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By Henry P. Wheeler

Natural gas was first stored underground in Welland, County, Ontario Province, Canada, in 1915.3/ The following year natural gas in the United States was first stored underground successfully in the Zoar field near Buffalo, N, Y. Only three additional storage fields were in use in the United States in 1930, but by 1940 the number had increased to over 30, and since that time growth has been more rapid. At least 80 fields, with a combined storage capacity of 440,828 MM c. f ., were being utilized by 1949.4 / In May 1952, 142 storage projects having a capacity of 915,000 MM c.f. were in operation .5/ These fields are distributed from New York to California--from Michigan to Texas. In the Appalachian region alone, there are 101 storage fields with a combined capacity exceeding 526,000 MM cu. ft. Why Natural Gas is Stored Natural gas is stored in order to be readily available to meet the needs of consumers.

Jan 1, 1952

By S. J. Pearce

One phase of the work of the Bureau of Mines in health and safety is promotion of the use of safe, satisfactory, and reliable respiratory-protective devices. To insure that such devices will be available, the Bureau has established schedules of minimum requirements for self-contained breathing apparatus,3/ gas masks,4/ supplied-air respirators (hose masks, air-line respirators, and abrasive-blasting helmets, hoods, or masks),5/ dispersoid (dust, fume, and mist) respirators,6/ and nonemergency gas respirators (chemical-cartridge respirators).7/ Approval tests of self-contained breathing apparatus are conducted under the supervision of mining engineers of the Accident Prevention and Health Division} Region VIII; approval tests of other types of respiratory-protective devices are conducted by the Health Branch.

Jan 1, 1952

By Karl F. Peterson, H. K. Najarian, Robert E. Lund

PRIMARY products of the Josephtown smelter are zinc metal of various grades, lead-free zinc oxide pigments, cadmium metal, and sulphuric acid. Zinc concentrates of domestic and foreign origin are blended and desulphurized at the roaster plant. The equipment includes five, 12-hearth Herreshoff roasters and two modified Trail-type suspension roasters. The sulphur dioxide containing gases from the roasting operation are diverted to a four-unit contact acid plant for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. The roasted calcines are agglomerated by sintering on Dwight-Lloyd-type sintering machines; the sinter is crushed and sized within required limits; and the sized sinter is smelted in vertical shaft-type electro-thermic furnaces. Of the 13 electrothermic furnaces of various sizes now in operation, four are designed to produce American process zinc oxidc of various specifications; and the remaining nine furnaces are equipped with vacuum-type condensers and produce zinc metal. Papers describing the general smelting practice at Josephtown have been published by AIME. Since both High Grade zinc metal and lead-free zinc oxide pigments are produced direct from the electrothermic furnaces without need for subsequent refining, the elimination of impurities such as lead and cadmium has to be accomplished during roasting and sintering operations. To effect the producing of both High Grade and Prime Western zinc products, the roasting and sintering operations are on two separate circuits. A High Grade circuit produces finished sized sinter low in lead, cadmium, etc., for the High Grade furnaces; and the Prime Western circuit produces finished sinter destined for the furnaces producing Prime Western metal. Sintering at the Josephtown smelter differs in many important respects from the sintering practice in smelters operating horizontal retort zinc furnaces. Requirements of the electrothermic smelting furnaces define the physical characteristics of the sinter, while the chemical composition of the sinter is controlled according to the grade of metal and oxide to be made as final products. Three principal objectives in the sintering process at Josephtown smelter are: 1. To transform the zinc calcine from the roasting operations into a hard, yet porous agglomerate that will not crumble in the smelting furnace. 2. Crushing and sizing of the sinter to obtain a proper screen analysis which is normally —% in. down to +1/4 in. particle size. 3. To eliminate, particularly in the High Grade circuit, as much of the impurities such as sulphur, lead, and cadmium as possible. The sintering plant as originally built in 1930 was equipped with three standard 42 in. x 44 ft Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines. Each machine was equipped with a 15x60 in. sintering corporation fan driven by 150 hp, 900 rpm synchronous motor through a magnetic clutch and capable of delivering 30,000 cfm of air at 15 in. of water and 150°F. Each sintering machine was driven by 7½ hp dc motor with controllers for varying the speed of the machine from 8 to 32 in. per min. The pallets were cast iron and the grates of the herringbone type. The charge was mixed in a 4 ft diam x 8 ft Stehli pugmill and transported by belt conveyor, elevator and tripper conveyor to a small bin over each machine. Shortly after the start of operations the following changes were found necessary: 1. The herringbone grates which plugged very quickly and were difficult to keep clean were replaced by straight, narrow cast-iron grate bars running at right angles to the travel of the pallets. These grate bars are held in place by a center bar extending across the pallet on the 24 in. dimension and by removable retaining plates which form the sides of the pallets. 2. Mechanical grate knockers were developed in conjunction with new grate bars for continuously and automatically cleaning the grates. 3. As the cast-iron pallets cracked, they were replaced with cast-steel pallets. In 1938, the capacity of the sinter plant was increased with the installation of two 42 in. x 22 ft machines which were brought from the company's Herculaneum lead smelter. With a circulating load of some 250 to 300 pct, production of finished sinter on the 42 in. x 44 ft machines at this time amounted to about three tons of sized sinter per machine hour. In 1945, one of the 42 in. x 22 ft machines was replaced by a 60 in. x 44 ft machine of our own design. In 1948, as part of the plant-wide expansion program, the sinter plant not only was expanded but also divided into two separate plants; namely, Prime Western and High Grade circuits. The sinter destined for furnaces producing Prime Western zinc metal is made in a new plant comprising two 60 in. x 44 ft Dwight-Lloyd-type sintering machines, each having a 45,000 cfm Sturtevant fan at 18 in. water static pressure and served by an 8 ft diam x 12 ft long rotary charge pclletizer and auxiliary crushing and sizing equipment. The sinter destined for furnaces producing High Grade zinc metal and zinc oxide pigments is produced in the old sinter plant which was expanded to accommodate four of the 60 in. x 44 ft sintering machines, replacing the old sintering units. In the High Grade sinter circuit, two units of the 60 in. x 44 ft machines are used as preliminary soft sinter machines; and the remaining two units of the 60 in. x 44 ft machines are used to make finished hard sinter. Purification Theory Partial elimination of lead and cadmium in the sintering of zinc ores is common knowledge. However, by some manipulation and by taking advantage of the double circuit, it is possible to make zinc sinter which is nearly free of contaminators. Lead

Jan 1, 1952

By L. E. Djingheuzian

"IntroductionDURING the past two decades an enormous amount of empirical data has been accumulating on grinding. These data have been obtained by mill operators on grinding ores with a diversity of characteristics, and generally they have been published. However, whenever an operator, who has started milling on a new ore, has tried to find a case in literature which would exactly fit his particular grinding problem, he has failed. Evidently, something fundamental has been lacking in all these empirical data, and, as a consequence, each new operator has had to undertake his own experimenting, get the best results he can, maybe publish these results, and let it go at that. This, in the writer's opinion, has been• due to the fact that even the ablest and most inquisitive millman has been forced to look on grinding as an art, and so, except very rarely, has not been able to find the time to stop and think; if he did so, it was rather in a philosophic way, that grinding is a fundamental process, a process that takes place in river beds, on the sea shore, etc.Nevertheless, when all the data so far published are correlated and examined as a whole, one is struck with the advances that have been made in grinding. The writer (7) had made such a study in 1949, and, when the correlation was completed, it showed that there was nothing heterogeneous about the accumulated data and that when brought together they were in harmony with each other. The writer's conclusion was that, if grinding criteria were defined and were expressed in such a way as to make integration of any data into basic formulae possible, grinding would be established as a mathematically exact science, and grinding worries of the harassed mill operator would be at an end!The first attempts to rationalize comminution were made by Rittinger and Kick. However, their theories led to endless disputes which did not accomplish much, except possibly clearing the path for subsequent investigators."

Jan 1, 1952

Restrictions on the use of zinc will be a thing off the past in a few months. Government allocations on the metal are also expected to go by the board. Concurrently, action is also expected in reference to lead allocations. Government stockpile goals for zinc have been reached. The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers lent support to United Steel Worker demands and at the same time put in their own bid for a 25-cent an hour increase at a meeting held in Denver. While backing the USW, the IUMMSW charged the Steel Workers with membership raiding. Iron and steel companies producing about 92 pct of steel ingots in the United States, showed nearly a 13 pct decline in net profit during 1951, compared with the previous year, despite a 22 pct increase in their combined revenue. Federal income tax rose 61 pct, to more than 012 million. New iron ore reserves are being sought in Canada by Jones & Laughlin Steel Core, The company has acquired exploration options near Petersborough on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Durham, Northumberland and Frontenac Counties. *'A fourth property is southwest of Ottawa, in the Kingston, Ontario area..

Jan 1, 1952

By J. S. Bowles

THE martensite transformation in lithium, dis- covered by Barrett,' has been studied extensively by X-ray techniques by Barrett and Trautz,² and Barrett and Clifton.V he present paper reports the results of an investigation into the metallographic characteristics of lithium martensite. Such an investigation has not been carried out before. The spontaneous transformation in lithium consists of a change from a body-centered cubic to a close-packed hexagonal structure with the hexagonal layers in imperfect stacking sequence." As far as is known at present, this transformation can be regarded as being crystallographically equivalent to the body-centered cubic to close-packed hexagonal transformation that occurs in zirconium,5 although stacking errors have not been reported in zirconium. From a study of the orientation relationships in zirconium, Burgers5 as proposed that the martensite transformation, b.c.c. to c.p.h., occurs by a heterogeneous shear on the system (112) [111]. The crystal-lographic principle underlying this proposal is that the configuration of atoms in the (112) plane of a b.c.c. structure is exactly the same as that in the (1010) plane of a close-packed hexagonal structure based on the same atomic radius. The pattern in 2v2 both these planes is a rectangle d X 2v2d where v3 d is the atomic diameter. Thus a close-packed hexagonal structure can be built up from a body-centered cubic structure by displacing the (112) planes relative to each other.* This mechanism leads to orientations that can be described by the relations: (110)b.c.e. // (0001)c,p.h.; [111]b.c.c. // [1120]c.p.h Observations confirm these relations. In zirconium, Burgers' measurements indicated an angle of 0" to 2" between the close-packed directions, while Barrett's measurements on lithium indicated an angle of 3". According to the Burgers' mechanism, the martensite habit plane for this transformation would be expected to be the (112)b.c.c. plane, for this plane would not be distorted by the transformation. One of the purposes of this investigation was to find out whether the observed lithium habit plane agrees with this prediction of the Burgers' mechanism. Experimental Procedure Materials: The lithium was from the same purified ingot used by Barrett and Trautz.² The Bridgman technique was used to produce single crystals. To maintain a temperature gradient in the melt, during the production of these crystals, it was necessary to use a steel mould with a wall thickness of only 0.015 in. Metallographic Techniques: Lithium specimens could be given an excellent metallographic polish by swabbing them gently with cold methyl or ethyl alcohol.? The best results were obtained with methyl alcohol saturated with the reaction product, lithium alcoholate. With higher alcohols the reaction became progressively slower and the attack became an etch pit attack rather than a polish attack. Butyl and amyl alcohols were used for macroetching. After polishing, it was necessary to remove all traces of alcohol from the specimens; otherwise, on subsequent quenching in liquid nitrogen, the alcohol froze to a glassy film. The alcohol was removed with dry benzene. The benzene in turn had to be removed before quenching, but since it does not react with lithium it could be allowed to evaporate. The specimens could then be quickly quenched before they began to tarnish. This operation could be carried out in air on all but excessively humid days when it was advisable to use an atmosphere of dry nitrogen or argon. For examinations at room temperature, the specimens could be transferred directly from the benzene bath into a bath of mineral oil. In mineral oil the specimens oxidized slowly by the diffusion of oxygen through the oil but the structure remained visible for about an hour. Lithium Martensite: Specimens prepared in the manner described above transformed spontaneously to martensite with an audible click when quenched into liquid nitrogen; i.e., M, was above the boiling point of nitrogen (77°K). The disparity between this result and the M, temperature of 71°K, found by Barrett and Trautz, is probably to be attributed to the large grain size and freedom from mechanical deformation of the specimens used in the present work. The relief effects produced by the transformation did not disappear when specimens were quenched from liquid nitrogen into mineral oil at room temperature. This permitted the microstructures to be studied at room temperature where, of course, the martensitic phase was no longer present. Typical micrographs of lithium "martensite" made at room temperature are reproduced in figs. 1, 2, and 3. As anticipated by Barrett and Trautz, the microstruc-

Jan 1, 1952

By Benny J. Nelson

AS a part of the fundamental research program of Aluminum Research Laboratories, some data were obtained on the ternary system Mg-Al-Mn. As very little information on the magnesium corner of this diagram has heretofore been published, it seems desirable to make available the values found for the liquidus and solidus surfaces of this system. Procedure The settling procedure was used for the determination of the liquidus compositions. Metallo-graphic examination of quenched samples, and stress-rupture upon incipient melting, were used for the solidus determinations. The settling procedure has been described in a previous paper.' Briefly, this method involved saturating the alloy with manganese at a temperature substantially above that at which the sohbility was to be determined, then cooling the melt to the latter temperature, and holding it at that temperature for a substantial period of time. Samples for analysis .were carefully ladled from the upper portion of the melt at hourly intervals during the holding period. After the ladling of each sample, the melt was stirred to redistribute some of the manganese that had already settled, because it appeared that when the latter particles of manganese again settled, they aided in carrying down more of the manganese and thus hastened the attainment of equilibrium. The melts were prepared and held in a No. 8 Tercod crucible holding approximately 4 lb of metal. The manganese was added either in the form of a prealloyed ingot (Dow M) containing about 1.5 pct Mn or by the use of a flux (Dow 250) containing manganese chloride. In calculating the flux additions, it was assumed that the manganese introduced would be equal to 22 pct of the total weight of the flux. Temperatures were measured with an iron-constantan thermocouple enclosed in a seamless steel tube, the lower end of which was welded shut. This protection tube also served as a stirring rod. The samples ladled from the upper portions of the melts at the various intervals were analyzed for aluminum, manganese, and iron. When making the alloys which were to be used for the determination of the solidus, 2½ in. diam tilt mold ingots were cast, scalped to 2.0 in. in diam, and extruded into ? in. diam wire. The principal impurities in the melts for this investigation were iron and silicon; their total not exceeding 0.03 pct. Portions of the wire, approximately 2 in. in length, were enclosed in stainless steel capsules for protection from the atmosphere. Bundles of these capsules, with a dummy capsule containing an iron-constantan thermocouple, were heated inside a large steel block (acting as a heat reservoir) in a closed circulating-air type electric furnace. At ap- propriate times, the capsules were removed and quenched in water. The wires were examined metallographically to determine the temperature of initial melting. Short times at temperature were used at the beginning for wire specimens of all alloys to obtain quickly the approximate temperatures at which melting could be first observed. When approximate solidus temperatures had thus been determined, equilibrium heating was attempted. This equilibrium heating consisted of an 8 or 16 hr period at a temperature, about 50 °F below the lowest temperature at which melting occurred when short heating cycles were used, followed by further heating for 1 hr periods at consecutive 10" higher temperatures. The theory for the method of stress-rupture at incipient melting has been well covereda and its limitations are recognized. Thus, if the interfacial tensions are such that the first minute quantity of liquid is "bunched up" at the grain boundary junctions instead of spreading out along the grain boundaries,³ temperatures higher than the solidus are required before melting will be manifested by rupture of the specimen. This point will be elaborated later. Specimens of the wires with a reduced section (approximately 1/16 in. diam) were suspended vertically in a tubular furnace. The setup used is shown in Fig. 1. The clamp holding the specimen was made from alumel thermocouple wire and the thermocouple was thus completed across the specimen by attaching a chrome1 wire to its lower end. Temperatures were read from a Speedomax recorder used in conjunction with a calibrated thermocouple. The small weight attached to the specimen and a vibrator attached to the furnace tube, to aid in distributing the molten constituent along the grain boundaries, were used to bring about rupture at a temperature closely approximating the solidus. The specimens were heated at a rate of about 5°C per min. The rupture of the specimens was indicated both by sound and by the action of the recorder. An argon atmosphere containing a small amount of SO² was used for protection of the specimen. The assembly was taken out of the furnace immediately following rupture and the specimen removed. Some of the broken specimens were examined metallographically and will be referred to later. Results and Discussion Fig. 2 shows a set of typical time-composition curves for liquid samples of the Mg-Al-Mn alloys used for the settling tests. The data as presented

Jan 1, 1952

By Robert C. Bolger, John H. Weitz

REFRACTORY clay, one of Pennsylvania's important nonmetallic mineral resources, occurs at several horizons in beds of Pennsylvanian age. The Mercer fireclay, of Pottsville age (Table 1), is the most important of these clays. A study of this fireclay has been conducted by the Pennsylvania Geologic Survey discontinuously over a period of seven years. The work has included field mapping of a rather large area, as well as petrographic, differen¬tial thermal, and X-ray studies of the fireclay. A comprehensive report on the project is now in preparation.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. Schuhmann Jr., P. J. Ensio

As a first step in a study of the physical chemistry of copper-smelting slags, experimental measurements were made of the oxygen pressure of simple iron-silicate slags in equilibrium with solid iron. The experiments consisted in bubbling CO2-CO mixtures through the slags in iron crucibles and in finding the equilibrium ratios of CO2 to CO. From the data, activities and partial molal heats of solution FeO and SiO2 in the slags were calculated. THE ternary system FeO-Fe,O,-SiO, is the simplest system which can represent adequately the important chemical properties of the slags formed in matte smelting and converting. Accordingly, the experimental study of slags in this system was started as the first step in a general research program on the thermodynamics of copper smelting. A recent paper by one of the authors' outlines this general research program and shows in some detail how information on thermodynamic properties of iron-silicate slags, especially information on oxygen activities, is essential to a full understanding of the chemistry of copper smelting. The FeO-Fe,O,-SiO, system also is the basis of slags produced in other processes, such as acid steelmak-ing processes, and is important in relation to the behavior of silicious refractories. In addition, data on the physicochemical properties of iron-silicate slags should contribute to a general understanding of the nature of slags, since at present such data for all kinds of slags are relatively meager. The principal quantitative information already available on iron-silicate slags consists in Bowen and Schairer's constitution diagram for slags in equilibrium with metallic iron,' Darken and Gurry's complete and precise thermodynamic study of the Fe-0 system,",' and Darken's study of the phase equilibria in the Fe-Si-o system. From the results of this previous work, it was clear that a complete thermodynamic study of ternary iron-silicate melts was a major undertaking which would have to be broken down into parts, including the working out of the ternary equilibrium diagram as well as extensive activity measurements on slags. The experimental measurement of oxygen activity, using CO-CO, and other gas mixtures as yardsticks of oxygen activity, was the basis of Darken and Gurry's study of the Fe-0 system. From the experimental measurements of oxygen activities over a large range of temperatures and compositions, they were able to calculate the activities of other species such as Fe, FeO, Fe,O,, etc., and also the other important thermodynamic properties in the Fe-0 system. At the start of the present investigation, it appeared that the same approach would be fruitful for the study of iron-silicate melts. Also, the experimental measurement of oxygen activities seemed particularly attractive because oxygen activity itself is a quantitative measure of oxidizing or reducing power, which is an important variable in copper-smelting slags. The slag compositions in equilibrium with yFe appeared most suitable for the first investigation of this kind, for the following reasons: 1—Good constitution data2 were available. 2—An iron crucible could be used, thus affording a simple solution to the refractory problem without introducing contarnination. 3—With Fe activity fixed, at unity with respect to a standard state of solid Fe, measurements of 0 activity could be followed by simple calculations of activities of FeO and other Fe-0 complexes and of SiO,. 4—This starting point afforded several possibilities for cross-checking with previous work,

Jan 1, 1952

Shovel To further increase the efficiency in the production of their foundry sand, the American Silica Sand Co. has purchased a new and improved shovel that will be used for loading trucks at their Reynolds Pit. The [ ] new shovel will greatly facilitate winter mining operations and make possible larger winter shipments of the company's foundry sand. The Reynolds Pit is one of three sand pits in the Ottawa district owned by American Silica which produce sand that is refined for foundry use. Circle No. 1 Electric Switches The Crane Electric Co. has just announced the production of their R-1000, a new rotating limit switch designed to control the travel of any rotating device requiring interruption or establishment of electrical current after a predetermined number of revolutions. It is useful for machinery, lifts, and other power equipment. The switch is presented in a finished case, 16 gage, reinforced, with walls of sufficient strength to hold the entire mechanism and all the parts in accurate alignment. The worm gear combination has a 60 to 1 ratio, sufficient for most industrial uses. The number of revolutions can still be increased by using various combinations of driving sprockets, either on the shaft of the switch, or on the sprocket of the unit controlled by the switch itself. Circle No. 2

Jan 1, 1952

By J. W. Meier, J. O. Edwards, R. C. Bell

"IntroductionTHE DIE CASTING industry .as we know it today is the direct result of the invention and development of die casting machines during the nineteenth century and of reliable alloys in the twentieth. The early machines were designed to cast low melting point metals such as lead .and tin, and their alloys.It was inevitable that, as these die castings were put into service, the demand should arise for stronger materials. Zinc alloys, often containing lead, tin, copper, and aluminum as major constituents, were relatively easy to cast and stronger than the lead and tin alloys. However, it became apparent after a number of years that these zinc alloys tended to become brittle, distort, and corrode, particularly if kept in warm, humid atmospheres. Thus, considerable quantities of zinc-base .alloys were in use before the trouble was realized and effective measures could .be taken to determine the cause of the instability.The deleterious effect of certain metallic impurities on the properties of zinc •die casting .alloys has now been known for about thirty years. Brauer .and Peirce, and, later, other research workers of the New Jersey Zinc Company such as Anderson and Werley, discovered the pronouned effect of lead, cadmium, and tin on the stability of zinc-alloys."

Jan 1, 1952

By R. A. Salathiel

A new synthetic material has been developed which is highly effective in treating drilling muds to reduce filtration rate. The material is the soluble salt of a very high molecular weight condensation product of sulfonated phenol and formaldehyde (SPIF). Laboratory tests show that SPIF is effective in muds of all salinities varying from fresh water to saturated salt water. Alkaline materials. such as soda ash or caustic and quebracho, may be used in combination with SPIF to advantage, and are essential in muds containing saturated salt water. In a field test where the water used in the mud had a salinity of about one-half that of sea water, SPIF in combination with caustic and quebracho made a very satisfactory mud. SPIF does not ferment. but due probably to additional polymerization a slight decrease in effectiveness is found when it is subjected to high PH and high temperature for a long time. INTRODUCTION Drilling mud is essential in rotary drilling. The influence of variations in the different properties of a mud on its ability to perform the various functions in drilling of wells is thoroughly understood in some cases and poorly understood in others. For instance, the function of mud density in restraining high pressure fluids is simple and well known. On the other hand. while the value of low filtration is widely recognized, it is seldom possible to determine precisely what filtration rate is required for the mud to perform its functions properly. Filtration rate is important because it influences the ease of moving tools in or out of the hole. Filtration rate also affects the stability of the bore hole walls, which are subject to softening and degradation by aqueous filtrate. Difficulties in rotary drilling are often avoided by using low-filtration muds. Treatment of fresh-water muds to provide moderately low filtration rates usually consists of adding chemicals to improve the dispersion of the clays. To provide very low filtration rates, organic colloidal materials are added. Among the materials hat are used in this way are starch, natural gums, and altered celluloses. In muds that contain large amounts of salt or calcium or magnesium ions, the clays are coagulated and, as a consequence, the filtration rate is undesirably high. In such muds organic colloids are of great importance. LIMITATIONS OF PRESENT FILTRATION ADDITIVES Starch and water-soluble gums are widely used as filtration control agents. Starch is the most important material of this kind being used. It has the advantage of relatively low cost. It is effective in promoting low filtration rates, not only in fresh water muds, but also in muds containing large amounts of salts. However, both starch and natural gums are subject to fermentation and must be preserved from damage caused by microbiologic attack. Also, both starch and natural gums tend to increase the mud viscosity undesirably. Furthermore, the quantity of material required may be quite large. This is especially true when substantial amounts of salts are present. In such a case small addition* of starch may increase rather than reduce the filtration rate of the mud. Carboxy-methyl-cellulose, a chemically altered form of cellulose, has some advantages over starch. It is effective in smaller concentrations and does not increase the viscosity as much as

Jan 1, 1952

By T. H. Janes

"IntroductionSULPHUR is a constituent of many industrial products. It is part •of almost anything we eat, wear, or use. In fact, sulphur is so important that there has been an increasing tendency in recent years to measure industrial growth in terms of sulphur consumption.The uncertainty of obtaining adequate supplies •of elemental sulphur from the Frasch-mined domes. of Texas and Louisiana in the United States led all countries in 1950 to seek alternative sources of supply of this necessary element.Canadian industry has been supplied, for many years, with most of its sulphur requirements by United States Frasch-mined sulphur. World demand for this sulphur has necessitated the imposition of controls on its distribution, as production has not kept pace with demand. Until the third quarter of 1950, Canadian manufacturers of pulp and paper, heavy chemicals, explosives, and textiles •experienced little difficulty in obtaining their needs of elemental sulphur from the United States. However, at that time, low producers' stocks and declining reserves threatened to reduce shipments from producers, with the prospect of a continuing shortage for some time. These conditions, together with higher prices, stimulated the search for alternative sources of supply in Canada."

Jan 1, 1952

By Anthony Folger, Howard R. Lowe, J. F. Dougherty, E. G. Trostel, Joffre Meyer

The status of the natural gas industry in Alberta, Canada, is described with particular reference to the current extent of natural gas reserves and possibilities for additional development. Certain major fields are discussed as representative of the types of gas accumulations within various broad geographical divisions of the provinces. The estimation of the future performance of a gas reservoir is discussed as the basis for an estimate of the future availability of natural gas from presently known reserves. The future availability of the provincial reserves and the estimated future demand for gas within the province are described. INTRODUCTION This paper is a condensation of a detailed study of the natural gas reserves and the future availability of pipeline gas in the province of Alberta as prepared for Trans-Canada Pipe Lines Limited and presented in public hearings at Edmonton and Calgary before the Petroleum and Natural Gas Conservation Board of the Province of Alberta. The study began in October, 1950, and resulted in the preparation of five volumes of data at the expenditure of more than 20,000 man-hours. This paper is designed to afford a broad picture with detail limited to a type example of both natural ga-accumulation and future availability of gas supply. The province of Alberta has an area of 255.285 square miles which, for sake of comparison. is 8,359 square miles smaller than the state of Texas. Natural gas was first discovered in 1883 at the now abandoned Alderson well located some 20 miles southeast of the town of Princess. The first gas in commercial quantities was found at Medicine Hat in 1890. During the last 68 years. 187 localities have been discovered which are capable of gas production, and 73 per cent of these have been found since 1945. Sixty fields currently are producing gas, including 22 non-associated gas accumulations. Location of the oil and gas fields and prospects in the province of Alberta is shown in Fig. 1, together with a list of the localities of measurable gas, Fig. 1A. The estimated total provincial gas reserve as of Jan. 1, 1952, for the 104 fields estimated, is 11.7 trillion cu ft proved and probable, and for the 187 known areas capable of production is in excess of 16 trillion cu ft on a total proved, probable, and possible basis. Five fields (Pincher Creek, Leduc-Woodbend, Viking-Kinsella, Cessford and Medicine Hat) are estimated to have recoverable reserves of more than one trillion cu ft each. A sixth field, Turner Valley, was initially in this group, but its reserves have been depleted substantially. Twenty-four fields, of which the above mentioned six fields are a part, have estimated gas reserves (including the possible category) in excess of 100 billion cu ft. These 24 fields account for 79 per cent of the total provincial reserves. Comparative systemic analyses reflect that 56 per cant of Alberta's gas reserves are contained in sediments of Cretaceous age; 30 per cent in sediments of Mississippian age; 10 per cent in sediments of Devonian age; three per cent in sediments of Triassic age; and the remaining one per cent in Jurassic and Permo-Pennsylvanian sediments. It is expected that the relative importance of the Mississippian, Devonian, and Triassic sediments will be increased as exploration progresses. GENERAL GEOLOGY The western Canada basin comprises the sedimentary area between the Canadian Shield and the Rocky Mountain Front Range, the Arctic Ocean, and the International Boundary. The basin has an approximate area of 765,000 square miles and embraces parts of the provinces of Manitoba. Saskatchewan. Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Generalized columnar sections for the Province of Alberta are shown in Fig. 2. Substantially all of Alberta, except its northeast corner, has sedimentary cover. Sediments of all the geologic systems are represented. except those of Silurian age.

Jan 1, 1952

By Nicholas J. Grant, Ulf Kalling, John Chipman

D. E. Babcock (Republic Steel Corp., Youngstown, Ohio)—I would like to know what evidence you have to prove the MnO was pure MnO. I would also like to know whether you might not explain it on the basis of a temperature reversion; and, was it due to the oxidizing power of MnO? N. J. Grant (authors' reply)—Briefly, we have no proof that pure MnO was used. The manganese oxide was added as chemically pure MnO,. MnO is assumed as the oxide in the reacted slag following standard molecular slag theories, especially under the reducing conditions of these experiments. The noted sulphur reversion cannot by any means be explained on the basis of a temperature reversion since the temperature effect is shown in this paper to be very small. Until a more logical explanation can be offered, backed I hope by some experimental proof, we propose to explain this sulphur reversion as stated in the paper, namely, that it is due to the oxidizing effect of the added manganese oxide. Member—How did the oxygen in the slag give you a reversion of sulphur? What was the mechanism there?

Jan 1, 1952

By D. J. Salley, M. Burke, G. L. Simard

A PREVIOUS paper1 described experiments on the interaction of dithiophosphate with galena and suggested that the process had characteristics of both chemisorption and surface chemical reaction. In order to add to this knowledge, a study has been made of the competition of a second ion with the dithiophosphate for a galena surface. Use again was made of radiotracer methods. Since radiophosphate was readily available, it was chosen as the competing ion. It is a feature of the tracer method that, in spite of similarity in the chemical behavior of the ions, the measurement of one ion in the presence of another can be made as simply as if only one ion species were present. In order to study the competition effectively, it naturally was necessary to examine the interaction of phosphate with galena alone as well as in the presence of dithiophosphate; consequently, this report consists of two parts. The first is devoted to a study of the rates, the isotherms, the desorption, and the exchange in the phosphate-galena system in the same manner as was done for the dithio-phosphate-galena system. The second portion is concerned with the studies on the competition. Flotation experiments on the three-component sys- tem are also outlined and the relationships involved are discussed briefly. The experimental method was that of the previous paper. The preparation of the galena, the radioactive and the nonradioactive dithiophosphate, and the procedures for radioactive counting, for sorp-tion, and for flotation measurements were identical to those previously employed. The radiophosphate* was used in the form of disodium phosphate solution. In the competition experiments the effect of the phosphate ion in depressing dithiophosphate uptake was followed by holding the initial concentration of nonradioactive phosphate constant while varying the initial concentration of the radioactive dithiophosphate. Counterfashion, the depression of phosphate by dithiophosphate was obtained by keeping the initial nonradioactive dithiophosphate ion concentration constant and altering the initial concentration of the radioactive phosphate ion. All solutions were buffered at a pH of 7.8 a0.1 by 20x10-' mol per cc of sodium carbonate. Measurements with radiocarbonate indicated that little or no carbonate could be sorbed in the presence of

Jan 1, 1952

By R. I. Jaffee, H. R. Ogden

AT the present time, there appear to be two conflicting opinions on the solubility of boron in titanium. P. Ehrlich' has indicated from X-ray diffraction work that boron is soluble in titanium up to TiB0.8 (17.8 wt pct, 44 atomic pct). The X-ray diffraction pattern for titanium was found in compositions up to TiB0.05_0.07 (1.1 to 1.6 wt pct); then, without a phase gap, superlattice lines appeared up to TiB0.8 On the other hand, Craighead, Simmons, and Eastwood' have estimated the solubility of boron in both alpha and beta titanium to be less than 0.1 wt pct, based on results of metallographic analysis. In some recent work done at Battelle, results were obtained which shed more light on the titanium-rich end of the titanium-boron system. Iodide-type titanium and high-purity crystalline boron were used in this investigation. The boron was prepared by hydrogen reduction of boron tri-bromide and deposition on a hot tungsten wire. The alloys were prepared by arc melting in an argon atmosphere of 10 cm Hg pressure on a water-cooled copper hearth. The ingots were hot rolled to strip at 850°C. Alloys containing up to 1 pct B could be hot rolled. Those containing 2 pct or more B could not be hot rolled. Metallographically, it was found that a second phase was present in alloys containing as little as 0.4 pct B, and that the quantity of second phase increased with increasing boron content. This is illustrated in Figs. la and lb, which show the microstructures of a Ti-0.4B and a Ti-1B alloy annealed in argon at 850°C. X-ray diffraction patterns of alloys containing 1 and 5 pct B revealed the presence of extra lines which correspond to the superlattice lines reported by Ehrlich.' However, no evidence was found of a shift in the lattice constants of alpha titanium indicating that there is very little, if any, solubility of boron in alpha titanium. This fact, coupled with the fact that the alloys were definitely two-phase, indicates that the extra lines are not superlattice lines, but are more probably the result of a second phase of a hexagonal structure almost identical in cell

Jan 1, 1952

By W. W. Agey

As a part of the program of investigation of domestic sources of manganese in the western United States, engineers of the Bureau of Mines examined. and obtained samples of ore from two properties in the vicinity of Barstow, San Bernardino County, Calif. In addition to these, samples from two other properties in the same vicinity were submitted by the owners. As the ores were too low-grade to be acceptable for the direct production of ferromanganese, beneficiation studies were made to determine the amenability of the ores to concentration by ore dressing. The Big Reef manganese claims axe about 140 miles east of Barstow, Calif. The claims were leased by W., E. Thurber of San Gabriel, Calif., from the owner, C. S. VanDoren of Daggett., Calif. Manganese oxides occur as a replacement deposit in heavily brecciated andesite along a fault plane. Four samples were taken by an examining engineer of the Bureau of Mines from the ore zone, which, when composited, were representative of all the exposed ore. Preliminary tests were made on lot B, and final tests wore made on the composite sample. The Trans-Oceanic property is about 20 miles southeast of Barstow, near Newberry, in the. Pisgah mining district, Calif. The sample, submitted by the owners, was taken from a 1,000-ton reject clump from a hand-sorting operation. The ore occurs as a replacement of rhyolite.

Jan 1, 1952

By W. F. Mullen, C. W. Stickler

WITH few exceptions, unit operations in the Pennsylvania slate industry in 1950 did not differ appreciably from production methods described by Behrel and Bowles2-4 several decades ago. Many traditionally picturesque but relatively inefficient hand operations continued to contribute to high operating costs in an industry in which the margin of profit, for various reasons, was admittedly low. As part of a general program in which the Pennsylvania State College has been assisting the slate industry to solve some of its problems, time and method studies were used in an effort to determine the bottlenecks of production flow. The results are as applicable to other stone industries as they are to slate. A study of the basic elements in the production of roofing slate, structural slate, and slate blackboards among selected slate producers revealed comparatively few refinements. Any marked difference in operating method was characterized largely by the available equipment, a noticeable difference in the working properties of the rock quarried by a particular company, and by either the habit thinking or ingenuity of the individual operators. With the hope that significant economies in manufacture might result, all the unit operations were broken down into elements for study and analysis. The greater part of the study encompassed those operations from the quarry rim to the finished product; however, to obtain a reasonable synthesis of time allotments per operation, several analyses of quarrying from the finish of the wire saw cut are included for reference. The complete study of quarrying made by Bowles several years ago resulted in the introduction of the wire saw into the operation; there appears to be a need for as fundamental a change in the processing of finished slate as the wire saw was in the quarrying process. Fig. 1 illustrates the flowsheet of quarried rock from the parent bed to the quarry rim with the basic elements which contribute to the difficulty of removing slate from the ground. In Pennsylvania roofing slate is produced by one of three procedures, many operations of which are quite similar. In the traditional or classical method the quarried rock is reduced by sculping and auxiliary manual treatment to workable size and then is split and dressed (trimmed to size) in the conventional shanty. Archaic as this method might appear, there are several elements that result in substantial savings over more mechanized operations. In a modified version of this method, the block is reduced by sawing and gouging preparatory to splitting and dressing in indoor stations. This method is particularly adaptable to rock which fractures unevenly by conventional sculping methods. In the third and more modern method, reduced block received from the block maker is diamond-sawed to length and finished on a production line. Fig. 2 illustrates the flow pattern in each case. In the modified and more modern plans, dressing is done on mechanically-operated trimming machines, which appreciably reduce the fatigue factor of the operator. However, it should be noted that it is advantageous for the operator to be able to control the speed of the knife to prevent breakage of certain classes of stock. In the classical plan the splitter and dresser normally act as blockmakers also and carry their eighter slabs (equivalent in thickness to eight shingles) into the shanties themselves, all of which adds to fatigue and reduced efficiency. The extremely low investment and operating expense of the classical method has undoubtedly been of paramount importance in its continuation. Production of Mill Stock The production of mill stock is accomplished by less picturesque methods than enter into the production of roofing slate but it is, in the main, relatively more efficient because of the increased use of machinery for handling and for finishing. Mill stock can be classified into two categories as far as difference in production method is concerned: structural slate and blackboards. The significant difference in operation is caused largely by the nature of the rock used for each product with the best and easiest cleaved rock being reserved for blackboards to permit the splitting of large slabs to as little as 1/2 in. in thickness. Structural stock, on the other hand, is split into panels no thinner than 11/2 in. and

Jan 1, 1952

By Oliver B. Hopkins

"WE HAVE patterned our lives on the things we take from under the earth's surface. Our civilization is built upon the ore from which we obtain our metals and the fuels which power the world as we know it.Today I should like to discuss with you a newcomer to the ancient mining industry. This lusty infant of which I speak is just a century old - the oil industry.While one doesn't commonly think of oil men as delvers in the earth, It was by sinking a shaft that the first oil was obtained commercially in Canada. Men sank a shaft in a ‘gum bed' in southwestern Ontario's Lambton county, not far from Petroilia, and distilled from the gum a burning oil That was just a hundred years ago. The gum was originally liquid petroleum which had seeped to the surface and lost most of its volatile components.Later, the miners dug down to •bed-rock and soon after they were not digging but were drilling wells, as they have been ever since. From the wells they obtained erode oil.What is crude oil? It is not an element like gold, silver or lead, •but a complex mixture of compounds. These compounds are made basically from two elements, carbon and hydrogen, and are called hydrocarbons (Figure 1).The remarkable ability of these. Two elements to combine in different ways gives crude oil its physical and chemical character. The lighter hydrocarbon compounds in it are gases, at normal temperature and pressure, and these are dissolved in the other, heavier compounds."

Jan 1, 1952