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By Thomas N. Walthier

ROSPECTING for uranium in the East is hampered by the lack of bedrock exposure due to extensive overburden and residual soil. But, despite the problems of this physiographic province, it has not been ignored in the search for radioactive materials. Since 1951 both the U.S. Geological Survey and the Atomic Energy Commission have had field parties in the eastern U.S. Tempo of private prospecting is increasing, and many discoveries have resulted. AEC work so far has been concentrated in the areas of most numerous discoveries-Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Accounts of uranium mineralization in the eastern U.S. are found in the old literature and one site in the Mauch Chunk area of Pennsylvania has been known since 1874. In 1949 McKeown examined the original occurrence there and found another southeast of the town. The deposit appeared to have commercial possibilities and a short period of production began in July 1954

Jun 1, 1955

By V. N. Burnhart

After eight years of testing and development, the E. J. Longyear Co. has adapted the wire- line core barrel to small diameter drillholes. Field performance indicates that the apparatus for the BX hole will be an important supplement to the conventional techniques used in the diamond core drilling industry. Higher core recovery, faster drilling progress, and reduced diamond costs will provide substantial savings to the user of coring equipment. The wire-line principle is not new, having been successfully applied to the large-diameter holes of the petroleum industry. But scaling the practices of core recovery in oil well drilling down to the small BX hole presented a number of problems. The technique, difficult even for large holes, was complicated by the exacting limitations of the small diameter in which durable and foolproof mechanisms would be required to operate. Since the maximum benefits could be realized from this sys- tem in holes 1000 ft and deeper or in holes in badly fractured ground, the drill string would have to be able to withstand heavy stresses. Most vital to the success of the idea was the development of a positive latching mechanism to assure proper positioning of the inner tube of the core barrel when the tube is dropped into place. Lastly, little was to be gained from the wire-line method without diamond bits that would give optimum penetration rates and a long service life in the drillhole.

Jun 1, 1955

By A. M. Gaudin

It is only in recent years that substantial progress has been made in developing a physico-chemical picture of the solid state. The molecular concept, so useful in dealing with gases, was naturally carried over to the field of crystalline solids; it has resulted in the firm implanting of erroneous concepts that only now are being eradicated successfully. Two simply written and effective books on the subject are Crystal Chemistry by Stillwell' and An Introduction to Crystal Chemistry by Evans. A more complete treatment of the subject is available in a book by Wells. The monograph by Hucke14 also touches on a subject most easily perceived by reference to the brief introduction by Bragg; that master of the field. These texts make it clear that while some solids are built of molecules, many are built of ions, others of atoms connected in the form of giant molecules, and still others of cations and electrons. The various lattices in which these entities are systematically arranged, the joint use of several of these entities, and the transitional character of some of the bonds make for the great variety of crystalline solids. The purpose of this paper is to point out a most important corollary of present views on the structure of solids. In this connection the classification of solids in Table I is helpful.

Jun 1, 1955

By John D. Ridge, Betty S. Moriwaki

The significant chromite producers listed in Table I11 are not major steel producers, with the exception of the USSR. After manganese, chromium is the most important alloying metal in steel. It would not be surprising to find a direct relationship between steel production and chromite imports. The precise connection is concealed by the other uses of chromite and the grades of steel produced by the various countries involved. In addition, the amount of ferrochromium made for export must figure in any calculation. Norway, a producer of considerable amounts of ferromanganese, imports significant quantities of chromite for ferrochromium manufacture. Most of the ferrochromium is exported to European steel- producing nations. Sweden imports only half as much chromite as Norway but makes far more chromium-bearing steel. Thus Sweden has far less ferro-chromium for export, although it supplies about 2000 tons per year to the U.S. and probably some- what more to such chromite-poor steel producers as Germany and Belgium-Luxemburg.

Jun 1, 1955

By R. W. Mancantelli, J. R. Woodward

In 1947 a large low grade deposit of uranium was located in the northwest corner of Saskatchewan, in the Beaverlodge property of Eldorado Mining & Refining Ltd. Most of the values occur as thin seams and as coatings on other minerals, and the ore, which is light and friable, is not amenable to the usual gravity methods of concentration. The acid leaching process developed to retreat the company's Port Radium tailings was also impractical, as the percentage of carbonates is high and the percentage of sulphides relatively low. Construction of the mill building and installation of equipment, both scheduled for 1952, awaited selection of a satisfactory ore dressing process on or before Oct. 1, 1951. An extensive research program on dressing of ores from the Ace mine therefore was undertaken by the Mines Branch in Ottawa, a research team at the University of British Columbia and an ore dressing group at the company's Port Hope refinery.

Jun 1, 1955

By J. S. Seawright

Haulage is a costly feature in the operation of an open pit mine, whether it be iron, copper, or limestone. The National Iron Co. has adapted an old underground method to the open pit inclined skip haulage to bring the ore from the pit bottom to the crusher or beneficiation plant. The Rockover skip has been placed in operation where limited areas have retarded or eliminated use of long rail or road slopes. Deep and narrow orebodies subject to rapid increase in depth that discourage use of conveyor belts and necessary crushing plants are ideal for this system. The skip haulage method was developed to combine the desirable features of conveyor, truck, and rail haulage and at the same time avoid the draw- backs. The skip was designed to follow the natural angle of repose of the pit wall and can vary from 25° to 45°. Open-pit skips now in operation show that the installation is successful and provide the

Jun 1, 1955

By Staff

Concentrates at the rate of 1000 tons a day are being smelted by International Nickel Co.'s new commercial flash smelting furnace. Developed by Inco, the process is a radical departure from the former practice which involved conventional smelting in coal-fired reverberatory furnaces. In the new process copper flotation concentrate and flux are injected horizontally with oxygen into a specially designed reverberatory furnace, and smelting temperature is maintained solely by the flash combustion of iron and sulphur while the particles are in suspension. The major benefits of this new process stem from two sources: 1)-Substitution of energy from local resources for imported coal; and 2)-Production of liquid sulphur dioxide, replacing equivalent imported sulphur. A measure of these benefits is afforded by considering the saving, in 1954, of 60,000 tons of coal and the production of 70,000 tons of liquid sulphur dioxide, equivalent to 35,000 tons of sulphur.

Jun 1, 1955

Long pipelines handling suspended solids find wide use throughout the mining industry. In phosphate, iron ore, and clay mining; in hydraulic stripping of overburden; in tailing disposal; and in transferring concentrates between plants pipeline transport may prove cheapest material handling method. One drawback is necessity for providing attendance at booster stations, both for control and for protection of pumping equipment from sudden surges and failures. Thiele Kaolin Co. in Georgia has come up with an installation where instrumentation does this job automatically, efficiently, and economically.

Jun 1, 1955

By Hugo Vásquez Rosas

El presente texto señala el valor relativo de las propiedades físicas de los minerales, así como presenta las ventajas e inconvenientes de los mismos. Para el reconocimiento de minerales tenemos las siguientes propiedades: color, clivaje, brillo o lustre, dureza y raya. Desde el punto de vista científico, estas propiedades se dividen en dos categorías: Las que son propiedades escalares y dependen por consiguiente de la simetría cristalina del mineral y aquellas que son independientes de esa relación. En ese sentido, las que pertenecen al segundo grupo son, teóricamente, más ventajosas, que las otras, por cuanto su valor no varía con la orientación del mineral. A ellas conesponde el color y la raya.

May 1, 1955

By Silvio Hernández Aquije

El presente texto señala el descubrimiento del vanadio en el Perú, así como las cualidades de resistencia que imprime este elemento en los aceros. De otro lado, se menciona la clasificación que hizo L.Lunay de los depósitos vanadíferos que tienen un interés económico en la minería.

May 1, 1955

By Alejandro Freyre

Anteriormente metales como el berilio, zircofonio, hafnio, litio, se consideraron como metales raros. Sin embargo, son abundantes en las formaciones geológicas profundas. En ese sentido, el presente texto señala la nueva clasificación desde el punto de vista de la industria nuclear. De acuerdo a ello, se divide en dos grupos: en el primero, están los minerales o elementos desintegrables como el Uranio, Thorio, etc.; mientras que en el segundo, están los minerales o metales estructurales, el Zirconio, Hafnio, Berilio, Litio, etc. Son denominados estructurales porque intervienen, ya sea como auxiliares directos en el proceso de la desintegración emitiendo o subdividiendo iones.

May 1, 1955

By Rudolf Kudlich

"SUMMARYThe Ringelmann Smoke Chart fulfills an important need in smoke abatement work and certain problems in the combustion of fuels. A knowledge of its history and method of preparation is, therefore, of interest to many. Since instructions on its use are not shown on the recent edition of the chart, those included in this revision of the previous information circular, by Rudolf Kudlich, now are a necessary complement to the chart. More detail regarding the use of the chart is included than was given in the earlier manuscript.INTRODUCTIONThe Ringelmann Smoke Chart, giving shades of gray by which the density of columns of smoke rising from stacks may be compared, was developed by a Professor Ringelmann of Paris. Maximilian Ringelmann, born in 1861, was professor of agricultural engineering at l'Institute National Agronomique and Director de la Station d'Essais de Machines in Paris in 1888, and held those positions for many years thereafter.The chart apparently was introduced into the United States by William Kent in an article published in ""Engineering News"" of November 11, 1897, with a comment that he had learned of it in a private communication from a Bryan Donkin of London. It was said to have come into somewhat extensive use in Europe by that time. Kent proposed in 1899 that it be accepted as the standard measure of smoke density in the standard code for power-plant testing that was being formulated by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.The Ringelmann Chart was used by the engineers of the Technologic Branch of the Federal Geological Survey (which later formed the nucleus of the present Bureau of Mines) in their studies of smokeless combustion beginning at St. Louis in 1904, and by 1910 had been recognized officially in the smoke ordinance for Boston passed by the Massachusetts Legislature."

Apr 1, 1955

By R. W. Huber, R. C. Wiley, V. C. Petersen

"Three arc- melted ingots, two of a t itanium-7 percent manganese all oy and the third of unalloyed titanium, were forged and rolled into 3/ 4-inch plate; comparative data were obtained on these processes. The finished plate, part of which was used by the Naval Bureau of Ordnance, was tested for mechanical and other properties.These properties were correlated with sponge purity, forging technique, rolling temperature, and cooling rate from the rolling temperature. For the alloy material, transformation data were obtained, and their age-hardening characteristics were studied. The temperature-impact relationship was established for rolled sections from all three ingots.INTRODUCTIONArc -melted ingots of unalloyed titanium and a titanium-manganese alloy were fabricated into plate under closely controlled conditions by personnel of the Metals and Alloys Section, Physical Metallurgy Branch, Bureau of Mines, College Perk, Md. This program was cosponsored by the Naval Bureau of Ordnance. Bureau of Mines interest lay in correlating the processing procedures with the mechanical properties of the finished plate.Considerable data have been published recently on constitution diagrams and properties of titanium-manganese alloys in genera1. 3/ 4/5/6/ However, little if any correlation between processing schedules and end results has been published, particularly with respect to the present commercial production of the proprietary titanium manganese alloys . Several factors in the production of titanium and titanium alloys have a pronounced influence on the physical and mechanical properties of the finished product: (1) The degree and nature of impurities in the base materials, ( 2) the amount of impurities introduced during the melting cycle and their distribution, (3) the homogeneity of the alloy, (4) forging, (5) rolling, and ( 6) final heat-treating cycles. All of these item£ are important from a metallurgical standpoint in producing the desired end properties in the metal."

Mar 1, 1955

By BUREAU OF MINES

This report is submitted in accordance with provisions of the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of April 5, 1944 (30 U. S. C. 321-325, as amended), which require that: "The Secretary of the Interior shall render to Congress on or before the first day of January of each year a report on all operations under this Act." Owing to the broad scope of the content and the diversity of interests represented, the Annual Report for 1954 has been divided into two separate publications. Each is being published by the Bureau of Mines as a Report of Investigations, and the respective titles follow: R. I. 5118, Part I - R. I. 5119, Part II - 011 From Coal. 011 From 011 Shale. The introduction, identical in both reports, summarizes research progress in 1954 under the entire Synthetic Liquid Fuels program. A free copy of either publication may be obtained by writing to the Bureau of Mines, Publications Distribution Sec- tion, 4800 Forbes Street, Pittsburgh 13, Pa. The R. I. number and title of the publication desired should be indicated.

Mar 1, 1955

By BUREAU OF MINES

This report is submitted in accordance with provisions of the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of April 5, 1944 (30 U. S. C. 321-325, as amended), which require that: "The Secretary of the Interior shall render to Congress on or before the first day of January of each year a report on all operations under this Act." Owing to the broad scope of the content and the diversity of interests represented, the Annual Report for 1954 has been divided into two separate publications. Each is being published by the Bureau of Mines as a Report of Investigations, and the respective titles follow: R. I. 5118, Part I - R. I. 5119, Part II - 011 From Coal. 011 From 011 Shale. The introduction, identical in both reports, summarizes research progress in 1954 under the entire Synthetic Liquid Fuels program. A free copy of either publication may be obtained by writing to the Bureau of Mines, Publications Distribution Sec- tion, 4800 Forbes Street, Pittsburgh 13, Pa. The R. I. number and title of the publication desired should be indicated.

Mar 1, 1955

By G. B. Fritts, A. C. Moschetti

"INTRODUCTION The act of Congress establishing the Bureau of Mines in 1910 delegated to the Bureau, as one of its principal duties and functions, the study of health and safety in the mineral industries with a view to devising and putting into operation means of conserving the health and safety of persons employed in the industries. One of the first health and safety activities of the Bureau of Mines was therefore organization of a trained force to promote instruction in first aid in the mineral industries. First-aid training has been an important activity of the Bureau of Mines since its establishment. The standard first-aid course requires a minimum of 15 hours of instruction and practice work. A person completing the initial training course is issued an engraved certificate and pocket card certificate; thereafter, only a pocket card certificate is issued for additional training.From 1910 to 1926 first aid was taught by trained Bureau of Mines employees; consequently, only a comparatively few persons were trained. In 1926, however, cooperative first-aid training was initiated, which provided the means to train the entire personnel of mines or plants within a short time in a single campaign. Many mines and plants have taken advantage of the cooperative plan, whereby keymen in a mine or plant, in addition to the initial training received, are given intensive training in first aid by a Bureau of Mines instructor. Those men who show an aptitude for teaching are selected as tentative provisional first-aid instructors. In order to qualify as a provisional instructor, a tentative instructor must, under the supervision of a Bureau of Mines instructor, train a class of at least six persons employed in the minerals industries in the standard Bureau of Mines course in first aid. After it has been determined that the class has been trained properly, a provisional first-aid instructor's pocket card certificate is issued to the class instructor. The first-aid instructor can renew his pocket card certificate each year by training or retraining at least six persons connected with the mineral industries to satisfactorily pass an examination given by a Bureau of Mines representative. After five yearly renewals of a provisional instructor's pocket card certificate, an engraved, permanent instructor's certificate and a permanent instructor's pocket card certificate are issued to the instructor."

Feb 1, 1955

By W. H. Reck

Increasing use of flotation in modern beneficiation has resulted in a variety of froth handling methods. Froth must be handled mechanically to maintain common floor elevation, because pure gravity flow, stage to stage, makes for multiple level machine installations with higher first cost and less convenient operation. Bucket Elevator--Froth is collected by launder and goes to the feed entry of the elevator, below the floor. The bucket goes to the next treatment stage by gravity flow. The outstanding advantage is high efficiency of conveyance.

Jan 5, 1955

By Charles M. Cooley

With explosives representing over 10 pct of the cost of operating the entire company, the Maumee Collieries Co., Terre Haute, Ind., inaugurated a program to develop a low-cost blasting agent. Results of more than two years' work were announced on May 1 by Hugh B. Lee, president of the company. Utilizing a mixture of commercial-grade ammonium nitrate and carbon black packed in polyethylene bags, Maumee has been able to reduce blasting costs by 50 pct. The lower costs are brought about principally by elimination of high transportation charges on fixed explosives and use of low-cost material (commercial NH,NO, and carbon black). The Akremite blasting method incorporates a 20-lb cap-sensitive primer to detonate the stable explosive. Maumee now uses Akremite exclusively in its stripping operations producing more than 2 million tons of coal per year. The explosive is employed to break about 25 million cu yd of overburden that covers the coal

Jan 5, 1955

By D. E. Musgrove

The question of alternating current vs direct current has become an important consideration to the mining industry. Rising production costs demand lower investment, which, in many instances, can be realized by the use of ac mining machines. Generally ac motors, control systems, and distribution and power conversion equipment can be installed for approximately 50 pct of the first cost of their dc equivalents. This basic saving has made ac mining a serious competitor for the traditional dc mining systems. With the increased use of ac voltages underground, there has developed the problem of conveniently converting distribution voltages to usable 480-v power. Power at low voltages should not be carried for comparatively long distances, and the transformation should be made at the point of use. Otherwise, serious voltage regulation problems and objectionable line losses will occur.

Jan 5, 1955

By Kenneth L. Cook

The five serpentine masses exposed within the northern half of Riley County, Fig. 1, constitute a major part of the few exposures of igneous rock in Kansas. Although not many subsurface data are available for this part of Riley County, six deep wells indicate that the basement complex lies between 2500 and 3000 ft below the earth's surface. A northwestward-trending ridge in the present basement surface, which extends across the northern half of Riley County, is indicated on Mettner's contour map. The serpentine masses lie in a region that was active during Pennsylvanian and Permian time along two main tectonic trends, which may, in part at least, have developed contemporaneously. One trend is northeasterly, as evidenced by the Nemaha anticline, the Abilene anticline, the Voshell anticline, and many other smaller northeastward-trending folds. The other trend is northwesterly, as evidenced by the central Kansas uplift, the Salina basin syncline, and smaller northwestward-trending folds. The area of the Abilene anticline was actively deformed during much of this time, and the present surface rocks, for the most part Permian in age, show many normal faults

Jan 5, 1955