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By Joseph C. McCaskill

The writer assumes that this volume is not intended to serve as a source of statistics on international trade and that the reader is not interested in wading through a lot of statistical tables copied from the various reporting agencies. Generalizations therefore are made whenever possible and not always is the source of the information meticulously cited. The United Nations regularly publishes trade data on mineral commodities. E. J. Gealy, and C. L Kimbell, of the U S Bureau of Mines (USBM), work with these data and estimate that they cover approximately 78% of total mineral commodities traded. In addition the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) publishes analyses of certain trade data The most complete report of production and trade in minerals 1s probably the international volume of the U.S. Bureau of Mines Yearbook The latest available edition is for 1968, and some of the data in this edition cover only as late as 1967. Unless otherwise stated, the source of data used in the chapter is this Yearbook Other staff members of the Bureau were most helpful and cooperative They are not to be held responsible for conclusions or points of view to be found in the chapter. THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE The two and a half decades since World War II have witnessed an unprecedented growth international commerce The end of the war found the world economy seriously crippled. Many countries had suffered severe war damage; international trade was disrupted and nations had to resort to exchange controls and bilateral trading arrangements. The postwar recovery, however, was remarkably rapid Within two decades, world Income more than doubled, and world trade which was less than $60 billion in 1948 exceeded $200 billion in 1968, 8 and reached $278 billion in 1970.18 The growing world trade contributed to world prosperity which in turn fostered growth of trade. This dramatic growth of international commerce was made possible by the progressive liberalization of trade and capital movements by the major trading nations of the world which began immediately after the War and has not yet completely lost its steam. The modern-day stimulus of the expanded trade movement was the enactment by the Congress of the United States in 1934, of the

Jan 1, 1976

By Yoon T. Auck, Milton E. Wadsworth

Column leach studies of two low grade prophyry copper ores were made with variables of size, flow rate, pH, drainage rate and tempature. Evidence is presented to show that, in some types of ores, sulfide minerals block leaching channels and regulate the rate of dissolution of gangue constituents. Basic iron sulfates, dissolved by introducing acid, provide oxidizing agent in the form of ferric ion in the absence of oxygen. Ferric ion then acts to release copper from the ore. Oxygen up-take was found to increase with the lowering of the pH and to follow parabolic kinetics attributable to the precipitation of basic iron salts within the pore channels. Slow drainage of residual gravitational water can seriously retard oxygen up-take during oxidation for particles in the coarse sand range. A model is presented for dump leaching in which a reaction zone connected by channels to the surface of the ore particle moves topo-chemically during the course of the reaction.

Jan 1, 1973

By Leon W. Dupuy

Many articles have been written describing peculiar and particular types of drilling. Little correlation has been made between the character of ground to be drilled and sampled and the type of drilling most desirable for procuring satisfactory samples. In development work, the engineer and metallurgist often desire the recovery of a sample in as physically natural a condition as possible, particularly when the sample must provide material for process tests as well as chemical and physical analyses. This paper describes the results of experimentation in drilling unconsoli-dated materials carrying titanium minerals in the Magnet Cove area, Ark. The drilling was most difficult in that the ground varied much in consistency, and it was vitally necessary to recover a physically natural sample. Ordinary churn drilling recovered a sample that could be analyzed chemically, but the sample was not in its natural state. The problem was successfully solved by utilizing and further developing methods used in the oil and clay industries. In the Magnet Cove area of Hot Spring County, Ark., the titanium minerals include rutile, brookite, ana- tase, leucoxene, and others. They occur in soil, clays, and altered rocks adjacent to novaculite in contact meta-morphic deposits. In preparing titanium minerals for use in the industry, it is necessary to know the physical characteristics of the ore. Also it is believed that the particular physical character of the titanium mineral used is just as important as the chemical character. Brookite and rutile, for example, are the same chemically but differ in crystalline structure. In preparing titanium minerals for market, beneficia-tion is necessary. For the millman to make a satisfactory laboratory test, the sample he uses must be as nearly of the same physical character as he would have from mine run ore. In the past at Magnet Cove, churn drilling had been done on the properties, and assays of total titania had been obtained. It was found, however, that the total titania was indicative merely of the presence of titania but did not tell the metallurgist the character of the material or even give him the slightest indication of what he might expect to recover. When the Bureau of Mines entered the field in the winter of 1947 and 1948, it was therefore necessary that a natural sample be recovered. LIMITATlONS IN ORDINARY PRACTICE The churn drilling that had previously been done had shown that the occurrence of titanium-bearing mineral was somewhat widespread. The samples were, however, completely beaten up and in a finely powdered state. The minerals had been slimed, and such ore dressing tests as were made from the churn-drill samples were found to be worthless. Test pitting and outcrop sampling had provided satisfactory samples of surface ore but did not represent the entire ore body. A quantity of rutile had been produced from the surface residual concentrations in the westerly part of the cove, but production ran into metallurgical trouble as depth was attained. Representative deep samples upon which ore dressing research might depend were needed.

Jan 1, 1950

By A. A. Scheil, S. I. Hoyt

In technological studies on steel considerable emphasis has been placed on the identification of the foreign inclusions, testimony of which is adequately given in the metallographic literature covering methods for their identification. The outstanding accomplishment in this field is the scheme devised by Campbell, Comstock and Wohrman for identifying various oxides, sulfides, silicates and other constituents by systematic etching tests and microscopic examination.' The time involved in carrying out this procedure has led to attempts to secure quicker methods, or at least to shorten the time required to secure essential information. An example of this is the use of dark field illuminatin,2 but when this was tried out by the authors it was found that cavities and pits on the polished surface appeared bright on a dark field and could not be distinguished from small glassy inclusions. Still another means is the Leitz Ultropak, an instrument equipped with optical units for the illumination of the specimen by reflected light to secure an effect similar to dark field illumination. The structures are made visible in exceedingly sharp details by utilizing the inherent properties of the samples, such as refractive index, absorption coefficients and reflection powers. We have had no experience with the Ultropak, but a recent paper by Benedicks and Löfquist3 describes methods for determining the refractive index of (Fe, Mn) O and MnS by the use of this equipment. Presumably this method would be subject to about the same limitations as dark field illumination, though the, feature added by Benedicks and Löfquist appears to offer great promise in inclusion identification.

Jan 1, 1935

By A. A. Scheil, S. I. Hoyt

In technological studies on steel considerable emphasis has been placed on the identification of the foreign inclusions, testimony of which is adequately given in the metallographic literature covering methods for their identification. The outstanding accomplishment in this field is the scheme devised by Campbell, Comstock and Wohrman for identifying various oxides, sulfides, silicates and other constituents by systematic etching tests and microscopic examination.' The time involved in carrying out this procedure has led to attempts to secure quicker methods, or at least to shorten the time required to secure essential information. An example of this is the use of dark field illuminatin,2 but when this was tried out by the authors it was found that cavities and pits on the polished surface appeared bright on a dark field and could not be distinguished from small glassy inclusions. Still another means is the Leitz Ultropak, an instrument equipped with optical units for the illumination of the specimen by reflected light to secure an effect similar to dark field illumination. The structures are made visible in exceedingly sharp details by utilizing the inherent properties of the samples, such as refractive index, absorption coefficients and reflection powers. We have had no experience with the Ultropak, but a recent paper by Benedicks and Löfquist3 describes methods for determining the refractive index of (Fe, Mn) O and MnS by the use of this equipment. Presumably this method would be subject to about the same limitations as dark field illumination, though the, feature added by Benedicks and Löfquist appears to offer great promise in inclusion identification.

Jan 1, 1935

By John Norton

THE tremendous increase in the use of metals that have been prepared by the various cold-working processes during recent years has greatly stimulated the investigation of problems concerned with the fundamental nature of these processes. It has been observed in practice that different methods of bringing about the same dimension changes in a sample result in a rather wide range of properties. Cold working reduces the ductility of a metal, or what is perhaps more nearly correct, its "working capacity," and naturally the manufacturer wishes to produce an article that has as large a working capacity as possible, and to produce it with the smallest number of operations, It has also been known for some time that cold deformation produces a parallel alignment of the crystal grains of a metal, and that the type of this preferred orientation depends to some extent at least upon particular processes employed in the deformation. The present investigation has for its purpose the study of the relations between the various factors of a cold-working process and the preferred orientation of the metal crystals resulting from this deformation. The work is chiefly confined to a study of cold-drawn seamless tubing.

Jan 1, 1932

By R. W. Snyder, W. H. Guilinger, B. S. Gottfried

Two numerical methods are presented JOT solving the equations Jor one-dimensional, multiphase /low in porous media. The case oF variable physical properties is included in the Formulation, although gravity and capillarity are ignored. Both methods are analyzed mathematically, resulting in upper and lower bounds for the ratio of time step to mesh spacing. The methods are applied to two- and three-phase waterflooding problems in laboratory-size cores, and resulting saturation and pressure distributions and production histories are presented graphically. Results oJ the tuo-phase flow problem are in agreement with the predictions of the Buckley-Leuerett theory. Several three-phase flow problems are presented which consider variations in the water injection rate and changes in the initial oil-and ujater-saturation distributions. The results are different physically from the two- phase case; however, it is shown that the Buckley-Lez~erett theory can accurately predict fluid interlace velocities and displacing-fluid frontal snturations for three-phase flow, providing the correct assumptions are made. The above solutions are used as a basis JOT et~aluuting the numerical methods with respect to machine time requirements and allowable time step for a fixed mesh spacing. INTRODUCTION Considerable progress has been made in recent years in obtaining numerical solutions of the equations for two-phase flow in porous media. Douglas, Blair and Wagner2and McEwenll present different methods for solving the one-dimensional case for incompressible fluids with capillarity (the former using finite differences, the latter with an approach based upon characteristics). Fayers and Sheldon4 and Hovanesian and Fayers8 have extended these studies to include the effects of gravity. West, Garvin and Sheldon, l4 in a pioneer paper, treat linear and radial systems with both capillarity and gravity and they also include the effects of compressibility. Douglas, Peaceman and Rachford3 consider two-dimensional, two-phase, in compressible flow with gravity and capillarity and Blair and Peaceman1 have extended this method to allow for compressible fluids. No one, however, has examined the case of three-phase flow, even for the relatively simple case of one-dimensional flow of incompressible fluids in the absence of gravity and capillarity. In obtaining a numerical technique for simulating forward in situ combustion laboratory experiments, Gottfried5 has developed a method for solving the one-dimensional, compressible flow equations with any number of flowing phases. Gravity and capillarity are not included in the formulation. The method has been used successfully, however, for two- and three-phase problems in a variable-temperature field with sources and sinks. This paper examines the algorithm of Gottfried more critically. Two numerical methods are presented for solving the one-dimensional, multi-phase flow equations with variable physical properties. Both methods are analyzed mathematically, and are used to simulate two- and three-phase waterflooding problems. The numerical solutions are then taken as a basis for comparing the utility of the methods.

Jan 1, 1967

By J. A. Collins

THE process of plastic extension of face-centered cubic single crystal-line rods is so well understood, since the notable studies of Taylor and Elam,1 that the change in orientation of any crystal by slip and rotation may be predicted from the measured elongation. It is customary to assume a very homogeneous deformation, wherein gliding lamellae are free to rotate so that their slip direction continually approaches the axis of the rod, until a second slip system comes into operation; whereupon conjugate slip proceeds quantitatively to an end adjustment with the [112] direction in the axis of the rod. This process has been checked in many face-centered cubic materials and readily permits the preparation of specimens that have been sub-jected to various determinable amounts of shearing action. It is clearly of interest to study in such measurably strained specimens the development of a recrystallized structure on annealing and if possible detect the source of nuclei from which the new crystals grow. Strain-annealing experiments of this character have been performed by others but not in detail sufficient to permit a study, for example, of the number of recrystallized grains vs, the amount of shear. In the experiments now reported, this was done with a wide variety of orientations covering nearly the entire range of slip on a single system and corresponding to amounts of shear (ratio of shearing distance to distance between lamellae) at the conclusion of a test of from 0.08 to 0.57. A particular point was made of determining the crystallite rotation, or small angular range assumed by the octahedral slip plane after these various amounts of shear. The mechanism of recrystallization and the magnitude and effect of recovery on the recrystallization process was investigated.

Jan 1, 1940

By H. H. Stoek

The fundamental reasons underlying the choicc of a method of mining a coal seam are safety of operation, cheapness of producing the coal and the character of the product as a saleable article. From the standpoint of safety, open or strip coal mining is always preferable, as many of the dangers inherent to underground work are absent, such as explosions of gas and dust, falls of roof and coal, and also to a great extent those due to haulage and the use of explosives, thus eliminating three of the chief causes of accident from which about 75 per cent. of the underground accidents in coal mines occur. The conditions under which coal is stripped also make the work much safer than ordinary quarry work, as the depth of the pit is usually comparatively small. Prom the standpoint of low mining cost, there is much misapprehension and many of the costs given are misleading in that they do not take into account such items as the destruction of the surface for future use, the full cost of the removal of the overburden, depreciation, amortization, coal depletion, loss of time through floods and from bad weather in winter, etc. Coal is no doubt often put on the cars at less cost by stripping than by underground mining, but by no means always so, as is too generally assumed. In some cases coal must be obtained by stripping or not at all, because the small amount of overburden renders underground mining impossible.

Jan 1, 1918

By John W. Wagner, Robert K. Willardson

Single crystals of Pbl-xSnXTe have been grown from The melt under liquid B2O3 using the Czochralski technique. The PbTe-SnTe crystals were grown from near-stoichiometric melts and from melts with slight deviations from sloichiometry. Crystal growth rates ranging from 1 mm per hr to 1 cm per hr were employed, the latter being generally used. Several investigations were performed to characterize the single crystals grown In this study. The phase diagram of the PbTe-SnTe system was examined. X-ray analyses verified the single-crystal character of the crystals, and powder pattern lattice parameter determinations showed that Vegard's law was followed within the limits of the experimental error. The as-grown crystals were p-type with apparent carrier concentrations of -8 x 1018 to -8 x 1020 carriers per cu cm. Hall coefficients, resistivities, and carrier mobilities were determined as a function of composition. Dislocations were revealed by an electrolytic etch, and the crystals were found typically to contain 2 to 4 x 105 dislocations per sq cm. Microhardness measurements were performed; no maximum in the Vickers hardness us composition curve was seen. Mass spectrometry was used for impurity analyses, and the crystals were found to contain 1 to 2 x 1017 total p-type impurities per cubic centimeter. Distribution coefficients were calculated for the major impurities which were Na, Mg, Al, Si, Cl, and Zn. RECENTLY interest has been stimulated in the preparation and characterization of many alloys of the binary compound semiconductors. This interest is due primarily to the almost unlimited possibilities of adjusting the semiconducting characteristics of these materials by varying the alloy compositions. One alloy system which has been receiving extensive investigation is the PbTe-SnTe system, since these alloys show promise of being useful as emitters and detectors of electromagnetic radiation in the spectral range of 8 to 14 µ. This paper reports on the growth of PbTe-SnTe single crystals by the Czochralski technique and investigations of the general properties of these crystals. The phase diagram of the PbTe-SnTe system was investigated so that specific alloy compositions could be attained. I) CRYSTAL GROWTH The PbTe-SnTe single crystals were pulled from the melt using the Czochralski technique. Generally, the crystals were grown from near-stoichiometric melts, although special growth runs were made from both lead-rich and tellurium-rich melts. Growth of single crystals from up to 5 pct lead-rich melts presented no problems; however, melts with tellurium in excess of -1 pct caused volatilization problems which generally made crystal growth impossible. All melts were prepared from high-purity materials as follows: 1) lead— 6 N— Cominco (Cominco Products, Inc., Spokane, Wash.); 2) tin—5N—Cominco; and 3) tellurium— 5N+— American Smelting & Refining Co., Plainfield, N.J. No further purification of materials was undertaken in this study. The elements were reacted at -1000°C in a vacuum-sealed silica tube for a few hours, a gentle rocking action being used to ensure thorough reaction. The cast ingots were then transferred to a silica crucible for crystal growth. A schematic diagram of the growth apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. The Vycor tube is sealed at both ends by O-ring flanges so that a vacuum or a positive pressure may be maintained in the growth chamber. The pull rod and crucible may be rotated; all crystals produced in this study were grown with the crucible sta-

Jan 1, 1969

Part 1. Coal Part 2. Industrial Minerals

Jan 3, 1977

Jan 1, 1961

By C. H. Brehaut, W. N. Taylor, R. S. Douglas, H. A. Shannon

THE name for this new method of mining is derived from a composition of Horizontal, Radial, Diamond, and the drilling is from raises. This method, worked out at Copper Mountain, B.C., is believed to be distinct in many features from other known methods. GEOLOGY The ore deposits of Copper Mountain are related to the Copper Mountain stock, which is an ideal example of the magmatic differentiation in that it grades from a basic gabbro at the border to an almost pure orthoclase-pegmatite core. The "contact" ore bodies lie along the contact of the gabbro and an older complex of volcanics and sediment termed the "Wolfe Creek" formation. These older rocks, collectively referred to as greenstone, had been fractured prior to the intrusion of the stock and were highly metamorphosed during the intrusion. The "outlying" ore bodies are somewhat different in character, though a similar structural pattern prevails. It is believed that a deep-seated magma of which the Copper Mountain stock is a part has given off solutions that caused a partial granitization of some of the volcanics. Mining problems are caused further by the presence of a series of soft barren dikes intersecting a great many of the ore bodies, which are about 30 ft. wide, strike north-south, and dip at a high angle to the east; and are further increased by the presence of four major faults, with a great many minor faults running at acute angles from them. Fault zones average 8 ft. in width, and consist of gouge and breccia. They strike northeast and dip steeply to the northwest. The faults cut through the ore zones and the dikes, and continue on into the gabbro. The general mine structure with two types of ore bodies, bounded by weak walls and intersected by several series of soft barren dikes and major faults, indicated that a method of mining should be devised that would remove the ore at low cost with the least disturbance of the waste walls and dikes. THEORETICAL ESTIMATE OF STOPING WITH THE DIAMOND DRILL After consideration of various methods, the most suitable one appeared to be horizontal drilling to break the ore in a manner similar to shrinkage stoping. Drilling vertical holes or rings from a bench and breaking to an open slot was eliminated because the weak walls of ore, dike or waste would not permit this type of opening. It was then decided to drill either horizontal radial holes from a raise or parallel holes from a slot cut across the ore body. After discussion, the latter method was believed unsuitable, for the following reasons:

Jan 1, 1945

By A. W. Fahrenwald

FLOTATION practice in Idaho is now about 13 years old. The advance has been steady during these 13 years. The operators have been alert to take advantage of the newest developments and they have themselves made a constant effort to improve their work. The metallurgical improvements are clue to the development of (1) better equipment, (2) better reagents, and (3) better understanding and control of the process. During the 8 years which the writer has been in this district, there has been continuous experimentation by several companies to improve the ore dressing by flotation methods. Gravity concentration has fought hard to hold its place, and although it is true that gravity processes have been improved during this period, nevertheless, in several of the important mills of the district the few tables that managed to hang on have finally given way. On the straight-lead ores, tables and jigs are still used; and, due to better classification, their hold on this job has been strengthened.

Jan 1, 1927

By P. D. Frost, H. A. Robinson, J. R. Doig, M. W. Mote

The mechanism of hardening in heat-treatable zirconium alloys was foUNd to be analogous to that for titanium alloys. Zirconium containing a relatively large addition of a ß -stabilizing element such as molybdenum or columbium can be hardened by the following transformation: Lean alloys, having insufficient alloy content to retain ß at room temperature are hardened by the following transformation: Application of these findings in Zr-Mo-Sn and Zr-Nb-Sn alloys produced strengths as high as 190,000 psi with reasonable ductility. PRIOR research on zirconium alloys has been concerned with development of greater strengths and creep resistance by solid-solution hardening or by dispersion hardening. Although solution and aging heat treatments had been applied earlier to zirconium alloys, quenching frequently produced low ductility. The possibility that the ß-to-w transformation, discovered earlier in titanium alloys,' might also occur in zirconium alloys and cause low ductility was considered, and, indeed, was found as predicted2 to be the case. In the earliest experiments, the heat-treatment response of titanium, too, was disappointing. However, by avoiding the formation of the embrittling w phase, it became practical to obtain room-temperature strengths higher than 180,000 psi, with elongation values of 10 pct.3 Based on the present concept of titanium heat treatment, the principal requirement for a heat-treatable zirconium alloy is that it contains a certain minimum amount of one or more ß -stabilizing elements. Only molybdenum, columbium, and tantalum, when present in sufficient amounts, are known to stabilize ß zirconium to room temperature during rapid cooling from the ß field. Tantalum was undesirable because of its high thermal-neutron cross section. Aluminum and tin are effective a stabilizers, but aluminum has been shown to seriously decrease the corrosion resistance of simple zirconium alloys in hot water. Therefore, for the present study, tin was used as the stabilizer addition. The alloys selected for this evaluation are presented in Table 1 along with their analyses and ß-transus temperatures. The analyses indicated that intended compositions were usually realized. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES All of the alloys were melted from sponge zirconium and fabricated to sheet for heat treatment

Jan 1, 1960

By Virgil R. D. Kirkham

NoRth America has for many years led the world in phosphate production, but with development of African deposits and their marketing conditions with respect to European countries, this leadership will shortly pass to Africa. Algeria, Egypt, Tunis, and Morocco have large phosphate reserves and a correspondingly large production because of easy mining and a ready European market, which was developed during the war. An increase in home consumption is destined to develop for the eastern American fields, and the countries of the Pacific will provide a market for the western producers. New processes indicate a decrease in fertilizer costs, which will encourage a more widespread domestic use and assure better marketing conditions. The African deposits, although benefited by a water haul, have the disadvantage of being isolated from a source of acid so that the crude rock is shipped from Africa to its destination, whereas in the United States the chief product shipped is acidulated rock or various types of superphosphatic fertilizers, The principal types of phosphate deposits used in the manufacture of fertilizers are guanos, apatite, phosphatic marl, phosphatic limestone, phosphatic shale, and phosphate rock which is also known as phosphorite. Some of these deposits are found on each of the continents; Table 1 gives their occurrence, age, location, character, extent, etc. Most of the information found in this table represents a compilation of information published elsewhere in a different form and widely scattered.

Jan 1, 1925

By R. K. Hopkins

For a great many years fusion welding has been used in and around petroleum refineries, but it is only within six or seven years that the more important pressure vessels have been constructed by this process, because before that time the properties of fusion welds would not with-stand such rigorous service. Since the adoption of fusion welding for the construction of this equipment, the refiner has required pressure vessels suitable for operation over a very wide range of conditions. On the one hand, vessels must operate at extremely high temperatures, in the range of 950° to 1000° F., and on the other vessels must be suitable for operation at sub-zero temperatures down as low as -75° F. Also, vessels are required suitable for operation at pressures upwards of 1000 lb. per sq. in., and as low as a 29-in. vacuum. In addition, vessels are required to withstand the attack of very corrosive mediums. It has been a rather difficult task for the fabricator to meet all of these require-ments, but as a result of the extensive research carried on by steel manu-facturers and several fabricators of class I vessels, practically all of these demands have been met. In order to meet the refiners' requirements for this wide range of conditions, the fabricator has worked closely with the metallurgist. This has enabled him to choose the proper base metal for each service condition, but it has been the fabricator's problem to develop a welding rod and welding technique, as well as a heat-treatment, that would produce in the welded vessel characteristics in and around the weld comparable to those in the base metal. Where corrosion is not a serious problem, and where the operating temperatures are not too high, ordinary carbon steel has served very well. But when corrosion is serious, and/or when the temperatures are either very high or very low, it is necessary to use some form of alloy steel to give satisfactory service.

Jan 1, 1935

By James D. McClung, H. J. Gluskoter, M. R. Geer

INTRODUCTION The purpose of coal preparation is to improve the quality of coal to make it suitable for a specific purpose by (1 ) cleaning to remove inorganic impurities; (2) sizing-crushing or screening, or both; or (3) special treatment, such as dedusting. The properties and quantities of impurities in coal are of major importance in the design and operation of steam generating equipment. Al- though boilers are often designed and equipped to use a wide range of coals, no boiler will perform equally well with all types of coals. All coals have certain properties that place limitations on their most advantageous use. These limitations are especially stringent for many of the older installations. Because of a general lowering of quality of raw coal in recent years, the need for coal cleaning has significantly increased. Among the factors contributing to the need for increased coal preparation are (1) increased demand for quality brought on by market and environmental requirements; (2) increased extraneous dilution caused by mine, health, and safety laws; and (3) depletion of the higher-quality coal seams.

Jan 1, 1979

By Leonard Grimshaw

DIFFUSION Of carbon from gases into iron has been the object of much research, because of its long recognized importance in carburizing processes, but the direct diffusion of carbon from steel into iron has received relatively little attention. Because of the increasing use of clad metals in industry, direct diffusion from steel into iron is becoming of practical importance. Therefore, the object of this investigation was to study the diffusion of carbon from several different kinds of steel directly into relatively pure iron, realizing that elements in the steels other than carbon might influence the rate of carbon diffusion. The previous work on diffusion of carbon into iron has been consider-able, and includes many reports in foreign languages. This work has recently been well reviewed by Mehl1 and Krynitsky,2 and the reader is referred to their excellent bibliographies.

Jan 1, 1937

By J. M. Callow

THE results obtained by pneumatic flotation throughout the country on all classes of ore, and. the tonnage now being treated by this particular method, speak for themselves. Its advantages over the so-called agitation process are now established by facts and data from practice. The comparative efficiency of a rapidly revolving paddle, as a means for aerating an ore pulp, and of a cycloidal or turbine blower for the same purpose, would seem to be so obvious as to leave no room for discussion. Practitioners in this art are to be congratulated on the acquisition of the valuable literary contributions that have recently been made on the theory of. flotation by Messrs. Ralston, Van Arsdale, Taggart and Beach, and others, and the very valuable and able articles, by Messrs. Laist and Wiggin on "Flotation Concentration at Anaconda, Mont.," by, Dr. Rudolf Gahl- on the "History of Flotation at Inspiration," and by David Cole on "The Advent of Flotation in the Morenci District." It is not within the province of this article to attempt an answer to the various issues raised in regard to the theory, or to defend the one advanced by me a year ago. But since discussion usually benefits the profession, a reply will be made to some of the statements made by the last-named writers. COMPARATIVE SENSITIVENESS AND ATTENDANCE Concerning 'the article, "Flotation Concentration at Anaconda, Mont.," by Laist and Wiggin, a little explanation is in order. It should be stated that; with the exception of about 24 days at the end of the testing 'period, the Callow experimental plant at Anaconda was not run under my direction. This perhaps accounts for some of the conclusions drawn on page 562 of the descriptive paper. The conclusion that the use of acid seems to be of considerable advantage, calls, for some comment. While the tests conducted by the Anaconda Copper Co. do show acid to be, of considerable benefit, this is a consequence of using acid sludge as a flotation agent. My belief has always been that the Anaconda

Jan 2, 1917