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By Reinhard Fischer

The consumption of lead for batteries in some western countries and Japan amounts to 870,000 T. annually. Battery life is 2-3 years. Therefore after a short time a considerable quantity of lead flows back to smelters. The production of lead from scrap batteries is discussed from the following points of view: 1. Separation of the acid contained in the batteries. 2. Separation of the components which are free of lead from the components containing lead, e.g. cases, separators. 3. Separation of metallic lead from lead compounds. 4. Avoidance of manual-work. A process has been developed and perfected at a plant, which began operation in 1965. The procedure consists essentially of the following steps: 1. Breaking the cases and removing the acid. 2. Crushing the batteries in an impact mill. 3. Screening off separators. 4. Separation of slurry. 5. Gravity separation of metal and organic material. The plant has a one-shift capacity of -24,000 T. batteries/year.

Jan 1, 1970

T. M. Morris (Measurement and Evaluation of the Rate of Flotation as a Function of Particle Size, P. 794), was the commanding officer of a patrol craft charged with guarding Aleutian waters against infiltration by the Japanese during World War II. Before going into service, he was an assistant research engineer with Anaconda Copper at Anaconda, Mont., and later a metallurgist with Tennessee Copper Co. Presently he is a professor in the Department of Metallurgy, Missouri School of Mines, Rolla, Mo. A member of the AIME, he is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Missouri, with a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and a Ph.D. Professor Morris is the author of a previous paper for the AIME, Measurement of the Equilibrium Forces Between an Air Bubble and an Attached Solid in Water. An outdoor man by predilection, he enjoys bird watching and hiking in his free time.

Jan 1, 1952

By AIME AIME

THE Institute of Metals held a well rounded out symposium on the working of metals, distributed over two sessions. At the first session* four papers were presented, two dealing with the, cold working of metals and alloys and two with the hot working of non-ferrous alloys. The first paper by E. V. Crane, dealt with "Metal Working in Power Presses." Mr. Crane pointed out the empirical nature of engineering data available for use in calculating the probable stresses developed and power requirements, for the shearing, drawing, binding and other forming operations. He described the various operations, methods of determining stresses developed and presented data obtained. In the discussion C. F. Hammond took exception to Mr. Crane's objections to the rather too frequent. annealing operations in drawing of cartridge cases, pointing out that the material was-manufactured to meet specified structure and physical requirements, which could only be met by carefully controlled sequences of working and intermediate annealing operations.

Jan 1, 1931

By R. J. Lutton

Basic features occurring on tensile fracture surfaces in rock are hackle marks, steps, and rib marks. Rib marks define the leading edge of the fracture and indicate that it was free of irregularities. In turn, fractures characterized by these features are believed to have propagated elastically and to be truly brittle. On the other hand, most fractures in rock exhibit hackle marks and steps in a plumose arrangement, indicating a ductile fracture process. Accordingly, the edge of the fracture apparently advances by extending en echelon fingers, each of which is in turn a small plumose fracture. Plastic-like deformation takes place in this zone prior to complete rupture. Some of the propagation is directed sideways and some shearing also occurs in this direction. Such lateral movement contributes little to forward propagation and may make this process particularly sensitive to load rate and duration and help account for greater fracture strengths of materials under dynamic loads.

Jan 1, 1971

By Carl Henrich

In the planning and erection of smelting-works, especially of such as contain the modern large water-jacketed blast-furnaces, we are often confronted with an insufficiency in the watersupply. It may be impossible to find in the immediate neighborhood of the selected site a sufficient supply to furnish the jackets with cold water. Or there may be enough water for this purpose, but it may be highly charged with scale-forming minerals held in solution. Or, the main water-supply, if pumped from the workings of a mine, may carry iron- or copper-salts, or even some free acid in solution, all of these substances being derivable from the oxidation of sulphuret-ores in the mine. Moreover, such mine-waters sometimes contaminate the waters of the creeks, so that these become unavailable, and we have to fall back on an inadequate supply of pure water furnished by some spring or springs, entirely too small in

Jan 1, 1896

By John D. Morgan

Uncertain world conditions of the present time require that this country be prepared to meet: 1) all out nuclear war with attack on the U. S.; 2) limited wars; 3) political, economic, and/or pyschological warfare. Our present position as a major world power derives in large measure from our free institutions and great industrial productivity, and this productivity in turn depends on a continuing flow of raw materials-metals, minerals, fuels, and agricultural products. The U. S., with only about 6 pct of the world's population, uses from one to two thirds of the world's annual supplies of most metals and minerals. The U. S. strategic materials stockpiling program is designed to enhance our national security position: as stated in the preamble of the Stock Piling Act, to decrease and prevent wherever possible a dangerous and costly dependence upon foreign nations for supplies of strategic and critical materials in times of national emergency.

Jan 8, 1960

By Donald Ingvoldstad, Harold E. Lee

At Bunker Hill the original charge storage and preparation system was installed in 1917 to accommodate lead-silver gravity mill products. Only minor tonnages of wet fines such as vanner and flotation concentrates were received. Charge flux and diluent requirements were provided by an ample supply of siderite middlings and coarse limerock. While oversize material was crushed through Y4-in., the use of roll crushers in series resulted in a more or less granular, free-running charge of adequate porosity. Under such conditions, receipts could be proportioned directly from receiving bins, and suitable blending was obtained by passing the resultant layered composite through a small Stedman disintegrator. This elementary system served well for production and smelting of an extremely lead-rich sinter, in the low column blast furnace. Here sinter physical quality is less critical, and appreciable quantities of raw flux and oxidized ore may be charged directly to the blast furnace without seriously impairing furnace capacity.

Oct 1, 1956

By Joseph Hartshorne

Ever since the introduction of the Siemens regenerative furnace, it has been recognized that a certain amount of gas is lost each time the furnace-action is reversed. This loss comes, first, from the gas which passes through the free connection between the stack and the gas-main, which exists during the time the reversing-valve is turning over; and, secondly, from the gas which is in the chamber and flues, from the hearth to the reversing-valve, and which flows back into the stack when the valve is reversed. The amount lost each time is, of course, small; but, since a furnace is reversed from four to six times every hour for, say, 300 days in the year, the aggregate is large enough to be well worth attention. The estimate has been published1 that, in Germany aloue, the loss from the first of the above causes amounts to 500,000 barks per year. The loss from the second cause is, of course, much greater.

Jan 1, 1907

By John A. Church

EARLY in the month of August, 1877, a miner in Gold Hill, Nevada, made the unlucky remark that, according to his observation, that month was usually quite free from accidents in the mines. Never was presage wider from the truth. When the month closed twelve mishaps had occurred, killing six and wounding nine persons, and for the rest of that year the Comstock mining communities were kept in a ferment by the frequent occurrence of appalling disasters. There was a real tidal wave of calamity sweeping over the mines, which has not been repeated since, and according to common report was never known before on the Comstock. I was much interested in studying the character of these misfortunes, which also aroused concerted action on the part of the miners, and I have collected a list of the accidents which took place from July, 1877, to May, 1879. The number in this period of twenty-two months

Jan 1, 1880

By John A. Church

Early in the month of Angust, 1877, a miner in Gold Hill, Nevada, made the unlucky remark that, according to his observation, that month was usually quite free from accidents in the mines. Never was presage wider from the truth. When the month closed twelve mishaps had occurred, killing six and wounding nine persons, and for the rest of that year the Comstock mining communities were kept in a ferment by the frequent occurrence of appalling disasters. There was a real tidal wave of calamity sweeping over the mines, which has not been repeated since, and according to cornmoll report was never known before on the Comstock. I was much interested in studying the character of these misfortunes, which also aroused concerted action on the part of the miners, and I have collected a list of the accidents which took place from July, 1877, to May, 1879. The number in this period of twenty-two mouths

Jan 1, 1880

By Earl Hanson

FIRES in heavily timbered mines are disastrous, involving danger to both life and property. Some mines have been completely ruined or so heavily damaged that reopening them would not pay. Though few mines are entirely free from danger of fire, the risk is minimized by proper care and good design of plant. The Tintic Standard mine is at Dividend, Utah, in the famous Tintic mining district, about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City. The development of the mine was begun in 1907 by the late Mr. E. J. Raddatz and his associates. From the beginning, the work was hampered by high rock temperatures and the presence of high concentrations of rock gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Development work was carried on with great perseverance for nine years, and resulted in the discovery of ore in 1916. The total production of the Tintic Standard mine to Jan. 1, 1936, amounted to 1,664,388 tons of ore, having a gross value of .$61,996,719.

Jan 1, 1936

By G. G. Reed

G.G. Reed, Jr. The authors are to be commended for finding a material for pellets binding that we were unable to uncover during the investigations that led to US Patent No. 3,748,116, "Method for producing metallic iron powder from iron ore concentrate," July 24, 1973, by G.G. Reed, Jr., J.M. Karpinski, and S.V. Fox. This patent concerns a method of processing "super"-concentrates prepared from magnetite or "blue dust" into molding-grade metallic iron powder for use as a bulk commodity, in contrast to current methods which produce small batches that are custom-blended with additives and/or alloys to customer specifications. The one thing we had not found at that time was an organic binder (mineral-matter-free) that would allow induration to produce hardened pellets that would survive SL/RN Direct Reduction. Peridur appears to provide this missing link needed for large scale (200 t/a, or 220,460 stpy) single line plant capacity consistent with a low market price to ensure greatly broadened use of metallic iron powder. I hope that industry will adopt this combination so that metallic iron powder usage can fulfill its potential. ?

Jan 1, 1986

By Joseph Gurland

EVERAL carbide-cobalt compositions were pre-^-5 pared for the purpose of determining the transverse rupture strength of various carbide-binder systems. The binder content was held at 10 and 37 volume pct Co, so as to be representative of low and high bjnder compositions. The carbides used, WC, Tic, TaC, CbC, VC and ZrC, were selected on the basis of availability, knowledge of their properties, and small solid solubilities in the binder metal at room temperature. The methods of preparation and carbon analysis of the carbides are summarized in Table I. The carbides with cobalt added were ball milled, pressed, and sintered. vacuum sintering was used throughout, except for the WC-Cs alloys, which were sintered in hydrogen. The sintering temperatures ranged from 2500" to 2750°F for the low binder alloys and from 2300" to 2550°F for the high binder alloys. Compositions and properties of the sintered com- pacts are presented in Table 11. For the transverse rupture strength, the average and range of the five best samples of each alloy are listed. Discrepancies between the actual and theoretical densities are attributed to carbon deficiencies in some samples. The theoretical densities were calculated by assuming mixtures of carbides of stoichiometric compositions and cobalt. Representative microstructures are shown in Figs. 1 to 6. The porosity was A-2 or better' in all alloys except those with ZrC. A grain size of about 3 p was

Jan 1, 1958

By J. F. Elliott

PRESENT knowledge of the usual metallurgical slags indicates that they are, for the most part, rather complex in behavior and as yet there is no ready means for describing, in a simple manner, the behavior of any one of them. One of the best known slag systems is the iron oxide-silica-lime ternary which is the basic "solvent" in a number of important metallurgical refining operations, the basic open hearth being one of the most important. In this operation, the slag dissolves such components as sulphur, phosphorus, manganese oxide, and magnesia. Considerable study of this slag system and the behavior of these additions has been carried out in the past by a number of authors, as has been summarized in several critical reviews.','2 However, except for determination of the activity of iron oxide, only a limited amount of effort has been directed towards developing, from these data, an understanding of the general behavior of the basic solvent. Reported here are the results from a series of calculations based on data from the literature which permit a semiquantitative evaluation of the activities of iron oxide, silica, and lime (plus magnesia) in the ternary system at 1600°C. The preliminary results, which were reported briefly at a symposium held by AIME in 1953, have been revised and are completed. The steps in the calculation are as follows:* I—establish the activity curves and the curve of the excess molar free energy of mixing at 1600°C for each of the binary systems, 2—construct the activity surface of iron oxide for the ternary from the data on the binary systems and information available in the literature for the ternary area, 3—determine the surface of excess molar free energy of mixing for the ternary system from the activity surface of iron oxide and from the molar curves obtained for the binary system, and 4—differentiate the ternary surface of the molar excess free energy of mixing to obtain the ternary surfaces for the logarithm of the activity coefficients for silica and lime (log rslo, and log rc.~). Si0,-Fe,O: Schuhmann and Ensio have measured the activity of iron oxide in simple iron oxide-silica slags when in equilibrium with y iron. Their data recalculated to 1600°C are shown in Fig. 1. Also included is a point representing a measurement by Gokcen and Chipmana of the activity of iron oxide at 1600°C at the point of saturation with solid silica. For convenience and in accordance with other treatments,' the calculations are based on the hypothetical component, FelO, which is obtained by converting all the analyzed iron in the slag to FeO. In spite of Schuhmann and Ensio's conclusion that the activity of iron oxide in the system does not vary with temperature over the experimental range of 1258" to 1407"C, the data are corrected to 1600°C assuming that temperature does have an effect. It was felt to be most reasonable to assume that the term log rr.10 is a linear function of the reciprocal of the temperature. Reyu has indicated that an effect of temperature on the activities in this system is to be expected from the Schuhmann and Ensio data. In essence, the correction consists of multiplying the experimental value of log rf,,o by the ratio of the experimental temperature in Kelvin to 1873°K. The magnitude of the correction is not large, being approximately 11.5 pct of the experimental value of log rve10. A very minor correction was necessary to compensate for the fact that the slags were in equilibrium with y iron in the experiment, while at steel-making temperatures they would be in equilibrium with liquid iron. Data for the correction were obtained from Darken and Gurry. The standard states established are pure liquid iron oxide (FelO) in equilibrium with pure liquid iron (with the appropriate amount of oxygen in solution) and pure liquid silica. The method of plotting in Fig. 1 is convenient for the calculation of the activity of liquid silica and permits a reasonable extrapolation for the activity of Fe,O in the ranges where no experimental data are available. The uncertainty in the extrapolation to infinity at one terminal where Nvelo = 1 for the usual Gibbs-Duhem integration is reduced considerably by this method. The region of two coexisting liquid phases is estimated to range from 1.8 to 41.7 mol pct Fe,O. The nature of the activity curve for the single-phase region indicates that the activity of iron oxide across the two-phase region is very close to 0.39. Computation of the function log ~F,,o/(1— NF,,o)' for this region (dashed line) in conjunction with the curve through the adjusted experimental data indicate the best probable value of 0.382 for alPe,o in the two-phase area. The line from 0 to 0.018 Nf~~o is obtained by assuming that the component follows Henry's law. In this range, the value for log rveto is 2.59. Appropriate mathematical manipulation of the plotted linet yields the activity curves for the The curve AF", the excess molar free energy of mixing (actual minus ideal), as shown in Fig. 3 is also computed from Fig. 1. This curve is required for subsequent calculations. CaO-Fe,O: The phase diagram for the lime-iron oxide system when in equilibrium with liquid iron is not well known but there appears to be no intermediate compound present. This fact as well as the activity values for Fe,O extrapolated to the CaO-Fe,O binary from Taylor and Chipman' tend to indicate somewhat negative deviations from ideality for the activity curves for the two components. Strong indication of this is evident in Fig. 1 where are plotted the points computed from the estimated activities of Fe,O for the binary system.' It appears that the best line through the data is a horizontal straight line. Because of the general indication of the slight negative departure from ideality, the line is extrapolated horizontally to NF~,o = 0. It is con-

Jan 1, 1956

By R. S. Newlin

IN reality, the Butte district is the birthplace of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., for it was here that strength was gathered and means provided for later expansions of the Company. The Butte district was organized at a miners' meeting on Aug. 20, 1866, primarily for gold placer-mining operations. Substantial amounts of placer gold were recovered from gulch gravels during the period 1862 to 1868. The earliest lode claim locations in the district were recorded in July and August 1864. Copper ore was first shipped, to Swansea, Wales, in 1866. In November 1866, according to the Montana Post, construction of a smelter was started to treat the silver

Jan 1, 1948

By Charles Catlett

(Chattanooga Meeting, October, 1M.) THE terms " developed " and " undeveloped " are necessarily relative and cover a wide range; but the latter is here applied to cases in which the information at hand falls short of a clear demonstration of values, and conclusions must be reached from a study of the geological conditions of the particular deposit, interpreted in the light of similar and closely related deposits. Such an inquiry might be characterized as an effort to reach reliable conclusions from insufficient data. But the engineer engaged in commercial work finds himself often face to face with apparently such problems; and while he may realize with regret that a small amount of intelligent development would add enormously to the value of his conclusions, he is compelled to recognize the demand of a business situation for a prompt decision as the basis of immediate action. In a case within my knowledge, the question involved was the purchase of 50,000 acres of coal-land, and 10 days was the limit within which this question must be decided. Of course, it was impossible to make a satisfactory examination within that time; but the 'instructions were "to make the most complete examination and the most positive recommendation possible." Such instructions are often given; for, no matter how much time an investor may have, he is likely to put of his decision until the last moment, and then discover that he needs more light and advice. It does not follow that engineers, after full explanation and mutual understanding of the situation, should decline to undertake examinations thus limited. In the case just mentioned, while only the broadest view was possible, half the time available was sufficient to show that the property was a good purchase. The timber alone was subsequently resold for more than the entire purchase-price of the

Mar 1, 1909

By GEORGE A. KIERSCH

The awesome destructive power of known and projected weapons of war presages a new need for geologists and engineers, who may be called upon to locate vital industry underground, thereby protecting it from sky-borne destruction. The Corps of Engineers is now conducting special tests to establish design standards covering the general field of underground installations as well as surveys a of construction methods and the operational hazards connected with such plants. National planning must dictate a policy that is either tactical, where surface manufactured parts; are stored underground and during art emergency assembled, or operational with both the manufacturing and assemblage completed in subsurface plants. Both plans of operation require the use of subterranean plants. Relocation of vital plants underground will probably involve only a small percentage of the production capacity of this nation. The cost of rebuilding in new location will obviously limit its adoption

Jan 1, 1949

By James Aston

A PROPER consideration of this subject is not confined to the technical channels of production and metallurgy. It concerns an industry, and should cover economic aspects which are of material importance in any program of development. The discussion may logically be treated under three subdivisions, as follows: (1) manufacture, (2) characteristics related to quality of material; (3) adaptability and exploitation of product. MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT IRON The manufacture of wrought iron is the most ancient art of the ferrous metal industry. The eighty years or less of existence of processes identi-fied with our modern "Age of Steel" is a relatively brief interval com-pared with the several thousand years associated with the production of wrought iron by man. From the primitive early methods of production, manufacture for many centuries followed the line of direct reduction. There were developments as experience was gained through the years; but man's needs for a strong, ductile, forgeable product were met by reducing the ore to metallic iron in a single-stage operation. Following the development several centuries ago of what has become our modern blast-furnace operation, manufacture of wrought iron was gradually transformed into a two-stage method of first producing cast iron and then refining this to the desired degree of forgeability; the fore-runner in principle of today's scheme of manufacture of steel. The product retained the essential characteristics of highly refined base metal with iron-silicate slag incorporation, which were associated with the material resulting from direct reduction methods. Cort's invention of the puddling process in 1784 is a landmark in wrought-iron manufacture. It consisted essentially in adapting a coal-fired reverberatory furnace to the refining operation; thus lifting the industry out of the slough of

Jan 1, 1935

By J. L. Lummus, Frank O. Jones

A field procedure for determining graphite in drilling mud is presented which is sensitive to 0.25 lbs/bbl and accurate to 20 per cent. The method, utilizing oil flotation principles, is suitable for use in all oil-free water base muds except those containing ligno-sulfonates, lignites, or surface active agents. INTRODUCTION Graphite was proposed as a drilling lubricant as early as 1940, but has not been used extensively until recently.' Graphite has been substituted for oil in certain instances to avoid oil contamination of core samples since it has been found that graphite does not interfere with routine core analysis. A major difficulty in using graphite is the lack of a satisfactory field test for determining the concentration of graphite in mud. DISCUSSION OF METHOD Several possible methods of analysis were investigated, including chemical separation, density fractionation, radioactive tracers, and oil flotation.', ' The investigation indicated that a satisfactory method for field use could be devised using an oil flotation method. It was found that toluene shaken with a highly diluted mud sample would recover sufficient graphite to be apparent in the oil phase. Refinement and standardization of technique made it possible to detect as little as 0.25 lb/bbl graphite and to estimate graphite content to within 20 per cent by using a visual comparison method. The test is limited to oil-free water base muds. Quebracho, phosphates, or barytes in the mud do not interfere with the test but surface active agents, lignosulfonates' and lignites evidently render !he graphite water-wet so that none may be recovered by oil-flotation. PROCEDURE Instructions for determining graphite in mud: 1. Collect representative one gallon sample.- from mud stream. Transfer immediately 350 ml portions of this Sample into four mixing cans labeled A, B, C, and D. Measure out graphite (same as is used to treat mud) for addition to cans as indicated below, using either a specially designed scoop or a balance. Can: A B C D Grams Graphite to Add: none 2 4 6 Stir samples B, C, and D for 15 minutes with propeller type mixer. 2. Clean and rinse well with water four 250 ml volumetric flasks labeled I, 11, 111, and IV. Using a 5 ml hypodermic syringe, transfer the indicated volume of samples from cans A, B, C, and D into designated flasks as follows: From Can: A B C D To Flask: I II III IV Add This Volume of Mud: 4 ml 2 ml 2 ml 2 ml 3. Measure 100 ml fresh or distilled water to each flask and swirl gently to disperse mud. Add exactly 5 ml toluene to each flask. Stopper and shake each

Jan 1, 1953

By B. T., Colley

AS always when metallurgical operations are conducted within or close to agricultural and stock-raising regions, the question of damage due to fume and smoke presented itself when the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation's new smelter commenced to operate in La Oroya in 1922, For more than twenty years the Corporation had operated its old plant close to Cerro de Pasco without encountering difficulties from smoke claims, owing to the fact that it was in an open plain where more or less constant air currents carried and dissipated the smoke over large areas, affording ample dilution. But Oroya is in a deep canyon formed by four contributing valleys up and down which the smoke travels for long distances in a more or less concentrated form. Though the altitude of Oroya is more than 12,000 ft., and the surrounding country rises to much greater elevations, nevertheless there exists there a large and important stock-raising industry and also a considerable development in agriculture, consisting of the cultivation of potatoes, barley, etc.

Jan 1, 1945