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By N. H. Jensen

SINCE the sixties, Utah has been one of the leading metal mining states of the Union. During the last fifteen years its mines have supported the largest smelting center in the world. Its rank as a metal producing state is reflected by its 1924 production which had a value in excess of $65,000,000 making it the leading silver producing state, third in both copper and lead and sixth in gold production. During the past year, metallurgical developments for the recovery of zinc contained in lead ores has made rapid progress so that the future zinc output will be of substantial importance. The largest silver mines of the nation and the world's largest open cut copper mine are within its borders. Settlement of Utah started in 1847, with the advent of the "Mormons," and originally the area of the state was much greater than now. The first metal mining

Jan 1, 1925

By H. W. Smith

This paper presents a review of developments to date in computer control practice, based in large part on Canadian experience. The basic problem examined is that of stabilizing control; matters considered are control strategies, hardware and software aspects of system implementation, reliability, human factors, and economic results.

Jan 1, 1976

By James Magee

THERE is nothing new about drag-line dredging for placer gold. The use of the separate unit for excavating preceded the large barge with excavator mounted upon it, which has reached a high state of perfection through use in every part of the world. But at present there is a vogue for a small, inexpensive plant combining a drag-line excavator on cater-pillar mounting and a gravel-washing plant on a floating barge. The most efficient ones use a bucket of 1 to 2 yd. capacity with boom from 40 to 70 ft. long. The barge varies from 20 by 30 ft. to 36 by 48, and carries the trommel screen, pump, riffle sluices and power engine.

Jan 1, 1936

By L. E. Wemple

Previous to 1915, zinc refining had not become a general practice among the zinc smelters in the United States. Such refining as had been carried on was confined chiefly to remelting very high-leaded zinc, such as third-draw metal from the retort furnaces, and slab dross, and hard spelter from galvanizing pots. In this remelting operation, the lead and iron were settled out and the refined spelter obtained graded fifth class, ie., Prime Western. Owing to the presence of lead in most zinc ores, the bulk of the spelter produced by direct smelting is of this Prime Western grade. Careful selection of ores of low lead content gave purer grades of spelter, z.e., Brass Special and Intermediate; and smelters which could secure ores carrying practically no lead produced high-grade spelter. Thus, in general, the grade of spelter produced by any smelter was predetermined by the purity of the ore it could obtain. The needs of the warring nations of Europe for enormous quantities of cartridge and other high-grade brass resulted in such a demand for the purer grades of spelter that the available supply of lead-free and low-lead ores could not produce the quantity required. Prime Western grades went begging, so to speak, while high grades sold at times from 5 to 15 c. per pound over the Prime Western market. The great demand, coupled with the wide market margin, which permitted the inherent costs and losses, resulted in the conversion of the lower grades into higher grades by processes of refining. These conditions also accentuated the development and size of the electrolytic plants, which were being worked out at the time this increased demand for pure grade of metal occurred. The electrolytic process, where available, produces a higher grade of spelter from impure ores than does the fire process; a large portion of those impurities in the ore, which by the distillation process would be carried into the spelter, are removed in the leaching of the ores and the purification of the solutions. The refining process, adopted at a number of smelters for the purpose of converting low-grade spelter into grades suitable for bras4 was that of redistillation.

Jan 1, 1918

By Charles Reed

WITH the increasing importance of clay in drilling operations which demand more precise and exacting control over its behavior, there has come the realization that most of our present methods of control over many of its important properties still represent more of an art than a science. Such a situation with respect to a material of such industrial significance is unfortunate, and naturally many investigations have been conducted to improve our knowledge. In general, these investigations have revealed the complex nature of clay behavior and while sometimes they may not have seemed to contribute directly to a solution of the field operator's problems they have been of inestimable importance in bringing to light the broad fundamental scientific principles upon which must be based any effective working theory correlating the known facts of clay behavior and predicting profitable new lines of attack for its improvement.

Jan 1, 1938

By W. H. Triplett

THE purpose of this paper is to record a few field observations and accumulated office data concerning outcrops, relation of ore occurrences to intrusive and host rock, and mineral zoning. Reasons for some of the phenomena are not clear to the author so the facts are given with the hope that other investigators may be able to furnish the explanations. The Avalos unit of the Compania Minera de Penoles, S. A., operates the Alicante, Bonanza, Providencia, Albarradon, San Eligio, Nazareno, Leona, Salaverna, and Santiago mines situated between Avalos railroad station and Concepcion del Oro on the Coahuila and Zacatecas railroad in the State of Zacatecas, Mexico. Some of these mines are within Penoles property while others are on mining claims leased from the Compania Nazareno, y Catasillas, S. A., Mazapil Copper Co., and the American Smelting and Refining Co. The main office and camp are at Providencia, about 170 km southwest of Monterrey, N. L., so the silver-lead-zinc mines of the district are usually referred to as the Providencia mines. The Aranzazu, Catarroyo, and Cabrestante copper-gold. mines are situated a few kilometers to the southeast on the same mountain range near Concepcion del Oro, the name by which the camp is known. It is operated by the Mazapil Copper Co. The main theme in the following pages is a description of the silver-lead-zinc ore occurrences of the district. Rock Formations Sedimentary Rocks: Many competent geologists have contributed generously to an ample fund of information concerning the sedimentary columns of northern Mexico. Among them are Carlos Burckhardt, E. Böse, L. B. Kellum, .and R. W. Imlay. Carlos Burckhardt who covered a number of extensive areas in many parts of the Mexican Republic, devoted years to mapping the geology of the Caja, Zuloaga, and Santa Rosa mountain ranges around Mazapil, Concepcion del Oro, and San Pedro de Ocampo, Zacatecas. He did most of the original mapping which has been used as a basis and amplified by others. C. E. Burbridge and, more recently, John

Jan 1, 1952

By Edward H. Robie

HOW have recent events affected the general trend in world mineral production? What effect has the World War, with its resultant boom and depression, had on the long-term trend of output? Have all of the principal metals and fuels been similarly affected, or have some boomed or slumped much more than others? The trend of world production of coal, iron, the principal nonferrous metals, and petroleum is shown in the accompanying chart, covering the period from 1882 to 1931 inclusive-the last fifty years. The curves are plotted logarithmically to show the comparative trends. In the lower left-hand corner of the chart is a slope diagram to aid in visually evaluating. the average yearly rate of increase in production; from this one can easily see, for example, that the petroleum production curve indicates an average annual increase of around 8 per cent, and that up to the period of the World War the average annual increase in copper production was about 6 per cent.

Jan 1, 1932

The classification here used is one of convenience only; it is not intended to include all known types of ore deposits. The characteristic features of the several well-marked types of primary mineralizations are described without reference to the ultimate source of their metals. The minerals of many deposits of obscure origin were probably introduced through fissures that are now healed, or are due to the migration of metals from such deposits. [ ] It is not within the scope of this book to enter into a general discussion of the genesis of ore deposits but, in view of the progress being made in our comprehension of the conditions under which ore deposits were formed, mention should be made of recent work. J. E. Spurr's two volumes, "The Ore Magmas," are recommended as crystallizing the views of those who are inclined to ascribe the origin of most ore deposits to a differential precipitation from magmatic rock masses and to the migration and precipitation of the viscous, liquid or gaseous exhalations from those masses. He has especially emphasized the role

Jan 1, 1932

By R. C. FLEMING

MINING rock asphalt for use as a paving material is an industry which has grown with the spread of the good roads movement. "Mineral Industry During 1930" reports asphaltic pavements constructed, including maintenance and repair but excluding pavement constructed with road-oil, cut-back or emulsified asphalt, as grown from 23 million square yards in 1911 to a high of 144 million in 1927. In 1930 the same source reports 106 million square yards of such paving laid and, in that year, 664,871 tons of native rock asphalt were so utilized. Many states contain rock asphalt deposits of greater or less importance but in only a few places are the de¬posits being mined commercially. In the year cited Ken¬tucky produced 305,024 tons of bituminous sandstone, Texas 270,138 tons, mostly bituminous limestone, while Alabama, Oklahoma, California and Utah produced 89,709 tons of bituminous rock for road construction. In addition Utah produced 37,906 tons of the purer asphaltic products, gilsonite, wurtzilite and ozokerite, for other uses. Speaking generally, the rock asphalt is a sandstone or limestone naturally impregnated with asphalt to an extent that makes it an ideal road surfacing material without mixing or treatment other than crushing. The asphalt content of the commercial product runs 8 to 12 per cent.

Jan 1, 1933

By Robert B. Coleman

The recent surge in demand for uranium in the US, accompanied by a significant increase in price, has stimulated the search for and development of lower grade ore bodies. At the mill, this translates into much larger throughputs and-compounded by many recently enacted environmental considerations-has made the cost of milling a critical factor in today's uranium production economics. The three conventional milling methods employed in the extraction of uranium ores are reviewed in the following sections.

Jan 10, 1978

By Vito J. Colangelo

The primary object of this study was to determine the effect of ferrite and its orientation upon the mechanical properties of a precipitation -hardening stainless steel with particular attention to the short-transverse properties. The investigation consisted of Jour major parts : the preliminary investigation of billet properties, the effect of forging reduction and ferrite content upon mechanical properties, the effect of notch orientation upon impact strength, and the relationship of heat composition to ferrite content. Low ductility and impact strength in the short transverse direction were found to he associated with the orientation and shape of- the ferrite plates. It was also determined that impact strength varied with notch orientation. The test values obtained with the notch perpendicular to the plane of the ferrite plate were lower than those obtained in the notch-parallel condition. The over-all investigation showed that high ferrite contents in general had a deleterious effect upon mechanical properties and that the ferrite content could he minimized by exercising rigorous control of the heat composition. A careful balance of elements, nitrogen in particular, must he maintained in order to reduce the formation of ferrite. THE precipitation-hardening stainless steels were developed to fulfill a need for high-strength corrosion-resistant alloys. In the annealed condition they are soft and ductile and possess many of the desirable characteristics of the austenitic stainless steels. In the hardened condition, the alloys exhibit the high strength and hardness of the martensitic stainless steels. The alloy under consideration in this investigation has a nominal composition as follows: C Mn Si Cr Ni Mo N 0.13 0.95 0.25 15.50 4.30 2.75 0.10 The hardening mechanism is identical to that of other hardenable steels in that it depends upon the transformation of austenite to martensite. This alloy because of its annealed structure and its ability to be hardened combines the desirable forming and corrosion properties of the austenitic grades with the high hardness and strength levels attainable with the hardenable grades. The reason for this apparent duplicity of proper- ties can be explained by considering a basic metallurgical difference between the hardenable stainless steels and those of the austenitic group. Both types are austenitic at 1800°F but, while the martensitic grades transform to martensite upon rapid cooling to room temperature, the austenitic grades remain austenitic even when cooled to temperatures below room temperature. The major difference then is in the degree of austenite stability. This stability can quantitatively be described by the Ms temperature. The Ms is defined as that temperature at which austenite begins to transform to martensite. The austenitic grades for example may be cooled to -300°F without producing significant quantities of martensite. The hardenable stainless steels on the other hand have an Ms temperature in the vicinity of 400" to 700°F. In cooling to room temperature, these alloys traverse the entire Ms-Mf range and show almost complete transformation to martensite. The semiaustenitic stainless steel, however, occupies an intermediate position with respect to its austenite stability. The analysis is so balanced that the Ills temperature lies at or slightly above room temperature. The resulting alloy retains much of its austenite at room temperature and yet responds to hardening heat treatments. Achieving this delicate balance of elements is therefore of great importance. Slight imbalances of the equivalent Cr-Ni ratios frequently result in the presence of 6 ferrite. It is the effects of this ferrit with which we are concerned, more specifically the effect of the quantity and ferrite orientation upon mechanical properties, particularly ductility. PROCEDURE A) Preliminary Investigation of Billet and Forging Properties. In order to determine the effect of ferrite on billet properties, billet stock from three heats with various ferrite contents was utilized. Tensile specimens were obtained in the transverse and longitudinal directions from this material and heat-treated as shown in Tables I and 11. Forgings were made from these same heats, the purpose being to determine what effect, if any, the ferrite might have upon the mechanical properties. These forgings were made in such a manner as to elongate the ferrite in the longitudinal and transverse directions. The method of forging was as follows. A section was cut from a 6-in.-sq billet of Heat A and flat-forged to 1-1/2 in. thick. Working was done from one direction only with no edging passes as shown

Jan 1, 1965

By L. S. Reid

THE study of the flow of oil and gas mixtures through oil-bearing formations has received special attention from the petroleum industry within the past few years, and has resulted in a series of research projects based upon various phases of the flow of heterogeneous fluids through porous media. Obviously, the low cost of producing oil during the flowing life of a well makes it desirable to obtain production by natural flow as long as possible and to effect a maximum recovery of oil and gas by the utilization of reservoir energy through efficient methods based upon a thorough knowledge of reservoir characteristics. Despite the extensive research that has been carried out, there is little information available on the behavior of oil and gas mixtures flowing through reservoir formations. This makes it impossible to predetermine the optimum operating condi-tions for flowing wells. A differential pressure must exist in the reservoir in order to induce flow toward the well. It is a well established fact that with homogeneous fluids the relation of pressure drop to linear distance traveled is a straight-line function as long as the flow is viscous. However, in regard to gas-saturated oils, a number of investigators1,3,4 have reported that the flow characteristics are materially altered as some of the lighter hydrocarbons are liberated from the oil to form gas while the fluid passes through the reservoir. Most of the work done has been concerned primarily with steady-state flow of liquid-gas mixtures. Cloud1 has studied the effects of saturating crude petroleum oils with various gases, together with the resultant pressure gradients under steady flow conditions, noting that unsaturated oils flowed faster and yet maintained lower pressure gradients than saturated oils.

Jan 1, 1938

By G. A. Moore, D. W. Williams, C. E. Sims

During the past several years the steel casting industry has made studies of heavy castings in which the test bar has been taken from heavy sections rather than from attached or separately cast coupons. It has been noted that the ductility properties of these heavy sections are often lower than those normally expected. Such lowered ductility is usually accompanied by a spotty test bar fracture and the ductility values often can be greatly improved if a low-temperature aging treatment is given to the casting. A loss of ductility of this type is considered "abnormal," since it is not accompanied by an increase of tensile strength or hardness, and "temporary" when the ductility can be restored by aging, The cure of such an abnormal condition represents a real improvement in the quality of the steel. Some hundreds of previous investigations, largely qualitative in nature, have established beyond reasonable doubt that hydrogen is normally present in newly manufactured steel and that this gas, in small amounts, can cause a temporary ab- normal loss of ductility. The commonly observed association of high gas content and low ductility has given strong evidence for the presumption that hydrogen, possibly assisted by other gases, is the primary cause of the low ductility observed. Accordingly, the Steel Founders' Society of America has, since Nov. I, 1944, sponsored investigations at Battelle Memorial Institute whose primary objective is to obtain quantitative information on the relation of the amount of hydrogen and nitrogen in steel, together with associated methods of steelmaking and treatment, to low-ductility effects and porosity. In order that these investigations might proceed on a quantitative basis, hydrogen analyses of a precision considerably higher than any previously reported in the literature were necessary. 'The method chosen was selected entirely on the basis that it had the highest probability of freedom from uncontrollable errors and will be described in detail in another publication.' Briefly, the method used consisted of the hot extraction of solid pieces of steel weighing from 45 to 50 g in a highly evacuated quartz tube maintained at 1050°C (1925°F) for a period of approximately 40 hr. The greatest precautions were taken to eliminate blanks and insure a sound gas-collection system. vacuum and temperature conditions were maintained automatically. Mercury-filled risers were used for the introduction of samples in order that the System could be degassed thoroughly in

Jan 1, 1949

By C. E. Sims, G. A. Moore, D. W. Williams

During the past several years the steel casting industry has made studies of heavy castings in which the test bar has been taken from heavy sections rather than from attached or separately cast coupons. It has been noted that the ductility properties of these heavy sections are often lower than those normally expected. Such lowered ductility is usually accompanied by a spotty test bar fracture and the ductility values often can be greatly improved if a low-temperature aging treatment is given to the casting. A loss of ductility of this type is considered "abnormal," since it is not accompanied by an increase of tensile strength or hardness, and "temporary" when the ductility can be restored by aging, The cure of such an abnormal condition represents a real improvement in the quality of the steel. Some hundreds of previous investigations, largely qualitative in nature, have established beyond reasonable doubt that hydrogen is normally present in newly manufactured steel and that this gas, in small amounts, can cause a temporary ab- normal loss of ductility. The commonly observed association of high gas content and low ductility has given strong evidence for the presumption that hydrogen, possibly assisted by other gases, is the primary cause of the low ductility observed. Accordingly, the Steel Founders' Society of America has, since Nov. I, 1944, sponsored investigations at Battelle Memorial Institute whose primary objective is to obtain quantitative information on the relation of the amount of hydrogen and nitrogen in steel, together with associated methods of steelmaking and treatment, to low-ductility effects and porosity. In order that these investigations might proceed on a quantitative basis, hydrogen analyses of a precision considerably higher than any previously reported in the literature were necessary. 'The method chosen was selected entirely on the basis that it had the highest probability of freedom from uncontrollable errors and will be described in detail in another publication.' Briefly, the method used consisted of the hot extraction of solid pieces of steel weighing from 45 to 50 g in a highly evacuated quartz tube maintained at 1050°C (1925°F) for a period of approximately 40 hr. The greatest precautions were taken to eliminate blanks and insure a sound gas-collection system. vacuum and temperature conditions were maintained automatically. Mercury-filled risers were used for the introduction of samples in order that the System could be degassed thoroughly in

Jan 1, 1949

Jan 1, 1918

By H. S. Martin

Although it was known some years ago at the Utah Copper Co. mills that fine grinding improved flotation recoveries, no accurate data were available until recently as to just how far the grinding could be carried economically. In 1923 the ultimate degree of fineness for flotation feed was supposed to be about 10 per cent. on 65 mesh, with approximately 55 per cent. through 200 mesh, which meant that most of the mineral would pass 100 mesh. At this time Garfield and Wilfley tables were used ahead of flotation and a good deal of the coarse mineral removed prior to the ball mill regrind. Shortly afterwards, mill-scale tests developed the fact that on a feed containing not over 10 per cent. +65-mesh material flotation alone would give a copper recovery equal to that obtained by the combination of tables and flotation, but that on much coarser feed the recovery with flotation alone was lowered. This was at a time when all the sulfide minerals were floated if possible, so that the only requisite was to grind fine enough to free the mineral from gangue. Earliest Use of Microscopic Examination of Tailings As early as 1921, the writer had attempted to determine by chemical analysis the relative proportions of copper minerals in tailings from an ore that made extremely poor flotation results. Chemical analysis was not satisfactory or conclusive, and samples of these tailings were sent to the U. S. Bureau of Mines Station at the University of Utah for microscopic examination. The question at that time was to determine, if possible, which copper minerals had been lost and why, but R. E. Head, in his report, revealed other interesting data. He said in part: Briefly stated, the mineral partieles or grains may be classified into scparate groups as follows: 1. Free grains of pyrite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite and bornite, respectively, which contain 110 other included sulfides; 2. Grains in which all three of the copper sulfides are representel (the core may be of chalcopyrite, partially altered to boruite, these two minerals being cntirely surrounded by a shell of chalcocite); 3. Grains composed of equal amounts of bornite and chalcocite or chalcopyrite and chalcocite. The grains of free mineral particles are perhaps the most numerous, taking the ore as a whole, but it is noticeable that of the grains of combined or associated sulfides

Jan 1, 1930

By M. R. Goldick

THE Roan Antelope concentrator was originally designed with a nominal milling capacity of 6000 tons of copper ore per day but this was subsequently considerably exceeded. In broad outline the plant consisted of two No. 30 McCully gyratory crushers for coarse crushing, five 5 1/2-ft Standard Symons crushers in open circuit for secondary crushing, ten No. 98 Marcy ball mills arranged in five sections, each two-mill section with primary and secondary Dorr classifiers for two-stage grinding. One stage of flotation roughing was followed by two stages of cleaning, all in airlift type pneumatic flotation machines, with the final concentrates filtered on Oliver drum filters. Tailing was thickened in a 250-ft Dorr traction type thickener before pumping to the tailing dam. Concentrating operations commenced in June 1931, on the completion of the first two ball-milling sections and output was increased during the next few months as the remaining sections were finished. From the start, very few technical difficulties were experienced but a number of evolutionary changes have been made as a result of operating experience and the availability of improved equipment. These have resulted in plant and ore-flow alterations although the general scheme of ore treatment remains substantially as before. The main changes to date were the installation of a new crushing plant at Storke shaft, some 7000 ft west of the original Beatty shaft; the completion of a two-stage secondary crushing plant; an increase of 20 pct in ball-milling capacity; a change-over from pneumatic to a mechanical type of flotation machine for flotation roughing; the reduction of flotation cleaning from two stages to one stage. ORE TREATED Typically the ore treated consists of metamorphosed shales and sandstones with shales as the principal mineral-bearing rock carrying chalcocite, bornite and chalcopyrite as the main copper minerals. Chalcocite predominated in the original eastern end of the ore body but there is a pronounced trend to an increased proportion of the copper-iron sulphides as mining proceeds westward. Although the ore can be described as soft, this advantage is offset by the extremely fine dissemination of the copper minerals which calls for a high degree of comminution of the ore (90 pct minus-200 mesh Tyler standard) to give a reasonably satisfactory separation of mineral from gangue. Latterly, there has been a tendency for the ore to become harder as shown by a reduction in the ball-milling rate from a previous figure of over goo tons per ball-mill day to the present output of some 800 tons. Chalcopyrite is not so finely disseminated and has also proved more amenable to flotation than chalcocite. Nonsulphide minerals are mainly the so-called oxides such as malachite, cuprite and melaconite with some chrysocolla and

Jan 1, 1947

By A. B. Kinzel, Walter Crafts

A PRevioUs study1 of the relations of impact strength to inclusions showed that the dynamic strength of steel is lowered by the presence of visible counted inclusions, but that other factors comprised in the term "body" have a marked influence. The previous work was carried out on selected steels from a single source, so that the body factor was purposely minimized, but even under these conditions it was found that inclusion counting or the use of the commercial inclusion rating is not satisfactory. The tensile-impact test, however, was indicated as a satisfactory measure of dynamic strength. It was further suggested that the tensile-impact test should be so standardized as to be suitable for use in specifications, and that the hardness factor should be worked out over a sufficient range to admit ready commercial use of the tensile-impact test. In accordance with these suggestions, and in view of the fact that the steels reported in the previous paper were selected and treated so as to have a minimum variation in body, hardness and structure, further work has been performed on a variety of steels which are not limited by these conditions. The word "body" is used here for want of a better term. It is simply a convenient expression which comprises the effect, of the various unknown factors that modify the dynamic strength of the steel. Thus at our present state of knowledge, the writers have chosen to consider hardness, structure and counted inclusion content as factors not comprised in the term "body," and such factors as raw materials, process of melting, fabricating, etc., as comprised in the term "body." Numerous grades of steels made in several ways have been taken from different sources and have been heat-treated to varying hardness by normalizing and by quenching and drawing. The results, therefore, may be considered to be generally applicable to current engineering steels. A certain limitation with respect to the hardness at which steel should be tested still seems necessary. The upper limit of this hardness range has

Jan 1, 1931

By William G. Brissenden

Gaspe Copper Mines Ltd., a subsidiary of Noranda Mines Ltd., operates a completely integrated copper mining, milling and smelting plant at Murdochville, on the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec. Operating six days a week, the mine produces 8000 tpd of ore. The mill runs continuously and capacity is rated at 6500 tpd of ore. Treating Gaspe concentrate output plus a certain amount of custom concentrate, the smelter produces between 3700 and 4000 tons of copper anodes per month.

Jan 9, 1959

By Robert Glass Cleland

THE DEATH of William E. Dodge occurred at a time when, all unwittingly, the company in which he had so long been the dominant factor was about to break with its old practices, its old traditions, its old interests, and transfer its major activities three fourths of the way across the continent and engage in an enterprise that differed almost as much from the original Phelps Dodge undertakings as the rough, arid mountains of the new region differed from the green hills and valleys of New England. To understand the effect of this transformation upon the fortunes of Phelps Dodge, one must change the setting of the present narrative from the familiar locale of the Atlantic seaboard to the land of "distance, silence, and solitude," that men called Arizona. In 1880 that Territory was one of the last frontiers of the Old West. To the Spaniards it had been a land of mystery and fable, the limit of the King's settlements, the far edge of the rim of Christendom. Through it Coronado; in a vain effort to find the fabulous Cities of Cibola, had led "the most brilliant company ever assembled in the Indies to go in search of new lands." Below its southern border, Father Kino, the "steel-thewed" Jesuit described by his

Jan 1, 1952