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By J. Wickens

This paper discusses how Bald Mountain Mine dramatically reduced mercury production by treating process solutions with a liquid reagent called UNR 811A. The reagent is marketed by Cherokee Chemical Co., Inc. A summary of the bench tests comparing several different reagents is given. The ensuing plant trial is discussed and results are presented. The plant trial treatment costs are discussed. Finally, potential cost savings are discussed.

Jan 1, 2001

By R. Mier

The metals and minerals mining industry has evolved dramatically from the earliest objects ever made out of native copper circa 9,000 BC to the modern developments we see today. To better appreciate past developments and to get a sense of where the industry is heading, a brief overview of mayor industry highlights over the last 100 years will be presented, followed by a discussion on potential global scenarios and by a review on mayor industry trends.

Feb 27, 2013

By Charles R. Keyes

During the past decade the genesis of the lead- and zincdeposits of the Mississippi valley has received special attention from many distinguished observers. But their united egorts, instead of settling all disputed questions, have, in many respects, involl-ed the general problem in greater uncertainty than would be thought possible under the circumstances. In place of the harmony of opinion that might be expected, there is unexpected disagreement, largely due to the fact that, instead of giving attention to a possible multiplicity of ore-producing conditions among the different deposits, the attempt has been made to bring all deposits under a single genetic head. To a new observer of the lead- and zinc-deposits of the Mississippi valley, it appears at the outset that all the deposits cannot possibly have had the same genesis. In fact, different modes of origin have been often asserted for the ore-bodies, but the difficulty has been that each writer has referred them either all to one category or all to another, and no intermediate ground has been considered possible. Such a position now appears to be clearly untenable. The opinion that, in the deposits of the region under consideration, the ore-materials represent original depositions, made at the time the rocks themselves were formed, is no longer held by any authority, and therefore need not be considered here. Of late years, a number of writers have attempted to account for the presence of the lead- and zinc-ores on the hypothesis that the metallic materials arose in heated solutions from the

Jan 1, 1902

THERE are two general classes of problems in connection with electric furnaces. First, those relating to the best utilization of the electrical power inside the furnace; second, those connected with the bringing of the electrical power to the point where it is to be utilized. Referring particularly to the latter class of problems, many calculations have been made, covering a wide variety of furnaces, to check the electrical capacity and power factor found from test. The following analysis, made for the purpose of determining the maximum capacity and approximate performance of a new furnace, to operate at 160 volts on a 60-cycle circuit, may be of interest. The first characteristic necessary to determine is the inductance, since this is the factor that limits the amount of power which can be put into the furnace. Inductance is calculated from the dimensions of the furnace, according to formulas of the U. S. Bureau of Standards,1 as

Jan 10, 1918

Some of the problems of flotation, un- Solved in the mid-1950s, and possibly still unsolved today, are discussed with emphasis on dynamic aspects. These prob- lems include the nature of the air-water interface, particle-bubble contact and bubble attachment, and the effect of par- ticle size. Questions are also raised on the possible influences of the variability of minerals on flotation, particularly variations in composition and in foreign inclusions, both solid and fluid.

Jan 1, 1984

By A. V. Lyamin, J. P. Wang, A. J. Li, Z. Qian

"For general stability analysis of rock slopes, rock mass strength and rock mass disturbance are definitely should be considered. In addition, the impact of earthquakes must be taken into account. In fact, the rock mass strength is very difficult to be assessed which causes the difficulty of analysing rock slope stability. Therefore, an empirical failure criterion, the Hoek-Brown failure criterion, has been proposed. It is one of the most widely accepted approaches to estimate rock mass strength. The rock mass disturbance is important and was found having significant influence on evaluating rock slope stability, especially for rock slope with poor quality rock mass. In the Hoek-Brown failure criterion, the disturbance factor can represent the level of the rock mass disturbance which would provide a reasonable basis for estimating rock mass strength.This research will not only discuss the slope factor of safety, but also consider the influence of the seismic force on rock slope stability assessment using pseudo-static method. In practice, only horizontal seismic coefficient is used. Various magnitudes of the disturbance factor and recommended blasting damage zone thickness are also taken into account. The blasting damage zone thickness considered ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 times of slope height. The research results have potential to be extended and then sets of comprehensive stability charts can be provided for the rock slope stability evaluations. They will be convenient tools for practising engineers. In this study, finite element upper bound and lower bound limit analysis methods are employed. Their applicability has been investigated in some previous studies. The differences between upper bound and lower bound solutions are less than ±10% which would provide reasonable and acceptable range for rock slope stability safety factor estimation."

Jan 1, 2015

The earliest U. S. patent on a crushing machine was issued in 1830. The device incorporated the drop hammer principle later used in the famous stamp mill, whose history is so intimately linked with that of the golden age of American Mining. Eli Blake invented the first successful mechanical rock-breaker --the Blake jaw crusher--patented in 1858. The idea of his mechanical principle, the powerful-toggle linkage, was so sound that today the Blake -type jaw crusher is the standard by which all jaw crushers are judged. In 1881, Philetus Gates was granted a patent on a machine which included in its design all the essential features of the modern gyra tory crusher. For some years after these pioneer machines were developed, crushing requirements were quite simple. All underground mining and open-pit quarrying was done by hand with tonnages and rock sizes generally small. In the milling of precious metal ores, stamp mills were popular as the final reduction machine. The stamps were fed with an ore size readily produced by one break through small gyratory or jaw crushers. Even in large underground mining operations, there was no demand for large crushers; and increasing tonnage requirements were met by duplicating the small units. The Homestake gold mine in South Dakota was a good example, where in 19 15 twenty -two small Gates gyratory crushers were used to prepare the ore for the batteries of 2,500 stamps. Open pit mines and the introduction of the steam shovel created a demand for larger crushers, which led to the development of a gyratory with an 18 in. (457 mm) receiving opening. Up to this time, the jaw crusher had kept pace with the gyratory, both from the standpoint of receiving opening and capacity; but now the gyratory stepped into a 15-year lead with larger and larger sizes. This trend toward large primary crushers started just before the turn of the century, and in 1910 crushers with 48 in. (1.22 m) receiving openings were being built. About this time, the jaw crusher was revived in a great contribution to primary crushing by the introduction of the 84 in. by 60 in. (2. 13 by 1. 52 m) machine. This crusher was usually followed by a 24 in. (6 10 mm) opening gyratory crusher for secondary breakage, a system which reawakened the industry to the use of the jaw crusher as a primary breaker. It is interesting that although his machines never came into general use, Thomas A. Edison ranks as a pioneer in the development of the large primary breaker. Edis on reasoned that the recoverable electrical energy

Jan 1, 1978

By Desmond De Villiers Oxford, Peter H. Williams

Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines, Ltd., is one of the four mines operated by the Anglo American Corp. in Northern Rhodesia, now the independent nation of Zambia. Today Nchanga is the second largest single producer of copper in the world, accounting for more than 200,000 long tons of copper annually at a monthly milling rate of 430,000 tons of ore. The average mill-head grade is about 5.20% total copper, of which approximately 60% is copper sulfide. The remainder, referred to as "acid soluble," is copper oxide. Nchanga mines three separate orebodies varying in grade and sulfide-to-oxide ratio. Ore is processed in two separate grinding circuits feeding into three separate flotation circuits. A fourth flotation circuit treats leach plant residue for additional recovery of sulfides.

Jan 1, 1965

COUNCIL The following served on Council during the year under review Office Bearers Dr J. P. Hugo (President), P. W. J. van Rensburg and Professor R. P. Plewman (Vice-Presidents), Professor D. D. Howat (Immediate Past-President), and D. G. Maxwell (Honorary Treasurer). Ordinary Members of Council H. P. Carlisle (until February), R. C. Espley-Jones, G. H. Grange, Dr D. I. Legge, W. W. Malan, J. B. Mudd, Dr R. E. Robinson, Dr M. D. G. Salamon, L. W. P. van den Bosch, D. A. Viljoen (co-opted May 1973), and P. A. von Wielligh. Branch Chairmen A. Bain (Witbank-Middelburg Branch), C. J. Isaac (O.F.S. Branch). Past Presidents Serving on Council R. J. Adamson, M. Barcza, H. Britten, J. K. E. Douglas, R. C. J. Goode, P. Lambooy, Professor J. de V. Lambrechts, Dr J. T. McIntyre, J. F. Reid, and V. C. Robinson. Ten Council meetings were held during the year, with an average attendance of 18, and the standing committees held 29 meetings. MEMBERSHIP Twelve Fellows, ten Members, twenty-one Graduates, eleven Associates, thirty-one Students, and forty-two Company Affiliates were elected during the year. One Member was reinstated. Eight Fellows, two Members, and two Associates were admitted to retired membership. Four Graduates were transferred to Members, one Associate to Member, three Students to Members, one Graduate to Associate, two Students to Graduates, and one Student to Associate. Your Council records with deep regret the death during the year of the following : D. R. Campbell, J. Daniel, M. J. Dennehy, and F. S. C. Rogers (Life Fellows) ; W. T. balling and T. Pryor (Life Members); C. Boocock, W. Drake R. J. Moore, M. P. Pearse, J. M Pike, W. A. Schwezoff, A. I. Suss man, and L. G. S. Wright (Fellows) ; A. F. Chalmers (Member) ; and W. R. Gerry and G. T. Rimmer(Associates). A comparative statement of membership as at 30th June, 1973, and the end of the previous year it shown in the following tabulation: 30th - 30th June, - June, 1972 - 1973 Honorary Life Fellows 5 - 4 Honorary Fellows 13 - 9 Life Fellows 181 - 177 Fellows 541 - 536 Members 479 - 487 Graduates 115 - 128 Associates 182 - 186 Students 162 - 183 Company Affiliates 24 - 64 1 702 - 1 774 JOURNAL The papers that were published in the Journal during the year are listed below: August, 1972 The effects of chromium oxide, iron oxide, and calcium oxide on the liquidus temperatures, viscosities, and electrical conductivities of slags in the system MgO-Al2O3-SiO2, by M. S. Rennie, D. D. Howat, and P. R. Jochens A study of the dust exposure of South African white gold miners, by R. J. Page-Shipp and Elizabeth Harris A forecast of the coal and uranium requirements for electric power generation in South Africa, by E. J. Maunders September, 1972 Mine management by objectives, by A. A. Hazell Some aspects of the deformation behaviour and temperature rise during instantaneous compression loading of high purity aluminium, by H. J. E. Hamel Computer control of flotation at the Ecstall concentrator, by M. P. Amsden, C. Chapman, and M. G. Reading Optimizing the public gains from the exploitation of mineral resources, by A. Azis and J. Zwartendyk October, 1972 Presidential Address: Nuclear energy: its interactions with mining and metallurgy, by J. P. Hugo Presidentsrede: Kernenergie: sy wissel-werkinge met mynbou en metallurgic, deur J. P. Hugo Raise-boring experiences in the gold mines of the Anglo American Corporation Group, by J. W. Wilson and P. C. Graham November, 1972 Materials for winding plant components, by G. T. van Rooyen An analytical solution to the batch-comminution equation, by R. P. King A new approach to the study of human factors in stope productivity, by A. C. Lawrence Fundamental studies of the flotation process: the work of the National Institute for Metallurgy, by N. P. Finkelstein and V. M. Lovell Growing use of deionised water in surface coating techniques, by W. F. Lorch December, 1972 The development and application of a computer system to aid in the planning of production in mines, by F. H. Deist, L. F. Duvel, J. D. Austin, and H. D. Small PERT, and how PERT techniques can be used in modern mine management, by E. J. Boome and A. C. Schmidt A critical comparison of specific cooling power and the wet kata thermometer in hot mining environments, by J. de V. Lambrechts January, 1973 Liquidus temperatures in the Cr-Fe-Si system in the composition range representative of ferrochromium-silicide produced in South Africa, by J. C. M. Wethmar, D. D. Howat, P. R. Jochens, and O. A. W. Strydom Platinoids in the Witwatersrand System, by C. A. Cousins The development of a continuous recording scintillation counter mounted on a cyclometer, by P. D. Teens and D. Visser February, 1973 Computer analysis, modelling, and optimisation of gold recovery plants of the Anglo American Group, by M. I. Brittan and E. J. J. van Vuuren The significance of the mineralogical and surface characteristics of gold grains in the recovery process, by C. E. Feather and G. M. Keen Statistical valuation of diamondiferous deposits, by H. S. Sichel March, 1973 The effect of the reactivity of lime on desulphurisation efficiency in the basic oxygen furnace, by A. A. Hejja, D. D. Howat, and P. R. Jochens A review of real-time particle size analysers, by A. L. Hinde In situ measurements of the surface heat transfer coefficient in underground airways, by K. R. Vest April, 1973 An investigation into the kinetics and mechanisms of the oxidation of iron (II) by oxygen in aqueous chloride solutions, by R. P. Colborn and M. J. Nicol Electric smelting at Rustenburg Platinum Mines Limited of nickel-copper concentrates containing platinum-group metals, by J. C. Mostert and P. N. Roberts Metallurgical considerations in the

Jan 10, 1973

By A. J. Partos

The figures and tables referred to herein are presented in the Proceedings; Volume I, Pages 309 through 316. The 61-story One Liberty Place, at 315 m., is the tallest building 1n Philadelphia and was in 1987 the ninth tallest building in the world. One Liberty Place is supported on drilled piers socketed in heterogeneous metamorphic rock. Design load distribution was 40% on the base and 60% by shaft resistance. Drilled Pier G-10 supporting a T13-A type outrigger column was instrumented. There 1s no uplift load on the exterior outrigger columns. This column supports a 53,850 kN compressive load which includes a 13,440 kN windload. Table 4 presents experimental parameters from straight line interpolation of Mohr failure envelopes for the Wissahickon schist. Lowest values of cohesion (12,200 kN/m2) and angle of internal friction (19°) are at a 50° - 59° angle of foliation. Figure 3 presents a typical pier supported by shaft resistance 1n decomposed (D) and coreable (C) rock and by end bearing (B).

Jan 1, 1991

By C. W. MacLeod

LOCATION The Goudreau gold area in Ontario extends from a point a short distance south of the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway, at Lochalsh, in a south-westerly direction to the Magpie river. It crosses the Algoma Central & Hudson's Bay railway at Goudreau station, 177 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie. The area is roughly 25 miles in length by 6 miles in width. The potential gold formation is much more extensive but little prospecting has been done outside of the limits mentioned. The actual continuous area of Keewatin formation, in which gold has been found, is one of the largest in Ontario. ACCESSIBILITY Probably no mining area in a similar stage of development has had the excellent transportation facilities which Goudreau enjoys. This field is traversed in part by the main lines of the Canadian Pacific and Algoma Central railways. The Provincial Government has constructed 22 miles of road through the heart of the camp. Sixteen miles of this road is suitable for motor car traffic and several cars and trucks are in constant service.

Jan 1, 1926

By Michael Fellows

Epidote is a common hydrothermal alteration product in many copper deposits of the southwestern United States. In many of these deposits epidote, along with calcite and chlorite, generally characterize a distal or halo propylitic alteration assemblage, but the mineral can occur within the central potassic alteration zone as well. Epidote is also a common alteration mineral in deposits formed in calcareous host rocks -- the skarn or pyrometasomatic ore bodies. Within the past 15 years, studies of the major and trace element composition of other alteration phases, principally biotite, associated with base metal ore deposits have demonstrated that some hydrothermal alteration minerals are compositional distinct from their igneous or metamorphic counterparts: However, the use of major and minor element content to identify and zero in on mineral¬ized areas does not appear to be very promising. Little work has been published upon the geochemistry of epidote from this standpoint and the results of my work suggest that a similar conclusion can be applied to epidote. My work (Fellows, 1976) suggests that epidote minerals in hydrothermal alteration suites from porphyry copper deposits in the southwestern United States are generally iron-rich rather than aluminum-rich. As a group, these alteration minerals differ compositionally from epidotes of regional metamorphic terrains. I ascribe these differences to the variations in the oxidation character of the respective environments. However, it appears as though the use of major element compositional variations of epidotes as an exploration tool is severely limited. Epidote is a complex calcium-aluminum silicate. Replacement of aluminum by ferric iron establishes a solid solution series between

Jan 1, 1977

On the 17th November, 1964, a new No., 2 lead blast furnace was blown in at Port Pirie. The furnace departed from previous designs by incorporating a centrally located continuous tapper for both lead bullion and slag. The use of a central tapper permitted a simple and effective layout for the handling of both products. Considerable development was necessary to bring the furnace to its present level of efficiency. Units vital to the continu- ous operation were developed to allow quick replacement, thus ensuring high time efficiency under varied operating and maintenance conditions. The furnace was designed with the following objectives in mind, 1. increased crucible life, 2. elimination of oxygen for slag tapping, 3. higher temperature slag for fuming operations-, 4. less operator skill needed, 5. reduced tapping tool consumption, 6. elimination of settler skull and scrap lead, 7. better control of blast air distributi.nn. And

Jan 1, 1975

By J. Shibata

Separation of rare earth, especially Nd and Sm, was investigated by batch and column methods with a solvent impregnated resin. The solvent impregnated resin was prepared by impregnation of organo- phosphorous extractant whose trade name was PC-88A into a macro porous resin. The adsorption behavior of rare earth with a solvent impregnated resin in a batch method is the same as that with solvent extraction. In a column method to separate Nd and Sm, the effective separation in both adsorption and elution processes can be attained by setting suitable conditions, such as bed height, flow rate and concentration of eluent. Neodymium which is a lighter rare earth is separated from Sm an adsorption step, while Sm in which is a heavier rare earth is recovered in an elution step. From the integration of breakthrough and elution curves, yield of Nd and Sm is calculated in the condition of 100% purity. It was found from the results of life test of the resin that the solvent impregnated resin can be repeatedly utilized at least 20 times.

Jan 1, 1995

By A. F. Knoll, T. Clinton Taylor

Qualitatively, galena (native lead sulfide) reacts with aqueous solutions of the xanthates,1 and has its surface sufficiently altered so that there is a tendency for air bubbles to attach themselves to the mineral crystals where there was no such effect before the treatment. This property is utilized in froth flotation operations where the mineral sulfide particles are raised into the froth and the gangue whose surface is not altered remains behind. The results of a study of this reaction were reported2 recently and certain tentative suggestions about the interaction of galena and the alkali xanthates were offered. In this paper, there is set down the results of a detailed quantitative investigation of the ions involved in this interaction with a view to finding out more about the condition existing immediately at the surface of a crystal like a heavy metal sulfide after treatment with an organic reagent. Past experimental experience showed that finely ground galena shaken with aqueous potassium xanthate abstracts xanthate ion and at the same time sulfate ion, reducing ions of the type (SmOn)= where the ratio of m to n is less than 4:l (as in sulfate), sometimes hydroxyl ion, are thrown into solution.3 Ions Involved in Xanthate-galena Interaction The present quantitative study of the galena-aqueous potassium xanthate system shows that at the lower concentrations of potassium xanthate (less than about 25 mg. per liter) the amount of xanthate ion abstracted by the galena can be accounted for by the amount of reducing ions of the (SmOn)= type and sulfate ion thrown into solution. At these

Jan 1, 1935

Mineral resource and ore reserve classification defines the risk associated with quoted resource tonnes and grades, allowing the interested party to make a judgement as to the `worth' of the resource statement. The JORC Code and Guidelines (1992) are now well entrenched as the foundation upon which gold and base metal deposits in particular are publicly reported. There are three categories of resource, namely Measured, Indicated or Inferred reflecting decreasing levels of confidence. The ore reserve, that is the economically mineable part of the resource, is classified as Proven or Probable and can only be drawn from the Measured and Indicated resource categories. As summarised by Stephenson (1995), resource/reserve classification has been an issue ever since the earliest days of mining in Australasia where, like elsewhere in the world, the industry, for a long time, lacked firm reporting guidelines. Those currently adopted in Australasia as the minimum standards for companies reporting to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) have been developed and revised since 1972 by The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (The AusIMM), the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) and Australian Mining Industry Council (AMIC). Debate is now underway in terms of adopting an international code. The Code specifically does not attempt to regulate either the classification technique nor the method of estimation of the resource/ore reserve, but rather places the responsibility for this task on a `Competent Person' whose experience will decide the appropriate approach for a given commodity/orebody. The Competent Person must be a Corporate member of either The AusIMM or AIG with five years experience `relevant to the style of mineralisation' under consideration.

Jan 1, 1996

By Russell A. Schreiner

In conjunction with the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Mines conducted a mineral investigation in 1981 and 1982 of the Santa Rosa Mountains Wilderness Study Area (WSA), Riverside County, California. The Bureau of Mines is responsible for the mineral survey of mines, prospects, and mineralized areas in and near the WSA. A literature search was completed to obtain information concerning mineral occurrences and mining activity that relate to the WSA. A field investigation inside, and up to 1 mi outside, the boundary of the WSA, disclosed one prospect. This prospect was surveyed by compass and tape, and five samples were taken to determine the representative mineral content. No attempt was made to expose concealed mineralization or to re-open caved workings. All five samples were analyzed by fire assay for gold and silver and by colorimetric methods for tungsten. Two of the samples were analyzed by semi quantitative spectrographic methods to determine if any unsuspected elements were present. All analyses are furnished in this report except for the semi-quantitative spectrograhic analyses. Complete sample analyses are available for public inspection at the Bureau of Mines, Intermountain Field Operations Center, Building 20, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225.

Jan 1, 1983

By D. D. Pollock

The resistivity, temperature coefficient of resistance, and absolute thermoelectric properties of some binary terminal solid solutions of silver were determined. Equations are given which permit the calculation of these properties. CONSIDERABLE work has been done on the constitution and electrical conductivity of binary alloys of silver.1-l2 Some of these alloy studies are apparently complicated by doubtful chemical analyses. In some cases the limits of solid solubility are questionable. Those references which present electrical properties of binary silver alloys usually give just one particular set of characteristics such as conductivity (or resistivity). As a means of checking and extending this earlier work, an investigation was undertaken to describe and calculate the resistivity, temperature coefficient of resistance, and thermoelectric power of binary terminal solid solutions of silver. PREPARATION OF ALLOYS All of the alloys were made with silver containing less than 0.014 pet (by weight) of impurities. These materials were carefully weighed out into 225-g heats and melted in a high-frequency induction furnace. The indium, tin, and antimony systems were melted in Al2O3 crucibles, under a boric anhydride cover, and poured into split graphite finger molds. The aluminum, germanium, arsenic, lead, and bismuth alloys were melted in machined graphite crucibles, and they were also covered with boric anhydride and poured into split graphite finger molds. The alloys containing magnesium and manganese

Jan 1, 1964

By G. R. Palmer

Preliminary studies by the Bureau of Mines were conducted to determine the feasibility of a multiple-compartment, ion-exchange (MCIX) column simulator for examining the effect of multiple-orifice plates in the column. A rectangular, five-orifice, three-compartment, MCIX simulator with a cross-sectional plate area of 0.66 ft2 was used for the investigation. Orifices with open areas of 1, 3, and 5 percent were used with various operating conditions. The study was separated into three separate sections: (1) solution flow effect, (2) fluidization effect, and (3) resin transfer effect. The solution flow and fluidization studies showed that for solution flow rates of about 3 gpm/ft2, a I-percent open area plate functioned best, while at solution flow rates of 9 and 15 gpm/ft2, the best open areas were 3 and 5 percent, respectively.

Jan 1, 1981

By Harry M. Mikami

Refractories are heat-resistant, generally nonmetallic materials used as the linings of furnaces or high temperature vessels in the steel, iron, nonferrous metals, glass, cement, lime, ceramic, chemical, petroleum, paper, and power and heat generation industries. Refractories must have structural strength at high temperatures but also, in many applications, must simultaneously resist chemical-physical corrosion-erosion from stags, metals, granular solids, or gases. Among the major uses are the pyrometallurgical processes for producing iron, steel, copper, aluminum, nickel, lead, zinc, etc. Rotary cement kilns, glass tanks, refineries, utility boilers, chemical and ceramic (including refractories) plants, and a myriad of other smaller scale users employ refractories in the high temperature parts of their operations. Thermal, chemical, and structural conditions under which refractories are used differ widely so there is a great variety of refractories to fill the various needs. Two major classifications are the "basic" and "acid" types. Basic refractories include magnesia and chromite, singly and in combinations, dolomite, and forsterite (olivine). The acid category includes aluminosilicates, alumina, and silica. There are a number of other specialized types such as carbon, graphite, silicon carbide, zircon, and zirconia that have important applications but are used in much smaller amounts than the major categories. Physically, refractories can be divided into bricks and shaped products on the one hand and unshaped or monolithic products (also termed specialties) on the other. There are many further subclassifications and divisions, a discussion of which is beyond the scope of this chapter; see Refs. 2 and 9. Raw materials for the principal basic refractories are magnesia and chrome ore. Magnesia, generally termed magnesite or periclase, is obtained mainly from seawater or saline brines extraction, but substantial amounts are produced from mined magnesite (MgCO3). Dolomite (CaCO3•MgCO3), another important basic refractory, is obtained entirely from mined sources. Acid refractory raw materials are: fire clays, flint clays, kaolin, and other natural clay minerals; aluminosilicate minerals such as kyanite, andalusite, sillimanite, pyrophyllite, bauxitic clays; calcined refractory grade bauxite, alumina from the Bayer process for the alumina group; and quartzitic rocks for silica refractories. The total value of all refractories shipped in the United States in 1974 was $989 million, a record to that date. Of this amount, about 73% represents bricks and shaped products and 27% is in nonshaped or monolithic products which comprise mortars, cements, castables, plastics, and ramming and gunning mixes. Fig. 15.4E.1 shows the rising value of all U.S. refractory shipments in the period 1948-1974. Values of brick and shapes paralleled

Jan 1, 1976