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By John Langton

In determining what kind of pourer should be adopted for the works of the Moctezuma Copper Co. at Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico, certain considerations imposed by local conditions had to be taken into account. Water.—During most of the year the water-supply is abundant for all purposes, but it dwindles rapidly when the dry season sets in, reaching a minimum flow which is entirely undergrouad. It was evident, that with the greatest care in keeping down the unavoidable loss of water in milling and smelting, these operations and hence the capacity of the works mould ultimately be limited for about two months of the year by the small watersupply available at the period of minimum flow. Transportation.—The nearest railway terminus was in Arizona, at the international boundary-line; and the price of supplies at that point would be enhanced at Nacozari by the additional cost of a 90-mile wagon-haul. During the rainy season, transport to Nacozari was much impeded, and at times made impossible, by the condition of the roads. Hence, to insure continuous operation at the works, it would be necessary to provide for hauling the year's supplies, including fuel for power and coke for smelting, in less than eleven months. In other words, the average freight delivered daily at the works should be at least 10 per cent. more than the average daily consumption. For moderate quantities of freight, pack-carriage by burros is astonishingly cheap. But it has a capacity-limit which is generally very soon reached. A 200-lb. load, and 10 miles a day, 5 with and 5 without load, is the full capacity of a burro. This means one burro per ton-mile of the round trip; and,

Jan 1, 1904

By Herbert E. Field

The study of the condition and action of carbon in iron and steel is singularly complicated, because one has to consider, also, many contemporaileous reactions foreign to the one under investigation. Great difficulty is experienced in studying iron in the melted state, or during its various treatments in a solid condition, hence such an inquiry must be confined chiefly to a study of the original substance, of the conditions surrounding its treatment, and of the finished product. From a knowledge of these three things, we must form our own conclusions as to what takes place during the transition-period. Inasmuch as it is impossible to determine quantitatively the changes which take place in iron during the various processes of treatment and alteration, we are forced at once into the field of theory for an explanation of many of the phenomena for which we have to account. A recapitulation of the recognized properties of iron and carbon, and of the conditions in which they exist in iron and steel, may be useful as an introduction to the discussion of the subject. Chemically pure iron is soft, malleable and easily welded. It carmot be hardened or tempered, as these terms are understood in relat.ion to steel. In contact with a magnet, it becomes magnetic, but loses this property when the magnet is removed. It is unfitted for castings on account of its lack of fluidity. Those properties of iron which render it valuable as a commercial product must, therefore, be primarily due to foreign substances contained in the iron; and the great variety of these properties is attained by changes in the amount and nature of these impurities, and by the physical treatment of the iron while it contains them. The following properties of carbon make it a prominent factor

Jan 1, 1904

By Anson G. Betts

A solution of lead-fluosilicate, containing an excess of fluosilicic acid, has been found to work very satisfactorily as an electrolyte for refining lead. It conducts the current well, iseasily handled and stored, non-volatile and stable under electrolysis, may be made to contain a considerable amount of dissolved lead, and is easily prepared from inexpensive materials. It possesses, however, in common with other lead electrolytes, the defect of yielding a deposit of lead lacking in solidity, which grows in crystalline branches toward the anodes, causing short circuits. But if a reducing-action (practically accomplished by the addition of gelatine or glue) be given to the solution, a perfectly solid and dense deposit is obtained, having very nearly the same structure as electrolytically-deposited copper, and a specific gravity of about 11.36—that of cast-lead. Lead-fluosilicate may be crystallized in very soluble, brilliant crystals, resembling those of lead-nitrate and containing four molecules of water of crystallization, with the formula PbSiF,,4H20. This salt dissolves at 150 C. in 28 per cent. of its weight of water, making a sirupy solution of 2.38 sp. gr. Heated to 60° C., it melts in its water of crystallization. A neutral solution of lead-fluosilicate is partially decomposed on heating, with the formation of a basic insoluble salt and free fluosilicic acid, which keeps the rest of the salt in solution. This decomposition ends when the solution contains, perhaps, 2 per cent. of free acid; and the solution may then be evaporated without further decomposition. The solutioi~s desired for refining are not liable to this decomposition, since they contain much more than 2 per cent. of free acid. The electrical conductivity depends mainly on the acidity of the solution. My first experiments were carried out without the addition of gelatine to the fluosilicate solution. The lead-deposit con-

Jan 1, 1904

By R. B. Yerxa, C. F. Green, H. O. Hofman

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, In refining copper, the metal is melted down in a reverbera tory furnace in a more or less oxidizing atmosphere and then further subjected to an oxidizing smelting in order to eliminate the common impurities, most of which have a stronger affinity for oxygen than has copper. In these operations some of the copper is oxidized to cuprous oxide and dissolved by the metal bath. When the quantity of dissolved cuprous oxide has reached about 6 per cent, the metal is said to have been brought to " set-copper." A button-sample will show a depressed surface and, when broken, a single bubble at the apex of the depression; the fracture will be brick-red and dull. It is essential to carry the oxidation to this point in order to know that the impurities have been oxidized as far as it is possible under the given working-conditions. Nearly all the cuprous oxide of the set-copper is now reduced to the metallic state by poling, when "tough-pitch" copper will be obtained. A button-sample will show a flat surface. Upon breaking, it will be found that the former bubble has disappeared and that the fracture has become rose-colored and shows a silky luster. The quantity of cuprous oxide allowed to remain in the copper will vary with the impurities still present in the metal and with the degree of pitch that it is desired to reach. It is essential for the general physical and the mechanical properties of the resulting copper that such impurities as arsenic, antimony, bismuth, lead shall be present in the oxidized state, as they are

Jan 1, 1904

The following brief paper is intended, to apply to the concentration of the silver-lead ores at Broken Hill, New South Wales, generally, but more particularly to the process as applied to the ores in the Block 10 mine. The attached plans are similar inmany respects to those prepared, recently for the Block 10 company.Most of the information here given is already well known to those members who are conversant with the concentration practices of this field, but it is the writer's object to give just a few of those figures which he found difficult to obtain when first engaging in practical work. At that time no text-books were at hand from which it was possible to get sufficient details for practical working purposes.It is first supposed that the mine has been thoroughly explored and has been found to contain a lbde sufficient in size ·and quality to warrant the erection of a concentrating plant. The points then to determine are:-(1.) The quantity and cost of water available for steam-making and ore-dressing purposes.(2.) The most convenient site for the mill.

Jan 1, 1904

By Heinrich Ries

The fusion-point of clay has usually been considered to be influenced chiefly by the quantity of fluxing impurities which the clay contained. Those clays which contain a high percentage of fluxes, such as ferric oxide, lirne, magnesia, and alkalies, fuse at a low temperature. Aside from the percentage of fluxing-impurities, the size of the grains exerts an important influence. Yet, while this fact has, no doubt, been recognized by many, practically no attempts have been made to prove it by actual experiment, although in the case of fire-clays, Prof. H. O. Hofman has rather disputed it. To illustrate the point more clearly, suppose a clay to be made up of a mixture of very refractory grains, such as kaolinite, and some fusible ones. If this clay be heated, the more easily fusible grains will melt first on the surface, and the softening under heat will gradually extend from the surface of the grain to its center. The larger, therefore, the size of the grain, the longer the time required for the heat to penetrate it. Now, if two samples of clay contain the same volume of flux, but of unequal size, the one containing the smaller-sized grains should fuse first, because the fluxing materials are more evenly and thoroughly distributed through the clay, so that they will more or less surround the refractory grains, which tend to act as a framework and hold up the clay-mass when heated. In order to demonstrate the effect of fineness of grain on the fusibility of clay, several mixtures were made up, consisting of white clay and other minerals. The white clay used was a very refractory type from Georgia, the fusion-point of which lay about cone 35 of the Seger series. The mixtures were formed into small bars 1* inches long, and set on a narrow surface, so that the ends were free to bend as soon as the mass softened. They were burned in a Seger gas-furnace.

Jan 1, 1904

By William P. Blake

The attention of travellers, upon the desert bordering the Great Colorado of the West, is often arrested by broad stretches of pebble-covered plains, or mesas, glittering in the sunlight from the myriads of polished surfaces, giving, at a distance, the appearance of a sheet of water. It is not alone the well-rounded, polished surface of these pebbles which commands attention, but, in addition, their nearly black or darkbrown color; and, above all, their uniform distribution in a level sheet, covering the plain in a continuous layer or pavement like a vast mosaic without sand or soil. Hundreds of square miles along the lower Colorado, especially in Yuma county, Arizona, and on the borders of the Colorado Desert in California, are thus covered. It is evident that the former cxtent of such pebbly plains was much greater than now, for the continuity of the mesa is broken into by the numerous dry arroyos or " washes " formed during exceptional showers or deluging rains. In some places there is an underlying bed of pebbly conglomerate, a mixture of pebbles and sand; in others the pebbles rest on a sandy, earthy foundation. The rounded pebbles are distinctly alluvial in origin, and pertain to the ancient Colorado drainage system; but it is not comprehensible that such regular layers of polished pebbles could have been left by subsiding floods or river action. Attention was early directed by me to these remarkable plains, first examined in 1853, when exploring for the United States and seeking a practicable route for a railway to the Pacific coast.* The cut and polished surface of the pebbles

Jan 1, 1904

By R. V. Norris

The removal of mine-water by hoisting in tanks instead of pumping, while somewhat a reversion to the methods of the ancients, has come very rapidly into favor in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania during the past few years. In fact, so much so, that at the present time there are at least eight large collieries at which all the water is hoisted, and six more plants are in preparation. The particulars of the plants in operation and under construction, as far as decided on, are given in the tables on pages 107 and 108. Besides these, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western R.R. Co. is constructing a hoist of large capacity for a depth approximating 500 feet, to be located in the Keyser Valley, near Scranton. The hoists will be driven by electric motors, geared directly to the sheaves. The Lehigh Valley Coal Company is planning a large hoist for the Packer collieries in the Shenandoah district, but no work has been done on this as yet. The earliest regular hoisting, I believe, mas done by means of semi-cylindrical tanks (Fig. 1) at the Nanticoke collieries of the Susquehanna Coal Company. These tanks were attached under the regular shaft-carriages, taking in water through six large clack-valves in the bottom, and discharging through an endgate opened by a lever which was operated by a guide-piece on the shaft head-frame. These tanks were designed July, 1880, by the late J. H. Bowden, one of the very early members of the Institute. Similar tanks are still used in emergencies at the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 6 shafts of the company. The objections to. their use were: that water could only be hoisted during the night-shift, or when the shafts were not in use for hoisting coal, thus requiring a very large sump, and greatly limiting the water capacity of the plants; that the alternate wetting and drying

Jan 1, 1904

By Frank Firmstone

The furnace from which the brick here referred to were taken, was lined under my supervision and blown-in in May, 1902. It was 75 ft. high and 18 ft. in greatest diameter, and used coke to smelt a lean magnetic iron-ore. The lining was put in as follows:—First, blocks 14 in. long by 6 in. thick; second, 2 in. of loam; third, 13.5 in. of 9-in. fire-brick (one-and-ahalf brick wall) laid in English bond; fourth, red brick to within 2 in. of the iron shell; and fifth, 2 in. of slag-wool between the red brick and the shell. The brand of brick used has been known to me for over 20 years, and in my observation had always proved very durable, notably when used in a small furnace 50 k. high which treated the same magnetic. ore. On revisiting and examining the furnace in March, 1903, it was found that the whole of the lining of 14in. blocks at the top, and for an unknown distance (more than 20 ft.) below, had completely disappeared; and a few weeks later the 13.5-in. lining and the red brick at the top likewise vanished, and the furnace was blown out. N~twithstanding the complete failure of the lining higher up, measurements taken after blowing-out showed no unusual wear in the lower part of the furnace. The exact position in the furnace of the piece of brick-work used in the analysis, given below, is not known; but it came from between 30 and 40 ft. above the bottom. It had formed part of the 13.5-in. wall (no 14-in. brick remaining at that level) and consisted of parts of several bricks so firmly sintered together that fracture occurred indifferently through the joints and through the body of the brick. The joints could, however, be traced by a close examination. The surface which had been in contact with the material in the furnace was covered with a yellowish, translucent glaze, somewhat vesicular, and from

Jan 1, 1904

By H. C. Boynton, Albert Sauveur

In the course of some experiments conducted in the Metallographical Laboratory of Harvard University, some interesting facts were brought to light which appear to be worth recording in advance of a more elaborate and exhaustive paper which the authors hope to present to the Institute in the near future. Fig. 1 shows, under a magnification of 100 diameters, the microstructure of the cross-section of a steel bar 1/2-inch square, containing 0.52 per cent. carbon, heated to 1100 degrees C. and cooled slowly with the furnace. Fig. 2 illustrates the structure of the same steel, heated to the same temperature but cooled more rapidly in the air. Both samples were cut from the same bar and heated side by side in the furnace. When a temperature of 1100 degrees C. had been reached, one sample was taken out of the furnace and allowed to cool in the air, while the other was cooled with the furnace. The only difference, therefore, in the treatment of both samples will be found in their respective rate of cooling. This variation in the rate of cooling resulted, as shown

Jan 1, 1904

By Robert H. Richards, E. E. Bugbee

Friends often ask how accurate the work of our little stamp mill is, or express the opinion that a little mill cannot do good work. As a reply we would like to place on record the results of a few tests. There are two periods of work in our laboratory; the fall term, when the class collectively goes through all our chief laboratory-processes, and the spring term, when the students work up their theses, each electing some one process or investigation and devoting himself wholly, or almost wholly, to that. Some of the tests, the results of which are recorded in this paper, were made in the fall term; the preparation of the apparatus, the sampling and the assaying being done largely by assistants, with the aid of the students. Others were made in the spring term as thesis-work, and the results are due wholly to. the students. The complete " tree " of our process is patterned after the-

Jan 1, 1904

In the early stages of opening up a mine, when there is some uncertainty as to its future career, necessitating caution in laying out works of a permanent character, the want is often felt of an assay furnace, easily built and easy of transportation, should the" mine " prove to be " no mine." Again, cases occur in which parties buy the right to treat comparatively small heaps of tailings, and then shift their plant to other localities. Under these circumstances it is necessary to restrict the plant to the barest necessaries, to suit, so to speak, the nomadic character of the work.An assay furnace that is really portable, easily transported, erected, taken down, of little weight, always ready for action on short notice, is indeed in these cases a desideratum which has long been wished for. The gasoline furnaces introduced intothe Australian market some time since practically fulfil these conditions; but they have the fatal drawback of being dependent on a constant supply of the liquid fuel, gasoline, which is seldom, if ever, obtainable locally in' any wayback mining township...

Jan 1, 1904

Two small coral islands in the Pacific Ocean, situated close under the equator, and formerly classed among the Line Islands, have, during the last three or four years risen into prominence owing to the valuable deposits of phosphate of lime discovered on them.The deposits of Ocean and Pleasant Islands are under the control of the Pacific Islands Company (1902) Limited, of London and, Sydney, and the high grade of the phosphate, together with the exceptionally favourable facilities for mining this mineral, of which there are several millions of tons on these islands, give this company advantages which enable them to command the Australian and New Zealand markets, and also to make large contracts with Japan and other countries. Both islands, as far as surface indications are concerned, are entirely constructed of coral, with phosphate on the top from the highest points to the present sea level, there being no sign of volcanic rocks, with the exception of a few pieces of drift pumice on the coast.Banaba (Paanopa according to. the Admiralty charts), also known as Ocean Island, was discovered in 1804. It is situated in lat. 0° 52" S. and long. 169P 3[)" E.

Jan 1, 1904

By J. A. Capp

For certain classes of electric railways a steel conductor is preferable to the oldcr atld more commonly used overhead trolley-wire. The third-rail presents a rather better appearance, because of the absence of an overhead structure; it is easily installed, cheaply maintai~ied, presents s large area for conducting and collecting the current, and is therefore particularly suitable for high speed and heavy service. With costs calculated on the basis of equal coilductirity in rail aud trollej-wire, the third-rail constrrictiol~ is cl~caper than thc overhead trolley. But the average interurban road will lise a trolley-wire of considerably less conductivity than would be obtained with the smallest size steel rail (about 60 lb. per pard) that mould ordinarily be used, and here the first clost of trolley construction would generally be less thau that of the third-rail. While no third-rail installation has jet bee11 in operation long enough to give figurcs of value, it ~vould appear that the cost of maintenance of the thirdrail construction should be less than that of the overhead trolley. This consideration, together with that of sightliness and adaptability (particularly in the case of terminals, yards and very heavy or high-speed service), will frequently off'set the higher cost of the third-rail construction and make it the preferable means of' conducting the current from thc generator to the car-motor. For the first third-rail installations, old track rails were used when obtainable, and these old rails were supple~rlented with new rails of standard T-section and composition. With the coming of the very heavy, high-speed service during the past few years, the resistance of these old and new standard T-rails was found to be so high that they mould not carry the high currents necessary without too great a drop in the line-potential. The rails would, therefore, have to be suppleme~~ted with addi-

Jan 1, 1904

By Thomas L. Watson

A part of the field-seasons of 1900, 1901 and 1902 mas devoted by the writer to a study of the manganese ore-deposits of Georgia. A report embodying the results of this study is rapidly nearing completion, and when finished it will be published as a bulletin of the Geological Survey of Georgia. I believe, however, the importance of these deposits warrants a separate and earlier publication than that made possible by the Survey, in which the more important results of the study are briefly set forth. It is principally for this reason that the present paper has been prepared. Previous Work.—Some of the more important deposits of manganese occurring in the Paleozoic area of Georgia were studied to some extent previous to 1890 by Dr. Penrose;t and again in the early nineties by former State Geologist, J. W. Spencer. In a recent paper published in the Transactions, on the " Geological Relations of the Iron-Ores in the Cartersville District, Georgia," Dr. Hayes briefly mentions the manganeseores of the same district. Distribution of the Manganese-Ores.—Georgia is divisible into three geologically-distinct areas which, named in order from southeast to northwest, are (a), the Coastal Plain; (b), the Crys-

Jan 1, 1904

Mark R. Lamb, Torres, Sonora, Mexico (communication to the Secretary*): I have read Mr. Merrill's paper with much interest, and cannot but accept his challenge as regards the cost of the clean-up at the Homestake mill. If I understand him correctly, the two men take the precipitates from the presses in about six hours, and do nothing towards refining them. If that is so, it would correspond to the work four men do here in about eight hours—that is, to clean the box and to place the precipitates in the driers. In order to make a fair comparison, the bullion in each case should be stated in ounces, since it is as diflicult to precipitate silver as gold, and our bullion is mostly silver. Bullion to the value of $50,000 is equivalent to a weight of about 2,500 oz. At our last clean-up eight standard bars, each 1,100 oz. in weight, were made, which equals a total weight of 8,800 oz'. Four men had the precipitates drying by 8 p.m. This plant, the Minas Prietas works of Charles Butters & Co., at Minas Prietas, has square-bottomed electrolytic vats, an arrangement which necessitates the handling of all the precipitates in buckets. The Butters plant at Virginia City, Nev., is equipped with conical vats, and probably could make a still better showing under similar conditions. Another point is that common labor only is required. (Ordinary laborer's wages at Minas Prietas are $0.70 gold.) I may say also that, except for the convenience of the refinery, the box could be cleaned monthly, instead of bi-monthly, at only a slight additional expense. The comparison, if made a few months ago, would have been much more in favor of the electrolytic process, as the tailings handled at that time contained a large quantity of copper, and the amount of zinc-dust required would have been enormous.

Jan 1, 1904

AlfreD H. Cowles, Cleveland, Ohio (commuaication to the Secretary*):—Mr.Gillette's paper and his deductions seem to me of the very greatest importance, if the validity of his conclusions and figures can be confirmed. His work seems to solve an unfinished problem that I attempted to solve on the same lines about two years ago, at a time when I was preparing a paper' on another subject for the American Electrochemical Society. The following paragraph is quoted from the paper referred to: "I feel convinced that a further study of the heats of combination now known for so many compounds, which merely express in other terms their voltages of disruption, will show us the allowance that must be made as a departure from unity in the case of each element, for the intrinsic charge of its elementary molecule, and thereby render possible the creation of a table of apparent relative atomic capacities for electricity, similar to the table of atomic weights. With the numerals of this table known, thermal reaction or energy-transformations will be read with the same ease that we now read and trace the shifting of mass

Jan 1, 1904

Frank Firmstone, Easton, Pa. (communication to the Secretary*) : It may not be amiss to point out that the top-pressure in iron blast-furnaces is largely affected by variations in the temperature of the gas. I find in my note-books, cases in which the pressure was from 9.25 to 9.5 in. of water when the material in the furnace was low (after dinner-hour), which fell to from 8 to 8.5 in., when the furnace was again full, and the gas consequently cooled. The chief cause for this effect is, that, at the higher temperature, there is a decrease in the weight of the gas in the descending-leg of the siphon formed by the down-comer and the chimneys. It does not seem probable that there is any direct relation between top-pressure and quantity of flue-dirt. Top-pressure, at any given moment, measures the " head " necessary to discharge the gas then passing, against the resistances of pipes, valves, etc., in the gas-conduits between the top of the furnace and the mouths of the chimneys, and can be increased at will by closing, more or less, the valves, or dampers, at the stoves and the boilers. The question of relation between top-pressure and flue-dirt can be settled very easily by direct experiment, working alternately with gas-valves open, and partly closed, and noting the top-pressures and the respective quantities of fluedirt collected. The quantities of fine ore blown away, as shown by Mr. Grammer's tables, are astonishing to one who has had no actual experience with Mesabi ore and hard driving. Flue-dirt, in the sense in which he uses the term, was unknown at anthracite furnaces so long as the working was normal; when it did occur, it was always an incident of scaffolding and bad work, and was no doubt caused by an increase in the velocity

Jan 1, 1904

Charles Catlett, Staunton, Virginia (communication to the Secretary*): I have had occasion to examine a few of the irondeposits in the immediate section of which Mr. Watson speaks, but have not had an opportunity to visit any of the well-known manganese-deposits. I find the former can be very safely read in light of the information which it is possible to get from the same measnres farther. north, where they are less completely decomposed. In the same way all of his conclusions in regard to the geology of the manganese-deposits bear out their occurrence in Virginia, when we allow for the far more complete decomposition in the section he has so carefully studied. Judging from the same measures farther north, I think he will be safe in agreeing even further with Penrose as to the origin of these ores. Some years ago I carried on prospecting work in these measures in Virginia, in which the iron-ore and manganese-ore were followed down to undecomposed material, and in which their occurrence along a definite line of stratification, and apparently a part of the original bedding, was plainly shown. This is unusual, however, even in the section of which I speak. At Crimora, Virginia, the decomposition is quite complete; at the same time the results of some hydraulic work, which has been done there, disclosed, at the time of my last visit, the manganese interbedded in the residual clay along a definite and distinct plane parallel to the bedding of the underlying quartzite, and which, as is shown at other points, corresponds with the plane of the original material. In view of the phosphorus reported by Mr. Watson as existing in the Cartersville ores, and the not uncommonly prohibitive amount in southern ores, I am interested to know whether

Jan 1, 1904

Allan Gibb, Mount Perry, Queensland, Australia (communication to the Secretary):—In drawing conclusions from his observations, Mr. Van Liew has apparently overlooked the reduction in weight that takes place in the content of the converter. The percentage-compositions of the matte, etc., are not directly comparable for determining the rate of elimination of the impurities; and, in the absence of exact weights (which in such an operation could not be obtained), it is necessary to determine the relation between the impurities and the copper with which they are combined at various stages, in order to get data that are comparable. Owing to a portion of the copper being removed in the slag, etc., the weight of copper in the converter is not a fixed quantity, but.it is sufficiently approximate to permit very reasonable comparison. The analytical data given by Mr. Van Liew, reduced to this basis (a ratio between the impurities and the copper with which they are combined), are shown in the table on page 958. From this table it will be evident that Mr. Van Liea's conclusions as to the source of heat at digerent stages are not quite correct. During the first 10 minutes, no iron is scorified, the heat being derived from the oxidation of the sulphur, of which 7 per cent. of the total is removed in this time. Prom

Jan 1, 1904