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By Roscoe E. Bell

BETWEEN 1945 and 1948 the author made studies of the western phosphate industry and its potentialities. These included an appraisal of the opportunities for western development of the industry, studies of production costs, of market potentials, of transportation economics, and of industry location. This paper will be directed toward pointing up the factors which have an important bearing on the establishment of fertilizer plants in the western area. Industry Location Factors: There are, of course, an infinite number of possible organizational setups which might require consideration. However, the phosphate industry is simple enough so that studies of the most probable alternatives can be made conveniently. The salient factors which require special consideration in such a study are: (I) the location of the raw materials, (2) the location, size, and character of the present and potential markets, (3) the location of energy sources and materials required for fertilizer processing, (4) the location and capacity of present manufacturing facilities, (5) the cost of assembling the materials and energy needed in manufacturing, and (6) the cost of distributing the manufactured product. Raw Material Supplies: Rock phosphate is the raw material for the manufacturing of phosphate fertilizer. In the United States the important known deposits of this material are located in three general areas (fig. 1). The western deposits, comprising about 60 pct of the nation's supply, are in the four-state area—Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana. The Florida deposits comprise roughly 38 pct of the national supply. The Tennessee deposits, comprising about 2 pct of the national supply, have been the most important source until recent years. The western deposits, which are virtually undeveloped, have not been used to any extent to meet the nation's need for phosphate rock and phosphate fertilizer. Fertilizer Markets: The large national markets for fertilizer are in the midwestern and eastern United States (fig. 2). The principal far-western markets are along the Pacific Coast, especially in California. Until recent years the western markets have been extremely limited, whereas the markets in the eastern United States have long been established and manufacturing facilities have been provided to meet these needs (fig. 3). In recent years the western markets have expanded very rapidly, continuing to grow throughout the war years and postwar period at a similar rate. The question always arises as to whether this is a temporary war-swollen market which will shrink back to its original size as soon as the present agricultural price levels drop. In order to answer this question consideration must be given to the character of the market (fig. 4). I have considered seventeen western and midwestern states in the western market area where transportation costs from the western deposits are equal to or lower than those from Florida. They include all states west of a line drawn through Chicago, Kansas City and the western boundary of New Mexico. In the mewar period this was a small market totaling only 37,000 tons of P,O, annually. The 1946 total for this same area was approximately 200,000 tons. Considerably more fertilizer would have been used in 1946 had adequate supplies been available. Estimates of future markets are difficult to make, but we do have some indices that are useful. The

Jan 1, 1951

By Roscoe E. Bell

BETWEEN 1945 and 1948 the author made studies of the western phosphate industry and its potentialities. These included an appraisal of the opportunities for western development of the industry, studies of production costs, of market potentials, of transportation economics, and of industry location. This paper will be directed toward pointing up the factors which have an important bearing on the establishment of fertilizer plants in the western area. Industry Location Factors: There are, of course, an infinite number of possible organizational setups which might require consideration. However, the phosphate industry is simple enough so that studies of the most probable alternatives can be made conveniently. The salient factors which require special consideration in such a study are: (I) the location of the raw materials, (2) the location, size, and character of the present and potential markets, (3) the location of energy sources and materials required for fertilizer processing, (4) the location and capacity of present manufacturing facilities, (5) the cost of assembling the materials and energy needed in manufacturing, and (6) the cost of distributing the manufactured product. Raw Material Supplies: Rock phosphate is the raw material for the manufacturing of phosphate fertilizer. In the United States the important known deposits of this material are located in three general areas (fig. 1). The western deposits, comprising about 60 pct of the nation's supply, are in the four-state area—Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana. The Florida deposits comprise roughly 38 pct of the national supply. The Tennessee deposits, comprising about 2 pct of the national supply, have been the most important source until recent years. The western deposits, which are virtually undeveloped, have not been used to any extent to meet the nation's need for phosphate rock and phosphate fertilizer. Fertilizer Markets: The large national markets for fertilizer are in the midwestern and eastern United States (fig. 2). The principal far-western markets are along the Pacific Coast, especially in California. Until recent years the western markets have been extremely limited, whereas the markets in the eastern United States have long been established and manufacturing facilities have been provided to meet these needs (fig. 3). In recent years the western markets have expanded very rapidly, continuing to grow throughout the war years and postwar period at a similar rate. The question always arises as to whether this is a temporary war-swollen market which will shrink back to its original size as soon as the present agricultural price levels drop. In order to answer this question consideration must be given to the character of the market (fig. 4). I have considered seventeen western and midwestern states in the western market area where transportation costs from the western deposits are equal to or lower than those from Florida. They include all states west of a line drawn through Chicago, Kansas City and the western boundary of New Mexico. In the mewar period this was a small market totaling only 37,000 tons of P,O, annually. The 1946 total for this same area was approximately 200,000 tons. Considerably more fertilizer would have been used in 1946 had adequate supplies been available. Estimates of future markets are difficult to make, but we do have some indices that are useful. The

Jan 1, 1951

By W. M. Myers

Certain minerals possess inherent color and other properties that make them suitable for the pigmentation of paints, mortar, plaster, concrete, face brick, and other materials. Their production is one of the most ancient of mineral industries and their use by primitive man is well known. These natural pigments have some economic factors in their favor, particularly wide geographic distribution, low cost of production, ease of preparation, chemical stability, and permanence in use so that they continue to form the basis of a small but useful industry. When used in paints such pigments act as a filler and supply body and opacity in addition to color. Natural mineral pigments are prepared for the market by the comparatively simple operations of washing, grinding, blending, and calcining. Any one, or all of these processes may be applied to a single pigment. The development of synthetic pigments and the use of byproduct materials have introduced competition with the products of nature and are having a growing influence on the economic position of the mined minerals. Development of the Industry The industry developed to commercial stature in Pennsylvania largely because of the presence of beds of ocher extending from Easton in a southwesterly direction toward Reading, and a variety of small iron mines in the region. The mining of paint ores in the Lehigh Valley was active as early as 1850 and shortly after the Civil War the establishment of mills expanded production and led to the development of new products and eventually the manufacture of synthetic pigments. Pennsylvania continues to maintain it.s leadership as a producer of mineral colors. Production is recorded also in New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, Ohio, and Georgia. Iron as a Pigment Iron in various compounds is the most important pigment in nature. The iron pigments are characterized by stability, light fastness, good covering power, high index of refraction, and economy in production. Ferrous compounds display a typical green coloration. This has not been employed as a commercial pigment to any great extent except incidentally in such greenstones as have been used in construction, or crushed and sized for application as a granule to roofing. Ferric oxides are characteristically red and form an important group of industrial pignents. Hydrated ferric oxides exhibit various shades of yellow and are present in such familiar pigments as ocher and sienna. The addition of small amounts of manganese oxide or carbon as organic matter to the yellows produces the brown umbers. Magnetite is one of the few black minerals that grinds to a black powder. The mineral pigments vary from earth colors of low intensity and great dilution of iron content to almost pure iron compounds with high tinting strength and correspondingly greater value. There has been some relationship between the mining of iron ores and the production of mineral pigments; although the production of colors is not carried on appreciably as a byproduct of iron mining. A number of mineral pigment producers, particularly in the eastern states, have operated mines which in the past were small producers of hematite, bog ore, or carbonate ore. The knowledge of the location of the deposit and its possibilities as a producer of pigment are due to its past history as a producer of metallic ore. Many iron compounds may be changed in color by calcination, the end product being Fe2O3, a stable red oxide. The yellow hydrated oxides may be changed to red. The gray carbonate, found in Carbon County, Pa., calcines to a fine red product. Ferrous sulphate (copperas) often available in tonnage as a byproduct of the steel industry, breaks down under heat or chemical action leaving a residual red oxide. Pigments produced by calcination or dissassociation of compounds possess the advantage of fine particle size and ease of grinding. Mineral Pigments MINERAL BLACKS Many black minerals grind to a light colored powder. This characteristic is familiar to the mineralogist as the white streak produced by a black

Jan 1, 1950

By E. Martinez

The effect of ultrasonic energy transmitted through a liquid on chrysotile asbestos was investigated. Ultrasonic energy was effective in fiberization of chrysotile crudes as well as standard grades of milled asbestos fibers. Treated samples of several grades of milled fibers had increased wet bulk volumes and decreased settling and filtration rates compared to untreated fibers. Ultrasonics may be a method for fiberization of chrysotile without decreasing length or use of chemical additives that alter surface properties. Cavitation of the liquid on the surface of fiber bundles is believed to be the cause of the fiberization. It was found that ultrasonic energy greatly increased the rate of precipitation of latex on asbestos. When chrysotile asbestos fibers require additional opening or fiberization, the usual method employed is some type of high speed impact or grinding to open the fibers and produce a larger surface area. These methods always cause some degradation in length due to breaking of fibers. In addition, the efficiency of mechanical methods decreases as the diameter of fiber bundles decreases. Chemical methods have been proposed and it is claimed that fiberization down to individual fibers of 200-300 A diam is possible with some wetting agents. However, large amounts of reagent are required, approximately EDWARD MARTINEZ is with Central Research Laboratories, American Smelting and Refining Co., South Plain-field, N.J. TP 63H226. Manuscript, Aug. 12, 1963. Discussion of this paper, submitted in duplicate prior to Mar. 15, 1964, will appear in SME Transactions, September 1964, and AIME Transactions, 1964, vol. 229. 50 pct of the weight of fiber treated, and some of the wetting agent remains on the surface of the chrysotile and cannot be removed by any solvent which does not destroy the asbestos.' This investigation was directed at determining whether ultrasonic energy transmitted through a liquid would be effective in fiberizing chrysotile asbestos. Samples of asbestos crudes and commercially milled fibers were treated; settling and filtration rates of treated and untreated milled fibers were obtained. EQUIPMENT A Westinghouse Corp. ultrasonic cleaning system WEHH was used in this investigation. See Table I for a breakdown of this ultrasonic unit. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Fiberization of Chrysotile Crudes: Samples of chrysotile crudes were pulled apart with tweezers so that coarse bundles of fiber approximately 1/16 in. in diam were obtained. The bundles were put into a bottle with 200 ml of methanol and the mixture placed into the ultrasonic tank for 30 min at a power output of 1200 w. The test was repeated using water instead of methanol. During the irradiation it was noted that the surfaces of the bundles were being fiberized. The liquid eventually became cloudy with dispersed solids. Fig. 1 is an electron micrograph of the fibers, some reduced to unit dimensions, and a fine material released by the ultrasonic energy. The platy particles in Fig. 1 were identified by electron diffraction and differential thermal analysis as brucite, Mg(OH)2, which must have been intergrown in the chrysotile crudes. Electron micrographs of bulk specimens of chrysotile have shown a fine material filling the interstices between tubular fibers.2,3 Electron diffraction patterns of the fine material collected after ultrasonic treatment indicate that it is amorphous. After decanting the solution, bundles of chrysotile remained somewhat decreased in diameter. Continuing the ultrasonic irradiation of the remaining material resulted in additional fiberization. The opening of the fibers occurred in both methanol and water. Cavitation of the liquid by the ultrasonic energy is undoubtedly responsible for the fiberization. When sound waves are transmitted through a liquid at a

Jan 1, 1963

By Randolph C. Specht

A two year study was made of the waste disposal of the pebble rock phosphate industry. Solid slimes are impounded in large settling areas and the process water is re-used. Clear effluent was not found to be toxic to fish or animal life in field tests or in controlled experiments. Survey: The pebble rock phosphate mining and washing operations in Florida (fig. 1) are along the river basins of the Alafia to the west and the Peace to the east. The elevation of the area varies between 40 and 170 ft above sea level. Effluents from the operations find their way into one of the two river systems (fig. 2), the Peace River which flows into Charlotte Harbor and the Alafia into Tampa Bay, both along the Gulf of Mexico. There are no major industries along these rivers below the phosphate operations. On the Peace River, the town of Arcadia, approximately 50 miles below the phosphate operations, obtains its water from the river. No other communities along the rivers use them as a source of water supply. Small communities, farms, and ranches are located along the rivers and both rivers drain vast swamp areas. Complaints had been received at the office of the Chief Sanitary Engineer, of the Florida State Board of Health,' that both rivers were turbid at various times and that fishing in the Alafia River was "not as good as it used to be." Tests made by another agency on the dissolved oxygen content of the Alafia River revealed that the oxygen content, at times, was comparatively low.= However, it was not shown that the phosphate wastes had any effect upon the oxygen content of the stream. The river waters are normally brown in color due to drainage from vast swamp areas and are very shallow, from 2 to 6 ft in depth. Turbid waters have been noted in streams coming from the present phosphate operations and also from streams along which there are no operations at the present time. It was learned from "old timers" that, when many more companies than at present were operating along both the Alafia and Peace Rivers forty or fifty years ago, no attention was paid to prohibiting the disposal of slimes along the river basins. During dry periods now in some of the river swamps where drainage ditches have been dug, it is indicated clearly that phosphate slimes were disposed of directly into the river swamps for many years past. Places have been observed where there were alternating strata of phosphate mud, leaf mold, and quartz sand. The former practice of indiscriminate disposal of wastes accounts for some turbidity, particularly after heavy rains and washouts and during clearing of land and digging of drainage ditches. During a six months' period in which a large tract of land was being cleared and drainage ditches dug, a small stream (Six Mile Creek), which previously had been clear, showed a turbidity of 600 ppm and remained turbid until the clearing was completed; after which the stream again flowed clear. An interview with the operator of the municipal water plant, which is about 50 miles below the phosphate operations on the Peace River and which used this river as a source of supply, revealed that there had been no taste in the water for the past ten years, other than that occasionally encountered from increased growth of algae. The operations of each of the cooperating com-

Jan 1, 1951

By Randolph C. Specht

A two year study was made of the waste disposal of the pebble rock phosphate industry. Solid slimes are impounded in large settling areas and the process water is re-used. Clear effluent was not found to be toxic to fish or animal life in field tests or in controlled experiments. Survey: The pebble rock phosphate mining and washing operations in Florida (fig. 1) are along the river basins of the Alafia to the west and the Peace to the east. The elevation of the area varies between 40 and 170 ft above sea level. Effluents from the operations find their way into one of the two river systems (fig. 2), the Peace River which flows into Charlotte Harbor and the Alafia into Tampa Bay, both along the Gulf of Mexico. There are no major industries along these rivers below the phosphate operations. On the Peace River, the town of Arcadia, approximately 50 miles below the phosphate operations, obtains its water from the river. No other communities along the rivers use them as a source of water supply. Small communities, farms, and ranches are located along the rivers and both rivers drain vast swamp areas. Complaints had been received at the office of the Chief Sanitary Engineer, of the Florida State Board of Health,' that both rivers were turbid at various times and that fishing in the Alafia River was "not as good as it used to be." Tests made by another agency on the dissolved oxygen content of the Alafia River revealed that the oxygen content, at times, was comparatively low.= However, it was not shown that the phosphate wastes had any effect upon the oxygen content of the stream. The river waters are normally brown in color due to drainage from vast swamp areas and are very shallow, from 2 to 6 ft in depth. Turbid waters have been noted in streams coming from the present phosphate operations and also from streams along which there are no operations at the present time. It was learned from "old timers" that, when many more companies than at present were operating along both the Alafia and Peace Rivers forty or fifty years ago, no attention was paid to prohibiting the disposal of slimes along the river basins. During dry periods now in some of the river swamps where drainage ditches have been dug, it is indicated clearly that phosphate slimes were disposed of directly into the river swamps for many years past. Places have been observed where there were alternating strata of phosphate mud, leaf mold, and quartz sand. The former practice of indiscriminate disposal of wastes accounts for some turbidity, particularly after heavy rains and washouts and during clearing of land and digging of drainage ditches. During a six months' period in which a large tract of land was being cleared and drainage ditches dug, a small stream (Six Mile Creek), which previously had been clear, showed a turbidity of 600 ppm and remained turbid until the clearing was completed; after which the stream again flowed clear. An interview with the operator of the municipal water plant, which is about 50 miles below the phosphate operations on the Peace River and which used this river as a source of supply, revealed that there had been no taste in the water for the past ten years, other than that occasionally encountered from increased growth of algae. The operations of each of the cooperating com-

Jan 1, 1951

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

THE performance of coal-washing equipment, that is, the effectiveness with which coal and impurity are separated, is a subject of undisputed interest to all concerned with the preparation of coal. Through the years much has been written in both American and European literature on the performance of coal-washing equipment and its interpretation, but until recently no effort has been made to consolidate this wealth of information into a single, comprehensive treatment of the subject. A splendid effort in this direction was made at the First International Conference on Coal Preparation held in Paris in June 1950 in which representatives from virtually every coal-producing country participated. Although the scope of the conference covered the entire field of coal preparation, many of the sixty-odd papers and a great deal of the discussion dealt with the subject of evaluating washery performance. Prominence was given this subject by the Centre d'Etudes et Re-cherches, des Charbonnages de France, which sponsored the conference. This research organization, generally referred to as Cerchar, was formed in 1948 following the nationalization of the French coal industry. Since that date it has conducted an intensive study of coal preparation. Perhaps because of a fresh viewpoint, Cerchar realized immediately that complete information on the performance of French washeries and a thorough understanding of the mechanism of gravity separation were the fundamental prerequisites in a program to improve preparation practice. For this reason Cerchar concentrated on obtaining performance data and on a comprehensive study of methods of evaluating such information. Some idea of the magnitude of this work will be appreciated from the fact that 175 performance tests were made in 44 plants. The work performed by Cerchar emphasized a condition that is recognized by many of those concerned with coal preparation, namely that the lack of uniformity in presenting data on washery performance, the diversity of methods used in evaluating such information, and the frequent confusion of the terms related to performance have been prime factors militating against the progress from art to science. Thus, Cerchar feels that standardization of the methods employed for evaluating washery performance, not only in France but in the entire world, is essential to progress, and the prime objective of the Paris conference was to seek international standardization of the evaluation methods advocated by Cerchar. At the conclusion of the conference the question of standardization was referred to the International Standards Organization. A careful study of the dozen papers on the subject of evaluating washery performance presented at the conference reveals that none of the methods is new; most of them date back over a decade. Nevertheless, the intensive scrutiny of these methods brought about by the conference unquestionably has resulted in a valuable exchange of ideas and a clarification of thought that could scarcely be achieved in any other way. The object of the present report is to make available to the American coal industry the ideas developed at the conference which seem most important from an American viewpoint and to provide a critical analysis of some of the evaluation methods advocated by Cerchar. The various methods of evaluating washery performance are illustrated partly with data that have been published in American literature, and some new data have been obtained as the result of experimental work undertaken since the conference to provide information on certain controversial points. An English translation of the proceedings of the conference, including the discussion as well as the papers, will be available,' and previous to the conference Coal Age2 published a very brief description of some of the principal evaluation methods used by Cerchar. Americans will appreciate as well as do the French the desirability of standardizing both the termi-

Jan 1, 1952

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

John Grifien (Pittsburgh)—I wish to congratulate the authors on this paper, which, I am sure, will promote a clearer conception of the various criteria which have been advanced as measures of coal-cleaning performance. Their clear descriptions of the more important criteria that have been advanced and explanations of their meaning and application have been sorely needed and, if widely promulgated and followed, should remove much of the confusion which, heretofore, has been evident. I suggest that much of this confusion has also arisen from lack of common agreement as to the exact meaning of the words and terms used in our discussions of this subject. I am sure I have been equally guilty in this respect and suggest it is time that we select a committee to study vocabulary as well as criteria, so that common understanding and agreement can be had. Thus, I suggest, that the title of this paper should have used the words "coal-cleaning performance" and not "coal-washery performance." My understanding is that "washery" refers to a complete plant and it has additional functions to that of coal-cleaning, such as control of size, moisture, etc. Also, I do not agree with the authors that the formulas given in their paper, the Fraser and Yancey formulas, are necessarily the only ones that can be called efficiency formulas. When a dictionary is consulted one realizes that the words "efficiency" and "efficient" have not precise meanings but only very general ones and must be further defined for each particular use, if they are to have any precise meaning. To my mind, the first of the Fraser and Yancey formulas given should never be used as expressing "efficiency" alone but only by the fuller phrase which truly expresses the kind of efficiency it states, which is "coal recovery efficiency." For complete clarity we then need only define "coal" for the particular circumstances under which the formula is used. This would recognize the fact, fully explained by the authors, that the limits in coal qualities imposed by the market have imposed a factor—and a variable factor—which has influenced any answer obtained by this formula. Such a procedure makes it entirely practical and logical to use the values of any of the qualities of coal—ash, sulphur, phosphorus, specific gravity—or a combination of them to define what is coal for that particular use of the formula. Further, it is clear to me that the criteria to be used must be dictated by the objective in view and the use for which the data are obtained. The authors clearly point out that the Fraser and Yancey coal-recovery efficiency formula is influenced by three factors, "one is determined by the coal, one is dictated by market or use conditions, and one is an inherent characteristic of the cleaning unit itself." The formula which uses the inverse of misplaced material as a measure of efficiency is also a coal recovery efficiency formula and is influenced in like manner by these three factors. As the authors point out, both are useless in obtaining data which enables a direct and valid comparison of the performance of a given cleaning unit on two coals where the other two factors vary or of the performance of two or more cleaning units of different types unless the values of the other two factors are identical. Much of the confusion in our discussions of and literature on coal cleaning has come from failure to understand clearly this fact. Many such comparisons have been made from which erroneous conclusions have been drawn. I am, therefore, particularly glad to see the authors' emphasis on 4?-1e criteria which indicate the "sharpness of separation. I feel that these are the essential criteria

Jan 1, 1952

By R. L. Powell, E. C. Houston, V. J. Jones

The phosphate ores mined in middle Tennessee typically consist of granular rock phosphate particles disseminated in a clayey matrix. In the TVA plant near Columbia, Tenn., the phosphate ore is mined, made into a slurry with the addition of a small amount of sodium hydroxide as dispersant, and treated in a hydroseparator to remove minus 10 micron material. The hydro-separator underflow, comprising a rough concentrate, is transported by pipeline to the plant; the hydro-separator overflow, comprising a tailing, is flocculated by addition of calcium sulphate and is discharged to settling ponds at a rate of about 1400 gpm. Sedimentation in the ponds produces a clarified efluent, which may be recycled for use as process water or discharged to surface drainage. This method of tailing treatment is not entirely satisfactory since poor sedimentation characteristics of the tailing result in poor ultimate utilization of pond storage volume. The sediment contains about 70 pct water, even after several years of settling, and is not sufficiently dry to permit it to be used as back-fill, which would provide a method for reclaiming ponds that had been filled with sediment. Since important advantages would result from a process whereby the water content of the tailing solids would be made substantially lower than that obtained in the present process, several possibilities of achiev- ing this were considered. Flocculation tests were made with a wide variety of chemicals, but none gave any improvement over the results obtained with calcium sulphate. Filtering or centrifuging was found to be infeasible. Small-scale tests of dewatering by electrophoresis showed promising results, so this method was studied further in pilot-plant equipment. It was found that the tailing could be dewatered by electrophoresis to produce the solids in a form suitable for use as back-fill. However, the de-watered tailing has no monetary value at present, and the process is not economically competitive with settling pond operation under present conditions. This paper describes the pilot-plant work on electrical dewatering. It is believed that the data may find application in dewatering physically similar but economically valuable materials such as clays or mill slimes, or in dewatering phosphate tailing in the event of increased settling pond costs

Jan 1, 1950

By Stefan Boshkov, Malcolm T. Wane

THE validity and accuracy of velocity measurements underground have been questioned repeatedly by those in mine ventilation work. The general disagreement on the subject is well illustrated in an AIME publication.' Although the presence of errors is readily admitted, their magnitudes are not known and often are described by practical operators merely as "great," "small," or "of no importance." The belief that errors are of academic interest only prevails because of a justifiable claim that actual volumes of air circulated are well in excess of those required by law and safe mining practices. Poor understanding of the source and nature of errors inherent in velocity measurements, coupled with questionable determination of cross-sectional area, result in faulty techniques for the purpose of expediting ventilation surveys and render doubtful the calculated volume. Often consistency of readings is confused with accuracy. A succession of check readings showing a maximum deviation of 5 pct in the measured value of velocity usually signifies nothing more than diligent application of technique in a stable ventilating current. This article discusses the errors involved in air measurements underground. Where instrument errors are presented, the treatment is confined solely to the rotating-vane anemometer, recognized as a most useful ventilation measurement tool because of its simple design and easy operation. In the following pages a positive deviation is defined as one which has to be added to the registered air velocity to obtain the true air velocity.

Jan 1, 1956

By H. R. Hose

The total crude fluorspar reserves in Western Europe, including the USSR and the Soviet sphere, Thetotalare estimated to exceed 17 million metric tons. The total fluorspar production in 1951 in Western Europe, excluding the USSR and Soviet sphere, amounted to 371,109 metric tons. The chief fluorspar-producing countries in Europe, excluding Russia and the Soviet sphere, are France, Western Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. TOTAL crude fluorspar reserves in western Europe, containing more than 35 pct CaF2, are estimated at 12 million metric tons, while reserves in the USSR and Soviet sphere may exceed 5 million metric tons. The bulk of these reserves are concentrated in the USSR, Spain, United Kingdom, Western Germany, and Italy. Since published estimates of the tonnages of individual mines and explored deposits are not available for most countries in Europe, the estimates given in Table I for individual countries are necessarily approximate, as they have been compiled from various sources and modified and combined according to the author's judgment. The majority of fluorspar deposits in Europe belong to the late Paleozoic metallogenetic epochs and have been found within or along the borders of the Hercynian massifs. Deposits in the Central and Esterel massifs of France, those of Western and Eastern Germany, Sardinia, the Catalonian coastal range and the Sierra de los Santos in Spain, and those of Devonshire and Cornwall belong to the Hercynian metallogenetic epochs. The deposits in southern Norway and Sweden belong to the middle Paleozoic or later, those of northern England to the late Paleozoic or later, those of northern Spain and Greece to the late Mesozoic, and those of northern and probably central Italy and Switzerland to the early Tertiary. Fluorspar occurs typically in veins, lenses, and stringers, but also in bedded replacement deposits and pockets, and may be colorless to white, yellow, green, pink, brown, blue, or purple to almost black. Except for the colorless variety, the only kind which can be used for the optical industry, the color of the fluorspar does not affect its ultimate use. Crystalline cubic or octahedral fluorite of CaF2 composition, with 48.9 pct fluorine and 51.1 pct calcium, has a specific gravity of 3.18. The ore in place, however, usually averages 3.0 metric tons per cubic meter owing to the quantity of other minerals asso- ciated with the fluorspar in the veins and the physical state of the fluorspar, which may vary from sugary to massive crystalline or microscopic inter-growths with barite or quartz. Barite of 4.5 sp gr, quartz of 2.66 sp gr, and chert and calcite are commonly associated with fluorspar. Other minerals usually present in lesser amounts are celestite, wad, silver, lead, zinc, copper, iron, and uranium minerals. In some cavity fillings the rhythmic deposition of the fluorspar, barite, and quartz into successive crusts may make it possible to handpick the crude ore on belts or to separate the fluorspar from other minerals while the actual mining is carried on. Where metallurgical grade lump spar is required for foundries, separation of quartz and barite may be made also by jigs and heavy media, and in some mines the lead and zinc sulphides may be separated and recovered by vibrating tables. However, except in the case of unusually high grade deposits, acid grade fluorspar is obtained by flotation. By this process fluorspar deposits grading down to 35 pct CaF2 in the crude ore can be worked at a profit when fluorspar, lead, zinc, and silver prices are high, as the sulphides of these ores can be separated from the fluorspar by flotation and concentrated.

Jan 1, 1956

By T. W. Smoot

Bentonites are composed chiefly of montmorillonites which are clay minerals generally distinguished from other clay minerals by their surface activity and extremely fine particle sizes. The uses of bentonite are many and varied, depending principally on one or more of the following characteristics: 1) Thixotropy, 2) Dispersion, 3) Plasticity, 4) Swelling, 5) Surface area, activity, ab- and adsorbtive properties. Some of the major uses of bentonite are briefly reviewed as are the mineralogical and physical properties. The uses of X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis and other tests for physical properties are reviewed as to their uses in evaluation. In the past 40 years, the industrial uses of bentonite have grown to include many applications. The physical and chemical properties of bentonites are such that they can be used as catalysts, adsorbants, plasticizers, binders, drilling muds, and pelletizers. Not all bentonites, however, can be used for all of these purposes and some are probably of little or no value for any use. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the mineralogical, physical, and chemical characteristics and variations of bentonites. The determination of these characteristics and their uses in industry are also reviewed so that these determinations can be used as guides for evaluation. DEFINITION OF BENTONITE The word bentonite, as used in this paper, refers to a clay material, usually (but not necessarily) the result of the in-place-weathering of volcanic ash. Its mineralogical composition is dominated by the clay mineral montmorillonite and generally carries other clay minerals and silica minerals as the major 'impurities'. For this discussion, such a definition is justified since most of the economic uses of bentonite~ depend upon the physical and chemical characteristics of the montmorillonite minerals involved. The terms montmorillonite and bentonite have been used almost interchangeably in industry although the latter is much more commonly used. Therefore, where montmorillonite is discussed, it should be understood that the major feature of a bentonite is the subject. STRUCTIJRE OF MONTMORILLONlTE The economic importance of bentonites is generally based on one or more of the following characteristics of montmorillonite: 1) high-thixotropy and easy dispersion in water, 2) high-plasticity, 3) swelling properties, 4) large surface area/unit mass, 5) high surface activity, and 6) adsorptive properties. To understand these properties, an appreciation of the structural scheme of montmorillonite is helpful. Montmorillonite IS one of the three-layer clay minerals composed essentially of hydrous aluminum silicates. The essential building blocks of these layered silicate:; are: 1) silica tetrahedron composed of a silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms, and 2) aluminun (iron, magnesium, etc.) octahedral unit that, ideally, has one of these atoms surrounded by six hydroxal units. Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch of the montmorillonite structure. In the montmorillonite structure, the tetrahedron are pointed inward and attached to the octahedral units so that the O= atoms replace the hydroxal units where they are bonded; hence two-thirds of the hydroxal units

Jan 1, 1962

By James S. Browning

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory and small-scale continuous tests of kyanite ore from Georgia and South Carolina to determine the technical feasibility of recovering commercial grade kyanite concentrates by flotation. The research indicated that combinations if sulfuric acid and petroleum sulfonate may be used effectively for flotation of kyanite from quartzite-kyanite ore. This report summarizes the results of these tests, and demonstrates the feasibility of producing commercial-grade concentrates with a high recovery of the contained kyanite. Extensive deposits of kyanite occur in the southeastern United States. The reserves of these deposits, if developed, are adequate to supply the United States with 35-mesh kyanite concentrate for many years at the present rate of consumption. According to Espenshade and Potter,' the kyanite-quartz rock type deposits in this area contain about 100 million tons of ore averaging 10 to 30% kyanite. The tonnage of kyanite-bearing gneiss and schist is much larger than the tonnage of kyanite-quartz rock, but the kyanite gneiss and schist are appreciably lower in grade. The largest deposits of kyanite-quartz rock are in the Farmville district, Virginia, and Kings Mountain district, North Carolina-South Carolina, and at Graves Mountain, Ga. Of the known deposits, only four were being mined for kyanite in 1 967. These deposits are near Farmville and Dillwyn, Va., Clover, S.C., and Washington, Ga.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. W. Smith

Many industries such as the cement industry handle large quantities of limestone and clay slurries. However, at present very little is known about the flow properties, such as friction loss due to flow of slurries in pipelines. This lack of knowledge has made it often very difficult to calculate the total dynamic head of a proposed slurry handling system, and therefore has often made the selection of correct size slurry handling equipment difficult. Because of lack of knowledge about slurry flow a study of slurry flow theory has been made at the Portland Cement Association's Research and Development Laboratory with the idea of developing a method whereby friction losses due to slurry flow may be predicted for any size pipeline. The flow equations developed have been checked by pilot plant size equipment. DERIVATION OF FLOW EQUATIONS It has been known for some time that limestone and clay slurries handled in cement plants do not flow in the same manner as a Newtonian fluid such as water. When a Newtonian fluid flows the shear stress at any flow velocity is proportional to the rate of shear. This phenomenon can be illustrated by a line (Figure 1). The viscosity of the fluid is the slope of the curve. Thus, the flow properties of the material may be characterized by a single materials constant: viscosity. When a non-Newtonian fluid with the type of characteristics exhibited by limestone and clay slurr-ries flow, a similar curve can be constructed (Figure 2). This graph is a shear diagram of a Bingham plastic non-Newtonian fluid. It should be noted that with the Bingham(1) plastic type of flow viscosity, the slope of the curve, is still an important materials constant. In addition, however, there is another materials constant, namely the yield stress of the material. One way to visualize this constant is to consider it as the amount of energy that must be put into a Bingham plastic material to start it flowing.

Jan 1, 1961

By Phillip E. La Moreaux

Fluoride, generally less than 0.5 ppm, is present in ground water from rocks of Paleozoic age and older, in northern and eastern Alabama. Some of the water-bearing formations in the Coastal Plain area of the State yield water with as much as 6.8 ppm fluoride. IN June 1940, the U. S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Alabama, began a study of the ground-water resources of the part of Alabama where water is obtained from Cretaceous rocks. The purpose of the study was to determine the quality, quantity, occurrence, and availability of ground water in that area. These studies have been expanded to include ground-water investigations in the area of Tertiary rocks, or southern quarter of the State, and certain areas in northern Alabama. The first report issued on these studies was by C. W. Carlston,1 of the Alabama Geological Survey. In the present paper all references to ground-water data for the Cretaceous area are taken from this earlier publication. In 1945, the Dentistry Division of the Alabama Department of Public Health became interested in the correlation of tooth decay and mottled enamel with the chemical quality of ground water used for public supplies in the State. Through a cooperative arrangement between the State Department of Public Health and the Ground Water Division (now Branch) of the U. S. Geological Survey, a report by the author2 was published in 1948. These two reports give accurate information on the occurrence of fluoride in the Coastal Plain of Alabama. At present, only scattered information is available on fluoride in ground water of the crystalline-rock or Piedmont area and for the Paleozoic area of Alabama, but it is hoped that in the future more complete information on the presence of fluoride in ground water in these areas can be collected. Outline of Geology and Ground Water: As described by Adams,3 the State of Alabama includes parts of two major geologic divisions, the Appalachian region and the Coastal Plain. The boundary between these divisions is irregular and is known as the Fall Line of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast States. The Fall Line enters Alabama near Phoenix City, extends westward to Wetumpka, Clanton, and Tuscaloosa, and then swings northwestward to the northwest corner of the State. The Appalachian region in Alabama includes three major provinces, the Piedmont province, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley province, and the Appalachian Plateau province (fig. 1). The rock formations in the Piedmont province in east-central Alabama are mainly of pre-Cambrian age, chiefly crystalline schists and gneisses injected by younger igneous rocks (fig. 1, I). They are faulted and folded and have a complicated structure. These rocks are the oldest and among the most complex rocks in the State. Generally, only small yields of ground water are obtained from rocks in this area. Even though ground water is of great importance for the development of domestic and farm supplies in rural areas and a few small industrial and municipal wells, yields in the area from individual wells generally range from 5 to 25 gpm and rarely exceed 50 gpm. The geologic formations of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley province and the Appalachian Plateau province (see fig. 1, II, and III) are separated on the basis of their structure. These rocks are of Paleozoic age, ranging from Cambrian to Carboniferous, and comprise a succession of formations consisting chiefly of shale, sandstone, limestone, and dolomite, aggregating many thousands of feet in

Jan 1, 1951

By Phillip E. La Moreaux

Fluoride, generally less than 0.5 ppm, is present in ground water from rocks of Paleozoic age and older, in northern and eastern Alabama. Some of the water-bearing formations in the Coastal Plain area of the State yield water with as much as 6.8 ppm fluoride. IN June 1940, the U. S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Alabama, began a study of the ground-water resources of the part of Alabama where water is obtained from Cretaceous rocks. The purpose of the study was to determine the quality, quantity, occurrence, and availability of ground water in that area. These studies have been expanded to include ground-water investigations in the area of Tertiary rocks, or southern quarter of the State, and certain areas in northern Alabama. The first report issued on these studies was by C. W. Carlston,1 of the Alabama Geological Survey. In the present paper all references to ground-water data for the Cretaceous area are taken from this earlier publication. In 1945, the Dentistry Division of the Alabama Department of Public Health became interested in the correlation of tooth decay and mottled enamel with the chemical quality of ground water used for public supplies in the State. Through a cooperative arrangement between the State Department of Public Health and the Ground Water Division (now Branch) of the U. S. Geological Survey, a report by the author2 was published in 1948. These two reports give accurate information on the occurrence of fluoride in the Coastal Plain of Alabama. At present, only scattered information is available on fluoride in ground water of the crystalline-rock or Piedmont area and for the Paleozoic area of Alabama, but it is hoped that in the future more complete information on the presence of fluoride in ground water in these areas can be collected. Outline of Geology and Ground Water: As described by Adams,3 the State of Alabama includes parts of two major geologic divisions, the Appalachian region and the Coastal Plain. The boundary between these divisions is irregular and is known as the Fall Line of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast States. The Fall Line enters Alabama near Phoenix City, extends westward to Wetumpka, Clanton, and Tuscaloosa, and then swings northwestward to the northwest corner of the State. The Appalachian region in Alabama includes three major provinces, the Piedmont province, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley province, and the Appalachian Plateau province (fig. 1). The rock formations in the Piedmont province in east-central Alabama are mainly of pre-Cambrian age, chiefly crystalline schists and gneisses injected by younger igneous rocks (fig. 1, I). They are faulted and folded and have a complicated structure. These rocks are the oldest and among the most complex rocks in the State. Generally, only small yields of ground water are obtained from rocks in this area. Even though ground water is of great importance for the development of domestic and farm supplies in rural areas and a few small industrial and municipal wells, yields in the area from individual wells generally range from 5 to 25 gpm and rarely exceed 50 gpm. The geologic formations of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley province and the Appalachian Plateau province (see fig. 1, II, and III) are separated on the basis of their structure. These rocks are of Paleozoic age, ranging from Cambrian to Carboniferous, and comprise a succession of formations consisting chiefly of shale, sandstone, limestone, and dolomite, aggregating many thousands of feet in

Jan 1, 1951

By Charles H. Moore

In the study of the properties of rutile pigments it became apparent several years ago that certain physical and optical properties could not be determined on particles of pigmentary size. Since reflected light is the dominant type which reaches the eye from small particles, the true color of pure rutile was not known. Most rutile pig-ments are acicular in habit, elongated parallel to the "c" axis. It was considered important to know the nature and tone of light transmitted, for example, by a basal plate. Further, as shown by spectrophotometric curves, there is a very strong absorption of light of 4000 A as measured on particles with random orientation. It would be interesting to see whether this absorption position varied with predetermined and selected orientations. Also, since the behavior of titanium pigments in a vehicle is important, a knowledge of the surface wettability of single crystals by various media should prove very fruitful. Finally, the optical properties of rutile are such that it should show, in a single pure crystal, greater fire and brilliance than the diamond. Mineralogists had long speculated that this would be the case and curiosity was strong to produce a single crystal large enough to cut. In light of the above, a project was initiated for the formation of single crystals of rutile. Method of Formation of Rutile Single Crystals Fortunately, purification of TiO2 produced from both titanium tetra-chloride and titanyl sulphate solutions had reached the stage where spectro-graphically pure starting material could be made. Spectrographic analysis of the feed material used in the initial experiments is compared with the present feed material in Table 1. It is apparent that the present large scale purification is approximately as good as the original experimental, small scale purification. Verneuil1 produced synthetic ruby and corundum in 1904 by the well-known flame fusion process, which today bears his name. Except for mechanical improvements the present commercial production of synthetics by flame fusion is essentially unchanged from his initial method. His burner consisted of an inner orifice through which was fed the feed material and oxygen. Surrounding this was a larger outer orifice through which was fed hydrogen at lower pressure. This arrangement consists then of a lance of oxygen burning in an atmosphere of hydrogen. The proportions of hydrogen to oxygen usually used in corundum production is about 3:1, providing there is sufficient temperature to reach the 2050.°C required for the fusion of alumina. From work done in the Titanium Division Laboratories2 and from the published work of Erlich3 it was known that rutile appears to lose oxygen near its melting point and that it would not be possible to grow single crystals in a strongly reducing environment. Consequently, in order to determine whether single crystals could be grown at all, an Airco oxygen-acetylene torch with

Jan 1, 1950

By R. A. Kinzie

THE major operating costs in a cement plant are labor, power, and fuel. The opportunities and methods of savings in labor and power parallel other industries. Because our industry's use of fuel is large and its method of use is unique, the devices adapted for saving fuel are of interest. In normal practice the raw material in the form of a dry powder or a mud is fed to a rotating inclined cylinder where it is dried, calcined, and clinkered. In a Lepol kiln the raw material is rolled up into little balls with water in the nodulizer, fed to a traveling grate on which it is dried and partially calcined and tben to a short kiln where the process is finished. The more usual methods of saving heat have been the use of long kilns with chains in wet process plants and the use of waste heat boilers in dry plants (fig. 1). At the Santa Cruz plant we have used a Lepol system kiln and achieved a fuel 'economy of 4.7 gal per bbl of clinker or about 704,-000 Btu per bbl. This can be compared with our old kilns using the same fuel and raw material which consume 7.8 gal per bbl or 1,130,000 Btu per bbl. These are gross Btu and not the net figures usually used in reports of foreign companies. Our average consumption for 1948 was 708,000 Btu per bbl of Lepol clinker, based on cement sold, and oil purchased. The overall fuel consumption for 1948 was 6.61 gal per bbl. The Lepol system consists of a nodulizer, a grate, and a kiln. There is the usual accessory equipment which is similar to that used in other cement plants. The following description covers the equipment in operation at our plant. The nodulizer is a cylinder 8 ft 10 in. in diam by 18 ft long set on a slope of 1/2 in. per ft, and rotated at about 10 rpm. It is driven by a 50 hp wound rotor motor drawing about 9 kw. The inside of the shell is cleaned by a continuously operating scraper which draws 0.1 kw. The dry raw material is fed to the nodulizer where, being sprayed with water, it rolls into small spheres about 90 pct being between 1/2 and 1 in. in diam and containing about 15 pct water. The nodules fall on the traveling grate where the hot gas from the kiln is pulled down through the

Jan 1, 1951

By R. A. Kinzie

THE major operating costs in a cement plant are labor, power, and fuel. The opportunities and methods of savings in labor and power parallel other industries. Because our industry's use of fuel is large and its method of use is unique, the devices adapted for saving fuel are of interest. In normal practice the raw material in the form of a dry powder or a mud is fed to a rotating inclined cylinder where it is dried, calcined, and clinkered. In a Lepol kiln the raw material is rolled up into little balls with water in the nodulizer, fed to a traveling grate on which it is dried and partially calcined and tben to a short kiln where the process is finished. The more usual methods of saving heat have been the use of long kilns with chains in wet process plants and the use of waste heat boilers in dry plants (fig. 1). At the Santa Cruz plant we have used a Lepol system kiln and achieved a fuel 'economy of 4.7 gal per bbl of clinker or about 704,-000 Btu per bbl. This can be compared with our old kilns using the same fuel and raw material which consume 7.8 gal per bbl or 1,130,000 Btu per bbl. These are gross Btu and not the net figures usually used in reports of foreign companies. Our average consumption for 1948 was 708,000 Btu per bbl of Lepol clinker, based on cement sold, and oil purchased. The overall fuel consumption for 1948 was 6.61 gal per bbl. The Lepol system consists of a nodulizer, a grate, and a kiln. There is the usual accessory equipment which is similar to that used in other cement plants. The following description covers the equipment in operation at our plant. The nodulizer is a cylinder 8 ft 10 in. in diam by 18 ft long set on a slope of 1/2 in. per ft, and rotated at about 10 rpm. It is driven by a 50 hp wound rotor motor drawing about 9 kw. The inside of the shell is cleaned by a continuously operating scraper which draws 0.1 kw. The dry raw material is fed to the nodulizer where, being sprayed with water, it rolls into small spheres about 90 pct being between 1/2 and 1 in. in diam and containing about 15 pct water. The nodules fall on the traveling grate where the hot gas from the kiln is pulled down through the

Jan 1, 1951

By R. C. Amero

FULLERS earth is a general name applied to claylike minerals that have high natural ad-sorptive powers. They are usually distinguished from ordinary clays by a higher content of combined moisture and a lower apparent density. The definition is based on the ancient use of the material for fulling, or cleansing woolen cloth of oil and grease; a more modern definition should mention the ability to decolorize oil and should differentiate between fullers earth, which is naturally active, and certain bentonites which only develop decolorizing power after being leached with strong mineral acids. The distinction between fullers earth and activable bentonite is not a sharp one, since all types of intermediate clays can be found that are more or less naturally active, yet more or less responsive to acid treatment. The differences seem to depend somewhat on the amount of leaching that has been effected by natural ground waters. Physical Properties The principal mineral constituent of activable bentonite is montmorillonite, a hydrous aluminum silicate to which the following formula is generally assigned: Al,Si,O,, (OH), • 12H,O Fullers earth, as well as bentonite, is usually composed of some variety of montmorillonite, but in the United States the largest tonnage of fullers earth is mined from deposits of attapulgite. Attapul- gite is a clay mineral composed of monoclinic crystals of colloidal size, having a fibrous shape similar to that of asbestos. A sectional model of the attapulgite "molecule" is shown in Fig. 1. A single unit is about 18.0 A wide and 12.9 A high. The length of the molecule is variable, but this same molecular pattern is repeated to form needlework crystals, rather than flakes, as is characteristic of the montmorillonite crystals. Attapulgite has been assigned the following formula,' although actually, the magnesia has been largely replaced by alumina: (0%) . (OH), • Mg, . Si, • Olp . 4H20. The fibrous nature of the mineral is clearly shown in the electron micrograph, Fig. 2. Although the deposits contain 5 to 30 pct quartz and carbonate minerals, impurities in the commercial products are held at a low level, principally by selective mining on the basis of oil decolorizing efficiency. The particle size distribution of this fullers earth has been estimated from settling rates, using sodium citrate as a dispersing agent.' Since Stokes' law only applies to spherical particles, the equivalent particle diameter calculated below is probably more nearly an index of diameter rather than length of the needlelike crystals: Eqnivalent Arbitrary Particle Distribution, Size Diameter Pci Classil3catian 0.05 mm 0.80 0.80 pct sand 0.05-0.02 mm 10.96 0.02-0.01 mm 9.65 42.10 pct silt 0.01-0.005 mm 11.40 0.005-0.002 mm 10.09 2-0.5 micron 10.61 0.5-0.2 micron 29.09 56.58 pct clay 0.2-0.05 micron 14.86 0.05 micron 1.96 The differential thermal analysis shown in Fig. 3 is unique and supports the theory that this is a distinct mineral species.' ~ Other general properties of the mineral as shown in Table I.

Jan 1, 1952