Search Documents

By W. A. McKinney

The U.S. Bureau of Mines, Kennecott Copper Corp., and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology are cooperating on a research project to improve extraction of copper from previously leached waste dumps that are in part compacted and impervious to leach solutions. The field work is being done at the "J" leach dump, Chino Mines Division, Kennecott Copper Corp., Santa Rita, N. Mex. The laboratory percolation leaching tests were made at the U.S. Bureau of Mines Salt Lake City Metallurgy Research Center on drill core samples from the "J" dump to determine how much copper might be leached if permeability could be restored by explosive heaving or other means. The core samples from nine drill holes on "J" dump contained from 0.06 to 0.14 percent copper. Copper extractions ranging from 15 to 3 percent were obtained in 75 days by percolation leaching of minus-1-inch material with dilute sulfuric acid. The tests results indicate that about 2'7 percent of the copper remaining in the "J" dump could be extracted under ideal leaching conditions.

Jan 1, 1970

By Gary A. Kingston

Domestic nickel resources are costed to develop a contingency supply curve of U.S. nickel availability at various costs. It is estimated that 4.3 billion pounds of nickel is potentially recoverable from 698 million tons of ore at prices ranging up to $6.36 per pound of nickel. Over 95 percent of the total is estimated to be available at a price of less than $4.00 per pound.

Jan 1, 1970

By Harry J. Fitzgerald

During World War II mining machinery manufacturers were limited in the development of their product improvement programs. Following the war, however, the ideas and intentions of both the users and manufacturers of mining equipment became evident. The Coal Industry launched a series of events which indicated their determination to rise to the economic challenge of developing profitable machines which would eliminate the out-dated and back-breaking methods of mining previously used. Two major technological advances were developed as a result of the ambitious goals forecast by the Coal Industry: 1. Coal mining was going "off-track" and concentrated mining operations were to follow in rapid succession. 2. Carbide tools provided the remaining missing contribution to another technological breakthrough....Continuous Mining. Little did the inventors realize the significance of the misnomer they created because twenty-five years later the industry is still striving to secure the results implied by the meaning of the word...."Continuous". Nevertheless, all major manufacturers embarked on programs in an attempt to compete for recognition in this new mechanized-mining endeavor Eventually in 1950 there were three types of boring machines and two types of ripping machines being manufactured. Mining Speed was the desired goal.

Jan 1, 1970

By Pradeep K. Rohatgi, Clyde M. Adams

Structures produced upon solidification of the eu-tectic composition (33 wt pct Cu) aluminum copper alloy have been examined as a function of freezing rate dfs /d? , the rate of change of fraction solid (fs) with time (8). Slow (dfs/d? = 0.0016 sec-1), intermediate (dfs/d? = 0.02 sec-1) and rapid (dfs/d? = 0.4 to 7.30 sec-1) freezing rates were used. The lamellar Al-Cual2 eutectic is arranged in the form of rod-shaped colonies at rapid freezing rates. The colonies are aligned parallel to the direction of heat flow, whereas the lamellae within the colonies are aligned at various angles, as high as 90 deg, to the direction of heat flow. The colony spacing (C) is proportional to the square root of inverse freezihg rate. The relationship is C = 15.5(dfs/d?)-1/2 where C is in µ and 8 is in sec. The ratio of colony spacing to lamellar spacing is greater than 20.0 and increases with a decrease in the freezing rate. A duplex dendritic structure is produced at intermediate freezing rates. A fine lamellar eutectic is arranged within the dendrites (exhibiting side branches at an angle close to 60 deg from the main stem) and a coarse irregular eutectic appears in the interdendritic regions. The duplex eutectic structure is also produced at slow freezing rates. However, at slow freezing rates there is a Platelat of CuAl2, along the center of the main stem of each dendrite and the other lamellae are arranged perpendicular to the central platelet. THE eutectic between CuA12 and a! aluminum has been reported to freeze in a lamellar form by several workers.'-3 chadwick4 has measured the interlamel-lar spacing as a function of growth rate. Kraft and Albright2 have reported on irregularities in the lamellar structures, and have proposed growth models which account for the formation of faults during solidification. In certain instances the lamellar eutectic has been found to exist in colonies. The colony formation315 has been attributed to the breakdown of a planar liquid-solid interface due to rejection of impurities. The aim of the present work is to study the structures produced from the eutectic aluminum-copper alloy under relatively fast solidification rates, such as encountered in casting and welding operations. The solid-liquid interface presumably remains planar under conditions of slow unidirectional freezing which produce lamellae aligned parallel to the direction of heat flow. The local growth velocities are the same over the entire interface and are equal to the rate of growth of the all-solid region. The spacing between the eutectic lamellae is inversely proportional to the square root of the growth rate of the all-solid region. Under the freezing conditions used in the present study, the solid-liquid interface is cellular or dendritic and the local growth velocities are different in the different regions of the interface. The relationship between the growth rate of the all solid region and the local growth velocities varies with the location and the shape of the interface. The growth rate of the all-solid region is, therefore, an inadequate parameter to describe the eutectic micro-structures which depend upon the local growth velocities. For this reason the structures have been examined as a function of freezing rate, dfs/d?, where fs is the fraction solidified at time 0. The freezing rate was varied by a factor of 4000. The relationship between the freezing rate, dfs/d?, and the growth velocit of the all solid region depends upon the specimen geometry and the shape of the interface. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES The A1-33 pct Cu alloy used throughout this study was made in an induction furnace, using electrolytic copper and aluminum of commercial purity (99.7 pct), the primary impurities being silicon (0.12 pct), iron (0.14 pct), and zinc (0.02 pct). Three ranges of freezing rates were investigated: 1) A spectrum of rapid freezing rates (ranging from 0.40 to 7.30 sec-1) was obtained in arc deposits made on 2-in. thick cast plates of the eutectic alloy. The arc was operated at constant power and was made to travel at constant velocity on the surface of the plate that was in contact with the chill surface during solidification. The pool of liquid metal formed under the moving tungsten arc solidified rapidly by heat extraction through the unmelted plate. Conditions of unidirectional heat flow were achieved near the fusion zone interface, especially in the center of the arc deposits. The great advantage of the arc technique is that rapid cooling and freezing rates can be varied in a qualitative way. The correlation between the arc parameters and the solidification rate is given by the following relationship:6-8

Jan 1, 1970

By Restarick CJ

The development of mathematical relationships to describe grinding in continuous rod and ball mills has involved two methods of approach and has resulted in two main types of "model." The first which has been used for full scale grinding systems has depended on the analysis of, for example, the effect of change in solids feed rate on the changes in overall size distribution which the feed undergoes to become the product as a result of passage through the mill operated under steady conditions. The resultant mathematical relationships are of matrix form and do not include any description of the flow characteristics of the systems. The second approach has made extensive use of a technique in which a "pulse" of selected tracer mineral, of chosen

Jan 1, 1970

By J. P. Hirth, A. H. Clauer

A simple graphical method is presented for the determination of climb forces on dislocations exerted by uniaxial stresses. In conjunction with standard stereographic projections, the technique is applicable for any crystal system. Climb forces on glide dislocations in bcc crystals are determined as an application. In connection with a study1 of elevated temperature creep of molybdenum single crystals, a detailed analysis of the climb force on a dislocation was necessary. In general, such forces can be calculated for an arbitrary dislocation segment from the Peach-Koehler equation2 (or one of its variants3"6) where Fk are the components of the force per unit length of dislocation line, ?i of the unit sense vector tangent to the line, ojl of the stress tensor, bl of the dislocation Burgers vector, and is the Einstein permutation operator with components ?123 = ?231 = ?321 = —?132 = — ?321 = —?—213 = unity, and all other components zero. It is understood in the suffix notation of Eq. [I.] that repeated indices are to be summed over 1, 2, and 3. For the most general coordinate system, the matrix manipulations required to solve Eq. [I] are fairly complex. However, a simplification can be achieved by specifying a coordinate system based on the dislocation in question. The pertinent system involves cartesian coordinates xi, x;, xi, with attendant unit vectors e'i; ei being parallel to the Burgers vector b, and e'3; being parallel to the climb directions (b x ?), i.e., normal to the slip plane. In this coordnate system b = (bi, 0, 0) and ? = (?'1,?'2, 0). Hence, Eq. [I] yields for the climb force per unit length F3 = ?'2s'11b'1—?'1s'12b'1 [2] The first term on the right side of Eq. [2] is the climb force on the edge component of the dislocation, while the second is the (cross-slip) force normal to the glide plane acting on the screw component. Thus, the problem of determining the climb force reduces to that of resolving the stress components —il and s'12 in the xi coordinate system. Several authors7- l0 have shown, for the glide case, that such stress resolution can be performed most readily by graphical methods. Therefore, we present a similar method for the climb case. Of the suggested methods, we follow that of Hartley and Hirth,9 which can be performed directly with a standard stereographic projection for the crystal system in question. We treat the case of simple tension, or compression, this being the most common creep test in which climb is important. A set of cartesian coordinates (x1, x2, x3) is fixed with x3 parallel to the specimen axis. This set is connected to the x'i set by the factors defined in Table I. A perspective view of the coordinate systems relating them to the glide ellipse, is given in Fig. 1, while a stereographic projection of the coordinate systems is presented in Fig. 2. The transformation matrix connecting the xi and xi coordinates is x'i =aijXj [3] where an a11 a13 aij = a21 a22 a23 a31 a23 [4] s The corresponding transformation for the stresses is i [5] The only nonzero component of okl for the simple tension case is s33,. Hence, using Eqs. [4] and 151, we find that Eq. [2] becomes F3 = b'1s33 sin2 cos ?[cos ? sin a - sin ? cos a] [6] = m1b'1s033 sin a- rn2b's33 cos a where sin a = 5: and cos a = ?i, with a the angle measured from b to ?, i.e., a polar angle in the x1, x2 plane. The same equation with a sign change applies for compression. A graphical plot of the "Schmid" factor m1, relating to the climb force on the edge component, is presented in the stereographic projection of Fig. 3. In this projection the glide plane normal points toward the top of the page and the glide direction points normal to the plane of the page. To use the graph, one

Jan 1, 1970

By I. S. Servi, N. W. Marr

TIN markedly increases the softening temperature of pure copper with only a moderate effect on conductivity. Smart and smith' indicated a substantial increase in softening temperature upon addition of different levels of tin up to 0.05 pct in oxygen-free copper. However, after finding no effect of tin in copper containing about 0.025 pct O, they concluded that "the presence of oxygen completely nullifies these changes in properties by precipitation of SnO2.'' Since preliminary tests on Cu-Sn-0 alloys indicated that this conclusion is not valid outside the extremely limited tin range investigated by Smart and Smith, research was primarily directed toward the partition of tin between the copper-base matrix and the oxide phases. Experimental. Material was prepared by sealing an 80 to 100-g charge consisting of oxygen-free copper, tin, and copper oxide into a y-in.-ID quartz capsule which was evacuated and back-filled with tank-grade argon to 3 atm. The sealed vials were heated to 1125ºC, kept at temperature for 30 min, occasionally agitated, and then allowed to air-cool outside the furnace ("as-cast"). The castings were cold-swaged to 0.370 in., annealed 1 hr at 600°C ("as-annealed"), and cold-swaged 16.5 pct ("as-swaged"). Cross sectional wafers were annealed for 1 hr at various temperatures and Rockwell F hardness measured. The "softening temperature" was defined as the interpolated temperature at which the hardness was 50 Rockwell F. Electrical resistance was measured by an ac poten-tiometric method on 0.040-in.-diam wires after a 1 hr anneal at 600°C. Relative accuracy was of the order of 1 pct. Chemical analyses for tin were performed by two methods, identified as "Acid flux" and "HN03 dissolution". The first consisted of fusing the sample with potassium pyrosulfate and leaching the resulting melt with 10 pct sulfuric acid. The spectrophotometric procedure which followed is described in Ref. 2. Oxygen analyses were performed by the vacuum-fusion method with a bath temperature of 1650°C. Tin content of oxides and copper phases was measured with the X-ray microprobe, using a calibration curve based on a series of oxygen-free Cu-Sn alloys. Results. In Fig. 1, the nominal tin composition for alloys containing nominally 400 ppm O was plotted vs the analyzed or the computed tin content—the latter derived from one of the following: 1) "acid flux" chemical analysis; 2) "HN03 dissolution" chemical analysis; 3) X-ray microprobe analysis of the copper matrix; 4) equivalent tin content, based on the measured increase in electrical resistivity (an increase in resistivity of 1.6 microhm-cm is approximately equivalent to 1 wt pct of sn1,3). It is evident from Fig. 1 that the results of the acid flux analysis are consistent with the nominal composition while the HNO3 dissolution method generally yields lower values, consistent with those obtained from electrical resistivity measurements and somewhat higher than those obtained by microprobe analysis. Microprobe and resistivity values are affected only by the tin in solid solution; hence the HN03 method

Jan 1, 1970

By T. P. Meloy

In the last decade increased and prolonged interest has been displayed in the use: of tunneling or rapid excavation to solve many of the urban and industrial problems confronting our society. There has been talk and action on the interurban rapid transit systems for major cities, and even preliminary designs for a Boston to Washington interurban transit system. Much of this interest stems from the search to the solution of our increasingly complex urban problems, where the surface area must be given over more and more to the inhabitants, and the subsurface for transit, utility and other services. While tunneling is not a panacea to urban ills it holds a real solution to many existing problems. There is also, among the tunneling experts, a growing confidence that technical problems of rapid tunneling can be solved. To solve these problems, R & D money must be invested. If it is to be money invested either by private industry or governments, there must be significant returns on the investment to justify the research and development need to bring about the breakthrough that will make tunneling a major contribution to the solution of urban problems. To make these economic studies more extensive and more accurate tunneling demand figures were needed. To this end, the Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development - OCED - included in its Conference on Tunneling a section on tunneling demand. As a result of the conference the organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued a report entitled "The Advisory Conference on Tunneling - Report on Tunneling Demand 1960-1980. " This report was presented at the OCED Conference on Rapid Excavation, held at Washington, D.C. To obtain the data in the Report, questionnaires were sent to the OCED countries and 18 replies were received from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States. While it is true, that data were missing, that sometimes the definitions were confused, and that several countries provided no cost estimates at all, in general, this report contains the most comprehensive gathering of data that ever existed in the field. All data in the OECD report is expressed in terms of meters or cubic meters, and costs are in U.S. dollars.

Jan 1, 1970

By G. T. Brow

An experimental method is described for testing diffusion of gases in crude oils at pressures and temperatures up to 3,000 psia and 200° F. A sampling technique was developed to withdraw by constant-pressure mercury displacement about 60 µl of oil from the diffusion cell through any of several 1/2-in vertically spaced capillary tubes and to trap about 4 µl of the oil in a specially designed microsampler. Oil trapped in the microsampler can be completely inserted in the sample inlet of a chromatograph. From analysis in a three-stage chromatograph (GLC), gas concentration in a sample is determined from the ratio of gas peak heights to area of peaks of reference components (hexanes or heptanes) in the oil. A diffusion coefficient is calculated from measured concentration profiles with known equations for diffusion in finite or semi-infinite systems, depending on whether the gas has or has not reached the end of the oil column. Results are given for a test of methane diffusing at 2,560 psia and 160° F in crude oil from the Weber Sandstone reservoir in the Rangely field, Colorado. A constant diffusion coefficient of 3.34 X 10-5 cm2 per sec was obtained which gives a good fit between calculated and experimental profiles determined at six times after start of diffusion. The maximum standard error of gas concentration determinations experienced with this method was ±0.88 ml per ml of gas-free oil.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. F. McDermott

This is the dawning of the computer age in process control. As 1968 drew to a close, many plants had computer installations which were being used for logging, monitoring and reporting. Today, computer usage is given serious consideration before the construction of any major minerals processing plant. Unitized automatic control of individual processes is abundant. Many plants are considering closing these control loops, i.e., allowing the computer to direct the operation of the controllers (Digital Analog Control-DAC). The next step is to make the computer itself the controller (Direct Digital Control-DDC)1 Perhaps the most important future use of computers will be in controlling interrelated operations and control units. Progress along these lines depends on the steadily improving capabilities in the field of mathematical modeling.

Jan 1, 1970

By L. B. Pankratz

Enthalpies were determined for synthetic chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) between 298° and 1,050° K and for synthetic bornite (Cu5FeS4) between 298° and 1,100° K by copper-block drop calorimetry. Two transitions were found for each compound. The lower transitions were both crystal transformations from tetragonal (low-temperature form) to cubic (high-temperature form). The chalcopyrite transformation occurred at 830' K with a heat of transformation of 2,405 cal/mole; the bornite transformation was at 485° K with a heat of 1,430 cal/mole. The other transitions were of the second order and were presumed to be magnetic in character. The second-order transitions for chalcopyrite occurred at 930° K, and the one for bornite at 540° K. Enthalpy increments, entropy increments, and heat capacities are tabulated at even temperatures above 298.15° K. Equations of enthalpy are also given.

Jan 1, 1970

By B. J. Scheiner

Electrooxidation of cinnabar mercury ores (HgS) was investigated as a means of providing an effective and economical hydrometallurgical technique for extraction of mercury from its ores, particularly those too low in grade to allow economical metal recovery by retorting or furnacing techniques. Oxidation was accomplished by electrolysis of ere slurried with brine. Cinnabar was dissolved by oxidation of the insoluble sulfide to soluble mercuric salts. The mercury ion in a brine solution forms a stable tetrachloro complex. Typical laboratory experiments required I to 7 hours of electrolysis at 35-percent pulp density in a brine solution that contained 4 to 20 weight-percent sodium chloride (NaCl). Power consumption ranged from 10 to 50 kwhr/ton of dry ore. Mercury extraction values between 90 and 99 percent were obtained with all of the ores investigated. Subsequent mercury recovery from leach solutions was readily accomplished by precipitation on zinc. Pilot mill experiments in a 100- to 200-lb/hr extraction plant are in progress to quantify power and reagent requirements, and extraction and recovery data obtained to date closely parallel those obtained in the laboratory.

Jan 1, 1970

By Carl D. Broadbent

In 1956, Kennecott Copper Corp. instituted a slope mechanics program. Its objective was to obtain effi-ient and safe pit slopes. Since then, Kennecott has onducted a great deal of research into the area, most otably at the Kimbley Pit. This paper, which describes the transitional work at this period and draws from the pertinent experimental work done by others, paves the way for the next step of the program: refining the design process and applying it for profit. The goal of slope mechanics is to achieve efficient and safe pit slopes. In the case of ultimate mine slopes, the objective is to minimize the stripping ratio by steepening the slopes to their maximum stable limit. On the other hand, the inclination of working slopes is normally established by operating space requirements and the function of slope mechanics should be the continuous surveillance of slope conditions to assure long-term stability and provide timely warning of impending slides so that corrective measures may be incorporated in production planning. In 1956, Kennecott instituted a program to provide

Jan 1, 1970

By Frank G. Horino

This report presents a method of utilizing the Coulomb strength criteria for estimating the strength and stability of pillars and pit slopes containing planes of weakness. It is assumed that the Coulomb theory, as a special case of the Mohr envelope, is a satisfactory first approximation of failure in uniaxial compression or triaxial loading with low lateral loads. Accepting this assumption for brittle materials, an expression for the strength decrease of rock pillars containing a plane of weakness or fracture at any angle of orientation is derived. As few as six samples (three solid cores and three fractured cores at a failure-oriented angle) are required for testing uniaxially and triaxially to statistically determine the coefficients of friction and the shear strengths of both the solid rock and the fracture plane and the range of failure angles of the fracture plane. Interpretation of the data shows that the mean normal stress and maximum shear stress technique of analyzing the data is superior for solid core and that shear and normal stress values using angles of failure should be used for fractured specimens with failure-oriented angles. Plots of either the strength or strength ratios against fracture angles obtained from oriented drill core samples give a useful first approximation of strength decrease due to fracture. Using the same test conditions for both fractured and unfractured material increases the validity of the tests.

Jan 1, 1970

By D’Arcy A. Shock

In this year's review, the concept of solution mining has been expanded to include total solution as well as the technology of leaching, or partial solution methods. Leaching methods continue to make strides in the processing of metallic minerals, particularly in copper and uranium production. No quantitative data are available on the increase of leach operations; however, it is known that there were more systems installed in 1969 and that the estimated 15% of U.S. domestic production of copper produced in 1968 was by leach methods.1 While the number of publications appearing during the year were few,2,3 there were special sessions in this field at the AIME Annual Meeting and SME Fall Meeting in 1969 and more scheduled for these meetings in 1970. Significant areas that should be mentioned are: the continuing interest in bacteria to convert sulfide sulfur to acid thus reducing reagent costs in both copper and uranium sulfide ores, the exploration of leaching agents other than common mineral acids or alkaline solutions,4,5 kinetic studies of leach mechanisms and the development of microfractures for increased leach solution penetration by use of chemical or atomic explosives.6,7

Jan 1, 1970

By J. W. Reynolds

This paper describes the function of the research and development department of a large mining organization and the benefits which can be derived over the years. Examples are given of work done in rock drilling, ventilation, noise control and the development of backfill stowing machinery.

Jan 1, 1970

By John C. Holtz

Hostility is a characteristic of the environment in underground mines. Nature opposes man's efforts to remove mineral deposits, and this condition is recognized when mining is described as winning minerals from the earth. Evidence of this conflict is the action of natural forces to close excavated passageways. In many mines, this behavior of the surrounding environment is an ever-present and ever-changing problem despite much research and empirical study. Geological conditions change abruptly and may result in rock bursts, the inrush of water, or variations in rock hardness. Although aspects of these problems will become intensified as the rate of mining increases, they are not considered in this discussion. Emphasis herein will be on the changes in the atmospheric environment. Men underground work in an ever-changing, alien, ambient atmosphere. Many conditions are encountered that will affect their health and safety unless properly controlled. Potentially explosive gases are released from minerals as they are mined or enter from the surrounding earth. Some mining methods generate noxious gases. Natural processes and diesel equipment can steal life-sustaining oxygen. Airborne dust may cause lung diseases when breathed by miners in excessive amounts and by affecting visibility, introduce safety hazards. Deep mines pose heat problems that may be aggravated by high-speed mining. The deleterious effects caused by these changes, and their mitigation, are subjects of this discussion. THE UNDERGROUND ATMOSPHERE Health and safety problems from changes in the underground atmosphere have been apparent since the beginning of mining. Alleviation of these problems has been by ventilation with normal air from the earth's surface that flushes away the vitiated mine atmosphere. The objective is to provide atmospheric conditions essentially similar to those that man is accustomed to on the surface.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. H. A. Timm

Lake Dufault Mines, Limited, is located ten miles north of Noranda, Quebec. Following discovery of a copper-zinc orebody late in 1961, metallurgical investigations of diamond drill core were conducted by Lakefield Research Limited during 1962 and 1963. These were followed by pilot-plant tests in May and June of 1964, utilizing underground development ore. Milling operations commenced on August 16, 1964, and reached rated capacity of 1,300 tons per day by October 1, 1964 (Figure 1). Since that time, tonnage was gradually increased to a maximum of 1,400 tons per day and since January 1, 1968, gradually decreased to the present rate of 1,100 tons per day due to an increase in the hardness of the ore. The ore milled from start-up until January, 1968, was mainly massive sulphides, consisting of a complex mixture of iron, copper, zinc and minor amounts of lead sulphides with important associated values in gold, silver and cadmium (aver- age specific gravity 3.8). From January, 1968, until the present, the ore being processed is described geologically as a boxwork of sulphide stringers of chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite and some local dissemination in siliceous rhyolite (average specific gravity 2.9) supplemented by the massive copper-zinc ore. The limited size of the orebody and the mining method employed (open stoping by blasthole and slash and bench methods) would have made grade control from the mine difficult and expensive. It was decided to try to cope with grade variations in the mill. The resulting rapid and wide swings in mill heads, hardness and specific gravity have presented many and varied challenges for the mill personnel.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. C. Hartviksen, B. H. Boyum

"The Sherman Mine, Temagami, Ontario, is an iron ore pellet operation rated at one million tons per year capacity. Mining is done from three open pits in two bands of Keewatin iron-formation intercalated in a 'greenstone belt' thought to be part of the Archean 'Abitibi Belt'. The bands of iron-formation are tabular and steeply dipping, averaging 75 degrees. The principal ore mineral is magnetite.Blast holes, 1214 inches in diameter, are drilled on 28-foot centers, each hole being sampled and assayed for both total iron and magnetic iron. Concentration tests are made in the laboratory to determine the anticipated concentrate grade. Two classes of ore are recognized -'liberating' or 'refractory'. Blending is done on iron con-.tent, degree of ease of liberation (i.e. grain size) and chunkiness. The latter is important, as primary milling is done in autogenous mills. Actual daily mill results are compared with predicted grade from blast holes, exploration diamond drill holes and pit inspection. Hourly mill samples are analyzed by the X-Ray Fluorescent Analyzer, with emphasis on silica grade. In 1969, the pellet grade was improved from 7 .01 per cent silica natural to 5.50 per cent silica natural."

Jan 1, 1970

By F. Claisse, R. Angers

Self-diffusion in iron has been measured during rapid a-r transformations using a variant of the Kryukou and Zhukhovitskii diffusion method. The study was performed by thermally cycling iron foils (1 to 6 cpm) through the transformation (=910°C). Some foils have been subjected to over 1000 cycles and some have spent more than 15 pct of their total diffusion time in the process of transformation. The experimental results show that the a-r transformation has no measurable effect on self-diffusion in iron. The study is completed by a quantitative analysis of mechanisms which can affect the diffusion rate during the transformation. The analysis confirms the experimental results. SINCE diffusion is an important factor in many solid-state transformations, it is of interest to study how it is affected by the stresses generated during these transformations. Clinard and Sherby1'2 were the first to make a study along these lines. They measured diffusion coefficients in Fe-FeCoV couples subjected to slow thermal cycling (1.5 cph) through the a-r transformation range. They found an enhancement of diffusion by a factor of about two. The purpose of the present paper is to report measurements of the self-diffusion coefficient of iron during much more rapid thermal cyclings (1 to 6 cpm) through the a-r transformation (-910°C). These more rapid cyclings produce higher strain rates during the transformation and should emphasize any possible influence of transformation upon diffusion. EXPERIMENTAL Iron foils, 25 to 35 µ thick, were cold-rolled from 99.92 pct pure iron and annealed in pure helium for 2 hr at 870°C; the resulting grain diameter was about 150 µ. Specimens 0.5 by 8 cm were cut from the foils and I7e55 was vapor deposited on one of their surfaces. A 38 gage alumel-chrome1 thermocouple was spot welded in the middle of one of the specimen long edges, Fig. 1. Two 38 gage chrome1 wires were also spot welded along the same edge on each side of the thermocouple; they were placed 2.5 cm apart and used for electrical resistance measurements. In order to prevent twisting and crumpling, the specimens were pinched between two quartz plates 0.1 by 1 by 7 cm and the assembly was close fitted into a 1 cm ID quartz tube. Four holes were drilled through the tube to let the 38 gage wires out: these were connected to the recording equipment by means of extension wires. 20-gage nickel wires fixed at both ends of the specimens were used to thermally cycle the foils by Joule heating. The above described device was placed in a 2.7 cm ID quartz tube which in turn was placed in a tubular furnace. Either a pure helium atmosphere or circulating hydrogen was used during the experiments. Specimens were subjected to thermal cycles between a minimum temperature To and a maximum temperature Tm at rates ranging from 1 to 6 cpm. This was obtained by maintaining the furnace at a constant temperature near the minimum temperature To and periodically passing an electric current through the specimen. Cooling was achieved by heat losses to the surroundings. The forms and periods of cycles were varied from one specimen to another; however, each specimen was subjected to one type of cycle only. The temperature and electrical resistance variations of the specimens were recorded as a function of time. The temperature curves were used for diffusion calculations while the electrical resistance curves were used to monitor the transformation and to determine its starting point and its approximate duration. Diffusion was measured by the method developed by Kryukov and zhukhovitskii3 and modified by Angers and Claisse.4,5 In this method a metallic foil is coated on one side with a radioactive isotope and the activity is measured periodically on both sides during the diffusion anneal. The following equation then holds: where: I1 Activity on the surface on which the deposit is made. I, Activity on the opposite surface. t Diffusion time. B Constant. D Diffusion coefficient. d Foil thickness including the deposit. G(t) A function of time; it is a second order correction term which is given graphically in Refs. 4 and 5. The diffusion coefficient D is found by plotting ln[(Il - I2)/(I1 + I,)] -G(t) against t; the resulting slope m leads to an accurate calculation of D through Eq. [2]. The effect of the a-r transformation on diffusion is expressed by the ratio DT/DU where:

Jan 1, 1970