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By Paul M. Tyler

MINOR industrial minerals included in this chapter are: the alum minerals, bromine, calcium chloride, epsomite and other natural magnesium salts, iodine, meerschaum, quartz, industrial crystals other than quartz (Iceland spar, tourmaline, fluorite, selenite, mica), and nonfuel gases (air, helium, carbon dioxide). ALUM MINERALS The alums comprise a series of double sulphates (or selenates) isomorphous with potash alum, which, according to a ruling of the Pennsylvania courts, is the only product commercially described simply as "alum." Common alum occurs in nature as kalinite (K2SO4- A12 (SO4) 324H2O). The mineral mendozite (Na2S04) 3.A12 (SO4)3- 24H2O) is soda alum; tschennigite (NH4)2SO4.Al2 (SO4)3.24H2O) is ammonium alum; and there are about a dozen other native alums and related double sulphates. Alunite (alumstone or alum rock) has the formula Al2(SO4) 3.K2S04.4A1 (OH)3 and alunogen, Al2(So4) 3.18H20. Saline residues, found wherever natural water is evaporated, may contain sulphate of alumina, which for most uses is the essential ingredient of alum. Mineral wells and springs that emerge from beds of pyritiferous shale are typically astringent and at times form local deposits of alum, generally as incrustations. Acid waters acting upon aluminous rocks may form sulphates of alumina. The alums of commerce, as well as aluminum sulphate (concentrated alum), are produced principally by treating bauxite with acid, but they have been made also on a substantial scale from clay, cryolite, pyritic slates, schists, lignites, alunite, and leucite. Alum shale-chiefly clay, pyrite, and (usually) carbonaceous matter-was extensively used in England as a source of alum for more than two centuries. In France, pyritic lignites mixed with sand and clay were burned in heaps to red ash, the leach Liquors from which, after treatment with ammonia, yielded alum and copperas. Processes have been developed for making alum or aluminum sulphate from such diverse materials as feldspar, aluminous phosphate minerals, greensand, and mixtures of mica and

Jan 1, 1949

By R. H. Lynn, T. C. Craig

During the year 1933, in the Texas Panhandle, 113 oil wells were completed, adding 33,337 bbl. to the daily potential of the field. The field potential on Jan. 1, 1933, as determined by the Texas Railroad Commission, was 149,260 bbl., with a daily allowable production of 41,000 bbl. The potential was raised gradually, until on July 16, 1933, it reached 155,344 bbl. with a daily allowable of 55,000 bbl. This potential and allowable was maintained over a period from July 16, 1933, to Sept. 8, 1933, when the potential was reduced to 136,893, with a daily allowable of 43,727 bbl. Since Sept. 8, 1933, there has been a gradual increase, until on Jan. 1, 1934, the field potential reached 159,740 bbl. with a daily allowable of 42,000 bbl. Of this amount 26,429 bbl. arc "marginal oil" and 2682 bbl. are exempt on account of water. Deepening of Wells During the year 64 wells were deepened, increasing their total oil production 9631 bbl. per day. Of this amount the Gray County granite wash contributed 9256 bbl. from 57 wells. It has been found in many places that the granite wash carries an additional oil pay from 50 to 75 ft. below sea level. The majority of the wells that were .drilled during the early development in Gray County encountered their oil above sea level. When the wells producing from the upper horizon have become unprofit-

Jan 1, 1934

By Walter R. Hibbard

THE increased strength of a polycrystal-line metallic aggregate compared with that of its individual crystals generally has been associated with complex stress distributions at the grain boundaries resulting from atomic irregularity between grains. This disregistry, together with the necessity for adjacent crystals to deform 'compatibly regardless of the single crystal crystallographic strain mechanism, complicates this mechanism so as to increase the metal's resistance to deformation. Although Taylor1 has shown from purely mechanical considerations the requirement for at least five active slip systems to absorb the complexities during the homogeneous deformation of polycrystalline face-centered cubic metals, experimental studies by Barrett and Levenson2 indicate that this is feasible only in a qualitative sense because of deviations from homogeneous deformation. Seitz and Read in their review3 state: "Unfortunately . . . present knowledge of the grain boundary influence is not sufficient to complement the work in single crystals and provide us with a good foundation for treating polycrystals." The purpose of this investigation was to attempt to clarify the gap between single crystals and crystalline aggregates by an analysis of the effects of deformational stresses. Some of the results were described by C. H. Mathewson in his 1943 Campbell Memorial Lecture.21 PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS Since the performance of single crystals deformed under pure stresses has been relatively thoroughly investigated, the most significant researches are concerned primarily with deviations from single crystal behavior of large grained specimens. Qualitative grain boundary effects involving the observed amount of slip were reported by Carpenter and Elam5 in 1921. Individual crystals in a two or three grained aluminum specimen deformed by tension acted in the normal manner described by Taylor and Elam4 except for marked modifications at the grain boundaries. There the power to withstand deformation was considerably increased, leaving a ridge on the specimen where decreased slip occurred, often noticeable 34 in: from the boundary. Adcock,6 Yamaguchi,7 Seumel,8 Hirst9 and others have also reported this phenomenon as a qualitative trend. Yet attempts by O'Neill10 and Ljunggren11 to measure a difference in hardness at grain boundaries in undeformed specimens were unsuccessful. Miller12 measured quantitatively the reduction in slip near the boundary between the single crystal and polycrystalline areas of zinc specimens. These effects consisted of two parts: I. Next to the polycrystalline interface the distribution of stresses was so altered

Jan 1, 1948

By C. D. Rubert, W. J. Parton

A flotation plant was placed in operation in 1945 at the Tamaqua colliery of the Lehigh Navigation Coal Co. Inc., to recover fine anthracite which is discharged from the cleaning plant with the washery water.‡ In addition to the recovery plant, facilities were provided for the complete clarification of the washery water, recirculation of this clarified water for breaker use, and disposal of the refuse solids in a waste impounding dam. Fig I shows a view of the settling tanks and the flotation plant. Flow Diagram The flow diagram for the complete recovery project is given in Fig 2. All the waste water from the cleaning plant is collected in a sump A outside the breaker structure, from which a 7000 gpm pump B delivers it through a 16 in. line to a 75-ft diam hydroseparator C. The hydroseparator, acting as a classifier, is set to give a separation at approximately 200-mesh. The minus 200-mesh overflow is discharged by gravity into the 180-ft thickener D for final settling of the solids. The classifier underflow sludge is pumped to the flotation plant by a 6-in. quadruplex diaphragm pump E. A 10-ft diam hydroseparator F is used to make a second classification on the sludge solids at approximately 28-mesh. The underflow from this classifier containing the coarse particles is elevated by a 6-in. diaphragm pump G and is discharged on two 4- by 6-ft vibrating screens II. These screens are dressed with approximately 28-mesh cloth. Screen oversize product flows directly to the centrifuge that dewaters the cleaned froth. The screen underflow and the overflow from the 10-ft classifier flow to the flotation circuit. The flotation feed is conditioned in a 12 by 12-ft agitator tank J at a pulp density of I:2.33 (30 pct solids). Reagents are fed to the circuit by reagent feeder I. The conditioned pulp is then diluted to a pulp density of approximately I: 5 (18 pct solids) and is fed to two banks of four 100-cu ft froth flotation cells K for primary coal recovery and cleaning. Additional reagents from reagent distributor L are added to the feed weir-box of Nos. 2, 3, and 4 cells of each bank of flotation machines. Clean coal removed from these cells flows directly to the clean-coal sump. Dilute tailings from the primary cells is re-thickened in a 30-ft diam thickener M and is then retreated in a scavenger circuit for final recovery of coal. The scavenger circuit consists of a 6- by 6-ft agitator tank N and two banks of four 24-cu ft froth flotation cells 0. Coal froth from these cells flows to the dewatering equipment and the tailings flows to a vertical refuse pump which delivers it to the 180-ft diam waste thickener D. Dewatering of the coal products is accomplished in a 54- by 72-in Bird centrifugal filter P. The cake product is dropped onto a conveyor and is loaded

Jan 1, 1949

Escalating energy costs and tough environmental standards were two major factors affecting the minerals processing area in 1978 For the most part, new startups and research and development initiatives were directed toward improving process dynamics, investigating alternative processing strategy, and lowering unit costs. In the flotation area, the trend to larger machines continued. Scientific investigation of the modeling and process control of flotation was apparent, as was the research and development of new flotation reagents.

Jan 5, 1979

By Chester S. Conrad

SEVERAL years ago Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Co. intensified efforts to combat the hazard of mine fires. The program consisted of three parts in the order of likely accomplishment: 1) Purchase and installation of newer and more practical fire fighting equipment. 2) Establishment of trained fire fighting teams at every mine plant. 3) A drive to remove the causes of mine fires. Experimentation with alternating current on section equipment is a major development in this part of the program. Use of alternating current to power mining equipment had been recognized as being most practical from the standpoint of safety. A means to re- place the d-c traction motor is all that has delayed complete section mechanization with a-c power.

Jan 1, 1958

By K. C. Li

TITANIUM, because of its high strength, weight ratio, and high melting point, became the metal of the jet age. Zirconium, because of its low neutron cross section and high corrosion resistance to hot water, became an integral part of the nuclear era. Since both metals are very similar chemically, more or less the same process is used for their production. The sudden rise of this new industry of titanium and zirconium seems to have caused some uncertainty as to the future development of processes for making these metals. Although zirconium was discovered in 1789 and titanium in 1790, it was not until 1945, six years after W. J. Kroll patented his process, that F, S. Wartman of the U. S. Bureau of Mines perfected the technique of producing ductile titanium, and it was not until 1946 that Kroll perfected the technique of producing ductile zirconium in commercial quantities. Since then the Government and private industry have spent millions of dollars each year constantly searching for new methods, with the hope that some day titanium can be produced as economically as aluminum and magnesium or as cheaply as stainless steel.

Jan 11, 1957

By John W. Gabelman

Uranium exploration technology historically has followed the economic cycle of demand, exploration spurt, and trailing supply; but with a greater lag. Greatest progress was made during the wane of demand as geological investigation caught up with the flood of new discoveries made during relatively short periods of peak demand. Updating brought technology to a new level based on the deposits which were discovered and not on the total range of deposit types which might exist. The technology was seldom able to predict new deposit types or new districts, which have consistently been surprises. Yet each new cycle of increased demand was at a new higher level, occasioned by a new use, which required the discovery of previously unrecognized larger types of deposits. Hindsight shows that data sufficient to have predicted most discoveries were available. The predicted growth of uranium demand far in excess of estimated resources is an incentive to examine current technology for data or promising techniques that might foster discovery by technical prediction rather than by systematic drilling. The world could well be reexamined systematically with new geophysical techniques including gamma spectrometry, radon emanometry, and magnetometry. Known occurrences could well be reevaluated in the light of new data on mineralization process and supergene leaching. Less-leachable extrinsic elements associated with uranium might he sought as clues to unleached uranium at depth. Uranium is increasingly being noted in environments containing coal and petroleum which might become targets. High-temperature replacement disseminations are increasingly reported and particularly attractive as exemplified by the Rossing district. The number of formations containing uranium occurrences is growing so that new, not necessarily fluvial, formations might be productive. Enough drilling has been done to indicate that uranium is selectively distributed regionally under some control yet to be determined. Exploration should address those environments and areas where uranium could occur rather than only those where it is already known.

Jan 1, 1976

By Frank Firmstone

The material described below was made at Furnace No. 2, Longdale, Va., Oct. 28, 1907, during a sudden derangement of working, in the course of which the furnace became entirely bridged over and for some time no solid material whatever descended into the hearth. This caused the hearth to become so completely emptied that, at the tuyere-level, a pricker put in at one tuyere could be seen by looking in at the opposite one. The tap-hole was opened and the iron got out with some difficulty. It ran sluggishly, throwing many sparks, but was not too thick to run into the chill-molds. Naturally, the product was assumed to be white iron, which is almost always produced under similar circumstances; but on removal front the molds it proved to be very strong and tough, although full of blow-holes. Most of these blow-holes bad bright, unoxidized walls. The iron could be drilled by using a "special steel" drill, the drillings curling up similarly to those of steel. An analysis by P. W. Shimer of this unusual product gave: Si, 0.019; P, 0.228; S, 0,39; Mn, 0.042; C, 2.366; and graphite, 0:000 per cent. A cast of iron made just before the disturbance contained P, 0.98, and Mn, 1 per cent. The peculiar product seems to have been decarburized in the hearth and, at the same time, to have lost much phosphorus and manganese, either by the action of the blast in the empty hearth, or, more probably, by. contact with the cinder rich in iron which was formed at the time. Unfortunately, no specimen of the cinder was preserved, so its composition cannot be given. It seems very remarkable that, with the furnace in bad condition, the temperature should be high enough to keep such

Sep 1, 1908

By C. W. Macgregor

The observation of the flow layers, or Luders' lines, produced in mild steel when it is stressed into the plastic range often provides considerable useful information for the study of the fundamental mechanism of the plastic flow of metals. It is a commonly observed fact that as soon as the upper yield point in a mild-st'eel tensile-test bar is passed, an unstable condition develops in the equilibrium, the load on the testing machine drops and if the surface of the bar contains a thin mill scale, the latter begins to flake off rapidly along certain "lines." These "lines" are ill reality traces of wedge-shaped flow layers and are formed by the inter-section of the surface of slip and the surface of the bar. The average plane of the flow layer itself has been found by various experimenters to be inclined at an angle of approximately 45" to the axis of the test bar. In a body of more complicated shape stressed in possibly a different man-ncr, the tangent planes to the flow layers at each point seem in many cases to be inclined at an angle of about 45" to the principal stress direct-tions at the point. As examples of the latter may be mentionecl the logarithmic spirals obtained when a rivet hole is punched in a thin plate, or when a tube is subject,ed to internal pressure only, etc. IIencc if the flow layers are observed from an experiment, the shear-st'ress trajectories —the curves indicating the direct,ions of the maximum shearing stresses in the body—may then be approximately determined. Since the latter curves form an orthogonal family inclined at 45" to the principal stress directions, the family of principal stress trajectories, or the curves irldicating the directions of the principal stresses, may be thus obtained Although the discontinuous type of stress-strain curve at the yield point is commonly observed with test bars of mild steel, more recent experiments have shown that this is by no means the only material exhibiting this interesting phenomenon. A similar effect has been observed in zinc and cadmium crystals, by Becker and Orowai~; in duralumin and other aluminum alloys, by Dawidenkow,~Elam,~ Fell4 an(l others; in copper and copper-alloy crystals, by Elam;~ in brass by Elam;3 in brass wires by deForest;" in higher carbon steels, tungsten steel, and

Jan 1, 1939

By C. W. MacGregor

The observation of the flow layers, or Luders' lines, produced in mild steel when it is stressed into the plastic range often provides considerable useful information for the study of the fundamental mechanism of the plastic flow of metals. It is a commonly observed fact that as soon as the upper yield point in a mild-st'eel tensile-test bar is passed, an unstable condition develops in the equilibrium, the load on the testing machine drops and if the surface of the bar contains a thin mill scale, the latter begins to flake off rapidly along certain "lines." These "lines" are ill reality traces of wedge-shaped flow layers and are formed by the inter-section of the surface of slip and the surface of the bar. The average plane of the flow layer itself has been found by various experimenters to be inclined at an angle of approximately 45" to the axis of the test bar. In a body of more complicated shape stressed in possibly a different man-ncr, the tangent planes to the flow layers at each point seem in many cases to be inclined at an angle of about 45" to the principal stress direct-tions at the point. As examples of the latter may be mentionecl the logarithmic spirals obtained when a rivet hole is punched in a thin plate, or when a tube is subject,ed to internal pressure only, etc. IIencc if the flow layers are observed from an experiment, the shear-st'ress trajectories —the curves indicating the direct,ions of the maximum shearing stresses in the body—may then be approximately determined. Since the latter curves form an orthogonal family inclined at 45" to the principal stress directions, the family of principal stress trajectories, or the curves irldicating the directions of the principal stresses, may be thus obtained Although the discontinuous type of stress-strain curve at the yield point is commonly observed with test bars of mild steel, more recent experiments have shown that this is by no means the only material exhibiting this interesting phenomenon. A similar effect has been observed in zinc and cadmium crystals, by Becker and Orowai~; in duralumin and other aluminum alloys, by Dawidenkow,~Elam,~ Fell4 an(l others; in copper and copper-alloy crystals, by Elam;~ in brass by Elam;3 in brass wires by deForest;" in higher carbon steels, tungsten steel, and

Jan 1, 1939

By Stanley D. Michaelson, Norman Weiss

This was a year of realization. Some years are for planning and development, some for designing and building, others for fulfillment. With greater hopes and plans for the future than ever before, the year 1954, nevertheless, will be remembered principally because of project completion. Among copper mines, for example, there were Silver Bell, Copper Cities, Bisbee, Yerington, and White Pine. In iron, there were the Humboldt, Coleraine, Cerro Bolivar, and Eagle Mountain. In asbestos, Johns-Manville's new mill at Asbestos, Que. In uranium, completion of the ninth mill on the Colorado Plateau-Kerr-McGee's at Shiprock, N. M. In research, 1954 marked the completion of Kennecott's Research Center in Salt Lake City, one of the historic forward strides in the science of minerals beneficiation. The year was fruitful in other directions as well. Investigations of a fundamental nature were on the upswing, and pilot plant projects have also increased in size and number. Progress in new reagents and equipment was greater than normal. It can already be conservatively predicted-from the technological point of view-that 1955 and 1956 will be tremendous years.

Jan 3, 1955

By C. A. Hansen

The furnace used for experimental work is shown in Fig. 1. One fireclay sagger, or pot, was set within another and the space between the two filled with Silox heat insulation. The hearth is a cast-iron plate with an imbedded ribbon of nichrome wire; this wire heater is connected to a potential regulator, which permits a very close voltage control. A mechanically driven arm is fitted with rabble blades so arranged that a uniformly thick ore bed may be maintained indefinitely. This arm is usually driven at about one revolution per minute but its speed of rotation can be varied as desired. Compressed air is led into the furnace through a meter, and it was found necessary to preheat the air in order to secure the definitely isothermal conditions sought. With this arrangement, it is possible to maintain any desired temperature constant within about 5" C. for any desired length of time and to

Jan 1, 1921

By Reginald E. Hore

Since the discovery of silver at Cobalt, Ontario, in August, 1903, more than 100,000,000 oz. of silver have been produced by the mines in the Nipissing district, and there is reason to believe that at least as much more will be produced in the nex five years. The estimated value of the aggregate output o ore to the end of 1910 is $48,327,280. The ore yielded 93,977,833, oz. of silver and was mined at a net profit of abou $16,000,000. For 1910 the production was 30,558,825 oz., valued at $15,436,894, and yielding a profit of about $9,000.000. The details of the production of the Cobalt district for the years 1904 to 1909, inclusive, as reported by the Ontario Bureau of Mines, are given in Table I. The shipments from Cobalt are in the form of smelting-ore, concentrates from milling-ore, and bullion. The smelting-ore is largely high grade, averaging about 3,000 oz. per ton A smaller return is from what is called low-grade ore and which

Jan 1, 1912

By Max Kraut

UNTIL VERY RECENTLY the flotation process has not found much application in the treatment of gold ores. No appreciable improvement has been made lately in the technology of this application; but the possibilities of flotation have been more fully appreciated. Excellent results were obtained long ago, but few operators paid much attention to them. For instance, in 1915 extensive experiments were carried out by Mr. Beauchamp and Minerals Separation on ores from the Dutch-Sweeney mine near Jimtown, Calif. The ore contained gold-bearing pyrite and laboratory tests indicated a 10c. tailing on a $6 head. In 1918 a 300-ton flotation mill using Minerals Separation machines was built based on the results obtained. However, when the mill began full-scale operation, mill heads did not come up to expectation, being only $4; also the-tonnage was considerably less than had been expected. Flotation mill tailing assayed 15c., indicating a recovery of over 96 per cent, so that excellent metallurgical results were obtained. The operation was a success but the patient died.

Jan 1, 1932

Jan 1, 1881

By F. C. Blickensderfer

During 1914 and 1915, extensive experiments were conducted at the concentrator of The Detroit Copper Mining Co. of Arizona, at Morenci, Ariz., in order to test the relative grinding efficiencies of the Marathon, the Chilean and the Hardinge Mills. The Marathon mill used in the experiments was the first one ever built by the manufacturers; and since this was the first time that it was given a thorough tryout, with such remarkable results, the data have been assembled in the following paper and submitted in the interests of the milling profession. Description of the Flow Sheet The concentrator flow sheet, as it existed at the time of these tests, is shown in Fig. 1. The total mill feed, as delivered from the crushing plant, had as its maximum size 1-in. material. This material was screened dry on Cole Zig-Zag screens fitted with 4-mesh openings; the oversize going to one pair of coarse rolls, the undersize to five Wilfley tables fitted with Butchart National riffles. The coarse-roll product was elevated and screened wet on Zig-Zag screens fitted with 4-mesh openings, the undersize going to the five tables mentioned above and the oversize to one pair of fine rolls. The fine-roll product was elevated and screened together with the coarse-roll product; so that, before any concentrating operations took place, the total mill feed was reduced to pass a 4-mesh screen. After concentration on Butchart-riffled tables, the tailings from these tables passed to de-sliming hoppers, where two products were formed, viz., an overflow and a discharge. The discharge constituted the feed for the Chilean mills. It contained 16 per cent. slime (—200 mesh) and 3 parts of water to 1 of solids. The concentrator was equipped regularly with four Chilean mills (Monadnock type) to the unit; but, in order to

Jan 1, 1917

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Jan 1, 1907

By Pope Yeatman

In my experience, perhaps the most interesting problems came up during the testing, prospecting, developing and equipping of the Chuquicamata and Braden Copper Mines in Chile, and it is proposed in this article to give as briefly as possible what some of those problems were, their solutions, and the decisions made as to the different methods to be employed. The romance of mining is still a great lure to the young man who is making a choice of a profession to follow. The thought of travel to strange and out-of-the-way places, the glamor of pioneer life, the excitement of discovery, the constructive work of building something, entirely "from the grass roots up," or of reconstructing a played-out property and making a success of it-all of these phases have a strong appeal and often influence the young man in the choice of mining as a profession. That great engineer, Col. Seeley Wintersmith Mudd, whom we are endeavoring to honor, while having too much common sense to have been materially influenced by the romance of mining, certainly experienced all of the

Jan 1, 1932

?Aaronson, Alfred E , Oil Producer, Pres, Tuloma Oil Co Tulsa, Okla '18 ||Abad, Leopoldo F , College of Mm , Univ of California Berkeley, Cal '23 ||Abadilla, Quirico A , Geol Dept, Cia Mexicana de Petroleo "El Agmla," S A , Edifico "El Aguila," Esq, Caller Aurora y Comercio, Tampico, Tamps , Mexico '20 ||Abbey, Robert Graham, Student, Case School of Applied Science Cleveland, O '21 Abbott, Clarence E, Gen'l Supt, Iron Mines Div, Tenn Coal, Iron & R R Co, 1405 Minnesota Ave , Bessemer, Ala '04 Abbott, Louis Benjamin, Chief Engr , Consolidation Coal Co , Elkhorn Div Jenkins, Ky '15 Abbott, Robert R , Met Engr , Peerless Motor Car Co Cleveland, Ohio '12 ||Abbott, Wells Osborn, Student, Univ of Arizona Tucson, Ariz '23 Abe, Asaka Ashiya, Mukogun, Hmyogoken, Japan '14 Abeel, George H, Jr , Cons Min Engr 4612 W 17th St , Los Angeles, Cal '18 Abel, Albert E , Asst to Pres , Valley Mould & Iron Corpn Sharpsville, Pa '19 ?Abeloff, Miran S 322 W 45th St, Ness York, N Y '21

Jan 1, 1923