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By R. M. Brick, J. T. Richards

Tests have been conducted to determine the mechanical properties of several beryllium copper alloys down to liquid air temperatures. The materials investigated include beryllium copper, beryl-lium-cobalt-copper, and beryllium-zinc-copper in the wrought and cast conditions. As a means of evaluation, the influence of cold work and age hardening treatment upon subzero behavior has been observed. The effects of temperature upon both elastic and plastic deformation are also considered. THE low temperature mechanical properties of beryllium copper are of current interest in view of the increasing number of subzero applications. At extremely low temperatures, beryllium copper components are employed in temperature control and gas liquefaction equipment. At more moderate temperatures, such as those encountered in arctic regions, these alloys find use in a wide range of civilian and military applications. Although several previous subzero investigations have included beryllium copper,'-' none have been complete with respect to test temperatures or materials employed. As indicated in Table I, the alloy: used by Colbeck and MacGillivray,1 Walle,2 and Kostenets' were nonstandard and were not representative of present commercial practice. In addition, Kostenets4 did not test age hardened specimens, while the temperature in the other investigations", "-' were not carried below —100°F. These tests, however, indicate that beryllium copper offers interesting possibilities in subzero atmospheres, since the increase in strength with decreasing temperature is not accompanied by a reduction in ductility or impact resistance. As a means of checking and extending this earlier work at subzero temperatures, an investigation was undertaken at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to testing the standard 2 pct beryllium copper, other alloys were also considered in wrought and cast forms. Charpy impact and tension tests were included with particular emphasis on the elastic characteristics, since beryllium copper is frequently selected for its spring qualities. Nominal test temperatures were +80°, —75", —200°, and —300°F. Test Materials Wrought beryllium copper, beryllium-cobalt-copper, and beryllium-zinc-copper specimens were machined from 0.560 in. diameter rod. These alloys were tested in the solution treated, cold drawn, or age hardened conditions. In the case of solution treated beryllium copper, some specimens were aged (3 hr at 600°F) for maximum hardness and others were overaged (1 1/2 hr at 750°F) to determine the effect of heat treatment. The compositions and average room temperature properties of these wrought alloys are presented in Table 11. The casting alloy versions of beryllium copper and beryllium-cobalt-copper were prepared as sand-cast cylinders, roughly 3/4 in. diameter x 6 in. long. Test specimens were machined from these cylinders. Conditions tested included as cast as well as solution treated and age hardened. Table 111 lists compositional and room temperature property data for the cast alloys. Test Methods Tension tests were conducted on specimens having a 0.25 in. diameter reduced section over a 1 in. gage length. To insure axiality, specimens were loaded by means of hardened chains. The yield strength at 0.2 pct offset was obtained from autographically recorded stress-strain curves resulting from a spe-

Jan 1, 1955

By A. Phillips, H. J. Fisher

The influence of temperature and composition on the viscosity of high-purity liquid metals and alloys of the Pb-Sn and Sb-Cd systems was investigated by the logarithmic-decrement method. The variation of viscosity with temperature above the liquidus followed the equation: n = AeE/RT No large increase in viscosity was found just before normal freezing of any of the metals or alloys investigated. Certain alloys, supercooled below their stable liquidus, however, did show a marked increase in viscosity. Experimental activation energies for viscosity were determined for the metals investigated. Liquid-metal density values were obtained by a modified Joeger's method. IK an investigation of the properties of molten metals, the study of viscosity as a suitable means for studying the physical nature of the metallic liquid state has been utilized. Although interest in the relationship of the liquid to the solid-metal state holds promise of broadening the knowledge of metals in general, much information that is available regarding the influence of temperature and composition on viscosity, especially near the freezing point, is still controversial. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of recent work on this subject. Although interest in factors influencing the fluid behavior of metals and alloys has arisen from theoretical as well as applied studies of liquid-metal properties, the development of a comprehensive theory of the mechanism of viscosity has been handicapped because so little is known about the liquid state. Several theories of viscosity have been proposed and among the more recent are those of Andrade,1 Bernal,2 Frenkel,3 Eyring,4 and Gutmann and Simmons.5 Athough these contributions have helped to establish a basis of approach for studying the nature of viscosity, the fundamental aspects of the variation of viscosity with alloy composition have, in general, been neglected. Experimental Metals and Alloys Investigated: The Pb-Sn and Sb-Cd alloy systems were selected for investigation because they form constitutional features of theo-

Jan 1, 1955

By Robert E. Thurmond

DISCOVERY of a commercial ore deposit has resulted from a program emphasizing geophysical techniques and concentrating upon exploration of alluvial-covered areas. United Geophysical Co. selected these areas as offering the best possibility of success, for here the surface evidence of ore deposits has been hidden from the eyes of prospector and geologist alike. Pima mining district, Pima County, Arizona, was selected for initial exploration. The project was successful in that a commercial ore deposit was discovered and proved through drilling and extensive underground development. A limited region of activity was chosen and library research was begun on available economic and regional geological publications relating to the mining districts. Field reconnaissance of those districts which seemed to hold exploration possibilities provided a general picture and ascertained the existence of alluvial-covered areas of interest. At the conclusion of the reconnaissance trips all data obtained were compiled, and the district which seemed to present the best exploration possibilities was selected by statistical methods. The statistical summary was based on the following considerations: Geological Factors: 1—type of intrusive, P—presence of favorable host rocks, 3—apparent intensity of mineralization, and 4—presence of favorable structure in covered or unexplored areas. Economic Factors: 1—past production from district or mine; 2—size, shape, grade, and type of ore deposit in the district; 3—ease of acquiring mineral rights; and 4—general development facility. Exploration Favorability Factors: 1—results to be anticipated from geological methods alone; 2—application of geophysical methods, namely, topographic conditions, surface interference, depth-size relation, physical property contrasts as related to ores or controlling structural features; and 3—drilling factors. Admittedly, many of these, factors do not lend themselves to absolute evaluation, but relative evaluation, subject to inaccuracies of personal judgment, is always possible. A relative scale from 1 to 10 was established for every factor, representing varying degrees of favorability. For each district a numerical evaluation of each factor was established and a numerical total determined. The obvious advantage of this scheme is that a more concise summation can be presented by numerical means than can be achieved by descriptive means. After a district had been selected as favorable, the first step was to carry out more detailed geological and economic studies to narrow down the areas of interest. The second step was to compile all available geological data from publications and add to these data by mapping where necessary. Geological interpretation and projection of structural or other control into covered or unexplored areas was made whenever logical. To determine the possibilities of geophysical application and to select a geophysical method, physical property contrasts were related to mineral assemblages and/or structural control. If geophysics seemed applicable, trial profiles were run crossing the area normal to the strike and spaced

Jan 1, 1955

By R. S. Hoch, Roy A. Bobo

Maintenance of desirable plastic flow properties of weighted drilling muds may be greatly simplified by use of centrifugal classification to control the drilled solids content. The new application of a decanting type centrifuge to separate and reject the low density solids from the weighting material results in a drilling mud of greatly improved quality with lower values of yield and rigidity. Its practicality and economy has been proven in field operation. The degree of separation of light and heavy solids is not limited by the machine, but by the particle size distribution of the solids in the mud. Removal of the low density component of drilling mud that makes chemical treatment necessary permits a marked reduction in chemicals. The main uses of the centrifugal process are the treatment of muds while drilling, the reclaiming of discorded muds, cleaning up of workover muds, and the reduction in lime content of mud for completion. INTRODUCTION Drilling mud in any circulatory system is made viscous and difficult to pump by gradual accumulation of drilled solids which pass through the shale shaker and are continually reground. In a weighted mud containing a large proportion of barite by volume, the amount of drilled solids that may be tolerated is greatly reduced. Much effort has been expended to control by chemical treatment the effects of such solids. Though chemical treatment is quite effective, the time eventually comes at deeper depths after enough drilled solids have entered the system when a portion of the mud must be discarded and replaced with water and more weighting material. Once begun, this process is generally continued at frequent intervals with resultant high maintenance costs. At the termination of drilling, mud highly contaminated with light solids and spent chemicals is poorly suited for completion operations.' It is likewise limited in utility for other drilling operations. This investigation was conducted for the primary purpose of determining an acceptable mechanical means of removing the lightweight solids from weighted drilling muds in order to maintain viscosity at a minimum. A decanting type of centrifuge was selected from the various possible methods of mechanical separation. The centrifugal process has been employed in this country for this purpose in central mud reclamation systems in California in earlier years. It also was used for treatment of weighted muds on the Gulf Coast.' In more recent years only sporadic attempts have been made to employ it in the field on weighted muds. DISCUSSION OF PROCESS Selection of Apparatus Two factors favor mechanical procedure for the separation and removal of drilled solids or clays from the mud circulatory system. First, the greater specific gravity, 4.1 to 4.3, of the barite would promote more rapid settling than the clays whose specific gravity range is from 2.5 to 2.7. Second, the relative coarseness of the barite particles also facilitate faster settling of this phase. A decanting type of centrifuge was preferred for this process over other possible methods for these reasons: 1. Requires no costly additives or excess dilution. 2. Centrifugal force affords greatly accelerated separation as compared to gravity.

Jan 1, 1955

By H. M. Kraner, R. C. Devries, K. H. Gee, E. F. Osborn

On the basis of liquidus measurements in the system COO-Mg0-Al2O3-Sio, and previously published data, diagrams have been constructed at 5 pct Al2O3, intervals from 5 to 35 pct Al2O3,. Liquidus temperatures and primary phase fields are shown. The optimum composition of a blast furnace slag for a given alumina content is indicated. At the optimum point, ordinary slags will be entirely liquid and will have maximum desulphurization potential and minimum viscosity. The relation of optimum composition of slags to the "plateau region" of the liquidus surface, and the application of these data on synthetic quaternary slags to actual slag compositions are discussed. Index of refraction of glasses is given as well as composition, temperature, and phase data for each mixture. THE usual blast furnace slag, as a first approximation, can be considered a mixture of the four oxides, CaO, MgO, Also,, and SiO,. Systematic, extensive data for the quaternary system, CaO-MgO-A1,0,-SiO, is therefore required for the understanding of the properties of such a slag as a function of composition and temperature. With sufficient data, it should be possible to fix unequivocably the relative amounts of lime, magnesia, and silica required for a given alumina content to result in a slag composition having optimum properties. Other constituents, such as FeO, MnO, Ti02, and S, have an effect on the properties of a slag, but as long as they are present in small and approximately constant amounts they produce only a second-order effect superimposed upon the major changes in properties of slags determined by the relative amounts of the four major components. Viscosity and desulphurization data have been reported for mixtures approaching blast furnace slags in composition, but systematic liquidus data have not been obtained. Inasmuch as a slag must be all liquid in order to be most effective as well as practicable, clearly the temperature above which a mixture is all liquid (liquidus temperature) is a type of data needed. Such data have been obtained through the study of 446 compositions and are pre- sented in this paper along with a discussion of their bearing on the optimum composition of blast furnace slags. For an orderly presentation of the data, the quaternary system is viewed as a tetrahedron with one component at each apex. Fig. 1 shows a tetrahedron representing the system Ca0-Mg0-A1,0,-Si0,. The base is the ternary system Ca0-Mg0-SiO,, A1,0, is the top apex, and the front face, the system CaO-

Jan 1, 1955

By T. O. Allen, J. H. Atterbury

Laboratory and field tests during the past five years indicated considerable variation in the penetrating power of commercially available gun perforators. Many of the guns which achieved inadequate penetration in these tests have since been improved. However, recent productivity tests indicated the possibility of inadequate penetration or, at least, ineffective penetration in some wells. Laboratory experiments under simulated well conditions have demonstrated considerable plugging of the perforations, apparently as a result of factors associated with the shooting process and/or the drilling mud in the well at the time of perforating. The restrictions to flow per unit of hole depth caused by this plugging appears to be greater for jet perforators than for bullet guns of comparable diameter; however, because of the greater depth of penetration obtained with the jet guns, the total flow rates appear to he approximately equal. Limited testing with an experimental shaped charge suggests that less shot hole restriction and greater flow rates may result from larger-diameter perforations or other factors related to charge design. INTRODUCTION Gun perforating has been accepted for a number of years as a routine well completion method which is often preferred since it permits more selective operation of producing zones. Nevertheless, questions have continued to arise as to the effectiveness of the communication paths established between the productive formation and the interior of the casing. The basis for these questions has generally been failure to obtain anticipated fluid production rates through gun perforated completions in specific wells. These low productivities, together with the frequent recovery of bullets from well bores, were considered strong evidence of inadequate penetration. Laboratory investigations of the penetration performance of many of the bullet guns available as late as 1948 gave support to these indications. Subsequent electrical analog studiesl,2,3 indicated that the depth of penetration required to provide productivities equivalent to open hole was beyond the capacity of most bullet perforators evaluated in the early laboratory penetration tests. These results, together with the advent of the shaped charge in the field of oil well perforating, stimulated the interest of both oil operators and service companies in gun development. Improvements in gun design resulted in jet and bullet guns which appeared to be capable of providing sufficient penetration for most perforating jobs. However, some wells failed to yield satisfactory fluid production even after being perforated with the more powerful guns, again raising the question as to the effectiveness of the perforating operation. This fact, together with preliminary shooting into targets prepared with formation cores, indicated that factors associated with the perforating process and/or the fluids in the well bore at the time of shooting may reduce effective formation penetration and thereby decrease well productivity. These laboratory and field data prompted another phase in the investigation of the effectiveness of gun perforating: a program to determine the extent and seriousness of perforation plugging under simulated well conditions.

Jan 1, 1955

By R. August Heindl

A process for recovering manganese from open-hearth steel-plant slags was investigated. The proposed method of accomplishing this is indicated by the flow diagram in figure 1. Mixtures of open-hearth, steel-plant flush slags and limestone, so proportioned as to have molar [CaO -3P205] ratios of approximately 2, were fired at approximately 2,400° F. in an oxidizing atmosphere and then cooled slowly. This treatment produced a clinker consisting principally of two solid phases comprised of (1) various combinations of the oxides of manganese, iron, aluminum, and magnesium, probably in spinel complexes, and (2) a dicalcium silicate phase, which contains the phosphorus. Reduction of these clinkers with hydrogen or with gaseous mixtures containing CO, CH4, and other hydrocarbons at about 1,300° F. formed manganous oxide as well as varying amounts of ferrous oxide and iron. Carbon monoxide and mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide effectively reduced the clinkers but also gave higher proportions of soluble iron when the manganese was extracted from the reduced clinkers by leaching at about 80° F. with ammonium carbonate solutions containing 26 to 28 percent ammonia and 15 to 26 percent carbon dioxide. It is believed that the manganese is in solution as an ammonia-manganese complex. Concentrations of about 90 grams of manganese per liter were obtained by batch countercurrent procedures. By distilling 50 percent of the ammonia, the ammonia-manganese complex was decomposed, and approximately 90 percent of the manganese was precipitated as the carbonate with the simultaneous precipitation of 15 to 30 percent of the iron, the larger amounts of iron precipitating in the continuous tests. The manganese-iron ratio in the product could be increased either by recycling more manganese from the distillation to the extraction or by aerating the liquor to purge it of iron before, rather than after, the distillation step. Calcination of the pelletized manganese carbonate in an oxidizing stmosphere at 2,000° F. or above gave a final product, Mn304, resistant to crushing and apparently possessing the other physical properties essential in a ferromanganese blast-furnace feed.

Jan 1, 1955

By E. S. Machlin, W. R. Yankee

IN a previous study1 of the effect of heating com-mercial titanium in air on its subsequent friction coefficient against other metals, as well as itself, it was found that the friction coefficient markedly decreased from a value of about 0.7 to about 0.3. A tentative explanation was given that surfaces normally produced at room temperature are not contaminated sufficiently to prevent seizing or welding of the titanium to the softer mating metals. The latter tend to cleanse themselves during rubbing over the harder titanium. It was thought that the lack of a contaminant protective film on the titanium was due to the high solubility of titanium for oxygen and nitrogen and hence an inability to form a contaminant oxide or nitride. This explanation requires the ratio of the surface absorption rate to the diffusion rate to become much lower at room temperature than it is at high temperatures. In order to check the phenomenon further, commercial titanium specimens were nitrided or oxidized at 800°C for 20 hr in flows of prepurified N2 and 01, respectively, at about 1/2 in. H2O above atmospheric pressure. Friction runs were made in argon using a freshly cut copper hemisphere (cut in argon) on surfaces cut successively into the diffusion layers in the titanium (cut in argon) using the techniques described in a previous publication.' DPH values (100 gram load) were made as a function of depth into the diffusion layer using a Tukon tester. Also, micrographs were taken at separate cross sections to indicate the diffusion layers. The results obtained are presented in Figs. 1 and 2, which show the "static" friction coefficient vs hardness for the nitrided and oxidized specimens, respectively. A separate measurement of the friction coefficient of clean copper vs iodide titanium also was made. From results reported in the literature' giving the oxygen and nitrogen contents as functions of the hardness, cross plots were made showing the friction coefficients as functions of the amount of interstitial solute. These plots are given in Figs. 3 and 4. From micrographs of the diffusion layers and the phase diagrams, it was deduced that the data in Figs. l through 4 correspond to the single phase a region. The points observed on the compound regions have been excluded from the figures. It is apparent that nitrogen or oxygen in solution in the a titanium markedly affects the friction coefficient against a softer mating metal. Discussion of Results These results are extremely interesting from both a practical and theoretical viewpoint. The theoretical implications will be discussed first. According to Bowden, the friction coefficient should be given to a good approximation by the relation where a is the fraction of contact area that has welded, a is the shear strength of weaker component, and H is the hardness of softer component. Using this relation alone, it is difficult to understand the results because none of the terms should be affected by a variation in the oxygen or nitrogen content of the harder and stronger metal, titanium. Even if the ratio of S/H for titanium is used in Eq. 1, the ratio has been shown to be independent of oxy-gen or nitrogen content.' If a more rigorous equa-tion is used combining Eq. 1 and a result given pre-viously" for the case where welding is absent, then the relation obtained is µ = a S/H + (1-a) a W aß/H where a is constant and Waß is the work of adhesion between the two metals comprising the friction couple. This relation states that if a is less than 1/2 or so, variation in the work of adhesion Waß between copper and the titanium should affect the friction coefficient markedly. It is reasonable to expect that the work of adhesion will depend on the oxygen or nitrogen content of the titanium. Available data4 show that clean metals and oxides have much lower works of adhesion than the same metals against the

Jan 1, 1955

By N. A. Eilertsen

Eastern Aroostook County, Maine, contains an enormous tonnage of manganese widely distributed in manganiferous sedimentary beds composed of hematitic shale, hematitic slate, and laminated siliceous carbonate rock. The bedded deposits range in thickness from several feet to over 150 feet. Manganese minerals that occur as silicates and carbonate are so minute that they cannot be concentrated by present methods of ore dressing. From a hydrometallurgical standpoint, the deposits can best be classified by amenability to acid leaching. The deposits of Aroostook County are in three geographical groups (see fig. l), designated as the northern, central, and southern districts. At least 13 deposits are known to occur in the latter district, which covers an Ewes about 8 miles wide and 15 miles long. The Littleton Ridge deposit, on the northern boundary of the southern district, previously examined by geologists from the State and Federal Geological Surveys on the farms of Donald H. Haggerty and David A. Abernethy, was pointed out in reports as being possibly the richest and largest in the southern district. The Bureau of Mines sampled this deposit by surface trenching and diamond drilling from May 1 to September 30, 1951. A total of 23 trenches was bulldozed, aggregating 5,355 linear feet, of which 8 trenches were sampled by cutting 185 channel samples over a linear distance of 1,820 feet.

Jan 1, 1955

By J. W. Miller

Depletion of coals most suitable for metallurgical fuel has made necessary a general survey of coking coal reserves in the United States. These investigations were begunn 1948 at the joint request of the Munitions Board, Department of Defense, and a number of coal companies. This report, which is one in a series, by counties, describes the preparation characteristics of the coals of Harlan County, Ky. From these data it is possible to determine: (a) Which coals, either as mined or after beneficiation by conventional preparation, are chemically suitable under present standards for producing metallurgical coke, (b) Which coals require special and more intensive treatment in preparation than is now practiced; and (c) Which coals cannot be considered to be potential sources of metallurgical fuel regardless of preparation.

Jan 1, 1955

By G. H. Tausch, J. R. Dublin, T. A. Huber

Simplified equipment and techniques have been developed to permit cementing a completion interval in a well and recompleting higher, lower, or at the same depth in such a manner as to: 1. Eliminate the need for a conventional drilling or workover rig. 2. Eliminate mud and other cement contaminants which have long interferred with ideal cementing. 3. Eliminate need for drilling out cement. 4. Provide a more satisfactory recompletion. 5. Provide a more economical recompletion. This technique involves the use of a small-diameter, lightweight, tubing extension which is run on a wireline and set in a landing nipple previously installed in the tubing string. Low squeeze pressure and small cement volumes, with their attendant cost reduction, are successfully used when wells are completed and reworked with salt water or other penetrating fluids. Relatively low-water-loss cement is an integral component of the technique which provides that excess cement be reverse-circulated from the well to leave the casing void of cement when recompleting lower or in the same interval. Substantial cost reductions are realized by using the simplified or low-pressure cementing technique, and the ratio of successful squeeze-cement operations has been increased. Squeeze-cementing or recementing is the act of filling a channel behind casing or filling holes purposely placed in the casing. To obtain a satisfactory squeeze-cement job, it is necessary only to fill the channel or the perforation holes with a cement filter cake and to allow it to harden in that position. In the past, the presence of mud in a well has been considered the chief deterrent to obtaining a good cement bond and satisfactory cement job; however, late developments in squeeze-cementing have made it possible to eliminate cement contamination or interference. Since it is possible to form a cement filter cake with a small pressure differential, squeeze-cementing with high pressures may not be necessary in most cases. The amount of cement needed to fill the annulus about the casing and even to fill part of the casing, if necessary, is generally small in quantity. Use of low squeeze-cementing pressures and small quantities of cement provides the following advantages: 1. Longer effective life of well tubing, casing, and other equipment; and less chance of costly equipment failure due to excessive pressure. 2. Monetary savings effected by elimination of retainers and specal squeeze-cementing tools. 3. Monetary savings effected by use of small quantities of cement and fewer squeeze-cementing operations. 4. Future surface squeeze-cementing equipment may be smaller and more economical to operate and maintain.

Jan 1, 1955

By P. A. Beck, A. H. Lutts

IN the classical picture of recrystallization the growth of strain-free grains at the expense of a strained and work hardened matrix is responsible for the softening of cold worked metals on annealing. It has been commonly assumed that the release of the stored energy of cold work, softening, and re-orientation take place simultaneously, as the high angle boundaries of the new recrystallized grains sweep over the cold worked matrix. However, recent evidence indicates',' that, at least in some cases, considerable or even complete soften- ing may take place essentially without reorientation (i.e., without the migration of ordinary high angle grain boundaries, or "recrystallization'') and the release of most of the stored energy of cold work may precede softening. These cases suggest that the property changes, taking place during the annealing of cold worked metals, may be associated with various distinct processes. The study of such situations is of considerable interest, since quantitative data are still scarce. In the present work, isothermal softening curves were determined for a heavily rolled aluminum single crystal, under such conditions that no "recrystallization" occurred until after complete softening. The hardness data were correlated with X-ray diffraction pinhole patterns in order to detect any reorientation that may occur and with measure-

Jan 1, 1955

By Howard R. Keil

Reactor at Carlton mill successfully calcines pyrite-telluride flotation concentrate for cyanidation. CARLTON mill in the Cripple Creek district, 45 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, Colo., has been in operation for approximately three years, treating the custom sulpho-telluride ores formerly handled by the Golden Cycle mill in Colorado Springs. At the new mill the pyrite-telluride flotation concentrates have been roasted, prior to cyani-dation, in a Dorrco FluoSolids reactor, which has proved capable of yielding calcine readily amenable to cyanidation. Incoming ores are crushed at Carlton to % in. and sampled in 30 to 75-ton lots before the individual lots are mixed in the fine ore bin. The composite ore then goes to the grinding circuit. Classifier overflow from the grinding circuit is treated by flotation to produce a concentrate containing approximately 85 pct of the values in 5 pct of the weight. The flotation concentrate goes to the FluoSolids reactor prior to cyanidation. Cyanide solution values are recovered by zinc dust precipitation. Flotation tailings are thickened and cyanided, the values from this part of the circuit being recovered from solution by activated carbon. Gold values in the flotation concentrates consist of a small amount of finely divided metallic gold; the tellurides, sylvanite and calaverite; and gold very intimately associated with the pyrite. The metallic gold and a part of the telluride values can be extracted from the concentrates by cyaniding without roasting. However, extraction on the tellurides by this method is not satisfactory, and the pyrite values are so intimately associated with the pyrite that very fine grinding and cyanidation for a prolonged period under ideal laboratory conditions does not yield good recovery. Upon roasting, the tellurides are oxidized to very finely divided metallic gold which is readily soluble in cyanide. The pyrite is oxidized mainly to a porous iron oxide which allows cyanide solution to penetrate to gold particles and take them into solution. Feeding the Reactor Flotation concentrates move by gravity to a thickener. Thickener underflow is discharged at approximately 60 pct solids, by means of a diaphragm pump, into a storage and blending agitator. From here the concentrates are pumped to a disc filter. The filter cake, at 84 to 88 pct solids, drops directly into a repulper where it is repulped into a slurry of 78 to 80 pct solids. The repulped filter cake flows into a 6x6-ft slurry agitator from which it is fed directly into the reactor by the Moyno pump. The Moyno pump has eliminated a large number of difficulties that were first encountered in feeding a wet concentrate to the reactor. On the original installation in Canada a screw feeder was used to introduce the filter cake directly into the reactor. Since the reactor is under a slight positive pressure it was necessary to have a suitable seal to prevent gas escaping from the reactor at this point. When the concentrates produced in flotation were coarse or granular they could be readily fed to the reactor but when fine-textured, clayey concentrates were produced a great deal of trouble was encountered.

Jan 1, 1955

By Arthur Hockman, Howard W. Jaffe, Howard F. Carl

THE problem of establishing practical techniques for evaluating natural corundum ores arose from the desire to improve the existing purchase specifications for crystal corundum procured by the Federal Government for stockpiling. Such purchase specifications had been developed for a large number of products, including minerals and ores considered to be critical and strategic because of the country's dependence on foreign sources of supply. It will be apparent to anyone considering the subject of purchase specifications that the determination of whether or not a submittal meets the specifications is a prime consideration. Consequently satisfactory specifications for minerals should not only incorporate physical, chemical, and mineralogical requirements that are practical but should also establish the means by which both buyer and seller can be assured that materials meet stated requirements. The Munition Board's Material Purchase Specification for corundum, dated February 1954, covered two grades of crystal corundum intended primarily for abrasive use. It established limits of size and of composition: Grade A, at least 95 pct +3 mesh and 92 pct alumina (Al2O3); Grade B, at least 95 pct +7 mesh and 90 pct alumina. It also specified that "of each lot of material, not less than 95 percent shall have a hardness equal to or exceeding nine (9) on Moh's Scale." These specifications were unsatisfactory for several reasons. They did not allow the purchase of lower grades of corundum being used by industry. Neither did they specify exactly what a corundum ore actually was, except that it should contain so much alumina and have a certain scratch hardness. Nothing was said about the abrasive qualities of the material that was to be purchased primarily for abrasive use. During the period 1946 to 1948 supplies of the two grades defined in the then current specifications continued to decrease. Early in 1949 industry recommended that the finer sizes of corundum known as "crystal corundum concentrates," ¼-in. to 16-mesh material, be added to the stockpile specifications and that lower grades of crystal corundum also be included. In the spring of 1949 the National Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Mines were asked by the Munitions Board to cooperate in developing more practical specifications for grading natural corundum ores. The National Bureau of Standards indicated that it would investigate physical test methods for determining abrasive characteristics of corundum, and the Eastern Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines at College Park, Md., stated that it would consider the mineralogical aspects of the problem. Members of these two agencies, in consultation with representatives of the Office of Materials Resources of the Munitions Board and of the Federal Supply Service of the General Services Administration, and with the cooperation of industrial suppliers and consumers of abrasive corundum, developed, in a fairly short time, more practical specifications for six grades of corundum ores. The new specifications, issued January 1951, were for corundum, natural crystals, as by this time high-purity synthetic corundum was available and widely used. Nevertheless, for certain specific applications the natural product was preferred over the synthetic material. It has been extensively used in forming snagging wheels. It breaks into more or less cubical particles, whereas artificial corundum fractures into splintery shapes. These produce irregular cuts in glass, while the more symmetrical shape produces a more uniform ground surface. For this reason natural corundum has been preferred for certain types of lens grinding. Pure corundum is clear, colorless alpha alumina (A12O3), but it is rarely found in nature in this form. The most important gem varieties include the blue and yellow sapphires and the ruby. Minute impurities of titanic oxide impart a blue color,

Jan 1, 1955

The first metal-mine accident-prevention course was prepared and published in 1942-45 as a series of seven miners' circulars (Nos. 51-57). The scope of the course has been broadened, revised, and brought up to date, and it is being published as a similar series of seven miners' circulars (Nos. 51-57, revised) on accident prevention in metal and nonmetallic mines. These circulars are: Accident Statistics (Miners' Circular 51), dealing with general statistics on accidents and injuries at metal and nonmetallic mines, including causes, costs, and the uses of investigations and reports of all accidents.

Jan 1, 1955

By S. T. Reese

STATISTICS of injuries in the quarrying and related industries in the United States first became available when the Bureau of Mines collected reports from the operating companies for the calendar year 1911. Since then reports have been collected annually. The present bulletin, covering the calendar year 1952, is the 33d publication containing statistical data on injuries at quarries and related plants, and it is the first to be published since 1944. The last publication was Bulletin 458, Quarry Accidents in the United States during the Calendar Year 1942. The unpublished statistics for 1942-51 may be found in the Appendix of this bulletin. The Bureau of Mines is authorized to collect data on injuries at quarries, but there is no Federal law that compels operators to supply such data, and the reports received from operators are voluntary responses to the Bureau's requests for information. Although the figures presented herein may not be complete for the entire industry, every effort has been exerted to make them so, and the figures given are believed to be thoroughly representative of the hazards to which quarry workers are exposed. Moreover, the figures are com¬parable as between States -which is significant in view of the lack of uniformity among the States as regards classes of plants covered by State laws, classes of injuries covered by State reports, and other factors that tend to make it impracticable or impossible to compare the injury experience of one State with that of another or to comprehend the relative importance of the various causes of injuries in the industry as a whole.

Jan 1, 1955

By R. August Heindl

[A proposes process for recovering manganese from open-hearth steel-plant slogs is indicated by the flow diagram shown in figure 1. Investigation of the process, the laboratory development of which was reported previously,4/ was expanded to a larger scale. Mixtures of flush slags and limestone were proportioned to have molar [SiO2] ratios of 1.5 to 2.2 and were fired at temperatures up to 2,400° F. In an oxidizing atmosphere. This produced clinker consisting principally me various combinations of the oxides of manganese, iron, aluminum, and magnesium aloe with a dicalcium silicate phase containing the phosphorus. Some tests were made with a continuous sintering machine of the traveling-grate type, but a rotary kiln was the most satisfactory apparatus for this operation. Material was fed at 150 to 200 pounds per hour after first being agglomerated either on the sintering or else binder extruding and drying finely ground mixture of the sing, limestone, binder, and water. Tests with slag; from tree different source indicated overkill manganese recoveries of 65 to 80 percent by ammoniacal-ammonium-carbonate leaching.]

Jan 1, 1955

By Seth T. Reese

THE INJURY DATA and experience at coal mines in the United States for 1951 are presented in this bulletin under the following general heads: (A) General injury experience: Tables 1 to 18: Contain current data on number of fatalities and nonfatal injuries, frequency and severity rates, average severity, major and detailed injury agencies, and distribution of injuries by part of body and days of disability. (B) Selected injury data: Tables 19 to 43: Contain current data on various selected factors of operating and physical conditions that contributed to the occurrence of injuries at bituminous-coal, lignite, and anthracite mines. These factors include extent of hand and machine loading, size of mine by employment and production groups, thickness of bed or vein, duration and number of work shifts, rating of mine as gassy or nongassy, types of cap lamps, explosives, and combination of factors that influence mine safety. (C) Injury experience by States: Tables 44 to 50: Contain current data on number of fatalities and nonfatal injuries, frequency and severity rates, average severity, major causes and principal agencies, injury records of all coal-producing States, and the relative standing by States according to injury-frequency rates. (D) Major disasters: Table 51: Lists the coal-mine disasters that occurred during 1951, giving location, source, and cause. A major disaster in coal mining is defined as a single accident in which or as a result of which five or more men lost their lives. (E) Historical coal-mine injury experience: Tables 52 to 86: Contain data on injuries, injury-frequency rates, employment, and production at bituminous-coal, lignite, and anthracite mines from the earliest records through 1951.

Jan 1, 1955

By W. H. Oppelt

The continuous gasification of lignite in an externally heated alloy-steel re-tort was investigated by the Bureau of Mines, Grand Forks, N. Dak., from 1945 to 1951. The main objective of the long-term experimental program was to obtain data on the mechanical performance of this type of gasification retort, particularly the alloy-steel heat-transfer surface of the retort, when operated on large pilot-plant scale. At the same time, extensive experimental data were obtained concerning the effect of process variables and the effect of a limited number of design modifications on gasifier performance. In the period covered by this progress report 4 pilot-plant runs totaling 2,879 hours of operation were completed with the rolled-plate, 310-alloy reaction tube. Over 30 million cubic feet of gas, having H2-CO ratios from 2.1 to 4.4, was made by the partial gasification of 636 tons of 1-1/2-by 3/8-inch natural lignite. Rates of gas generation were from 8,200 to 14,300 cubic feet per hour. Three of the four runs were carried out with the lowered gas offtake or continuous-annulus design modification of the gasification retort. In the final run of the series, gasification of lignite from seven different mines in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada, was investigated at similar combustion-space temperatures and lignite and steam feed rates.

Jan 1, 1955

By Alfred Traverse

The Brandon lignite is a small deposit of very low rank coal near the village of Forestdale in the town of Brandon, Vt. It occurs in association with other sediments, principally sands and silts. This lignitic coal has attracted considerable scientific interest since the middle of the 19th century because of the abundance of fossils in the sediment and the rarity of lignite in New England. A cooperative investigation has been developed by E. S. Barghoorn, W. Spackman, and the author in which different phases of the problem have been worked on in a coordinated research program. This paper presents results of an investigation of the very abundant fossil pollen and spores and some other microfossils of the deposit. The studies on which this manuscript is based were made in large part at Harvard University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph. D. degree.

Jan 1, 1955