and they continue to yield largely, producing within narrow limits from $50,000 to $100,000 dollars' worth of golddust yearly. It is ragged vein-gold, and evidently is near its parent source. It is no doubt derived from the disintegration of the veins of the district, and this conclusion was soon forced upon the miners. The veins which were seen outcropping boldly upon the slopes above them were located, and prospecting commenced. These outcrops were found heavily stained and blackened with oxide of manganese, and were porous and honey-combed in places, showing that the quartz was formerly filled with pyritous ores, and that these ores had decomposed and dissolved away, leaving, however, portions of the precious metal behind, especially at and near the surface of the ground. Assays of the croppings gave variable and often contradictory results; but the fact. that these were the outcrops of lodes bearing gold and silver in depth was patent to any experienced observer of mineral veins. The lodes of the district were first brought prominently to notice by Mr. Clayton in 1876, and in October of that year the Alice mine, upon the central portion of the lode, was opened by Mr. Marcus Daly, now so well known as the superintendent of the Anaconda Copper mine, upon another extremely interesting lode, in the same region.

Jan 1, 1888

By Otto Wartenweiler

AFTER the phenomenal development of the new mine, the United Eastern Mining Co., with Mr. Frank A. Keith as President, decided to install a reduction plant. The character of the ore, closely resembling the product of other mines in the district, did not offer any particular metallurgical problems, since these neighboring mines had been operating milling plants very successfully for several years. Thus, with the general metallurgical treatment fairly well-defined, the matter of next importance was to design and construct a plant as economically as possible, that would give the best results obtainable. The ore consists of a mixture of calcite and quartz in about equal quantities with some decomposed andesite, while the average value of mill heads were calculated to be $20 plus in gold, no silver being present. The tonnage to be treated at ,the start was fixed at 200 tons, but, in view of the favorable condition of the mine, it was considered advisable to arrange facilities, for increasing the capacity to 400 tons. . While it is best in some cases to adopt a distinct independent unit system where future enlargement is contemplated, in this instance the plans worked out differently. Summarized, the treatment adopted consists of coarse crushing, coarse grinding, fine grinding and cyanidation. For coarse crushing the selection of the No. 6 size gyratory crusher was governed not so much by its capacity as by the size of the feed openings to properly receive the run-of-mine material, which was too coarse for a No. 5 crusher. To accomplish the coarse grinding to. best advantage, a careful comparison was made between the modern steel ball mill-the last word in crushing and grinding-and one of its older, and, at that time better-established, competitors, the rolls.' The following conclusion was reached: While it is possible that for the sized plant under consideration the cost of operating rolls might be a little cheaper, it is preferable to use ball mills because a simpler arrangement is possible, and1 because. the handling of, ball mills is preferred by the operator.

Jan 11, 1917

By Frank Tolonen

IRON-ORE beneficiation is becoming of vital importance to the Lake Superior region, since only a few decades will be needed to exhaust the direct shipping ores even if generous allowances are made for discoveries of new orebodies. If the region is to continue as the chief source of ore to the steel industry of the United States, it must concentrate or otherwise beneficiate the enormous tonnages of available iron formations. A beginning along this line has already been made. About one-fifth of the total shipment, even now, is the product of some sort of concentrating process, while another fifth is improved in physical structure by crushing, screening, drying, sintering, or some other similar method. The amount of material amenable to these processes is limited, however; and, in order to be able to utilize the billions of tons of iron formations that cannot be so beneficiated, an intensive study of their nature and concentration possi-bilities is necessary. As long as high-grade ores are available in ample quantities, ore dressing is economically impossible, but as soon as the supply nears exhaustion it becomes necessary. At first the products of ore dressing must meet as nearly as possible the same specifications as the rich ores in order to be adapted to the reduction processes already established. The future requirements as to quality will depend on the one hand upon the ability of the ore dresser to eliminate undesired constituents and charac-teristics in the material, and on the other upon the adaptation of the reduction processes to the product that can be economically supplied. A better understanding of the blast furnace and other reduction reactions, and improvements in the preparation of raw materials, should enable the Michigan districts to continue to supply ore for a long time to come. The study and testing of the iron formations necessary to bring a utilization of the low-grade ores, though requiring time and effort on the part of all concerned, should not be postponed, especially since the economic situation forces the use of the highest grade ore in preference to the leaner material.

Jan 1, 1933

By P. W. Bridgman

It is characteristic of most scientific investigators that they are not satisfied with the discovery of new facts, no matter how curious or unexpected, but that along with the factual discovery there is a constant effort to understand. It appears that one's interest in, and satisfaction with, the discovery of an array of new experimental facts is enormously increased if one has at the same time a theory or hypothesis guiding one's expectation of what sort of new experimental discovery may lie around the corner. Conversely, as a theoretical physicist one's satisfaction with his theory is greatly enhanced if along with the development of the theory can go the discovery of new experimental facts, confirming or perhaps modifying the theory as it grows. Of course, there have been long arid stretches in the history of physics in which new data of unquestioned ultimate importance have piled up, without much inspiration or illumination in the way of understanding. For 50 years spectroscopy had such an arid history, but how irksome this was felt to be is plainly shown by the almost audible relief that greeted the first success by Bohr in injecting understanding into the situation, and by the fresh rush of experimenters into this field when the prospect of understanding had once been offered. The investigations in the field of high pressure, which have occupied me for a long time,' until the last few years have been in very much the same sort of situation as spectroscopy before the advent of Bohr. A great many kinds of data were collected for a great many solid and liquid substances, and there could be no question of the importance of these data, because the uniform change of dimensions produced by hydrostatic pressure is perhaps the simplest conceivable type of alteration to which a body can be subjected. But except for a few isolated flashes, there was no theoretical illumination, so that it had to be to a large extent the enthusiasm of the collector that kept me going. However, within the last few years the wave-mechanics theory of solids has progressed so rapidly that

Jan 1, 1938

By Howard C. Pyle, John E Sherborne

Core analysis is a recent development in the field of petroleum technology. The earliest work on this subject was done in connection with evaluating and planning secondary oil recovery by water-flooding. Present-day analysis of sands of flush fields requires new and independent interpretations of the data provided by cored material. Particular attention is being paid to the development of rapid, routine methods for measuring physical characteristics of sandstone, such as permeability, porosity and grain size, as well as the sand's fluid content. Permeability may be defined as the fluid-passing capacity of a rock. For a sandstone to be permeable it must be possible to pass a measurable quantity of fluid through the material in a finite period of time. The common unit of permeability is the darcy, which may be defined as the rate of viscous flow, in milliliters per second, of a fluid of one centipoise viscosity through a porous medium having a cross section of one square centimeter, under a pressure gradient of one atmosphere (76.0 cm. Hg) per centimeter.' For convenience the subunit millidarcy, or one-thousandth darcy, is often used. Porosity is defined as the fluid-containing capacity of a rock and is usually expressed as a percentage ratio of the total pore volume to the rock or bulk volume. Since measurement of only the effective or communicating pore volume is often made, porosities are distinguished as total or effective.2,3 Net effective porosity is defined as the net pore volume available for oil and gas. Oil and water content of sand is measured and expressed either as the percentage saturation of the total pores or of the bulk rock. The oil content may also be expressed as the percentage saturation of the net effective pores. In connection with water-flooding, methods of core analysis were developed to furnish data that could be used in determining the quantity of recoverable oil14-6 and the probable rates at which various sands or divisions of a sand open to the wells would take water or produce oil. In flush fields, the analytical data are used to predict the productivity of a cored interval. They indicate the presence of oil, gas and water and may

Jan 1, 1939

By M. J. Williams, C. P. Proctor, J. T. Crawford

The purpose of this paper is to present some data and comparisons regarding three types of Rheolaveur plants washing bituminous coal from the Pittsburgh seam. It deals only with the sections that handle coarse coal. The Rheolaveur system consists of launders or troughs in which coal and its associated impurities are conveyed by water. The impurities. being heavier than the coal, settle toward the bottoms of the launders and are drawn off through specially designed openings called Rheo boxes. Fundamentally, each plant consists of straight-sided, flat-bottomed launders of varying width and length, each launder equipped with one or more Rheo boxes for the removal of high-grauity fractions of the feed that are undesirable in the cleaned coal. Each launder has at least two longitudinal sections, the first with a slope of from 11/2 to 4 in. per foot of length, called the classification section. The single-box launder has a classification section followed by a washing section ahead of the box. A two-box launder is a single-box launder followed by a washing section and a second box. The slope of the washing section between the first and second boxes is determined to some extent by tonnage. At the end of the classification section, which may. vary from 8 to 15 ft. in length, the slope abruptly flattens out to a slope of from 92' to 1 in. per foot of length. This flatter section of the launder, called the washing section, may vary from a few feet, in a single-box launder, to 15 ft., in a two-box launder. Raw coal entering the head end of what we choose to call the "primary" launder or launders is pushed down the classification section by a stream of water entering the head end of the launder with the coal. As it strikes the washing section, of lower pitch, the velocity of flow is retarded and the heavier particles of slate, pyrite, bone, etc., take their places on the bottom and are drawn off as they pass over the Rheo boxes. The clean coal, of lighter gravity, remains on the top of the stream of

Jan 1, 1938

By Frederick F. Sharpless

The term "segregation," as here used, means the separation of certain natural resources into groups, consisting of one or more members, with the idea that when thus segregated, each group may be more easily and effectively administrated. We may, for example, consider surface rights as distinct from underground rights, and stop there; or we may go further, and deal separately with timber, water, and agricultural rights, or, going underground, we might deal separately with such groups as precious and base metals, clay, oil, gas, etc. The present paper contemplates only the separation so far as practicable, for administrative purposes, of surface from mineral rights. " Classification," in this paper, has reference to the groups into which the government has divided, is dividing, or will hereafter divide its natural resources; first, into the broad classes of mineral and agricultural lands; and, second, into coal, oil, phosphate, brine lands, etc., the central idea being the separation into natural groups for the purpose of simplifying administration and for the purpose of encouraging maximum development and minimum waste. The two subjects are in some respects quite distinct, but as my argument develops, I think it will be obvious why they are discussed in the same paper. In the pursuit of our professions as mining engineers, geologists, or operators, we are continually confronted by conditions with which our present mining laws or regulations are incompatible. It may be a conflict, hardship or injustice, a piece of favoritism, or of unnecessary red tape; or we may see lack of development in a promising locality, and wonder what is the reason. Often we can see where a modification, slight or radical, in the laws would have obviated the difficulty without doing harm to any of those immediately concerned. Such alterations as individuals could intelligently suggest would be based on a relatively small number of situations occurring in their experiences. The published replies to the queries formulated by the various committees on mining law appear generally to reflect personal experience. Concerning a few points, there is a marked uniforhity of opinion, while on other points opinions

Jan 1, 1915

By S. Norton

IN the West, capitalists have expended many millions of dollars developing the low-grade porphyry ores of copper. Half a dozen of these great enterprises have proved to be wonderful commercial successes. They have demanded improved crushing and concentrating machinery and consequently it has been .developed. Many improved methods, cheap power, superior business organization, all these have contributed to this success, but the main feature is the handling of the material in enormous quantities, on a manufacturing scale. The mining chance of "striking it rich" has been eliminated by the manufacturing certainty, of handling large quantities of material of known valise, which while of relatively low grade, is available in large tonnages, assuring a supply for .many years' run of the mill. Then the returns on the money invested are sure. The concentration of low-grade magnetic iron ores, separating the magnetite crystals from the gangue by the use of magnets, is a field of work in which the lessons taught by the development of the porphyry coppers can be studied to advantage. Large-scale operations, and the liberal expenditure of enough money at the start to insure the most economical operations, are the means of securing the desired results. The problem is to utilize millions of tons, and we may safely say billions of tons, of now worthless iron-bearing rock and to, produce from it 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 tons per year of high-grade ore carrying 60 per cent. iron or, higher;. to take the lean material as found in nature, varying widely in iron content, and bring it up to a uniform standard of shipping ore. At present these ores are mined carrying from 25 to 50 per cent. iron, and the shipping product is brought up to 60 or 65 per cent. Fe. If future economies of operation make it possible to extend this process so that 15 per cent. iron in the crude ore can be treated as a commercial success, the additional tonnage available will be enormous. A 15 per cent. Fe crude ore raised to 60 per cent. Fe concentrate with 5 per cent.

Jan 2, 1917

By O&apos, M. M. Fine, K. G. Meara

One of the principal activities of the Bureau of Mines connected with the recent war was to help to increase the supply of strategic and critical minerals. Fluorite was one of the most critical of the nonmetallic minerals because of the increased demand for it as a flux in basic open-hearth and electric steel furnaces and as a raw material for the production of artificial cryolite used in the aluminum industry. Wartime developments in the technology of hydrofluoric acid, such as the use of the anhydrous acid as a catalyst in production of high-octane gasoline and the use of organic fluorides as carriers for insecticides, also increased the demand for acid-grade fluorite.f In 1943 the consumption of acid-grade fluorite was advancing at a more rapid rate than production, and was only slightly less than production during the latter half of the year.' The outlook for the postwar market for fluorite is encouraging. Steel production is expected to remain high until the domestic demand for commodities not manufactured during the war is satisfied. The uses for hydrofluoric acid are expected to increase under the impetus of war-initiated research. In considerbtion of these and other factors some authorities predict a postwar demand for fluorite equal to about 60 to 75 per cent of the wartime production.1,2 Others believe that the postwar fluorite industry will be permanently expanded over its prewar status.3 Acknowledgment This paper is one of many reporting on various aspects of the Bureau of Mines program directed toward the more effective utilization of our mineral resources. The program has been under the general supervision of R. S. Dean, Assistant Director, since July 1942. The scope of the paper falls in the province of the Metallurgical Branch, whose activities embrace the separation of difficultly beneficiated ores, the production of pure metals from domestic deposits, the exploitation of marginal orc reserves, the recovery of secondary metals, and the improvement of present industrial metallurgical practice. The investigation was initiated at the request of Mr. J. H. Steinmesch, vice-president and general manager, Minerva Oil Co., Eldorado, Ill. His hearty cooperation and helpful suggestions, and those of Mr. 0. E. Anderson, mill superintendent,

Jan 1, 1948

By H. R. Reed

THE cost of hoisting with electricity in deep mines is a matter about which little information has been published. This paper makes a detailed study of such costs and presents the information in a series of curves. In particular the curves show the cost of hoisting ore from depths varying from 500 to 7000 ft. vertical with the shaft at 70º incline for the double cylindroconical and double cylindrical drums, the hoists operating balanced, using Ward Leonard and Ilgner-Ward Leonard control, and designed for most economical operation from each depth. Operation with the double cylindrical drum is expanded to cover hoisting from 2000 to 5000 ft. using equipment designed for 5000 ft. and from 4000 to 7000 ft. using equipment designed for 7000 ft. Additional curves are included to show the ratings of the necessary hoist motors, energy input per hoisting cycle and size of flywheel in tons for complete equalization when the Ilgner-Ward Leonard system is used, also hoisting efficiency. The duty imposed on a mine-hoist motor fluctuates between wide limits during a cycle of operation. The demand on the motor may vary from a large horsepower value near the beginning of the cycle to a small or a negative demand near the end of the cycle. Such factors as tonnage to be raised per hour, depth of shaft, and balanced or unbalanced operation have such a marked effect on the operating cycle and vary to such an extent for different mines that no set of rules can be formulated for quickly determining the size of the motor required. The duty cycle from which the motor rating is derived must be determined for each case according to the conditions of the proposed hoisting operations. The motor torque required at the cardinal points of the duty cycle is determined from the moment or torque in pound-feet necessary to raise and lower the load and ropes, accelerate and retard the load, ropes, drum, etc. The torque diagram depends largely upon the type of drum. Two different types of drums, if used on exactly the same duty cycles, may have widely different peak demands and capacities of hoist motors. The essential feature in the design of hoisting drums and in determining

Jan 1, 1937

By K. G. Meara, M. M. Fine, O&apos

One of the principal activities of the Bureau of Mines connected with the recent war was to help to increase the supply of strategic and critical minerals. Fluorite was one of the most critical of the nonmetallic minerals because of the increased demand for it as a flux in basic open-hearth and electric steel furnaces and as a raw material for the production of artificial cryolite used in the aluminum industry. Wartime developments in the technology of hydrofluoric acid, such as the use of the anhydrous acid as a catalyst in production of high-octane gasoline and the use of organic fluorides as carriers for insecticides, also increased the demand for acid-grade fluorite.f In 1943 the consumption of acid-grade fluorite was advancing at a more rapid rate than production, and was only slightly less than production during the latter half of the year.' The outlook for the postwar market for fluorite is encouraging. Steel production is expected to remain high until the domestic demand for commodities not manufactured during the war is satisfied. The uses for hydrofluoric acid are expected to increase under the impetus of war-initiated research. In considerbtion of these and other factors some authorities predict a postwar demand for fluorite equal to about 60 to 75 per cent of the wartime production.1,2 Others believe that the postwar fluorite industry will be permanently expanded over its prewar status.3 Acknowledgment This paper is one of many reporting on various aspects of the Bureau of Mines program directed toward the more effective utilization of our mineral resources. The program has been under the general supervision of R. S. Dean, Assistant Director, since July 1942. The scope of the paper falls in the province of the Metallurgical Branch, whose activities embrace the separation of difficultly beneficiated ores, the production of pure metals from domestic deposits, the exploitation of marginal orc reserves, the recovery of secondary metals, and the improvement of present industrial metallurgical practice. The investigation was initiated at the request of Mr. J. H. Steinmesch, vice-president and general manager, Minerva Oil Co., Eldorado, Ill. His hearty cooperation and helpful suggestions, and those of Mr. 0. E. Anderson, mill superintendent,

Jan 1, 1948

By Cyril Stanley Smith

Although not of the same importance as electrical conductivity, the capacity for conducting heat is nevertheless a very important property of metals and alloys. A knowledge of thermal conductivity is of value in selecting alloys for many purposes and in the calculation of the efficiency of apparatus which is being designed. Unfortunately, the determination of thermal conductivity is extremely slow and tedious, consequently few data have been obtained. A further reason for the lack of information is that there has long been an impression that the thermal conductivity of an alloy is directly proportional to the electrical cónductivity and that it can therefore be calculated from the latter. The Wiedmann-Franz-Lorenz law of constant ratio of the two conductivities holds with a considerable degree of precision for all the pure metals, but appreciable deviations occur in certain alloys—particularly those containing nickel—and it seems difficult to predict exactly what the ratio will be. Therefore direct determinations of thermal conductivity should be made whenever the results are needed with any accuracy. This research is intended eventually to cover all the alloys of copper that are of commercial importance, including the binary alloys of copper with zinc, tin, aluminum, nickel, silicon, manganese, cadmium and phosphorus, and the ternary alloys copper-nickel-zinc, copper-nickel-silicon, copper-manganese-silicon, copper-zinc-tin, etc. Most of these alloys are customarily used in the wrought condition and therefore were tested in the form of annealed rods. A limited number of sand castings were also obtained and examined. This paper contains a complete review of all the previous work that has been done on copper alloys, and includes a detailed description of the apparatus and method of procedure used in the present research, together with the new results obtained on the copper-zinc series, which is the only one completed at the present time. Subsequent papers describing the other alloys will contain the experimental results and discussion only. Previous Work Copper The conductivity of copper has been studied by many observers since the pioneer work of Wiedemann in 1859. The majority of these measure-

Jan 1, 1930

By M. J. Williams, C. P. Proctor, J. T. Crawford

The purpose of this paper is to present some data and comparisons regarding three types of Rheolaveur plants washing bituminous coal from the Pittsburgh seam. It deals only with the sections that handle coarse coal. The Rheolaveur system consists of launders or troughs in which coal and its associated impurities are conveyed by water. The impurities. being heavier than the coal, settle toward the bottoms of the launders and are drawn off through specially designed openings called Rheo boxes. Fundamentally, each plant consists of straight-sided, flat-bottomed launders of varying width and length, each launder equipped with one or more Rheo boxes for the removal of high-grauity fractions of the feed that are undesirable in the cleaned coal. Each launder has at least two longitudinal sections, the first with a slope of from 11/2 to 4 in. per foot of length, called the classification section. The single-box launder has a classification section followed by a washing section ahead of the box. A two-box launder is a single-box launder followed by a washing section and a second box. The slope of the washing section between the first and second boxes is determined to some extent by tonnage. At the end of the classification section, which may. vary from 8 to 15 ft. in length, the slope abruptly flattens out to a slope of from 92' to 1 in. per foot of length. This flatter section of the launder, called the washing section, may vary from a few feet, in a single-box launder, to 15 ft., in a two-box launder. Raw coal entering the head end of what we choose to call the "primary" launder or launders is pushed down the classification section by a stream of water entering the head end of the launder with the coal. As it strikes the washing section, of lower pitch, the velocity of flow is retarded and the heavier particles of slate, pyrite, bone, etc., take their places on the bottom and are drawn off as they pass over the Rheo boxes. The clean coal, of lighter gravity, remains on the top of the stream of

Jan 1, 1938

By P. W. Bridgman

It is characteristic of most scientific investigators that they are not satisfied with the discovery of new facts, no matter how curious or unexpected, but that along with the factual discovery there is a constant effort to understand. It appears that one's interest in, and satisfaction with, the discovery of an array of new experimental facts is enormously increased if one has at the same time a theory or hypothesis guiding one's expectation of what sort of new experimental discovery may lie around the corner. Conversely, as a theoretical physicist one's satisfaction with his theory is greatly enhanced if along with the development of the theory can go the discovery of new experimental facts, confirming or perhaps modifying the theory as it grows. Of course, there have been long arid stretches in the history of physics in which new data of unquestioned ultimate importance have piled up, without much inspiration or illumination in the way of understanding. For 50 years spectroscopy had such an arid history, but how irksome this was felt to be is plainly shown by the almost audible relief that greeted the first success by Bohr in injecting understanding into the situation, and by the fresh rush of experimenters into this field when the prospect of understanding had once been offered. The investigations in the field of high pressure, which have occupied me for a long time,' until the last few years have been in very much the same sort of situation as spectroscopy before the advent of Bohr. A great many kinds of data were collected for a great many solid and liquid substances, and there could be no question of the importance of these data, because the uniform change of dimensions produced by hydrostatic pressure is perhaps the simplest conceivable type of alteration to which a body can be subjected. But except for a few isolated flashes, there was no theoretical illumination, so that it had to be to a large extent the enthusiasm of the collector that kept me going. However, within the last few years the wave-mechanics theory of solids has progressed so rapidly that

Jan 1, 1938

By R. G. O’Meara, M. M. Fine

ONE of the principal activities of the Bureau of Mines connected with the recent war was to help to increase the supply of strategic and critical minerals. Fluorite was one of the most critical of the nonmetallic minerals because of the increased demand for it as a flux in basic open-hearth and electric steel furnaces and as a raw material for the production of artificial cryolite used in the aluminum industry. Wartime developments in the technology of hydrofluoric acid, such as the use of the anhydrous acid as a catalyst in production of high-octane gasoline and the use of organic fluorides as carriers for insecticides, also increased the demand for acid-grade fluorite.[t] In 1943 the consumption of acid-grade fluorite was advancing at a more rapid rate than production, and was only slightly less than production during the latter half of the year.1 The outlook for the postwar market for fluorite is encouraging. Steel production is expected to remain high until the domestic demand for commodities not manufactured during the war is satisfied. The uses for hydrofluoric acid are expected to increase under the impetus of war-initiated research. In consideration of these and other factors some authorities predict a postwar demand for fluorite equal to about 60 to 75 per cent of the wartime production.1,2 Others believe that the postwar fluorite industry will be permanently expanded over its prewar status.3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT This paper is one of many reporting on various aspects of the Bureau of Mines program directed toward the more effective utilization of our mineral resources. The program has been under the general supervision of R. S. Dean, Assistant Director, since July 1942. The scope of the paper falls in the province of the Metallurgical Branch, whose activities embrace the separation of difficultly beneficiated ores, the production of pure metals from domestic deposits, the exploitation of marginal ore reserves, the recovery of secondary metals, and the improvement of present industrial metallurgical practice. The investigation was initiated at the request of Mr. J. H. Steinmesch, vice-president and general manager, Minerva Oil Co., Eldorado, Ill. His hearty cooperation and helpful suggestions, and those of Mr. O. E. Anderson, mill superintendent,

Jan 1, 1946