Search Documents

By R. E. Salvoti

IN underground coal mining, the increasing trend towards mechanical methods is ever apparent. Figures for 1939 showed that 28 per cent of the total bituminous coal production was mined mechanically 1940 statistic will reveal an even higher figure. Factors causing this trend are varied, but the important are the following;

Jan 1, 1941

By AIME AIME

TWO technical sessions, an excursion through the Midwest refinery and a smoker, marked the first day of the meeting of the Petroleum Division at Casper, Wyo., on Aug. 28. Ninety-nine members and guests registered and there was an excellent attendance at 'all functions. The -local committee under the general chairmanship of J. C. Lindsay, general manager of the Western Pipe Line Co., had made every possible arrangement for the convenience and comfort of the visiting members and the Program Committee under E. L. Estabrook, vice-chairman of the Petroleum Division, had brought together a most interesting series of technical, papers. The meeting centered mainly on the various features of the Salt Creek field but there were also contributions from the technology of production in California, the Mid-Continent, and the Texas fields. The opening session was called to order by Mr. Estabrook at the Townsend Hotel on Friday morning. The members and visitors were welcomed appropriately by Ex-Governor B. B. Brooks, president of the "Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association, who recalled the changes that had taken place as Casper, a frontier cow town, became a thriving oil metropolis. F. Julius Fobs, chairman 'of the Petroleum Division, responded and then took the chair. He introduced H. Foster Bain, Secretary of the Institute, who expressed the regret of those members members who found it impossible to stop over en route to Salt Lake City and his own pleasure at meeting with the Division in the field. Following these introductory ceremonies the technical session began with a "Sketch of the Geological Formations of Central Wyoming," presented by J. G. Bartram of the Midwest staff. It was brief and to the point and contributed greatly to the easy under¬standing of the succeeding papers by those unfamiliar with the region. The talk was illustrated by a large scale columnar section -and a copy of the excellent, geological map of the State recently issued by the U. S. Geological Survey.

Jan 1, 1925

By Charles Jackson Abrams

MINING is one of the major industries of the Rocky Mountain region and since the United States became involved in the present World War, all mines have been called upon by the Government for the maximum production of the strategic metals necessary. Operating under the most adverse conditions, such as priority requirements, slow delivery of necessary material and equipment, labor shortages, and freezing of all wages, which still permitted some industries to pay higher rates than were allowable in the mines, thereby drawing labor from the mines; and the United States Employment Service continually giving mine labor certificates of availability; these and many other problems made mine operation particularly difficult. Yet, in spite of these obstacles, the mining industry, either through its own resources or through Government subsidies in the form of loans or premium prices for strategic metal, have and still are making an all-out effort to meet Government demands. They, without question, have played a major role in assisting the war effort.

Jan 1, 1945

By M. Van Siclen

THE outstanding fact in connection with dust disease in the United States at present is the growing recognition of its seriousness by state officials and by the more progressive operators of mining, metallurgical and allied industrial plants. The same may perhaps be said of labor in some of its better organized centers, but the average independent non-union workman continues, as of yore, to suffer the toll of disability and even of death from dust inhalation without realization of the source of his ill-being. Progress in the betterment of the handling of sufferers from dust disease and of the conditions creating dust hazards in mining and allied industries is pursuing a course similar to that of the now widespread campaign against accidents, in which the risk is more obvious, more severe, and was naturally recognized sooner. The coming on of dust disease is generally relatively slow and its immediate effects not infre-quently masked by or attributed to other diseases. Marked exceptions to this general rule have occurred in districts where the dust is particularly pernicious, such as the Rand and Joplin; yet such exceptions, unhappy in themselves, opened the eyes of medical men, and of those in other localities charged with the responsibility for the welfare of industry, to the much more widespread if less spectacular hazard existing from the inhalation of dust in all rock-excavating operations and all industrial operations creating inorganic dust, whether it be crushing and grinding, sand-blast-ing, granite-cutting, or what not. Advancement to date in the United States in prevention and treat-ment has been slow, yet the record shows that quantitative methods for determining the degree of hazard and means for decreasing it were being developed as far back as 25 years ago; and that more rapid progress may be looked for from now on. In 1908, in this country, F. L Hoffman?(1) discussed the mortality from consumption in dusty trades, especially brass foundries; and in 1913 E. R. Hayhurst(2) described the effects of inhalation

Jan 1, 1933

By J. A. Clum, R. W. Heins, T. D. Tiemann

The use of Na-montmorillonite clay hinders (Western Bentonite) in the pelletizing of iron ore concentrates is well established as is the idea that alternative binders must be found. 1-6 This note summarizes work done7 in evaluating a Wisconsin montmorillonite clay binder. The clay occurs in irregualr beds overlying the Prairie du Chien Dolomite and the St. Peters Sandstone near Hersey, St. Croix County. The raw Wisconsin clay contained 65% quartz and 35% clay minerals. The Na20to CaO ratio was 0.234. Suspension viscosity tests of the raw clay gave results only slightly better than water alone, even after treatment with activator materials. Sedimentation treatment reduced the quartz in the decantate to 5% after 240 min (four hours). Twenty minutes of sedimentation produced a decantate with 27.5% quartz which was found as effective as the 5% quartz decantate in pelletizing behavior. The 20 min decantate was used in subsequent tests. The decantate was filtered and dried at 110°(230°F). The minus 200 mesh portion of this was added directly to the magnetite concentrate. Pellets were made in a laboratory sized disc pelletizer from pastes consisting of ore concentrate, balling water (9%) and binder (clay, or clay + resins, or resins). The pastes were premixed in a Waring blender. The binders were: (1) 1% of a commercially used Western Bentonite; (2) 1 % or 3% of the Wisconsin clay (raw, or 20 min decantate); (3) 20 min decantate washed with activator solutions, (to exchange Na for Ca in the clay); (4) decantate with activator added in the balling water; (5) decantate with organic resins; (6) organic resins. Measurements of the 0.46 m (18 in.) Green Drop Number, the Dry Strength and the Fired Strength (fired at 1260°C (2300°F) for 30 min) were made. The dry and fired compressive strengths were determined on an Instron testing machine using a C-load cell and a F-load cell, respectively. The cross-head speed was 0.004 m/sec (0.1 in./min) for both. The results of each measurement were averaged for 15 pellets. A summary of those results is presented in [Table 1]. More detailed results and procedures are presented in another report.7 In addition to the effects on pellet strength due to various binders the effect of varying magnetite concentrate characteristics is noted in [Table l]. There, a few comparative data are shown for Cornwall, PA Magnetite, which has a generally liner particle size than the Black River Falls magnetite which was used for most of the tests.

Jan 1, 1979

By Robert J. Linney

IN the latter part of the year 1943, it was decided to experiment with diamond-drill blast holes in the Old Bed magnetite mine at the Mineville mines of the Republic Steel Corporation, in sections of the ore body where vertical dimensions were large and where development for sublevel bench stopes had already been done. Other possibilities of application for this drilling method were in the reclamation of old floors and pillars in the pitching folds of the Lower Old Bed ore body and in the reclamation of large vertical pillars in the " 21 " Bonanza-Joker ore body. The cross sections and views of the two ore bodies will show the conditions to which the diamond-drill method has been applied. The Lower Old Bed magnetite ore body is lenticular and dips approximately 30° toward the southwest and strikes generally southeast and northwest. An intensely folded structure, which pitches generally on an axis approximately at right angles to the strike, is continuous from the uppermost old workings down to the present bottom of the mine, and probably continues with depth. On successively lower levels this folded structure becomes greater in vertical dimensions and the two folds are closer together in a horizontal dimension. As shown in Fig. 1, this folded structure gives to parts of the ore body considerable vertical dimensions, which provide areas that were developed for sublevel bench stoping above a slushing drift, as shown in Fig. 2. It was in one of these previously developed sublevel bench stopes, No. 26 on the 1185-ft. level, that the diamond-drill blast-hole method was applied for mining the upper sublevel. The lower sublevel was underhand-bench-drilled to the finger raises of the scram drift below. The roof of this stoping area began to break and spall on the lower sublevel, causing the roof to become inclined. Along the hanging wall of the stope this reached an elevation about half way between the two sublevels. A smooth schistose seam in the hanging wall causes the ore to break away freely. Therefore, if bench mining had been carried on in the upper sublevel, a dangerous condition of poorly supported benches would have resulted. When the drillers were slashing across the sublevel to footwall and hanging wall to make a bench, spalling roof of the opening below would probably have carried away part of the bench, and would have left a dangerous place in which to continue underhand benching. A 6 by 8-ft. raise had been driven between the lower stope and the upper sublevel about 200 ft. from a manway. It was decided to use this raise for a starting cut and to arrange holes as shown in Fig. 3, so that a slot would be opened across the ore body between the footwall and hanging wall. This slot would then be used for the purpose of breaking into the ore; by blasting vertical rings of holes drilled at right angles to the axis of the pitching folds as nearly as possible. Layouts of this slot drilling and the rings adjacent are

Jan 1, 1945

By Robert J. Linney

In the latter part of the year 1943, it was decided to experiment with diamond-drill blast holes in the Old Bed magnetite mine at the Mineville mines of the Republic Steel Corporation, in sections of the ore body where vertical dimensions were large and where development for sublevel bench stopes had already been done. Other possibilities of application for this drilling method were in the reclamation of old floors and pillars in the pitching folds of the Lower Old Bed ore body and in the reclamation of large vertical pillars in the "21" Bonanza-Joker ore body. The cross sections and views of the two ore bodies will show the conditions to which the diamond-drill method has been applied. The Lower Old Bed magnetite ore body is lenticular and dips approximately 30° toward the southwest and strikes generally southeast and northwest. An intensely folded structure, which pitches generally on an axis approximately at right angles to the strike, is continuous from the uppermost old workings down to the present bottom of the mine, and probably continues with depth. On successively lower levels this folded structure becomes greater in vertical dimensions and the two folds are closer together in a horizontal dimension. As shown in Fig. I, this folded structure gives to parts of the ore body considerable vertical dimensions, which provide areas that were developed for sublevel bench stoping above a slushing drift, as shown in Fig. 2. It was in one of these previously devel-oped sublevel bench stopes, No. 26 on the 1185-ft. level, that the diamond-drill blast-hole method was applied for mining the upper sublevel. The lower sublevel was underhand-bench-drilled to the finger raises of the scram drift below. The roof of this stoping area began to break and spall on the lower sublevel, causing the roof to become inclined. Along the hanging wall of the stope this reached an elevation about half way between the two sublevels. A smooth schistose seam in the hanging wall causes the ore to break away freely. Therefore, if bench mining had been carried on in the upper sublevel, a dangerous condition of poorly supported benches would have resulted. When the drillers were slashing across the sublevel te footwall and hanging wall to make a bench, spdlling roof of the opening below would probably have carried away part of the bench, and would have left a dangerous place in which to continue underhand benching. A 6 by 8-ft. raise had been driven between the lower stope and the upper sublevel about 200 ft. from a manway. It was decided to use this raise for a starting cut and to arrange holes as shown in Fig 3, so that a slot would be opened across the ore body between the footwall and hanging wall. This slot would then be used for the purpose of breaking into the ore, by blasting vertical rings of holes drilled at right angles to the axis of the pitching folds as nearly as possible. Layouts of this slot drilling and the rings adjacent are

Jan 1, 1946

By Thomas Fraser, David R. Mitchell

THE primary purpose of the loading plant is to transfer the finished product from the preparation machines to the railroad car, truck, or barge in which it is to go to market. Secondary purposes of the loading plant are: to prevent excessive degradation of sizes during loading, to reduce segregation as much as possible, and to prevent excessive quantities of very good or off-grade coal from entering any one car. Nonuniformity of consignments is one of the chief sources of com- plaints by consumers and coal merchants. A properly designed loading plant will do much to reduce complaints and ensure uniformity, not only from shipment to shipment but also in each individual consignment along the length of the car and in cross section. DEGRADATION IN STORAGE, LOADING AND SHIPMENT The object in loading is not only to handle the coal without breakage and segregation, but also to produce a well-trimmed load that will ride to its destination without spillage or breakage en route. The small sizes present in a car of prepared coal as received by the purchaser consist of: missed small sizes not screened out in the preparation plant, breakage during loading, and breakage caused by handling en route. For domestic sizes of anthracite shipped from the Pennsylvania anthracite field to Atlantic coast cities, the dealers' loss because of break- age in loading and shipment amounts to from 2 to 5 per cent and for anthracite shipped to Middle West cities, the loss is 8 to 9 per cent. This difference is in part because dealers in the Middle West rescreen their coal more thoroughly than is usual in the East. One dealer handling Illinois No. 6 coal shipped from southern Illinois mines to Chicago reports an average size loss of 10 per cent when lump coal is unloaded with a fork. This runs as low as 5 per cent for carefully loaded coal and as high as 15 per cent for carelessly loaded coal.

Jan 1, 1943

By Oliver Bowles

THE ADVERSE CONDITIONS that have gripped industry during recent years have to some extent submerged technical developments under the more pressing demands of economic problems. Progressive operators, nevertheless, have given attention to improvements in processes and equipment even when sales were at a low ebb. The array of facts relating to technical advancement here presented, although doubtless incomplete, is sufficient to indicate that the spirit of inquiry and research has not been quenched by adversity. During the latter part of 1933 a new element has focused interest more fully on improved methods of quarrying, mining, and preparation of nonmetallic minerals. Codes established under the NRA have fixed minimum wages, reduced working hours, and tended to establish selling prices .on a basis of reasonable profit. Labor adjustments will in many instances increase the cost of production, and stabilization of selling prices will tend to emphasize quality and service rather than price as sales arguments. These new conditions point to a growing necessity for improving technique in the interest of reducing cost of production and improving the quality of products. Thus, technology is linked with economics more firmly than ever.

Jan 1, 1934

By Harry J. Evans

DURING the fury of the conflict it was believed quite generally that World War II was being fought for and would accomplish a permanent peace. Yet, before the guns were actually stilled on all fronts, the American people realized that the devastated world would continue to be dominated by suspicion and uncertainty. The misunderstandings which rapidly developed indicated that it may prove unwise to rely wholly on mutual international agreements and contracts to avoid war. Before the celebrations of V-Day died down serious thought was being given toward measures for preparedness for the next conflict. Along with a realization of the enormous loss of life caused by the destructive forces of war, the American people came to understand the seriousness of the rapid and unwarranted depletion of our natural resources. During the last half of 1945 the question of stock-piling strategic and critical raw materials for a future national emergency became an intensely live subject.

Jan 1, 1946

By Paul Weir

BLEACHING clays have been used extensively in the oil-refining industries for a number of years. Their use in water purification is relatively recent and less extensive. They are frequently classified as (1) those naturally active and (2) those active after artificial activation with acid. Fuller's earths fall within the general group of bleaching clays and gradually the commercial term "fuller's earth" has been applied to natural clays originating, for the most part, in the south-eastern section of the United States. Bentonitic clays are usually classed as activable and are prevalent in the southwestern section of the United States.1 Bleaching clays vary considerably in chemical and physical properties throughout the country, or even in different parts of one deposit (Table 1). TABLE 1.-Physical and Chemical Composition of Different Types of Clays Composition, Per Cent Constituents and Properties Bentonite Fuller's Mud Clay (Wyoming) Earth (P Peak)' (Alluvial) Silica (SiO2) 60.0 69.6 61.67 Alumina (Al203) 19.0 14.3 20.34 Ferric oxide (Fe203) 2.8 3.90 7.70 Titanium oxide (Ti02) 0.13 0.70 1.01 Lime (CaO) 0.5 0.80 0.00 Magnesia (MgO) 2.0 1.00 0.24 Soda (Na2O) 2.4 0.40 0.31 Ignition loss 4.7 6.77 8.51 Moisture content 8.0 10.0 20.0 Isoelectric point, pH 9.2 9.2 6.5 Average swelling volume 15.0 0.0 0.0 Weight per cubic foot, lb 55.0 40.0 65.0 Material passing 200-mesh sieve, per cent 90.0 85.0 50.0

Jan 1, 1939

By R. Taggart, R. H. Ericksen, D. H. Polonis

MarTENSITIC a has been observed to form spontaneously from the retained ß phase during the preparation of thin foil specimens of metastable Ti-Cr alloys containing from 6.9 to 20 wt pet Cr. Similar spontaneous martensite reactions have been reported in thin foils of 0 brass' and other alloys.2 4 The absence of retained austenite in iron-based alloys has also been attributed to spontaneous decomposition during thinning.5 The present work indicates that a unique situation occurs during which the spontaneous transformation takes place when the transitional ? phase is present in the as-quenched or partially aged ß phase. Alloys containing 6.9, 7.0, 8.0, 12.0, and 20.0 wt pet Cr were prepared by the levitation melting of "io-chrome" chromium and iodide titanium. The 0.5-in.-diam ingots were vacuum-annealed at 1000oC, and wafers 0.020 in. thick were then cut from the ingots. These wafers were wrapped in molybdenum foil, encapsulated in Vycor under a reduced pressure of purified helium, and then held for 30 min at 1000°C. The specimens were quenched in water to retain the metastable high-temperature ß phase. The quenched alloys were thinned by mechanical grinding to about 0.005 in. thick, then electropolished in a solution of 300 ml methyl alcohol, 175 ml n-butyl alcohol, and 30 ml perchloric acid at a temperature of -40°C. Needle specimens 0.005 to 0.010 in. diam were taken from each ingot and heat-treated with the foil specimens. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated the structure of the 6.9, 7.0, and 8 wt pet alloys to be a

Jan 1, 1968

By D. F. Kaufman, E. D. Levine, L. R. Aronin

ThE primary slip plane in hcp metal crystals can usually be inferred from the c/a ratio. Basal slip is the primary system at room temperature for zinc, cadmium, magnesium, cobalt, and rhenium, all of which have a c/a ratio greater than 1.60. Zirconium and titanium, on the other hand, each with a c/a ratio of 1.59, deform primarily by (1010) [ll20] prismatic slip. The increasing tendency toward prismatic slip in these materials is generally thought to be associated with the increase in atomic density on (10i0) as c/a is reduced. Beryllium, with a c/a ratio of 1.57, would, according to the above scheme, be expected to exhibit prismatic slip. However, in beryllium of commercial purity, the primary deformation mode at room temperature is basal slip.' The ratio of critical shear stress for prismatic to that for basal slip at room temperature is approximately 5:l. The critical shear stress for prismatic slip decreases quite rapidly with increasing temperature, however, and at 500°C the ratio is approximately unity. The apparently anomalous behavior of beryllium has led to speculation that prismatic slip in this material may be restricted by an anisotropic effect of impurities,' and that, if beryllium could be purified to a sufficient extent, prismatic slip might predominate at room temperature. In such a case, the conditions under which basal cleavage can occur would be suppressed, and enhanced low-temperature ductility might result. With the advent of the floating-zone method for purification of beryllium,3 it has become possible to determine experimentally the effects of purification on basal and prismatic slip. Tensile tests were performed at room temperature on single crystals oriented favorably either for basal or prismatic slip. The crystals had been purified to various extents by zone-refining, employing procedures that have been described elsewhere.4 Relative purities of the crystals were estimated by measuring the ratio of electrical resistance at 4.2"K to that at 298°K. Typical values ranged from 0.40 for commercial-purity material to 7.7 X 10"4 for crystals prepared from vacuum-distilled beryllium and subjected to six zone-refining passes. The purity dependence of the critical shear stresses for basal and prismatic slip is shown in Fig. 1. In the purity range studied, the critical shear stress for basal slip is decreased from 1.4 to 0.14 kg per sq mm. The critical shear stress for prismatic slip is decreased from 6.7 to 5.3 kg per sq mm. The decreases in critical shear stress for each deformation mode, therefore, are approximately equivalent. No purification anisotropy is observed. Because of the absolute magnitudes of the critical stresses, the ratio of the critical shear stress for prismatic slip to that for basal slip actually increases from 5:l to 38:l at the highest purity level studied. It is evident, therefore, that basal slip is the primary deformation mode in high-purity beryllium. This fact must be accounted for in any rationalization of the deformation behavior of hcp metals. This work was performed at Nuclear Metals, Inc., under the sponsorship of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Jan 1, 1964

Albert Ladd Colby, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary†):—I observed (Trans., xxxvii., 585) that to obtain tenders from several American mills, the foreign engineer should modify his maximum phosphorus to 0.10 per cent., not as Mr. E. Windsor Richards quotes me, that no American rail-maker can produce rails under 0.10 per cent. of phosphorus. Mr. Richards claims that no English engineer would agree to accept 0.10 per cent. of phosphorus on any terms whatever. Mr. Webster writes that only after an engineer has .been convinced that rails can be made in America equal in every respect to those he is getting abroad, should he be asked to modify ally conditions in his specifications. I know it to be a fact that during recent years in many cases, as, for instance, When delivery could be secured more promptly in the United States than in Europe, the consulting engineers of several British and colonial railroads have frequently agreed to modify their phosphorus requirement to a maximum of 0.10 per cent., and the rails delivered' under these modified specifications have, under like conditions, given just as satisfactory service and proved to be no more brittle than similar sections of 0.07 per cent. phosphorus rails, rolled in England under the same specification except without modification as to phosphorus. Furthermore, it would appear from the analyses of British rails, quoted by E. A. Dancaster,2 in his discussion of Mr.

Jan 1, 1908

By Edwin Ludlow

T HE OPEN FORUM on this subject called by Mr. Hoover at the recent meeting of the Institute' brought out a large number of very able papers, and a very full discussion of all the problems involved. The criticisms of the bituminous industry were: 1. That it was over-developed with the possible output nearly 50 per cent. in excess of the present requirements; that during the summer there were plenty of cars and no orders, and during the winter there were plenty of orders but no cars. 2. That the mines were not properly developed from an engineering standpoint, and that the recovery of the coal varies from 50 per cent. to 95 per cent. 3. That this industry, employing over 600,000 men, could, if running full time, release 100,000 men for other work. 4. That the studies made by the engineers of the Fuel Administration showed that the cost of production increased with a loss of time and that with a 50 per cent. operation the increase in cost was about 40 per cent.

Jan 1, 1920

By J. J. Foster

MOST of us will, I think, agree that never before in the history of the coal industry has the human side of our business been so important as today. Since, even in wholly mechanized mining, labor cost is such a large percentage of out total cost we are all deeply concerned not only about the present attitude of our employees but particularly about the future, when the industry returns to a "survival of the fittest" basis. Many things could and should be done about our employee relations in the coal business. Failure to recognize these obligations and do something about them may lead to serious consequences, the least serious of which will be the loss not only of many of our better employees but a large portion of our potential employees, as they graduate from our schools to other in¬dustries. Some of these things should be handled by the industry as a whole whereas others should be done by individual companies. Due to varying conditions and size of organizations it would, at best, be necessary to vary a program to meet the individual needs of each operator.

Jan 1, 1945

Jan 1, 1885

CHARLES F. WILLIS,* Bisbee, Ariz. (written discussion ?).-There are few mine officials who will not say that there is, great need of vocational schools in mining communities, but the absence of success of so many of these ventures makes them wary about establishing such schools. They have neither the time nor the facilities to study the systems and to analyze the factors that have made certain schools a success and others a failure. In the first place, it is difficult to secure the proper instructors. Educators cannot make the appeal to the workmen, because of their lack of experience, and experienced men who are capable of the appeal are not usually educators, knowing nothing about the presentation of the subject. Then, too, there is ordinarily no objective in a mine school. The workman is not reached by a school that makes him merely a more valuable man to his employer, unless he can participate in the gain. An objective, as promotion or financial gain, would appeal to the man and would make for regular attendance. Usually vocational schools are run like all others-a number of subjects at a time, continued from one day to another. This is impractical for the workman, whose mind cannot work like the mind of a school boy. The school boy is spending most of his time in school work, while the man is doing it as a side issue, and he cannot be expected to pick up tonight's lesson where last night's left off. The workman is accustomed to the idea of completing a job and doing one thing at a time; his mind is trained that way, and for this reason a school that works on the principal that each lesson is a complete job, with no reference to the previous or following lesson, will go a long way toward removing one of the things that has caused many failures. The usual vocational schools .in mining communities are either very elementary, or are run by the engineering staff and, consequently, are too advanced. There is no plan between. It is believed that there is a possibility of a halfway type, but this is a subject that is large enough for a paper by itself and is entirely, too broad to be presented as a discussion.

Jan 6, 1919

By Ralph Hultgren, David W. Mitchell

Magnesium alloys usually are superheated before casting in order to ensure fineness of grain. Superheat temperatures in common use range from 1600" to r 7o0°F.; the casting temperature, which depends upon the mold shape, is usually 200° to 300°F. lower. The process of superhcating requires considerable time and seriously shortens the life of the iron pots used. Recently it has been reported1 that if acetylene, carbon dioxide or natural gas is bubbled through molten electrolytic A.S.T.M. No. 4 alloy at 1400°F. for 5 min., grain refinement equivalent to that of superheating will take place. Addition of certain solids such as graphite or aluminum carbide accomplishes the same results? As will be shown in this paper, it is possible to achieve grain refinement in magnesium casting alloys at low temperatures by mechanical stirring of the molten metal for a short time. This process was developed in the course of research work, supervised by the War Metallurgy Committee under the "Restricted' project NRC-550, for the Office of Production Research and Development of the War Production Board. This paper, based on that work, has been released for publication by the O.P.R.D. Materials and Methods The alloys studied were the most common American sand-casting alloys designated as No. 4 and No. 17 by the American Society for Testing Materials. The magnesiun used in these alloys was of both carbothermic3 and electrolytic' origin. Chemical analyses supplied by the producers are shown in Table I. Each heat consisted of approximately 5 lb. of alloy melted in a Tercod crucible. It was refined by fluxing with Permanente No. 7* refining flux at 1300° to 1350°F. After cooling to 1200° to 1250°F., portions of approximately one pound each, were ladled into iron crucibles contained in an electric furnace at about 1250°F. The molten metal was covered with Permanente No. 21 † covering flux and then heated to the temperature to be investigated. Normally each of the four portions was given a different treatment. In a typical case one portion was stirred vigorously for 5 min., acetylene gas was passed through a second portion for 5 min., a third portion was superheated to 1600°F. for 15 min., then . cooled to casting temperature, and the fourth was held for 5 min. at the temperature of stirring or gassing without other treatment. Each portion was then cast into one-inch diameter cylinders in three "nonturbulent" molds of identical shape. One mold was made of cast iron and the other two of baked sand. The cast-iron mold and one of the baked sand molds were heated to 360°F., the other baked sand mold was at room temperature. The freezing times in these molds were

Jan 1, 1945

By William Hamilton Merritt

A brief paper on this subject (which might readily be made to, fill a volume) is suggested at this time by several considerations, among which may he named the meeting of the Institute on the borders of Ontario, not far from some of the mining undertakings which are hereafter mentioned ; the mineral developments made in the Province quite recently ; the highly creditable collection of most of the minerals of Ontario, for the first time got together, and exhibited this year at Cincinnati, in the Centennial Exhibition of the Ohio Valley ; and, finally, the recent appointment, by the Government of Ontario, of a Commiesion to inquire into, and report upon the mineral resources of the Province, and the best means to be adopted for their development. The Province of Ontario has no Department of Mines or official geologist, to take note, and keep record, of mining and mineralogical development and discovery. Within the last few years some valuable statistics have been collected by Mr. A. Blue, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture; but recently a desire has risen on the part of the people to obtain further knowledge of these subjects, and the government has appointed a Commission, the report of which is expected to be issued in part, if not in completed form, this winter.

Jan 1, 1889