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By J. Etay, S. Daugan, Y. Fautrelle

"New type of electromagnetic parametric instabilities arising at the free surface of liquid metal in the presence of a low frequency magnetic field are presented. First, the mechanism of the instability is analysed in an idealised case. Then, the experimental device working with mercury is described. Various shapes, both regular and irregular, of free surface are found. A experimental stability diagram is obtained. Measurements of the deformation performed on photographs are compared with physical orders of magnitude.IntroductionWhen a liquid metal pool of electroconductivity a is submitted to an A.C. magnetic field B = B0 cos mt, electrical currents j are induced in the liquid metal and interact with the applied magnetic field to create electromagnetic body forces F = j x B. Those Lorentz forces comprise both a mean value (time average) and an oscillating part. Those forces are widely used in many metallurgical processes to stirr a liquid metal or to control its free surface, e. g., in aluminium continuous casting or electromagnetic levitation problems (1-3). When liquid metal free surfaces are submitted to AC. magnetic fields, the shape of those interfaces may interact with the applied field and leads to a various instabilities. A review of these instabilities may be found in Fautrelle (4). That instabilities may be a problem for the control of processing as electromagnetic levitation or quasi-levitation."

Jan 1, 1999

By B. T. Brady

Recent theoretical, experimental, and field studies conducted by the Bureau of Mines suggest that rock failures may be predicted and, in some instances, controlled. Theoretical studies that were later corroborated by laboratory and field studies predict that a seismic anomaly will precede rock bursts and/or roof falls in mines. The seismic anomaly is predicted to consist of an increase in the number of seismic events occurring in the immediate vicinity where the failure 1s nucleated. This increase will then be followed by a dramatic decrease of seismicity in a broad region that surrounds the location of the impending failure. The dimensions of this region allow a preliminary estimate of the time to failure (measured from the time the seismicity increase began) as well as an estimate of the energy that will be released at the instant of failure. Field observations indicating that this predicted behavior does precede rock bursts and a roof fall are presented in this report. Implications of results to the problem of failure control in mines that experience massive rock failures are discussed.

Jan 1, 1978

By C. J. Sullivan

It is of importance, in prospecting, to distinguish ores of magmatic origin from those derived by the meta-morphism and granitization of source rocks and from those accumulated in certain sedimentary facies. The magmatic ores, which are characterized by their occurrence along fault structures, may be associated with volcanic (including explosive) phenomena. Heat effects are local. The magmatic sequence is well de-fined: kimberlite, with diamond pipes; ijolite, with carbonatites; peridotite, with nickel deposits; norite, with nickel-copper deposits; and diabase-gabbro, with copper-zinc deposits. These deposits are characteristic of Precambrian shields, where a thick sialic crust may rest on basic to ultrabasic magma. The sequence is resumed in the Paleozoic terrains (in a broad sense), with monzonite porphyries and associated copper, copper-gold, and cop-per-lead-zinc deposits.

Jan 1, 1962

By Edward Sampson, Allan B. Griggs

Surveying of many holes drilled by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in the Metaline district has shown surprising deviations. The holes start in the Ledbetter slate (Ordovician) and pass into the underlying gently dipping Metaline limestone (Cambrian) at varying depths, locally in excess of 1000 it. All holes start vertical, but one had deflected as much as 35° at a depth of only 300 it. One hole was found to be deflected 70' at a depth of 1000 ft. These deviations were not indicated to the drillers by any action of the rods or machines. Analysis of the survey data in the light of the observed geology indicates that the holes deviate most in the Ledbetter slate and scarcely at all in the Metaline limestone. The upper part of the "limestone'" in most holes is a massive rock strongly altered by hydrothermal action and essentially homogeneous. The slate is only obscurely bedded but has a cleavage, varying from slight to strong, which is unrelated to bedding. Drill holes have deflected to become nearly perpendicular to the cleavage. Several plans and cross sections are submitted showing the behavior of various holes. Introduction The Metaline district of northeastern Washington has received much attention recently and has promise of becoming even more important as a source of zinc than at present. Exploration has been conducted largely by deep diamond drilling, and in the course of this work it was found that holes became seriously deflected. This paper deals with the nature and causes of these deflections. The district lies along the Pend Oreille River in the northeastern corner of Washington, about loo miles north of Spokane, 9 miles from British Columbia, and 15 miles from Idaho. Three mines are now in operation and for a number of years have furnished a considerable production of zinc and lead. The ore contains zinc and lead in a ratio of about 31/2 to I, and occurs in the upper part of the Metaline limestone of Cambrian age, the upper member of which, where unaltered, is a rather pure limestone. This is overlain by Ledbetter slate of Ordovician age. Ore has formed by replacement of limestone, commonly 100 to 200 ft. below the slate, in areas of gentle dip, resulting in extensive tabular ore bodies. In and near ore, limestone has been intensely altered to granular dolomite and fine-grained quartz, which, where it predominates, forms "jasperoid." As part of their war program, the Geological survey and Bureau of Mines of the U. S. Department of Interior have been cooperating in an investigation of the district. The exploration by the Bureau of Mines in 1943 and 1944 was conducted largely by deep diamond drilling in which as much as 1000 ft. or more of Ledbetter slate was penetrated before the ore-bearing Metalin-2 limestone was reached. During the course of this drilling it was found that holes were seriously deflected while traversing the Ledbetter slate.

Jan 1, 1949

By Edward Sampson, Allan B. Griggs

Surveying of many holes drilled by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in the Metaline district has shown surprising deviations. The holes start in the Ledbetter slate (Ordovician) and pass into the underlying gently dipping Metaline limestone (Cambrian) at varying depths, locally in excess of 1000 it. All holes start vertical, but one had deflected as much as 35° at a depth of only 300 it. One hole was found to be deflected 70' at a depth of 1000 ft. These deviations were not indicated to the drillers by any action of the rods or machines. Analysis of the survey data in the light of the observed geology indicates that the holes deviate most in the Ledbetter slate and scarcely at all in the Metaline limestone. The upper part of the "limestone'" in most holes is a massive rock strongly altered by hydrothermal action and essentially homogeneous. The slate is only obscurely bedded but has a cleavage, varying from slight to strong, which is unrelated to bedding. Drill holes have deflected to become nearly perpendicular to the cleavage. Several plans and cross sections are submitted showing the behavior of various holes. Introduction The Metaline district of northeastern Washington has received much attention recently and has promise of becoming even more important as a source of zinc than at present. Exploration has been conducted largely by deep diamond drilling, and in the course of this work it was found that holes became seriously deflected. This paper deals with the nature and causes of these deflections. The district lies along the Pend Oreille River in the northeastern corner of Washington, about loo miles north of Spokane, 9 miles from British Columbia, and 15 miles from Idaho. Three mines are now in operation and for a number of years have furnished a considerable production of zinc and lead. The ore contains zinc and lead in a ratio of about 31/2 to I, and occurs in the upper part of the Metaline limestone of Cambrian age, the upper member of which, where unaltered, is a rather pure limestone. This is overlain by Ledbetter slate of Ordovician age. Ore has formed by replacement of limestone, commonly 100 to 200 ft. below the slate, in areas of gentle dip, resulting in extensive tabular ore bodies. In and near ore, limestone has been intensely altered to granular dolomite and fine-grained quartz, which, where it predominates, forms "jasperoid." As part of their war program, the Geological survey and Bureau of Mines of the U. S. Department of Interior have been cooperating in an investigation of the district. The exploration by the Bureau of Mines in 1943 and 1944 was conducted largely by deep diamond drilling in which as much as 1000 ft. or more of Ledbetter slate was penetrated before the ore-bearing Metalin-2 limestone was reached. During the course of this drilling it was found that holes were seriously deflected while traversing the Ledbetter slate.

Jan 1, 1949

Mr. Cottrell : I omitted to speak of the cost of installation. The precipitation-plant at the Balaklala smelter, up to the time of initial operation, including the construction of flues, installation of the apparatus, etc., cost $107,000, and subsequent modifications probably represented at least $15,000 more. Upon the information gained in this plant, the installation at the cement-mill, handling nearly twice as much gas, has been reduced in cost in a number of ways, but the overhead construction, carrying the precipitator at the top of the stacks, is naturally expensive, yet, even so, the total cost of construction will probably not greatly exceed $150,000. The mechanical details of the tubular form last shown have been worked out more recently than those of the plate form, and the tubular form promises to be still less expensive in construction, as you would naturally expect. The cost of operat-ing the plant varies somewhat with the character of the gases used. The amount of power consumed is not determined by the tonnage of the material collected, but by the volume of gas to be handled. It takes as much power to precipitate a thin cloud as a dense one. In the cement-plant they are getting a higher efficiency; i. e., a greater number of cubic feet treated per kilowatt than in the earlier plants. This is perhaps partly due to higher temperature of the gases, which here average about 450° C. The best figures on the cement-plant are between 3 kw. and 4 kw. Of

Jan 1, 1913

By Murray Pearson, Jack Murray

"The danger of autoclaves lies in the high temperatures and pressures that exist in autoclave vessels. The usage of autoclaves will continue to expand in the mining industry because of their efficiency and environmental friendliness. But increasing attention must be paid to ensuring their safety. Safety Instrumented Systems (SISs) play a critical role in autoclave plants by detecting potentially dangerous conditions, taking the plant to a safe state, informing the operator about the plant status and the cause of the trip and expediting safe plant restart. The SIS should ideally be fully integrated with but functionally independent of the Basic Process Control System (BPCS) and provide redundant logic solvers to increase safety and plant availability while reducing spurious trips.INTRODUCTIONWikipedia defines an autoclave as follows: “An autoclave is a pressurized device invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879 designed to heat aqueous solutions above their boiling point to process materials.” A typical autoclave system used in the metallurgical industry includes, besides the autoclave vessel, heat recovery (heater) vessels, high pressure positive displacement (HPPD) feed pumps, vessel lining systems, specialized internals and components, agitators, pressure letdown or flash vessels, isolation and control valves, over 2,000 I/O points and related instrumentation, and emergency relief systems."

Jan 1, 2009

By George K. Foster

The Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Limited, is in the town of Asbestos, situated approximately 100 miles northeast of Montreal and about the same distance southwest of Quebec, in Richmond county, Quebec. Mining operations were started in 1881 on outcrops on a hill, as a side-hill cut, followed by a second and third cut. This development was the forerunner of the present large open-pit operations, the mine now ranking as the largest open-pit asbestos mine in the world. Operations were first carried on by hand, then by horsepower and later by stem cableways. By 1914, the derrick spans, 2,000 feet or more long, became unwieldy. To overcome this, and also to eliminate hand labour as much as possible, steam shovels and railway haulage were introduced. The steam shovels were replaced in 1928 by larger electric shovels of the full-revolving type.

Jan 1, 1946

By A. V. S. Meyer

The Colloquium held at Iscor, Pretoria, on 28th June, 1988, had as its objective the need for Quality Management Systems in the industry. Case studies of how problems were identified and solved by the use of such systems were submitted.

Jan 1, 1988

By E. S. Machlin

The wzodel of Blandin and Diplunt;, generalized to include a phase factor, is applied to the carbon-carbon interaction in iron. Darken&apos;s "energetic" model is generalized to include not only first neighbor interactions but further neighbor interactions as well. On the bases of these generalized models relations are derived for the activity of carbon in both austenite and ferrite in terms of the carbon-carbon Pair interaction energies. A single function then yields the pair interaction energies consistent with the experimental activities of carbon in both ferrite and austenite. Thus, a simple explanation is given for the observation that the nearest-neighbor interaction between carbon is repulsive in austenite and attractive in ferrite. Certain consequences of this approach are explored. OnE object of the present paper is to attempt to take into account the consequences of electrostatic contributions to the carbon-carbon pair interaction energy for carbon as a solute in iron. Friedel&apos; has shown that oscillations in electrostatic potential are to be expected about a solute atom in a metallic solution. Blandin and 6lant6&apos; have shown that such oscillations yield an interaction energy between pairs of solute atoms that obeys the relation: W{ = A cos(2ftFri + 4>)/(kFri)3 [l] where kF = Fermi wave vector, ri = distance between solute atoms comprising the pair7 <p = phase factor dependent only on electronic nature of solute and solvent, A = coefficient dependent only on electronic nature of solute and solvent. Machlin3 found that Eq. [I] accurately described the pair interaction energy derived from short-range order measurements based on field ion microscope observations of dilute alloys of platinum. He also found that the value of the phase factor $ derived from residual resistivity measurements agreed well with that obtained from the analysis of the short-range order data. Harrison and paskin4 were able to predict the long-range ordering energy of 0 brass using Relation [I] and residual resistivity values to predict the value of the phase factor $. Machlin5 has repeated their analysis and applied it to the prediction of the long-range ordering energy in AgZn and AgCd with excellent agreement between prediction and experiment. Both A and $ are independent of the crystal structure. The Fermi wave vector depends uniquely upon the conduction electron concentration per unit volume in the spherical approximation of the Fermi surface. Thus, Eq. [I] is expected to apply to both fer- rite and austenite with only one set of values of A and $. Mossbauer studies6 yield the result that iron has one 4s electron. We shall make an assumption found to hold previously for platinum3&apos;7 and nikel, which is that only the s electrons are involved in shielding the perturbing potential of carbon. With this assumption, kF = 1.35 A-l. Although A and $ may be obtained from certain mdels&apos;&apos;&apos; we shall take A and $ to be empirical constants in the spirit of Kohn and osko.&apos; Thus, Eq. [I] involves two adjustible parameters. Consequently, two independent relations in A and $I are required in order to evaluate them for carbon as a solute in iron. We may use a recent analysis of Aaronson, Domain, and poundg who showed that Darken&apos;s energetic model,1° as well as others, can be used to describe the activity-temperature data for carbon in iron in both the aus-tenitic and ferritic phases. Darken&apos;s model takes into account only first neighbor pair interactions. For our needs, all neighbor pairs need to be taken into account. It is convenient to generalize Darken&apos;s model. The result for the partition function for austenite is: over the temperature range 800" to 1200°C and where the uncertainty corresponds to one standard deviation. Eq. [4] effectively yields only one relation. Another relation is required to obtain unique values for A and $. One property of Eq. [4] is that it is independent of crystal structure. Hence, data for a iron can be used to obtain another relation. To arrive at this relation we must generalize Eqs. [2] and [3] so that they may be applied to the bcc a iron. The result is that:

Jan 1, 1969

By A. U. Seybolt, R. L. Fullman

THE Hume-Rothery rule relating the relative sizes of the solvent and solute atoms in a substitutional solid solution for moderate to extensive solubility is, of course, well known and much used in the design of alloys. No such rule has been obtained for interstitial solid solutions, although a qualitatively similar relationship would be expected. Among the most common interstitial elements, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen which can dissolve in important amounts in the transition metals, only in the case of oxygen is there enough solubility data available for an examination of the possibilities of a simple relationship between the extent of solubility and the properties of the metal solvents. Three properties were examined: 1—size of the octahedral space V into which oxygen atoms fit, 2— the elastic modulus E, and 3—the free energy ?F of formation of a low oxide, such as is known to be, or would be expected to be, in equilibrium with the terminal solid solution. The size factor or octahedral volume is so closely associated with the well known Hume-Rothery con- cept of size factor that additional development of this subject is hardly necessary. The octahedral volume used was not corrected to an elevated temperature, as this correction would have made no significant difference. The second factor, Young&apos;s modulus E, must be considered, since it is a measure of the strain energy required to force neighboring atoms apart so that an oxygen atom may enter the octahedral volume. The temperature dependence of the elastic modulus of many metals has been reported by Köster,1 but for a rather limited temperature range. Since the

Jan 1, 1955

By S. Owada

A national project of ?Establishing ?Green-Hydrogen (G-H)? Society in Honjo-Waseda Area? is now being developed by Waseda University together with four other universities and ten companies. The project involves three tasks of technological development of, (1)?G-H? production, (2)?G-H? refining, transportation and storage, and (3)?G-H? utilization. This paper focuses the first task of ?G-H? production from aluminium dross. We developed the physical treatment process by combining selective grinding with vibrating rod mill and electrostatic separation, in order to produce two kinds of materials, one is metal aluminium concentrate to recover it and the other is raw material to produce ?G-H? and aluminium hydroxide which can be generated by the treatment with sodium hydroxide aqueous solution. Here, we described the concentration mechanism of metal aluminium in the selective grinding and electrostatic separation and proposed a separation flowchart for optimizing the ?G-H? system in Honjo-Waseda area.

Jan 1, 2014

By F. C. Foshag, P. E. Wingrove

The Kayford, Boone and Nicholas Division of Bethlehem Mines Corp. operates a modern coal preparation plant in Van, WV. Since start-up of the Van plant in 1976 until the summer of 1980, the refuse handling system proved to be a costly maintenance problem and a material handling bottleneck. During the 1980 two-week miners&apos; vacation, the original system - which included two screw conveyors and a drag conveyor - was replaced by an installation using two Flexowall steep angle belt conveyors. This paper describes the technical and economic analysis that led to the new installation and reviews its first year operating performance.

Jan 1, 1983

Samples weighing O&#183;25 g are fused with 1 g potassium hydrogen sulphate, leached with 5 ml. of hydrochloric acid, and then diluted with another 5 ml. of acid. After settling, an aliquot of the clear solution is reduced with stannous chloride, and then a zinc dithiol solution is added to form a coloured tungsten complex which is extracted with petroleum spirit for comparison with standards.Concentrations down to 4 p.p.m. may be analysed at a rate of 100 determinations per man-day of 8 hr.

Jan 1, 1970

By C. L. Magee, H. W. Paxton

PREVIOUS workersl&apos;% ave found that as-quenched ferrous martensites can be plastically deformed at low stresses. They have also found that the stress to obtain small strains can be significantly increased by aging at temperatures up to 150°C. This behavior has been interpreted in two ways: 1) that the deformation at low applied stress is due to internal stresses and thus the aging phenomenon is due to relaxation of the internal stresses;&apos; 2) that the microdeformation arises through the motion of unpinned dislocations and the aging process is the diffusion of carbon to the dislocations to pin them.293 In a recent paper,4 we have shown that under certain conditions the dominant microdeformation mechanism of as-quenched Fe-31Ni marten-site-austenite aggregates is the transformation of retained austenite. Our results on resistance changes during deformation and temperature dependence of the deformation also established that, at temperatures above 300° K, the microdeformation was not due to this transformation. The purpose of this note is to report results of experiments which indicate that explanation 1 is appropriate for this deformation. All results presented here are from conditions where transformation does not make a measurable contribution to the microplastic deformation, in Fe-31Ni-0.002C, or in Fe-29Ni-0.02C-0.25Ti. The experimental techniques that were used for measurement of the plastic deformation are described4 and analyzed5 elsewhere. Fig. 1 shows the microplastic response of 100 pct austenite at 300" and 350° K. The microplastic response of an austenite-martensite aggregate is also given in Fig. 1 and it is seen that, after formation of martensite, the initial plastic deformation occurs at lower stresses. Thus, the softness is not entirely due to retained austenite—the quenched structure can be deformed at lower stresses despite the fact that the macroscopic strength is significantly higher. A result which allows a distinction to be drawn between the alternative explanations for this behavior is derived from aging experiments on the low-carbon alloy containing titanium. We have previously shown4 that the presence of titanium in this alloy reduced the free carbon to a sufficiently low level that thermal stabilization of the austenite-martensite transformation was not detected. Despite this, Fig. 2 shows that the microplastic response is decreased by aging treatments. A similar aging effect in Fe-ZONi, with some titanium, has previously been reported by . Thus, carbon is not necessary for the aging process and explanation 2 is at best incomplete. Since internal stress relief can occur independently of carbon (any temperature dependence of the flow stress can result in decreased internal

Jan 1, 1969

By K. P. Bingham

Lime is one of the largest volume chemicals produced in the United States. In 1979 approximately 21 million tons were produced. Lime is, in fact, second only to sulfuric acid as the largest volume basic chemical produced. Lime, also known as quick lime (calcium oxide) and hydrate lime (calcium hydroxide), is the principle alkali used in a multitude of industrial processes. In addition to its use as a principle industrial alkali, lime has experienced dramatic growth in four general market areas during the past 30 years. These four areas are: 1. Water Treatment - Lime is used extensively in treating and purifying water for industrial and potable use, Although significant tonnage is shipped to this market of municipal and industrial water treatment plants, the end-users are widely spread geographically and individual shipments are relatively low tonnage. Lime, which is nonhazardous, can safely be shipped by truck or rail to these small end-users. 2. Municipal and Industrial Waste Treatment - Environmental agencies at all government levels,

Jan 1, 1980

By S. Banisi, A. R. Ghasemi, M. Maleki-Moghaddam

Direct observation of the charge shape and its motion in industrial mills are not possible, it is then customary to use transparent end, small-scale mills (i.e., model mills) to determine the charge trajectory directly by visualization methods. Because of a short length of the model mills, the end-wall effects could introduce a significant bias on the observed charge trajectories and shape. The shorter the mill, the stronger the bias. This could be due to some material bridging between the end walls. In this research, the end-wall effects were investigated by gradually increasing the model mill length and analysing the charge trajectory and shape variation at a given operating conditions (i.e., ball filling, mill speed, liner type). The unbiased mill length was assumed to be beyond the mill length where no significant change observed in the charge trajectory and shape. For all tests, the torque of the charge was also measured by a torque sensor. The special design of the model mill with the diameter of 100 cm made possible to increase the mill length in steps of 3.6 cm up to 21.6 cm. Four types of liners, five steel ball fillings (10, 15, 20, 25, 30% v/v) and three mill speeds (55, 70, 85% of critical speed) were tested. The ball sizes ranged from 4 to 12 mm. The results indicated that when the mill length was below 10.8 cm the end walls prevented the charge from free falling. This resulted in lower impact point angles and lower power draws compared with the case of no end-wall effects. When the same experiments were performed using an iron ore instead of balls with the same size range, the impact of end-wall effects was more pronounced. For an increase of 30% in the speed (from 55 to 85%), the torque due the change in the charge shape decreased by 41% (from 3.7 to 2.2 kgf.m) when mill filling was 30%. At the same operating conditions when steel balls used the torque decreased only by 19% (from 9 to 7.2 kgf.m). This was expected due to irregular shapes of the ore particles which facilitated bridging. Three-dimensional DEM simulations also resulted in the similar conclusions.

Jan 1, 2014

By Immo H. Redeker, O. E. Pothier, E. W. Gieseke

Phosphate rock is the primary source of phosphorus, an element necessary to all forms of life--plant, animal, and human. While phosphorus finds many uses in everyday life, it is an irreplaceable ingredient in all complete plant foods. With the present need for intensive farming, the fertility of the soil can be maintained only by external additions supplied by mines or other sources. A major consideration in any mining operation is to establish the economic and ecological impact of the development on the local population as well as the national interest. The Commodity Data Summaries, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM), is a ready reference concerning the importance of phosphate to the national and local interest. The summary of domestic and world pro¬duction is given in Table 1. During 19722 the demand for marketable phosphate rock exceeded the supply in the United States and the rest of the world. Domestic and world reserves are more than adequate to meet furture demands. Phosphate rock prices firmed and export prices increased, reflecting the change from oversupply to a shortage of phosphatic fertilizers. Demand is expected to exceed supply through 1973. New fertilizer plant capacity planned for 1973-74 will increase the production of phosphate rock by more than 5 million tons in the United States. Morocco and Spanish Sahara are scheduled to increase their production to 18 and 3 million tpy, respectively, within 2 to 3 years. The domestic phosphate rock production for 1972 was 40.8 million tons and 1973 was 42.1 million tons.&apos; Industry, with government-supported programs, will emphasize restoration of mined land and solution of the colloidal slime disposal problem in Florida. The foregoing information comes by courtesy of The Division of Nonmetallic Minerals of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, January 1973. The summary gives a great deal of information but does not give a complete picture. There are many supporting industries which contrib¬ute to the area in which the mines are located. The figures shown in Table 1 deal with concentrates. To produce such concentrates many more tons of waste overburden and ore must be moved. Because of the competitive nature of the phosphate rock industry, data on concentration ratios not only are difficult to obtain but also are not for publication by companies. The concentration ratios vary from one mine to the next in Florida as well as in Tennessee and the western United States. To produce 42.4 million tons of phos¬phate rock in the United States required moving about 350 to 400 million tons of material. Domestic Industry. In 1972 some 26 firms and the Tennessee Valley Authority produced phosphate rock, with several firms produc¬ing from more than one mine. The distribution of marketable phos¬phate rock production was: Florida and North Carolina 82%; Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming 13%; and Missouri and Tennessee 5%. The value of this production was $223 million. The principal consuming classifications were: agriculture 75%, soaps and detergents 5%, plating and polishing 3%, animal feed supplements 4%, and miscellaneous applications 13%. Over 5,000 firms processed end-prod¬ucts for agricultural purposes. Uses of Phosphate Rock. The tendency in the United States has been to produce more phosphoric acid by the wet process, while the production of electric furnace phosphorus, triple superphosphate, and ordinary superphosphate has been on the decline. Exports of phosphate rock have been on the increase for several years and in 1971 reached 33% of total production. However, export sales of phos¬phate rock are expected to decline in the years ahead, both in total tons of sales and in percentage of production as domestic sales increase (see Table 2). The description and chemistry involved in the production of phos¬phate fertilizers is too complicated to be presented here. The Waggaman13 book is a very thorough reference on the subject involv¬ing production, utilization, and chemistry. The various operations generally have chemical plants near the dry plants or ship to associated chemical plants for further processing. Wet rock, dry rock, and ground dry rock of various grades are sold. In addition various grades of calcined phosphate rock, including defluorinated phosphate rock for animal food supplements, are pro¬duced. Various grades of phosphoric acid, superphosphate, triple suerphosphate, as well as diammonium phosphate, are produced. These products are available from the various producing compa¬nies listed in the text. For prices and specifications the producing companies should be contacted.

Jan 1, 1985

By B. F. Buie

For over 200 years meerschaum has been a significant item of trade between the Near East and countries to the west. Best-known for its use in making smoking pipes and cigar and cigarette holders, it is also used in making a variety of decorative and ornamental items. It is easily carved, and is given an attractive, lustrous finish by rubbing. No published specifications are known, but compact form, purity, uniform whiteness or light color, and uniform, porous texture appear to be requisites. Fig. I a shows the appearance of a piece of crude meerschaum from Turkey; Fig. lb a carved item; and Fig. lc, d, and e show the fibrous and porous texture as revealed by the scanning electron microscope. Neither a major industrial mineral nor a precious stone, meerschaum nevertheless holds a record of long-and continuing-association with art and personal affairs of man. It is also a mineral to which modem methods of exploration and production probably could be profitably applied. An interesting account of the preparation and use of meerschaum in the early part of this century is given by Sterrett (1907). Geology and Mining Mineralogy Meerschaum is recognized now to be the compact variety of sepiolite, the claylike variety of which is one of the minerals included in the chapter on clays. The word meerschaum, from the German meaning "sea foam," was in earlier times used synonymously with sepiolite, a word of Greek origin suggestive of the resemblance of the compact variety-then the only variety known-to cuttlefish bone. At one time meerschaum was used as the commercial name, and sepiolite for the scientific name. However, to think of meerschaum as the name by which sepiolite is known commercially is no longer valid, in view of the recent emergence of the earthy variety as a competitor of bentonite and other clay materials. Present tendency is to restrict the term meerschaum to the compact variety, and to use the term sepiolite as a more general name to include both the compact and earthy varieties. This is the terminology followed in this publication. Meerschaum typically is white to light gray, has a hardness of 2 to 2 ½ , conchoidal to irregular fracture, and specific gravity varying with porosity from about 2 to less than 1. The composition is somewhat variable,- but is near that determined by Schaller (1936) for sepiolite as 2MgO.3SiO2.4H2O. A more modern for mula based on X-ray determination of the crystal structure is given by Caillére and Henin (1961) as (Site) (Mg9)030(OH)6(0H2)46H20. The reason for the firm, compact nature of meerschaum, in contrast with the earthy variety of sepiolite, is not fully understood. It may be due to the presence of a very minor amount of some bonding material such as silica. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of a specimen from Turkey (Figs. lc-le) indicate that the meerschaum is composed predominantly, if not entirely, of crystalline fibers which merge into sheetlike forms in a complex, intertwined mass. Detailed X-ray and crystal structure data, as well as some data on thermal stability range, are given by Caillère and Hénin (1961) for the sepiolite family of minerals. Mode of Occurrence and Origin Most authors have attributed the origin of meerschaum to alteration of serpentine or other magnesian minerals. The occurrence in alluvium and other surficial deposits does not necessarily indicate that the alteration was supergene. In fact, hydrothermal origin appears more likely for some deposits, though not for all.

Jan 1, 1983

By Matthew Kowalczyk, Steve Bloomer, Peter Kowalczyk

"Mineral deposits found near seafloor hydrothermal venting are of great economic interest. Valuable metals such as gold, copper, zinc, and other polymetallic sulfides are found in appreciable grades in seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits associated with these vents. For mapping these deposits, electromagnetic prospecting is one geophysical method that is very useful because copper/gold rich deposits are highly conductive.Ocean Floor Geophysics (OFG) in 2008 developed the first EM system to successfully map the limits of conductive mineralization in a survey at the Solwara 1 deposit (Kowalczyk, 2008). Since then, towed coincident loop time domain systems have been developed by Waseda University (Nakayama and Saito, 2016) and have successfully detected known mineralization buried at 30m depth. Using a deep tow controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) array, very clear anomalies have been measured (Murton, 2017) over known mineralization at the TAG field on the mid-Atlantic ridge.In 2014 and 2015, OFG partnered with Fukada Salvage and Marine Co. Ltd. and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to map methane hydrate deposits off the coast of Japan using a towed controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) system developed by Scripps. These hydrate deposits are resistive targets, and the Scripps system successfully mapped subsurface electrical resistivity distributions to depths of several 100 metres below the seafloor. OFG is attempting to extend the Scripps CSEM technology to map subsurface conductive SMS deposits to a similar range of depths below the seafloor."

Jan 1, 2017