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By Colin C. Harris, Nathaniel Arbiter

The flotation operation can be analyzed in terms of three groups of variables. The first, largely independent of control by the operator, embraces the fixed physical and chemical properties of the ore minerals. The second includes all chemical and physical effects imposed on an ore after mining that influence its floatability. These can be either purposefully or accidentally applied. The third embodies the flotation-machine characteristics which realize the potential floatability of selected ore minerals in terms of grade and recovery levels. The machine effectiveness thus depends not only on its own contribution, but on the prior influence of all other variables on floatability. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT From the earliest days, flotation mills used many types of machines. Hoover 20 in 1914 mentioned as then important the Potter-Delprat tank for gas generation by acid, the DeBavay cones for skin flotation, the Elmore mixer and separation chamber for vacuum flotation, and his own modification of the Mineral Separation cell for the agitation froth process. Less important at the time were the MacQuisten tube and the Hyde cell. By 19274~ scores of machines had been developed and dozens had found their way into mills. From then on, however, under the scrutiny of competitive tests, many fell into disuse. Taggart in 19454~ classified processes broadly as skin flotation and froth flotation, dividing machines for the latter into the three categories: bubble column, pulp body, and combination.* Under 'bubble column' he listed all pneumatic, cascade, and subaeration cells; and under 'pulp body' those cells in which gas was generated by boiling, chemical action, and pressure reduction, as well as the agitation-froth type. At that writing skin flotation, the cascade machines, and all pulp body and combination machines were said to be extinct, leaving pneumatic and subaeration types dominant (u. S. practice). The process of elimination has continued to the present, with almost all pneumatic cells succumbing to the pressure of competition from subaeration machines. The only new machines to appear in recent years have been double-impeller types f and these have met with only limited acceptance.

Jan 1, 1962

By Harry A. Lipsitt, Rollins E. Hook, Attwell M. Adair

A necessary condition for a uniaxial stress distribution in compression testing is that the specimen end surfaces make full contact with the apparatus compression plates. In addition all compression surfaces must be machined perpendicularly to the loading axis. In general this condition is not sufficiently fulfilled in a simple apparatus. Therefore on application of the load the compression plate may first touch the specimen at one point only. This may cause crumbling of the specimen if the material under investigation is brittle (e.g., ionic crystals). It also precludes a precise study of the beginning of deformation as the effective cross sectional area is unknown. In addition a complex stress state is set up which renders quantitative work impossible, e.g., on dislocation density and arrangement as a function of stress. To overcome these difficulties a "self-adjusting" upper compression plate is required. A simple and reliable method of achieving this is shown in Fig. 1: A steel hemisphere is placed on the specimen. As soon as the compression plate (which no longer needs precise machining) makes contact with this hemisphere the load is uniformly distributed over the whole specimen surface, and a homogeneous uniaxial state of stress results. An advantage of the method is that the loading is always central, even when the specimen surface is not parallel to the compression plate (Fig. 1, dashed line). Therefore to a first approximation a uniaxial state of stress is maintained if the misorientation of the specimen end surface is small. Two typical stress strain curves of identically prepared sodium chloride crystals are shown in Fig. 2; curve 1 was taken without and curve II with the hemisphere under otherwise identical conditions. The improvement in the accuracy of defining the beginning of elastic and plastic deformation is clearly indicated. The writer wishes to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for financial support, and Professor P. Haasen for providing facilities for this work.

Jan 1, 1962

By J. M. Markowitz

The movement of hydrogen in two-phase Zircaloy-2 under the influence of a thermal gradient was studied in specimens of cylindrical geometry. A gross displacement of hydrogen toward the cooler regions of the specimen was observed with consequent copious precipitation of 6-ztrconium (ZrH) there. The kinetics of the diffusion are analyzed and discussed. X HE temperature-gradient redistribution of hydrogen in a-Zircaloy-2 has been treated both theoretically and experimentally Hydrogen moves toward the cold side of the temperature gradient until a steady state has been established; tendency for further hydrogen movement because of temperature differences is nullified by the tendency to move in the reverse direction because of the concentration gradient. The steady state condition is described by the equation in which iV is the concentration of hydrogen at a point in the specimen corresponding to absolute temperature T, R is the gas constant,k is a constant of integration, and Q is a parameter called the heat of transport, characteristic Of the particular system. The value of Q has been determined for hydrogen in Zircaloy-2 by several investigators, using Eq. [11. There is considerable variation in the results, the cause of which has not been resolved; reported values lie in the range 3 to 6 kcal per mole. The physical situation for two-phase thermal migration is much more complex. The -phase boundary for the solubility of hydrogen in Zircaloy-2 ranges from a concentration of 25 ppm at 200°C to a maximum of about 600 ppm at 550°C.4a Thus, if the concentration of hydrogen in Zircaloy-2 is sufficiently great (>600 ppm), the specimen will be entirely two-phase, consisting of a matrix of a-Zircaloy-2 surrounding particles of zirconium hydride. At time zero, with a temperature gradient imposed, the relative amounts of hydride and a-phase in each infinite-simally thin isothermal section of the specimen can be determined from the phase diagram by the lever rule. Moreover, the concentration of hydrogen in the matrix phase varies from point to point, following the a solubility line. Over most of this temperature range (<450°C) 6 phase, Fig. 3, has a constant concentration.5 The diffusion rate toward the cold side should be governed by 1) the slope of the a solubility line and 2) the temperature gradient, The extra complication of two-phase thermal diffusion lies in the fact that migration of hydrogen would leave the a-phase concentration gradient unaffected, since it is fixed at any temperature only by the solubility; gross concentration changes would reflect only the relative amounts of matrix and hydride, which could vary continuously at every point. Migration of hydrogen out of a region would lead to dissolution of hydride, and

Jan 1, 1962

By H. A. Stoess

The Minerals Industry makes heavy demands for and on its Material Handling equipment. It also gives progressive management the opportunity for considerable savings, ad consequently increased profits. In some cases, cost of Materials Handling amounts to 40°/o of the total cost of the ultimate product. Handling costs are hidden in overhead, indirect labor, excessive maintenance, productive workers performing handling tasks, and, a great many more. Even though Materials Handling is the oldest occupation of mankind, it is only within the past twenty years that it has emerged as a specialized field. While this industry has made full use of all types of mechanical and vibratory conveyors, pneumatic conveyors in their proper application can be a distinct asset. me use of pneumatic conveyors by this industry however is limited- to a certain extent by the particle size of your products through the various phases of manufacture, as well as their bulk density. However, with increasing knowledge of the fluidization of dry materials, their use is becoming more wide spread.

Jan 1, 1962

Dr. F. L. Stillwell. Segnit&apos;s article puts forward the views that the rocks associated with the Broken Hill lode are simply highly metamorphosed sediments, tbat metasomatism on a large scale was not an important factor at Broken Hill and that the rocks and lode were contemporaneously metamorphosed.In particular, the garnet quartzite, the most abundant rock in the limited section of the mine examined by Segnit, is described by him as a simple, metamorphosed manganiferous sediment.These views, while consonant with those of H. F. King (1958), are drastically opposed to those of myself and others e.g. Gustafson et al. (1950, p. 1383) who state that the most extensive hydrothermal alteration in the district is in and close to the zinc lodes in the Zinc Corporation and New Broken Hill Consolidated Ltd. mines. Segnit&apos;s conclusions conflict with 1. the absence of any manganiferous sediment in the Broken Hill district except in close proximity to the lode,2. the clear cut metasomatism of the dolerite dykes which indicates that the ore is younger than the dykes and therefore post-metamorphism, and 3. the petrofabric study of den Tex (1958) which provided independent evidence that the ore in its present form post-dates all events of a diastrophic nature in the area.The original sediments of the district were mudstones and calcareous sandstones with 2 to 5 per cent CaO. These have been converted by high grade metamorphism into sillimanite gneisses and quartzites characterized by the presence ...

Jan 1, 1962

By John A. Wolfe

Applications of mathematical statistics to the field of exploration are still relatively new. There are two primary reasons why little has been published in this field. First, if one discovers an effective technique for exploration, he does not like to disclose it. Second, the geologist needs to work closely with a mathematical statistician, and the communications barrier between the disciplines is formidable. The authors of this paper, one a geologist and the other a statistician, were interested in the economic benefit which appeared to be possible in the interdisciplinary area which they have called "geostatistics." An actual example has been selected to illustrate this benefit.

Jan 1, 1962

By T H. Clark, R P. Doig, V. A. Saull, R B. Butler

Terrestrial heat flow has been determined for four boreholes in the Montreal area. The mean value of the results (uncorrected for glacial effects) is 0.790 ± 0.053 x 10-6 cal/ cm2/sec (95 per cent confidence limits). Thermal gradients were determined using a thermistor probe and d-c bridge, and also by a new method using a probe-contained phase-shift oscillator, the output frequency of the oscillator being a function of probe temperature. Thermal conductivity determinations were made on core from the boreholes, using a divided bar apparatus. INTRODUCTION T HIS paper concerns the terrestrial heat flow in the St. Lawrence lowland of Quebec, as determined from measurements on four of the numerous boreholes drilled in this region for gas and oil. The work has been supported by Geological Survey of Canada Re-search Grant 3-58, awarded to T. H. Clark and V. A. Saull. This sup-port is hereby gratefully acknowledged.

Jan 1, 1962

By A. A. Cochran

Methods of preparing small heats of steel containing radioisotopes were developed, and the techniques of stripping film autoradiography were used to detect and study the carbide and sulfide phases in titanium-bearing steels. Metallography had revealed areas of titanium sulfide and ferrite or pearlite adjacent to areas of titanium carbide and ferrite, and unidentified, irregular phases at the boundaries between these two areas. Sulfur 35 was used to deter-mine the extent of the titanium sulfide inclusions, and carbon 14 was used to delineate the titanium carbide phase. Individual radioactive areas were located with a resolution of approximately 10 microns. A general background exposure that was not correlated with microscopically visible phases was observed in the carbon 14 autoradiographs. The evidence from both sulfur 35 autoradiographs and carbon 14 autoradiographs indicated that the unidentified inclusions were sulfides rather than carbides. INTRODUCTION The use of radioisotopes to facilitate the work at the Rolla Metallurgy Research Center was expanded in fiscal year 1959 when the Bureau of Mines authorized the installation of an intermediate-level radioactivity laboratory. Before this time, sealed cobalt 60 sources had been employed for radiography, but no tracer work was done. The primary objective of the first experiments conducted in the new laboratory was to supplement physical metallurgy investigations of selected problems in steel research.

Jan 1, 1962

By W. O. Philbrook, A. E. El-Mehairy

The reduction by hydrogen of individual particles of dense hematite implanted in beds of inert spheres is controlled by single-particle kinetics. No evidence of reagent starvation was found down to low flow rates established by pressure gradients as low as 0.01 in. H2O per- in. of depth in beds of spheres as small as 3/16 in. diam. The optimum size for most rapid reduction of beds of homogeneous ores results from the effect on reducing potential of the gas of competing factors of supply and consumption. A recent publication1 presented the results of a study of the rate of reduction of iron ore in a fixed bed by hydrogen introduced at constant pressure differential. Under these conditions the reagent flow rate varied directly with the bed permeability, which was a function of particle size and shape and bed voidage, and inversely with the temperature-dependent viscosity of the gas. The present note adds data from supplementary experiments designed to reveal whether or not any partial reagent starvation arising from a flow-dependent transport resistance in the gas phase might have been operative. Kinetic studies were made of the reduction of individual spheres of iron oxide inserted into beds of inert spheres, so that the reagent flow rate and aerodynamic conditions were again determined by bed characteristics and temperature. The experimental techniques and apparatus were similar to those previously described.&apos; The synthetic iron ore spheres were wet-rolled by hand from powdered, reagent-grade* Fe2O3 and subsequently dried and then fired in air at 1250°C. The indurated pellets has almost no porosity as indicated by their specific gravity of 5.10. The beds were made of dense alumina spheres, closely sized to the same dimension as the iron oxide spheres, in the following diameters: 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8 in. Each bed was hand-packed of particles of a single size to a controlled voidage of 0.32 and depth of 3 in. within a capsule having an internal diameter at least 10 times the particle diameter. A few weighed iron oxide spheres were individually planted in the central plane of the bed of inert spheres at points away from the wall. Reduction was carried out at atmospheric pressure by purified hydrogen at 670°, 800°, and 985°c. The reagent was supplied at precisely controlled pressure differentials of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 in. of water per in. of bed depth. This gave a range of flow rates similar to that used in the study of beds of ore and comparable with blast-furnace practice in terms of mols of reducing gas per hr per sq ft of cross-section. Viscous flow prevailed in all beds under the experimental conditions of this study. The reduced particles were checked for loss in weight and then sectioned for metallographic examination. Occasional particles were found to have contained minute internal cracks that interfered with the concentricity of the reduction interfaces, and data for such particles were rejected. An experimental rate constant for the reduction of the imbedded Fe2O3 spheres was calculated on the assumption that the rate was proportional to the metal-oxide interface area by an equation that has been found by McKewan2 to describe the reduction of single spheres

Jan 1, 1962

By N. Jaffe, J. E. Dorn

The effect of stress on the creep rate of high-purity poly crystalline aluminum in the intermediate temperature range was investigated by conducting creep tests at a series of different stresses and by decreasing the stress abruptly during the course of primary and secondary creep. Three series of decreases in stress tests were conducted: the stress was decreased in primary and secondary regions of creep at 347.5°K and the stress was decrensed in primary creep at 327°K. The results demonstrate the effects of structure and temperature on the stress dependence of the creep rate. The trends in the creep rate after a drop in stress are complicated and show that recovery takes place. The experimental results were compared with Friedel&apos;s theory for cross-slip, the experimentally determined energy for a constriction being in good agreement with the theoretical estimate proposed by Stroh. PREVIOUS investigations have shown that the ap-- parent activation energy for creep of polycrystalline aluminum, over the range from about 250° to 380°K, is approximately 27,400 cal per mole,&apos; a value that is to a first approximation insensitive to the applied stress, the creep rate, and the creep strain. Several facts strongly support the thesis that creep, in this temperature range, is controlled by the rate-determining mechanism of cross-slip: 1) Recovery of the cold-worked state can take place by a number of mechanisms prominent among which is climb and cross-slip. Astrom2 reported rapid recovery of cold-worked polycrystalline aluminum at 340° to 370°K giving an activation energy of 28,000 cal per mole and additional recovery at the higher temperatures of 455° to 478°K giving an activation energy of 36,000 cal per mole. Whereas the latter process was clearly identified with the climb mechanism, the former process. which has an activation energy in good agreement for that of creep in the same temperature range, is most likely due to recovery by thermally-activated cross-slip. 2) Single crystals of aluminum exhibit sharp slip-

Jan 1, 1962

By William J. Campbell

The purpose of this investigation was to extend the analytical services which are required for Bureau of Mines programs in developing and evaluating high-purity materials. Determination of trace elements in minerals and ores as an aid in geochemical evaluation and prospecting was considered. Serious consideration should be given to the merits of using the avail- able fluorescent X-ray spectrographic instrumentation and techniques for determining trace elements. Limits of detectability for trace elements in metal, oxide, solution or mineral samples range from 0.1 to 100 p.p.m, depending on the element being determined, overall sample composition, and the complexity of the X-ray spectra; limits of detectability range from 0.01 to 1 microgram for elements that have been preconcentrated by a chemical or physical process, for example, by ion-exchange membrane.

Jan 1, 1962

By Molly Gleiser

The standard free energies of formation of some gaseous metal oxides together with those of their condensed oxides have been plotted against temperature. The heats of formation of the gaseozcs oxides are tabulated. An explanation is given of the use of the data to predict the importance of the gaseous metal oxides at high tenzperatures. RECENT mass spectrometric work1 has resulted in the detection of several hitherto unknown gaseous oxides and the measurement of their free energies of formation. Of especial interest is the fact that several of the refractories in common use either as crucibles or furnace tubes, and metals used in Knudsen cells and in furnace windings, have been found to have one or more stable gaseous oxides. In view of the present emphasis on high-temperature techniques, the development of vacuum metallurgy.z heating by electron bombardment and plasma jets, and the resultant shift to ever higher temperatures, it is no longer possible to plan experiments without taking into consideration the significance of the presence of these gases in the system, the reactions they undergo. and their contribution to the vapor pressure. A good example of what went wrong in earlier work, when the existence of these gaseous molecules was not yet known, is presented by the work of Hoch, Nakata, and Johnston. Hoch and coworkers attempted to measure the vapor pressure of solid ZrO2 by letting the vapor in equilibrium with zir-conia effuse from a tantalum Knudsen cell. The free energies of formation of solid zirconia and tantala are such that a short calculation showed that the reaction

Jan 1, 1962

By H. D. Kline

This publication describes methods and techniques of mining and crushing limestone at 3 of 11 small quarries operated by Anderson-Oxandale Rock Co. in northeast Kansas in 1959. It is one of a series of reports by the Bureau of Mines on methods and costs of mining in various mining districts in the United States. The three quarries selected for study -Bosse quarry, Pottawatomie County; Hansen quarry, Morris County; and Huston quarry, Dickinson County (fig. 1) -were in many respects similar to many others that had been developed solely to fill local and usually transitory demands for crushed limestone for use as concrete aggregate, roadstone, and soil conditioning. Factors governing the choice of quarry sites were quality of limestone, shallow overburden, and proximity to points of consumption of the crushed stone.

Jan 1, 1962

By M. Schwartz, S. K. Nash, R. Zeman

Knoop hardness in the rolling plane and in the longitudinal plane of hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets of sublimed magnesiu?w was measured as a function of the angle between the long axis of the indenter and the rolling direction. These measurements were correlated with similar data taken on the (0001) and (1010) planes of a single crystal of magnesium where the hardness was measured as a function of the angle between the long axis of the indenter and the [1120] direction. The results were analyzed for compliance with the hypothesis of Daniels and Dunm to account for slip, and with a similar hypothesis to account for twinning. Some hardness anisotropy data are also presented for magnesium-indium and magnesium-lithium solid solution alloys. It is well known that the hardness of a crystalline specimen is different for its different surfaces, and also that the hardness is a function of direction within a single surface. Variations in hardness for single crystals have been found to be much larger than those for polycrystalline materials. Also, materials having low crystal symmetry were found to have a greater anisotropy of hardness than those of high symmetry. 0&apos;Neill1 and Pfeil,2 using a 1-mm Brine11 ball, studied single crystals of aluminum and iron, respectively; and they found a variation of hardness of about 10 pct between readings taken along the principal crystallographic faces. Daniels and Dunn3 found that the Knoop hardness number varied about 25 pct as the long axis of the indenter rotated on the basal plane of a zinc single crystal. The variation on the (1450) plane was about 100 pct, and the average hardness on this plane was about twice that of the basal plane. They also studied the variation of hardness within the (loo), (110), and (111) faces of a single crystal of silicon ferrite and found variations of about 25 pct although the average values for these planes were almost identical. Single crystals of zinc were also studied by Meincke.4 He found that the Vickers hardness numbers varied about 30 pct depending on whether the axis of the indenter was parallel or perpendicular to the (1010) and (1110) planes. Mott and Ford,5 using a Knoop indenter, found a 25 pct variation in hardness on the basal plane of zinc. Crow and Hinsley6 studied heavily cold-rolled bronze, steel, brass, copper, and other metals. They found that the difference in hardness numbers based on the difference in the length of the diagonals of the Vickers indenter was from 5 to 12 pct. Some minerals and synthetic stones show a very large anisotropy of hardness. Robertson and Van Meter7 found the Vickers hardness of arsenopyrite to vary from 633 to 1148 kg per mm2. stern8 using the double-cone method on synthetic corundum found the hardness number to vary from 950 to 2070. And winchell9 reported a variation of hardness number from 184 to 1205 in kyanite. The variation of hardness as a function of direction in a given crystallographic plane in single crystals possesses a periodicity which is related to the symmetry of the lattice. Daniels and Dunn3 found a six-fold periodicity of hardness in the (0001) plane of zinc. They found that the hardness curves of silicon ferrite had a four-fold symmetry in the (100) plane, a two-fold symmetry in the (110) plane, and a six-fold symmetry in the (111) plane. Mott and Ford5 also reported a six-fold symmetry of hardness in the basal plane of zinc. And vacher10 found two-, four-, and six-fold periodicities of hardness in copper on the (110), (100), and (111) planes, respectively. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of an investigation on the anisotropy of hardness as a function of orientation in single crystals of mannes-ium, and samples of rolled magnesium, magnesium-indium, and magnesium-lithium solid solution alloys. The anisotropy of hardness of pure magnesium which had been hot rolled, and then cold rolled various amounts to fracture, was studied by means of Knoop indentation hardness numbers; and the results were correlated with the preferred orientation as determined by quantitative X-ray pole-figure data. A comparison was made of the hardness data obtained from the rolled sheets and those of single crystals of magnesium. In order to obtain a more fundamental understanding of the variation of hardness and of Knoop hardness testing, the data were analyzed by

Jan 1, 1962

By G. D. Cody, D. S. Beers, B. Abeles

The thermal diffusivity (thermal conductivity divided by specific heat) of Armco iron has been measured over the temperature range 30º to 1025ºC. The results are in good agreement with the thermal diffusivity computed from published values of thermal conductivity and specific heat, except near the Curie point and at the a to y phase transition, where the measured diffusivity undergoes rabid variations. The differences observed are ascribed to a rapid variation in the electronic thermal conductivity near the Curie point, and a decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity, at the a to ? phase transition. A major difficulty in measuring the thermal conductivity of materials at high temperatures is the determination and elimination of radiation losses. It has been shown, however, that in measuring thermal diffusivity D (thermal conductivity/specific heat) radiation losses can be taken into account exactly.&apos; In order to test the performance of a newly designed apparatus for measuring thermal diffusivity of solids,&apos; we measured Armco iron to an accuracy of 2 pct in the temperature range 30" to 1025°C. This material was selected since both the thermal conductivity,3&apos;4 k, and specific heat,5 C, are known accurately in this temperature range and thus the measured values of D could be compared with D computed from the pub-

Jan 1, 1962

By J. G. Donaldson

Optimum conditions are given for chloridizing pyrite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, stibnite, and covellite with chlorine gas. The formation of metal chlorides is affected by the time and temperature of chloridizing, and by particle size of the sample. Chloridizing data also are given for chemically precipitated antimony (III) sulfide and copper (II) sulfide.

Jan 1, 1962

By J. Gordon Parr, G. R. Purdy

The phase boundaries of "TiNi" have been accurately determined by high-tewperature X-ray diffraction and metallo-graphic techniques. The phase (centered at 51 pct Ni) has a restricted range of homogeneity at 500°C, and a much greater range at 800°C. "TiNi" in all alloys containing less than 51 pct Ni decomposes rapidly and reversibly at 36°C to form a previously unreported phase. ThE region of the titanium nickel system corresponding to the phase "TiNi" has been the subject of several investigations.1,2,4-7 Laves and wallbaum1 reported "TiNi" as a body-centered cubic (a2) Phase, and Duwez and Taylor2 determined its para- meter to be 2.986. Duwez and Taylor also reported that "TiNi" decomposed into "Ti2Ni" and "TiNi3" on prolonged heating at 650" and 800°C, which led McQuillan3 to suggest a sluggish eutectoid reaction between "TiNis" and "Ti2Ni". Margolin, Ence, and Nielsen,&apos; working with higher purity alloys, found no evidence of this decomposition. They showed the "TiNi" phase region extending from 49 to 54 pct*

Jan 1, 1962

By David A. Thomas, John F. Peck

Sam Leber (General Electric Refractory Metals Laboratory)—I think that the authors should differentiate between the curved grains obtained by swaging and the crumpled grains produced by drawing. This can be seen most easily in the transverse sections of Fig. 2d, and is also apparent in Fig. 2c. This difference in structure indicates that the mode of deformation shou1d affect the texture, since the cylindrical texture should be maintained or even increased by the curved grains developed by swaging. Drawing, on the other hand, crumples the grains. This should convert the cylindrical texture into a normal fiber texture. This has been substantiated by a comparison of tungsten wires fabricated by similar drawing and swaging schedules. Although cylindrical textures have been detected in drawn iron wires, they were weak in comparison to tungsten wires which included swaging as part of the fabrication process. It should also be noted that large curved surfaces developed by swaging are concentric with the surface. The postulated (100) surface of these crystals would be confirmed by a (100) cylindrical texture, as was observed in tungsten. The preservalion of the (100) cylindrical texture by swaging would maintain the <100> direction in the radial position required for easy flow. This might provide a partial explanation for the decreased rate of work hardening observed in the swaged wire. J. F. Peck and D. A. Thomas (authors&apos; reply) — The authors appreciate Dr. Leber&apos;s comments on the differences in textures, microstructures, and properties of swaged and drawn wires. The evidence of the prominence and persistence of the cylindrical texture in swaged bee wires seems quite consistent with our microstructural observations and interpretations. We are presently engaged in further work to correlate the development of texture and micro-structure in drawn bee metals.

Jan 1, 1962

By Chand F

The silver deposits of Rockvale near Armidale, N.S.W., occur in fissure veins in epi-Permian granite. The ore is fine grained, mineralogically complex, and contains twenty-seven different minerals including eleven silver minerals. The ore is characterized by a unique multiple unmixing from a sphalerite solvent. The following minerals have exsolved from solid solution in sphalerite: pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, cubanite I, cubanite II (chalcopyrrhotite), valleriite, &quot;brown&quot; stannite, &quot;olive&quot; stannite, argentian tetrahedrite, pyrargyrite, and an unknown grey-white mineral. Several of these minerals derive from a second-stage unmixing, the immediate solvents of which are the products of earlier exsolutions.INTRODUCTIONSmall silver-rich base metal deposits occur at several localities near Armidale in the New England district of New South Wales. Chief among these are the Tulloch Mine and the Rockvale Mine at Rockvale, 27 miles SE. of Armidale, and the Tait&apos;s Gulley deposits some 15 miles NE. of Armidale.At Rockvale (Kenny, 1928), irregular lenses of lode material, principally quartz and calcite, occur along a zone of shearing in biotite granite and altered sediments. The orebodies had a maximum width of 6 ft but averaged 2 ft 6 in. The largest lens was 150 ft long and 50 ft high. The Rockvale deposits were worked for both arsenic and silver; 2,897 tons of arsenic were produced but no figures are available forsilver.Little is known of the Tait&apos;s Gulley deposits which occur in folded arenites containing small but rich veins of pyrargyrite with base metal sulphides.The sediments in these localities are possibly Silurian.

Jan 1, 1962

By R. J. Allio, C. H. Randall

An automatic system for the quantitative analysis of microstrulcture has been developed. The method is based upon a statistical model of microstructure and employs phase intercept fractions as fundamental random variables. Structure-sensitive properties can be related explicitly to parameters derived from the distribution of phase intercept fractions in a matevial. THE properties of mechanical dispersions and of multiphase alloys art: intimately related to the amount, distribution, and intrinsic properties of the dispersed material. In many instances, the amount and distribution of the dispersed substances have greater influence on the over-all system properties than do the properties of the dispersed substance-Such properties as average particle size, particle size distribution, homogeneity of dispersion, volume per cent of dispersed phase, and mean free path between dispersed particles thus become critical in any evaluation of the properties of a dispersion. Unfortunately, techniques for evaluating quantitatively the microstructural characteristics of dis~ersions rapidly and accurately have not been available. If necessary, qualitative or semiquantitative devices can be utilized. Some such devices are based merely upon comparison of the specimens in question with arbitrary standards. Other techniques involve superposition of grids and tabulation of particles observed in different portions of the grid. Still other methods based upon lineal analysis entail counting lines or points at random upon the specimen to be examined; the number of intersections of the line with a given phase, the proportion of line or number of points which are covered by given phase are variously recorded. The mathematical basis for most of the techniques of quantitative metallography have been amply reviewed in the literature.&apos;l2 without exctption, however, the standard techniques for quantitative metallography are either imprecise or are exceedingly tedious to apply. For example, tranverse integrating stage for rapid manual areal fraction measurement has been designed by Smith.3 Howerer, as in the case of any device based upon visual eslimation, operator bias may cause appreciable error. Various flying spot devices, on the other hand register particle size distributions in 2-dimensions, from which it is difficult to derive other properties of the dispersion. Thus, e.g., the 3-dimensional distribution cannot be inferred unless certain rather broad assumptions are made concerning the randomness of distribution and geometrical configuration of dispersed phase. Many limitations to the application of quantitative structural analysis can be overcome by the use of the microdensitometer, which is essentially an automated areal analysis device. Data obtained in the form of a distribution of phase intercept values are

Jan 1, 1962