Search Documents

By W. G. Woolnough

Production of oil in Australia is negligible at present. A very small quantity of crude is being recovered from lean pumpers in Victoria, and a little activity is evidenced in Queensland, where two new wells were sunk during 1934. One of these, at Warooby Creek near Roma, obtained a noteworthy gas flow, but no oil production has been recorded. Geological investigation is going on in Western Australia, but no drilling activity is apparent. The "boom" in oil prospecting came to an end when the wave of depression swept over the country, and the investing public turned its attention actively towards gold. There is great activity in gold prospecting at present. I still maintain as strongly as ever that the prospects of obtaining flow oil in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria are good, and that really scientific methods must ultimately succeed. Active and excellent geological work is being carried out in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, and it is reported that drilling is likely to be undertaken next year. Matters in Papua are at a standstill. The question of extraction of oil from the oil shales of New South Wales and Tasmania is perennially active, and attempts to exploit this source commercially are renewed from time to time. Hydrogenation of coal is also receiving a good deal of attention.

Jan 1, 1935

All the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS and PREPRINTS published in 1932 are available at Institute headquarters. They are also on file in public,, university and technical libraries and, when so indicated in the list, may be found in the TRANSACTIONS. Copies of the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS have been mailed to those members of the Institute who are registered in the different classes: A-Metal Mining; B-Milling and Concentration; C-Iron and Steel Division; D-Nonferrous Metallurgy; E-Institute of Metals Division; F-Coal Division;. G-Petroleum .Division; H-Nonmetallic Minerals; I-Mining Geology; K-Mining Administration; L-Geophysical Prospecting. Other members may obtain copies by writing to the Secretary. Copies of PREPRINTS may also be obtained from the Secretary's office. Additional copies are sold at the rate of 1 cent per page; minimum charge, 25 cents. Nonmembers may purchase the papers at the prices mentioned. METAL MINING TECH- NICAL PUBLI- - TITLE AUTHOR MEETING TRANS. CATION VOLUME No. AND PAGE* 484-A.45 Propeller Type Mine Fan at Moose A. S. Richardson New York 102, 86, 93 F.52 Shaft, Butte, Montana (13) Feb., 1932 487-A.46 Progress in the Improvement of Max H. Barber New York, Methods and Equipment at Feb., 1932 Open-pit Iron Mines on the Lake Superior Iron Ranges (9) Pre. Sand Filling through Pipes and Lucien Eaton New York, 102, 33, 41 Boreholes (9) Feb., 1932

Jan 1, 1932

By John Wellington Finch

In August, 1927, the writer examined certain copper deposits in New Mexico1 which occur in beds of sandstones and shale, and in connection therewith reviewed the literature upon deposits of this type. Such deposits are known and have been reported upon at various points in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, but in New Mexico they have been given more development than elsewhere and apparently occur there more conspicuously than in the other states. Some 25 years ago the writer examined deposits of similar origin in northern Arizona and more recently other deposits in western and southwestern Colorado, and these examinations have led him to realize how widely scattered are the deposits and how generally noncommercial they are. On superficial development, to one without a comprehension of their geologic nature, they are alluring on account of occasional small amounts of high-grade ore and much misplaced capital has been expended upon them. This paper, therefore, aims to present briefly certain theories of genesis, some details of which may possibly be new, and to lead up to practical conclusions which may be useful to other geologists and engineers. A bibliography of the more important literature upon such deposits is given below.2 Coffin's Bulletin upon the Radium, Uranium and Vanadium Deposits of Colorado, published in 1921, is a particularly clear discussion. The most comprehensive recent statement is Butler's.

Jan 1, 1928

By F. F. Aplan, P. H. de Bruyn

The adsorption density of hexyl mercaptan was measured at the gold-solution and the gold-vapor interfaces. This collector is strongly adsorbed at low concentrations, a monomolecular layer being formed at the gold-solution interface at concentrations as low as 2 x 10'6 moles per liter. A maximum contact angle of 83 ± 3° is observed. From a thermodynamic analysis of the experimental data the changes in surface tension at the gold-gas and gold-solution interface are calculated. The data also suggest that the adsorption density of mercaptan at the gold-gas interface exceeds that at the gold-solution interface. In the equilibrium state, a simple flotation system consists of three phases, the solid to be floated, air, and an aqueous solution in stable contact along a line. During the process leading to this final state, a solid-gas interface is created at the expense of a portion of the liquid-gas and solid-liquid interfaces. This change of state is achieved by addition of a collector and, if necessary, suitable modifying agents to the system. By a combined application of the Gibbs Adsorption and the Young Equations, de Bruyn, Overbeek and Schuhmannl were able to show theoretically that the equilibrium distribution of the collector at all three interfaces determines the magnitude of the contact angle. Their analysis led them to conclude that the equilibrium adsorption density of the collector at the solid-gas interface exceeds its density at the solid- liquid interface. This paper succeeded in focussing attention on the neglected role of the solid-gas interface in flotation. In recent years the application of radiotracer, infrared, electrochemical and electro-kinetic techniques to studies of the solid-liquid interface2-5 enhanced our understanding of adsorption processes at this interface. Except for the measurement of contact angles, the solid-gas interface received no attention in fundamental flotation studies. In an attempt to apply the analysis of de Bruyn, Overbeek and Schuhmann to a simple flotation system, an investigation of the adsorption of hexyl mercaptan onto gold was undertaken. Gold was chosen as the solid phase in order to keep the number of dissolved chemical species in the solution phase to a minimum. Hexyl mercaptan (1 - hexanethiol) was selected as collector because its relatively high vapor pressure at room temperature makes it possible to obtain adsorption measurements at the solid-gas interface. This flotation system consists, therefore, of a pure solid phase (gold), an aqueous solution of a weakly dissociated collector (1 -hexanethiol), and a gaseous phase, nitrogen saturated with respect to both water vapor and mercaptan vapor. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials: Liquid 1-hexanethiol (C6H13SH) was obtained from Distillation Products Industries and was further purified by double distillation. The purity of the final product was established by boiling point and refractive index measurements. For the adsorption studies from aqueous solution, the radiotracer element, sulfur-35, (half life 87.1 days, 0.169 Mev beta ray) was synthesized into the mercaptan by Tracerlab Inc., Boston, Mass. A close boiling fraction of the synthesized compound was used in the adsorption studies. The specific activity of the radioactive compound was 10 millicuries per gram.

Jan 1, 1963

By Ancel St. John

DURING a session on coal and coke at the February, 1926, meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, the writer called attention to the important work on the X-ray analysis of coal1,2 being carried on in England by C. Norman Kemp and his associates. This aroused so much interest that a paper on the subject was requested for the October meeting. It has seemed advisable to make this paper a preliminary survey of the present status in the application of X-ray methods to coal problems and to follow it from time to time with further articles as the art develops. A survey of this sort naturally divides itself into two parts, radioscopic analysis of the distribution of constituents through the body of the coal, and diffraction analysis of the state of association of the elementary components. In this article the subject matter concerning radioscopic analysis has been drawn almost entirely from the writings of Kemp and his associates and the illustrations have been specially furnished by him. It is a pleasure to record here a great indebtedness for this courtesy and cooperation. The subject matter and illustrations concerning diffraction analysis are taken from the author's unpublished researches.

Jan 10, 1926

By Mark C. Malamphy

MAJOR JUAREZ TAVORA, who recently accepted the post of Minister of Agriculture in Brazil, has reorganized his department. Not least among those sub: divisions of the "Ministerio" which underwent radical changes in the general reform was the Serviqo Geologico e Mineralogico do Brasil. This well- known organization was declared extinct, and in its place was created a new cleparttnent ' termed "Departamento Nacional cle Producqao Mineral," which immediately took over all the work of the olcl Servico Geologico ill addition to certain new duties. Dr. .. Domingos Fleury- da Rocha, former head of the School of Mines of Ouro Preto, was called to Xio to assume the newly created post of Director General of the department of Mineral Production. His department will have live divisions :

Jan 1, 1934

By G. S. Hume

Activity in geological exploration and drilling continued in Canada in 1945 at about the same rate as in the previous year, but with disappointing results as far as new production is .concerned. Both in the foothills and on the Plains of Alberta, however, there are wildcat wells that have either given encouraging shows or some production, which are very important in relation to future developments. The normal decline of Turner Valley, the largest producing field in Canada, has continued, and this decrease has not been offset by new discoveries. In addition, the closing of the Canol pipe line on March 31, 1945, isolated the Norman Wells field in the Mackenzie River valley, and the outlet at present. is confined to supplying the relatively small local requirements. This

Jan 1, 1946

By Gerald Sherman

MINING asbestos ore by caving at Thetford Mines, Quebec, has been described in the Transactions of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in papers presented by the staffs of The Asbestos Corp. Ltd., in 1934, and Johnson's Co. Ltd., in 1941. The production by caving prior to 1949, in round figures, has been 14,500,000 tons of ore by The Asbestos Corp. and 5,500,000 by Johnson's Co. They are the only caving operations in asbestos at the present time. The Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Co. at Asbestos, 40 miles southwest of Thetford, is well along in preparations for caving, and The Bell Asbestos Mines Ltd. at Thetford Mines, will follow their examples later. GERALD SHERMAN, Member AIME, is Consulting Engineer, Johnson's Co. and Canadian Johns-Manville Co., New York, N. Y. AIME San Francisco Meeting, Feb. 1949, and New York Meeting, Feb. 1950. TP 2828 A. Discussion (2 copies) may be sent to Transactions AIME before May 31, 1950. Manuscript received Nov. 2, 1949. Nearly all of the asbestos produced by the western hemisphere is mined in those districts of Canada. Since it has been the subject of a number of technical papers, this contribution is offered as a review of progress. Some introductory information seems appropriate, for few members of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers are familiar with the mineral, or how asbestos deposits differ from others in caving characteristics. Asbestos is found in peridotite, a basic intrusive rock irregularly altered to serpentine and erratically fractured, well enough to cave in bulk, but leaving many blocks of solid ore of all sizes scattered through the deposit. Chrysotile is the variety of asbestos produced in Canada. Its fibers are the most valuable commercially, having a good proportion of long fibers, strong, silky, flexible, and suitable for spinning. The fibers occur in all lengths, from the microscopic to 3 in., or more, the shorter are more abundant. Their values depend on length combined with other qualities noted above. They occur as veinlets filling fissures in the peridotite, with crystals compactly arranged in parallel across the cracks. They are sometimes lightly frozen to the walls but the partings are distinct, often marked by particles of magnetite adhering to the fiber ends. Sometimes they break away from the rock in slabs an inch or more in thickness. In wide fissures the fibers are not always continuous, the "broken fibers" being separated by lines of parting with occasional scattered grains of magnetite, which is an injurious mineral to be elirninated when possible. In addition to the chrysotile ''Cross fiber," some "slip fiber" is found in fault fractures in limited quantities of less valuable character. With the exception of the Asbestos Corp, ore, in which the content is said to be more uniform, asbestos is eccentrically distributed through the peridotite. It is the general impression that the higher grades are more often found in hard rock. There are rich pockets and leaner areas which range down through various grades to minor barren sections. Wholesale mining is necessary to make sure of recovering all the high grade for there are no reliable indications of its existence. Ore selection only appears in constructing assay-grade limits for caving. The mill yield of the Thetford ore body in 1934 was 6 to 10 pct of the ore milled, made up of all classes, with occasional runs up to 15 pct or so. Quotations for Canadian asbestos* are as follows: Per Ton No. 1 Crude (% in. and longer) $896 @ $960 No. 2 Crude (Y8 to % in.) 350 @ 545 Spinning (less than % in.) 204 @ 378 Other classes, price diminishing with length. Shorts or "refuse" 24 @ 46 • From Eng. and Min. Jnl., Nov. 1948. Asbestos of even superior quality for electric insulation is found in Arizona limestone. It is white, containing very little combined iron, but occurs only in small quantities.

Jan 1, 1951

By T. J. Neil, C. B. Manula, O&apos

This paper describes a simulation model developed to analyze truck haulage problems as they are found in the open pit mining and construction industries. The model, using a computer, cycles trucks between their assigned loading and discharge points over a measured haulage route. Required parameters for model operation include the number and type of operating trucks and loading units, maximum truck acceleration and velocity, a realistic vehicular deceleration rate, and the ratio of ore to total material loaded at each origin. Equipment performance characteristics, system profile characteristics, and service time distributions are also included. Records are kept of all waiting times at the loading and discharge points and of any truck interference on the haulroads (moving queues), and a current journal of ore and waste production is maintained. In the pursuit of reduced truck haulage costs, management is confronted with three particular problems in truck and shovel mines. 1) What is the best assignment of trucks to shovels in the system? 2) If new equipment is needed, which new shovels and trucks will operate most effectively in the system? 3) Are any physical changes in the haulage layout warranted to increase productivity? For small open-pit mines the answers to these questions may be obvious. However, for larger operations complex problems are encountered with production and system configuration relationships usually being unknown. The mining simulator discussed here was developed to aid management in evaluating alternative pit-haulage schemes to reduce the risk involved in the selection and assignment of equipment in open-pit truck and shovel mining systems. There are two fundamental differences between this model and other truck haulage simulators: one is a difference of degree, the other a difference of kind. This model can simulate more complex systems than previous models by allowing transportation of material from multiple mine faces to multiple mine destinations and by being readily adaptable to a wide variety of mine layouts. The second difference that characterizes the model is the standard simulation of truck movements. This technique enables each vehicle to perform according to its mechanical capabilities and the physical profile of the haul road. Among the similarities between other truck haulage simulators and this model are the recognition of the probabilistic nature of certain service times in the system and the use of a digital computer to operate the model. The computer inherits the staggering computational and bookkeeping work loads and provides a means for compressing the time scale by allowing several days' operations to be simulated in a matter of minutes. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Basic aspects of the system analyzed here may be brought into focus by referring to Fig. 1, a schematic of the typical open pit truck-shovel operation programmed into the simulation model. A single stage materials handling scheme is employed to transport both ore and waste. Loaded trucks are directed to a crusher or stockpile if ore is being mined, while overburden is conveyed to a waste dump. Each shovel has a given number of assigned trucks and has two associated haulage routes, one for waste and one for ore. Up to 5 shovels and as many as 10 trucks per shovel (or a total of 50 trucks) can be operated in the model. Essentially the model, using a computer, cycles trucks between their assigned shovels and the proper discharge points over measured haulage routes. Required input parameters for model operation include the number of shifts to be simulated, operating time per shift, number and type of operating trucks and shovels, maximum truck acceleration and velocity, a realistic vehicular deceleration rate, and the ratio of ore to total material loaded at each shovel. Equipment performance characteristics, system profile characteristics, and service time distributions are

Jan 1, 1968

By Gerald Sherman

MINING asbestos ore by caving at Thetford Mines, Quebec, has been described in the Transactions of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in papers presented by the staffs of The Asbestos Corp. Ltd., in 1934, and Johnson's Co. Ltd., in 1941. The production by caving prior to 1949, in round figures, has been 14,500,000 tons of ore by The Asbestos Corp. and 5,500,000 by Johnson's Co. They are the only caving operations in asbestos at the present time. The Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Co. at Asbestos, 40 miles southwest of Thetford, is well along in preparations for caving, and The Bell Asbestos Mines Ltd. at Thetford Mines, will follow their examples later. GERALD SHERMAN, Member AIME, is Consulting Engineer, Johnson's Co. and Canadian Johns-Manville Co., New York, N. Y. AIME San Francisco Meeting, Feb. 1949, and New York Meeting, Feb. 1950. TP 2828 A. Discussion (2 copies) may be sent to Transactions AIME before May 31, 1950. Manuscript received Nov. 2, 1949. Nearly all of the asbestos produced by the western hemisphere is mined in those districts of Canada. Since it has been the subject of a number of technical papers, this contribution is offered as a review of progress. Some introductory information seems appropriate, for few members of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers are familiar with the mineral, or how asbestos deposits differ from others in caving characteristics. Asbestos is found in peridotite, a basic intrusive rock irregularly altered to serpentine and erratically fractured, well enough to cave in bulk, but leaving many blocks of solid ore of all sizes scattered through the deposit. Chrysotile is the variety of asbestos produced in Canada. Its fibers are the most valuable commercially, having a good proportion of long fibers, strong, silky, flexible, and suitable for spinning. The fibers occur in all lengths, from the microscopic to 3 in., or more, the shorter are more abundant. Their values depend on length combined with other qualities noted above. They occur as veinlets filling fissures in the peridotite, with crystals compactly arranged in parallel across the cracks. They are sometimes lightly frozen to the walls but the partings are distinct, often marked by particles of magnetite adhering to the fiber ends. Sometimes they break away from the rock in slabs an inch or more in thickness. In wide fissures the fibers are not always continuous, the "broken fibers" being separated by lines of parting with occasional scattered grains of magnetite, which is an injurious mineral to be elirninated when possible. In addition to the chrysotile ''Cross fiber," some "slip fiber" is found in fault fractures in limited quantities of less valuable character. With the exception of the Asbestos Corp, ore, in which the content is said to be more uniform, asbestos is eccentrically distributed through the peridotite. It is the general impression that the higher grades are more often found in hard rock. There are rich pockets and leaner areas which range down through various grades to minor barren sections. Wholesale mining is necessary to make sure of recovering all the high grade for there are no reliable indications of its existence. Ore selection only appears in constructing assay-grade limits for caving. The mill yield of the Thetford ore body in 1934 was 6 to 10 pct of the ore milled, made up of all classes, with occasional runs up to 15 pct or so. Quotations for Canadian asbestos* are as follows: Per Ton No. 1 Crude (% in. and longer) $896 @ $960 No. 2 Crude (Y8 to % in.) 350 @ 545 Spinning (less than % in.) 204 @ 378 Other classes, price diminishing with length. Shorts or "refuse" 24 @ 46 • From Eng. and Min. Jnl., Nov. 1948. Asbestos of even superior quality for electric insulation is found in Arizona limestone. It is white, containing very little combined iron, but occurs only in small quantities.

Jan 1, 1951

By Alden B. Greninger, Alexander R. Troiano

Metallurgists have long believed that martensite in steel forms as plates along the octahedral {111} planes of austenite. Much has been written about mechanisms whereby units of the austenite lattice are pictured as transforming to martensite by shearing movements initiated along the octahedral planes of austenite, supposedly resulting in plates of martensite lying parallel to these planes of shear. A critical inspection of two or three photomicrographs of quenched hypereutectoid steel led us to the conclusion that the orientation habit of martensite, at least in hypereutectoid austenite, could not possibly be octahedral. Inasmuch as recent studies,30,31 of the martensite-type reaction in nonferrous alloy systems have established the irrational orientation habit as characteristic of this type of lattice transformation, the need for a thorough restudy of the crystallography of martensite formation in steel was evident. The present paper reports the results of such a study, extended to include both cementite and some of the products of constant-temperature decomposition of austenite. Also reported are a few of the results obtained from a microscopic and X-ray study of the austempering process in very high-carbon steel. I. The Martensite Transformation Previous Work Microstructure and Crystal Structure of Martensite.—Among the best series of published photomicrographs of quenched steels are those of Whitely,1 Robertson,2 Hanemann and Schrader,3 and Lucas.4 The crystal structure of martensite is body-centered tetragonal, with axial ratio varying from 1 near 0.0 per cent carbon to 1.08 for 1.75 per cent

Jan 1, 1940

By Alden B. Greninger, Alexander R. Troiano

Metallurgists have long believed that martensite in steel forms as plates along the octahedral {111} planes of austenite. Much has been written about mechanisms whereby units of the austenite lattice are pictured as transforming to martensite by shearing movements initiated along the octahedral planes of austenite, supposedly resulting in plates of martensite lying parallel to these planes of shear. A critical inspection of two or three photomicrographs of quenched hypereutectoid steel led us to the conclusion that the orientation habit of martensite, at least in hypereutectoid austenite, could not possibly be octahedral. Inasmuch as recent studies,30,31 of the martensite-type reaction in nonferrous alloy systems have established the irrational orientation habit as characteristic of this type of lattice transformation, the need for a thorough restudy of the crystallography of martensite formation in steel was evident. The present paper reports the results of such a study, extended to include both cementite and some of the products of constant-temperature decomposition of austenite. Also reported are a few of the results obtained from a microscopic and X-ray study of the austempering process in very high-carbon steel. I. The Martensite Transformation Previous Work Microstructure and Crystal Structure of Martensite.—Among the best series of published photomicrographs of quenched steels are those of Whitely,1 Robertson,2 Hanemann and Schrader,3 and Lucas.4 The crystal structure of martensite is body-centered tetragonal, with axial ratio varying from 1 near 0.0 per cent carbon to 1.08 for 1.75 per cent

Jan 1, 1940

By Pradeep K. Rohatgi, Clyde M. Adams

Structures obtained on freezing of several hypo-and hypereutectic Al-Cu alloys over a range of solidification rates have been examined. Dendrite spacing, L, increases linearly with solute concentration and with the square root of the inverse freezing rate. The relationship for hypoeutectic alloys is: where rate of change of fraction solid with time, is freezing rate, C is solute concentration, (pct Cu)=1. Mass transport in inter dendritic liquid during solidification is analyzed; the experimental observations suggest maximum concentration differences and constitutional supercooling in the inter dendritic liquid increase with an increase in the solute concentration. The dendrite morphology changes with freezing rate and alloy composition. The dendrites of the a phase are parallel, uniformly spaced plates with slow freezing and rods with rapid freezing. Nonor-thogonal side branching has been observed in phases with cubic and tetragonal structures. Side branches in a dendrites are orthogonal with slow freezing and at 60 deg with rapid freezing. Formation of second-phase envelopes around the Primary phase is also discussed. DENDRITIC structure is characteristic of many types of phase transformation. The most extensively studied so far has been solidification of liquid solutions. chalmersl and coworkers have interpreted the formation of dendrites in terms of the breakdown of a planar interface. Most of the work done concerns itself with the development of an instability at the interface. Little theoretical work has been done quantitatively to relate the parameters of dendritic structure to mass transport in the liquid phase. A few empirical relations based on the experimental2'3 observations exist in the literature. Several workers2 including Brown and Adams1 have studied dendrite spacing in A1-Cu system as a function of solidification variables. In most cases, dendrite spacing has been found to increase linearly with the square root of some parameter proportional to the freezing time. The effect of solute concentration is not clear; some workers report the dendrite spacing increases with solute concentration4 whereas others report vice versa.''' ~ohatgi' has observed an increase in the spacing between ice dendrites with an increase in solute concentration in water. Tiller has also suggested that dendrite spacing should increase with solute concentration. In the present work dendrite spacing and morphology have been examined as a function of solute concentration and freezing rate. The freezing rate is defined as the fraction of liquid solidified per unit time, dfs/dß?, where f, is the fraction solid and 8 the time. The fastest freezing rate studied was 4550 times the slowest freezing rate. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS It is of interest to analyze the concentration distribution in the liquid phase between growing dendrites during solidification, Fig. 1. Since this distribution is a direct consequence of the rejection of solute by the growing solid, a diffusional process, the concentration gradients increase with the freezing rate. However, when solidification rate is the only variable in a series of experiments, the interdendritic liquid regions become smaller (i.e., the dendrites become more closely spaced) with an increase in freezing rate. The main purpose of the analytical treatment of interdendritic liquid diffusion will be to reveal a tendency for dendrite spacing to decrease with increasing solidification rate in just such a way that the maximum concentration differences developed in the liquid phase are remarkably independent of freezing rate. Two rather different analyses are set forth, one pertaining to the one-dimensional diffusion which obtains in the interdendritic liquid between parallel plate-shaped dendrites, and the other to the cylindrically symmetrical diffusion around rod-shaped dendrites during early stages of solidification. The results of the two analyses are quantitatively similar, correlating dendrite spacing, maximum concentration difference, and freezing rate. First consider the simpler one-dimensional case. Two parallel plate-shaped dendrites are separated by a distance, L, between centers, Fig. 1. Solidification takes place by the thickening of these plates, with solute being rejected into the liquid. It is assumed there is no diffusion in the solid. This thickening process is slow enough and the dendrite spacing small enough that the concentration differences which develop, although interesting and important, are very small (an important assumption which is verified ex-

Jan 1, 1968

By D. A. Elgillani, S. Atak, D. A. Rice, M. C. Fuerstenau, R. B. Bhappu

Quartz and feldspar cannot be floated with sulfonate at any pH; spodumene floats over a narrow acid pH range, while beryl responds moderately over a broad pH range. After wet-grinding in a steel mill, beryl, quartz, and spodumene float well with sulfonate below about pH 7, whereas the improvement in the response of feldspar is not so marked. A mechanism by which iron can be adsorbed on these minerals is presented. Also, the responses of leached, natural, and wet-ground beryl to amine, sulfonate, and oleate flotation are shown and related to the measured zero-points-of-charge of these materials. Earlier work with leached beryl showed that good flotation could be obtained with alkyl aryl sulfonate over a rather wide pH range using a Fagergren flotation cell.' When a similar response was observed with leached quartz, it was decided that unintentional activation was being obtained from the metallic components of the Fagergren cell. To obviate this difficulty, a microflotation cell was designed, and an experimental technique was devised. These have been described elsewhere. Experiments conducted with the small cell showed that leached quartz could not be floated at any pH with any sulfonate addition,3 which is in agreement with the observations of Kraeber and Boppel.4 Similarly, it was also found that leached beryl responded to sulfonate flotation only over a narrow pH range rather than the broad range reported earlier.1 This early work,1 however, revealed the important effect that wet-grinding in a steel mill has on the flotation response of certain silicates. That is, it was found that quartz and especially beryl floated well over an unusually wide pH range after wet-grinding in a steel mill. Microcline, however, floated poorly below pH 4, even though wet-ground under the same conditions. The work of Eigeles6 on adsorption of oleic acid on leached quartz and iron-contaminated quartz at constant pH is in agreement with these flotation data. Other research has shown that ferric iron, added as a salt to the system, functions as an activator in the narrow pH range in which Fe +++ iron hydrolyzes to its hydroxy complexes.3,5 These phenomena indicate that iron functions differently in flotation systems depending on its method of introduction. The object of this paper is to determine the mechanism by which iron is adsorbed on certain minerals, the mechanism of collector adsorption after iron abstraction, and the role that Fe++ and Fe+++ assume in the selective separation of these minerals. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHODS Sodium alkyl aryl sulfonate, mol wt 450,7 pure potassium oleate, and pure dodecylamine were used as collectors. All other chemicals were reagent grade in quality, i.e., n-amyl alcohol as frother; HC1, H2SO4, and KOH for pH adjustment; and ferric chloride as activator. Conductivity water, made by passing distilled water through an ion exchange column, was used in the experimental work. All minerals used in the investigation were hand-picked specimens. Sample Preparation: Each of the minerals was crushed through 8 mesh, and the product was divided into two groups, one to be ground dry and the other wet. Dry grinding was accomplished with an alumina mortar and pestle. The product was dry-screened to 48 x 150 mesh, cleaned magnetically, deslimed in conductivity water, and dried. Preparation of the samples by wet-grinding involved grinding a 200-g charge of the mineral (-8 mesh) at 60% solids with natural water in a mild steel rod mill for four minutes. This charge was then wet-screened immediately with natural water to 48 x 150 mesh, dried, and cleaned magnetically. Some experiments were also conducted with leached beryl and quartz. These products were prepared by leaching the sized sample (48 x 150 mesh) with concentrated HC1 with a percolation technique until no iron could be detected in the leach liquor. Following this step, the sample was rinsed with conductivity

Jan 1, 1967

By GEORGE W. HARHIS

IN the earlier period of anthracite-ruining, much coal was wasted, both underground and in the culm-banks on the surface. Such waste is common in the development of new mining districts, in which, as a rule, only the richest material can be profitably treated. In the anthracite-region, special causes operated to increase this evil. The mines were generally operated under 20-year leases, and royalties were paid upon such coal only as was actually marketed. The lessees consequently cared for immediate profit only. They were- not bound to win all the coal they exposed, or to leave it in such condition that their successors could win it. Nor was it their interest or duty to educate consumers in the use of their product. The market called for coal of large sizes ; and such coal they furnished, throwing away the rest. Any pains taken by them to bring about a more rational use of coal by their consumers would have borne fruit, after their leases had expired, to the benefit of somebody else. A full statement of the situation wits given in 1893, in the report of the State Commission, appointed in 1889 to investigate the subject.` That body included the names of Heber S. Thompson, William Griffith and the late Eckley B. Coxe.2 Its report gives special attention to the utilization of the old culm-banks.

Nov 1, 1905

By John M. Hancock

IN beginning my remarks, may I make it entirely clear that since January 4, 1947, I have not been a member of the United States Delegation to-the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission I am speaking, therefore, in purely a personal capacity. Because of the interest of the engineering profession with reference to uranium, and because of the title assigned me for this talk, I am going to assume that you know what the United States Plan is for the control of atomic energy. At best, in the limited time, I could only summarize, at the risk of giving undue emphasis to the items mentioned, and at the risk of omitting many important parts of what seems so far to be a complete and well-rounded Plan for meeting the problem. I will aim to comment upon those aspects of the Plan that continue as problems and involve apparent, or obvious, misunderstandings and contrary views The control of atomic energy represents not only a problem but a challenge-both faced by- all the peoples of the world It involves a new approach to the problems of the kinds that arise between nations, problems that have not ever been solved even by international treaties in their efforts to outlaw weapons of war. These efforts range from the Kellogg-Briand treaty to outlaw war, and its obvious failure to prevent World War II, to the interdiction by the Pope of the use of the crossbow in the days of the Crusades. All previous plans have been failures-that makes

Jan 1, 1947

By O. B. Hopkins

The total production of oil in Peru in 1940 was 12,127,135 bbl., or about 10 per cent less than in 1939. Most of the reduction can be attributed to the fact that the export market under war conditions is much restricted and naturally is more than ordinarily competitive. Development and Exploration in Older Areas As evidenced by Table I, almost all production continued to come from the three established fields in coastal northwestern Peru. Zorritos Field.—Exploration in this small field, which was purchased by the Peruvian Government in 1939, continued with that in near-by areas in the adjoining National Reserve. Several wells were drilled, regarding which details are not as yet available. It is estimated that the production rate for a total of some 45 old and 15 new wells approximated zoo bbl. per day, or about 3 bbl. per well per day. Lobitos Fields.—The Lobitos area produced 2,435,504 bbl.; about 10 per cent less than the amount for 1939. La Brea-Pari9zas.—This property of International Petroleum Co. continued to account for nearly 80 per cent of Peru's production. During the year, drilling was stepped up to 139 wells, as compared with 73 wells completed in the previous year; 123 were producers and aggregated a total of 287,867 ft. Of this total, more than 85 per cent was drilled by rotary tools, which are steadily displacing other equipment. Although most of these wells were drilled in the proved or semiproved areas, eight

Jan 1, 1941

C. W. GOODALE,* Butte, Mont.-I notice Mr. Newton refers very briefly to the carbonate ores of manganese, rhodochrosite, but he does not go into any special description of the treatment of that material. In some of the veins in Butte, Mont., there is a large amount of rhodo-chrosite, and a large tonnage of that material has been shipped to the East for making ferromanganese. At the works of the Anaconda company at Great Falls they treated several thousand tons of this manganese ore, running about 37 to 38 per cent. manganese, in electric furnaces, giving a product of about 78 per cent. of manganese. But just at that time the demand for ferromanganese from the West was discontinued and the material, about 1000 tons of 78 per cent. manganese, is on hand at the works at Great Falls. With the higher-grade manganese ore, running, we will say, 37 or 38 per cent., there are large bodies of ore perhaps 20 or 25 per cent., but containing too much silica to be valuable in their present condition. Some efforts have been made for water concentration of that material, but owing to. there being only a difference of about 1 in the specific gravity of the quartz gangue and the manganese mineral, water concentration has offered some difficulties, I have been told, however, that some very satisfactory experiments have been made with magnetic concentration of this material. I think it is a new idea that this manganese ore can be treated successfully by magnetic concentration.

Jan 4, 1919

By John D. Ridge, Robert C. Barwick

The amount of lead in concentrates that moved in international trade in 1952 was only 16 pct of the world mine production of lead and was less than 27 pct of the total of lead in concentrates and lead metal that traveled from one country to another. Because almost all lead is derived from galena, lead concentrates are high grade, with a theoretical maximum of 86 pct lead, and can be shipped as such without transporting a considerable weight of waste material. It would not be surprising, therefore, to find the large share of lead in international trade moves in concentrates (Rule 5). This is not, as has just been mentioned, actually the case. There is more than one explanation for the situation. Lead smelting is not a particularly difficult process and is one for which smelting equipment can readily be made of the best size for the tonnage to be handled. Another factor that encourages local smelting is the effort of many mining countries to see that a maximum of profit from their raw materials remains in the home country. Still another factor is the newness of large scale lead mining in two of the three largest exporters of lead in concentrates. In these countries, South West Africa and French Morocco, there has not yet been time to erect enough smelting capacity to process all of the concentrate output. Even in these countries, however, it will not be long, if present trends continue and plans are fulfilled, before most or all of the lead mined is domestically smelted.

Sep 1, 1955

By Ralph Arnold

IN OPENING the symposium under the auspices of the Petroleum and Gas Committee of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, I wish to call to your attention the following, among other subjects, which it is hoped may receive proper attention: 1. The recording of as accurate an appraisal of the oil possibilities of the various countries as is possible, with information as to the immediate availability of their supply. 2. The development of further support for the move-ment to bring about active cooperation among Ameri-can oil companies in their foreign exploration and development work. 3. The furtherance of the efforts of the industry in securing governmental assistance in foreign oil develop-ment: (a) along the lines of a modification of our domestic oil policy, so that we can go to foreign coun-tries and consistently ask fair treatment as to royalties and bonuses; (b) by a closer cooperation between the State and Commerce Departments and the oil industry. 4. The calling of attention to the unjustifiably drastic action of the price-fixing group of the oil industry during the last year or so, with the hope that it will use gentler methods in the future. None of these subjects are new, and some of them have been discussed before various organizations for years. Our justification for again bringing them forward is the hope that by everlastingly harping on them the industry, the Government, and the people who shape the destinies of this country may some time, some how, realize their importance and take effective constructive action.

Jan 6, 1922