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President Mrs. Herman A. Prosser 1001 Park Avenue New York 28, N. Y First Vice-President Mrs. David E Park 115 East 67th Street New York 22, N Y. Second Vice-President Mrs Oliver Bowles 5000 Massachusetts Ave , N W. Wash 16, D C Third Vice-President Mrs. H Bobinson Plate 1215 Vancouver Avenue Burlingame, Calif

Jan 1, 1952

PROF RICHARD ÅKERMAN Stockholm, Sweden DR. FRANK DAWSON ADAMS Montreal, Canada PROF RICHARD BECK Friberg, Germany ANDREW CARNEGIR New York, N.Y. DR. JAMES DOUGLAS New York, N.Y. PROF HATON DE LA GOUPILLIERE Paris, France SIR ROBERT A. HADFEILD London, England PROF HANS HOFFER Leoben, Austria JAMES FURMAN HOEFER Leoben, England PROF HENRI LOUIS LE CHATELIER Paris France

Jan 1, 1917

New York LOUIS D. HUNTOON, Chairman. ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, Vice-Chairman. THOMAS T. READ, Secretary, Woolworth Bldg., New York, N. Y. E. MALTBY SHIPP, Treasurer. GEORGE F. KUNZ, W. De L. BENEDICT. Boston ROBERT H. RICHARDS, Chairman. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Vice-Chairman. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston. Mass. TIMOTHY W. SPRAGUE, HENRY A. WENTWORTH.

Jan 1, 1917

By Fordyce Coburn

RICHARD ore mine of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corp. is an underground magnetite operation located in northern New Jersey approximately four miles northeast of the town of Dover, and 40 miles west of New York City. The mine is situated on the southeastern flank of one of the many gneissic ridges having a northeast-southwest trend

Jan 11, 1953

By D. C. Seidel, E. F. Fitzhugh

The Colorado School of Mines Research Foundation has developed a hydrometallurgical process for recovering nickel from oxidized ores, including both the iron-rich laterites and magnesium-rich, soft silicates. Known as the HSO-HTCP (Hydrothermal Sulfidization Oxidation-High Temperature Cementation in Pulp) Process, the system consists of feed preparation, sulfidization, oxidation, precipitation (cementation), and calcination and melting. This paper deals primarily with the sulfidization and oxidation phases of the process. Nickel sulfide ores lend themselves readily to concentration before smelting or pressure leaching, but neither of the major oxidized ore types — the iron-rich laterites and magnesium-rich, soft silicates-has been directly concentrated. Upgrading of crude ore in current practice is limited to cobbing lumps of the harder, lower grade rock (protore) from the softer, enriched silicate ore, because only a small percentage of the nickel in these ores occurs in discrete, contrasting mineral particles. There is no apparent mineralogical contrast in the superficial, iron-rich lateritic ores and, in fact, there is no firm assurance that the nickel atoms are within the lattices of the limonite minerals, or else irregularly adsorbed on the limonite. Within underlying, "rotten rock" silicates, occasional veinlets of gamierite and related nickeliferous silicates are found.' The gamierite veinlets, however, are only incidental, and the majority of the nickel atoms occur as erratic replacements of magnesium atoms in the micaceous chlorites of the ore mass. Pyrometallurgical processes account for nearly all the nickel currently being recovered from oxidized ores. Plants in New Caledonia, Oregon, Japan, Brazil and Greece smelt the ores to make ferronickels or a sulfide matte,2 and the ammoniacal leaching3 at Nicaro, Cuba, is preceded by a reducing roasL4 The only fully hydrometallurgical installation has been the politically ill-fated Freeport Nickel Co. enterprise, and this process was limited to lateritic ores.5p6 A hydrometallurgical technique which might handle both laterite and the typically richer silicate ores has been an enticing goal. The technique described here was developed at the Colorado School of Mines Research Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Republic Steel Corp. It uses sulfur, heat, air and metallic iron to recover nickel from these ores. Inasmuch as the ores are treated as aqueous slurries, the cost of drying a plant feed that normally carried 30% or more moisture is eliminated, and there are no dust problems. Patent applications have been filed by Republic Steel Corp. on the procedures used for getting the metal into solution and on the subsequent recovery without liquids-so l ids separation of the slurry. It is referred to as the HSO-HTCP Process (Hydrothermal Sulfidization Oxidation — High Temperature Cementation in Pulp). THE PROCESS FLOWSHEET The results of various experimental studies have been combined to form the continuous flowsheet illustrated in Fig. 1. This flowsheet serves as a general pattern showing the sequence of the operations which include: (1) feed preparation; (2) sulfidization; (3) oxidation; (4) precipitation (cementation); and (5) calcination and melting. This paper deals primarily with the sulfidization and oxidation phases of the process. Feed preparation: In general, the silicate ores can be considered as earthy rather than hard, and preparation might be carried out before the addition of water in a trommel, or with water in a scrubber or log washer. This breaks up the earthy particles, allowing the hard lumps to be separated by screening. The oversize material from most ores is relatively barren and may be discarded. If there is occasion to control the iron-magnesium ratio in the plant feed, laterite, which normally breaks up readily into fine sized particles, and silicates are mixed in suitable proportions. The fine product slurry from the initial steps is mixed with elemental sulfur and fed to a conventional ball mill, although the amount of actual grinding that takes place is relatively small. The object of milling is to complete the disintegration to natural particle size and to produce an intimate mixture of the ore and elemental sulfur. This pulp, which is almost entirely -200 mesh, has a pH of about 7.0 and normally can

Jan 1, 1969

DEVELOPMENT of a chemical process for the extraction of pure metals from mill concentrates or metal scrap has progressed beyond the pilot plant stage and may prove an important adjunct to present smelting and refining methods if initial commercial operations prove economically successful. Developed by the Chemical Construction Corp., the new process involves the treatment of oxide and sulphide ore concentrates by chemical methods, instead of the usual smelting and refining techniques. Several of the many applications are now scheduled for commercial use. Refiners using the new process will prepare ore concentrates by standard flotation methods, introduce the concentrate as a slurry into an autoclave along with water and an acid or ammonia. From the resulting leach solution, recovery of individual metals is made by use of suitable reducing agents. By varying conditions during treatment, different metals in the ore are produced separately as pure powders, which may be pressed into forms ready to market, or in the case of copper, extruded as rods or pipe. The reagents are generally recovered. By manipulating the variables during reduction, selective separation of nickel, and/or cobalt, and/or copper can be made simultaneously. The separation is a continuous operation. Low metal prices are not immediately in view because of the tremendous demand at this time. However, reduced metallurgical treatment costs will allow economical mining of orebodies with lower metal content, permitting increased production to meet demand. Although the practical horizon for use of the new process appears to be limitless, one factor may enter into its employment. Just how low grade a concentrate can be economically used is unknown. In addition, for present practical considerations, only metal below zinc in the electromotive series may be processed. Each commercial application requires specific technique adaptation and pilot-plant data for engineering design. A nickel-cobalt-copper process has been researched and piloted in collaboration with Sherritt Gordon Mines, Ltd., for the firm's Lynn Lake properties. In addition, processes were tailored for cobalt concentrates of Howe Sound Mining Co., and National Lead Co., in view of the urgent need for this specific metal. Major General William N. Porter, president of Chemical Construction, says of the new process, "piloting experience has shown that production cost, from ore concentrates to pure metals should be considerably below current costs." Other savings may be realized by cutting transportation and personnel costs, and by reducing the time lag between mining and pure metal from months to a matter of hours. First commercial use of the process will start sometime this summer. Chemico is slated to finish building a $2.5 million cobalt refinery for Howe Sound Mining near Salt Lake City. The plant is expected to raise world cobalt production by 40 pct. The plant will process 35 tons of 20 pct cobalt concentrates from Howe Sound's Blackbird mine near Cobalt, Idaho, daily. Yearly production is expected to reach 2000 tons of pure metal, about one half of U. S. consumption in 1950. Steps in the Howe Sound application of the process are: 1. Acid oxidation leach. 2. Filtration (residues thrown away are insoluble compounds-gangue, iron, arsenic). 3. Cementation (for Cu removal because Cu content is too low for recovery). 4. Reduction from ammoniacal solution. 5. Separation of Co and Ni as mixed metals (95 pct Co and 5 pct Ni). 6. Recovery of ammonium sulphate. Under construction at the Fredericktown, Mo., mine of National Lead is a $5 million refinery sched- [ ]

Jan 1, 1952

By E. H. Citron

CLEANING fine coal in jigs is not new in Europe, where the feldspar jig is being used almost exclusively for this purpose. A feldspar jig operates with an artificial bed made up generally of feldspar or other hard rock material. Dimensions and specific gravity of this material must be of suitable values for good bedding qualities. For good efficiency, the size should range between 1x2 in. and 2x2x1/2 in. thick.

Jan 4, 1958

By N. LILIENBERGS

DURING the past few years, the requirements for steel have been raised so high that soundness is more important than ever before. The old practice was to mike steel ingots of sufficiently large sections to permit a considerable reduction of area in rolling and hammering to a given size, relying on the fact that by such rolling and hammering all cavities will be squeezed together and practically eliminated. The finished sizes, if found by inspection of the surface to be faultless, were therefore pronounced to be sound. But when such steel is ?worked up,? the manufacturer is surprised and disappointed to find that it splits, or that streaks and seams make the product unmarketable. Large sections, such as rails, beams or heavy forgings, may, within certain limits, be sufficiently strong, even if the sides of the cavities are only squeezed, and not welded together. But it is well known that, in the interior of heavy articles, under certain conditions, forging may develop small streaks into large cavities. Small sections, steel for ordnance and tubes, and numberless articles in the tool-trade, always show up the defects. It may be doubted whether cavities in steel ingots can ever be completely welded. The old theory, is, that the silver-clear blow-holes, without the blue oxide, can be welded by sufficient working. They are, however, not empty, but are filled with carbonic oxide. It is admitted that the "blue" cavities, resulting from air mechanically drawn down into the mold during the casting, can never be welded, because the oxide does not melt, and there would be no escape for it if it did. The only way in which steel can be made satisfactory for the above-named particular purposes is by having it ?dead molten." But then the trouble of piping is encountered. As is well known, a pipe is the result of the contraction of

May 1, 1906

DESPITE strikes, domestic production of copper and zinc in 1951 rose about 3 pct and 10 pct, respectively. Lead output fell only about 7 pct. Primary refined, including processed scrap and imported concentrates, was somewhat higher for zinc, and slightly lower for copper and lead. Prospects are for moderately larger mine and refined production in 1952 according to Standard & Poor's analysis of nonferrous metals. The survey goes on to report domestic copper prices averaged 14 pct higher in 1951, lead prices 30 pct higher, and zinc prices 32 pct higher. The 2¢ rise in zinc and lead ceilings in October will lift the average price in 1952 over 8 pet, assuming no further price change. Currently, OPS appears opposed to raising the 24 ½ ¢ copper ceiling to the 24 ½ ¢ maximum on imported metal. The steep premiums in world markets are likely to be reduced in 1952. Sales in 1951 were at new peaks. A further moderate rise is indicated for 1952. Earnings of the industry were at a new high in 1951. The increase for companies covered in the survey was perhaps 25 pet, despite a tax rate of about 53 pet, against about 40 pct. in 1950. Relatively maintained to moderately higher earnings are currently indicated for 1952. About two thirds of the companies covered in the survey raised dividends, including extras, in 1951. In general, maintained payments appear probable in 1952.

Jan 1, 1952

By GEO H. DEIKE

NOT much activity has been evident during the past year in the establishment of co-operative scholarships but the interest among the coal-mining companies is more pronounced than ever. This is apparent from the replies received to a letter sent out by the Committee on the Promotion of Student Interest in Coal Mining to over 120 coalmine operating officials. With that letter was forwarded a bulletin issued by the school of mineral industries of The Pennsylvania State College entitled ?Industrial Scholarships ? a Partnership of Industry and Education.? In that circular was outlined the need for trained men in the war and postwar world, and particularly as such demands pertain to the growth of the mineral industries.

Jan 1, 1943

By Gen-ichi Nakazawa, Masamichi Fujimori, Ichiro Doi

INTRODUCTION The major products of nickel industry in Japan are the electrolytic nickel (E-Ni), the ferro-nickel (Fe-Ni) and the nickel oxide sinter (NOS), totaling in production to 90 - 100 X 103 tons/year in terms of pure nickel content, and sharing approximately 20% for E-Ni, 10% or less for NOS, and the rest for Fe-Ni. The raw materials to be used for these products depend totally upon the imports from abroad; matte, the raw material used in the production of E-Ni, is from Australia and Indonesia; matte for the NOS is from Indonesia and New Caledonia; and garnierite, the raw material for Fe-Ni, is imported in bulk from New Caledonia, Indonesia and the Philippines. This report describes the acquisition of these raw materials, the production processes, trend of supply-demand, problem areas and the measures taken, and so forth, in connection with the nickel industry in Japan. ELECTROLYTIC NICKEL 1. History The nickel industry in Japan began in 1939 by the Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (SMM) with 150 tons E-Ni/month under the blast furnace smelting and the metal anode electrolysis. This was temporarily suspended after the end of last World War II, but resumed in 1952 with garnierite of New Caledonia as a raw material. Since then, the production capacity has been expanded incidentally to the increase of demand. However, since the smelting of garnierite contained about 2% nickel was very costly, the smelting process had been changed to smelt the briquettes of the mixture of garnierite and nickel sulfide concentrate imported from Canada and Australia. In 1975, this smelter was closed, and SMM's nickel refinery used matte from Western Mining Corp. (WMC) of Australia as a raw material. The refining process had been the metal anode one. The crude nickel oxide derived from roasting the high grade nickel matte had been melted and reduced with coke in the electric furnace and cast into anode. In 1970, a new refinery was constructed to produce 1,000 tons Ni/month under the matte anode process, and further, in 1976, the old refinery was converted into the matte anode process, thus resulting in the total production capacity of 1,690 tons Ni/ month today under the matte anode process. Shimura Kako Co., Ltd. began in 1951 to produce a little of E-Ni, and in 1955, they constructed a shaft furnace smelter with New Caledonian garnierite as a raw material to begin the E-Ni production under the matte anode process. Its monthly production reached 400 tons in 1957, but it discontinued its smeltering in 1963 to convert to the matte import from S. Le Nickel, WMC and INCO. In 1979, it changed the source of matte supply from the above to Soroako of Indonesia, discontinued the E-Ni production in 1979, and arranged for a total toll contract with Sumitomo. Meanwhile, SMM has developed a very distingished process for nickel-cobalt separation and refining by a solvent extraction method from nickel and cobalt mixed sulfide generated as a by-product in the nickel recovering process from laterite under the Nicaro process. Nippon Mining Co., Ltd. (NMC) also developed its own process. The plants under these processes were constructed in 1975, with the monthly production capacity of 230 tons of nickel and 130 tons of cobalt by SMM, and 300 tons of nickel and 110 tons of cobalt by NMC. SMM imports the raw material from the Marinduque Mining and Industrial Corp. of the Philippines, while NMC from Queensland Nickel Pty. Ltd. of Australia. 2. Production Status 2.1 Producers and materials Today, SMM holds the monthly E-Ni production capacity of 1,920 tons, of which 1,690 tons are from the matte anode process, and the remaining 230 tons are from the mixed sulfide as a raw material. NMC also uses the mixed sulfide as a raw material for a production of 300 tons/month. [ ] Most of SMM's raw material, nickel matte, is imported from WMC of Australia, partly using the Soroako matte from Indonesia. An example of material analysis is given in Table 1. Matte is a raw material for E-Ni and NOS, and the major sources of matte supply at present are Australian WMC and Indonesian Soroako, occupying ap-

Jan 1, 1982

By J. H. Zimmerman

JET-PIERCING experiments were first conducted over ten years ago underground at the Soudan mine of the Oliver Iron Mining Co. Results were successful enough to encourage further research. The next field tests were made on the Reserve Mining Co. property at Babbitt in 1941. These tests showed that blastholes could be produced in taconite ore by the use of a flame and proper fluxing agents. The war put a stop to the experimental program shortly after these tests. Extensive field tests were resumed at Babbitt in 1946. In these tests nominal 6-in. blastholes were produced at an average rate of 10 ft per hour. Rates as high as 17 ft per hour were obtained for short periods. The experimental equipment used resembles a portable rotary-drill rig mounted on a truck. The standard steel mast has been extended to 46 ft to accommodate a blowpipe capable of producing holes over 30 ft deep. All auxiliary equipment including winch for raising and lowering the blowpipe, drive motor for the rotary table, pumps and tanks for process fluids, electric power plant, and control instruments are mounted on the truck. The jet-piercing process consists of

Jan 1, 1948

By J. E. Johnson

OF the many items of information necessary to the successful management of the blast-furnace, few are more important than knowledge of the location and movement of the stock-line: whether the furnace is full and has. been kept so; whether the stock is settling regularly or slipping; and, if slipping, how often it has slipped, at what times, and how far at each time. To obtain these data, a man is sometimes stationed at the top of a. pair of mechanically-filled furnaces, simply to watch and gauge them by hand in the old-fashioned way. - A more recent practice is the suspension of test-rods from ropes leading over pulleys to the ground-level, where the ropes are wound on small drums with graduated peripheries and provided with crank-handles, whereby the skip-man or some other person can quickly and conveniently gauge the position of the stock-line in the furnace. I believe the credit for this great improvement belongs to Messrs. McClure & Phillips of Sharon, Pa., who were, as far as I know, the first to apply it, and who have a patent for it. The valuable indications gained by application of the Uehling pyrometer to the down-comer are Dot to be ignored; but the information thus furnished is somewhat indi¬rect, and there is no scale for the translation of "top-tempera¬tures " into " feet down." Moreover, this apparatus as a whole is delicate, and the cost of its installation and maintenance is high. If the record furnished by the Uehling pyrometer is not in the most desirable form, the test-rods, on the other hand, give no record at all, except through the memory, or notes of a man who, to say the least, is not gauging continuously, and who may omit to report an improperly low stock-line, if it be due to a fault of his own.

Mar 1, 1905

By Edward Adarns Richardson

As developed up to the end of the Great War, an airplane was essentially a mechanism of wood and fabric, joined and held together by metal fittings and fastening. The engine and accessories, wire for wheel spokes and other tension members, and the occasional use of metal for inter-plane struts and the shafts of surface controls required some metal, but essentially it was a wood and fabric structure. Attempts had been made to use metal for other purposes, such as struts in the drag-trussing of wing panels and for short interplane struts, and Junkers had produced an airplane of iron in 1915. By 1917 he was using steel tubes and duralumin sheets, securing noteworthy advantages aerodynamically and from the standpoint of weight and upkeep. He was a pioneer along lines in which progress is still being made. Principles of Airplane Construction The loaded weight of airplanes ranges from 500 lb. for the light plane of which we heard so much a short time ago, to about 40,000 Ib. The great majority of planes range from 2000 to 10,000 Ib. Of this weight from 15 to 30 per cent. is for the dividend-earning load. This percentage is so low that every per cent. saved on the rest of the weight increases the pay load from 3 to 6 per cent,. The economic value of every pound that can be saved in designing or constructing a plane is sufficiently great to warrant spending money on refined methods of structural analysis, materials of superior strength properties for a given weight, methods of manufacture which may make possible the use of refinements in structural design, and the like, to an extent unknown heretofore. The weight of the airplane, without fuel, oil and crew, and pay load, ranges from 50 to 65 per cent. of the total weight loaded for planes suitable for commercial use. It is doubtful if the structural weight will ever be brought down to as low as 40 per cent. for commercial planes. The airplane may be roughly divided into: (1) Power plant, which includes engines, radiators, cooling water, oil and fuel tanks, piping, propellers, engine-starting systems, pumps, super-

By Edward H. Robie

SHOULD the name of our Institute be changed? Perhaps one should say, should it again be changed, for until 1919 the name was the American Institute of Mining Engineers. When the American Institute of Metals joined our ranks we became the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. To make it a full mouthful, and strictly legal, one should add the word "Incorporated." At the June meeting of the Board of Directors it was suggested that this name was not a particularly happy one, especially so far as members of the Petroleum Branch, comprising a quarter of our membership, were concerned-not particularly appropriate as the name for the professional society for petroleum engineers. Apart from the petroleum group, the present name is felt by some not to be sufficiently comprehensive. Most geologists and many metallurgists, ceramists, and fuel technologists, for instance, are not engineers. They could never qualify as registered professional engineers under the licensing laws and yet they are valued and fully qualified Members of the AIME. The Directors, at the June meeting, thought the idea of a change in name should be presented to the membership for discussion, and suggested this column as the avenue of approach. Nine years ago Dean Steidle, of Penn State, recommended among other things that the name of the Institute be changed to "American Institute of Mineral Technologists and Engineers." In an editorial in Mining and Metallurgy in January 1944 objection was offered to this name but "American Institute of Mineral Engineers" was suggested. A special committee appointed by the Board to review Dean Steidle's suggestions (W. B. Heroy was Chairman) suggested that if the AIME were starting from scratch, the American Institute of Mineral Engineers might be a preferred name. It was not thought that the change suggested by Dean Steidle was one of major importance, and the comment was made that "the present name has gained prestige through many years and is cherished by our membership. An important element of 'good will' is attached to it and some of this would be unquestionably sacrificed by any change." In M&M for February 1945, Oliver C. Ralston went into the derivation of the terms mineralogy and metallurgy, and pointed out that both Mining and Metallurgical mean "digging," etymologically. He went on to show, with tongue in cheek, that if we want a short and all-inclusive name it should be American Institute of Geo-urgists, or, for euphony, Geolurgists. Oliver's brilliant development seems to have been received with speechless wonder! Should a decision ever be made to change the name, we think most members will agree that the American Institute of Mineral Engineers is to be preferred over anything yet suggested. "Mineral" has become, through usage, a much broader term than is indicated in the dictionary. Webster states that a mineral, in the true sense, must be inorganic, but Murray's Oxford English Dictionary seems more liberal, defining "mineral" as "any substance which is obtained by mining; a product of the bowels of the earth;" and "mineral oil" as any oil of mineral origin, as petroleum or shale oil. Certainly "the mineral industry" is ordinarily taken to include those activities based upon processing all the metallic and nonmetallic ores and deposits found in the ground, including the fuels. One advantage of this title is that the familiar abbreviation, "AIME" need not be changed. The advisability of maintaining a well-known abbreviation is evident, and was recognized, for instance, when the Committee for Industrial Organization became the Congress of Industrial Organizations some years ago. But if the petroleum engineers are the ones to be chiefly considered in revising the name of the Institute, it is by no means certain that they would feel that they are much more adequately recognized in a group of Mineral Engineers than in a society of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. 'And then there remain, of course, the considerable number of professional members of the Institute who are not engineers at all. Comment from readers is invited.

Jan 1, 1952

By Eric S. Cheney

The often-heard question "How can we interest young geologists and engineers in AIME?" is virtually the same as "How can we interest young geologists and engineers in the glamorous mining industry?" Many persons would reply that AIME and industry should improve their image by various devices aimed at high school students and teachers, boy scouts, and even grade school children. For more immediate results, I suggest that we concentrate our efforts at the professional level on students already identified as geol¬ogists and engineers. Why does our glamorous profession appear distinctly unglamorous to most of the engineers and geologists currently in college and graduate school? The answers seem quite simple to me. First, the profession talks almost exclusively to itself, seldom to the engineering or geologic public, and almost never to the lay public. Second, the industry has been overly conservative in all aspects of recruiting during an especially competitive and affluent period. Consequently, mining has taken a terrific public drubbing from preservationists who still portray its leaders as robber barons. SME and AIME have, of course, various commendable programs for enticing student interest, including student membership, the low dues for this membership, the somewhat reduced prices at which students can attend AIME meetings and buy AIME volumes, and the large number of AIME Student chapters on campuses. Obviously, more active encouragements are needed.

Jan 1, 1971

By Ihor A. Kunasz

Lithium minerals occur predominantly in pegmatites which contain mineral assemblages derived from the crystallization of postmagmatic fluids or from the metasomatic action by residual pegmatitic fluids. They have been the traditional sources of raw materials for ceramic and chemical industries. However, with the discovery of Searles Lake, brines became new sources of lithium. Indeed, the 1960s may well be referred to as the "brine decade" because several brine bodies of significant economic importance were discovered. In the United States, the brines of Clayton Valley, Nevada, presently exploited by Foote Mineral Co., and the Great Salt Lake of Utah, to be exploited by the Great Salt Lake Chemicals Corp., have been defined as major sources of lithium. Also a lithium-bearing brine has been discovered in Chile. Following the termination of the AEC purchase program in 1959, several companies such as Maywood Chemical Co., American Lithium Chemicals, and Quebec Lithium Corp. were forced to close down their operations. Nevertheless, with the development of new applications in glass ceramics, air conditioning systems, synthetic rubber, and metallurgy (aluminum potlines), the lithium industry grew steadily, and with the potential application of lithium metal in batteries and nuclear reactors, a healthy growth can be foreseen. New products and new applications are likely to stimulate exploration for expanded reserves as well as the search for new sources from which lithium could be extracted economically. Geochemistry of Lithium Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It is the lightest of all the metals, having an atomic weight of 6.938. Its ionic radius is 0.60A and its charge is + 1. The geochemistry of lithium has been extensively studied and has been summarized by Rankama and Sahama (1950), Goldschmidt (1937), and Hortsman (1957). The distribution of lithium in igneous rocks is controlled by its size and its charge, and by the (MgO+FeO)/Li2O ratio. In the early stages of crystallization of a magma, that ratio is very large. Consequently, both magnesium and iron are removed by ferromagnesian minerals in preference to lithium which is then concentrated in the residual magma. This results in an enrichment of lithium in silicic rocks and pegmatites (Strock, 1936). Pegmatites are coarse-grained igneous rocks formed by the crystallization of postmagmatic fluids. Minerals within pegmatites may also form by metasomatism (Jahns. 1955). Genetically, the pegmatites are associated kith neigh- boring intrusives. Mineralogically, granitic pegmatites contain feldspar, quartz, and mica as the main constituents and a variety of exotic elements such as lithium, beryllium, tantalum, tin, and cesium, which may or may not occur in economically significant concentrations. Detailed studies by numerous investigators (Cameron et al., 1949, 1954; Hanley et al., 1950; Jahns, 1953, 1955; Page et al., 1953) indicate that pegmatites often exhibit an internal zonal arrangement, with each zone containing a specific suite of minerals. The lithium minerals are usually found in the intermediate zones, and although as many as 13 zones have been recognized by Cameron, a complete zonal arrangement is rarely found. Zoning of pegmatite bodies has also been observed on a regional basis. The regionally zoned pegmatite sequences exhibit mineral assemblages and complexity according to their respective distance from the granitic bodies to which they are genetically related (Mulligan, 1965). Lithium is also found in small proportions in a variety of rocks. The average lithium

Jan 1, 1975

By R. G. Beverly

The presence of radioactivity in uranium mill wastes has resulted in somewhat unique waste disposal methods. In addition to the common problems of disposing of large quantities of solid wastes, neutralizing acids, minimizing dissolved heavy metals, and clarifying all liquid effluents, the uranium mill operator must sample and analyze liquid effluents for micro-micro-quantities of radio- nuclides such as Ra226, Th230, and Pb210. Special disposal methods or decontamination procedures are required to meet the stringent limitations established by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on the concentration of radionuclides in liquid effluents. Routine monitoring of the receiving stream is also normally required. In recent years there has been a growing concern about the radioactivity remaining in uranium mill tailings, particularly at the sites of shut-down or dismantled mills. The State of Colorado, in cooperation with the industry, has adopted regulations for stabilization of inactive uranium mill tailings.

Jan 6, 1968

By Henry G. Granger

Repeated failures in attempts to work gold-bearing gravels by means of suction-dredges have created the impression that this method is impracticable. The suction-dredges have failed from three special causes: excessive wear and frequent breakage of pump-shell, runners and liners; inability to dredge compact gravel which would not readily move towards the intake; and, most important of all, closing of the suction-pipe by stones too large to enter it. In my opinion, all three causes of trouble may be remedied: the first, by making stronger the parts most liable to wear and breakage; the second, by means for loosening the gravel at the intake; and the third, by sufficiently increasing the diameter of the suction-pipe. In suction gold-dredges, this diameter has not usually exceeded 10 or 12 in.; whereas there are few profitable gold-fields which call be considered dredge-able, in which stones more than 12 in. in diameter are not frequently encountered. II. An Effective Suction-Dredge. In harbor-operations, much larger stones are handled by suction-dredges. The large dredge of the Henry Steers Contracting Co. worked for nearly four years at League Island, Philadelphia, where it sucked up, passed through the pump, and forced through 3,700 ft. of discharge-pipe, gravel containing boulders up to 200 lb. in weight. This was done with no bad breaks and few shut-downs. The cutter and liners were the only parts liable to damage, and these were easily replaced with brief interruption of work. The chrome-steel liners are said to have lasted from six to nine months. I am informed that this dredge worked continously for nine

Jan 1, 1910

By John M. Dale

As much as half of the world's known reserves of elemental sulfur occur at or near the earth's surface in natural or native sulfur deposits of volcanic or sedimentary origin. Yet these reserves constitute only a small percentage of the world's supply. Looked on as marginal materials, they remain relatively untouched despite the current demand and improved prices for sulfur. There are two main reasons for this. The first is the nature and occurrence of the deposits. They are generally small and widely scattered in remote and often arid locations, and the gangue constituents of the ore are apt to vary considerably-not only between deposits but also within deposits. The second reason is the lack of workable and economically feasible processes for recovering sulfur from the ores in such deposits. Historically, the older thermal processes in which the sulfur is vaporized away from the gangue were probably the most successful, but they were inefficient and created pollution problems. A few of the historical processes remain in operation today. Recently, however, an improved thermal process to handle all sulfur-containing surface ores has been designed under sponsorship of the Pan American Sulfur Co. A schematic diagram of this process is shown in Fig. 1. The process equipment consists of a paddle trough conveyor retort which is operated as a closed unit to prevent any air or oxygen from entering the system. Ground surface sulfur ore and heated pebbles are fed to this unit simultaneously. The ore and heated pebbles are slowly conveyed and continuously mixed down the conveyor retort. Heat from the pebbles and heat supplied to the outside walls of the trough conveyor retort raise the ore temperature above the boiling point of sulfur. Sulfur vapors and steam originating from moisture in the ore are ducted to a condenser, and the sulfur is recovered as a liquid. The gangue and the pebbles are discharged from the trough conveyor and separated-the gangue being discarded, and the pebbles being conveyed to a direct-fired rotary pebble heater where they are reheated before they are again charged into the rotary trough conveyor retort. The hot gases which pass countercurrent to the pebbles are ducted to the outside of the rotary trough conveyor where they pass countercurrent to the flow of the ore in order to maximize heat recovery and utilization.

Jan 4, 1969